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choose your own fate

Started by flashinpan Nov 11, 2005 at 6:33 PM 18 replies 1.9k views

Original Post

Nov 11, 2005 at 6:33 PM

Team name: CYOF (Choose Your Own Fate) Just me for now :) Project name: CYOF Brief description: For those of you who have ever read books from the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series (many many years ago!) this will be the same kind of thing, except it will be online. This will allow a virtually unlimited capacity to expand the game content over time. It will work like this: 1) You will start out on a web page. 2) There will be a brief description of where you are. 3) You will be given choices on what to do. 4) Based on the choices you make, the story evolves in different ways. This means that the game will be primarily text based, with some pictures to enhance the experience (if an artist comes on board with real talent). This game is in "design" right now...so a perfect time for you to come on board and have some say-so in how the game play happens, the game "plot", etc. The game will be distinguished not by flashy graphics or gameplay, but on the imaginative content! Thus, the focus is not on programming ability, but is story-centric. Target aim: Freeware. Just for fun. We can discuss this if need be. Compensation: No pay. If you help your name will appear in the Credits. Technology: Notepad. Talent needed: 1) Some minimal web programming for navigation from page to page (no experience required). 2) Creative writers (no experience required). NOTE: We are creating an entire WORLD in words. We will be limited only by our own imagination. The challenge will be in keeping the storyline interesting and tying everything together (when needed) as well as deciding when and how to end the adventure. If this takes-off we can do sequels or expand into differnt areas. Team structure: Team Leader / Designer / Writer: Just me for now (Tom Knowlton) Website: Choose Your Own Fate Web Site Contacts: Tom Knowlton Additional Info: Feedback: ENCOURAGING ONLY [Edited by - Tom Knowlton on November 17, 2005 10:24:22 PM]

cowsarenotevil

Nov 11, 2005 at 6:44 PM

Have you considered using a wiki to put the site together yet? I suspect it would make things a bit easier.

flashinpan

Nov 11, 2005 at 6:50 PM

>>>have you considered using a wiki?

What is a wiki?

Is that the same as a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) like Dreamweaver?

jflanglois

Nov 11, 2005 at 7:09 PM

Quote:
Original post by Tom Knowlton
>>>have you considered using a wiki?

What is a wiki?

Is that the same as a WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get) like Dreamweaver?

What is a Wiki

jfl.

methulah

Nov 12, 2005 at 5:40 AM

Nice idea for non-programmers to create a game and the ideas they want. Good luck and I honestly think that standard xhtml would be enough for what they need.

flashinpan

Nov 12, 2005 at 4:39 PM

XHTML vs DHTML ?

What does XHTML offer?

methulah

Nov 12, 2005 at 5:11 PM

The future. Using xHTML means you wont ever have to change it as browsers will always support it.

flashinpan

Nov 12, 2005 at 5:14 PM

Another question I have:

As part of the story I was thinking of showing "where you are" in the world by displaying a map with your location.

For example, if the game play is taking place on a ship in space, I would show a schematic of the starship...what level you are on and what room you are in.

My question is, are there freeware tools that allow for simple floor plan creation? Maybe a Dungeon creator or Dungeon designer type of software (freeware)?

flashinpan

Nov 18, 2005 at 9:22 AM

The web page has been updated (dramatically). Now you can get a much better feel for the game play. I would like to expand the written content as well as the features and options:
Choose Your Own Fate Web Site

demonkoryu

Nov 18, 2005 at 9:26 AM

Hi,

just one suggestion:
Limit the amount of text on the screen, and the length of a line.

Good luck with your project,
Konfu

flashinpan

Nov 18, 2005 at 2:35 PM

Quote:
Original post by Konfusius
Hi,

just one suggestion:
Limit the amount of text on the screen, and the length of a line.

Good luck with your project,
Konfu

Thank you for the suggestion!!

I am sure that the amount of text and length of a line will undergo several iterations before the end!!

Gatt

Nov 19, 2005 at 1:29 PM

Very interesting and unique use of the web to make a game, I'm pretty impressed.

Johny25

Nov 20, 2005 at 12:40 AM

Bravo, I think this idea has merit. Can you take it further?

Ps:
I wanted to go inside the spaceship..
(Maybe you could have stats and these are affected by your choices)

giveblood

Nov 20, 2005 at 1:24 AM

I don't know if you were already considering this, but I think it would be a nice improvement:

In the left frame, you should sort of have a list of all the choices you made, in that order. You should be able to click on one to go to the page it sent you to, so you have the ability to go back and change something if you need to.

flashinpan

Nov 20, 2005 at 2:34 PM

Quote:
Original post by Gatt
Very interesting and unique use of the web to make a game, I'm pretty impressed.

Gatt:

Thanks!

flashinpan

Nov 20, 2005 at 2:37 PM

Quote:
Original post by Johny25
Bravo, I think this idea has merit. Can you take it further?

Ps:
I wanted to go inside the spaceship..
(Maybe you could have stats and these are affected by your choices)

I think the idea has merit, also, based on my experience with the books years ago.

I can take it further, but would like some help. For example...someone to take over writing for the space ship interior. That person could be in charge of what the spaceships look like inside, what different classes of spaceships there are (Destroyer, Cruiser, Battleship, etc).

If you want to write the part about what happens INSIDE....then go right ahead, and I'll add it as a third option!

I'll have to think about the stats idea. Huh...

flashinpan

Nov 20, 2005 at 2:42 PM

Quote:
Original post by giveblood
I don't know if you were already considering this, but I think it would be a nice improvement:

In the left frame, you should sort of have a list of all the choices you made, in that order. You should be able to click on one to go to the page it sent you to, so you have the ability to go back and change something if you need to.

That's not a bad idea.

This means I would have to start making people register (so I can keep track of their individual stats and page history)

Right now, ANYONE can play the game without having to register. That has a certain appeal.

Being able to see at a glance where you have been also has some appeal.

There are a few nuances of this that would have to be considered.

1) Do we want to force the game to be linear? Or be able to go back and change what you did? I was thinking...let's make people responsible for their choices...that makes the story more like "real" life.

2) How far back do you go and how do you represent the history of where you have been? This could get messy a few hundred pages into the game.

3) You CAN bookmark your adventure at any point. Perhaps what is needed is a better description of where in the story you are stopping at.

Has anyone actually tried out the bookmarking feature? It should work.

Nov 20, 2005 at 2:45 PM

Reminds me of the fighting fantasy books I used to play when I was a kid. Nice idea and hope it all goes well. Have you thought abouot adding in simple combat rules like the FF books i mentioned above?

flashinpan

Nov 20, 2005 at 2:53 PM

Quote:
Original post by 6
Reminds me of the fighting fantasy books I used to play when I was a kid. Nice idea and hope it all goes well. Have you thought abouot adding in simple combat rules like the FF books i mentioned above?

It depends on what you mean by "simple combat rules" :)

I am not familiar with the fighting fantasy series. Can you tell me a little bit about it?

For now...the game is driven mostly by storyline...which evolves by a series of choices made while reading the story.

Combat, problem-solving, etc. can certainly come later...but I am not going to attempt to do much of that without some help from other people (HENCE my post asking for help).

I have gotten a lot of good feedback, but nobody has actually told me "I would like to help you."

Nov 21, 2005 at 2:03 PM

Here is a link to the official site which describes the rules. Try getting one of the books from a second hand book store, you won't regret it. On the website are a few free online adventures you can try too.

Also, sorry, I'd really like to help, but my project is taking too much of my time to commit to something else.

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