Friday, October 5, 2012

Done Planning?

...at least for now, although that neat XML can always use upgrades. Enough has been planned for me to be able to start seriously working on connecting chapters 1 and 2 (arrival to the forest, arrival to Ravage, amulet).

I've been working on the journal entries for different G5 outcomes and nearly went insane. :)

Strawberries.
In the screenshot, I didn't get the other entry because I just started the game from here, so no conditions were met.

7 comments:

  1. Hi there. Someone mentioned your blog on my module page so I thought I'd stop by. I just wanted to say that I'm overjoyed that another series is being created that is similar to ADWR and my own series, Gladiatrix. Adult modules with a female protagonist are in demand!

    You have a very polished blog here and it is really informative. I have high hopes for your series after seeing this and I'm really looking forward to it. I think you have the potential to get a good following. The blog for Gladiatrix III gets quite a bit of activity. I'll mention your site over there and see if I can drum up some interest for you. Feel free to stop by and say hi if you like (link is in my profile).

    Here are some things I can share from experience that you are perfectly welcome to take or leave:

    As you already know, a project like this takes an enormous amount of time. Longer than anyone would expect. I've never been able to meet a single one of my deadlines. It's almost impossible to predict. Don't make the same mistake I've done by saying it will be ready by a certain date. It will just create added pressure. Make loose target projections with a lot of wiggle room. Once you develop a following they will stay faithful as long as they see a semi-frequent update on your blog. Even a screenshot every couple of weeks is enough to show activity.

    Building conversations in the module takes the most time for me! The one thing I get critiqued the most on is not having as many options in my conversations as players would like. My modules are very story-driven so it's difficult. Creating the illusion of giving the players choices is great advice that I've been given, but it's an art I haven't quite mastered as much as I'd like. I imagine if I put in as many options as people really want it would be 2015 before I finish the module!

    One idea to keep people interested is to release a preview module. I did that with Gladiatrix III and I think it really saved me from things getting stagnant and kept my fans interested. My preview represented the first third of the planned module or so. It also gives the opportunity to get some valuable feedback. It's just a thought if you feel you get your module to a point where it is worth a quick look - even if it's only a couple of hours of playing time. I'm certain most everyone who visits my blog would be willing to try it out.

    One last thing is if you get burned out take a few days or a week off. Sometimes I pressure myself because I really want something done by a certain date. I try not to set deadlines for myself anymore. It starts taking the fun out of it and just starts stressing me after awhile.

    Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to how this develops. I'll be checking your blog from time to time. Best of luck!

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  2. I agree, a preview would be great. Also, the video you posted showcases visuals of your module nicely, but it would be cool if you make another that shows the story. Some representative dialogue sequence for example (and played slowly so we can read it without pausing). It would be nice if your blog updates contained some world lore - history, religion, notable NPCs... And I would like to know what are the stats of 4 modified playable classes. Uzgred, da nisi kojim slučajem iz Srbije (ili ex-Yu)? :)

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  3. Oooh, perfect!
    I love dark and/or twisted settings. In fact, I love dark/twisted things in general. I grew up watching (and loving) gory horror movies. I can play a good character in a generally 'normal' game/module, but once I get the option to do something really twisted, I have this overwhelming urge for... "character development."
    And yes, frequent updates keeps us mindless sheep interested, even if the update is "hi guize, i lookd at teh toolset the other day." We'll smile and thank you for it.

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  4. Saw this mentioned on nwvault the other day.

    I'm really looking forward to it.

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  5. OK guys, why are people talking about my blog on the Vault or other people's blogs and what are they saying? :O I was just taking a break and had some connectivity problems, and I come back to find people have discovered my secret project!

    Thank you for the advice, Rayne. I have experience with delaying fan projects with a deadline. :) I am always tempted to make many dialog options, leading to a bunch of dialogs "in progress" waiting to be finished later. I don't have much time to play, so I avoid big modules, but I tried Gladiatrix (I) when it came out. Something I would recommend is the "looping branch dialog tree" (I got that from a Baldur's Gate fan forum) where you have many options and different NPC responses, but they all lead to the main parts of the dialog.

    Part 1 is already cut off from the rest of the story and is a preview in itself. I can't think of another place to cut it right now. I guess I could release a half of Part 1, but then people would give it bad ratings or something. They always come to complain about module shortness on other people's modules.

    Bjaži, I understood your question, but I don't give personal information to strangers. I'm trying to stay anonymous after all. :)

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  6. Not talking about it, really. Just a mention that you were working on it. I saw someone mention it on nwvault during the never ending pining for an update to A Dance with Rogues.

    As for the general excitement? There's just not a lot of people making adventures for NWN these days, let alone story based ones with a lot of role playing.

    You've definitely jumped into a seriously underrepresented sweet spot in the RPG genre. I can't wait to give it a try.

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  7. I was just surprised to find people here. I did publish the link to my project on the forums, in my sig, but I didn't expect many people to check it out, yet some of them were kind enough to spread the word. Glad to see that new modules are in demand.

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