Zake, The Novelist
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'ello! I am Zake. Welcome to my profile.
Writing is fun, hard, and interesting.
Feel free to message me.
Some sites that may be worth a look:
Consistent Writing Effort
Current Total: 25,493
Today: +211 (21 Moonlight permutations split into 7 groups, finished 4, but might add more to the 4th later (p89). Working on fifth. After all these I'll figure out the return and the city. Still need to go back to make sure I note down the payoffs that'll be needed...then edit the moonlight depending on if any of the payoffs could be referenced.)
Last Wrote 17/04/2021 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Current Streak: 62 Days
BONUS
- Slow Ten Thousand!
Achieved in 30 consecutive days.
- Counting Fool
Noticed on 58th day. Total count changed to Word's count as a fix.

Contribution to the War Effort
Games Rated: 205/205
Games Reviewed: 0
Listings Created: 0
BONUS
- The End Encroaches
Rate all of Endmaster's games. (Games now only found in the forbidden tome).
- Elven Pride
Rate all of Mizal's games (that are on the IFDB).
Nay to thy Naysayers
Pass judgement on all of Endmaster's (current 80) reviews. So far all helpful. Existence terminated.
- Criteria's Final Row
Rate all of Gower's games.
- Hammer's Shadow
Rate all of BerkaZerka's games.
Seek Wisdom
Pass judgement on all of Mizal's (current 18) reviews. So far all helpful. Existence terminated.
- Acceptable Effort
Rated everything (for now).
The war is winding down, but eyes shall linger.
Last Updated 11/03/2021 (DD/MM/YYYY)
Trophies Earned




Recent Posts
Help CoG refugees learn the editor on 4/17/2021 9:45:23 AMHelp CoG refugees learn the editor on 4/17/2021 8:55:16 AM
Help CoG refugees learn the editor on 4/17/2021 4:08:24 AM
Variables just hold a number.
You can create them under the 'variables' tab with the 'Create New Variable' button. You can also create variables by declaring them when using scripting. They exist separate to the pages, and you can use them in scripting or (more likely) making link restrictions (i.e. needing STR = 1 to pick a choice).
With that said, scripting doesn't need to be used, as mentioned you can make something where you just use variables and link restrictions (to have delayed consequences or stat based choices).
Also, under 'Storygame Properties' there is 'Editor Features', here you can click '[change editor features]' and crank everything up to the most complicated (that way you have access to everything). Doing this on a new storygame and trying to mess around with stuff might be a good idea. I know messing around in a test storygame helped me figure out some things.
Otherwise, most scripting articles are alright, and if something isn't well explained, you can ask a question in the advanced editor forums and someone should have an answer. I think if you've figured out the CoG system you should be able to figure this one out too.
The Price of Freedom: Innocence Lost is a CoG style game, you'll even see it has a stats page link! (Implementing new buttons is more complicated tho, but again, people can help with that).
You can see how it uses variables so that might help give you some idea of what you can do.
Dungeon Stompage! also shows some of what the editor can do, but making something at this level shouldn't be the goal for every story (but if your story requires it, it is possible!).
Koi Koi! is a more recent example that makes heavy use of the editor to create the game of Koi Koi, which is insane.
Suffice to say, you can have a choice 'do 1 push up' and have that increase the %STREGNTH variable by 1.
Lunch with an Angel on 4/5/2021 8:09:02 AM
Lunch with an Angel on 4/5/2021 5:16:11 AM
As Mizal mentioned, nice hook.
I liked the pace for this too.
I will say that the coughing blood thing reminded me of some satirical thing I saw that poked fun at that trope (since coughing blood is generally a very bad sign...but not in fiction!).
Technicalities
Writing is looking good too, but what I did notice was some issues with dialogue punctuation (probably since you had some shorter sentences this time around).
e.g.
- “This is yummy, must be since I got two of my most favorite people here an stuffs.” Billy said with a slightly crooked smile.
Should have a comma at the end of the dialogue:
- “This is yummy, must be since I got two of my most favorite people here an stuffs,” Billy said with a slightly crooked smile.
Here's a link to Gower's article: http://chooseyourstory.com/help/articles/article.aspx?ArticleId=4309
But getting used to this can be a bit annoying, so feel free to ask any questions (I just feel I shouldn't ramble about it...but I certainly can, if it might help!).
Another example:
- “I should kill you for corrupting him.” Ereriel practically snarled out.
Should also be a comma:
- “I should kill you for corrupting him,” Ereriel practically snarled out.
You also missed a space before the first capitalised 'NO' here: “No.NO. NO. NO!”, but now I'm just nit-picking, lol.
I did like the images this scene conveyed, so none of the above ended up being a detriment in that regard.
Looking forward to more!
More Site News on 4/4/2021 9:52:46 AM

More Site News on 4/3/2021 9:41:58 PM
You can use html!
Where 'link' is a link to the image you're posting (so an imgur link if you uploaded it there).
If your image is big, you can add an extra thing to make it smaller.
This will restrict its size. You can edit your post quickly if you notice the image is poorly sized.
Fire and Ice magic ideas on 4/2/2021 10:04:23 PM
So, what confuses me here is that the wizard is capable of creating an ice bridge (with ice magic) and then melting it (with fire magic). Can't he just freeze/burn the bear? Does he feel like killing a bear is morally dubious?
Anyway, doing puzzles that are solved with fire & ice can be a fun gimmick.
To avoid rambling, I'd say think about:
- The Wizard's Motivation.
Why is he traveling the world? Is there a destination? How you answer this can give you some idea of where to put puzzles (and maybe what kind, too). - Types of Puzzles.
Your example makes it seem like the puzzles will be trying to solve conflicts with logic (using the magic). If that's right, just think of more conflicts based on where the wizard is going, and see what solutions you can come up with. - Magic System.
There are lots of ways to handle magic, but generally consider if there are limitations and what they might be. Having the reader know what the limitations are can help inform their choices when trying to solve puzzles, but you knowing the limitations can also help you come up with the puzzles.
Regarding examples, I'll leave it up to more creative folk. Mizal's idea is certainly not an obvious one, aha.
Philosophical Question on 3/28/2021 8:10:54 PM
Names on 3/27/2021 7:53:56 PM