Rumour has it that I’m working on a new project in my spare time. Here’s what I’m willing to tell you about it at this point:
- It’s being developed using the super nifty Undum framework for web-based hypertext interactive fiction.
- It’s a reworking of an old game idea of mine that’s been in the back of my brain for ages. At one point about three years ago or so, it was going to exist in a different form with the help of a certain writer/artist friend of mine, but due to factors beyond my control, it didn’t wind up materialising.
Undum is pretty neat to play with so far. I wouldn’t recommend it for people who don’t like Javascript (at least not until friendlier tools get made) but it appeals to the tinkering type in me. It pretty much lets you do choose-your-own-adventure-with-stats games just like ChoiceScript, but does a very neat one-page layout with text appearing and disappearing from it that I quite enjoy. Brings about a feel that’s closer to parser IF, but without the, you know, typing and stuff, which is actually something I’ve been looking forward to for a while. I’ve never particularly loved parsers, [1] which likely stems from being about ten years too young for them and being more of a LucasArts kid than an Infocom kid, so I’m more than happy to ditch parsers entirely for a point-and-click [2] interface. Your mileage may, of course, vary.
In any case, I’m pretty happy to be in that mindset where I have something shiny and new to work on. It is a very good mindset, indeed.
Ooh, is this “Stage!”? It sounds like “Stage!”.
Yep!
This looks quite cool. I for one would love to hear more about your progress working with this framework – it certainly looks nice on the user end, but I’m curious about its strengths and limitations for the designer.
You mentioned the nicer look and feel of Undum over choicescript, but in terms of being easier to use from the programming end, which do you figure? Or is it about the same?
Undum is easier to tweak (because it’s basically Javascript) but not to use. ChoiceScript feels like the other way around: easier to use but more limited in what you can do with it.