I’ve spent the past month still working on that project, which I can’t talk about yet. However, I can at least say that it’s another narrative-based game, that it isn’t Wars of Infinity, and that I’m sort of relying on a whole new production process this time around.
When I started writing interactive fiction, it was with minimal planning. I more or less winged Sabres of Infinity, and aside from the obligatory outline which was part of the pitching project for Mecha Ace, I didn’t plan ahead much then either. The entire plot outline for Guns of Infinity fit on a single sheet of paper.
With Lords of Infinity, I tried to go for a more in-depth plan, especially given how mechanically complex the whole game was. I outlined on half a notebook, then with each chapter, I would do a chapter-by-chapter outline before filling everything out. This definitely helped me keep track of some of the more complex mechanical systems involved, but it wasn’t a perfect solution either. One problem was that by the time I could actually get feedback on those systems, they were not only functionally complete, but already one part of an interlocking network of other systems. This meant that if a mechanic or a given plot thread proved to need work, it was very difficult to disentangle it from a complex of systems and plot threads which were already written and scripted. This meant that course-correcting faulty systems was often difficult, if not impossible – which led to a lot of the problems which I pointed out in my post-mortem.
Chiefly, this meant it was very easy to lose track of individual setups and payoffs. Part of the reason that a lot of storylines remained less resolved than many would have liked has to do with the fact that they sort of got lost in the tangle, and by the time they drew my attention again, there was no space left in an already almost-complete story to add their advancement or resolution.
That’s why this time around, I’m taking a different approach to planning and outlining. Instead of outlining chapter by chapter, I plan on creating the skeleton of the entire story and fleshing it out in phases. In my current phase, I’m effectively doing a highly detailed play-by-play summary of each chapter, plotting out how they’re organised in relation to each other, and making sure that each individual story thread is wrapped up in a way which serves the arc of the story and the player experience.
Hopefully, I’ll be able to finish this phase by the end of the month, and talk about the next by the time November rolls around.
In the meantime, this month’s Soldier’s Guide to the Infinite Sea, Adventurer’s Guide to the Fledgling Realms and Creator’s Guide to Writing and Worldbuilding are now up.
Paul Wang 