You’re best asking the CoG or HG staff directly with these questions than the forums. 
They can provide you the answers you’re looking for. Reach out via the company email and that should help!
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I see. Thanks!
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You are wise to be afraid. Last year, HG pulled two games which used AI art.
If you don’t have the budget for it, stock images and some editing should be enough. Plenty of HG authors do that. Bad cover art could damage impressions of your game, but there’s probably limited benefit to going from good to fantastic cover art.
(Granted, one game is a serious eyesore in my library because of lazy image scaling.)
I mean, I did this for someone else’s game. It was free. If you seriously need help with the art, ask around.
Legally, as long as you have a license (does not have to be exclusive) to use the art commercially, it is fine. Look for CC0 images or content on Pixabay.
I don’t think there’s much value add to doing so. Plus, I think some writers who added it ran into some technical problem or another, so… probably not the best.
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I thank you for the information my friend. I really found it helpful as it changed my perspective on this. As for the music was it copyright problems they encountered or just in game mechanical issues?
Every now and then I get that little nudge to be extra creative so that’s why I asked about the music and the images. It seems the final conclusion is that choicescript is not the platform for those kinda things. Too much hassle 
. I’ll just stick with the wonders of text and a flexible imagination.
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Mechanical issues, I believe. Using copyrighted content without legal permission violates the HG contract and is grounds for termination.
Fair. That said, more isn’t necessarily more (except for wordcount). Don’t put it in entirely as a way to differentiate your game.
Other writers who have tried this might be able to provide their views.
It is risky to summon the Orc Lord to this domain, but I’ll risk it… 
@NumberedEntity any thoughts on adding music to a published game?
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If you include it, please include a toggle option to shut the music off. That’s all I have to offer.
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I see. Thanks for this advice mate, but I don’t think I’ll bother to add any music. I’m glad I came here first. I probably wouldn’t have liked the music if I added it anyway😂.
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Wrote 572 words tonight. Breached the 2000 word limit for my IF so far. Getting back into coding. Exploring with the *if, *else, and *temp commands a bit. Trying out random_test and quickest a bit.
Finished up the fight scene. It was only one choice to determine the MC’s body type (ala Whiskey Four’s style). With how I’m getting back into coding, I’m not doing a stat heavy story. At all. I don’t want the coding to get in the way of the writing. I’ve been re-reading Breach: The Archangel Job and paying attention to how it does combat with regards to how many choices per fight you get.
My attention isn’t much deeper than a goldfish, and I can lose interest quickly if a fight goes too long or lose track of what I’ve done in a fight if the author isn’t giving me enough text/context reminders to help me out.
Was jamming out to two songs on repeat while I was writing tonight:
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Wooo, Cami-cat soundtrack!
Also, you just sent my brain on a bit of a fritz because I DEFINITELY did not remember that song from Hazbin Hotel… so i googled it and found out that it isn’t, and now I feel better. 
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TL;DR I ramble about finding artists
As someone who doesn’t need artwork yet but is definitely looking ahead and also just enjoys art—I like to follow* artists on social media (Twitter, Instagram, and Bluesky for me, but sites like Tumblr and… maybe TikTok? I’m sure there are artists sharing art process videos on there, those sites would work too, just any site where artists may share their work), and then you can look through their portfolios to see if their work can fit the vibe/style you’re going for, and look at their commission rates if they’re publicly available to compare to your budget, and whatever other criteria you may have. I have a long list of artists so for me, I’d definitely need to create a shortlist of artists I’d be interested in working with, and then when I’m ready to actually commission someone I’d reach out and see if they’re available etc. etc.
If you’re not in art spaces at all and have no idea where to start, I can suggest starting under hashtags like #portfolioday, #artshare, and #artvsartist; or, perhaps, looking at animated shows/movies you’ve liked and checking out the artists listed in the credits; or you could even see if there’s a local art scene where you live—I’ve recently discovered a few shops around town that specifically sell products made by local artists and I love browsing them very much. Holiday art markets have also been a gem. And you could look through the following lists of artists to find even more artists!
*On sites like Twitter and Bluesky that have such a feature, making a list of the artists you like is a much more organized and easy way to compile them. If they have a link to their website/portfolio, you can also bookmark those.
*looks back* Well, uh, I typed a lot, huh. And I realize you said you were busy, so you probably don’t have time to do that much searching… Well, short answer, if you wanna find an artist to commission, #PortfolioDay posts on social media sites are probably a good place to look since those artists are most likely looking for commissions. There’s an official Portfolio Day account on Bluesky and they’ve announced the next Portfolio Day is Jan 14th, so it’s pretty soon. You’ll be able to find a lot of good artists you can reach out to.
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@ChanceOfFire @Fusion_Ultimatum
I have turned purple due to orc flu and would prefer to wallow in my cave…
I think a title track can set the scene and go down well. The Track I used, Adrenaline Rush by Emily Roll for Fantasy, is fully credited. I also provided relevant links and info to the composer herself. Her tracks are often free for public and commercial use.
I have not received any complaints about the track, from players. The only issue was that the track continued to run through the game and didn’t stop after pressing START, although I had stopped the music in the code. It worked in testing- but not in the released version.
To fix this. I created a very short ‘silent’ sound file which activated after pressing START.
Having music throughout your entire game is a different issue, but having a title track is liable to whip up the mood and ramp up anticipation. My (Emily’s) war drums let players know what they are in for, should they so dare to join an orc tribe. Perhaps it would be a thing of wonder to have a small track at the very end too- if you complete the game and get that special, special ending only 0.01% of players find.
@Fusion_Ultimatum, I know you are working on a racing-themed game. I can imagine how cool it would be to have a title track consisting of crowd noises and roaring engines at the start of a race. Make them smell the rubber!
As already mentioned, if you have sound throughout the game, ensure you have an ‘off’ option. Choicescript does not cater to music and sound, apart from the basics.
There is a game, although I can’t remember which one, which used sound to amplify its scares. Does anyone have any idea who did this? They would have some interesting insights.
EDIT: Also- since the title music will play on the demo version, it may pull in a few casuals for the sheer novelty of it. It may trip an emotional switch which gets an undecided player to delve deeper, considering how instinctively our fee-fees are stirred by music. Just make sure the music is not obnoxious enough to turn people off unless that is what you’re going for.
I’m no expert and just made it up as I went along. But I’m chuffed with the way it turned out 
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I recommend fiverr.com. It’s a way to use the gig economy around the world. Its inexpensive enough to try something small with 3-5 people, then go big with the one you prefer (and to weed out some people challenging to work with).
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Well dang. You’ve re-ignited my hopes for the music. That’s exactly what I wanted. To utilize the music in a way that would help set the scene. Just the writing should be able to summon the emotions, but music does have a greater emotional effect on us. It would be cool to have some sound effects too like you said.
I’ve even already hunted for some copyright free music already so I do want try the possibilities and see how I can use them. One thing though. How do I make it so the music can be turned off if others don’t want to hear it?
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Answering your question about Robin’s sword is tricky, it has more to do with your motivations than anything. I’m far less of an expert in the years preceding 1337, but setting a Robin Hood story in the time period that it’s usually set means that, in England/Western Europe, the common swords that are around are the most basic one you can imagine- one handed length, double-edged swords that are meant to be used with other equipment, like a shield or as part of an equipment set where the sword is the backup(in Robin’s case, the main weapon is of course a bow). It’s easier to answer what swords basically don’t exist or are otherwise unavailable for “historical accuracy” seasons:
-Rapiers definitely don’t exist as we know them. They’re more a latter 15th and 16th century thing, at least
-What we know as longswords aren’t an in-vogue weapon of war at the time at all. Bigger swords that you could concievably use in two hands with no shield probably did exist, but I’d hazard that if they did exist they were probably ceremonial in some way and largely not what people were reaching for when expecting a fight. Either way, I don’t think it makes sense for a Robin Hood-like figure to be having a big sword at all
The above remains true for basically the entire century and even further after the year 1200. What does exist and could potentially be used are historical(for the time) weapons, and weapons foreign to Western Europe, like:
-Gladii, which you mentioned, and other military equipment from eras past. This also includes plenty of Viking/Scandinavian era stuff in England. You can invent tons of reasons why characters in the time of the story might have some of that stuff- family heirloom, historical artifact etc. etc.
- Foreign weapons; the Muslim population of the crusading era had differently styled swords and other military equipment(plenty of which was looted and brought back to England), other parts of Europe had slightly different equipment that was popularly used etc.
Already mentioned, Falchions certainly could have existed as early as 1200(though I don’t think there’s actually evidence before the middle of the century). Other types of war-knives and the like also existed in many places.
The short version is that the later you set the story, the more things become available, historically speaking. All the cool, recognisable weapons,sword variations and armour are either non-existent or very uncommon until like the year 1340 at least. But that’s a very different Europe, and a very different England, than even the year 1300, let alone 1200.
Of course all of the above can be jettisoned for the basic reason that it just isn’t that cool that the evidence suggests that swords weren’t really that intricate or varied like we would like for most of the medieval era. The historical truth is that swords actually weren’t that important for warfare purposes, other weapons and equipment filled that role for the longest time and realistically continued to fill that role even when having a longsword kinda made more sense than it used to. In the period we’re talking, if you were rich you had heavier armour than the rest, rode a horse and used a lance. You definitely wore a sword, cause it was useful to have just in case you lost your lance, but you weren’t really supposed to be using it anyway, and you definitely had a shield cause who doesn’t, and if all that is true then why would a sword ever need to be something other than a sharpened metal bar? If you were poor you had a tough jacket, a helmet if you were lucky or just a sturdy hat if not, a spear and or some other weapon like a bow, and you might’ve had a sword if you had saved up your pay, or just a big knife if you didn’t save that much, and if all of that were true, then the same logic applies as above. Sticking to historical accuracy means sticking to what I just said by and large.
Now, I do believe that adhering to accuracy does in fact have alot of value in and of itself for the purposes of the story- committing to the bit and creating a genuinely historical setting lends itself to a certain atmosphere and feel that would be quite unique I think. But I would say that it only really works if you were to commit entirely to not just weapons and names and places, but customs, certain liguistic tendencies, culture, dress, eating habits etc etc. Which would require a huge amount of research and care to pull off correctly.
On your note about the exact time period the story is set in: the question comes down to how much work and investment you want to put in trying to create a world that aligns somewhat with history, especially if you want to start introducing alternate history-like elements, vs jettisoning the pretext entirely and creating a pseudo-historical world that’s only aesthetically medieval but wouldn’t make much sense considered against reality. You mentioned 1307 and wanting to keep Richard I alive a little longer- the follow-through from that means possibly discarding a century’s worth of events(the first and second baron’s war, magna carter, the entirety of Henry III’s reign etc.), warping things significantly enough that the Angevin Empire might still exist, creating a very different England. The year 1307 is actually a pretty good date other than the usual post-third crusade setting- you’ve got heavy taxation from war, general lawlessness, the threat of rebellion looming from the barons again etc. You’ll also have a monarch who ascends to the throne in that year in Edward II who is immediately unpopular for various reasons and it generally wasn’t that great of a time probably. But that’s only true for the original 1307.
I’m not sure that the baggage associated with engaging with historical events in this way is worth it, rather than framing the setting as entirely pseudo-historical and if that’s the case, why not just set it in the years 1190-1200(or even, whenever) and adding whatever characters needed?
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In today’s news, I still can’t decide if I should make this one potentially-supervillain (depends on player choices) a shapeshifter or just a nixie.
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Not familiar with the lore. Do you have anything out I can play to fix that issue? Maybe then I can provide some thoughts
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Not really. It’s just aesthetics at this point, they’d function the same way in the story. The main difference is that the shapeshifter would… well, shapeshift into a water animal, while the nixie would just naturally breathe underwater as-is.
…seriously, internet connection, what are you doing? Argh.
(This is also me procrastinating from more important things I should be doing, hi.)
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I think it might depend of what setting your aiming for; the nixie seems more of a cultural pick, amplifying that aspect, while obviously shape shifter is a lot more vanilla. I think this might affect tone a bit too.
Ha, nice tunes. I wonder - do we have a thread somewhere for good tunes to write by? If not, I could see that as useful.
In other news, for my progress report for January thus far, got a few scenes done for Sense & Sorcery and another chapter done for Do Not Dally with the Dead, though, gods, some of this stuff is dark. Hopefully it will all balance out when the whole is read or played.
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In my head I tend to see a nixie as a more mystical creature, while a shapeshifter has a more mythical feeling to it. So like Zodac said above, I also feel the setting is an important factor here. And since it might be a potential supervillain, I would personally go for a shapeshifter. But that’s just how I see things of course.
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It’s an interesting discussion. Thanks for giving me some more food for thought.
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