Sense & Sorcery (WIP, Working Title, Gender Locked Female)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
64

So bad news: Update is further delayed . . . I’m going to estimate sometime in October now, but I’m not 100% sure. Reason is less time to work on the project due to a slew of medical appointments I had to take a family member to and increased hours at work, amongst other things. While chapter 5 continues to come along as well as the randomization of NPCs, I really haven’t had time to work on chapter 4 like I’d planned, other than a really tiny scene, and chapter 6 random NPC introduction remains to be implemented. For those that are looking forward to the update, I apologize for the delay.

I also have had no time to work on Senseless or any other linear stories, so those are all where they were before. Senseless technically has the next couple pages scripted and some half drawn pages, but nowhere near ready to get added yet, and I think I might wait on it a bit so I can hopefully concentrate on Sense & Sorcery and my other presented project Dice & Dungeon Masters. Really wish I’d have more time, energy, and peace of mind to work on these, as I have a lot of exciting things planned for these projects and others that I really, really want to reach, some of which, like Lives of the Star Child others have been waiting for updates on for a long time.

Anyway, in addition to the information on the delay of the update, I did want to run a brief poll on how often people would like updates and how much content these updates should have. In general, I usually have gone with doing fewer updates with more content, for the reason that when I update a chapter, it pushes the player back to the start of the chapter and creates instability with variables and generally increases chaos. However, this also means that you and I see less progress on the project, with long fallow periods in between updates. Some sections - like combat - will necessitate a larger update that will take longer, but other sections - like expanding romance for NPCs - might be done with a large amount of small updates, though this again creates the problems stated earlier. Thus, may be section dependent at times, however . . .

So what would you prefer, more updates with less content or fewer updates with more content?

  • Fewer updates with more content
  • More updates with less content
0 voters
4 Likes
65

As with my other game, this poll seems conclusive, and I thank everyone that voted. I’ll try to bare this in mind while making progress going forward.
Update is still coming along, but not there yet. There are a lot of different paths for chapter 5 content. Just finished one of them and the others have some progress but aren’t done yet. I’ll post again when the update is ready.

2 Likes
66

Good News: There is an update

Bad News: Update doesn’t have and do everything I wanted

So, what is in this update? A large addition to chapter 5 and a moderate addition to chapter 6 and a tiny update to chapter 4.

For chapter 5, you will only notice the content change if you go on the adventure to bring the medicine to your grandmother’s house in the forest. You can travel either by yourself or with your sister Glea - if you bring Glea along there are some instances where you will have a more positive outcome but there are plenty of instances where things can go badly for poor Glea. There are a number of new NPCs that you will run into, little tiny challenges, and a pretty big expansion to the Sense & Sorcery universe. Sadly, I could not press on all the way - the chapter is incomplete, though you actually can reach your grandmother’s house, where the chapter ends prematurely.

Foir chapter 6, there is now a brief section where the prot along with her eldest sisters are introduced to society … yeah, I’ll admit it’s a bit of a Bridgerton borrow plot wise, but seems a powerful trope that fits well, and I gave it a good S&S spin. This chapter is by no means finished - there is far to much text with to few decision points, which violates my own personal rule of at least one choice every other page, but the skeleton of the chapter is present and even fleshed out a bit. In this chapter you can not only see some of the random NPCs, but you can also meet several more romantic options, rivals, and also, and I feel most importantly, be introduced to one of the two main villains of this story. Now, which villain you get will depend on what choices you have made, and while I had the first villainess in mind since the beginning, the second one was sitting in plain sight the whole time and I only figured it out recently. Kind of excited for whats to come - but honestly, in this chapter, you might not even know for sure that, yes, that is one of the villians. Which is probably as it should be. Now, while these two are the two big baddies storywise, they are hardly the only villains or conflict points in this game - lots more planned. Oh, and I should note to that you also get to finally encounter not only the Duke and his two sisters and his aunt, but you also finally get to meet Wanderflame from the earlier chapter from our prots mysterious past. I will spoil that neither of those are the major villains.

Now that is the good - here’s the bad: Chapter 4 did not get completed in any way, shape, or form. Its hardly been improved at all. Which is personally disappointing, as this was one of my main goals on this update. Also, and probably even more importantly, I did not get to add in all the variables I wanted to. I am slowly going to migrate over variable comments from start up to my new variable declaration file - which is probably good programming methodology but not my thing really. This will free up memory, which will then allow me to see just how many random NPCs, additional NPCs, location vars, and other reserve vars I can add in. For a while there the file was to large to load to dashingdon - now it fits, after some surgery, but more surgery to be done.

Now, the next few months are probably going to be rough and busy for me - a ton of medical appointments for a family member, regrettably increased hours at work, and then Nano Wri Month begins as well . . . so it’s probably going to be a fairly long time before the next update. When I do, I view the goals as such:
-Focus on romance and combat as far as updates.
-Try to finally get chapter 4 done.
-Try to finish up chapter 5 (rest of grandmother path and rogue path, and the matter with Ms. Faust)
-Finish surgery on startup moving things to var dec and then place necessary vars for NPCs, locations, and suitable reserve vars.
-Tidy up Chapter 6 and fill in some more of the skeleton.
-If I get all of the above done, Chapter 7 and 8 are waiting, as well as things like a better clothing and
inventory system, non-combat magic, and more … . but this already tons to work on.

I also want to and plan to get at least one more linear Sense & Sorcery story wrapped up and posted in the next few months and expand Senseless some more.

As always, thanks for playing, and my apologies on this being a kind of longish post.

5 Likes
67

In the beginning the main character gets a wound on her head. Will this leave a scar? I dont really like scars. :frowning:

68

HarleyQueen thank you for your interest in the game and the question. Short answer, yes, this does cause a scar. I think most of us have a similar initial reaction to scars, so I appreciate your feelings on the matter.

Longer answer, and I guess for everyone, is that I shall probably add to my list of tasks for the game to add more content warnings. I’m thinking a bigger, more descriptive warning in the beginning and then at the front of each chapter, probably in the safe save sections between chapters content/trigger warnings for each chapter.

In brief, though, for those wondering what content/trigger warnings this game has, a few clarifiers.

As this is a mix of Sword & Sorcery and Regency, you can pretty much expect some of the more edgy content from both genres, with the exception that this is intended to be clean regency and also, for that matter, clean Sword & Sorcery so that it is all Safe for Work - however, as said, a lot of the content is designed to be edgy. Regency often has examples of unhealthy, toxic relationships, social manipulation, class stigmatization, gambling, sometimes violence, war, and death. Sword & Sorcery, for those less familiar with it, you can basically think of it as a mix of Dark Fantasy and Lovecraft, at least in terms of trigger warnings, so while this list is probably not complete, I think you might expect content/trigger warnings for much of S&S to include abusive relationships, alcohol and drug abuse, bodily mutilation, cannibalism, dark magic, enslavement, fantasy religions often of a dark tone, human and animal sacrifice, over objectification and sexualization of really any gender, supernatural elements and supernatural possession, violence, and probably other dark elements that I am forgetting right now - not that you will encounter all of these elements every scene, but in general I’d probably rate the game an edgy PG-13 and I wouldn’t advise it for anyone with high sensitivities to any of those trigger warnings.

3 Likes
69

Thank you. I will still play your game. I myself have a scar on my head too and it hits close to home. :frowning:

1 Like
70

Okay, so I rarely comment on a post or a WIP, but I’ve been replaying this game since I really looking forward to this project and I’m just going to give a short feedback since I’m not professional.

I must say, I really like the writing style and the setting. Really enjoyed the story and the “romance”? I quoted that because I don’t know what exactly we are doing with the Thrall, aka Mr.Northwood. Overall, I like the cast so far. But I must say, do we really need all of those stats? We have quite a lot of stats, and I would say it’s going to be hell to code or write it, so I’m suggesting that you just use the overall stats and don’t use specific stats, especially for talents, skills, or the Mundane skill, I believe.

Other than that, I don’t know if it’s just me, but the save is still bugged. I still have to wait for quite a time just to load a save, but I think it has to do with the coding.

I am really looking forward to this WIP and I hope you are doing well! Good luck, and I will watch this work with great interest~! Fight on Author!

1 Like
71

Gnexia thanks for your interest in the game and the thoughtful review! Yeah, I feel like the setting has so many possibilities . . . more than my game is ever going to fully capture, but hopefully I do it justice. Romance is something that needs to be worked on and will be - in fact, and this is pretty much for everyone - expect a Romance poll upcoming sometime soon to gauge which RO players want most. As for stats and variables . . . well, yeah. Game bloat is definitely a thing, though time will tell how many of the vars are necessary or not. Ironically, probably clothing and inventory is the part of the game that requires the most varialbes, but unless there is a change in the programing language ChocieScript itself where it would allow arrays/matrixes/vectors or/and object orientated programming, that section is going to require a ton of variables. The personality vars can be a challenge using to their full potential, but those I feel are pretty married into the project at this point. As for the skills and subskills and spells, etc. . . . that we shall see. I am hoping for and anticipating writing several fairly large sandbox sections were the prot can basically go live her regency-sorcerous lifestyle, which will hopefully finally use these vars. But that is a few updates away most likely.

The save system is a problem and unfortunately beyond my control as it uses a plug-in created and maintained by someone else. I’ve found that even for my shorter projects it seems to have a delay. Not really sure why. At some point I’ll try to look into it more, but for now thats where I’m at knowledge wise on the saves.

Thank you so much for the interest; I am also really excited for this project and have loved seeing it coming along. The fight shall continue!

As mentioned, I am anticipating posting a romance poll to see which NPC romance paths everyone wants me to most concentrate on, though my hope is to get at least a little expansion for all romanecable NPCs, which will be most NPCs other than family of course and a few minor characters. For a variety of reasons I am currently behind on pretty much all projects (due to a combination of a family member having increasing medical and care needs and then Nanowri mo monopolizing my time) . . . my current writing/coding goals are the following:
-Finishing a minor update for my other project Dice & Dungeon Masters.
-Writing at least one short story for the linear fiction section of this game.
-Posting a tiny update for Senseless
-Getting the next update for this game going.

So to be honest, its going to be a while. Thank you to everyone for hanging in there.

2 Likes
72

Romance Focus Poll

The following is a poll to help direct me on which NPC-Protagonist relationships you would most like for me to add content for. My goal will be to add at least a little bit for every character, but I will probably make the core focus for the next update the characters that receive the most votes.

To remind players about what NPC romanceable characters I have planned, it will be necessary to have some spoilers – don’t really feel there’s a proper way to discuss this without spoilers, but I will try to keep the spoilers to a minimum, and most likely fail in the most scandalous manner possible. Also, a reminder that nothing is set in stone for characters as we are still in alpha land even after all this time.

spoilers

Obviously, no family members will be romanceable; I really need to build a family tree so I can visualize some of the relationships better. It has been pointed out to me and I agree that the uncle and aunt characters are ambiguous as far as who is a blood relative or not – once its clarified as far as who is NOT a blood relative, that character might hypothetically be added as a strangely romanceable NPC, but at present they will not be part of the pole.

Characters are more or less presented in the order you might meet them, though there are many paths so this shall oft vary. Some minor characters haven’t been included in this poll, such as the monks in the temple in the mist lands, but they might be added at a later point, especially if there is an interest in them becoming larger characters plot wise.

Gleheir: A fey spy that is following at least one of the family members. Due to the magic of the sigil, the prot is one of the few that can occasionally see and sense the fey spy, though what he and his comrade are about is oft a mystery. A strong proponent of twilight tea, he is known to creep about tower rooms near that elixir. Can the prot help this fey find a way to home and happiness or will she fall victim to his weird ways and the trickery of the fey?

Iethrain: Another fey spy on the same mission as Gleheir, she is bored with the mysterious mission and desires a distraction. Might the prot be just that distraction? Should she be?

Diana: Ravana’s favorite thrall, she is outstanding in most thing she does and one of the few that can make Ravana smile and even laugh over much. However, there is a touch of mystery and danger in her past – ought the prot delve into her secrets, and if she does, is there truly no promise that some secrets ought never be known?

Zaz: For those prots brave enough to delve into Morgan’s closet, there is a dangerous dance waiting with a woodland king. Morgan herself walks a thin line between power and doom; can the prot brave this to, or will she fall one more victim to his fell dance?

Cousin Mordred: He is a lot of things; kind of boring and droll at times, simple minded perhaps in his ways, and intent on securing a bride from amongst his charming cousins . . . at least on the face of it. Yet, despite his inability to cast even the simplest spells with any skill, there is a chilling magic about his person and voices that echo from his room when he is all alone there. Is he really the bumbling cousin most suspect him to be, or is there more to his quest for a bride, and ought the prot even try to discover the truth and horror behind it all?

Wanderflame: Ah, yes, the mysterious friend from the prots past. Scion to a powerful tower that whispers quiet and loud both proclaim to have been demon worshippers that got what they ought, regardless of Wanderflame’s gender, they are a powerful presence. Enchanting and mesmerizing to near all and wrapped in an aura of wealth and power, has Wanderflame somehow already started to secure your eldest sister’s love, despite her denials the evidence is all there . . . or is there something greater and more terrible at work here than the mind of any sorceress or outer world spirit can ever imagine?

Lady Whiserie: A close friend and confidant, with one of four selectable personalities, she is a cursed woman facing off against powerful magic; though she has always run, might a close friend indeed and perhaps a hint of something more make her stay, just this once, and forever? Yet, if she dares, will the prot be able to save her from the curse and the caster? Or is all love and friendship doomed before it even truly begins?

Lord Whiserie: Brother to the prots close friend and a handsome soldier, has faced danger before, but perhaps never a danger as great as love itself? Is the prot the woman to hold his heart in her hand, or is she just one more silly woman set to try to derail him from his noble path to save England?

Mr Northwood: It is a law unspoken that no sorceress ought to feel anything save command over a thrall, yet this saucy thrall may know a thing or two more about the world and love than the prot kind ever dream; if that is truly so, is his mad flirting mere silly dalliance, or is there something burning deep beneath the whispers between their hearts?

Ms Faust: A simpleton thrall perhaps, at least that is how it appears. The prot’s old nurses daughter, there is something often in her eyes and an anger in her walk. Is she truly your thrall as has been proclaimed, or does she perhaps see things very differently? And if she does, is there any chance for friendship and even love, or is all that lies in wait the mad rush of blood being spilled?

Quentin Tempest: A leader of rouges, the prot may very well keep running into him and his comrades. Though missing an eye, he is witty and charming with a mesmerizing wickedness in his heart he may have, yet many a lady might be ensnared in his arms if they are not careful. It is a grave risk . . . yet, is he only a mere rogue, or is there perhaps something beating in his heart that the prot might find?

Grand McAllars: A scarred rogue in perhaps more ways than one, and a philosopher of no note besides, he likes nothing better than to send a woman into a fury; though might the prot be the one fury he himself will ultimately succumb to?

William Wilden: A rogue with a broken nose, he seems wild and crazed, yet might sanity and something be restored with beauties grace?

Reginald “Glib” Clarion: Quiet and withdrawn, he is still a rogue, though he seems a bit pampered and odd, yet might there be a noble heart and the promise of power buried behind his silent whispers and sighs?

Gary Wetheron: One of the most beautiful men the prot might see, this rogue lives like he is always leaping towards death itself, yet might the prot end up being the one thing he might pause to live for?

Monique Lafayne: The only woman accompanying the band of rogues so far, there is a slyness about her manner and a danger perhaps to more than just ones purse, yet might the prot come to love that which is most forbidden above all else as an English woman?

Miss Anneth Grangling: A ‘friend’ of Mr. Northwood, she knows more than her polite, calm ways would hint, but if the prot risks discovering more, might she be entrapped in a power struggle that could ultimietly topple towers?

Miss Silver: Supposed sister to miss Grangling, she knows more about towerly ways than she ought. Should the prot risk discovering more, though a wounded heart is likely not the only thing she might end up with then?

werebeing 1: At least two werebeings haunt the forests near the prots home, and though their species might vary depending upon the spirits choice, their hearts do not. Good, evil? Feral, passive? Strange concepts for the wild that lurks in a heart, and if the prot survives and doesn’t fall victim to an animal hunger, what is to keep her safe from even greater dangers? MORALY AMBIGOUS, INDEPENDENT WEREBEING WITH SPARKS OF GOOD SOMEWHERE WITHIN.

Werebing 2: Good, evil – aye, evil indeed lurks in the woodland. Yet, even strange bonds might be broken for the flash of love in a woman’s eyes, and if the prot isn’t to be one more victim to a rising power, than might she be just the thing this lycanthrope most needs? AFTER A BIT OPENLY EVIL, PERHAPS, YET THERE MIGHT BE MORE.

Duke Harold Drearing: A powerful duke with one of two personalities and an outerward appearance dictated by the realm he rules, the prot is far beneath his station – yet, if she wishes to truly to succeed in her season, what better target than a Sorcerer-Duke?

Meredith Drearing: One of the Duke’s sisters with one of two possible personalities and a varying outward appearance, she seems to hiss trouble with her every breath; but if the prot is brave enough to risk her shadow, might she find true happiness and more?

Thera Drearing: The Duke’s youngest and most sickly sister, Thera clings to life and is haunted by visions of great and terrible things – and by visions of the prot. Yet, is there more to these visions and Thera herself? Might love be just the cure to save her, or is it even wise to save her and risk the visions all coming true?

Fantasia Drearing: The Duke’s advisor, she may just take a very intense interest in who pairs off around her, and perhaps she may become particularly interested in the prot herself?

close friend’s handsome walker: Mesmerising and more than a mere man, he can instantly entrap a woman’s heart with a mere look, yet might the mission he is on require the help of a sorceress? However, if the prot or her close friend agree to help him, might they fall one more victim to the magic that walks with him always?

Sarah Swein: She is a lot of things; prim, proper, nearly perfect, and perfectly bold. If a prot pays enough attention, might she see that sweet Sarah Swein is anything but the pristine avatar of decorum she might seem, and is it possible that any that become entrapped in her ways will find themselves at risk for an ending of all society itself?

Random NPCs: These are going to take the longest to make and maintain, but they obviously have the most potential. Gonna try to get some progress on them regardless, but selecting them will increase my efforts thereon.

end spoilers

So which NPCs would you most like to see expanded and made more romancaeble?
(Pick 3)

  • Gleheir (fey man)
  • Iethrain (fey woman)
  • Diana (Ravana’s thrall)
  • Zaz (Satyr in Morgan’s Closet World)
  • Cousin Mordred (Bumbling Sorcerer w/a secret)
  • Wanderflame (Mysterious figure from prots past)
  • Lady Whiserie (close friend)
  • Lord Whiserie (close friend’s soldier brother)
  • Mr Northwood (rude thrall)
  • Ms Faust (prot’s strange thrall)
  • Quentin Tempest (rogue 1)
  • Grand McAllars (rogue 2)
  • William Wilden (rogue 3)
  • Reginald “Glib” Clarion (rogue 4)
  • Gary Wetheron (rogue 5)
  • Monique Lafayne (rogue 6)
  • Miss Anneth Grangling (dabbler)
  • Miss Silver (dabbler)
  • Werebeing 1
  • Werebeing 2
  • Duke Harold Drearing
  • Meredith Drearing (Duke’s eldest sister)
  • Thera Drearing (Duke’s youngest sister)
  • Fantasia Drearing (Duke’s advisor and Aunt)
  • close friend’s handsome walker (Incubus)
  • Sarah Swein (Thief!)
  • Random NPCs (Anything really; hard to write/code)
  • Some Other NPC (List in Comments)
0 voters

Also, and lastly, reminder will be a bit before the updates are underway. Before this I have lined up:
-At least one more update to my other project Dice & Dungeon Masters.
-A linear short story for this game.
-An update to Senseless the webcomic
-Might possibly post about my other project I made during Nanowri mo.

And then, once that’s all done, the romance and NPC expansion update will fiiiinally be underway.

1 Like
73

Romance Poll is now concluded with the following percentage values.

I will do my best to keep that in mind and focus on those in a proportional amount romance and npc route expansion wise while working on the coming update. Thank you to all who voted! As mentioned previously, will be a while before the next update. See prior post for what projects are likely ahead of that update. Rough ETA sometime in the spring of '24, but seems usually my ETAs are overly optimistic.

2 Likes
74

This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. If you want to reopen your WiP, contact the moderators.

76

Hello all . . . bad news is I am a few months behind, good news is work for Sense & Sorcery update is now being worked on again (both on linear fiction section, webcomic Senseless, and the planned romance focused update). Will be a while before any of these are added and posted, but figured I’d let you guys know the game lives on and just my progress is slower than I had hoped due to real life stuff and some of my other games (i.e. Dice & Dungeon Masters and Super Sorority) stealing some of my time. Really excited to get the game underway again!

Not 100% sure but might do some additional polls at some point in hopes of keeping the thread lively while we all wait (myself included!) to get this update going and done.

8 Likes
77

Looking forward to the future update! Hope it will be soon enough~
Also for the new game, Super Sorority I can’t wait to try it out!

3 Likes
78

Thank you Gnexia - I really appreciate it. Hoping to formally present Super Sorority to the forum at some point soon too, though there are a few finishing touches it needs before I’ll consider the demo ready.

4 Likes
79

While we are all still waiting for the upcoming romance update to be completed (myself included!), I have just added in another short linear story for those that are interested. Please be warned that this piece, A Scandal of Sorcery is meant to be mostly comedic, I am aware that some parts may be offensive or troubling for some readers. Please only read it if you feel that doing so will not be troubling. Trigger warnings have been added to the start of it.

Update is still forthcoming, but as I have been sick and have some stretches at work lately that are a bit longer than usual, it shall be a while yet. Not sure, but I may release another short story sometime in the intermidary time frame, and I’d still like to add art to the the one just released today, as well as have an update to the webcomic. All hopefully in due time!

6 Likes
80

Update is coming along, but much more to do . . . however as I have been working on the update, and in particular the introduction to society chapter as a lot of the new content will be there, a matter of concern has arisen that I wish to run a poll regarding.

The question is regarding introductions - while I am no historian and its been a while since I have read a regency history book, my understanding is that in proper regency etiquette two people were technically only supposed to talk to one another if properly introduced - it was a bit more than we might think, until introduced, it was like they didn’t even exist for one another. . . in game turns this means, unless some special circumstances arise, the NPC is outside normal society conventions (i.e. most fey/demons/etc.) or if an NPC or Prot is feeling rather rude or villianous he/she should not talk to someone that they have not been formally introduced too. Here’s a brief primer on the matter: Regency History: Regency introductions - a Regency History guide
Now, this creates a lot of extra coding and gameplay, and it should be noted that sorcerous society is one step more loose with their morals than the people of the ton and other convientional regency society . . . but nonetheless, the problem of how to handle introductions remains.

Now, in the game, similiar to Brigderton there is a mass introduction event . . . I wonder if that would serve as introduction for those characters attending the mass introduction event for one another. Tehcnically, by the rules of the primer, the host or hostess should still introduce individual pairs but . . . I think a good number of regency writers flout these rules altogether, so I wonder if I should bend it a little. Doing so would mean missing out on some small bit of the wonderful regency immersion and social play they were so good at, however, it will also meen some scenes being a lot easier to code and write, translating to the game coming along a little faster.

Anyway, here’s the poll for how historicaly authentic people want introductions for the most part to be:

  • Make it as historically accurate as possible
  • Make it so only members of the ton (mortal elite) must follow the rules
  • Those introduced at mass intro events may freely interact, all else must have formal intros
  • The convention of introductions between characters may be removed
0 voters

Also, not 100%, but I may break this update into two parts, so players can get some content a little earlier and I can get feedback on how it is liked or not liked. Either way will be a while yet, sadly.

5 Likes
81

Thank you to all who voted in the last poll: results were the following -

50% Those introduced at mass intro event may interact freely, all else should have formal intros.
30% make it as historically accurate as possible.
20% make it so only members of the ton must follow the rules.

I’m going to let those polling results percolate in my mind a bit and then make a decision on how I want to handle it. Not sure, but I might add a small bit of coding so the prot can ask to be formally introduced to NPCs at the intro event, though perhaps she might skip it as well with varying results depending on the NPC . . . not 100% sure yet. Regardless, at least for the intro event, gonna try to keep the writing and coding thereof to a minimum, to not delay it too much.

Regarding the update, it continues along, but still isn’t ready even for a half release, as is now my plan. Unfortunately have another coworker that will be out on medical leave for a while which will probably translate into more work hours and longer hours and so less time to write and code, so this might delay the update a bit . . . hoping it won’t, but we shall see.

4 Likes
82

Progress continues, albeit much slower than I would wish. Some scenes I feel are coming out better than other scenes, but overall I think I’m pleased with the progress. As stated before, I will release this romance update in two parts. I am hoping to have the first one released within a few more weeks and then the second one a month or two later, after which there will be a break for a bit while I work on my other presented project Dice & Dungeon Masters during summer (assuming my planned timetable works out). When I release the update I will post here and move the game to the top of Dashingdon for a bit.

*************************** *Setting Interest Poll *************************************
As I am working on this update I am of course thinking forward, particularly on how to handle the romances, and so I wanted to release another poll regarding this matter. This time the poll is on setting - regency settings are an important part of the tropes that make up the genre, and I am very excited to move our prot, a few notable NPCs, and of course, some of her main prospects and rivals, to these settings. As most of you have observed by now, part of my writing and coding process is freely moving between sections, so that I might start working on a latter section sooner, in hopes of efficient use of energy and getting the plot synchronised. The question then is which regency settings are you guys most excited for - and mind you, I plan to give all of these the Sense & Sorcery touch as well, to fit into the world I am creating.

Some of the iconic regency settings (but by no means all of them) are:

-A Ball: Imagine about the most elite and fancy party you can, and there we are. Its a chance for the prot and other NPCs to really try to present and muster all the consequence and majesty they have, to impress, and see who comes out on top; it may well also be a chance for love and more.

-Bath: An ancient city, founded by the romans, full of hot springs with venerable, stony archetecture, it practically begs for a sword and sorcery twist, doesn’t it. Here many of the other regency activities still occur, amidst a beautiful background, that may well have healing connotations, as well as elements of danger.

-Gretna Green: I have some very special plans for this one, which I am sure the code divers amongst you have probably picked up on. This is an area in southern Scottland where couples could wrong off to be married, often against the will of their families, as it would be illegal in England itself, yet there in Gretna Green was allowed. spoiler For those of you who wish for more fey subplots, go here.spoiler

-London Town: Nuff said.

-The Masquerade: It’s a party where everyone hides under masks, yet what can be revealed when all faces are hidden? This to is another great setting for making subplots and tensions rise to the surface, using devices of mistaken identity and such. And you just know there are some great spins I can put on it with our setting in Sense & Sorcery,

-The Regency House Party: These work really well to bring all important characters together, allowing for culmination of tensions, romantic and otherwise, and also serve as a good place to investigate intrigue, mystery, conflict, etc. Simply put, ideally, all the key characters are picked up for a private, elite multi-day party somewhere out in the country, where they practice society all on their own. There are usually lots of games, sport, and dances and opportunities for proper and improper conduct. As these are places out in the country side, in a mansion like house somewhere out far away from town, or in our case, some family’s tower perhaps, there may well be opportunities for certain supernatural elements such as fey and lycanthropes, I should think.

-Pleasure Gardens: A perpetual party taking place outside in a beautiful setting, the gardens are usually in an urben area, yet encapsulate the best of nature as society can make it. Often fine food, games, dancing, and special surprises.

-Road Trip: Kind of like chapter 3 and 4, but this time, with characters other than just family and their thralls. What if the prot were stuck with a romantic interest or two on a long carriage ride somewhere, with only strange inns in between?

-Sea and Naval: I am fully convinced Austen might have eventually written naval adventures, if she had lived long enough, as she knew rather a lot about the topic. That said, a lot of regency authors have picked naval settings as a suitable area to write on. Here, of course, we might have pirates and magical sea beings, as well as mysterious islands; also, nicely, key characters can be relatively bound and wrapped together, unable to really escape one another, despite rising tensions.

-Solstice/Christmas Party: These are great for wrap up to, as there’s something magical about the beautiful desolation of winter and its special place between one year and another, that practically screams for it. Of course, there are lots of religious significance here to, as well as special seasonal devices (i.e. ice skating, sledding, mistletoe, gathering in some dungeon to sacrifice to the Night Goddess, etc.).

So, which setting would you be most interested in the prot interacting with her romantic prospects, rivals, family, and friends?:

  • Ball
  • Bath
  • Gretna Green
  • House-Party
  • London Town
  • Masquerade
  • Naval / Sea Adventure
  • Pleasure Gardens
  • Regency Road Trip
  • Solstice / Christmas / Winter Party
0 voters

While I am going to save them for later, I also intend to eventually release some polls to sort expectations and hopes for how many chapters readers would like, preferred chapter length, and if this project should be one game or a small series, i.e. splitting up the story into more than one game. But I think one poll for now is enough and this post is long enough, so I shall save that for another day.

4 Likes
83

Update is still not done (same timeline as mentioned previously), but i think I am going to post the polls I mentioned from the other day, as I am very curious on what people think.

************************ How Long Do You Like Your Chapters *******************

So, I’m not going to change any of the chapters already made length wise, and there are a few planned chapters that will be longer than others, as a few chapters will be more sandboxy than others, but overall I kind of wonder if I should aim for shorter chapter sizes than the really huge ones I have been going with . . . shorter chapters lead to more natural break points, help block reading fatigue. and in addition, make it less likely that you will get jumped around in the narritive when I post an update, however I think longer chapters help make a work more immersive and may help encapsulate events better - ergo, how long would you prefer the chapters of this game to be?

  • as short as possible
  • relaitvely short
  • moderate
  • as long as possible
0 voters

********************** How Many Books Should This Game Be ********************

So, my original thought on this game was that it would be a standalone gamebook, and that the sequel game would take place in the late Victorian era with the prots granddaughter. However, the current content and the content I will need to make it all happen is gigantic, which, if this game makes the cut to be released, delays it greatly. For many reasons, it is appealing to release this first game, set in the regency era, as a multibook series rather than a standalone. Now, I still eventually want to make the other proposed sequel game in the Victorian era, but in the meantime, should this first story take place in one gamebook or be a small series (probably 3)?

  • It should be one game book
  • It should be two game books
  • It should be three game books
0 voters

Also, for those that missed it, see my prior post for a location poll.
That’s all for now - thank you to those that have been voting. Really appreciate it!

2 Likes