[R-Play tester] [R> Other] [R>Writer] Unpaid writer wanted to help me make docs/tools so that non programmers can make quests and events for my game

Hsingai

New Member
May 8, 2021
7
1
Hello. I'm working on combining the technology from several open source academic projects into one Easy to use Game development system.

Basicly read

and

and this:

I'm apposed to branching narrative. I've come up with an alternative I'm calling Merging, since you look as a choice then you move back up to the choices that need to be made to enable that choice, instead of a tree branching out you get a tree funneling(though that's not actually a description of how it works, especially if you look at the complete graph of all available choices or of the complete story.. It should be called 'Whack-A-Mole')

instead of starting with scenes and asking "What are the things that could come after this scene?" then adding chooses that like to new scenes and trying to weave the paths back into each other to avoid the exponential explosion.

With my approach you start with a choices then work backwards asking "What things could of happen before this that enabled this thing to happen and what could have prevented it?" then after to got the flow worked out you go back and write the responses to those choices.

I think this approach will be more useful to write parser based IF(interactive Fiction for you youngsters, They simulate the world and generate response to what the player does. Think a text based The Sims)

When you play the game, Instead of scenes offering you choices that move you to the next scene. Choices are added or removed from the pool of available choices as you interact with the world; Then when you make a choice it generates a vignette( description of what happens based on the current state of the world(like the previous choices you're made)).

So lets you you start to write a story and you get this: a
Example story.Broken.png
It doesn't make a nice Prerequisite/enable/prevent graph. you have things braking enables and reenabling this that where prevented. This tell you that you are missing narratively significant events. This is how I fixed it:


Example story.Finished.png

If you start adding a layer of 'Brakes' and 'Reenables' to your finished designs you want to add a layer of 'Fixes' to the 'Brakes' and 'Disables' and then more lays on top.

But the tools needs to support them even thou the engine does not, it like the error messages that programs use to find out why their code doesn't compile. So that when the author finally goes to bed then gets back to it the following evens he remembers that he needs to fix it. or then worst if multiple people are working of the same game.

Thanks for your time,
Alta
 
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Hsingai

New Member
May 8, 2021
7
1
So this won't be useful for VNs?
The Wack-A-Mole technique for finding narrative significant events is useful. but 90% of it is won't do anything noticable to the play of a typical VNs.

Most of it just helps you find Watsonian excuses for your Doylist decisions which if you're not generating the story at runtime you can just do in your head.

You know if "This don't make sense logical but the reader won't notice so I can put it in the story" but computers can tell the diffrense between that and "This don't make sense logically and will cause the read to go 'This story is crap' and stop reading."

(most of it handles stuff like you decide that a random encounter with be the Player meeting the Witch in the forest Today. hos the game figure out motivations and plans to fullfill those motivations for all the NPCs so that the Witch end up at the Woods today.)
 

yihman1

Knockout Master
May 11, 2017
3,109
10,782
That web looks very... complex, and very simple missing a lot of stuff at the same time.

Here is that game so far as I know it.

Hit the "start button". This starts the game, but does not start the journey.

There is a potion and a sword. You must take the sword and potion to start the journey.

You have the option to examine the sword or potion. If you drink the potion you can no longer examine it.

You start the journey. At this point you can either lose your sword in the swamp or break your sword fighting a dragon.

If you break the sword when fighting the dragon you get the option to reforge the sword.

A better way to put it would be:

If sword = True and potion = True then Jourey start = True
Your journey starts after you pick up both of these items.
You can just examine the sword & potion automatically one time when you gain them to cut that need to examine them
and remove the ability to examine them or have it listed as an item with a description if you see it in inventory. "It's a healing potion that gives back 100 HP"
Seems like something should happen between going to fight a dragon and picking up a sword for the first time too. Maybe start with a swamp rat or something a dragon is too much.
You can either lose the sword or break the sword. That is kinda redundant, but it can work to the same effect. Just discard the broken sword and you are in the same position either way. Then you gotta make a new sword either way. Do we like start out as a master blacksmith or something? Maybe go to a blacksmith or get some ingredients for that and forge a better sword. Maybe go back and make that first sword a wooden sword so it breaks easily after a few fights. There is no mention of armor or traveling or other accessories like a shield. A lot of times simplifying things make them a lot easier and more enjoyable, but at the same time attention to details is important.