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I still have an unfinished storygame on here that's worth salvaging, but I gave up because I couldn't figure out how to use some Javascript.

I'm not actually asking for help with that, though. I was wondering those of you more in the loop with webdev stuff than me (which isn't hard) know how best to approach getting this story I started here onto my own website using an intermediate software.

I don't have time to learn HTML, CSS, and JS to a level where I can build this all from scratch anymore, although I know I'll have to learn some down the line.

Essentially, I want something to do the heavy lifting that CYS does to some extent by creating links and pages for me, which I can edit the script of to produce different results based on tracked variables, which can then be exported as my own website once finished. It should be able to support an inventory system as well as allow me to create slightly more gamey mechanics like a fishing system based off of variables (e.g. Strength and Luck), which I already created in CYS.

Things like Twine aren't gonna cut it from my preliminary research. I've taken note of Ink/Inkly and it looks like a good shout if anyone has experience using this for CYOAs? Else, if anyone has any other or better suggestions, I'm all ears.

Thanks!

Can't really help you, but I have passed this on to see if any of the techy people have any ideas, maybe one of the more European ones will be around.

Something like Inform is all I can think of, it's for parser IF but any of those should handle CYOAs if you treat new locations like pages.

Thanks Mizal I appreciate it and I'll look into Inform.

Honestly I recommend going the hard way and learning HTML/CSS/JS. I self-taught with some courses over winter break and am still a beginner, but already coded something with links and items into JS. It probably wouldn't take you any longer to learn than any other coding system, and it's probably much more flexible.

I could send you links to the courses I used, but they might be behind a paywall (I got them free with my student email).

Short of that, the CYS editor can do practically anything, it just takes a lot of repetitiveness that you might be able to avoid with other formats. What you want to do can probably be done with the CYS editor.

Click here for javascript course

For the technically illiterate like me who don't already know HTML and CSS, here are your links.

The video format is annoying, but you can scroll down for a transcript. Again, not sure what access is like for non-students but I'm sure there's some other free resources on the web.

Well, I will have to at least to some extent, even if it takes me a while. I'm also a student for a short time yet so may be able to access them. E: just seen you've posted the links above, thanks!

I can do it all in CYS and have done loads of things I'm really happy with in CYS, but it's gotten to the point now where it's large enough and I have invested and still plan to invest so much effort into it that I'd like it to be somewhere I can call entirely my own, even if I care about monetising it or anything.

If anyone else has this question for the future, Inkle studios' scripting language Ink is exactly what I was looking for from what I can tell and it's worth checking out.

The language is as easy or complex as you want it to be and you can upload your stuff onto the web, or even create 2D/3D games around your text story by porting it into other software like Unity. It also has a few features the AE doesn't have like loops (although I think Brad might have implemented this now in CYS Sugar; I'm not sure I haven't been active for a year or two).

Happy writing!

I'd like to also suggest Twine (https://twinery.org/) as a user-friendly option for creating or converting your existing CYOA stories, even those with variables. I highly recommend using the Sugarcube story format (https://www.motoslave.net/sugarcube/2/docs/) since it adds plenty of useful functionality to Twine.

Coming from a linear author's perspective, Inkle's scripting language, Ink, tends to be more coding-oriented and less focused on visual cohesion for the overall narrative. That's why I prefer Twine, or more specifically, TWEE notation in any text editor, including Final Draft, as I write CYOA screenplays for interactive audio dramas (and I do use variables to track certain aspects). Keep in mind, though, that Twine 2 can export TWEE files but not import them back in. To work around this, I use Tweego (http://www.motoslave.net/tweego/) to convert my TWEE files exported from Final Draft into a final HTML game file.

What's great is that Twine or Tweego allows you to export the game as a single HTML file that you can host on any web platform without needing external dependencies or folder structures.

Thanks for the suggestion! I've considered using and learning Twine and have heard good things about it. I didn't come across Sugarcube specifically and scanned through some of its documentation with interest.

It's still early days and I wrote this post before finding alternatives to ink, so I'm glad you highlight these for any other authors looking to port projects onto their own sites or utilise other features the reasonably powerful (but still limited) editor on this site.

For now, I'm sticking to ink as I can add all the visuals with HTML and javascript if I need to. Also, you're right in saying it's more code-heavy, and some of the things it allows you to do can create powerful and complex interactive content that's perfect for my story. However, I may still yet be converted to Twine, because I'm trying to figure out how to implement my variable item system outlined in this article. It can be done apparently, but requires some stuff I don't understand yet. The article basically outlines how to create an inventory system UI that's present at all times at the bottom of your screen and allows you to use items whenever you want on top of whatever choices are available (it's a more flexible version of this site's native item system).

If you know how to do this in Twine or have seen something similar, I'd be very interested!

Did you see the Songbird thread in the Lounge?

Thanks for bringing this to my attention - I'll be watching its development with some interest.