Finally figured out Quicktest and Randomtest, and after a couple hours of debugging later I proclaim the most recent chapter officially bug-free!
Also, I think I just accidentally uploaded 9,000 words of the most recent chapter in progress. So hey, unintentional new update!
I’ve seen this WIP for a while now but I’ve always passed it up because of the title…I learned my lesson though, this is amazing, mainly because INSANITY= The most joyous of times haha! Loved it! Literally had me close to dying of laughter. Can’t wait for more updates and this is another game I’ll gladly throw my money at. I will wish that this doesnt turn out to be one of those enjoyable but short CoGs though. I’ve played way too many of those.
Thrilled to hear you enjoyed it, and Insanity certainly is the most fun to write. I’m trying to decide where to go next once this is completed, and I can’t help but feel tempted to just do an entire story full of this sort of thing.
Should the title be dumped? I’ve pondered calling it Nuclear Powered Toaster: Graduation Day, or just Graduation Day (since it will take place almost entirely within the 24 hour period after your MC completes his/her particular schooling). But I’m concerned the latter would not properly convey that this is sci-fi; I don’t want a bunch of one-star reviews from disappointed people seeking locker room drama, passed notes in study hall, and furtive close encounters in the back seats of cars. And the former might be too long.
As for length, it won’t be Choice of Rebels or Choice of the Cat; I admire tremendously what those authors did, but that’s not conceivable for me based on the amount of time I have available and my level of productivity. I’m expecting/hoping to be in the 110-120 range upon completion. Not sure how one measures playthrough length, but mine will be a bit on the lower side simply because of the two MC situation. However, this also means you really have to play the game at least twice in order to have truly played it; I’m a replayer type, so I guess that’s kinda the group I was targeting. And I do intend for the price point to reflect that this isn’t the longest story out there, so you won’t have to toss quite so big a wad of cash at me. Especially important if you paid in pennies, as that could get painful.
Altering it might be wise.
Unless there will be a literal nuclear-powered toaster both MCs may encounter. If that’s the case, keeping the current title might be worth it!
I do agree that the title, whatever it ends up being, should probably convey this is sci-fi. It’s also very wise of you to worry about the title’s length. While ChoiceScript itself doesn’t care how long you make your *title line, and neither Choice of Games nor Hosted Games want to put strong limitations on what you call your game…
It is my understanding the Apple App Store strictly limits app titles to 30 characters. Shorter is fine, but longer is automatically rejected, if I remember correctly. The phrase “Nuclear Powered Toaster” alone is already 23 characters. Once you add in a colon and a space to separate your sub-title from your title, you’ve only got 5 characters left. That’s not very much! “Nuclear Powered Toaster: Graduation Day” is 39 characters, for what it’s worth.
As alternatives to “Nuclear Powered Toaster,” what do you think of options like “Nuclear Powered Graduation” (26 characters,) or “Fusion Powered Graduation” (25 characters?) I won’t pretend I’m good with names or titles, or that these are in any way better than what you’ll come up with. But maybe they’ll give you a starting point as you think up new names on your own? You can absolutely use them if you actually like them. Just… don’t feel obligated to like them simply because I suggested them.
I feel a little silly suggesting this, but keeping the exclamation mark you used in the topic title might actually be a good idea. Nuclear Powered Graduation!
Oh man, I guess I should explain myself then when I sorta kinda ragged on your title.
I saw your WIP around the time when there were a bunch of other WIPs that had a similar design to: outlandish titles, is what I mean. I gave a good amount of them chances but they all seemed all over the place, granted the background for your story seems outlandish but enjoyable, I understood what you were going for AND you gave me the option to make my playthrough absurd but still comprehensible, I regret not giving my support sooner all because of a grip full of other WIPs left a bad taste. I dont find anything wrong with the title, hell, a Nuclear Powered Toaster sounds scifi enough to me!
Oh, and since you loved wiriting the insanity choices, why not give a little dig at the romance and basic “high school love stories” that are out there, give a little nod to us forum users haha!
The length portion bugs me but I understand, life, a lot of times, doesnt provide us the means to accomplish things at our own pace, guess this’ll just be another small jewel that I’ll have to appreciate. I forget the title of another CoG that came out, I think it was Evertree Inn(?), another small but enjoyable game that I wished was longer or at least has a part 2 coming out >_> haha.
ANYWAYS keep it up, I say keep the title! Because sometimes doing absurd things can attract large crowds! Like having the title to a game named “Nuclear Powered Toaster!” But if you’re trying to make profit off of it then I’d suggest changing it so it’d have an easier time of getting bought, unless you want to take that gamble and have people check it out because of the outrageous title.
Well, I mean. It’s your call. I personally like the title because I was mildly confused and intrigued with it.
So currently two votes for and one against the current title. I admit a change would be tough, since it’s been Nuclear Powered Toaster to me for well over a decade. But then, this only bears a passing resemblance to either my abortive attempt at a novel or the equally abortive attempt at a webcomic. Or the second, also abortive attempt at a webcomic. Apparently I am not very anti-abortive.
I do wonder about keeping the exclamation mark, though. Nuclear Powered Toaster! could have the capacity to catch a few stray eyeballs.
keep the title! is weird is new and is a little bit anarchic.
Another update, folks. Current totals at month’s end are 96,000 words written and 75,000 coded. Contest deadline looms large, but don’t count this ragtag crew out just yet.
Also, I am giving serious thought to not even worrying about allowing players to choose their own name and just have each MC set in their identity (though not much else, since personality and goals are definitely customizable). I could tell by another thread that this may be a bit of a controversial move. Any thoughts from the peanut gallery?
Thanks for reading as always! I couldn’t make it without the valuable feedback y’all provide.
If I understand correctly, you want a given name to be static and non-customizable but you will allow every other aspect to be customizable?
I think if an author is skilled enough they could pull it off - although I think there will be some alienated if you do this, regardless of said skill.
If I may, why is name customization troubling you?
Wow, i love when authors update that fast! Keep the good job!!! 
And about the name… hmm, i think most people would not like it, since it takes away one step to the imagination and picturing of ones in the game.
But! If you indeed have a skill to pull it off like @Eiwynn said, then no one even will notice it. I mean people create amazing stories with locked gender, and that is way bigger than just a name! And it is just a name! So good luck! 
Aside from what @Fluffy_Buffy just pointed out, it is this thread that had me concerned.
Multiple people are saying that the lack of customizable naming could lead them to not even give a story a try. I am not sure it’s worth it to alienate a bunch of potential readers just because I think set names work better for this particular story.
Random feedback: what sounds better for the name of a quasi-portable device that scrambles audio and visual communications: Blackout Box or Jambox? I went with the former for the chapter just uploaded, but I’m working on the next and saw an early reference that said Jambox and thought that would also sound fairly good.
Blackout Box for me! Sounds way cooler!
As far as the character names go, I dunno- it seems overly dramatic and rash to bypass an entire game over something so trivial as not being able to change a character’s name. How many fantastic RPGs are there out there where you play as a particular, specific person? Tons! Witcher comes to mind immediately.
Having said that, could you just go the Mass Effect route? Everyone is Shepard, but with a different first name.
I think ultimately you should create your game as you envision it. It’s advice I hear all the time in the illustration world- do the work that comes naturally to you, and the fans will come. If the names are really that important, do them your way and make the best product you can. The people who do play it will be more likely to leave positive reviews, and maybe that’ll convince any naysayers who passed it up initially.
My two cents 
I think that is just what I need to hear at this juncture. Insuring appeal is important, but this is the story I have been trying to tell for 12 years (or at least the first part of it). Name thing may just have to be what it is.
New chapter uploaded, see front post for the details. Hope you guys have a great Christmas!
Soo if its not trade secret mind telling what exatly Is cleangene?
Sure! My apologies, I was trying to hint at it in the text for that chapter but it may not have come across. Cleangene is a derogatory term to denote individuals who were altered while still in the womb. It removes hereditary diseases, enhances predispositions toward certain characteristics selected by the parents (making them a ‘custom baby’ of sorts) and is highly, highly illegal.
@hustlertwo @Aleksa100 Sounds like the movie Gattaca.
Yep, although there the pariahs were the non-cleangene people. But it is also not unlike real life. People are starting to select the gender of their children for in-vitro fertilization, and eye color as well. But the legality is pretty thorny, and varies from place to place. Fun to speculate where it may go from here.