Content doesn’t have to be “equal” in terms of word count, but it should at least be roughly equivalent in terms of narrative payoff. So long as the player doesn’t feel cheated in picking one option over another (unless that was your explicit intention), then you’re probably doing okay.
18 Likes
Not every single one. But if someone’s locked into one specific path, and it’s a significant one, then I’d say it should be about the same. There’s a big difference between “which of the 3 activities did you do” and “which of these ROs are you permanently choosing for the rest of the game”
9 Likes
I personally prefer a more ambiguous/not important age. That way I can play however I want. But if I have to choose, I go for late teens to about 30. I know that’s a long period of time, but they all line up into the “young adult” category
9 Likes
In my Halloween Jam entry, originally the protagonist was always thirty (I wanted a more experienced protagonist), but it is now a choice between twenty, twenty-five or thirty.
7 Likes
OK, I’ve just wrote this scene, which occurs before one of the three boss battles in the third chapter of Lily Adventuresses! Episode 3. I might need a critique for possibly offensive language which is mostly dished out by the villain (Emerson), since I poured out my true feelings about the flood control project controversy in my country, which influences one of the subplots in this game.
The pre-boss battle scene in question.
[Matimtiman Tor Ruins, Great Chamber]
Upon stepping into the Great Chamber, the party witnesses a man wearing badass-looking armor and wielding a gold-plated golf club defeating a giant robot enemy and picking up battle loot.
???:
Happiness is hitting a 350-yard draw right to the middle of the fairway at the break of dawn…
And THIS… is my second definition of happiness.
Rosella:
A nepo baby kill-stealing this ruin’s guardian using the best weapons and armor money can buy.
???:
(Facing the party)
What do you really mean, dwarf girl and her lackeys?
I earned this hard-fought victory as an Explorer!
Rosella:
Don’t me.
We more experienced Explorers can defeat the likes of you who just paid their way up to the top using the funds embezzled from their fathers that were supposed to improve this continent’s flood control infrastructures.
???:
It’s OK, sis. We all know you want attention.
And may the putrid and festering souls of those pesky dwarves burn in the eternal fires of the demon lord’s hell for the multitudes they slaughtered in cold blood.
All debts are paid in hell.
Please assuage the grief of all the families from their losses.
Rosella:
Not really sure how anyone can spew that crap without his cojones shrinking in cringe-shame by the second.
You really believe you’re tough stuff, guy?
???:
Those dwarves are minuscule compared to us humans!
They’re just… eyesores!
And I, Emerson Luc Tibobbyva, son of the late great Mej Domingo Tibobbyva and the only heir to the illustrious House Tibobbyva, will ensure their eternal condemnation.
Rosella:
Wow, you really brought out your true racist colors, Dummkopf.
If you put together all your statements about the government your clan once dared to take over, as well as your remarks towards us dwarves, you thought you would be a spoony bard inside the hurricane of politicians.
And “eternal condemnation”?
It’s more like YOU should stop reproducing so you won’t be having “that” problem.
But that’s really none of my business.
Emerson:
An early twenty-something pseudo-intellectual edgelord and supposed counterculturist who “roasts” those “poor souls” like me who dare enter your mentions. Yawn.
Rosella:
Joke’s on you! I’m actually 21 years old!
Call me whatever you want; it doesn’t hurt me anyway.
After all, I have nothing to be angry about since I know I’m siding with the right people, so… nice try.
Emerson:
And YOU’RE on the wrong side of history!
What’s wrong with us, House Tibobbyva, making Gegemoftwag great again by eliminating all that is unclean by our standards?
Rosella:
Your rants about us dwarves and the government in general are the spectacle of a person who probably thinks sarcasm is a form of public service.
Is your life funded by daily doses of drama, or do you just get a kick out of?
Hey, are you still talking? I can’t understand you because I’m currently in a coma.
Emerson:
Ah, so you’re still a 21-year-old edgelord and supposed counterculturist by being pro-dwarf and anti-House Tibobbyva. Gotcha.
Rosella:
Pfft! You’re just repeating your insults. Nothing new to say?
And it’s so funny you call me an edgelord when I’m never one, but OK.
You do you, I guess.
Emerson:
You pro-dwarf nincompoops are all the same.
They don’t need to be added.
Zinnia:
(W-We’re just helping this girl achieve justice!)
Azalea:
(Government funds must be properly allotted, plain and simple!)
Jaeanne:
(Beyond that smug face and a seemingly menacing aura…
…lies a desperate man wrapped up in sadness.
I wonder if I’m no better than him?)
Rosella:
Ah, really~
You corrupt politicians and your nepo babies are all the same.
Your presence is the kind of chaos that makes tornadoes seem like mild breezes.
Honestly, it’s a wonder you haven’t spontaneously combusted from the heat of all that shade you’re throwing.
But hey, at least you’re giving this dwarven girl the attention she so desperately needs!
Stay serving those burns like they’re your daily bread.
It’s pathetic, really.
You are just a troll, frothing at the mouth!
Emerson:
…
…
…
HAK HAK HAK HAK HAK HAK!
Now I’m gonna give you all a first-class trial… followed by a first-class butt-whoopin’.
And as for you, bratty dwarven girl…
You DEFINITELY need correction.
8 Likes
Make 'em even older. 70 or bust, baby.
For real, though, I’m always hungry for games with an older protagonist. Feels like there’s still a lot of unclaimed space in this creative niche.
10 Likes
The One Where Greg Refuses to Eat Cereal
I hope I’m not too old to be posting a Friends reference. lol
Budget F.R.I.E.N.D.S.
You walk over to the counter and pick up the remote. The weather guy is still talking about a low-pressure system moving in from the east. You point the remote at the television and press a button.
The image cuts to a popular sitcom. A group of friends crowd around a coffee table inside a café in New York. The laughter track kicks in right as a man in a button-down shirt sighs.
"Okay, I'm just saying, if the milk's expired, it's not [i]yogurt[/i] now. It's still expired milk!"
A blonde woman rolls her eyes, leaning over the table. "You say that like you've never had to improvise breakfast before. Some of us don't have trust funds, Greg."
"I don’t have a trust fund!"
"You literally have a butler," a man with glasses interjects.
"He's a [i]caretaker[/i]!" The audience howls with laughter.
A brunette friend adds, "You two always fight like you're married. Just get a room already."
"Oh, please, Jessica. If I ever married Greg, I'd put rat poison in his cereal just for the thrill of it."
"Well, joke's on you. I don't eat cereal."
The laughter track plays too loudly in the empty lobby. You watch them bicker for a moment, the canned laughter grating against your headache.
11 Likes
Just my opinion, but I don’t see anything wrong with the excerpt. Looks good to me. Honestly, the dynamic between Rosella and Emerson, and why they have so much vitriol toward each other, completely ate up the scene, drawing more of my attention than any profanity (or, in this case, the lack of it).
My first experience playing a protagonist who was explicitly not a teenager or in their 20s was in Fallen Hero, where you’re 33 when the game starts, though in flashbacks you’re already “old” at 27 compared to other games. It was refreshing. Although it felt a bit strange playing an older character than me at 19, and then playing the game again when I was almost the same age as the protagonist in the flashbacks.
12 Likes
I prefer writing mid-thirties characters myself. As far as reading goes, I only wish the game isn’t treating them like they’re ready to keel over and die…
14 Likes
I started playing COG/HG IFs back in 2014/2015, and looking back at it and comparing my current self to my younger self, I now prefer playing older protagonists. It’s the way I can immediately relate to whatever issues or dilemmas they have going on that brings me in. I find playing teens (or younger) quite difficult now, as I’ve outgrown that stage in my life. But that’s not to say that I can no longer enjoy Star Crystal Warriors Go!, Sixth Grade Detective, or Psy High. It’s just that I like 'em old now lmao. I think I’d even want to play as a grandpa/grandma in an IF, if someone were to write one.
10 Likes
I am putting WAY too much effort into a gender-locked romance with a prickly character who a lot of playtesters have been killing at the earliest possible opportunity lol. But also, I don’t care, I like the angry dragon knight lady and I’m gonna keep writing her.
14 Likes
I need to work on being more consistent haha. I’ll go through a period where I write 10k words in 3 days, then not write for a week, and cycle that back and forth 
10 Likes
My strategy is to think about writing the story for six months and then think about writing the story for another six months.
13 Likes
Alright so, gotta check since I was browsing through some advice threads and the choice vs fake_choice thing came up. Is using fake_choice for literally all the game choices fine or will it break something eventually? Just checking cause it hasn’t broken anything while I was testing on cogdemos yet, but I do want to future-proof any problems early.
6 Likes
I think fake choice used to be more limited in the very early days of choicescript, but now, there’s probably no reason not to use it everywhere, as it can handle pretty much all the commands the choice command can handle while still retaining the benefit of not needing a goto statement.
That said, I still use the regular choice command if I want every choice to goto separate labels, just as a way for me to make sure that I’ve coded things right when running QT and RT.
8 Likes
That’s very good to know, thank you!
4 Likes
If you are using fake choice for literally everything, you may want to consider setting *implicit_control_flow to true, as this allows regular choices (and if statements) to fall through in the same way (i.e. you don’t have to specify goto etc). However, changing your mind after committing to doing this would be…. Problematic…. 
I prefer this method personally, but it does feel a bit like operating without a safety net.
8 Likes
I hate to say this but, I’m losing interests to build up stories each and every day because of so many problems I’m having at the moment
how do you guys cope with these kind of situations? I can’t reach my creative side while under pressure
8 Likes
I’m sorry to hear you’re having a hard time. When life gets in the way, I try to remember that I’m not here to write for others’ enjoyment; I primarily write for myself. You should always choose yourself and your well-being, especially if you’re writing as a hobby. If you’re not in the right headspace or mood to write creatively, I’d advise taking a step back and letting yourself breathe. Do something that you know you’ll enjoy. Eat something good. Take your mind off the problem, even if for just a bit.
The last thing you’d want is to be forced to write something you don’t enjoy or to think that writing is such a chore. You can always return to writing whenever you’re ready.
14 Likes
We’re announcing today.
The trailer’s already dropped.
24 Likes