I have the prologue and 1st chapter done with my game. Off course, I may
Increase coding complexity as I get better at it. I’ve always been a “ wait till its done” guy with my creative endeavors; however, this is all very new to me. I thought it may be smart to put something out there to see if it’s palatable. Particularly the writing. I hope the coding will come with practice. If its not, well, maybe this is not my calling. I am appreciating the work now that goes into these little gems. Thanks team!
I put my WiP out once I had the prologue and Ch 1 done, and I’m glad I did. That was enough for people to get into the world and appreciate where I was starting to go, and the feedback I got from that point on was tremendously helpful.
Ok thanks. Very helpful. I’m combining over what I have now. I guess at some point you get too excited not to share it. I’ll figure out how to do that one day soon. Found another forum topic that discussed that process. I suppose its been awhile since I shared my writing. But its part of the development process and that’s the whole point this. So I better pull that bandaid.
It depends what kind of writer you are. If you’re the kind to get bogged down in editing the beginning, and unable to finish the book, then wait until it’s finished before sharing. Or if you’re the kind who gets discouraged by criticism, because (in my opinion) even the greatest, most polished finished game will still get some criticism (either because of the players’ taste… or because there’s no such thing as perfection… or because most players want more of a good thing)… then wait until the game is finished before sharing.
But if you’re not the type to get bogged down, then go ahead and share.
(Actually, although I’m usually the ‘wait until it’s done and then feedback is my reward’ type, I heard an amazing writing tip once: publicly share your OUTLINE before you write it, and then if there’s major plot holes you will know about them BEFORE you write them, and can fix them before wasting a huge amount of time.)
For me, whatever helps you finish a game is the right thing to do, because finishing a game is HARD.
Just out of interest, doesn’t that create spoilers though? I would have thought that would be harder to get feedback on if the game is flowing as it should (creating the right sense of surprise, suspense etc) and makes sense as readers would go into it expecting a series of events to happen, while at the same time not giving enough information from the outline alone to know if there are plot holes along the way?
Hmmm… Falicity and Jacic, thanks for your input. Now I’m wondering what percentage of people who start a game actually finish it.( I probably don’t want to know that.) I read 18 months as an average start to finish time. That was a little discouraging. Was sort of hoping that’s because many game writers do this on the side. That could be incorrect also. Anyhow, I digress. As is typical with works of art, sharing early can help with critical errors or insights but perhaps create criticism that you would have naturally resolved in time creating a little frustration. But as you say “ just expect it.” And hopefully everyone here can separate their personal game delights with general creative critique. I mean, good writing is good writing right?
According to Steam achievements, 60% of players of A Kiss from Death completed at least one run of the game. A run is anywhere between 50,000 to 100,000 words, which is quite short by CoG standards. Only 20% of players persisted to the true ending of the game, about 1 in 5.
I imagine some people die in a choose your adventure game and then stop playing, accepting it as a cannon ending (Not that many COG games allow the player to die that I know of tho)
Now this is a very interesting topic guys. My first two games I thought I could die, then realized I couldn’t later on. Often just missing out on special items or achievements. But wouldn’t really just put the realness into game if you could. Then how would the author manage that death? Ok new topic time well done!
I did it as soon as I started my prologue. It’s good motivation for me to continue writing and working on it. Getting feedback for the set up of the story has been, honestly, a little intimidating but more helpful than anything.
If you’re not comfortable getting critical feedback early on, I might hold off. Once you’re comfortable and happy with your work put it out then. I say put the game out there, build an audience. It’s been rewarding for me so far haha
I personally say… whenever you’re ready. It can be after a chapter, or two… three… It’s up to you! If you can, and want to, you could start with sharing it to close friends and family to kind of warm yourself up to it? Then again, they may say nice things just to avoid upsetting you But still, it’s really when you’re ready. It can be kind of daunting if it’s your first time posting (heck, it’s never not scary), so you definitely don’t want to force and/or rush yourself into it.
(Not that many COG games allow the player to die that I know of tho)
But still, it’s really when you’re ready. It can be kind of daunting if it’s your first time posting (heck, it’s never not scary), so you definitely don’t want to force and/or rush yourself into it.