Paranormal Preparatory School - BETA CLOSED

At a school for the undead, the barriers between the mortal realm and hell are disintegrating. Can you work with your fellow students to save the world?

Directions for beta-testing:

Email us, beta AT choiceofgames for access.

DO NOT POST ASKING WHAT THE BETA EMAIL ADDRESS IS. The first test to becoming a beta tester is inferring what it is based on how we describe it above.

Do not send DMs/PMs through the forum mail system, Discord, text message, carrier pigeon, or any other method than email.

When you send your EMAIL, include:

  • the game you want to test in the Subject line of the email.
  • your forum-name
  • your real name (first and last). Please indicate if your family/surname comes first as well.
  • Beta testers’ names are listed in the game’s credits, which are accessed with the “About” link you’ll see within the game. If you don’t want to appear in the credits, or you want to be credited under a name other than your real one, please let us know.

Do not email us multiple times about joining a beta. If you don’t email us as soon as we post a beta, you go into a queue. As we post new drafts, we admit more people from the queue. Eventually, we will get to you. Some beta processes last longer than others, and it may take up to a few weeks to reach the front of the queue. When you have been admitted to the beta, we will send you a link, a username, and a password as a reply to your email.

When you have feedback to submit:

  • Return feedback as part of the same email thread where you were admitted. Copying beta@choiceofgames on that email is the best way to make sure your comments are seen as soon as possible.
  • Please send screenshots or copy/pasted quotes whenever you can; it helps us track down whatever observation you’re making. In particular, the author may see things that you don’t, and/or the screenshot may contain more information than you realize.
  • If you’re submitting feedback using the Bug/Submit button in the game, make sure you include your handle/name in the body of the email. The Submit button obscures your email address, and I can’t give you credit for feedback if I don’t know who you are.

A few more notes:

  • You cannot be testing two games at once. Send feedback on one and you can apply to another. If you apply for multiple games at the same time, you will likely be admitted first to whichever game has testing slots open up first, and we won’t be able to admit you to the other one until you send in your comments for that one. (From an admin standpoint, it’s easiest if you don’t apply to more than one game at once – applying to multiple games makes it more likely that we’ll miss admitting you to one of them.)
  • If you’re admitted as a tester but realize you won’t be able to send in feedback for that game, please let us know! You won’t be penalized in any way - we’ll just take you off the list of testers for that game. But if you sign up to test a game and don’t send comments or withdraw, it will affect your chances of being admitted to future betas.
  • There’s no standard length of time for a beta testing period to last, and we usually don’t know exactly how long a game will be in beta when it opens. The best way to know how long a beta will be open is to follow the thread for updates.
  • It’s fine to send multiple feedback emails, but if you have a lot of quick comments, it’s easier to keep track of them if you bundle them into one email.

Tips on How to Give Feedback

I’m looking for “high level” and “low level” feedback. Not mid-level feedback.

Low-level = typos and continuity errors. A continuity error is when a character’s gender flips, or someone comes back from the dead, or you run into a plotline that just doesn’t make sense (because it’s probably a coding error).

For these low-level issues, screenshots are very helpful. If you see a problem, take a screenshot, or copy and paste the text that is in error, and email that.

“High level” feedback has to do with things like plot, pacing, and characters. “Scene A didn’t work for me because x, y, and z,” is useful feedback. “B character was entirely unsympathetic, because u, w, and v,” is also useful feedback.

“Mid-level” feedback describes things like grammar, style, word choice, or the use of commas. As I said above, I do not want mid-level feedback. In particular, DO NOT WRITE TO ME ABOUT COMMAS.

“I had a great time and saw only a few spelling errors,” is not useful feedback. In fact, it’s the sort of thing that results in you not being given access to future betas.

Some examples of useful feedback :

In Choice of the Dragon, you get to choose what type of wings you have: leather or scaled. Someone wrote in and asked about having feathered wings. Great suggestion! Done!

In “The Eagle’s Heir,” someone asked about Eugenie. They said that the romance moved too quickly–because she only appeared in the last third of the game–and wished they could have had an opportunity to meet her earlier. So the authors added an opportunity to meet her and start the romance earlier in the game (in a scene that already existed).

In “Demon Mark: A Russian Saga” several people commented on how the PC’s parents were unsympathetic, so the authors added a choice or two to deepen the relationship with the parents in the first chapter, to help better establish their characters.

Similarly, pointing out a specific choice and saying, “this is who I imagined my character was at this particular moment, and none of these options seemed right for me. I would have liked an option to do X instead,” is also really helpful feedback.

Another useful piece of feedback: if you choose an #option and then the results of that #option don’t make sense. Like, if you thought an #option might test one stat, but it seems to have tested a different one.

34 Likes

New draft, v27014! Changelog:

  • Fixed typos and other errors
  • Ch. 2 - Changed an option ask about the gym when you already know it’s there
  • Ch. 2 - Changed surprise at Lady Rastan’s powers
  • Ch. 4 - Added the Weird Science achievement to a test option to gain the Dark Detector
  • Ch. 4 - Added two interactions to make certain that the MC has met both Val and Fritz by the end of the chapter
  • Ch. 4 - Added a temp variable to take into account how much detail about the visions you gave the students
  • Ch. 6 - Fixed an issue where the Headmaster had regained consciousness too quickly after he’s KO-ed
  • Ch. 6 - Removed Romilly from the forest scenes
  • Ch. 7 - Fixed an inconsistency about where Grace’s body is left
  • Ch. 7 - Fixed an inconsistency about how long the MC has been at the school
  • Ch. 7 - Fixed a variable mix-up where Grace giggles even though she’s dead
  • Ch. 7 - Removed another instance of dead Grace reacting to things
  • Ch. 7 - Added a variable to account for whether you have the silver dust and the necklace
  • Ch. 8 - Fixed inconsistency where the MC reports not seeing anything from the clock tower when they have
  • Ch. 9 - Changed “The hidden door’s right over there.” to “Let’s take the passageway; the other students won’t be able to spot the entrance.”
  • Ch. 9 - Changed a passage referring to a werewolf as “it” to “them”
  • Ch. 9 - Fixed inconsistency regarding Max’s missing eye (wrong variable order)
  • Ch. 10 - Removed an incorrect “Several Days Later” description from a page_break
  • Startup - Changed the description of the achievement Former Rivals to make it less vague
  • Ch. 2 - Switched option about being a prankster to being class president to better fit strategy stat
  • Ch. 3 - Removed Drug Mule achievement from the option where you turn down Michelle
  • Ch. 4 - Made it clearer that pickpocketing Sonia tested stealth
  • Ch. 5 - Added a variable (methead) and conversation for if the Headmaster leaves his office after you knock on his door, which also affects the level of description you later get of the Headmaster
  • Ch. 6 - Made a variable to account for whether Emily, Dmitri, or Camille gives you the information about the Headmaster
  • Ch. 7 - Fixed missed opportunity to gain Blood Donor achievement
  • Ch. 8 - Removed a repeated joke about Lady Rastan coming down on people like a ton of bricks
  • Ch. 9 - Added an element to the final conversation with Max and Sonia, always giving the player the option to achieve Former Rivals
4 Likes

New draft, v27044! Changelog:

  • Choicescript_stats - Simplified the inventory selection to prevent formatting issues
  • Chapter 2/Stats - Fixed an issue where Renault’s relationship stat doesn’t appear
  • Chapter 4 - Fixed an issue to make sure you always meet Will and Romilly/Will’s stat appears
  • Chapter 5 - Fixed an issue that didn’t set Camille as your informant
  • Chapter 6 - Fixed an issue where Michelle refers to your plan of getting information out of the Headmaster when that’s not what you’ve decided to do
  • Chapter 8/9 - Fixed a continuity error where Matron has already given you the device
  • Chapter 9 - Fixed an issue where you kick the beam down even though it’s already fallen
  • Chapter 9 - Fixed an issue where Will dying meant you were automatically placed in a relationship with him
  • Chapter 9 - Added a bit of narration acknowledging (if true) that this is the second time a suit of armor has attacked MC
  • Chapter 1 - Fixed a mistake where being a good liar increased sincerity
  • Chapter 1 - Made sure there was an opportunity to increase spontaneity before it’s tested
  • Chapter 2 - Made the principled choice to stop Sonia and Max fighting
  • Chapter 2 - Added a couple of opportunities to increase your relationship with vampires and werewolves
  • Chapter 3 - Added some more opportunities to increase Sonia’s and Max’s relationship stats
  • Chapter 3 - Added some descriptive text about the werewolf/vampire relationship
  • Chapter 3 - Expanded conversations with Sonia and Max
  • Chapter 3 - Switched greyed-out options to invisible options
  • Chapter 4 - Removed a repeated line about being asked what should be done
  • Chapter 4 - Altered some dialogue around the dark detector to make sure that Matron always instructs you to search for the source of the interference
  • Chapter 5 - Added the opportunity to build a relationship more with Sonia, Max, and Michelle
  • Chapter 8 - Fixed an issue where Grace speaks while unconscious
  • Chapter 9 - You receive information about all the escape routes, whichever you ask about
  • Chapter 9 - Added a section explaining what happens when Michelle uses light to save you from the vampire
3 Likes

New draft, v27206! Changelog:

  • Corrected various spelling and grammar errors
  • CHAPTER 1: Changed the time you arrive at the school to evening
  • CHAPTER 3: Gave the information about Michelle gaining energy from the sun earlier
  • CHAPTER 9: Added a line to address the fact you’ve been attacked by a suit of armour twice in one night
  • ALL: Added chapter and stat headings
  • ALL: Altered test difficulty to allow for more test passes
  • STATS: Some stats and relationships are concealed until they’re addressed in the text
  • STARTUP: Set Vamp and Wolf stats to start at 20
  • CHAPTER 1: Added more opportunities to raise stats in the early stages of the game
  • CHAPTER 2: Added the option to tell Michelle you were just a regular kid at school
  • CHAPTER 2: Added more opportunities to gain stats
  • CHAPTER 3: Added more opportunities to gain stats
  • CHAPTER 3: Added the opportunity to start a romance with Max, Sonia, and Michelle
  • CHAPTER 1: Corrected Vampire and Werewolf stats to start from 20 rather than 50
  • CHAPTER 9: Added relationship achievements at other points when you enter relationships
  • CHAPTERS 3-4: Fleshed out the relationships with other characters and made them matter more
2 Likes

This beta is now closed, and the game is going to copyedit. Thanks to everyone who sent in feedback!

1 Like