User talk:John Aaron Jones

From Create Your Own Story

Revision as of 14:53, 15 May 2015

Hi there. Thanks for the season's greetings. Since you expressed interest in Downfall: is there a scenario you'd like to appear in the story? I won't promise it actually will be implemented into the story, as some things do not hold any interest for me or do not fit the story as I imagine it, but you are welcome to make a suggestion anyway.

Best wishes for the season to you as well. -Minnie May Hopkins

Well, I didn't notice English is not your first language (maybe because mine isn't as well). That is one of the reasons why content will be added at a slow rate. As for plausability, it goes just as far as we imagine the initial situation itself as plausible (which we are fine to do, given that this isn't a testemonial site). There will be a time when the story will leave the realm of plausibility (especially when more than two of the characters might become involved), but hey: it is fiction after all.

I agree with you on pacing in these stories. The pacing in Downfall is already going very fast, mostly due to the fact that the vacation won't last forever, so there must be results within a resonable (story-)timespan (and who would care to read an adult story where nothing happens?). But yes, something's amiss when the third page already has someone becoming pregnant. -Minnie May Hopkins

Well, we don't know if Julianne is the only one with a job. When I started, I imagined the children having part-time jobs, but a bit more ambiguity might not be bad. The cruise destroyed the idea of a small budget vacation anyway, and the intro could be better. I'll have to think how it can be done. -Minnie May Hopkins

Hi again. Have you thought about starting your own story or creating a branch in an existing public story? It may help to pass time until the next updates. ;) -Minnie May Hopkins 29. April 2015

It's difficult to answer your questions. Downfall doesn't need a story arc (I assume this is what you mean with structure). Downfall is episodic. Within every episode, the player has the chance to raise the "relationship level" of the branch's main character with one of the other three main characters. Basically, it is "Do A and get X, or do B and get Y". When you know what X is, all you need to do is to invent how to get there. Everything but the ideal path is Y, which can range from a smaller increase in level over no change to game over (which is not to say that there aren't two X within the episode that can be reached via different ways).

The nature of this approach makes it possible to chain unconnected events that do not have to follow an inner logic or order (although some events are leading towards a specific event). All I need to do is to keep track of the relationship level and what event led there (for continuity reasons as well as for allowing specific events). Then I can choose the next episode freely.

For some real help, I'd need to know what your problem specifically is. -Minnie May Hopkins May 15th 2015