Last time on the devlog I shared how I came to work on my game project: where the inspiration came from, how I settled on the format and tools, and various other details. Today I’m outlining how the narrative and game flow takes shape.
After initial brainstorming and kicking ideas around, the first step was colored index cards. I jotted down ideas, characters, items, locations — anything that might be usable as I work on the game. These were arranged on a flat surface, mulled over, annotated or thrown out, then generally organized into a basic flow. The fragments and ideas being movable helped me to organize things and there were several reorganizations during this stage. It was also important to me that these be handwritten, as writing by hand is slower than typing and allows for more reflection time — thus, apps designed to act like sticky notes or index cards would still be ‘too fast’ for this step, at least for me.
Once I finished enough of the narrative via index cards, it was time to write up the prologue, first as a series of vignettes written up on Google Docs and then ported to Inky to add the scripting. “But Jala,” you might say, “why write the prologue before you really get into the nitty gritty of the story planning?” My response is this: in setting up the beginning I solidified character names, personalities, and the exact sequence of events leading up to the first major event of the game. I limited myself to only setting up the story before this important action point, focusing on solidifying the overall situation and how each character would act so that when I began writing up the details of the full narrative, I could do so with a clear vision in my head of how the characters think and feel. Far too often, I see stories across books, games and other media that bends characters in service of the pre-scripted narrative rather than having them act the way they would act.
I asked a few folks to check out the prologue once I had it scripted in Ink and available in a web format for them to play through. Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, but I also received a constructive item which — once I added a scene back in which I’d debated kicking off with — made for a better overall experience. (Thank you, playtesters/readers!)
From there, it was time for another detour off into the world of mapping the location where the game takes place. For this purpose I turned to an app called Magicplan, which is actually blueprinting and proposal software for architects and builders. As my dad owned his own remodeling business for most of my life, blueprints and floorplans are comfortable to me. This app is free for the first 2 projects you create — and of course, I have just my one project, so at no cost I was able to create the space in which the game takes place with some degree of detail. The app also kicks out a 3D render complete with any details you add in such as wall hangings, furniture and plants. I figured that when I get to the illustration phase, having this 3D reference will be useful. This is not something which will appear in the final game, although it may see use in future should I make another game with the same characters/setting in a different style (visual novel or adventure, for example, as opposed to a textventure).
After that groundwork was laid, it was time to expand on the initial concepts and update details accordingly. For me, this was another physical media: a lined notebook. As with the index cards, writing by hand in the notebook meant more reflection time as I worked — exactly what I wanted. This process of working totally unplugged helped tremendously with focus, but also allowed me to stop and reread and bounce ideas off Dave (or if I was alone at the time, to read it aloud to myself, which very often reveals what is missing — again, because reading aloud is a slower and more reflective process).
Once I had the game’s general structure — a prologue setting up the central dilemma, 6 Acts, and an epilogue which would feature various endings based on choices the player makes during the course of the game — alongside a map of the location where the game takes place and an outline of what major story beats were going to happen in each section, it was time to flesh out the first section and write in earnest. For the next version of the story outline, I turned to Articy:Draft 2 SE, which I’d purchased and tested out many years ago for a project I decided against, as mentioned in the first devlog. Articy’s current version is a subscription-based service; I only need it for the purposes of planning out the branching narrative (and there are many tools which could be employed for this including those good ol’ index cards, I just happened to have this app already). I opted to work in Articy Act by Act, rather than working out the entire story in Articy in one go. As I actually sit to write the narrative, elements change and new ideas arise — and as I work in Ink I learn more coding to enable me to do different things I hadn’t planned for in earlier stages.
Now, time to write. At this point, a series of Google Docs was not going to cut it. I needed better organization of the elements of the game. I stopped to look into different writing apps, and settled on Scrivener which has capability to function as notecards, a place to store research and references, as well as a clean format for sections of a project. As I wrote, I reread to myself silently and then aloud to Dave, editing as I went. I then transferred to Inky and coded each segment, playtesting within the app itself.
After Act 1 was complete, I playtested the Inky version several times, then exported and had Dave play through. I’d completed Act 1 on Christmas, so thus far no one else has played through Act 1. Once I get more feedback on it I will tweak as needed. At the present moment I am about 3/4 through Act 2 and eager to finish it. The going slowed down because I had to stop to learn some coding in order to achieve some of my desired effects.
So far the workflow has been as follows:
- Brainstorming
- Index cards
- Writing the prologue (Google Docs/Inky)
- Creating the location (Magicplan)
- Detailed outline (Articy:Draft 2 SE)
- Writing (Scrivener)
- Coding (Inky)
- Playtesting & editing
Once I have the entire story written and coded, I can focus on illustrating key moments in the narrative. I have not begun this process yet, but I have been doing a bit of general sketching and hope to resume painting soon as well, to shake off the artistic rust as it’s been several years since I last worked on art.
I am also working on creating the soundtrack using GarageBand when I don’t want to work on writing. So far I have the title track and a few fragments of songs. This is not the priority at the moment of course, so I work on this when the urge strikes. Sound effect recording will also occur at some point once I get that far, but I don’t yet know how frequent I want auditory interruption/accents. More on that as I get to it. For the time being, if you’re interested in being a tester for the interstitial state the game is in, please let me know.
Best,
~Jala~