Category: devlog

The last week was non-stop story writing. Unlike a traditional script, mine has an interactive element. Meaning any reasonable question the player wants to pose in the context of the story — e.g.: Gandalf, why don’t you just fly the ring over to Mordor on your magical eagles? — needs to have an appropriate contextual response, lest the story feel…

I could use a few more weeks like this, even if it bores my blog’s audience. No songthaews. No teh tarik. No monkeys. There was a bluejay outside my window who grabbed a stray Timbit from the clutches of an unlucky squirrel — highlight of the day! Not exactly thrilling, but exactly what I need. The…

The Ben Wander Murder Collection (yes, still a tentative title) has a lot of text. Though the game has visuals — locations, characters, travel screens — the majority of a player’s time involves staring at words. My text-system was okay, but had some issues. Alleviating those issues was paramount! Here’s a semi-technical breakdown of how I did that — any…

Throughout this year’s travels, I’ve had a few people ask how I research historical fiction. My San Franciscan Detour was the perfect time to chronicle the process. I mean, the internet can get you far, but it’s still hard to beat the old methods: SF’s Public Library has an unscalable mountain of archives — everything from daily newspapers to fashion magazines to local advertisements.…