Alright, thanks for letting me know!
So like, the MC can become half-omnipotent and half-omnibenevolent? How does that work? Do you have an absolute power over half the universe, then further divide that half and act as a loving deity for a quarter of the universe? I know I’m probably overthinking this, but if sounds weird rather than disrespectful.
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Agreed. You could have stats for Power, Knowledge, and Benevolence, but you can’t be only sort of omnipotent.
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If you want to tackle this subject, even if you don’t explicitly portray it, you need to be able to write the word.
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For myself, as I understand it, I think the concern is that unless one knows how to make their own HTML compiler, one can’t really publish these games on one’s own - so, unless the game is switched to a different programing language, it’s kind of a monopoly. In general, COG, HG, and Heart’s Choice seem like open forums for ideation and are to be commended for that. However, with the expanding scope of legal censorship (i.e. the ban on adult books in Iowa libraries for example, if I recall right, and various anti-pornography laws presented in various states and on the docket depending on who wins this fall in the American Presidential contest) it is likely that what is considered fine for game content today may well not be considered fine in the future. For legal reason, likely more games will be censored out of consideration, which is a major concern. Sort of think it would be nice if there would be an open source variant of the HTML compiler so that if COG and its other game lines can not publish something, the author isn’t out of luck all together.
I think what seems offensive to one reader will seem just fine to another. As long as it doesn’t violate any laws or the criteria for Hosted Games or wherever you plan to submit it I think your premise sounds fun and I for one look forward to trying it.
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Here or in the story ?
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Anyone concerned about that part needs to refresh their news. There’s a big “export to HTML” button on every page of every project made with the recent version of ChoiceScript. Turning my game into a HTML file anyone can just download took me about 27 seconds. It’s not exactly a difficult process.
No, no, no. The “book bans” people keep talking about, including the one you’re referring to, are all about what can be put in school libraries since anything more would be a first amendment violation. The debate around pornography is centered around pornographic movies and their dedicated sites, ones that actually record sex and may be guilty of sexual exploitation.
Unless CoG starts putting their games in school libraries (somehow?) or writing erotica by having actual people copulate and writing everything down (for some reason?) they are not affected by any of that, and any tightening of the rules will be their own decision made for commercial reasons.
Again, you have a literal “turn your game into HTML instantly” button. And even before that was a thing, Felicia Banks did publish her rejected game on itch.io, which is a site anyone can turn to. I’m pretty sure CoG will demand the exact same cut of the profit too.
The problem is that a random person posting on itch.io or a similar site doesn’t have the pre-existing audience or the cross-platform publishing capabilities which CoG offers. So you’re “out of luck” in this regard and probably won’t achieve anything resembling popularity, but you’re by no means prevented from publishing your game in the first place.
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Thank you for the information on the download to HTML button. Yes, this is obviously news to me, though I look forward to trying it and agree that is huge and relevant to the larger conversations.
Bit off topic but my attempt at due diligence on replying to your counterpoints. Regarding the Iowa law banning books,I believe libraries outside of schools also adjusted either their access to or collections themselves. I haven’t read the law myself, but something in the wording of the law spooked these libraries enough to do so. The point there is that there are indeed efforts to censor books. Yes, some of the proposals waiting in the wings do directly address pornography, and while I’d agree that the 1st amendment should be sacrosanct unfortunately its interpretation is not. Bringing ur conversation back around then, Is erotica pornography? Depends on who you ask I’d wager - if yes, then some of the story books presented are indeed that and a target for the new proposals. While I consider them fine art myself, stories like Love at Elevation and a number of the more spicy Hearts choice game have some very graphic scenes - essentially erotica at times. Again, I am not critiquing these games - I think they’re good, but anyways … End point is that if there is new governance on pornography (and there are certainly large efforts from the right towards that end) and if erotica is pornography, then likely there would be further regulation on what games can and can not exist. As stated earlier, no fault of CoG, as they have to work within the framework, but certainly not a good idea to wave one’s hands and say nonono and ignore it. Granted, best not to be to panicked either.
I am truly excited to try the whole create html thing. Being able to port our games as we please is essential, even if one hoped to be accepted into hosted games someday.
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I don’t think it’s fair to say that Choice of Games has a monopoly on…their own programming language that they developed and actively maintain? It’s like saying Adobe has a monopoly on Photoshop. It’s their product, and at least in the US, they have the right to outline the terms of its use.
If one wants carte blanche to truly go buck wild and write the most depraved things they can imagine (probably far worse than what the OP is proposing), they would probably be better served by a different programming language. Of course, then, if they wanted to publish it on their website, they might run into issues with web hosting and ISP terms of service (see also: Stormfront).
And you certainly won’t get carte blanche from a static fiction publishing venue. Any publishing company, including Choice of Games, will want to retain the right to review and edit works published under their masthead, even if your name is Stephen King.
Self-publishing will run into amazon’s and other marketplaces’ terms of service. Even if you wrote it up yourself on a typewriter and brought it to a copy shop to get reproduced and bound to sell out of the trunk of a car, you better hope the shop worker doesn’t look too closely at the pages going through the machines.
So, no, there really is no guaranteed way to sell or even distribute deeply transgressive or illegal words. If you’re very risk-averse and don’t want to work on a piece of fiction with the possibility of a company asking you to change a part of it (or, in the case of static fiction, rejecting it), you’re better off just writing it in a diary. Or you can accept that there are some limits to words you can express in public and work with a publisher to help ensure your work can be distributed and find its audience.
All this to say: OP, you’re probably fine. Worst-case scenario on Hosted Games is they may ask you to change the framing of some elements or some scenes, if beta readers and WIP fans haven’t already flagged them as super not-okay. If you’re really worried, try reading some CoG and Hosted Games in the horror genre. I’m thinking most of the World of Darkness games, maybe Rent-A-Vice, and I’m sure there are several titles in Hosted Games as well. See how “bad” they get (spoiler: sometimes extremely upsetting!). Write up a detailed outline of the game you want to write, see if it crosses boundaries others don’t, and see how essential you think those elements are. If you want a contract and to work with an editor as you go, you can try querying Choice of Games. If they say “no thanks,” you can try your luck on Hosted Games, but don’t expect a guarantee to be able publish absolutely anything you want within that game.
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The relevant frameworks and criteria really are commercial rather than legal. Crossing the line of “what will get us banned from the Apple Store” is much more relevant to CoG, has been for a decade, and will be for the foreseeable future. Whatever porn wars some of MAGA’s sweatier fringes may try to fight, they’re not going to get to the point where it’s any threat to erotic novels – that would just be a dumb place to start (and very rapidly lose) the fight.
I don’t know if you’re ready to let yourself be reassured by any of that… but there are a lot more imminent threats to the Constitution than book or porn bans, and it’s worth keeping our eye on those rather than trying to find (or dream up) examples of the chilling effect of Iowa’s law on non-school libraries.
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Now I’m wondering if someone could submit to HG with a “put this on Steam but not the App Store; we’ll get fewer sales but more creative freedom.”
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To my understanding, App Store is vastly more profitable than Steam for games like these, so the difference in “creative freedom” between those two platforms would have to be quite substantial to be worth the bother.
Is depicting drug use (and substance abuse in general) considered risqué on App Store? I’m pretty sure violence and sexual themes are not, given their prevalence in existing CoG products, so that’s the one area in which I could see Steam being vastly more permissive.
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Sorry if this has been addressed already but if the reader were allowed to choose to murder a child, would that still apply? My story includes a path where the player could choose to do that, the key differentiator here I guess would be the choice part.
Only the Hosted Games staff knows and they won’t give an answer until you submit your work for publication.
We (all of us but Felicity Banks herself) do not know the full story. We only know the “official reason” given by Felicity.
My view on this is: I am writing my narrative to my best ability and submitting it when it is ready. Once I get the copy edit notes back, I’ll go forward from there.
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Is this why Mass Mother Murderer is gone?
Also I think you can go to itch.io instead. A lot of author in here like CC.hill and Nicky go to itch.io for more mature works.
That choice exists in Choice of Rebels. I don’t think that means it would get an automatic green light in any game-- tone is hugely important in how a game treats evil shit-- but it is, at least, not an automatic dealbreaker.
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Really!? Where?
During the winter, go after the tax collector by kidnapping his wife and kids. One of the kids wakes up. You’re given the evil choice.
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Damn. I’ve never gone that route, always went after mother relative(?) Most evil thing I’ve done was eat the horses