PSI: Psychic Student Investigates

Game Development
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Okay I spent 25 minutes working on the magic shop scene. It’s proving tricky though. I’m likely going to need to prune it right down. I’m trying to get the balance between dumping too much information, and not giving enough. Also there may be too many options/choices in there when it’s an optional scene.

I’m also going to need to shift the asking her name portion right to the start of the scene. I initially had it as the last thing asked before Hunter leaves for the first time, and her providing her name being a slight show of trust. However constantly referring to a character as just she and her for the whole scene makes it clumsy.

Then I’m going to type up my vigilante stuff. It’s far more fun. It’s more fun writing for extrovert characters than extreme introverts.

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The shop keeper the mysterious lady there are many words you can use.

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Okay two questions if anyone’s reading this.

  1. I have a character who, by all rights, should be using excessive swearing and some rather gruesome threats. Naturally this doesn’t go because of the censorship on the applestore. Any suggestions? I’m half considering just making the threats so utterly ludricuous, it doesn’t really matter what the character is saying, just that they’re saying it.

  2. I want to have some fun playing with gender. I have a vigilante character, who is in such a disguise that their gender is not obvious. Now, I could just use gender neutral pronouns but I was thinking of allowing the player to pick a gender. The vigilante’s gender is set in stone, it’s just your perception of it that’s not. Now, I know in most choice games this changes that character’s gender and generally signals they’re a romantic option. Would people be overly annoyed if they picked a NPCs gender, flirted with them, only to discover that they were actually of the opposite gender?

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  1. Maybe use either stars or go something like ‘He curses and swears extensively’ to avoid the censorship thing, and then maybe you can just tell how far he goes with his swears. It won’t give the same effect, I know, but this is the only alternative that I can think of right now.

  2. … Kinda. I would be, at least. I think, when people realize that the genders are actually switched, they would go “oh hell no, my character’s not gay/straight!” and it would probably crush the hopes of the players a bit, for those hoping that the character would establish a relationship with the vigilante. It may look like I’m just exaggerating a bit or two, but the annoyance is still there.

My opinions, at least.

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You can use swearing in your game. The apple store doesn’t censor, but it will raise the rating of the game (I believe CoG suggests the rating) which may turn some people away. But if you want to avoid swearing, I think ridiculous taunts or barbs can be great and can reveal character.

I really like the idea of not knowing the gender of the vigilante and possibly getting it wrong. It may annoy some people, but it can be entertaining for most of the readers, and can tell you a lot about the MC by how they react.

46

Oh I can swear, great. I think I’ll keep the swears mild though. Just bloody and otherwise use colourful language to try and get the point across. My English teacher used to claim swearing shows a lack of vocabulary, which I disagree on generally, but this may as well help me polish up my insults and threats.

Or I can do what other sci-fi games do and just use substitute words. And now I’m stuck trying to remember what was used in Shadowrun. Oh drek and frag. Hmm going to start googling on that. Heroes Rise used slang too?

Utterly ridiculous threats does fit the whole larger than life personality of the Vigilante. Since the world is one without superheroes, apart from those in comic books, the crazy person running about in a costume, taking the law into their own hands and tackling criminals is a bit eccentric.

The Vigilante’s identity should be fairly obvious to the player once you meet their alter-ego. They are just the type that will tease you mercilessly if you flirted with them and got their gender wrong, once you figure out who they are. I may add in the option for the main character to remain utterly oblivious to their alter-ego though. Like Lois Lane, and Mary-Jane and most romantic interests with superhero lovers. I think that could be funny.

47

Too much like hard work!

Yet another day is almost done and I’ve not done anything with the game. So much for keeping myself accountable and forcing myself to write. I’m half-tempted to just write a straight run through, the easiest path right through the first scenario, and then type it up and branch it from there. I think I’m currently including too many options and I’m getting distracted by the options.

I’m also having a hard time finding the voice for the villain. The villain’s not fun, they’re dull and boring to write for and I’m having issues regarding how to defeat them. I think I’ve set myself too many limits in that final encounter.

I’m having problems with How does Hunter get into the dollmaker’s workshop. Is it locked and needs to be broken into? Do I give Hunter a door-opening gadget of some description to get around this problem? Or does that feel far too fake. Hunter’s mother is an inventor, and Hunter’s always been intended to have a James Bond/Batman array of gadgets at their disposal.

The alternative is giving Hunter very limited psychic ability that lets them glitch doors into opening.

I could offer a choice I suppose. Gadget or power. Since Hunter’s meant to be investigating things, the ability to break into anything would certainly come in useful. Maybe not telekinesis. It could be a door with an electric lock, since the game is futuristic. I can give Hunter a scale of either being able to glitch some technology, or being able to use gadgets. Maybe. I’m overthinking this.

I remember a roleplay game I was once in where the group spent five hours trying to get through the front door. That was one of the most boring five hours ever. I feel like I’m stuck in that sort of situation.

I suppose Hunter can just pick locks and has no idea how they managed to pick up this ability.

AGH!

Hunter needs to confront the Dollmaker. It is evening. The Dollmaker will be in their shop/workshop/house.

  1. The front door could just be open and Hunter could just walk in the front.
  2. Or Hunter could knock on the door to be admitted.
  3. Hunter could break down the door.
  4. Hunter can pick the lock.
  5. Hunter can magic the lock.
  6. Hunter can use a gadget on the lock.
  7. Hunter can sneak through a window.
  8. The other person inside could let Hunter in.
  9. Maybe the Dollmaker keeps a spare key hidden under the flowerpot/mat/etc.
  10. If it had a keypad entry system then Hunter can easily use postcognition on it to get the combination. Or dust flour etc on the keys and hit some random buttons.
  11. If the Dollmaker is so overconfident they rely on supernatural protections over mundane ones Hunter can just bust through those.

The only two important choices are whether Hunter sneaks in, or whether they take the direct route. The rest is just window dressing. The first leads straight to a confrontation. The second would allow Hunter to snoop around first.

So direct in the front door or sneak around the back door.

See this is why the game isn’t being written. I’m just focussing too much on things like this and all the choices available. And it’s just a door, it’s not even the confrontation with the villain. The greatest, most difficult boss in my first Episode is How to get through the door. AGH!!!

Or I could just do what I did with Julia Caesar and add a huge TODO OPEN DOOR and then skip to the bit after the door is open.

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#Test the door.
Hunter finds the door unlocked and enters, still contemplating his good luck when the trap is sprung.

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@ADNox, you’re brilliant. :slight_smile: Sometimes it’s the simplest of solutions. Although I also think the above agonising of mine shows there’s something fundamentally wrong with my planned finale which I need to fix. That ‘trap’ may just be part of the key to it.

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I’ll trade my brilliance for a character named after me? Being this bright is a curse, anyway; people always look away, or complain that I’m making their eyes water. More oft’ than not, I talk to their elbow instead of their face.

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You want a character called Nox then?

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I’m liking the characters so far.

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Yes, ma’am!

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@trollhunterthethird

Thanks.

@ADNox
Okay! I’ll find someone, probably a one shot villain, or maybe a teacher. I’m thinking Dr Nox.

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Chapter 1 is getting reworked and rewritten. I wasn’t able to write it initially because it had a few very fundamental errors in it which were blocking me.

I’ll just write the direct path through first. I can then add the other three paths once the first one provides a solid backbone. The important path is Hunter goes and deals with everything themselves.

The other three paths, which are Hunter deals with things with outside help, aren’t quite so important.

I’ve reworked the plans for the villain encounter too and reworked the villain’s motivations and their powers.

I had a chapter entitled The Dollmaker but at no point did Chucky like dolls leap off the shelves to attack you. There were no store mannikins with their expressionless faces suddenly jolting towards Hunter. There was no twisting of heads at impossible angles, or dead-eyes that move, or any of the more obvious things that make dolls so creepy. And there was a dire absence of clown dolls. Or puppets of any sort.

And tell me http://ts2.explicit.bing.net/th?id=H.5016960895288445&pid=15.1 isn’t scary?

Ooops no I meant http://livingthecollegelife.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/barbie-chick.jpg

:slight_smile:

So, I’m reworking things, playing up the camp factor a bit more, going over the top with fun scary doll tropes, hopefully things will write easier. I really want to get the first path finished before Friday so I can get something tested.

56

Got the villain encounter written. I need to play up the danger and the campness a bit more but it was far easier to write. I went with the door just being open.

I’ve changed the Dollmaker’s motivations and her target. I’ve cut out a large amount of the optional paths and choices. I’ll work out a way to integrate them back in. Tomorrow I write everything up, string together the scenes I have, and get it all coded.

Friday I finish up what I don’t on Thursday, I run the quicktests, and see if it can be ready for some feedback.

I spent the majority of today working on my other game but at least I got some work done on this.

57

So much for plans. I’ve still an hour left of the day. Instead of working on PSI I did some more work on my other game and for some reason coded up a random name generator. Oh well, maybe I’ll need one one day.

I just need to sit down and get things written and typed up. I suppose I’ll be pushing it right up until midnight tomorrow to get it done in time. I will have something finished and ready to show tomorrow.

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@FairyGodfeather

Well if it makes you feel better, I wanted to do some work on Unnatural today and ended up having an idea about a super hero game set in the UK instead.

Back onto PSI

Just want to add I love the title and I think it really suits the Episodes theme.

PSI: Psychic Student Investigates…The Doll maker!

Rolls right off the tongue.

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@Nocturnal_Stillness

A UK based superhero game would be amazing! I hope you do something more than just have the idea.

And thanks about the title.

60

You should upload Julia Caesar to keep people busy until the demo of this game is done…