Point and Click

unpublished

2 minute demo image-based point and click game made with the cys editor and javascript.

Click on the treasure pile when you reach the end of the demo, and it will take you to an explanation on how to code one of these games, and a copy of all the code used to build this one.

To use an item in your inventory, click on it to select. You'll know it is selected because it turns grey. Then you can 'use' it by clicking on the area you intend to use it on.

A general guide to character creation, and tips tailored specifically for characterization in an interactive format.

Use this system to code flexible battle sequences using items, link options, and player stats.

How to create a system that will keep track of which item a player has equipped into a specific slot, such as having a "sword" in a "weapon" slot.

Glad to hear it's helpful :). Yeah I think there's a certain magnetism from the curiosity factor of putting a suicide choice on the first page. People just think 'well if this kills me I only have to go back one page', which is preferrable to playing the rest of the game not knowing if there's an entire other branch left to explore or not.

(If you don't mind a few questions there were some things I wondered while reading--A) What was the original idea behind this game? B) Which path did you write first? C) Where on earth is that skinwalker ending?? No pressure to any of these.)

All 95k of Rainbow-1 done. (Phew!) Excellent game. And with that I think I will withdraw from the review club for now--I've got a busy month coming up. Also thanks so much to Will for the review on One Day's Adventure! :) Glad you enjoyed the game.

Dude this is not going to work. You are not going to outlast the mods. There are multiple past site member who have taken the same strategy made literally hundreds of accounts, over the course of months and years. Every one of them was banned, most of their trolling posts deleted, and all they did was burn any chance of being allowed back to the site on parole. This is not going to work.

By the same token, on a couple occasions, after enough time has passed, banned site members who didn't engage in long-term sockpuppetry have been allowed to return to the site. This is getting less and less possble for you the more bridges you burn, and at this stage may already be too late.

Oh boy.

In case you somehow missed it, here's the site policy on AI. It's in the pinned thread at the top of Newbie Central: LINK

Using AI to 'enhance' your writing is still using AI. If you had another human being redo your wording, it would be co-authoring. When you have an AI do it, you are co-authoring with AI. At minimum you have an obligation to disclose that instead of claiming it is your own. Since AI is banned on CYS, this behavior is banned on CYS. But you know that already, or you wouldn't have bothered to lie by omission about it.

So here's what happens now:

- You get clowned on in the forums. This is CYS, so that was going to happen anyways; but:
- You didn't write this story, so the feedback you would have received (both from the clowning & more polite commends) is utterly worthless.
- You have taught the people who would normally read & review your story that you have no use for feedback. People give feedback on this site because they want to help fellow writers grow their ability. By using AI to do the work for you, you are saying you have no interest in becoming better at the work yourself. So no one has any reason to engage with your work.
- Moreover, because you deliberately told a lie of omission (twice) in trying to pass off an AI-coauthored story as your own, you have taught the community that you do not respect them, or their time. People will assume the things you write and post are AI even if you say otherwise, and choose not to engage with them. They will assume you will waste their time, so they will not engage with you. (Except, again, to clown on you in the forums.)

It is possible for you to come back from this and rebuild your credibility. The odds are against you, but it's possible if you're committed. My hope for this post is to be clear why AI use is so unwelcome in writing communities (leaving aside all the other problems & complexities with AI use).

Hm. I'm seeing a lot of problems here, but they have less to do with your story idea and more to do with how you're going about the brainstorming process. Mainly I'm echoing Clayfinger that starting with a large project is a risky idea, and you learn a lot by starting with smaller ones.

First off if you're considering embarking on a long project I strongly recommend Mystic's Guide to Writing Epic Storygames. Tons of fantastic advice in here.

Here's the main things that concerns me about your idea:

1) You have a big idea that requires a long game, but you don't seem enthusiastic about all the material you'd need to come up with to fill it. You like the idea of an epic scale 4th-wall breaking confrontation that involves both character and reader. But I'm not getting the sense that you're at all excited about the biblical sub-stories you'll have to write to support this, when those are A) the chief focus of your prompt, and B) the actual meat of the story. No matter how epic the building hidden background plot is, this game will not work if passion and craft isn't invested into making the foreground plot genuinely compelling in its own right.

2) There are inherent limits to a 4th wall breaking story. They can be very good, but you can only 'involve' the reader so much before they remember they're reading a fictional story and no eldritch monster from it can ever enter our reality. The best 4th wall breaking stories are the ones that work with that limitation (or at least reasonably cover it up) rather than asking the reader to conveniently forget about it.

3) It's concerning that you're asking for input from others about broad topics like branch structure, variable decisions, and the overall direction of the story. Either A) You're seeking very basic advice on how branch structure/variables/storytelling plots work, in which case you haven't put in the requisite work to build a complex game like this anyways, or B) You know your options, but don't actually care enough about your idea to have strong feelings about how you implement it or where you take your story.

If it's option A, the good news is we have articles on this stuff: This article has a link to an article that explains the major types of branching narratives, and the help & info section has a lot of articles that can give you an idea of what you can do with variables. You can explore these resources and figure out how you want to use mechanics to enhance your storytelling. But it's not likely that you'll be able to implement this at the scale you want to, on your first try, within the span of the contest.

If it's option B that's less fixable--it sounds like you just don't care much about your idea, and you'd be better off picking something you DO have strong opinions about than asking other people to fill in the gaps. Ultimately you are the one who will have to write your story, and it will only happen if you yourself are passionate about every writing decision you make.

EDIT: Just say your response to Clayfinger. It's true that playing it safe doesn't promote growth. But over-reaching doesn't either, it just leads to collapse and burnout. There's a sweet spot in the middle where you're pushing yourself just past your previous limitations where the most growth happens. In your case, if you've never written a storygame before, just getting one finished is the limit you're pushing. You'll learn and grow plenty by picking a small idea and putting in the work to do it justice.

NEVER MIND THAT EDIT I guess clayfinger

Congratulations to Malk on your ascension!

I'll join

With the hint I'll guess special olympic? Seems on-brand

Always heartening to see the CYStian justice system doing its job. Perhaps as volunteer court sternographer I can receive some compensation from the defendant's estate sale?