Unnervia

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What kind of development tools are used for the making of this game? It's twine right? I'm pretty experienced with React and web-dev in general but it really was boring to read all those Twine docs. What do you think would be the best way to make a game like this, using React or Twine?
 
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Defiant Explorer

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What kind of development tools are used for the making of this game? It's twine right? I'm pretty experienced with React and web-dev in general but it really was boring to read all those Twine docs. What do you think would be the best way to make a game like this, using React or Twine?
The engine is Twine. Story format - Sugarcube. As for how much studying it took, well... I learned the basic stuff in 20 minutes in one of the tutorial videos on YouTube. The rest I looked up in the documentation of Motoslave, the author (?) of Sugarcube, I guess. It's... took a lot longer, yeah. But I'm a pure-blooded humanitarian who hadn't written a line of code before, so it was to be expected.

And for that reason I'm a shitty advisor on this subject, because I have no idea what React is and I can't compare it to Twine.
 

ffive

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For what little it's worth, Twine/Sugarcube takes very little learning if one is already familiar with pretty much any programming language. The concepts are the same and basic, and it's more like checking for "how do i do this specific thing" when you need syntax details.

Regarding tools, there's .
 

Defiant Explorer

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I just started making a game using Twine. I was very impressed and inspired by Inner Empire. Thank you a lot guys. If I'm ever able to make something presentable I will be sure to say I was inspired by this game.

I have to say, it is hard hard hard work lol. I can understand why updates take that long now.
I've been thinking for a while about what inspirational thing to write on this. For some reason the only thing that came to mind was a quote from Dante, you know... “abandon all hope, ye who enter here.” But... holy shit, that's not inspiring. Get out of here, Dante, shoo, shoo. Then for some reason, I got the idea to quote "Alice in Wonderland". You know, the part where she falls down the rabbit hole. Falls down the rabbit hole... No, no, no, that's even worse! And then I realized I should really go to sleep. Like, now. Before I shoot with some quote after all. In a mercilessly random direction.

Good luck with the development. That goes without saying.
 

damnedfrog

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Nov 11, 2020
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will selene be able to use magic ?
Oh, I have a better question. Does magic really exist in this world?
So after the bows, crossbows and greatsword, let start a new discussion about magic :)

Of course, I don't know what Defiant Explorer has in mind.
But, for now, the world setting is low fantasy.
So, if there ever real magic in this world, I don't think it will be shooting fireball or summoning demon lord from hell.
Probably more subtle like casting curse or divination.

Personally, I wouldn't mind at all if there was no true magic.
But, people will believe it exists. Exactly like with there gods. And the one who claim they have magical powers will really believe they are true magicians.
I can even imagine a scene where a "sorcerer" cast a "curse" on a character. And that character will start to "feel" the effect of the curse, because he really believe it.
 

Defiant Explorer

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Magic in the Inner Empire.
1. I won't tell you here if there is magic in the game's world. Or gods. Or mythological creatures like people with tiger heads. Mainly because revealing certain aspects of the game's world would immediately form a circle of expectations. And that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

2. The global answer about the presence or absence of magic as something real is largely rooted in the world itself and... even the genre of my game. Which, by and large, is also hidden.

3. Hidden and not obvious things, by the way, are a great source for secret scenes. That is something that is not easy to find at all. It's ideal if someone goes through the whole game without knowing about their existence because the main plot will bring them to the finale without any of these things. And someone else will find. On not obvious branches, and will delve with reckless courage into these findings. And, who knows, perhaps get some new options for the ending part of the game. But it's not a given that they'll like the consequences. Or the price.

4. From what is already explicitly stated in the game, it may be worth noting that the local goddess of magic, Getaira, is essentially opposed to the pantheon of the main gods. You won't encounter any mention of Hell or Satan. Not once. Because such concepts simply don't exist in this world. But to send someone to Geta is the same as to send someone to hell here.

5. The words “Mage”, “Wizard”, and “Sorcerer” are almost never found in the game's world. More often “Witch” or “Witcher” are mentioned. And the collective word for them all is “Damned”. And it is under this name that the phenomenon is hyperlinked in the game. This may be worth carefully re-reading for anyone wishing to... gain “some magic”. It's only a couple sentences long. But that's enough. There, actually, is one more hyperlink... But it only occurs once in the game. So far. In the first chapter. So to speak, thought-provoking, but I think that's enough with the hints on this matter.

6. It is also worth noting that magic, as such, can have an internal or external source. The next key “fork” is whether magic is acquired or strictly innate. Based on these four basic variables, the nature of magic can vary greatly from setting to setting.

7. Not in every world “magic” is just power. Without a price. In some worlds, the price is such that it is best for any sane person to stay away from it. After all, the price could be that very sanity. Or worse.

8. Does that mean that in the world of my game, magic is, like, totally evil? Who knows. But all of the rumors accompanying magic clearly consider it so. Maybe they're nothing more than fairy tales and prejudice. Or maybe scary fairy tales are just a pale shadow of what magic really is. And I won't give you a straight answer anywhere but in the game itself. When the time comes.

9. What I can say, however, is that Selene is unlikely to read a couple of witchy books, put on a pointy hat, and go around the land shooting lightning bolts from her fingers at baddies. It's boring. And ridiculous. And there would hardly be any creepy rumors of the “damned” and “monsters” wandering around something so trivial like this. Well, purely logically... right?

:devilish:
 
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Defiant Explorer

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A-a-and... Purely to illustrate the general premise of the previous post, some screenshots from my Steam. From one old family-friendly survival game, to be more precise, that I played again a little not so long ago. To show better how magic can be something OTHER in some worlds.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Again, the thing under the spoiler is just an example. Sometimes there can be something really creepy lurking underneath the euphemism of the Dark Arts. Still want "some magic" in your naughty little hands?

:devilish: :devilish: :devilish:
 

Ssato243

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Feb 2, 2021
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A-a-and... Purely to illustrate the general premise of the previous post, some screenshots from my Steam. From one old family-friendly survival game, to be more precise, that I played again a little not so long ago. To show better how magic can be something OTHER in some worlds.

You don't have permission to view the spoiler content. Log in or register now.

Again, the thing under the spoiler is just an example. Sometimes there can be something really creepy lurking underneath the euphemism of the Dark Arts. Still want "some magic" in your naughty little hands?

:devilish: :devilish: :devilish:
also, some of the books in Conan has a magic of the nature is not just the dark arts but this is a price not like the dark magic
 

Defiant Explorer

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also, some of the books in Conan has a magic of the nature is not just the dark arts but this is a price not like the dark magic
Well, if I'm not mistaken, in Howard's original Conan stories, pretty much all magic was either clever tricks or really creepy Lovecraftian stuff (not for nothing they were pen pals).

One story featured a torture-mutilated alien who was, ahem, sliced to pieces by the local “magician” for his powers. There was a moment with an ancient pre-human race that shrunk living beings into figurines. There was a moment with one abandoned (not so much) city where the local crazy old chunk used some sort of a rather technological device that fired something like lasers. There was a moment with a curse-like killing at a distance. And a lot of references to the Black Lotus, yeah. There was also a divine aspect, once Conan, ahem, chased after a girl, the daughter of a northern god, wanting to... know her better. However, it's hard to call this girl “good” either, given her cute habit of dancing around the dying and causing them to unnatural lust for her. Had it not been for the intervention of her divine daddy, things might not have ended well for her in that story.

All in all, I'm not going to lie, I like this approach much more. Before magic degenerated into a set of clichés about lightning pew-pew and all those fireballs. And, of course, everything has to have a price. And I don't mean this superhero thing, “uh-oh, lots of power, lots of responsibility, blah blah blah.” This is just bullshit. Want inhuman power? Then pay for it... inhumanly high price. That I can believe in.
 

burnerone1

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Nov 24, 2017
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There is also the Eaters of the Dead/13th Warrior; were the fire wyrm is torch carrying cavalry. Having a language that uses lots of kennings in a distant location or a taboo subject can lead to people not knowing that the wendols were not real bearmen monsters but men in bear skull hats and furs.
 

Ssato243

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Feb 2, 2021
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Well, if I'm not mistaken, in Howard's original Conan stories, pretty much all magic was either clever tricks or really creepy Lovecraftian stuff (not for nothing they were pen pals).

One story featured a torture-mutilated alien who was, ahem, sliced to pieces by the local “magician” for his powers. There was a moment with an ancient pre-human race that shrunk living beings into figurines. There was a moment with one abandoned (not so much) city where the local crazy old chunk used some sort of a rather technological device that fired something like lasers. There was a moment with a curse-like killing at a distance. And a lot of references to the Black Lotus, yeah. There was also a divine aspect, once Conan, ahem, chased after a girl, the daughter of a northern god, wanting to... know her better. However, it's hard to call this girl “good” either, given her cute habit of dancing around the dying and causing them to unnatural lust for her. Had it not been for the intervention of her divine daddy, things might not have ended well for her in that story.

All in all, I'm not going to lie, I like this approach much more. Before magic degenerated into a set of clichés about lightning pew-pew and all those fireballs. And, of course, everything has to have a price. And I don't mean this superhero thing, “uh-oh, lots of power, lots of responsibility, blah blah blah.” This is just bullshit. Want inhuman power? Then pay for it... inhumanly high price. That I can believe in.
I remember it was when Conan in the books met the trickster and the druid that give them the eternal life with the sword
 

Defiant Explorer

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I remember it was when Conan in the books met the trickster and the druid that give them the eternal life with the sword
I'm quite sure it's not from Howard's work. Since his death, there's been a lot of people writing about Conan. And in those works, yeah, it could be anything. Howard himself wrote a couple dozen short stories and one novel about Conan. There were no druids, that's for sure. And neither was Red Sonja, for that matter. Or eternal life. And a lot of other things that today are associated with Howard in particular and the world he created in general.

Although, in one of the stories there was a Pict shaman... But he literally turned into a demon, not just an animal. He also killed folks in a horror-movie style, so no, that doesn't fit either.
 

Ssato243

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Feb 2, 2021
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I'm quite sure it's not from Howard's work. Since his death, there's been a lot of people writing about Conan. And in those works, yeah, it could be anything. Howard himself wrote a couple dozen short stories and one novel about Conan. There were no druids, that's for sure. And neither was Red Sonja, for that matter. Or eternal life. And a lot of other things that today are associated with Howard in particular and the world he created in general.

Although, in one of the stories there was a Pict shaman... But he literally turned into a demon, not just an animal. He also killed folks in a horror-movie style, so no, that doesn't fit either.
yep thanks I was reading some of the second author it was a lot old also
 

Defiant Explorer

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in the lore Civilized Realms. Part I: Valatean Republic there is a mention to magic where Emperor Amran IV is killed by an arrow which was directed by sorcery
These are events from two hundred years ago. Ahura Mon's companion was considered a witch because she was a Tyrunian and had blue eyes. Her name wasn't even mentioned in that post, just a vague hint. And not mention what else she did, or rather whispered to her lover, to do... As is commonly believed.

So, it's quite possible, like ffive said:

Doesn't necessarily mean it's true.

But it can't be ruled out for sure, either. After all, somewhere all the Ranalian horses were gone after they invaded the Caladan Empire. Because in the decisive battle, they all fought on foot. Nomads. On foot. Oh yeah, that blue-eyed witch... But again, as is commonly believed.
 
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Defiant Explorer

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I can see it 1) Nomads flee world ending magical disaster other nomads or drought into empire lands, 2) blue-eyed witch uses crystals to curse the horses horses cant eat or find enough local vegetation, 3) so all the horses die and the nomads have to fight on foot.
Haha, ancient crystals have something to do with it? That's a pillar of RPGs! Along with the chosen ones. And the main villainous villain.

How fortunate that I don't use those pillars, nor do I plan to.
 

Unnervia

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Oct 9, 2024
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I'm back. I made some kind of a demo, maybe playable enough for 15 minutes or so? I'll share it once it's a bit more.
God damn this is hard work. My brain is melting out of my ears trying to keep under control all the branching paths.

The twine editor is absolutely horrendous. I'm using Tweego and VScode. Would recommend. It just might be that I'm a noob at the language but it is also absolutely terrible.

My respect for HTML game makers have doubled- fucking tripled.

I'm not even talking about the writing part of it. Man you are really great at this. Making, creating a story with a believable setting and believable characters with soul. Not everyone can do that.

Anyways enough rambling. Good luck on your journey man. I will be keeping a close eye on it. I think it is my favorite game.
 
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