Based on what I’ve learnt so far I’ll probably make my first installment mostly self-contained plot-wise, the main just of the story line concluded but leave a reasonably open ending paving a path for a more epic storyline to branch off and develop in the last two installments of the trilogy, the plot being somewhat either influenced or triggered by the conclusion of the original semi-self contained plot of the first installment…
I think non-canon material might make some readers angry or annoyed if you go on to develop a series… DLCs/side stories would make an interesting extra project as well…
Non-canon endings only really work if the games weren’t actually meant to be closely linked in the first place. Like Deus Ex games. Just don’t try to do what Bethesda did in Morrowind to explain Daggerfall’s ending. I mean, it was a cool concept, but then Bethesda became so lazy with Oblivion that they basically just completely tossed it.
You idea seems good though. Make a self contained first game to get people interested, then make two more sequels that are more closely linked… Like the Matrix… er… bad example. But the Matrix, but better.
@Shoelip
I don’t think trilogies are silly; I personally like them because they provide a very well defined storyline with each volume: beginning, middle and end.
@Harian
You don’t necessarily HAVE to make the first two volumes linear. You could make the journey itself subject to a lot of change, but make the endings for volumes 1 and 2 set just to keep things on track.
@Samuel_H_Young, is that your plan? To write every volume of your series as having a definitive ending?
@Harian, yeah you might have a point about non canon endings angering some readers. After all, maybe they will like the non canon ending better and think, “This is rubbish! I don’t like the author’s chosen end point. I want to launch off from this one instead!”
With CCH, I really wanted to have a couple events where the player/reader could affect the outcome (including whether or not one NPC dies) but without using non canon endings I’m lost about how to go about doing that without negating the choice in the first place (ie in part 2 it says “ha, you thought he was killed in part 1, but surprise!”)
I had a question about saving/keeping stats from the original game to sequels, so I thought I’d revive this thread.
Um…so how do you do it? I’ve searched threads for 30 minutes and I can’t figure it out. I know that you can use gamecenter for iPhone/iPad to save and keep stats, but what about folks using Android, browers, Kindle Fire, etc? How do they save their stats so that they are available for the next installment?
@HornHeadFan
It’s done on Choice of Games’ end. When a sequel comes out, you can save your first game’s variables using a password, and then access it in the sequel by typing in the password. This has been done in Vampire 2, Way Walkers and Heroes Rise.
@HornHeadMan
As the author, you would have to give the reader a choice of whether or not he/she wants to have a recap of the previous volume, or just dive right into it. Aside from that, all the mechanics and complicated stuff is dealt with by CoG.
It means you can’t save your stats for volume 1 until volume 2 comes out, at which time you’d have to play volume 1 again to have it carry over into volume 2.
One last question and I will leave you alone tonight. Does everything you explained also variables as well as stats? So if “character x” dies in volume 1, then “character x” would still be dead in volume 2.
A couple of years ago, I was such a big fan of Sam Landsrom’s Wizard’s Choice that I thought that his formula of short volumes (45-55 k words) was the best. Now, I am not sure. But I will definitely stay away from Tin Star. Its sheer size just scares me. I also like games that don’t branch too much but it is just me.
From a reader’s perspective, I would be much more inclined to buy volume one and then decide if I want to go on than get the whole thing at once.
@MayDay, I considered a series of shorter releases with my WiP, calling them “issues” since its a comic book theme but most everyone wants a full story including resolution in each release, and my story wouldn’t allow for that.
Also, I think people are spoiled by the length of most HGs and CoGs and would view 50k words as too short.
In the battle against “This is too short” reviews I honestly think the best tactic is to look at your game from a single playthrough for a good judge of length.
Unnatural is the first in a series and it over 240k words long overall. However a single playthrough can be between 40k to 50k (averaged it out).
This isn’t really on topic but as you are talking about length I am curious: when you allow people to choose the gender of their MCs or of some NPCs, are the “he”/“she” (and the “him”/her") counted as a single word each time?
It is a single word :). When coded, it looks something like this - ${he}. When the reader chooses their gender, you have to set the variable. For example, if they choose to be a girl, you write the following command:
yes; you would carry on to volume 2 exactly as if it was just another chapter of volume 1.