This is output captured from one of my test runs. I know about the missing closing quote at the end of the second to last paragraph. I did do some editing, but only notations, I left everything else as it came off Chrome’s pages. (Oh! I also pulled Fanci’s description from her description page! So you’ll know who you’re dealing with.) I know I could have chosen a naughtier sample, but I felt this showed off the most features.
Background: I’ve picked the middle-of-the-road options on everything, so far. I started as a woman, and Bruce (my trainer) decided he wanted to make me a man… or a futa / herm. Nope, Fanci spilled the beans… she says ‘man’. Maybe I should leave that little slip-up in place… or maybe I should have her correct herself… or maybe not have her slip up at all. What do YOU think?
This is ALPHA TEST output… very subject to change, of course!
Feedback is encouraged. I have opened anonymous replies. If it is abused, they will be disabled without discussion. Read more…
Another week, another update.
I’m trying to keep up with the updates because I know the number of readers is NOT reflected by the number of comments I receive. (Trust me. I know that requiring people to use a name and email so you can comment is horrible and mean, and I might allow anon posting… but I don’t have the time to moderate each comment, just yet. Maybe I’ll take on an assistant. *winking grin* )
Well, this week has not been as productive as I would have liked, but I did make some (I hope positive) decision-changes in the development side. Biggest (most time consuming) of which was changing to object-oriented variable style. (For non-programmers: I’m keeping details about something limited to that particular thing.) It has many benefits, but means I had to redo a fair amount of code (about 70%).
I’ve also been working on the dynamic event system. (That makes it sound so much more impressive than it really is.) With this, I can easily add new events by adding the passage and updating one line of text in one of the global lists. It is pretty cool. Have most of it working. Being able to call passages by passing a variable for the name is so nifty… that’s one of the features which brought me back to Twine / Sugcarcube. Pretty spiffy stuff, I’m telling you.
Also, I’m putting together a writing sample for what you can expect to see in the game. I’m presenting it for feedback, so I’ll probably open up anonymous commenting for that post… as soon as I figure out how. Right now, I know how to change the settings for the entire blog, but not for a specific entry. I’ll let you know, when it gets posted.
Tah for now…
– Cam
[Edit below]
P.S.: I added ratings to my posts. I was tinkering around in the settings and found it… we’ll see if I keep it active. I also made a couple of other minor settings changes. If you don’t like any of the changes, let me know.
It’s been almost two weeks since my last update, and I didn’t want to give the impression that I’d stopped working on things.
On the contrary, I’ve been pushing forward and learning… oh so much learning… and I would be further, except I’ve run into some kind of sticking point in my code. I’ve posted about it in one of the forums, so I expect to get a reliable answer soon.
But yes, that sticky thing is what is holding me back from further progress, at the moment. I’m still writing for it… but right now, my style’s all over the place. I’m mixed between keeping it classy in word but naughty in content, and vulgar in word… naughtier in content.
In some ways I prefer vulgar wording… in other ways, I want to sound like I’m above that.
Bah! Maybe I should just admit defeat… if I’m going to write smut, I should just write smut.
I guess I’ll save the highbrow stuff for other writing. 😉
(Summary / TL;DR at the bottom)
So I’ve been working with Twine and having a great time of it. Now, I knew there were different “modes” with Twine; “Jonah” and “Sugarcube” being the most popular.
I thought these were just different ways of displaying the Twine content.
Wrong-O.
Each is basically an extension of Twine. Cool stuff!
Much of the nifty-neat-o, spifftastic fun stuff I’ve seen in Twine has been provided by the extensions. My preferred add-on is Sugarcube, and I must say… It is awfully, awfully nice. (Yes, I had to say it twice… cha-cha-cha.)
But, this explains why I haven’t been able to find documentation for a lot of things from the Twine site. …I should have been checking the Sugarcube docs!
So I started perusing the new documentation and I have decided that I need to absorb more of Sugarcube’s offerings before I do too much more coding. (Still writing scenes and events, though!)
It appears that many conventional programming elements, to which I am accustomed, are available courtesy of Sugarcube.
With said elements already made, I don’t have to go building my own processes… which is why I chose Twine/Sugarcube in the first place. (I like having the option to build my own core routines, but it doesn’t mean I want to.)
I want the player of my games to have an experience with certain elements. I have spent so much of my time trying to figure out how to facilitate those elements it has taken brain-time away from the story-side writing. Now that I’ve had a chance to look at the docs for Sugarcube, I’m very relieved to know I have less to build and more time/attention to write and create.
SUMMARY / TL;DR: Twine with Sugarcube is way cool. I now grasp the scope of the difference between the two, and understand why some features I’ve seen are not documented by Twine… they are Sugarcube features. Duh.
Progress continues.
Just thought I’d take a minute and share some of the events happening since I opted to throw myself into making Slave Mastered.
I spent a long stretch coding like mad. I was inspired. I was writing like mad. I fell asleep at the computer, and when I woke up… the folder and all the content was g – o – n – e… gone.
I found several shortcuts throughout the OS which referred to the files and folder, but no folder… and no files.
I checked “recycle”. I checked my network shares. Nada.
I was deflated and crushed.
So, after spending a few hours creating virtual havoc and destruction (Xbox 360) to vent some steam from the frustration and loss, I started again….
…from scratch.
This time through, I’ve not felt that same inspired rush as words and ideas come flowing. However, I believe I’m making smarter choices as I go. I’m thinking through what I am doing, not just what I can do. First time through, I created so many variables to track so many things for some very fun and interesting events and triggers… or potentially so.
This time, I don’t have to manage twelve variables every time you’re asked an opinion or experience an event. (I only had 5 events done, and each required twelve variables to be addressed. I had to copy-paste, for sanity’s sake.) If I was dealing with a more robust system, and this was going to be a for-profit venture… and I was aiming for a true-er artificial intelligence experience… and I had a good budget… and I didn’t have a full-time job… and a full-time life… and… and… and… well, if things were different, then I’d keep up with those bajillion variables, making for a really robust experience.
For now, still in alpha-dev stage, I’m keeping it simple and smart. Lean and mean.
…and I’m saving constantly.
…and I’m pushing backups of the work to another computer. (Every couple hours of work.)
…and I’m putting the work away when I start to nod-off at the computer.
…and it’s slower-going.
…and it will be easier to maintain.
…and it will be easier to expand.
…and… I think I like this version more.
It’s not inspired creativity, it’s calculated creation.
I’m taking the slow-and-sure method over the quick-n-dirty.
It’s a change of M.O. for me… and I think I might like it. Still not sure yet.
*grin*
— Cam
WARNING: Rant
A couple of days ago, I got a message from someone (preferring to remain anonymous, apparently) who felt insulted that my games (and ideas for them) “fetishized transgenderism” in a negative way. And that “focusing on sissy lifestyle was doing nothing to empower those who struggle every day with a very real problem”.
The message was intelligent, well worded, and fairly well thought-out, in making the points it was intended to make. (I considered that it might be a troll, trying to bait me. But there was too much thought in it, too much reasoning, and too much restrained emotion.)
…with apologies to the SNL folk.
This weekend was pretty active, in the creative sense:
- Updated the GoS link on my menu bar, added an Intro page and putting the Features page beneath.
- Gave some examples of how I want GoS to play.
- Posted like mad to a forum where I’ve been lurking and playing / reading for over a year.
- Bounced ideas off the forum folks and they really seemed into what I’m doing here.
- Watched my visit-counter climb with each post to that forum… yes, the URL for this site is in my sigline.
- Found that there is a serious interest in the game I originally envisioned when I decided to do GoS.
- …added another game to my WIP list. (see above entry *grin*)
- Tried explain an extremely complex algorithm, but I decided to dumb it down so I wouldn’t seem so pompous.
- Face-palmed myself when I saw the dumbed-down version of the algorithm and realized: Holy crap! That would work! And it’s easier, faster, less resource intensive! … BETTER!
- I arranged to acquire another machine for my home network, so I can tinker around with the MUD without tying up my desktop machine quite as much. It’s an older box, but it’s going in the second room so I don’t have to hear it or deal with the heat… yay summer.
- Did some much-needed planning on plots for a couple of active projects because they needed to be constrained. Seriously.
So… yeah, got a lot of creative stuff done.
I’m looking forward to next weekend, if things continue at this current rate!
— Cam
I’ve updated a couple of the site’s pages. Here’s a quick summary:
- Added WIP (Work In Progress) page
- Edited WIP with more info about my Works In Progress
- Moved Hell Breaks Loose! under WIP on the quick-bar
- Edited the Features page
– Cam
Not quite a month has passed, and I’m definitely hitting my stride during this current creation-cycle in my life. (I haven’t completely dropped playing games and reading, but I’m doing so from a much more critical angle.)
[There’s a TL; DR at the end of this post. “Too long; didn’t read.” a/k/a “a summary” in net-nerd-speak.]
I have two Twine projects in play right now (yes, both new), but each one has a different skew to their storylines and the logic behind each is different. (The current version of Twine addresses many (if not all!) of my frustration-points when I was working on Hell Breaks Loose! This is great news! I may have to get back to HBL again… but not right now.)
One of the projects is pretty linear in its pathing, and while each of your decisions will have a definite affect on the story, there are specific milestones which you cannot avoid. (How they will be traversed, however, is based on your decisions.)
The other Twine project is a bit more sandboxed. You will have options which will creep up and affect you. In theory, this should affect how all of it comes to pass. This is the more daunting project. I’ve already let feature creep make itself at home in this project, in a big way. I’m still working on more details. It will probably always be a work-in-progress where you’ll have to pay attention to version numbers. *big smile*
And now for the bigger news…
I have decided how I’m going to do Game of Slaves. For real. Seriously. Honest… and for true.
Maybe that should have been the headline? *grin*
My ambitions for GoS have exceeded my resources (time, mostly), but it would be a dishonor to myself and the project if I didn’t try to maintain the meatiest parts of it. (I’ll be updating the “about” page for it soon, as I can hardly wait to share the details.)
Here’s the current vision I have for GoS: It will be a TF (transformation)-themed MUD.
I have never been a huge fan of PvP gaming, since it usually puts the casual gamer at a disadvantage. (I will have that addressed!) However, I am a huge fan of multi-user games. In the vision I have, other players will be a tremendous help… but also add a whole new dimension of content.
(For the record: “PvP” is player-vs-player, typically in opposition to one another. Not always where I want to be. However, PvP the online comic is wonderfuls! I’ve been following Mr. Kurtz and his work since beyond forever! It’s about gaming and gamers, in general. They hit my old-school-gamer, bleeding-edge-tech, and funnybone buttons repeatedly. You should read the strip. Seriously.)
A MUD is a Multi-User Domain (or Dungeon, which may be most appropriate in this instance). Simply: a text-adventure with other players in the same game, at the same time, able to interact with each other. Usually the MUD’s world is persistent, meaning that when you come back, things are where you left them… unless someone/something came along and moved them. Also, you pick up in your progress where you left off.
Yes, some people don’t care for text-based games where you have to do a lot of typing. For that, I apologize. I’m not an artist, and my skills at drawing/painting/sketching are poor, at best. A clickable interface for most common actions might be a happening thing, but we shall have to wait until I get a number of other things ironed out. For reals, and such.
Okay, I feel like I’ve thrown a lot into the world in this missive, so I’m going to wrap it up and get back to my projects. Which one? Yep.
[TL;DR : I’ve got two Twine games added to my open-projects list. I’ve decided to make GoS using a MUD engine. It will be TF-themed. It will be awesome. Read PvP online comic. Seriously.]
– Cameron
(PS: I’ve long-wanted to be able to give a shout-out to Scott Kurtz. And I finally had that chance. Awesomeness. (Yes, that’s a real word.))
(PPS: Why does my spellcheck accept “gamer”, but not “gamers”? …or “spellcheck” for that matter? Wait… I think I asked this in the past. Oh well.)
(Post-post-postscript: My writing style today has been brought to you by “Nikki”, a 90’s girl for whom I have been writing dialogue.)
Since I haven’t posted anything since January, it only makes sense that I give everyone a quarterly update, at the very least.
When I first started the blog, my self-promise was to post something at least once a week.
I kept that up… for a while. Then it became monthly. And now… yeah. It’s been three months.
I don’t get a lot of comments, but I’m okay with that. I still get a fair number of readers who check in periodically. I’m okay with that, too. I don’t need a lot of comments or subscribers to validate me and my work.
Having said that line, I can imagine people asking “what work?” and all I can say is: I’ve been doing a fair amount of work in the year and a half that I have been doing this blog. My standards are high. My standards are even higher for myself, since I don’t want to show half-slow (ie; half-fast / half-assed) work; I want to show things which I can be proud to say “I made that.”
This blog serves multiple purposes. One of which is where I can rant and rave, both. Another, so I have some kind of tracking / validation that I’m actually doing something for some of my hobbies… given that I’m so inclined to start things and leave them unfinished. *sheepish grin*
Back to the update!
I have spent the better chunk of Q1 (first quarter of the year, for those non-business-nerd types) playing and absorbing.
I have found that I cycle between creating and absorbing; writing/reading, programming/using, building/playing, et cetera.
Most of Q1 was an absorbing phase. I’ve started the creation phase again… ergo, a blog post!
I have decided I need to start producing… something.
I expect to post a few small projects and various dabblings. Some will be good. Some will probably be… less good. (Heck, some of it might actually suck. We’ll see.) Some of these might actually meet completion.
I visit a few sites for games, writing, and art. I see a lot of projects with potential which are left unfinished. As a fan, myself, it’s very frustrating to see incomplete works. I won’t lie.
I admit, I’m nervous about sharing half-done work. (…or not-even-half-done, in many cases.)
One of my big flaws in my projects is that I start with a simple idea, and begin building on that idea…fleshing it out and building it up until it is no longer doable.
For me, “feature creep” is not just an understatement, it’s a way of life; Feature Creep is my philosophy.
For those who do not know, I must thank Wikipedia for this definitive definition:
Feature creep, creeping featurism or featuritis is the ongoing expansion or addition of new features in a product, such as in computer software. Extra features go beyond the basic function of the product and so can result in over-complication rather than simple design.
Yes. Things are coming. Some may be fan-tastic. Some may be crap-tastic.
What things? Incomplete things, but things nonetheless.
— Cam
Game of Slaves 