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Progress Report
🕑 Added 2023-11-03 18:14:01 +0000 UTCFriday, at last!!
This week was divided between tidying up the end of Chapter Two and continuing to work on the first draft of Chapter Three. Regarding Chapter Two, I need to add the five different Hubris Call descriptions to the stat pages. And, of course, add the choice to ask Mist about his true name.
I'll update the complete Chapter Two early next week. ❤️
I also had an idea. What do you think of me adding a 'Journal' entry to the stat pages so that you can click and read the facts and important things you've learned so far in your adventure? It would be displayed as if it was Romanus who wrote it — so, in first person, and it would enumerate a bunch of significant checkpoints of knowledge you've collected so far.
The major topics you can ask Mist about, for example, would appear there as you learn them. It would be like Romanus sitting down at the end of each day and writing a bit — I even want to change the scene in Book One to make all Romanus sit and write in their journal, thus making it canon that you have it.
I would only implement this after I'm done with Chapter 3, however, because I want to continue!!!! I only wrote 8 notebook pages this week, both because I spent half of the time working on the other chapter but mostly because I was writing a scene that... was hard. I struggled with describing the mood and, most importantly, characterization. It was hard to put my thoughts into words. I kept re-writing and adjusting to the point that my eraser tore open the page. xD
I always say that the start is the toughest. This scene is the start of an important path, so I needed to get it. And my early attempts weren't even close.
But I finally have it. I got over the hard bump, and my pencil was souring these last hour of my writing session! Which ended... half an hour ago. 😊
What's coming next, however, is a bit more complex. I'm torn on some of the conditions I should set to access a version of Vallen's meeting — her "true" meeting. On one hand, I want to make it challenging, but on the other, I hate when I, the reader, have figured something out, but there's no choice for my character to also get it. It makes me feel so frustrated. 😭 I know there are a couple of instances in Book One where people felt like Romanus was dumb because they couldn't grasp what they, the readers, figured out, so I want to try and minimize that in this next game. But it's very hard.
Do I make what's supposed to be a relatively hard-to-get coming down of the mask extremely easy to figure out, or do I make it challenging but risk the players getting it way before their Romanus does?
Plus, the non "true" meeting is, in my opinion, kinda cute. 😄 At least, it is entertaining in the typical Vallen fashion, so it'd be a pity if all the players missed it.
Ahhhh... I have to think about it!
And that is all! I thank you thee, my most darling of companions, for listening to my rambles. I adore November. I want to start the second draft around the 17th.
Have a great weekend! 🌹
Edit: Thank you for all your thoughts and suggestions! The journal is definitely happening (I've already been doodling some phrases and knowledge that I want to add). I would love to be able to write crossed sentences like when you first encounter the eye, it would appear:
I was face to face with an Eye of the Church. My days are numbered.
But then, when Rafael reveals that it's a fake one, the Journal would cross that sentence and write another below.
For a genuine, in-love Romanus, I'd love to add hearts beside some characters names 😄 or the hand shaking in anger at certain parts. A Romanus with a high Lore would go into great details about Juturna and Vulcan or the Nero while one with a low Lore would just put the names in there and little more.
But oh, well. Choicescript has limitations.
As for Vallen, you've also given me a lot to consider. Thank you again^^
Comments
Rayven Sayavong
Oh my gosh it would be amazing if the LI’s found Romanus’ journal one day and teased them about it 😂 if Alessa ever found it and brought it up to her, my Romanus would pass away on the spot On another note, if you can’t actually add heart symbols or anything of the like, you could always asterisk or italicize next to the journal entry *a small heart is drawn next to _ ‘s name*
Anathema
The Latin choice will, of course, still be there! In the journals that are written in Latin, I was thinking of putting a note at the top saying "the text is translated from Latin" or something
HeraldOfEras
A running string of journal entries might be helpful for players to parse out the important information and help them keep track of the flags they've set off! If it wouldn't be too much of a monsterous undertaking to reflect personality axes I think there's narrative potential in seeing Romanus' private thoughts written out as well! I pretty much expected that if ever the Vallen reveal came early the deciding factor would be whether or not Romanus managed to wound the Fake Eye, considering that wound appearing on Vallen would be pretty damning, or else a bunch of little flags, not least of which whether or not Romanus trusts her in their heart of hearts. But Vallen's acted really... Off, consistently, and even an MC that likes her is likely to notice. Maybe a turn in the mood of the conversation could happen based on Romanus' disposition towards her, like with their conversation with the Pirate King. If Romanus lets the subject drop so they can have a nice time hanging out, all well and good. But if they keep pressing for her to come out and say what she really wants, if they keep asking questions after she subtly, then not so subtly indicates they should drop it, maybe she does them both a favor and cuts the BS?
Gorogs
Though, if you'd like to implement some level of figuring it out, there's another IF series named "Relics of the Lost Age" (Part 2 specifically in the Venice Heist chapter iirc) that handled this in their riddle/puzzle mechanics, in a way that I found very interesting. I don't remember exactly how it went, but basically it would ask you about the context first and then about your conclusion. So it would go something like: Do you feel like something happened in the last day that you'd like to think more about? -> Where/When was it? -> What did you see or hear that's on your mind/Do you have any proof? -> What conclusion do you draw from this? There were a lot of possible answers, with varying levels of plausibility and relevance, at each stage which made it fun to sort of put all the pieces together from many angles. Some conclusions you could only unlock/see if you had noted the specific clues that would lead to it. Of course, the puzzle I'm talking about had a specific set of final answers which made it very cut and dry - some answers were simply wrong and some were right. I imagine it would be significantly harder to code an event like this if you wanted it to be less binary because you'd have to write different outcomes for every possible conclusion.
Rayven Sayavong
I would love a journal! It would be canon also, what with a previous choice of having Romanus keep a journal either in Latin or common (I chose Latin against better judgement but I digress). And it would be adorable if it were written with Romanus’ personality vs just information. Also I have adhd and forget everything so having a journal to go back to would be nice 😂
Gorogs
I would love a journal! Not gonna say anything else cause the other commenters covered me. As for the Vallen thing, I personally don't mind figuring things out before the character. I feel like Romanus, while we can influence the "flavor" of their personality, is more of a distinct character than a player-stand-in kind of Main Character. They have different skills and perception than us so it's ok if they don't get stuff immediately.
Lauriane
Like everybody else it seems, I love the idea of a journal 😃 it makes sense for Romanus to keep one, and from a meta perspective, given how long each book is going to be, it'll be nice to have some key points readily available somewhere ^^ As for Vallen, I personally don't mind figuring stuff out before my character does, I actually think it proves great writing and foreshadowing skills most of the time! It can be a bit frustrating if you miss out on things because your MC doesn't know something even though you the player has figured it out, but it's part of the IF experience imo, you can't have every path at once 😁
Hobbs
I adore the journal idea! It's a neat tool to keep track of all the info and it has the added bonus of allowing Romanus to write down personal notes on how they feel about different people or important developments, if you wish to implement it :).
ameartthyst
Omg having a journal would be a really fun gimmick to have, I actually have to write things down due to the sheer amount of books I read and having notes for myself really helps. I think it would also make sense for Romanus jotting down things to piece things together plus to have a briefing for their employer. For your other ask in regards to Vallen, while it might be annoying for your character to not realize things, as a player it makes me feel really smart when I can piece things together myself haha. I like a challenge, and having consequences for not having all/the right information makes it all the more satisfying when you DO :) Since you like both scenes you could have an achievement for each the “true” and “not true” Vallen meeting.
nois
In regards to the Vallen scene, I am one of those people who find it annoying when I know something and my player character does not, however I also dislike when game behavior doesn’t have consequences so if my Romanus is at the wrong place at the wrong times and misses key information, I do agree they should have a harder time accessing a scene. I fully understand that this suggestion would mean more work for you but how would you feel about a version of the scene where Romanus can make an educated guess? So like a version of the scene where Romanus is clueless, a version of the scene (possibly utilizing the journal to track variables) where Romanus has a few clues and makes a guess but Vallen is skeptical that Romanus has figured anything out, and the “true” version? I feel like an educated guess scenario could be fun because Vallen could challenge the reader to speak to back up their theory based on what they did and didn’t see/find. Loving the demo so far. Especially playing verbal chess with Mist. That scene is so fun.
Holly
Maybe a solution for the problem of the reader figuring things out before their Romanus does is having different points where we’re able to decide if Romanus has figured things out or not, if that makes sense? For example, early on we can choose something like either “You think you have an idea of what’s really going on,” or “You don’t have enough information yet to know what’s going on,” and if we choose the latter, Romanus will have another opportunity later on to make the discovery. Just an idea! You’re doing an amazing job, keep up the good work!
Rue
I love the idea of just making the journal choice in the last downtime section of Book 1 canon for every Romanus. But I hope we can still get the choice to write in Latin or in the common tongue. My two main Romanus' are on opposite ends of the lore spectrum, so one would always write in Latin while the other would try to forget all of Julianna's lessons if they weren't such an important connection to her, so she wouldn't dare write any Latin down.
shrek4ever
Omg I would love if there was a notebook with all the info that caught Romanus attention cuz my MC is such a nerd ofc she would write everything down. And I would absolutely love if Romanus could be caught up and make a conclusion based on all the clues we have been given I think it would add a layer to interactions with character, especially with Vallen. Who's ngl is special interest of mine I have my eyes on this girl 🧐🧐🧐
Dakota
Dude!! My birthday is on the 17th
starpendle
Oohhh I'd be all for a journal! Always nice to have a recap on you, especially when playing WIPs and after long gaps. The idea also sounds cute. All the progress sounds exciting, I'm glad we might have gotten through the hardest parts. Super excited to see your plans for Vallen, especially after the news on tumblr. Hope you have a great weekend too!
