Operation Backlog Completion 2025

Demo Now Available for The Mansion (Working Title)

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Sep 122014
 

You’ve probably never heard of The Mansion, and that’s because it’s my game! My ChoiceScript project has reached the point where I’m ready to put a slice of it out there for people to test.

Your one-time friend summoned you to his mansion with an urgent request, only to betray you. Now you’re trapped in a place where monsters roam the halls, hints of gruesome secrets unveil themselves at every turn, and your escape is barred by traps and puzzles. Your only hope is to search for the keys to your freedom…

…and survive the dark secrets of The Mansion.

If you want to enter it blind, use the link below. If you’d like a little more information, read on!

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/8uzysus3g9613yt/The%20Mansion%20demo.html

Even though ChoiceScript is geared toward choice-driven adventure games, I’ve created mine with the principles of survival horror in mind. Some of the genre’s core elements should be there.

The demo ends at the main doors, so don’t approach them right away if you want to explore more first. Another demo-specific element is that you’re blocked from going upstairs.

“The Mansion” is a dull working title, so let me know if you have any suggestions!

I’m having a lot of fun with this, and I hope lots of people try the demo and share their impressions so I can turn it into something wonderful. Let me know all of your comments/questions/problems/etc. Have at it!Update: The link above now leads to the revised version of the demo. All the initial issues should be fixed, and there are a few achievements to collect this time. (If you play through multiple times, it will tell you you’ve received an achievement even if you already have it. I don’t think there is a way around this in ChoiceScript yet.)

Known issues:

  • It’s possible to get infinite first aid kits.
  • Memos should be visible from the stats screen.

Two Weeks to Go! Feel the Excitement!

 My Games, Video games, Writing  3 Responses »  Tagged with: , , ,
Aug 162014
 

That’s right, in two weeks, it’ll be August 29, and you know what that means!

The next 30 pages of my thesis novel are due.

Well, yes. But besides that…

Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney will be released in North America!

I just checked Amazon, and my order is on schedule to be delivered on the 29th. If I ever wait until the last minute to finish my thesis submission, it’s not going to be this time, I can tell you that.

Speaking of writing, my ChoiceScript adventures are also going well. Even though it’s set up for text-based, choice-driven games, I’m trying to use ChoiceScript to make a survival horror-esque game… and it’s actually going pretty well. Adding exploration and backtracking creates some complications, but I’ve found ways to handle it.

So far, I’ve made a working inventory (with health items, equipment, and key items), a combat system through which you can either fight enemies or run from them, and a safe room/save system. I’ve created a framework for solving puzzles, as well as the potential for chases.

It’s really a lot of fun!

Now I need to map out my story and gameplay progression (recursive unlocking, anyone?) so I can continue forward. Don’t worry, I’ll make an announcement as soon as I have a working demo!

Update: So, in the end, was Professor Layton vs. Phoenix Wright what I expected? Check out my review to find out!

…And Then I Decided to Make a Video Game

 My Games, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with:
Jul 222014
 

Don’t get too excited. I don’t have a video game, a prototype, or a good idea of what I’m doing.

A while ago, I played a downloadable game called Choice of the Dragon, which can be downloaded on iTunes and Kindle, among others. I liked it a lot. It was simple, just a text-based adventure game, but I enjoyed making choices and seeing their results. It was like a Choose Your Own Adventure book, except as a game. Plus, you played as a dragon.

Then, just a few days ago, I had a question about video game writing. Symantha Reagor came to my aid, and one of the things she mentioned was that you can make games for Choice of Games. When I was to see who this company was–it turned out to be the company behind Choice of the Dragon!

It’s possible to become a writer for them and be paid for writing official games under the Choice of Games label. That is awesome, and of course I’m interested in it. I’m not quite ready to submit my credentials to them yet, though. I’d like a little more experience, first.

Their other option involves creating games they won’t pay you for (except royalties from any ad revenue, and stuff like that1) using ChoiceScript, their simple programming language. If you made one of these games, you could submit it to be hosted and made available for people to play. That’s also very cool, if not quite as awesome as the first option. After I read about it, I decided to download ChoiceScript yesterday, just to play around.

I got hooked.

I spent the rest of the evening trying to understand ChoiceScript so I could start a little text-based game of my own. I thought about it all night long. I thought about it as soon as I woke up.

And I devoted today to editing and doing other important things, so I haven’t made any more progress.

It was still a lot of fun. Once I get some more free time, I’ll be back at it. Who knows, maybe one of these days, I’ll have an adventure game to show you.

1 Update: Choice of Games actually contacted me to let me know that although authors of Hosted Games don’t receive an advance, the 25% royalties still result in a decent amount of revenue.