Scenario Processing
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| Author | Topic: Scenario Processing |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5132
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written Thursday, April 13 2006 17:59
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I was wondering something. This goes to all scenario designers, esp. senior designers. When you design a scenario, what do you find to be the hardest part of making it? I have six choices, with an explanation of why they all could be. The choices are... Planning it out - possibly because you have to start forming ideas from your own head, which can be hard. Starting it - because you know you have a long road, anything could go wrong, and you're kind of setting it up. Middle - because it's easy to run into designer's block, and you have to do the most work. Finishing it - easy to get excited and forget about it. Alpha testing - because it generally comes out very buggy, and you have to fix lots of bugs, and you can't play the scenario smoothly - it's almost like playing through a scenario released without bugs fixed. Beta testing - you have to accept loads of criticism with little or no things said in the scenario's favor, along with more stuff to fix. I'm only doing this to get a general idea on what most people find hard. You also may have a different reason than what's listed above. [ Thursday, April 13, 2006 18:00: Message edited by: BainIhrno ] Poll Information This poll contains 1 question(s). 19 user(s) have voted. You may not view the results of this poll without voting. function launch_voter () { launch_window("http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=poll;d=vote;pollid=BVwrrpDDjvtf"); return true; } // end launch_voter function launch_viewer () { launch_window("http://www.ironycentral.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=poll;d=view;pollid=BVwrrpDDjvtf"); return true; } // end launch_viewer function launch_window (url) { preview = window.open( url, "preview", "width=550,height=300,toolbar=no,location=no,directories=no,status,menubar=no,scrollbars,resizable,copyhistory=no" ); window.preview.focus(); return preview; } // end launch_window   -------------------- "Let us see what the new day brings." - Temas, Areni. Visit my realm! Rate My Scenarios! Fort Emerald Robbery The Nephils' Defense The Final Spire The Fifth Tower of Magi The Portal Posts: 626 | Registered: Monday, October 25 2004 07:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Thursday, April 13 2006 19:59
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I think your break down of work is a little flawed because often designers do not progress linearly; in other words, they don't do towns one at a time as the game would be played. I would say the hardest part to do would be all the little details, the needed dialogue but ultimately of little impact like the shopkeepers and random townspeople. Doing intermediary dungeons that have a point, but are there not having a very central role to your plot. It's times like these that are the least rewarded and least motivated. The testing phases are perhaps the most rewarding as people are finally playing your work. The most exciting parts are the plot development and fleshing out the key points. Everything else is just a lot of work. -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 4
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written Thursday, April 13 2006 20:25
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The most annoying part is the dialogue-- aka, ending details. The most lethal part is the middle-- it's far too easy for something big to crop up in the real world that will obliterate your odds of finishing a scenario. The outright hardest part tends to be in the middle-- aka, pushing the envelope with coding. (And you will see just which part I'm talking about in my next scenario.) -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Thursday, April 13 2006 20:47
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(I'm answering mostly from my experience with BoA, but I suppose it's not all that different.) I find that the hardest part of working on a scenario is whatever part I happen to be working on at the moment. That said, I find the third quarter of creating the first version to be the hardest. After 50% of the first version has been made, I've already put in a lot of work, but there's so much work left to do that I feel daunted. After I get more than 75% or so of a first version done, I feel fairly confident that I can finish, so it gets easier. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Friday, April 14 2006 02:40
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I agree with pretty much everything said :P The hardest time is the third quarter. In the middle something IRL can pop up and distract. At this point, you start getting into the dialogue of people you don't really care about. Coding has never been a problem for me - making innovative sequences is fun, even though most of you have never seen them ;) -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 5132
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written Friday, April 14 2006 05:02
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Maybe I should have been a little more detailed and thorough in the choices. Oh well. That being said, I'll go with the middle. For the reasons everyone else stated. -------------------- "Let us see what the new day brings." - Temas, Areni. Visit my realm! Rate My Scenarios! Fort Emerald Robbery The Nephils' Defense The Final Spire The Fifth Tower of Magi The Portal Posts: 626 | Registered: Monday, October 25 2004 07:00 |
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BANNED
Member # 4
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written Friday, April 14 2006 20:13
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quote:I didn't say it wasn't fun, just that it isn't easy. -------------------- * Posts: 6936 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 00:47
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For me, fun and ease are directly correlated. Maybe not ease of doing, but ease of completion. -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 05:18
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quote:Why do I find this statement ironic when we consider your scenario design record? :P -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Agent
Member # 3364
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 07:10
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Real life makes the middle the hardest. Finding motivation to keep working when there is SO MUCH left to do. Especially if you didn't plan well. Coding is fun, alpha testing is motivated(cause you get to see if your coding works), and finishing is easy(when the middle is already done). ... -------------------- "Even the worst Terror from Hell can be transformed to a testimony from Heaven!" - Rev. David Wood 6\23\05 "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." - John Wesley Posts: 1001 | Registered: Tuesday, August 19 2003 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 08:15
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I've changed my mind. I really hate beta testing. That's my least favorite part. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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Master
Member # 4614
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 09:38
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I just can't get myself to actually work on a scenario for long periods of time. Now that we don't have our old computer set up, my turns are limited to about an hour at a time, alternating between me and my two brothers. -------------------- -ben4808 Posts: 3360 | Registered: Friday, June 25 2004 07:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 09:59
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quote:That's nice, but that wasn't the question. :P Would you say that beta testing is the hardest part? -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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Off With Their Heads
Member # 4045
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 10:16
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As far as I'm concerned, least favorite = hardest. -------------------- Arancaytar: Every time you ask people to compare TM and Kel, you endanger the poor, fluffy kittens. Smoo: Get ready to face the walls! Ephesos: In conclusion, yarr. Kelandon's Pink and Pretty Page!!: the authorized location for all things by me The Archive of all released BoE scenarios ever Posts: 7968 | Registered: Saturday, February 28 2004 08:00 |
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The Establishment
Member # 6
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 12:25
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Fine, I'll use "most difficult" instead of the more ambiguous "hard". Care to explain why it's the most difficult other than "I don't like it therefore it's hard". -------------------- Your flower power is no match for my glower power! Posts: 3726 | Registered: Tuesday, September 18 2001 07:00 |
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...b10010b...
Member # 869
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written Saturday, April 15 2006 16:47
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Really, very little about scenario design is objectively hard in the sense that you can try as hard as possible to do it and still fail. Therefore it's motivating yourself to try that's the hard part. -------------------- The Empire Always Loses: This Time For Sure! Posts: 9973 | Registered: Saturday, March 30 2002 08:00 |
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Shock Trooper
Member # 1249
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written Sunday, April 16 2006 03:15
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The hardest part for me has generally been when about 2/3 or 3/4 of the first version is done. At that stage my scenarios often seem to suck too much, because they are too bare and empty yet. Posts: 259 | Registered: Saturday, June 1 2002 07:00 |
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Triad Mage
Member # 7
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written Sunday, April 16 2006 04:12
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quote:It's not hard to believe, since they stop being fun :P -------------------- "At times discretion should be thrown aside, and with the foolish we should play the fool." - Menander ==== Drakefyre's Demesne - Happy Happy Joy Joy Encyclopedia Ermariana - Trapped in the Closet ==== You can take my Mac when you pry my cold, dead fingers off the mouse! Posts: 9436 | Registered: Wednesday, September 19 2001 07:00 |
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E Equals MC What!!!!
Member # 5491
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written Monday, April 17 2006 21:37
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Testing, whether alpha or beta, is way fun for me. Planning is way fun. Actually making the thing kinda sucks. In my experience, scenario death happens in the first 25% of design work. So far, if I get past that point, I have always finished the scenario. -------------------- SupaNik: Aran, you're not big enough to threaten Ash. Dammit, even JV had to think twice. Posts: 1861 | Registered: Friday, February 11 2005 08:00 |
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Lifecrafter
Member # 1768
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written Friday, April 21 2006 14:18
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Hardest can sometimes be (when you're a college student who is currently addicted to other games) beginning. Planning can be easy enough, I do that in my head or in doodles (hence the simplicity of all of my released scenarios…all one of them). I find it hard to find the time. Also hard emotionally is when you've put a lot of work into one scenario that's just bound to be the next FS, and Windows pulls some gay crap about putting your files (actual files, not shortcuts, for some gay-odd reason) on your taskbar, only to have you naively delete them, thinking that they're shortcuts, thereby deleting half of the games on your harddrive and all your BoE work. Ever. Because your old computer had the files from way back when cut off them. I think there's a topic or something or other from that time where I lost all motivation for BoE. EDIT: BTW, does anybody know if BoE works with Linux? EDIT2: And who came up with the brilliant idea of new titles? [/sarcasm] …sorry, I should shut up. I'm having a bad week and I let it bleed into here. [ Friday, April 21, 2006 14:20: Message edited by: Desert Pl@h ] -------------------- "Oh, North Wind, why frighten others? In Nature's family all are brothers. Puff and blow and wheeze and hiss; You can't frighten Shingebiss. Bring your frost and ice and snow; I'm still free to come and go. You can never frighten me, One who never fears is FREE!" -Shingebiss, the mighty duck Posts: 830 | Registered: Tuesday, August 20 2002 07:00 |
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Infiltrator
Member # 6652
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written Friday, April 21 2006 16:38
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The hardest part is clearly resisting the urge to play Halo compulsively in the middle of development. I have so far failed. Maybe I'll stop when I beat the campaign. -------------------- But I don't want to ride the elevator. Posts: 420 | Registered: Sunday, January 8 2006 08:00 |
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Master
Member # 5977
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written Friday, April 21 2006 22:39
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The hardest part for me, was the alpha-testing. I know that probably sound weird, but I outright dreaded every moment of it. The coding and designing of towns merely got boring, but not hard. Frustrating, yus, but hard, no. -------------------- Play and rate my scenarios: Where the rivers meet View my upcoming scenario: The Nephil Search: Escape. Give us your drek! Posts: 3029 | Registered: Saturday, June 18 2005 07:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 3442
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written Saturday, April 22 2006 07:57
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All based upon BoA designing: Working/Ending. The bit where you load up Crimson Editor and the BOA Editor, and look at it, and realise that you have a few dialogue nodes to do, and one or two special encounters to do before its finally finished, when suddenly your mouse slips and lands on the AOL icon, or you inadvertantly phone a friend and arrange to go out, or, which is worse, you close all open windows and load up another game. I could finish my scenario. I could do it soon. But if real life isn't stopping me when I actually do want to design, I tend to put it off. -------------------- And when you want to Live How do you start? Where do you go? Who do you need to know? Posts: 2864 | Registered: Monday, September 8 2003 07:00 |
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Warrior
Member # 6846
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written Sunday, April 23 2006 09:34
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The hardest part for me is spending hours making detailed towns and dungeons, then finding that my plot is abysmal and unoriginal. As far as making up storylines go, I'm terrible. I suppose at first I wanted a framework around which I could learn how to code. Actually doing the scenario can be boring, but it's certainly easier. -------------------- "Build a man a fire, and he´ll be warm for a day; set a man on fire, and he´ll be warm for the rest of his life." Posts: 65 | Registered: Thursday, March 2 2006 08:00 |
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Shaper
Member # 73
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written Sunday, April 23 2006 11:40
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Lucky for you, we have lots of good articles about plotwriting (mostly at the Lyceum, see my signature) and a bunch of designers who like to help people with their plots. I was terrible at writing plots when I first came here too. Now I've gotten all the way to mediocre, due to the help of the community. So don't get discouraged. -------------------- My Myspace, with some of my audial and visual art The Lyceum - The Headquarters of the Blades designing community The Louvre - The Blades of Avernum graphics database Alexandria - The Blades of Exile Scenario database BoE Webring - Self explanatory Polaris - Free porn here Odd Todd - Fun for the unemployed (and everyone else too) They Might Be Giants - Four websites for one of the greatest bands in existance -------------------- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Posts: 2957 | Registered: Thursday, October 4 2001 07:00 |
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