I usually decide based on which idea I feel like I’ll stay passionate about long enough to finish more than anything else. I know the initially excitement of a project isn’t going to last, but it is very hard, for me at least, to write when I’m not feeling passionate about the subject, so I try to decide based on motivation. But once I’ve decided I try to stick with my decision until I’ve finished. (Although I have been seriously contemplating becoming one of those writers who works on two projects at once to avoid writer’s block.)
I wouldn’t say I pursue a project based on this metric, but I certainly do get a lot of my ideas this way!
There are quite a lot of points when the romanceable characters can get jealous in Creme although it’s less of a long-term love triangle, I suppose.
Hmm, I feel like it would reflect strangely on the NPCs if they didn’t immediately withdraw from a romance upon hearing that their dad/son was romancing the PC. And it would say something rather unsavoury about the PC if they continued romancing both characters while knowing about the family relationship. (If a taboo dynamic is intentional, that’s fine - but it would feel a bit off to me if it wasn’t intended that way, and might be a general turnoff for some players.)
@ChanceOfFire I totally agree with this, and the rest of the post as well! I don’t think there’s anything to lose by publishing with HG, unless it’s that you’d rather publish it non-commercially instead.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. I focus on the ones that I think have the potential for lots of different routes through the game that will be interesting. If I can’t think of many branches, that tells me I either need to shift the premise or it would work better as a linear piece of writing.
I have a particular idea that’s been rattling around in my head for some time now that I go back and forth on about whether it would be better as a game or a book. It’s one where there’s a particular thread that I feel is stronger than the others. I don’t have recent experience with multi-chapter linear writing but it has been calling to me… I’m hoping to explore it in some way through this year.
I do think about audience appeal for my games, but I don’t think about current trends of popularity - given how long games take to write, if I paid too much attention to that I would be behind the curve by the time I was finished. And if I’m going to spend that amount of time and energy on it, I want it to be something I feel really positive about.
My shoulder is feeling a fair bit better today, though I’ve still forbidden myself from using the computer until Monday. What I did do to clear out some brain-cobwebs was handwrite some Heart of Battle fanfiction which I intended to be very quick but is more involved than I realised!
I hope your shoulder gets better soon! Mine is still acting up too, although I can work on computer if I’m careful with it. (Putting on a coat, though…)
Thank you! Don’t overdo it on the computer, I hope yours calms down too! I think my problem was that I had a very computer-heavy day and then overdid it a bit at the gym without stretching enough afterwards - so hopefully not a big injury.
Fortunately, my TTRPG group usually meets online but we’d organised an in-person meet today because it’s a prep session for our new campaign - so I’ll be able to chill on the sofa rather than look at a screen, which will help a lot. (It’s Beam Saber! I’ve neither played nor watched much mecha stuff but am HYPED.)
That does sound like it’s hopefully more minor than my dislocation! There was some computer stuff I had to do, but now I’m finally getting my Master’s this semester, so yay for that at least.
This game is on my radar to play this weekend. I’ll do my best to give some fun feedback.
I’m of a similar mind as @zayats! I gotta put forth what I want to see in the world because what I’ve been consuming hasn’t been satisfying that one highly specific itch I have. They said it much more eloquently, though.
Isn’t the word on the street that he’s not finishing it because of the terrible reception to the TV adaptation that uses the exact plot he was planning? If yes, I can’t really say I blame the man. Book critics can be ruthless lol.
There is something so rejuvenating about taking the time to hand write things, sometimes, especially after a long bout on the computer. It might just be the minor change in place or routine that makes it feel new again.
Also get well soon! Hopefully it’s just a minor strain!
I really want to use my weekend to scope out some WIPs (I have my eye on a couple!). I have a large to-do list, but with spring arriving, my reading/writing time is cut shorter and shorter since I live on a hobby farm. Cold resistant planting is also happening this weekend (hello beets and spinach ) so I’m hoping I can manage my time well lol.
Hope everyone can have a satisfying weekend as well!
Dunno. I only watched one and half seasons and then gave up because it removed all the interesting bits of the books, anyway. Anyone who wasn’t expecting Daenerys to go mass murderously cray-cray really needs to develop some media literacy, though, because it was immensely telegraphed.
Honestly same! I just ordered some more of my favorite pens, too. I’ve found that everyone seems to have their favorite type of pen, almost like a personality type.
I have to agree with this just based on reading the first two books. I told myself I wasn’t going to read any more of them until the series finished . . . buuuuut, oh well! Maybe it will receive the Sanderson treatment posthumously. There’s a ridiculous amount of push for that.
I don’t know why I didn’t think to remove the love triangle all together lol Though it’s probably because I’m imagining how I’d like for it play out when both father and son realized MC is romancing both of them. I think it’s a good drama that I like to read but I’m not fond of writing.
I’ve played Wayhaven, though I romance Felix more because the others are too slow-burn for my liking, and I’m not really into Adam’s stoic vibe. I’m currently exploring Nate though, so maybe I’ll try that love triangle at some point to get some ideas on how to do mine if I ever include it.
It is supposed to be intentional, because I love reading about unconventional, awkward romantic encounters. It’s also going to be something like in a Stardew Valley mod, where you can romance Kent (my favorite hubby’s dad). I thought it was funny and awkward but a fun playthrough. But I don’t think it’s going to be as funny with Benedict and Daniel with the backstory I’ve established with them.
Though, I might just remove the love triangle with them altogether if I can’t write it properly. It’s not like it’s necessary for the story. I just thought it might be a fun route to explore.
Also, wishing you a speedy recovery of your shoulder.
I usually stick with what I think I’ll enjoy writing the most. But I do consider other factors too, depending on the condition I’m in. And right now, I’m first time writing an IF story game, so that’s going to be a factor.o
At the moment, that’s my Stardew Valley-inspired WIP. I have other ideas like a superhero society with shady agencies, connecting with other survivors during a monster-alien invasion… But I picked what I’m currently working on because it’s easy to execute and not as heavy on lore than my other story ideas. It is also my first interactive fiction game, that’s probably the main reason I didn’t pursue my other ideas, even though I know it’s a lesser popular genre in the IF space.
So for me, pursuing my mainly influenced by I think it’s a good starting story for someone who’s writing an IF game for the first time. It’s simple, not lore heavy and I can enjoy writing it.
I envy your TTRPG life. All I have right now is a DnD group of four people (that failed to meet today) and a dormant Traveller group where the GM has ChatGTP do everything for him, making me quietly hope the campaign never resumes. I’d love to play some obscure game IRL.
That’s not common, that’s universal, because Ideas Are Worthless. I can give you twenty ideas in six minutes for 23 cents, while completing Saturnine took me about eighteen months. Everyone has ideas, writers are defined by what they actually sit down to write.
To answer your question, I think the most important thing is to pursue projects you’ll find interesting. Everything from plot holes to problematic elements can be ironed-out as you go, but if your IF is full of characters and events you don’t find interesting… what’s even the point? You might as well scrap the whole thing and use whatever cool elements it had somewhere else.
So I’ve been introduced to the concept of gender-selectable romanceables. I’ve readabout gender-selectable romanceables thread here, and I’m looking up WIP that implements something like that. Even when playing Wayhaven or the first two Pokemon games, I find it a bit odd that as the player we can decide NPC’s gender and name. Maybe it’s just a personal thing, but I like having full control over my own character and how I interact, explore and influence the world, but not control over the world itself like some customizable sandbox when playing RPGs. I enjoy discovering the author’s vision rather than shaping everything myself. Like it’s not my world, I’m just playing in it.
So, I’ve concluded it’s best for my work to have gender-fixed romanceables. Not that I don’t want the extra work of coding and creating multiple narrative for selectable genders, but it’s because I already have established characters, and I can’t imagine any of them in any other genders. I also want the world to feel like its own entity, rather than something the player customizes. I think the cast is diverse enough that I don’t need a gender-selectable character. Though I’m open to change to my mind if I find a compelling reason to include or add one, but for now, gender-fixed romanceables fits the best.
Though I’ve noticed that many people like everything to be customizable in the IF space, so I don’t know how well my game will be recieved if they could only customize their own character. But still, I think this approach fits my vision the best.
Aaaand thank you for reading my TED talk lol Sorry if I ramble too much. I just enjoy sharing my thought process while working on my game. It helps me shape my game and consider other options if anyone offers one. And if it helps someone figure out thier own approach, then that makes me happy. Also, I’m treating this thread like my writer-diary lol I guess I could keep this all in a personal journal, but I appreciate feedbacks and reading new perspectives.
Since I’ve finished the uni stuff, I have more time to overthink my WIP lol Anyways, happy writing everyone.
Reading this, I will be so honest-
Part of me regrets making my ROs/LIs gender selectable. One, because it’s more work on my part. And two… it’s just tedious I did it mostly because, when I imagined them initially, I saw them all as men and went “Hm, that won’t do”. I didn’t see them strictly as male, but it’s where my mind kept going.
Of course, I’m worrying that, that shows in the writing But it felt better to make it selectable, so people could have what they wanted freely. I just don’t think I’d do it again, or if I do, it’ll only be one or two characters.
(I also think, back when all I had was Amberwood, I had one, maybe two, people say they wished a character was a different gender-)
I don’t regret making mine gender selectable but I agree with you on it being tedious . I hate how I read through everything and still manage to miss some pronoun variables. If only it were simpler.
UnNatural had one RO that was gender-selectable and the rest were fixed. Id like to say it’s been well received overall. Having fixed gender ROs is perfectly fine.
Honestly, I doubt it’ll be a problem It’s good to write non-selectable characters if you like it that way, and vice versa and there are pros to both approaches.
Gender-fixed romanceable characters, or other gender-fixed non-romance characters, are fine. Plenty of wildly successful HG releases (Lords of Infinity, The Great Tournament, ITFO, An Unexpectedly Green Journey) all have NPCs with fixed genders. Some players might prefer gender-selection, and you might not be able to please them, but the first rule of releasing content for public consumption is that you won’t be able to please everyone. So if you are more comfortable with gender-fixed characters, that’s fine.
My game only allows you to customize the MC, as I’m also not comfortable with gender-flipping NPCs. Still, that’s ok. I didn’t receive any complaints about that, even though my game did receive complaints for other things. I managed to escape the underrated games poll as a first-time author, so I guess I didn’t do too badly.
Unrelated note: If anyone else wants feedback for a WIP, feel free to reply or DM me. I’m still open.
although it’s less of a long-term love triangle, I suppose.
what happened to your shoulder?
I’ll do my best to give some fun feedback. 
) so I’m hoping I can manage my time well lol.
