Advances in Game Writing Tech, Controller Wizardry, and Living Legends (Patreon)

As I have often mentioned recently, we've been working on tying up all of the loose ends in the final act of Peace Island's storyline.  However, we were running up against a problem:  How to relate all of this analogue information from the WIKI and hundreds of pages of notes in a manner that allowed the level designers to quickly examine the project at every level, without sacrificing detail.

Several years ago, when Laura & I started this project, there were very few commercial solutions to this issue.  We were afraid we'd have to start creating horrific flowcharts that one would usually expect to bedeck the walls of a biochemical lab.

Fortunately, we have discovered that times have changed.  There are now several solutions available to game developers - but upon first review, most seemed to be coding apps that happened to include a few features useful to writers.  

None seemingly allowed for the depth of story development we had in mind, or the ease of use writers needed.  However, there was one - Articy:Draft - that stood out from the rest.

The ability to immediately cross-reference multiple characters/missions/items on a map, timeline, and mission "flow" is excellent - this is is an app for writers, that happens to include a few features useful to coders.  

Peace Island developers will be able jump from the overall story arc of the game as a whole, down to a single cat or NPC's story arc, to a single mission therein, to a one-line interaction between characters within a few clicks - and never lose track of where they are, or their relation to the Critical Path.   

Plus - Articy:Draft is the software used to create one of the most engaging, story-driven games of the past few years, Disco Elysium.  Knowing that this platform could handle the granularity of story detail delivered by that game ensures our ability to deliver the multilayered story we we've been working on for so many years.

The new guy has made amazing progress on the character controller.  In fact - this week has been the most productive month on that front this year!  

All of the functionality temporarily made absent by the refactoring process has been restored, and I'm cautiously certain that within two weeks, all remaining controller issues preventing the "Final Alpha" release will be resolved.  

He's also the solodev of his own indie multiplayer project, "Dragonfort."  While his Subreddit and Twitter are new and currently not too active, you should follow his efforts - he has a 3-hour demo ready to go - expect to see it available on Steam, soon!

One last thing:

Recently, when clearing out my bookshelves, I came across the precious few volumes of "The Church Mice" Series that I happened to own.  I felt it important to mention how much of an influence these Graham Oakley books had on me when I was a child, because it will be certain that you will see their influence in Peace Island.

Telling the story of Samson (a church cat who took a vow of non-violence) along with a seemingly endless horde of mice (that both loved and mercilessly took advantage of Samson,) Oakley's books were the epitome of genteel English wit, and lavishly illustrated.  I remember many nights when my father would read these to my sister and I when we were children, and we would laugh ourselves silly over the antics of the mice, and the endless tolerance of Samson.

When I learned that the author was still alive at the age of 92, I felt motivated to seek out a few more of these books - only to be sorely disappointed to find that most of them were out - of - print, with new copies of "The Church Mice Take a Break" selling for well over 500 dollars.  I contented myself with purchasing a copy that had been discounted to just a few dollars, due to "Markings inside of the book."

When it arrived, I was surprised to discover that the book was in pretty good condition, and the "Markings" were actually Graham Oakley's autograph.

I am not ashamed to admit that I had to sit down, and actually teared up a bit, when I saw this.  Knowing that the guy who had such a profound and lasting influence on my life - for just a few seconds  - had held this same book in his hands was overwhelming.

I hope Peace Island proves worthy of his influence, and that he is around for another 92 years.

SEE YA'LL NEXT WEEK - AND AS ALWAYS: