Ai tag seems to be missing... or the elves have fucked up fingers in this universe? tbf would not be suprised
HTML Orphan [Ch.3] [Exalted Text]
- Thread starter Exalted Text
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Yeah... It's a genetic mutation that started to afflict all elvenkind about ~3 millenia ago. Let's just go with that.
Man, why are you eyeballing those fingers so hard? Do you just have eagle eyes or were you really trying to immerse yourself into that HJ scene?
Regardless, I didn't know there was an AI tag, so fair enough. I've been experimenting with different methods for the images and I've been trying to make them sparse but tasteful and conducive to the game's style, theme, feel.Huh, first time I've seen this bug. I'll try and look into it.
Otherwise, I hope ya'll are enjoying the story so far. Cheers.
I'm enjoying this. Both the academy and arena paths have been pretty well set up now in Chapter 2 and I'm curious about where the story goes, either as a terrible hapless Hogwarts freshman or a Gladiator also-ran. Digging the setting; hope the CYOA scope doesn't run out of control. I want to see where this ends up.
Regarding the AICG tag, it'd be much more distracting and more likely to turn you off the game if the AI graphics were more frequent (or more explicit). So far, as mostly setting an occasional vibe and background aesthetic, it's not too distracting, but for my two cents restraint feels key.
Ran into a simple bug with one of the options in the Ch2 arena, with an improperly terminated parenthesis (around line 3000 in the html file):
Adding an end paren fixed it:
Regarding the AICG tag, it'd be much more distracting and more likely to turn you off the game if the AI graphics were more frequent (or more explicit). So far, as mostly setting an occasional vibe and background aesthetic, it's not too distracting, but for my two cents restraint feels key.
Ran into a simple bug with one of the options in the Ch2 arena, with an improperly terminated parenthesis (around line 3000 in the html file):
HTML:
<<if $mobility gte 1>>
elseif (($might gte 1) and ($chp2_polearm == true) or ($chp2_sword == true)>>
[[If it's blood they want, then blood they'll get.|chp2_arena_rally1_formup1_guarded_flanked_beheading]]<</if>>elseif (($might gte 1) and ($chp2_polearm == true)) or ($chp2_sword == true)
- Aug 23, 2016
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Don't forget the demented looking cat.
If Devs are going to use AI they should put the work in; God people have managed to train AI to make foot fetish art now and fucking artists usually suck at feet.
It's supposed to be a silly lil' janky looking statuette of a feline, sitting on a bookshelf. Nothing more, nothing less.
Kinda like the silly cat holding a Kar98 and wearing a Wehrmacht cap in your avatar.
But I get it, people like to hyperfixate and nitpick as soon as AI comes into the picture. Truthfully, I like to hear people's opinions regarding it like marble pile's suggestion to exercise restraint. The purpose of the images as a whole are to help breath a little more life into certain scenes, set the tone, and of course they help advertise/promote the game visually.
Cheers for the kind words and for catching that error. I'll likely push out a new version that fixes some bugs/spelling on itch.io in the coming days. Chances are this thread will see it's next update with Chapter 2.5, which focuses on expanding the gladiator path. There's going to be a big scene with content that I don't think I've ever seen tackled/attempted in another game before.
Game is good. I can't wait to see the next updates.
Regarding the AI, I honestly don't mind and would like to see more images. I know there are ton of anti-tech chuds on this planet that hate AI generated images so I would understand if you end up removing them tbh.
Problem with the music and loading games. If I start the game, and immediatly load from a save: the badass opening theme never stops and is mixed with the other themes. My temporary solution was to progress until the theme stops to load my file.
Regarding the AI, I honestly don't mind and would like to see more images. I know there are ton of anti-tech chuds on this planet that hate AI generated images so I would understand if you end up removing them tbh.
Problem with the music and loading games. If I start the game, and immediatly load from a save: the badass opening theme never stops and is mixed with the other themes. My temporary solution was to progress until the theme stops to load my file.
- Oct 15, 2018
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Wow! This is really excellent writing. I read a post earlier today somewhere about how the problem with AVNs is that
so many people try to go it alone; the CG experts have no writing skill and the writers have no art to grace their
stories with.
There is no better example anywhere of this dilemma.
so many people try to go it alone; the CG experts have no writing skill and the writers have no art to grace their
stories with.
There is no better example anywhere of this dilemma.
So this story seems like it railroaded me in a direction that felt like i had no agency but I am told this is a choose your own adventure. Why and I leaving home to be an Ascender when I could be an apprentice? Why make it seem like I have a choice but in reality i don't? And if I do have a choice later in the story why give me the impression I am the one that can choose when I contact the wizard when I can't actually choose? If the intent is to make the choice later in the story then don't write the story such where you tell me I have agency to contact the wizard anytime within three days when you don't intend to let me do so. Instead write is such that the wizard will contact me when the choice has to be made. It is bad game design to narratively tell the player you can do X when mechanically you can't. If I am told I can contact the wizard, then give me the ability to do so mechanically. If there is only a specific time when the option opens up then make the narrative such that I can't contact the wizard when I want with my decision, but he will contact me.
When you tell the players they have agency and then don't give it to them, aka when the story is out of sync with the mechanics you get dissonance within the game that takes away from your story. The illusion of choice is often more important than having actual choice. If you told me the wizard that once a day for three days the amulet would glow and I activated it I would be accepting being an apprentice but if I ignored it he wouldn't bother me again. I wouldn't feel railroaded because you didn't tell me I had agency to call the wizard anytime to make my choice. You make think what is the difference it results in the same thing but it is different and the difference is what makes or breaks a cyoa type story.
Or maybe there is a bug because once I left the wizards lair I never heard from him again.
When you tell the players they have agency and then don't give it to them, aka when the story is out of sync with the mechanics you get dissonance within the game that takes away from your story. The illusion of choice is often more important than having actual choice. If you told me the wizard that once a day for three days the amulet would glow and I activated it I would be accepting being an apprentice but if I ignored it he wouldn't bother me again. I wouldn't feel railroaded because you didn't tell me I had agency to call the wizard anytime to make my choice. You make think what is the difference it results in the same thing but it is different and the difference is what makes or breaks a cyoa type story.
Or maybe there is a bug because once I left the wizards lair I never heard from him again.
- Jan 22, 2020
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This was well written, interesting and branching. So all in all an excellent start. I have a particular softness for demons and dark elves so glad to see them about.
I was surprised there was no way to ditch the school and go for the whole wizard thing. It'd be kind of a dick move to bail on school later after your adopted father called in some favours to get you there, so woulda made sense to have the branch earlier rather than later. Perhaps it'd be too much work to have what is essential multiple different stories going at once, but then there does seem to be a whole gladiator slave path too anyway.
Oh and ignore people whining about AI, I found the images added nicely to the experience as the text is the focus anyway, and I'd rather see them used a bit more frequently than less.
I was surprised there was no way to ditch the school and go for the whole wizard thing. It'd be kind of a dick move to bail on school later after your adopted father called in some favours to get you there, so woulda made sense to have the branch earlier rather than later. Perhaps it'd be too much work to have what is essential multiple different stories going at once, but then there does seem to be a whole gladiator slave path too anyway.
Oh and ignore people whining about AI, I found the images added nicely to the experience as the text is the focus anyway, and I'd rather see them used a bit more frequently than less.
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Ahah, I love the impassioned rant that's immediately followed by what amounts to, "It could be a bug I guess."
I will say this. You're making a lot of assumptions for a game that currently only has 2 chapters out.
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Player agency matters to me, and it's an aspect of the game design that I'm trying hard to prioritize without having 100 different active branches. If you felt like that wasn't the case, perhaps that's a failure on my part to convey the right story beats. It comes down to this. Some of your choices in Orphan, will have delayed resolutions. It's an ongoing story. And I hope you're enjoying it, any potential flaws aside. Cheers man.
I really appreciate that.
I mean, I guess it's a double-edged compliment that also highlights the lack of visuals compared to AVNs. Not that I consider Orphan an AVN; my direct competition would be more along the lines of the Choice Of games. But whether I like it or not, I'm competing with AVNs for attention, especially on a site like f95.
The way I see it, there's two potential solutions. Learning Daz3D is an option that I considered long ago, but not any longer. I see how time consuming it is and the level of competition for what's considered a 'good render' is extremely high today. For the most part, I'd rather fixate on the writing and an abundance of choices, and appeal to those who don't mind a lack of visuals.
Two other directions that I could take being...
1. Go even harder into the realm of AI art. There's a lot of games that're doing it and seeing some success. However, believe it or not, this also takes a lot of time, effort, energy and... skill. Getting a consistent art style, consistent characters and realistic poses, etc... The technology is getting better, but this still takes real effort and some people will disparage your project for including/using this technology regardless of how charming the results are.
2. Work with another person/a team of people. This is also quite difficult. Before I started Orphan, I worked on multiple AVNs as part of a team. Revenue share, freelancing, paid by the line, etc... I wrote scripts, I proofread, I did scene direction for one of the most popular college-themed AVNs on this site. And much like in the real world, I realized that working for someone else sucks almost all of the fun and passion out of an activity like writing.
It doesn't help that this genre is full of chronically online nutjobs. You know, people like me. I just happen to be jacked, handsome and humble as well. That's all to say, a writer like me finding a talented artist/CG expert who can share a creative vision and consistent output of material... well, it's not easy. That would be like finding a diamond in the rough.
If you know of any, don't be afraid to send them my way.
I told you exactly what the game felt like and like so many "creative" types you got your panties in a bunch, because i didn't recognize your genius. But you have your head so far up your ass that I was "ranting." Because of coarse I was ranting and not being constructive because I wasn't giving you a verbal handjob and telling you have brilliant you are. If I feel I have no agency after two chapters that is YOUR failure not mine. 100,000 words (your metric) isn't me rushing to judgement and telling you how your CYOA feels to the user.
You could have taken what i said and thought about it and ask yourself could I have addressed any of the points raised? Is there any room for improvement? Nope you just went wah wah bad man ranted at me. Bloody hell grow up. And me saying it could have been a bug you took as some failing on may part WTF? Lets just say it was a bug then wouldn't you want to fucking know of a bug that made people feel they had no agency? Wouldn't that be one of the most important bugs you could ever be told about? Get your head out of your ass and learn to identify when people are trying to help you. Because I am not your mother I am not going to lie to you and tell you, "you are special."
I love the unhinged energy and apparent lack of reading comprehension. Yes man, I'm an absolute genius incapable of making mistakes. That's definitely how I presented myself in my previous post, and I definitely wasn't being sarcastic at any one point, you couldn't be more accurate. Hopefully you come around and see my unfailable genius before long.
Cheers man.
- Oct 15, 2018
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If I may make some suggestions, I really liked the story of the Third Quarter and I felt like I was rushed out of
it too soon to move the story along. I think it would be good if you could intersperse the forward motion of
the story with some "downtime" in the form of freeroam sections every now and then where the player can
examine his surroundings, or examine objects he's acquired, talk to the natives and only move on when he's
good and ready.
Maybe try telling a small story through the freeroam. Maybe even promote it to a full gameplay loop? Have
you played Imperium Bureaucracy Hero?
Both the tavern and the cobbler's shop were great opportunities for this kind of storytelling and gameplay.
Edit: As I think back it seems like this was done to some degree in the wizard's hideout, but there weren't
really enough degrees of freedom to be considered a freeroam. And that wasn't a pause in the story anyway
so it wouldn't be the right place either.
it too soon to move the story along. I think it would be good if you could intersperse the forward motion of
the story with some "downtime" in the form of freeroam sections every now and then where the player can
examine his surroundings, or examine objects he's acquired, talk to the natives and only move on when he's
good and ready.
Maybe try telling a small story through the freeroam. Maybe even promote it to a full gameplay loop? Have
you played Imperium Bureaucracy Hero?
Both the tavern and the cobbler's shop were great opportunities for this kind of storytelling and gameplay.
Edit: As I think back it seems like this was done to some degree in the wizard's hideout, but there weren't
really enough degrees of freedom to be considered a freeroam. And that wasn't a pause in the story anyway
so it wouldn't be the right place either.
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Imperium Bureaucracy Hero is the only game that I've actually rated on f95.
You could say I'm a fan. I totally agree with you, by the way. I'm writing Chapter 2.5 right now which focuses on the Gladiator arc, and the initial half of the chapter is a rather big freeroam, without spoiling the actual events. It has been pretty fun to write so far and I plan on doing many more. Not doing a freeroam in the Third Quarter is definitely a missed opportunity, but I think I'll be able to rectify that before long. There will be opportunities for downtime in both major branches.
It would be interesting to give the player/MC the choice of where they would like to visit, under the pretense of visiting another character. Almost like Persona or games in that same vein where you visit a location to build/increase a relationship.
That's all to say - thanks for the insight.
I've only tried the Gladiator branch but so far, it's been pretty cool.
Music is good. Could do with more images, and perhaps an indicator of when your stats gets you an extra choice.
Music is good. Could do with more images, and perhaps an indicator of when your stats gets you an extra choice.
i like it so far, cant wait to see more
will we get to see the goblin again?
will we get to see the goblin again?
- Nov 18, 2017
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What the hell dev? Was a supporter on Patreon and politely voiced my opinion about MAJOR changes that are planned and you block my account without replying. That's childish af dude. How are potential supporters gonna have any faith or trust in a dev that acts like this?
- Dec 5, 2019
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Surprised the dev hasn't addressed this post, because it's kind of wild if true. Hope it's a misunderstanding because the game is interesting.
- Sep 17, 2017
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interesting theme. surely needs a year or two to grow some meat on dem bones, but i will keep an eye on it.