Advanced just got Super!

With more options than ever before, what's not to love about the Advanced Trope-O-Matic?

Introducing Super Hero creation!
I wrote this baby up in a text document and then broke out into a "copy and paste" frenzy to prevent any unpleasant "auto-save" happenings in Inklewriter.

You can now select between Fantasy, Sci-Fi, or Super Hero settings through a "Genre-Scopic" hub installed in the beginning of the *game.

*Technically, the hosting site has classified the Trope-O-Matic as busted and relegated it to something they call the "Sandpit", thereby invalidating its status as a "game".

Super Hero functionality is still in a "beta" phase, but more possible outcomes are coming soon. This is true for each of the genres, as I am constantly adding options when I think of them.

Let's Build an Advanced Character!

-Aaron

"Autosave: A Cautionary Tale" or "Sci-Fi Trope-O-Matic!"

I spent about four hours working on a "Sci-Fi" expansion to the Trope-O-Matic the other night, and I was feeling pretty good about it. What I didn't realize was that I had more than one window open for the same "story", and by accidentally clicking in the wrong window while somehow simultaneously closing the other window I triggered the autosave function on the older version, overwriting everything I had done.

I took some time to re-write everything, and now I can continue with the post I had originally written before I discovered my mistake:


I made some minor tweaks to the "New and Improved Version" and fixed some of the busted results, then I kept messing with it and added a new category for Sci-Fi inspired characters. I swear these choices do not loop back to the fantasy character results with a tag that adds "space" to everything, although that would have been a lot less work and I kind of wish I had thought of it earlier.

The part about this whole diversion that I enjoy the most is coming up with ridiculous character classes. I find myself wanting to actually write them up. If I do that right now, I will likely never finish The Cult of the Fallen Star, so I am forcing myself to slide that idea on the back burner.  When I do get to it, I will make a free PDF "sourcebook" for the classes and throw it in google drive.
So if you haven't taken the Trope-O-Matic for a test spin, or really want an Apprentice Star Yeti Drone Whisperer or perhaps a New-Human Cluster bomber then hit the link below!

Let's make (a better than before) character!

New and Improved PC creator

I have added loads more fluff, I mean crunch, to the character creator.

There has never been a better time to try it for yourself.

See what over 40, yes that's right, 40 other G+ users have experienced. No wait, shit. I checked the blog from my phone a few times, and I forgot to set it to "not track page views" from that device...

See what over 12 other G+ users have already experienced, only better, because it is new and improved!  What are you waiting for?
Let's Make a Character!

Making a simple character creator!

I created a simple, yet elegant character creator using Inklewriter. Follow the link below to check it out!

Let's make a character!

(Note: I added the paths mentioned below, but have not finished writing them or updating the story online yet)
While the overall plot of Revenge of the Gray Heron Part I is pretty linear (You have to escape the prison), I was able to add two other routes/ options for doing this. The first new option is to descend to the basement level of the prison using a stairwell, and the second is to climb the the roof using the elevator cables. In the screenshot the option to use the elevators has been disallowed (highlighted in red) because the elevator has already been tried, and the reader has chosen to abandon this method and try another way. I did this by tagging the first elevator escape paragraph and then setting a condition not to show the option to use the elevator again if you return to the choice "node" and the elevator tag has been read.

I used a similar trick to assign a value to bullets, and prevent options for using a gun from displaying if the bullet value reaches zero (each time the gun is used, a tag deducts one from the running bullet total).

I was even able to add a small passage about discarding the empty gun if the bullet value falls below one.

By using the same idea, and a running total for health, I am able to avoid dead ends that simply result in the character's death, but can include the option for player death too many passages with a "health-1" tag have been read.

If there was a way to set tags within the text in association with the ability to use random text, then combat could be simulated, but alas, this is beyond the scope of inklewriter at present.

On the plus side, I can update these changes in the version of the story that has already been uploaded to the textadventures.co.uk site that houses these stories.

Using tags and markers, and the ability to display marker values in text could make for a fun zero level adventure where the end result is a set of stats/ abilities for a starting character-just send a screen cap to the GM.

-Aaron

Enhancing the Adventure with Inklewriter

I have been experimenting with the idea of enhancing the adventure by creating a couple short adventures centering on NPC's the characters will encounter.

I have been messing around with inklewriter, and while it is not perfect, it is useful for mapping out branching story lines.

I created a short adventure story featuring a fallen superhero who has spent the last twenty years imprisoned/ institutionalized.  His arch enemy has been forgiven by the public, and as ascended to public office. Now in his sixties, the Gray Heron must escape the prison and exact revenge.

The following link will take you to part one of the story, which is pretty short, and admittedly pretty rough.

Revenge of the Gray Heron Part One

(fixed the link)
-Aaron