Hello, everyone! It’s great to be back. I’d like to introduce my new game, Spotlight, a Hollywood drama.
Currently I have Chapter 1 and 64.2K words down, and I plan on updating every month.
About the game:
For as long as you can remember, your dream has stayed the same—you want nothing more than to make it as an actor in Hollywood. After years as an overlooked, overworked talent, your big break comes from an unlikely source. And it’s one that changes everything, for better or worse.
Hollywood is its own character within this world—sometimes it loves you, sometimes it wants nothing more than to see you crash and burn. Navigating this ever changing landscape while balancing your own interpersonal relationships is only half the challenge. The other half is memorizing your lines.
Navigate the red carpet, bloodthirsty paparazzi, cut-throat tabloids and complicated relationship dynamics with A-list celebrities (who may or may not be completely unhinged.)
Customize your Actor: are you a classic Hollywood heartthrob? An eccentric and unconventional recluse? Are you kind and genuine despite the fame, or a cutthroat diva with undeniable talent?
Navigate scandal, paparazzi, and stan culture: dodge or embrace the flashing lights. Interact with your fans, or distance yourself from them for your sanity. Wait—who are they shipping your character with?
Build your legacy: choose between the stability of superhero blockbusters or turn into an indie darling. Or, maybe forgo both to become a household name in the horror genre.
Network and build relationships: whether they’re manufactured by your well-meaning publicist or spawned from real feelings, forge dynamic and ever changing relationships with other industry icons.
Try to manage your mental health: the dark side of the industry lurks in every corner—the highs are high, but the lows are ever lower.
Characters
Kendall Mays (non-romanceable, gender selectable)—ever the loyal best friend, Kendall followed you into the throes of showbiz without hesitation. From fighting over toys on the playground to helping you run lines for a major motion picture, you can always count on them to have your back. That is, before they met Mason—their ever-present boyfriend who demands more and more of their time. You were never that great at sharing.
Sutton Foster (he/him, she/her)—child star turned award winning powerhouse. Sutton Foster has everything an actor could want—well, minus the countless stays at rehab centers around the world. It’s undeniable that Sutton is a generational talent, but what’s even more notable is their messy personal life. You yourself have been caught in Sutton’s gravitational pull, once upon a time. The question lies in whether or not you’ll pull yourself away.
Wyn Grace (he/him, she/her)—on stage, Wyn is electric. The same cannot be said for Wyn off-stage. The lead singer of the up-and-coming Indie band is struggling with their meteoric rise to fame. As the awards pile up and the crowds get bigger, Wyn is unraveling at the seams. All they wanted to do was make music with their friends, but the fame makes them reconsider it all.
Lex Moreau (he/him)—an older, award-winning director with an…eccentric disposition. Yet despite his volatile nature and obsession with perfection, anyone who’s anyone would kill to work with him. Lex is always in search for a muse, a great beacon to pour all of his artistic vision into. And now, he thinks he’s found that in you. Lucky you?
Carlo/Carmen Mencina (gender selectable)—C is harder to pin down than a stable acting gig in LA. When you’re together—it’s kismet. The problem lies in when you’re apart. C’s frequent disappearances abroad leave a bad taste in your mouth, and when a shocking truth comes to light, it’s not just your relationship in the spotlight—it’s your life, too. [C is a conditional character who is only present based on choices you’ve made.]
Trigger warnings for: death, substance abuse, suicide, bullying, explicit language, violence, and explicit (skippable) sexual content.
Feedback: typos, coding errors, choice railroading. Either leave a comment on this post or message me on tumblr!
Just so you are aware, there is a new hosting site for your Choice Script games that not only has support for the latest Choice Script features (such as checkpoint saves) but it also has cross-platform saves for your readers. (They just need to log in)
Hi!!! Welcome back to the forum, and congratulations on the demo!!! I’m excited to play it after work!
I just wanted to quickly mention that Sutton Foster is actually the name of a prominent Broadway star and television actress. She’s actually huge in the theater scene. I don’t know if the name thing was intentional or not but I just thought it was important to let you know.
This looks promising! I’m really looking forward to the fake-dating shenanigans you might have in store for us (if I’m correctly interpreting the “manufactured by your well-meaning publicist”). The phone feature will also come in handy when navigating fandom, news stories, and all the different ROs. So far, Sutton is my absolute favorite.
One question: Does the no-romance option allow us to pursue sexual relationships or is it essentially an ace-aro path?
I like how quickly the story gets set up. It’s immediate, it feels like we jump right into it!
I don’t think the asexual flag is as clear as it should be. “I’m single, same as I’ve always been” felt like I was bemoaning being single which is why I chose it, but then I realized quickly that it was meant to set the romance flag as false. This was the same for me with the two decisions on supportive parents. I would like to see more clarity in some of these choices.
I’m not entirely sure if we’re meant to be friends with Summer or not–the below choices all felt a bit mean spirited to me in their descriptions:
With that said, I love Summer. She’s ridiculous. You did a great job of writing her. I will miss her dearly
Kendall also rocks! You do an excellent job of writing characters, major or minor, as having strong and definable personalities. It makes them all very memorable.
It’s a small little thing, but I love the description with the stage name vs alias. It’s just funny <3
Unlike you, Sutton didn’t falter
Was the above line meant only for child stars? I got it on movie buff.
A bit of a writing error–you describe Sutton as apprehensive and staring us down, but if you say that they were telling the truth, they turn to look at us approach.
Believe it or not, this demo is not the first time a guy named Caleb caused me trouble involving a party.
The option to encourage Kendall to stay with Mason feels a bit sudden–we’re told repeatedly that the MC dislikes him and I’m not sure why they’d encourage it if they don’t like the guy.
Lex is the worst. I long to kiss him under harsh stage lights.
All in all, I really liked this! I’m excited to see potential updates and I wish you luck <3
@RedRoses yes, I love Sutton Foster. I think my subconscious barred me from thinking of another last name for Sutton because it’s such a deep association. If it’s a problem, I have a back up!
Also, thank you so much for the detailed feedback.
-The romance flag could use some work—I might have to include the explicitly of it in parentheses, until I get the wording right. Same with the parents.
-Also, I love Summer too and think her wedding will be fun to write—I’ll definitely incorporate some friendlier interactions with her. Right now she’s just like an annoying little sister archetype lol
-Thanks for catching the child actor flag!
-I’ll review this, I probably copied that paragraph from another choice and forgot to delete it.
-I think even if the MC doesn’t like Mason, they can see that Kendall will be a wreck without him. To clarify I’ll maybe add a choice that implies, “even though I dislike him…” or a branching option that explains the thought process of encouraging them together. Mason is a huge part of the story and your relationship with him will change a lot, so I’m trying to set the stage for that in a very sneaky way haha!
-Lex would be the character who knows they’re in a work of fiction. Glad you like him!
