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Hello~

So I joined the website yesterday after finding it on Google when looking for more CYOA  games.  Definitely a newbie and I have a few random questions.

Is this website very popular?  I always see less than a dozen people online whenever I am.  I mean, is this website new, old?  Is it going anywhere?  I mean, if I make a storygame, are people going to read/play it?

Also, what's the difference between www.myadventuregame.com and www.chooseyourstory.com ?

I've read plenty of articles about creating your first storygame and think I got the jist of it.  I'm about 19 pages in now and have been working on a couple options every once in a while.  It's called 'The Castle of Vampires'.  Don't diss me for liking vampires. D:<  Anyway, it's going pretty well so far.  I just could maybe use a few ideas to keep me going.  Is there anyway people can read it without me publishing it?  

And... tags.  I would like to add tags to my storygame, but I don't know which one would be fitting.  Why can't I just type in the tags I think fit it? There's so very little to choose from.

I think that's all the questions I have for the time being.  Any tips you guys would like to give me? :D

Hey Wickerfire, welcome to the site!

The website isn't massively popular, no, although it does have a strong community of fifteen or so regular members and then others that come and go. People will read and play it, you just have to look at the amount of playthroughs on a storygame like Necromancer - it's been played almost 8000 times. The website is about ten years old, and it's gone through a few periods of activity and inactivity. Late last year activity started to pick up again and that brought along members like ugilick, ThisIsBo, Zikara and a number of others, and the site has only continued to grow in popularity since then.

When the website started up it was known as My Adventure Game. I think it was.. 2007 when the layout and name of the site changed to Choose Your Story. There's no difference in what you get on each site aside from myadventuregame.com having the old url.

Good luck on your story! In the "Game Options" tab in the storygame editor (or "Storygame Options" in the Advanced Editor), there's a box you can tick called "Allow Sneak Preview" - if this is ticked, people can view your storygame before it is published if they know the url of the story (this is done by altering the url of another storygame with the title of yours). Alternatively, you can make somebody a co-author - this not only allows them to view your storygame but it also means they can edit it and help you write it.

As for tags - I've never published a storygame of my own, so I'm not familiar with how tags work. I think Zikara would be best fit to answer this - she's writing an article to do with them now - though I'm sure somebody else could help with this too.

Anyway, I hope you choose to stay on CYS. The users are pretty friendly and the storygames are great so there's lots to look forward to.

Too bad it's not that popular.  I'll see what I can do about getting friends to join the website and spreading the word.

Thank you for all the info!  I'll probably allow people to get a sneak preview once I've worked on it a little more~

yeah. Recently he added 'zombie' because so many games were about zombies. He might be able to add 'vampires' if he sees it fit.

Also, I'm fergie. I've become a regular on here and so have a lot of the newer people. I've only been here for a year, but I know a lot around the site with the exception of scripting, which Zikara has still yet to teach me :P But other than that, you could probably just PM me or the other regs. and we'd be happy to help :)

No there's not any tip i can give you. You seem like the type who'd have everything in control, unlike me.

Wassup Wickerfire, I'm ThisisBo but the folks around here just call me Bo. I joined early this year (mid to late April), and was paourt of the rush that October described, and he's been here MUCH longer than most of the online members, excepting 3J and Endmaster.

I'm also probably on one of the lower teirs as far as the CYS status hierarchy is involved. Zikara is known for her scripting (she would probably be in a mid-upper teir if I was to make one up right now), Endmaster is known for his breath-taking stories, October is known for... I don't really know what he's known for, but I've always considered him very logical and rational, and he's been here for an epicly long time. 3J is known for his intelligence and commitment to the site (as far as I can tell), and on a  slightly lesser level, his stories. His stories are epic though, so you should totally check it out.

Rule 1 that I can give you: 3J is the stweard of CYS. The all-mighty creators are no longer around due to the sudden development of a life, but I've heard that alex comes around occasionally to fix the odd bug or award a trophy. 3J's a pretty fair admin (just consider him the chief admin, although there are several othersNo this isn't a very popular site, but it's one of the best in my opinion, and those that stick around long enough are normally devoted to the site.

As for the history of the site, here's a great article written by none other than the creator of the site:

http://www.myadventuregame.com/help/aboutus.aspx

Haha, I wouldn't diss you for liking or waiting a story about Vampires, however I might if it's poorly written. I enjoy all well-written stories, I didn't expect to like a story about finding out a ghost's past by finding seperate items, but it was so well written that I loved it.

Well... tags are relatively simple. Just look at them and see if your story fits. Is it the first part of an upcoming story? Then label it as "part of series". Is it supposed to be funny? Then add the tag "Humorous". Without reading the story, I can't tell you how to run your story, but I'll get around to reading the draft sooner or later.

Hope this helps, I'll be happy to help you whenever I can.

Wait! Wasn't October a girl if memory serves me right?

@Erudite - it's the other way around haha, you thought I was a girl until everyone told you I was guy.

@Bo - thanks for the compliment! And also just for clarification I was here about 10 months before EndMaster. You got the bit about JJJ right though.

Fair enough, I'll make a little correction to Marsh Casualties right now.

Thank you all for such a warm welcoming~

There are such a minimum amount of tags.  Is it somehow possible to change the format of it so a writer can add their own tags, instead of choosing from a list?  I find that it would be easier while searching for a specific storygame.

Also, I see the button for spell check, but it's faded/grey and I cannot use it.  Is this the same for everyone, or is it just my computer?  My spelling isn't terrible, but I do make mistakes now and again, so I find spell check extremely useful, instead of having to use a dictionary for every word I'm iffy about.  I use Firefox, and the spell check doesn't process while I'm creating posts.  Is there a way to fix the spell check?

I didn't think it would be this difficult to write a create your own adventure game.  I truly believe that it's more difficult to write than a regular story, since there are so many choices you have to keep up with.  Though, I feel as if it's more creative because you don't have to settle with just one idea if you have conflicting ones and don't know which one to choose.  You can use all of them!

I just have difficulty finding motivation to write here.  Not just here, but usually any story that's longer than a short story.  I'm 19 pages in my storygame, but to the reader, it's like, 5 or so pages, depending on what they choose.  I've also been brainstorming and writing, then rewriting a book that's hard to find motivation to work on.  The only thing that I find helps me keep motivation is setting a goal for myself on a certain number of pages to complete a day, but I'm SUPER forgetful and usually follow up with my goal. 

For people who have written a storygame, what kept you motivated? 

And, for people who haven't written a storygame... why?  How come you don't have one published and in some peoples' cases, not even started?

*usually don't follow up with my goal.

*been writing this "book" for almost 3 years.

Maybe I should just stick to writing poetry, haha. My poems aren't as long.

Also, there NEEDS to be an edit button!  I have so many ideas for this site.  What sort of rights or access does 3J have to the website?  Is he able to change some of it's format and whatnot?

He has admin access but he can't actual access the files for the site.

Nobody can edit forum posts (that includes alexp (well techically he could but he'd have to go all the way into the coding of the forums and edit it that way)), and because Alex doesn't really update/visit the forum anymore that's not likely to change soon. So in other words, JJJ can't edit posts. He can move threads, as all regular moderators can.

He can edit the maturity level, difficulty, category and tags of storygames, and he can view all storygames (published, unpublished and deleted). I don't think he can edit the actual words within, though I'm not sure (either way, JJJ's a very fair admin and even if he could he wouldn't change any of the words in your storygame - if there was something wrong with it he would just unpublish it, not edit in on your behalf).

I just don't get motivated again at all haha, as you can see by my lack of storygames. I'll have occasional bursts of inspiration which motivate me to write for a while, however something always happens in real life which distracts me enough to lose my writing streak.

When I number my comments, that's the number means what paragraph I'm talking about. For example, when I say 1.) that means I'm commenting on your first paragraph (not counting your thanks message).

1.) As far as I'm aware, only 3J can make tags, although the creators probably can, but they're just not around. He doesn't make them often, seeing as a tag is only neccesary when there are several stories with the same theme, like the "zombie" tag. Making a new thread for one or two stories with the same theme would probably just be a waste.

2.) I'm fairly certain that you have to download a spell checker before the button becomes colored. I don't use one, but you should probably ask Cool specifically about this via PM or simply wait untill he notices this thread. I think he uses one.

3.) Haha, definately.

4.) The first thing I noticed when I was writing was although I would write around 30 pages, only 13-20 would be on one story branch. You could always take the Endmaster method though. I noticed that although his stories are incredibly captivating and take a very long time to read, but he doesn't actually have that many pages. His pages are just so long that his stories are get high length ratings. The only downside to this is that the long pages take away some of the ability to choose your details, and if you notice your characters make a lot of decisions on your own. But if you can write a good enough story, most people won't mind it.

5.) can't comment as it doesn't apply to me.

6.) Well, I would have to say lack of motivation is the cause most of the time. When I've been writing Marsh Casualties, I go through large periods of time where I don't write, then smaller periods of time where I write several pages at a time. Some people simply come to this site to read stories, and have no interest in writing them.

Well, I think I'll be the first person with the motivated answer straight on, so here it is:

With me, I try to make a profile of all the characters I'm certain I will use. If I do that, then I won't hesitate thinking about what the characters in the story will do depending on their personality and I only have to focus on the reader's choices. I also like to choose a main conflict that the character will have to face one time or another, like if you go to Mars and you end up having to fight a fire dragon or something. Finally, to keep me motivated throughout the WHOLE story, I keep reminding myself little events that have to happen along the way to keep the story interesting. I lost complete interest in my recently published story Wolf Spirit for the contest and I didn't touch it for days. Then, I reminded myself of this very surprising event that would happen just pages later (i won't say what, you guys need to read it!) and it got me going to finish it. Although, the deadline that was set for me also helped, so maybe just keep a notebook of your progress with your due date and goal for each day.

Hope I helped, and I hope you could follow that.

"Welcome aboard, I'm on vacation at the moment but if you've got any other questions, post them right here and they'll get answered!" - 3J

He's noticed the thread before, but that was right before he went on vacation, and now he's been missing for a day or two. Most of the time he leaves it to the regulars to greet newcomers, and he helps with the technical stuff (learning how to script, questions about admin powers, etc.), so something tells me he's lurked here after he originally posted, he just never felt the need to chime in.

Although I can't stop you, I would highly suggest that you don't even attempt to get AlexP to sell. This is one of the few CYS sites that I actually like, and it was one of the first that I heard of that has an easy-to-use writing system. When I first found the site, I thought that it was incredibly revolutionary, and I still think so today. To try and get AlexP to sell would kind of take some of the glory from him, and even though he doesn't come around often, it's stil his site.

Plus, (no offense to your dad) I just don't like the idea of a guy who's never even been here before making changes. If it was someone like 3J, Madglee, or Seth I wouldn't mind at all, but the idea of a guy who has no idea about the inner workings of the site or the people who frequent here ruling us all just creeps me out. I doubt 3J would send the email in the first place though, as I doubt Alex has intentions of selling, but then again I don't know the guy even on a faceless level.

However, I noticed how you said that the site is "abandoned", but that's not completely true. Like it says in 3J's profile, he's just the steward of CYS, not the king. Imagine that this is Gondor, Alex is Aragorn, and 3J is Denethor. When Alex arrives, 3J has to relenquish the throne and hand the crown to Alex. But before that happens, 3J goes insane, attempts to burn Endmaster alive, and then and then sets himself on fire and jumps off the tower and into the crowd of trolls that swarming at the Gates of CYS.

Yeah... I'm pretty sure that's what would happen.

It is his right, but it's far less likely to happen than if 3j made an offer. Plus, I'm perfectly okay with the fact that this site is quiet. It's one of the sites where I know most of the people on here. It's cozy. It's like my home away from home (which is in my home). Like if you lived a small village or town all your life and one day someone comes and makes it into a big, bustling city all of a sudden. It would just seem . . . weird. We've never had more than 25 people on here at once (not counting guests) and I'm okay with that.

I'd rather live in the suburbans than the urbans anyday.

'On the site you can recognize half the people here; it's really nice.' sounds better than what you said (oh no, am I becoming as nit picky as Bo?)

Oh, that makes sense. I still think I'm getting grammar paranoid like Bo.

When's the last time I corrected grammar?

Well, I can't really remember, but you're always bugged by grammar. I always think of you when someone corrects someone else's grammar.

Haha, I 'm always bugged by grammar, especially my own. I just learned not to vocalize it.

I have noticed you've been more quiet about that. Good for you for learning self control.

Haha, "It's my home away from home (which is in my home)." made me laugh for a second or two. Good one.

Thank you. I try to be funny once in a while :)

I apologize if I offended any of you by saying that we would like to buy the site and also for calling it abandoned.  It just bothers me that this is such a beautiful sight and Alex doesn't really bother with it anymore.  The main reason I said that was because I have plenty of ideas for the site that would make it run more smoothly (some of the reasons I said in previous posts). 

Anyways, I haven't contacted anyone yet and am not sure if I will anytime soon.  This website is like finding gold on the internet that needs a little bit of buffing up and I can't help but try to make it shine.  Whether or not I contact anyone depends on a few things in my personal life right now, so don't think too hard about it; it was just an idea. C:

I, for one, would be glad to see this site being run by people who have the time and the love of CYS to devote a significant amount of time to marketing, moderating, and generally keeping things running smoothly. In my opinion, this site is a bit disorganized (see this year's Story Contest for an example) and it would be a waste of the CYS artform for this website to languish in anonymity and admin apathy.

Perfect explanation. To a tee!

Wow. You go away for a few weeks and everything changes.

You've missed a lot dogbox. A LOT!!!

...well, maybe not that much.

I've been through a few threads and it looks like a lot has happened then again when you're gone for four weeks stuff happens.

Me? The longest I've been away was 2 days at max.

Are you talking about during July? I had to go on this trip so I could only check up on you guys. I would've informed you guys on a thread on the forums, but I never got to it :P