Writing Progress Update 9/6 - 18 (copy/pasted from tumblr)
Hi all!
Thought I’d give you all a writing progress update as promised~
With the release of chapter 5, I’ve had quite a lot of stuff to fix, so I haven’t been able to continue the story as much as usual but that was to be expected. I’ve also allowed myself to rest more, since I was in pretty desperate need of it haha.
But I’m almost at the end of Chapter 6 now! It mostly includes getting to know the new “HQ” I also included an (the first, I think) option to express social anxiety since the MC will have to live alongside a big group of people for a little while.
This month will be a little hectic, since I’m going away to celebrate someone’s graduation at the 13th of June, but I will still be fairly active on tumblr during these days and update y’all on the progress!
Oh i love this game. It’s so interesting. It took me half a day to play the different routes just to see the reactions of the others but it felt so worth it!
I did run into some errors, like when Mickey told us to rest i chose to talk with Az then after our nap i talked to Michael and he said he was a girl scout, which was actually quite hilarious and made understand a little why his dad push him towards football. Another thing i notice was also on Azuridian route when we talk to him after the tatto incident, there’s a choice to call him a coff coff female dog coff i thought it was a little unconventional but also a funny way to tell him off then i saw the option for the other routes was bastard so it clicked.
I do not speak/write english that well so i hope i’m not confussing you too much @Carawen you have a great game over all. Kudos.
You deserve more rest honestly… the progress you had made is nothing short of amazing
Hmmm… i don’t think my MC will endure anxiety , if i am living in a new environment with many people… i am more like a “trouble maker” who poke my nose to business which doesn’t concern me… which perhaps there should be an option for MC to be “annoying” other residents of the HQ ? like touching equipment and structure which are sensitive, exploring to places here and there… It will be funny if my MC suddenly go into a place that is highly security , and is in danger to be shot … then Querie desperately drag me back to safety while raising her hand high to stop the guards from shooting me on sight ( she can’t speak so that’s all she can do).
@Red Oh wow, I’m so flattered that you took the time to play all the routes and I’m so happy that you like it!
Aaah nooo that’s so weird, since I have playtested that part several times and for me it says “boy scout” as it should; I even tested again after reading this and it’s displayed correctly. Could you tell me whether you chose a sexual preference in men or both men and women? Maybe then I could locate the problem easier.
Same with the insult to Azuridian; it’s some kind of error with the variables, so knowing the preference you chose might help!
Thank you so much for letting me know that they’re still there, though. And your English is really good, don’t worry
That’s totally fine! I just want people to be able to play their MC as they want. The reason I’m including options like that though is because I’ve rarely seen the protagonist in games suffer from things like that (Ethan from Heavy Rain is the only example I can think of on the top of my head, though I’m not a total expert on games so I’m sure there are more that I’m not familiar with). It’s also something I’m experiencing myself and to be able to make it an option is kind of therapeutic in a way.
I also want to give the reader the opportunity to choose personal problems for their MC and not just be the one who has to fix everyone else’s problems.
We’ll see what happens in HQ! Can’t say anything about it yet
That is totally thoughtful and i agree with you… we don’t always have to be a hero, it will be great and heart warming if other characters help us to deal with our dilemma too
Ya know I just realized something and I feel like this should’ve already been mentioned and it just flew over my head but is it just me or does the physical description of Rheylo remind anyone else of Zuko from Avatar: The Last Airbender?
I was gonna say this as an (anonymous lol) ask on tumblr but then I thought it would get too long so fuck it.
@Carawen I feel like you said once there’d be opportunity to talk a little about what kind of past the MC had. I was curious if you’d be willing to give (even a small) idea as to what you had in mind?
Unless I’m totally wrong lmao. Though I kind of saw some semblance of this in the option to tell G you’re not comfortable being touched like that. I’m glad to hear you’re including social anxiety options, it feels like you’re really trying to let the MC be an actual person, one who’s had experiences in life that affect who they are now, instead of the MC just being there as if the author went, “well… someone needs to witness the plot and listen to these character’s problems.” It feels like you’re trying to make this as genuinely interactive as you can in who the MC is, and I appreciate that about your writing. (Did I properly articulate literally anything I wanted to? I have no clue. I am completely incoherent)
That’s also why I wanted to ask that even if the answer is I oughta just wait to find out. I’m a CSA survivor and I’m def not asking you to include anything so dark lol (especially if you don’t feel you can do so properly) but because of that I’m so drawn to games where I can play a “broken” character, a character with trauma in their past, someone who knows pain. Can you tell Fallen Hero is my fave IF game lmao?? I’m mostly just thinking about if I can play as someone who’s… maybe not had the best time in life and if I’ll even be able to open up about that (whatever “that” may be) Cause hey opening up IRL is a freaking nightmare - why do you think I’m using so many spoiler tags to hide what im saying - but this is a game and games can be wish-fulfillment right? Right…?
I’ve found a new story to enjoy :'D I’m enjoying the setting and I especially love your focus on a chatacter driven narrative, since those types are my favourites. I’ll be replaying to try and see how everyone else feels towards everything that’s been going on but I have to say I’ve really taken to Qaurie (and that I’ll be sticking with her in my main play through). It’s both endearing and beautiful that she doesn’t speak but you can still understand her through her eyes. Definitely looking forward to reading more from you (:
@Eric_knight Glad you agree! Though I won’t force the reader to have problems, of course
@Jared_Frias You’re totally right; if you look at post 413, @Hearts pointed out that a fan art of Rheylo looked a lot like Zuko, and that’s when I realized that they look practically the same… Except for the hair, that is it might seem impossible but I honestly didn’t even consider Zuko’s looks when developing R, but my subconscious must have interfered lmao
@pandaboi You’re correct, I did say that on tumblr! And I still plan on including it once the MC has spent more time with the characters I hadn’t planned in detail what kind of options to include, but I absolutely don’t want to shy away from having the option to choose more complex and/or darker things having happened to your MC. I think it can be incredibly empowering to get to process real life issues in fiction and not have it be merely escapism. At least, that’s how I’ve overcome a lot of difficulties in life, and that’s what I want to include myself.
I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable but I just want to express how sorry I am that such a thing happened to you. The thing is, there are a lot of things that I’d need to do proper research for if I were to include it in a proper way; your example is a great example of that. If I found people who were willing to tell me about it so that I could understand it better, and would review what I’ve written about it, I’d definitely include it. I will probably consult with people here and such when I get to that part, since I will definitely need some help incorporating it into the story. I hope that sounds okay? Please let me know if you have any suggestions and/or thoughts about this!
@ImAcrophobic Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoy the story Q is really interesting to write because of their lack of verbal communication. Thanks again!
Did you memorize or did you look through the hay to find the needle? Either way, it’s …Wow! Just wow! Wait till the next time you tell me you have a bad memory!
I feel like I have to quote this line. This…should be the essence of the interactive fiction community, but unfortunately we don’t get to see many.
@pandaboi I know if I say that “I feel for you” or that “I am sorry to hear this”, it is not going to heal what you had to endure. The scar remains. But still, here I am, and I am really sad to know that it happened. Are you angry with me after reading this line? That’s reasonable, I know it doesn’t replace the traumatic experiences, it’s probably just me trying to find solace, trying to find something positive in me by trying to sound apologetic. I myself have seen some cases of mental trauma, though they were few in no. because of a short posting in psychiatry ward, and I don’t remember saying " It’s been a pleasure to meet you" to any of the persons because it never was, it was never meant to be. The most difficult thing was that I had to probe them, had to ask them what happened. Most of them were not comfortable with the questions, they tried to forget what happened, they deliberately wanted to avoid the truth, they tried…but they never could. The past would haunt them, they would go eerily silent…that used to be my cue to avoid that line of questioning. That made me think. I can tell when a person is getting uncomfortable, I can tell what might happen when a person experiences a mental trauma, a dilemma, a confusion, maybe I can treat them…but can I feel them? Can I see myself in the same situation? Probably not, and sympathizing just makes them feel dependent, when they clearly want to stand up and walk on their own for the rest of their lives.
Why am I writing all these things? Do they make sense? Do they make me feel better? No. I simply don’t know why. I am sorry if I somehow offended you. I didn’t mean to. You probably don’t want sympathy of others, and that’s alright, what I can offer is just a hand of support in case you need it.
Have a good day.
A.D
As I’m almost at chapter 7 in the story now, I think this is the appropriate time to start looking for beta testers for the rest of book I! I’m planning to finish maybe two chapters and then send them out to be tested (after having tested them myself, that is), and continue like that. In other words, it will be a beta test that is happening continually during the writing progress. I think this will be easier than writing everything and then look through everything at once.
I will be having a closed beta testing from chapter 6 onward, and I’m in need of four people (since I have already appointed one, so it’d be 6 in total including myself) who would be willing to go through the story and report any bugs, errors or general constructive criticism.
I have some general things that I’d like those of you interested in this to consider:
I will need you to be very honest with me, not only regarding errors and bugs but with the writing in general. If something feels off to you, I need to know about it. I’m not one to be easily offended and I really value constructive criticism so please don’t be afraid to be honest with me! Though if you don’t find anything noteworthy as far as story or language goes that’s totally fine, of course
If you are unsure about how much time you’re going to have to set aside for this, please think twice before signing up. I completely understand that you might be busy, and that’s fine, but if you have a hunch that you might get so swamped that beta testing will become like a chore for you I think it’s better that you make sure to save your free time to getting proper rest instead.
I think this goes without saying, but please refrain from spoiling the story to other people. I need to know that I can trust those of you who want to do this not to ruin it for others.
Well, that’s it! If anyone’s interested, please send me a message or comment here
I also would love to beta test. I have beta-tested twice before. So if you’ll have me, I would very much like to test this game. (I quite love it, but I’m also not above being honest about low-level and high-level feedback).
Sorry to ask this question if it has already been asked (and unfortunately, I can’t screenshot the screen to show it). But when I choose the relationship page, why does it not show the names of the characters? Can’t tell who is who (except for A’s case because I KNOW my MC relationship with him is zero; the two get along like oil and water. )
I also included an (the first, I think) option to express social anxiety since the MC will have to live alongside a big group of people for a little while.
and I’m so happy that you like it!
that’s so weird, since I have playtested that part several times and for me it says “boy scout” as it should; I even tested again after reading this and it’s displayed correctly. Could you tell me whether you chose a sexual preference in men or both men and women? Maybe then I could locate the problem easier.
it might seem impossible but I honestly didn’t even consider Zuko’s looks when developing R, but my subconscious must have interfered lmao
Q is really interesting to write because of their lack of verbal communication. Thanks again!
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