And... Scene!

Well, if I'm going to write about using this to help with my work I might as well actually use it...

Ow!

First, before this started, and before that thing was a confirmed failure, I kinda broke a nail.  Well, more like ripped it half off my middle finger.  This is what happens when you do things without the proper tools, so be forewarned kids!

Anyway, took the bandage off cause it makes things a pain in the ass to type.  Now then...


Before I start any project I first have to have a project to start on.  Usually this comes in the form of a very long spreadsheet that Leonizer sends over and everything gets based off of that.  What I then do is look over the script for anything I don't understand or have questions about.  Those all get written down as I come across them, since my memory is shit anyway.  After I have all those questions I'll fire those back while I start on the next steps.

The most important part of doing these games is planning, and part of that is formatting the new script.  By now I have certain templates for how I like to have everything laid out, but with each project those continue to evolve and change.  So I get that done as best as possible, knowing that they can potentially change.

Each script itself is usually broken into separate sections depending on the complexity of the game.  There is the main story of course, and then usually a separate page for actions the player can take, and if the are a lot of endings, those will all be put on one separate page as well.  (Also, I can not spell separate on my own.  TY Spellchecker!)

Once everything is divided up how I think will suit me it's time for the actual writing.  I go through the script fairly straight forward, focusing first on the story, and then returning later for sex scenes and miscellaneous texts such as the aforementioned player actions and the consequences of those.  Endings usually get written after their relevant scenes play out, even though in the end they're all grouped together in one section of the script.

Characters are where things get fun.  Sometimes I know what the characters will look like before I get the script, sometimes I don't.  It's really a matter of what assets are done when I get my hands on the script.  I usually will try to play up stereotypes when it makes sense.  Having one author for all the characters can easily make them all sound the same.  (At least in my mind.)

Writing for the main protagonist is easy, because as an author you already have an idea of who the character is supposed to be.  This can obviously get you into trouble if the MC is a turn off to the other people who play the game, but the MC is also the most natural character to write for, as you want them to succeed in their story.

All the other characters are there for the MC to play off of.  Mysterious Stranger, Thuggish Brute, Foreign Student, Naive Chick, these are all cliche's and it's easy to play them up as such.  In the case of the script I'm working on right now, Britney returns to give our hero Josh some more grief.

Now Josh loves Britney, and she loves him back too.  But because Britney has to act as a foil to Josh throughout the game, she can't just be a stereotype.  So she has some quirks added to her character.  She's a bit of a bitch and she's not easy to get in the sack.  But on the other hand, she also has her own sexual needs and once she opens up she discovers she has a bit of an exhibitionist streak as well.  She starts off as hard to get, but by the end of the story hopefully players will discover just how much of a sex freak she is.

At this point I'll have most of the characters planned out and I'll be well underway with writing the script.  Depending on various circumstances, I'll usually get my answers back from Leonizer, and if I have more questions I'll send those along as well...  All that's left is to write write write, right?