Demo Update: Chapter Eight (Volume 1)

So, you may be aware that I lost my startup file this week due to accidentally overwriting the .txt file. This wouldn't usually be a huge deal, and I was able to reassemble most of it from Dashingdon's archive. But Chapter 8 has the most remembered variables of any chapter yet (around 60!), so I need a bit more time to recode the second half.

That being said, here's the promised update! (And I should be able to get the second half out done sometime this weekend.) It adds almost 3,000 words per playthrough, although variance happens based on which vision Sally held. (Please note that save files will mess with which vision Sally is recorded to have seen, and usually defaults to recognizing K's.)

Since this is only the first half of the chapter, it cuts off before the romance scenes (But never fear! I promise that shirtless Gray is incoming!).

Speaking of Gray, I also reworked his romance activation in Chapter 7 to allow for more variance in responses :)

Without further ado: https://dashingdon.com/play/wildelight/project-cactus/mygame/

Currently Included Wordcount: 224k (expect another 14k once I redo the startup file)

Average Playthrough: 55k words

This chapter was hard. The version that I updated today is, I kid you not, the fourth iteration of me trying to figure out how to have Button establish their cover story. Problems I ran into included:

1) Knowing nothing about internet hacking (thus hours spent researching for Glitch's dialogue, only to realize that I still have no clue if anything they say makes sense).

2) Striking the right balance between player memory and stat reliance. You'll see more of the stat reliance portion of the cover established in the second half of Chapter 8, but I also wanted portions where Button will be tested on how well they stick to the story of their meet-cute with K. (Are the two now fake dating? If so, you better act like it!)

3) Incorporating Sally's scenes. Sally wasn't originally intended to be part of Operation Hemera, but I wanted to pull her in for Sally-mancer fluff . . . and because my original role for her (staying guard over a conscious Nick in the hospital) got scrapped the moment that Nick entered Button's brain. I feel like the rational for her inclusion makes sense (precog = useful), but it's been tricky to rework scenes so that she gets equal exposure to the other ROs, and I'm not 100% confident that the "don't worry about it, Glitch set things up" excuse really works as well as it should. Her scenes might be something to finesse later on.

4) Juggling dialogue with an entire team. I plan on going back and replaying a few COGs that I think got this dynamic right (like Wayhaven and The Superlatives) in order to examine how they navigate conversations with multiple characters. Because right now, I'm resorting to kicking out Rosy and Gray from the room so the kids can chat. Nick is an added complication (although a fun one!) because no one can hear his contributions to the conversation except Button. Players are often forced to conduct two different conversations at the same time, and I need to make sure that it's executed properly so as not to be confusing.

5) So. Much. Variation. Seriously, why do I do this too myself? (I know why. It's because I love replaying games and wanted to make sure that Mind Blind was super replayable!) But I've learned that interactive fiction very easily snowballs, and right now I'm in danger of being buried under an avalanche of options.

6) Resisting the urge to make Button's dialogue more generic. Which is odd, since I've always had a pretty strong sense of Button's personalities! But I often find myself tempted to write "vague" answers, thus cheating by removing the necessity of providing more than three options. I've always hated when games do that, but I'm now understanding why it happens. It can be really difficult to come up with specific conversation routes for every available Button combination! Choices will probably be one the main things that I go back and refine during the beta testing stage (right now, I'm still in the "get it done, don't slow down, because slowing down means creative deaaaaaath", which is usually true for me).

. . . I hope this post doesn't come across as complaining! I adore writing Mind Blind, but I want to be open about the aspects with which I struggle so that you guys can be attuned to pick up on any issues! Your feedback on what can be improved is absolutely essential to transform Mind Blind from it's current alpha build into the polished game that I aspire to. I'm not arrogant enough to believe I have all the answers, and my door (well, inbox) is always open to suggestions on how I can work through some of these issues.

Most importantly: Can someone who knows computer stuff verify whether Glitch makes any sense at all? I would say that they might as well be speaking Ancient Greek, but that is a language that I actually know.