New and need A LOT of help with ChoiceScript

So I’m new to the whole ChoiceScript thing. I’ve read through the intro and the guide, and started following the steps to starting my first story. But I get stuck at the step where I’m supposed to open up the game using the HTML index file. I’ve just typed “Hello world!” and whenever I click either index file, it take me to a screen that says “loading” with “show stats” and “reset” buttons at the top (as seen in background). A pop up will appear saying that the index file is either empty or lost. Here are some screenshots:

I’m not sure what to do about this, and since I’d like to follow the ChoiceScript instructions step by step so that I can find any more issues I’m having, it’s preventing me from going on. Another issue that I’m currently having is that I don’t understand the format that the file is supposed to be written in, so if someone could please explain that to me, I’d be very grateful. Thanks!

  1. I’m not 100% on the index issue, but I’ll try to help. Did you use the files that came with the download? With the pre-written samples?

  2. You write the game with .txt files. I’d recommend getting Notepad ++ for free, it’s a huge help for finding errors and such.

I did use the files that came with it, and for the notebook I started used the free .txt files Notepad that was downloaded onto my computer. But my current confusion on the format is all the commands that you would use to make the choices different from the story and stuff like that.

Here’s a screenshot of my current game’s startup page:

From my understanding, the scene list is where you list all the files in the order you want the game to go to them. Make sure your “startup” file looks something like this.

As far as formats and commands, try this:

Choice of the Dragon’s startup page

Scene from Choice of the Dragon

I learned the basics of choicescript through these, as well as the tutorial page that you’ve already seen.

Can’t recommend notepad ++ enough, it’s free online and helps you keep track of line numbers, which becomes very important.

Did you unzip the file?