Should I use ChoiceScript for my game?

[malinryden]

I have not heard of that one…. (goes to check)

[fsix]

@malinryden

The most unusual thing about your story is playing both protagonists, and having them romance each other. That sounds COOL! I have not seen that in a story before!! Some people might love it. Some might hate it. I am fascinated.

There’s a game called Our Red String which does it, and it’s probably sort of a golden standard to compare against, for people who know it. It’s currently some 13 chapters long work in progress, but keep in mind it’s a Renpy visual novel that’s heavy on NSFW content. So not necessarily everyone’s thing.

Still, it lets you experience the whole concept really well, and the amount of variable routes it offers is also wild (while both protagonists are potential ROs for each other, they’re also only one of handful of ROs available for each)

[JaeCynthia]

@malinryden

There is a large and loud fanbase (maybe not on this forum) that wants more Yuri and feels like that is one of the biggest things that many games lack. So if your story is a hit with some of these players, word of mouth WILL spread.

I think you’re right. Writing (and reading) a yuri romance is almost always going to have a distinctive feel from a romance between gender-selectable characters. It’s why I can’t just simply unlock my protagonists’ genders from female to player-selectable (nor would I be willing to). But as a voracious yuri consumer myself, I know the audience is there.

@malinryden

Making a game according to what’s popular might be smart, but that will also make you one of the pack.

Thankfully, making a super popular game isn’t a priority to me. I do want to make something that’s well-written, engaging, enjoyable, and easy to navigate. But it’s going to be the story I’ve come up with, even if it limits me to a niche audience.

@malinryden

I picked superheroes for Fallen Hero (might as well have done/labeled it as Cyberpunk or Sci-Fi with some tweaks) because I saw that as being more popular at the time, but the true selling points for many (at least the fans who talks about it to their friends) have been mental issues, romance and trans narratives, neither of which I thought people would latch on to at the time.

So, the topic of superheroes wasn’t enough to catch my interest alone (and I like superheroes just fine), but that topic combined with mental issues, romance, and trans narratives immediately sold me. So I guess that applies to me too. Anyway, I bought Rebirth and am looking forward to playing it soon. Sounds pretty rad.

@malinryden

The most unusual thing about your story is playing both protagonists, and having them romance each other. That sounds COOL! I have not seen that in a story before!! Some people might love it. Some might hate it. I am fascinated.

Thanks! Here’s hoping I can pull it off in a satisfying way.

@malinryden

In short, I love the versatility of Choicescript as a system, and the forums can be super helpful. However, it also has very strong viewpoints. Go with what you feel the core of the story is, especially since you don’t set out being rich from your first game. Know what criticism you can listen to and make your story better, and which will break it and turn it bland. That is the biggest thing to look out for. Keep your story yours and not your audience’s.

I feel confident in the story I have so far—(I just need a means to present it)—but I really appreciate you looking out for me here. In the past I’ve definitely changed stories I’ve written for certain projects in order to appeal to the tastes of a particular audience and have ended up unhappy with the results, so I’m done doing that. I’ve learned how to filter feedback for what’s constructive and what are just matters of personal taste. And I’ve developed a decent sense of what parts of a story I’m working on are malleable, and which elements I really need to hold firm to.

If ChoiceScript were an open format, my decision would already be made for me. It does everything I require on a technical and presentation level. So, my plan is to release a WIP of the first part of my game and see how it’s received here. If people seem to enjoy it and are fine with the fixed player characters and some of my other departures from the expected conventions, then I’ll stick with ChoiceScript; otherwise, I’ll convert it to another engine and proceed from there.

Thanks for all the great advice!