[Interactive Fan-fiction] Perrein Citadel [wip]

[wolf329]

Something I haven't seen yet on the forums, an interactive fiction work in Twine. For now it's just a very short placeholder/proof of concept; barebones text-only with default styles, but I'll be adding more story as well as art and design as I go and also learn the markup language. I just wanted to make sure my CSS isn't too rusty (it's a butter knife that's been at the bottom of a cow pond for a decade as I unfortunately found out). It will be a serious story eventually, but for now enjoy the corny jokes.

You are [username], a TCA ensign who, based on your meritorious despite brief career, has been given the opportunity to be the first exchange candidate in the Loroi military. Learn about the Loroi firsthand as you explore and learn your duties aboard Perrein's main space station. The choices you make will establish your future, and how the story plays out. But remember you are a representative of 'humaniti' with all which that implies; don't do anything that will cast humans in a bad light. Despite lurid rumors, the Loroi are all business and won't tolerate inappropriate behavior...

Click the station to enter...

Note: Neocities, a spiritual successor to Geocities, is a very safe and surfer-friendly free webhost as far as I am aware, so you should be okay without adblock or noscript. Twine for sure requires javascript, so you'll need that on.

edit 20220424 - slightly more stylish, still same brief scenario. I'll only bump the thread when there's actual content.

[Krulle]

meh. I did some fun, and thus been walked out the airlock.
Why should I care anymore what's on my record, and if it looks good?

*waggles eyebrows*
and no, that was not my first walk out of the airlock :P

[wolf329]

Remember early choices in CYOA books that were blatant suicide options? Yeah. Same here.

[Keklas Rekobah]

 
". . . I will do my best."

(The following are just a few notes for my own reference, as if they occurred before meeting with the Mizol.)

My name is Keklas Alayan Rekobah.  The surname means "Oak-People".  An oak tree is stout, strong, and lives a long time.  "Alayan" means "Precious" in the sense of being rare or valuable (I was an only child).  In Trade, it comes closest to "Alain", or "Flint"; I kinda like that.  "Keklas"?  I have no idea where that came from or what it means; it is just my personal name.

My background is in general science, focusing on electronics, with specialties in sensors, scanners, and radio communications systems; audio, video, and data.  I have other interests, as well.

I also have many questions.

[wolf329]

Sorry! I apologize if there's any confusion over the title, but this isn't roleplay, it's a visual novel/"interactive fiction" that I am working on, linked in the first post.

Don't feel bad though, "Interactive Fiction" is a new term to me as well, I've always called or thought of it as "Choose Your Own Adventure" and/or visual novels and hadn't heard it called IF until recently.

[Keklas Rekobah]

 
LOL!  No worries!  That's just me being "creative".

I like the "Choose You Own Adventure" format.

You can be sure that I will check this thread first whenever I log on!

[wolf329]

Real talk? I was about to mention that I'll be adding the complex system of [checks notes] inputting your name to the code soon, but then I realized, what if the player could choose between being a human working with the Loroi, or a Loroi working with the humans? I mean, the narrative already says the player is part of an exchange program.

So thanks for posting since you just doubled my workload for this projectgave me a great idea!

[G. Janssen]

"Welcome, my name means Brook."

"Thank you." *Holds up hands, parts fingers.* "Live long and prosper."

"Is that another Human greeting?"

"Yes. Though it is only used to greet aliens who have copper instead of iron in their blood and pointy ears. All other aliens are greeted with" *pulls ears* "Nanu Nanu."

"Surely you are joking."

"No, look, here is the proof." *Shows pad with Mork.*

"Let me show you around the station."

"Thank you. I will walk 3 paces behind you as a sign of respect."

"Thank you."

*Looks at Brook's well proportioned behind all the way.*


I would make a great ambassador.

[wolf329]

I was gonna make eye focus choice on that decision another airlock ending, but figured the joke had worn thin.

might make it a +1 or -1 to "Relationship" though, haven't roughed the story out much so far

"Your relationship with Beryl has gone down. She is now [mad] at you."

[G. Janssen]

I was gonna make eye focus choice on that decision another airlock ending, but figured the joke had worn thin.

might make it a +1 or -1 to "Relationship" though, haven't roughed the story out much so far

"You relationship with Beryl has gone done. She is now [mad] at you."

If I were among the Loroi I'd be wearing a t-shirt with the text "Guess what's on my mind" on it.

[Keklas Rekobah]

Any progress?

[wolf329]

Slow. I found that working on code is so different from art brain-wise that it's difficult to come up with both at the same time. I want to do art for this project, but I also want some more complex structure to it to make it more than just a rote "choose your own adventure" story with simplistic branching paths, and the two parts are like trying to do, well, completely unrelated things that require completely different mindsets. And then there's the writing, which is yet another issue, being mostly dialog which I'm not so hot at. Excuses ahoy! On the upside, there's a new short story I'm posting right now.

[Keklas Rekobah]

Have you already established the plot tree, or are you writing it on the fly?

[wolf329]

On the fly, unfortunately. I am not sure how I want to do it. With it being a CYOA, the narrative can either be split into discrete paths, or a smaller number of paths with varying text caused by decisions.

The general idea is a TCA ensign on Perrein Citadel in an exchange, but beyond that I'm not sure how to go. I may end up opening this up for input to be honest if that's what it takes.

[Cthulhu]

On the fly, unfortunately. I am not sure how I want to do it. With it being a CYOA, the narrative can either be split into discrete paths, or a smaller number of paths with varying text caused by decisions.

I'm writing parts of my fanfic on the fly, and it works well enough. Also, if you're unsure how to proceed, create a few scenarios, and roll dice to determine which one to pick. You can even roll it a number of times, and then combine those paths into one.


Here's an example, in the most recent arc, my protagonists have to escape to the safety of the interior ahead of the advancing Umiak forces. So, I've created some scenarios, and rolled dice to determine each one's weight in the story. I do this at every major crossroads, actually.

Dice rollsShow

1. Nothing bad happens, giving everyone some time to talk to each other, as well as with the Loroi Admiral. The numbers would adjust the amount of dialogue. Rolled a one, so it fell through.

2. They manage to reach the interior, albeit with some problems, perhaps even forcing them to use a (common) trump card (if it's three or less). This was a 4, so they had to use it right away.

3. Somehow, they fail to get to safety, and have to make a detour (dice determining the length of it, one forcing them into an encounter with the Stray, six with the mystery ship in Naam). Previous good rolls would lessen its impact. Rolled a 4, which meant a longer one.

4. Escape is impossible, and they have to fight (uneven number) or bluff (even number) their way out, but the lower the number, the more likely would this result in losses or even failure. Previous good rolls would invalidate this. Rolled a 2, which resulted in the bluff having no effect.

5. Additional difficulty modifier to make things more interesting. Problems that would require hidden trump cards (1 in storage), sheer luck, heroic sacrifices, etc. to overcome the hurdles. Had a 3, so they got away by using their last, secret trump card.

6. Wildcard! The higher the number, the wilder it gets! Fortunately, this was a six, so it turned out to be pretty crazy.

Based on those rolls and the weight they would give to their respective scenarios, I combined the points and incorporated them into the story. You can try this method as well, it is quite interesting to work with.

P.S. Stay tuned, the wildcard is yet to be revealed.

[Keklas Rekobah]

@ wolf329: Does ". . . you will be temporarily be granted the full honors and duties of a Soroin Paset . . ." imply that the TCA person will wear a Soroin uniform, his/her own TCA uniform, or some blend of both?  Will he/she be addressed as "Soroin <personal name>" or "Enzin <personal name>"?

[wolf329]

It's just commensurate rank and status, so to keep things simple for the Union's procurement corps he'll still keep his uniforms rather than trying to refit Loroi armor, at least as far as regular atmospheric duties are concerned.

He also will be called "ensign", at least by most. Although given his rank, "hey, you!" or the Loroi equivalent will be more likely.

[Keklas Rekobah]

So then my "Enzin Flint" character (for example) could expect to be given all the scut work by anyone who considers herself to be his superior.

This could work as a sub-plot to your story. How patiently the PC serves his/her superiors could have some bearing on future assignments and treatment.

How do you say, "Ma'am, yes ma'am!" in Trade?

[Cthulhu]

The Loroi armor signifies not only rank, but also their caste, and most importantly, the successful passage of the warrior trials. I don't think that they would issue one to an alien. Perhaps the TCA armor with some special markings? What's the Trade word for "battle thrall", by the way?

[Keklas Rekobah]

What’s Trade for “How high and what color, ma’am?”

(Do the Loroi even have flagpoles that require painting?)