Tralla Posted January 8, 2004 Report Posted January 8, 2004 Hello Pennites. Let's call this a proposal for my Quill Quest, which is definitely very much still in the works, but finally on its way. I'm going to outline what I plan to do, and I would very much appreciate some assistance with a couple of things. I am planning to revive a wonderful old fantasy story style for my quill quest. For the first time (that I know of) the Pen will have its very own Choose Your Own Adventure. I'm planning to construct an interactive story that allows you to read a segment, and at the end, choose one of a small number of different actions you'd like to perform. Based on your selection, another segment of the story will appear for your reading entertainment. This will obviously have to be hosted off the boards themselves, since the boards wouldn't really support that sort of function. I'd like to step this story up a notch from the original paperback CYOA, and make it even more interactive. I'm going to flesh out the beginning of the various possible storylines. When you reach the end of a particular storyline, I'd like you to add your own unique talent to the project by writing the next segment of that path of the story. The project will be updated to include your addition, and the next Pennite who reaches the new end of the storyline is welcome to write the next continuation. I will add segments as well, to help guide the story, make it interesting, and close off segments that really seem to be dead ends and/or finished, but I would like to have as many people contributing to the story as possible. Here's where the plea for help goes out. There's a number of things I'd like some help on. Number one is the engine to make this all work. I myself have a very limited knowledge of scripting - I know the very basics of html, but that's it. Would anybody know of an engine or how to create an engine that would be capable of automatically processing those updates to make the story work as I just described? I know I've seen them around, but I can't for the life of me remember where. If another Quillbearer has this knowledge, I'd be delighted to team up on this project, and make it a dual Quill Quest. Please, let me know if you can help. If all else fails, I'll maintain it manually, but that could quickly get very ugly, and updates would probably be slow. =/ Second would be hosting. I could probably host in on my shaw webspace, but that would likely only work if I did the good old fashioned manual method. Is there any possibility of hosting it here at the Pen? I can chip in for webspace fees, if it would help. Third would be rules. This I would really like some input on, so that I know what you would all enjoy the most. We have plenty of RP's here at the Pen, and I would really like this to remain strictly a story - ie, no Pennite characters intruding upon the plotline. I'd like to introduce a couple simple rules, also to help me with guiding the story and keeping it from getting horribly confusing (I've seen multi-writer stories like this end up with a list of random characters a mile long that really are just their own avatars popping in and out everywhere, and it gets ugly.) - Rule 1: Only myself - and my partner quillbearer, if I end up with one - can add, remove, or kill off major characters. When writing your segment, you can add small side characters that will only be around for your segment (all characters interact with people outside their party), but major additions should be discussed with us before being added to the story. - Rule 2: This is going to be a strictly fantasy story. No flying off in alien spaceships, no laser beams, no modern settings. Only what might be found in a fantasy world will be found in this one. Fourth (and final) problem would be story. I've got a couple things brewing, but I'd like to get some suggestions, if I could. Please feel free to toss suggestions out here if you've got any inspirations burning a hole through your head in their efforts to get out. That's about it. Sorry for writing so much. Comments? Questions? Suggestions? Most importantly, is anyone interested? No point in creating an interactive story, after all, if no one is interesting in contributing to it.
Gyrfalcon Posted January 8, 2004 Report Posted January 8, 2004 Tralla, I'd be willing to write a couple story sections for you. I assume this would be along the lines of the Lone Wolf series, where the sections are fairly small, or would the sections be more substantial then a few small paragraphs?
Tralla Posted January 8, 2004 Author Report Posted January 8, 2004 It could be or long or as short as you chose, but I probably wouldn't make it too long... maybe no more than a page or two in Word. The point of a CYOA is that the reader gets to make a lot of the decisions, right? And it's not like anyone who comments here would be obligated to write segments, it's going to work on a totally spontaneous system... You're reading this storyline, it's going great, then BAM! OMG! It stopped! Well, lemme just write this section here... Then you're done and can read another path, or go back to whatever RP's you're tied into, or whatever. =D
Wyvern Posted January 8, 2004 Report Posted January 8, 2004 Wyvern cheers and applauds Tralla's excellent Quill quest idea, recalling the brilliant series of Steve Jackson and Ian Livingston "Choose Your Own Adventure" books known as Fighting Fantasy that he always used to play. The overgrown lizard clears his throat of a few ashes and sets up a Bruteweiser stand in the hopes of attracting a large crowd, then hisses: "A very original and intriguing idea for a Quill Quest, Tralla, definitely count me in as a participant. I won't be able to help out with the engine or hosting due to my almost dragonic knowledge of computers, but would be more than happy to submit an entry or two and help you with any potential story ideas." With that, the reptilian Elder seats himself at the newly set up booze stand and begins pocketing beer nuts before anyone else has a chance to taste them...
Yui-chan Posted January 9, 2004 Report Posted January 9, 2004 Tralla, This looks like a lot of fun. Are you planning on two options at the end of each story segment, then? I can probably help (or get Aegon to help) with coding and logistics. It probably could even be done with little more than judicious use of the forum's own scripts, functions and links, but that's just a brainstorm. Also, if Orlan-san has accomplished the move or gotten close to it, we can host the project on the Pen's own resources. You can contact me pretty reliably via PM, so let me know some particulars about what you'll need. Thanks, ~Yui
X-Sabre Posted January 9, 2004 Report Posted January 9, 2004 Tralla, I'm in to help in whatever way I can. Scripting and stuff hmm.. Shouldn't be too awfully hard.. I'll try writing up something here soon. And as for the story.. I'd be willing to contribute some ideas if you need them, god knows there are plenty of them.
Lady Celes Crusader Posted January 9, 2004 Report Posted January 9, 2004 Tralla, that's an awesome idea! I'm a fan of Les Livres donc vous êtes le Héro and I still own some of these.
Vlad Posted January 9, 2004 Report Posted January 9, 2004 *gives Celes an odd look* you're a fan of who? Tralla - great idea! I'll read it, can't gaurantee if I can write something... but I'll try! I can help with ideas. I *ALWAYS* have ideas for stories, but not the time/skill/energy (in that order) to write them.
Tralla Posted January 9, 2004 Author Report Posted January 9, 2004 Vlad - she's a fan of "The Books in Which You Are the Hero" French version of CYOA, is my guess. =)
Valdar and Astralis Posted January 9, 2004 Report Posted January 9, 2004 OOohhh. Can I write the grisly endings? can I can I can I???!
Lady Celes Crusader Posted January 10, 2004 Report Posted January 10, 2004 Tralla: It is how they called the CYOA series in French. Vlad: It's the Baron Sengir from the M:tG series Homelands! :woot: Fun card for a vampire deck.
Katzaniel Posted March 3, 2004 Report Posted March 3, 2004 Did anything ever come of this? I was thinking that I'd be willing to do some coding for you if someone could get me started - I mean, I know C++ which I hear is a lot like Java, but I'd probably need to know Java. OR I could help with doing it manually. Funny, but I was thinking about this today at school and was planning on offering my help, before I got back & found out I was promoted. Maybe we could do a double QQ, although I had another idea last night that might work too. Anyway, I think that it could be done as a thread and just have links to each new post added into old posts. Then again the scripting would have to have some sort of permission to edit other people's posts. Hmm... Maybe we wouldn't even need Java... *runs off to test something*
Katzaniel Posted March 3, 2004 Report Posted March 3, 2004 No, as I see it you would either have to do it here as a thread and find a way to make the code edit posts or have some sort of database. I don't really know all the options that are available to the experienced Java programmer, but it seems to me we'd need some way to store the info - a couple of tables should do it. ie) Post_ID - Author - Post KT47 - Katzaniel - You walk down the hallway and find a door. Post_ID - Link_ID - Option_Title KT47 - GR48 - Open the door KT47 - TR69 - Knock on the door KT47 - TM83 - Run away All we'd need then is a way to show the info and a way to update it (yeah, like that's the easy part ) Something like this: Post ID: show(post.id) by: show(post.author) show(post.data) You: do while (link.next) show(link.title) loop Does anyone know Java or any other language that would allow one to do something like this? How hard would it be to implement this?
Tralla Posted March 5, 2004 Author Report Posted March 5, 2004 Sorry to strain your brain love, but I have my script... Now I just have to sit down and WRITE the damn thing. =P *hug* If you want to tag team the project, that could be uber cool. I have plans to expand into a number of different CYOA's in the future, with different central chars... *evil grin and hand rub*
Katzaniel Posted March 5, 2004 Report Posted March 5, 2004 (edited) I've decided I don't want to double quill-quest it (I think I'm going to go ahead with the other idea I mentioned) but if you need help, I'd love to be part of it. I was also thinking, you said you'd get people to write up responses, but what if they also got to choose their own actions? I mean, talk about super interactive story. You could leave the story hanging and people could decide at any point that none of the options listed are what they'd do and just add one. Then you wouldn't even need to *have* a list of options to start off with. You'd get more ends hanging, but I could help you keep track of those & I'm sure we could recruit some other people to help. We'd need a "system" to indicate when an end is reached. Either we could work it into the code and not allow people to post at each end, or just add a simple "THE END" and trust people Personally I think the latter is best. What do you think? Or just way too unstructured and chaotic? Remember, chaotic can be fun! Edit: I'm not trying to take over. It's just that "we" is easer to say than "you" and I would like to help. It's a fantastic idea. Edited March 5, 2004 by Katzaniel
Ozymandias Posted March 5, 2004 Report Posted March 5, 2004 Well, I don't know no scripting, but I can write other stuff! May I be of service? Bats his eyes at Tralla before remembering how that looks on a 10,000 year-old Egyptian man.
Yui-chan Posted July 23, 2004 Report Posted July 23, 2004 Trallaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! >_ Reviver of dead topics, ~Yui
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