HTML Writing the story

[ArgoDitty]

I have a question for all developers, writers and people who (try to) create a multi path story. I have the outlines for my story set, I have the outlines of each chapter with the corresponding final passage written down. I know where I want to go and what stops I want to have and I have figured out how to deal with the possibility that people select different routes.

Right now I am in the stage or writing many of my passages but I'm wondering if I should first write the most important passages (i.e. write the final passages first. Then the end of chapter passages, start of chapter passages before I fill in the rest in the middle or if I should follow the flow of the game and write new passages while I keep playing/testing the entire game. The game I'm basing mine of (The Good Son [I'm using their code as a template and have been adjusting it to fit my story]) had updates with each chapter being released through time which is making me think that I should write chapter for chapter.

How do you all do it? What can you recommend I'd do? I feel like if I go in to write the first chapter that I might forget something, or that my creativity isn't there and that the story will feel unconnected. I'll continue working on my project tomorrow but I could really use any tips/tricks you all might have <3

 

[Erolath]

Well, when I try to make multiple paths I focus on one path - from start to end. When I had too many passages I often lost motivation. After first path is finished I move to another. Having too many passages was what get me lost with my projects.
I just write notes for different routes - most important elemens. This is how I do it. Hope it helps ^

 

[Feyschek]

I have a question for all developers, writers and people who (try to) create a multi path story. I have the outlines for my story set, I have the outlines of each chapter with the corresponding final passage written down. I know where I want to go and what stops I want to have and I have figured out how to deal with the possibility that people select different routes.

Right now I am in the stage or writing many of my passages but I'm wondering if I should first write the most important passages (i.e. write the final passages first. Then the end of chapter passages, start of chapter passages before I fill in the rest in the middle or if I should follow the flow of the game and write new passages while I keep playing/testing the entire game. The game I'm basing mine of (The Good Son [I'm using their code as a template and have been adjusting it to fit my story]) had updates with each chapter being released through time which is making me think that I should write chapter for chapter.

How do you all do it? What can you recommend I'd do? I feel like if I go in to write the first chapter that I might forget something, or that my creativity isn't there and that the story will feel unconnected. I'll continue working on my project tomorrow but I could really use any tips/tricks you all might have <3

Although I have no experience working with visual novels (not my style). But I can give you some advice on how I would personally act in your place.

The development of such a game begins with mock-ups of ideas and brainstorming.
- You need to make up the theme of the game and its style in which the story will be (fantasy, real story, horror).
- After we have decided on the style, we proceed to search for information on how best to write such stories, looking for advice on how best to present the text to the reader and make it interesting for him to read it. In short, we look at other authors of short stories and their methods of presenting the text.
- After you have decided on the style of the story, we proceed to planning a visual novel. We evaluate our strengths and capabilities, and then proceed to create a text layout, it is also better to determine in advance how many paths there will be in the game.

When we have done all the previous steps, we proceed to another stage.
- We are starting to work on the main routes in the game, from which we can make forks in the story.
- After we have created the main route in the game, we can proceed to the forks in the story, these are our additional routes.
- When you finish making additional routes, if you want and you still have strength, you can try to make more forks or even try to combine routes for other routes.
- I also advise you to read your own text and put yourself in the place of the player who will play, in order to remove such an element from development, I like it and don't care.

These are my personal tips if I started making a game in the style of a story and nothing more, I hope my thoughts will prompt the right way of development

 

[ArgoDitty]

Well, when I try to make multiple paths I focus on one path - from start to end. When I had too many passages I often lost motivation. After first path is finished I move to another. Having too many passages was what get me lost with my projects.
I just write notes for different routes - most important elemens. This is how I do it. Hope it helps ^

That's a really great tip! I've done this for the first chapter of the story already and was starting to branche off and do the rest of the story around it but now you've convinced me to stick to the main story plan I've written and write all the main story paths first!

 

[ArgoDitty]

Although I have no experience working with visual novels (not my style). But I can give you some advice on how I would personally act in your place.

The development of such a game begins with mock-ups of ideas and brainstorming.
- You need to make up the theme of the game and its style in which the story will be (fantasy, real story, horror).
- After we have decided on the style, we proceed to search for information on how best to write such stories, looking for advice on how best to present the text to the reader and make it interesting for him to read it. In short, we look at other authors of short stories and their methods of presenting the text.
- After you have decided on the style of the story, we proceed to planning a visual novel. We evaluate our strengths and capabilities, and then proceed to create a text layout, it is also better to determine in advance how many paths there will be in the game.

When we have done all the previous steps, we proceed to another stage.
- We are starting to work on the main routes in the game, from which we can make forks in the story.
- After we have created the main route in the game, we can proceed to the forks in the story, these are our additional routes.
- When you finish making additional routes, if you want and you still have strength, you can try to make more forks or even try to combine routes for other routes.
- I also advise you to read your own text and put yourself in the place of the player who will play, in order to remove such an element from development, I like it and don't care.

These are my personal tips if I started making a game in the style of a story and nothing more, I hope my thoughts will prompt the right way of development

While it sounds like you have a lot more experience and a lot higher expectation of the story I'm hoping to publish I think the tips you've given are very helpful! Thankfully I'm basing mine off a lot of work of others and I've already spent time thinking about the main story and paths and difficulties with writing so now I just need to get writing all the passages. I think for me the main take away is so indeed focus on the main story first and foremost, and I'm sure to use that tip! Thanks for the insight and and the useful tips!

 

[Feyschek]

While it sounds like you have a lot more experience and a lot higher expectation of the story I'm hoping to publish I think the tips you've given are very helpful! Thankfully I'm basing mine off a lot of work of others and I've already spent time thinking about the main story and paths and difficulties with writing so now I just need to get writing all the passages. I think for me the main take away is so indeed focus on the main story first and foremost, and I'm sure to use that tip! Thanks for the insight and and the useful tips!

I have almost no experience in terms of visual novels, I just described the actions I would do if I wanted to do it.

I don't have high expectations for your game, because I prefer games to be judged by their first version. If this game has a good story to read, then maybe I'll play. But there is one problem, I do not know English and the page translator sometimes gives such nonsense to my native language (Russian) that I don't even want to read.

That's why I almost don't play visual novels from Western developers, I play games with an open world where the text is not particularly important.

 

[SSWorldMaker]

Feyschek has a lot of good advices.

I'm working on a pretty complex html game with a lot of choices and paths.
From what you tell on your post, you seem to have a good start base to do it.
The most important thing is to know where your main story will end (having the big lines). And if you don't lose your focus on that, you can keep adding secondaries paths, or side stories and with as many choices as you want.
I don't know if you will use Twine for your game, but it's pretty simple to organise your story with it.

Good luck with your game.

 

[Feyschek]

Feyschek have a lot of good advices.

I'm working on a pretty complex html game with a lot of choices and paths.
From what you tell on your post, you seem to have a good start base to do it.
The most important thing is to know where your main story will end (having the big lines). And if you don't lose your focus on that, you can keep adding secondaries paths, or side stories and with as many choices as you want.
I don't know if you will use Twine for your game, but it's pretty simple to organise your story with it.

Good luck with your game.

I found these tips from a Russian developer who described the actions of how best to start developing the game.

He had a lot of descriptions of each action there, I reduced it all to a visual novel, and then used his basic tips for each type of game. Because they are basically the same, there are differences in the genre and that's it.

Of course, I don't like the genre of visual novels, so I will never make them.