⋮ No. 16030 >>16024 CAW Yea that one was way too stressful. spending an hour thinking about what choice to make is something more suited to stories with highly dynamic options available to the protagonist like Patchy Quest or AWiY.
In addition to that stress, I felt compelled to argue with people picking the other choice because I didn't want my time investment to go to waste.
>>16024 >"fite the hus" Have there been any good ones since Gensokyoland Saga? I feel like actual combat stories are a sorely unrepresented minority here.
⋮ No. 16031 >>16024 >I know that's outside the parameters. It's not. But given that the story stalled because there was a tie and no one else voted I don't have high hopes of attracting new people to it.
>>16027 >don't make 'correct' and 'incorrect' options that obvious I don't do that at all. It often takes me as long to decide on choices and their wording as it does to do a short update. It feels a little frustrating sometimes when there's unanimous votes or no discussion of the choices because of that.
>>16029 [x] Jump into lake to avoid flan fly
>>16030 >highly dynamic options I'm not usually that comfortable with too much choice because, unless you're insanely popular, it makes choices that have like 2 votes have a plurality. And also you get people bandwaggoning for the biggest write-in instead of thinking of stuff for themselves.
Part of the reason that I encourage comments, and was especially the case in CAW, is that I took ideas and weaved them in if they were compatible with the rest of the update. Even if you 'lost' a vote, I could give some weight to your thoughts on Aya's wings or whatever.
But yeah so far the majority seems to be open to most things with romance being a sticking point for someone.
I probably should have listed the stories I have that are unfinished that I could return to if that helps:
Clever, Audacious and Wise
An Enchanted Evening
Theater of Youth
Discovery, Investigation and Manifestation
Violet Sky
Everything else I've either completed, don't have my notes for or am otherwise uninterested.
⋮ No. 16033 >>16031 >It's not. I mean, if you say so. To my senses, it wasn't particularly "light and fast", and I'm not sure what your idea of "too plot heavy" is.
Anyway, there's already been an objection, so it seems moot point to discuss.
>list >good but not bloody likely >AU >mooninites yawn >noir yeah, pass on the rest.
Tempted to just say "sequel/prequel/spin-off of
Judge Not, job done". It'd be nice if someone could come up with a better idea, but y'know.
⋮ No. 16035 >>16033 I should probably note that "good but not bloody likely" refers to
CAW; my eyes jumped past
An Enchanted Evening somehow.
⋮ No. 16036 >>16033 Light and fast is meant for any new ideas. With older stuff I'm okay taking it slower since I can just rotate my updates around with the other stories.
>>16034 DtRT is probably my favorite story on the site. I really don't think I can pull something like that off tbh. Plus, I'd want the story to go
somewhere.
⋮ No. 16039 From what I've seen, here's the stuff to avoid:
Stagnation. This has been an ever-present problem, and not the easiest to solve considering how sporadically quests tend to be updated. But oftentimes, especially in the more long-running quests, the quest starts to get a Namek aura. Not only physical stagnation (i.e. locations and such) but also plot stagnation. Even in mostly aimless and plot avoiding stories, players want to feel like they're making some kind of progress, whether it's getting stronger, leveling up social links, or finding out pieces of a mystery. Otherwise, it starts to feel like you're trapped on It's A Small World.
Permadeath. I haven't seen it much, but when I have it was baaaaad.
Overuse of dice. Nothing worse than getting fucked over by a bad roll regardless of how good your strategizing was. D&D this is not.
Trap options (in games that don't have trivial undos). Pretty much for the same reasons as above. You're playing with your audience, not against them.
Going full KKHTA. You never go full KKHTA. Drama and the occasional dark spots are good and all, but ultimately this is an offshoot of a "my waifu has a bigger dick than you're waifu" board on a cruder offshoot of a dead gay internet comedy forum, and when you start going 'REIMU'S DEAD MOTHAFUCKA! THERE IS NO PLAUSIBLE WAY LEFT AT THIS POINT TO AVOID A TPK!', a lot of people are going to lose interest.
As for things that are guud...
Romance. I've noticed a trend in the last few years that many more (longform at least) quests avoid romance. It makes some of those stories feel... I dunno? Emptier? IDK, we're weebs, we waifu, it's kind of our thing.
Hints. Sometimes, honestly, we don't get something that seems obvious to the other, and little nudges can help. Personally, I like semi-invisitext since it's noticeable but less intrusive than spoilerbars.
Take this with a grain of salt though, I've only just started writing and this is mostly coming from the perspective of a reader who's been around for a while.
⋮ No. 16041 
>>16037 I didn't really care for that story for a variety of reasons.
>>16038 I'm open to it but I also want to have a steady audience. Hence why I'm asking how many people would be interested in reading and voting regularly in whatever it is I do.
>>16039 I've been at this on THP for 12 years now (fuck!). I haven't really done any of the stuff you point out as bad and have more than once done the good. I'm more interested in whether or not
you would read and vote in something that I'd write and, if so, what your preferences would be. Out of either the older stories listed or something new.
...maybe I should put this to a vote though I think that there's a general trend towards romance with only one person being dead set against it.
⋮ No. 16042 >>16041 Well, I was speaking more generally, as sort of general advice for anyone.
I personally liked DoLF take 2, even if it got a bit slow at times. As for what I'd like to see... romance, yes, and something a bit lighter hearted, I guess? Also, innovation, but in a lighter direction, which isn't THAT useful as advice, but like, the Yukkuri and Touhoumon quests really got me interested when they were going on because they were WORLDBUILDAN a world that worked differently than normal 2hu, but not like, in a gritty way.
Really, though, I think the biggest thing is just consistency. Hard to get drawn in when you're worried the game might just get abandoned.
⋮ No. 16046 >>16043 Yeah, I think that also falls into the category of playing against your audience. I think in more rules-based systems it's called hostile or antagonistic GMing. I feel like a lot of writers here fall into the trap of thinking of quests as video games, when really they're far more like
tabletop games. There's a reason quests started in /tg/, after all. It's basically a subcategory of freeform roleplay. And the thing is with tabletop games, and by extension quests, is that it's a give and take.
On one hand, quest makers get directed by the players in which direction to take the story instead of having to decide that themselves and it engenders more investment to the story because of the activity. On the other hand, the quest maker
has to cede a good chunk of creative control to the players. There's tricks (when properly executed and only done
sparingly) to take control while letting your players feel like they're in control like the Quantum Ogre, but ultimately that's what it comes down to. There's a saying, when GMing, it's far better in most cases to say "yes, but" rather than "no". You
want the players to have fun, and you
want them to feel like they have real agency. When you knock down the pieces and declare yourself the winner and go "The end! Too bad, losers, if you would have done this or this you would have saved your waifu, but I guess you're just not good enough." or you punish the players for going off the rails or for not solving your INGENIOUS ENIGMA, that's not something that makes anybody happy. Not really.
⋮ No. 16050 
>>16042 >I think the biggest thing is just consistency. Hard to get drawn in when you're worried the game might just get abandoned. For whatever it's worth, I'll probably be here until the very end of THP. As long as a story keeps having a healthy number of readers, I'll likewise keep at it.
>>16043 Bad ends are a waste of time IMO. As is having an attitude that there's mistakes, much less those that can't be fixed. I haven't planned any of my stories in the last decade to have a "normal end". They tell the story that needs to be told.
>>16046 >There's a reason quests started in /tg/ ACKCYUALLY the madness that gave rise to THP started on /jp/. Before quests were a thing on /tg/ and it was only when that sigourney weaver fella kicked us off those 12 years ago that we came here. The irony is that as quests came later they were not chased off the site as well but instead eventually given their own board.
Being told that "I'll vote if it's interesting" isn't that helpful given how vaguely preferences are being expressed, if at all. I'm not exactly a newbie and have written a lot so you ought to have an idea of what I'm capable of. I've even given examples of older stories that I'd be open to bringing back if you can't think of suggestions of your own. I'd appreciate it if you guys gave me something more to go on.
Nonetheless, I'll be thinking about it over the next few days. I'm not in a rush to write right in this very moment. It might be best to just present a couple of concrete options to narrow things down.
⋮ No. 16051 >>16047 THE SALT FLOWS ETERNAL
>>16046 I also miss the freeform content, where the story itself changes based on votes and results. A normal vote for a name ends up derailing the story because he is name after a folk hero. Things like that.
On the flipside, the quality increased dramatically by having some forethought so I'm not that broken up about that change.
⋮ No. 16059 >>16057 REQUESTING ONE TOME OF "TOUHOUS VERSUS VIDEOGAMES" FOR IMMEDIATE CONSUMPTION
>>16058 >post their ideal story H-here I go. Hope this doesn't sound like a bucket list, ransom demand or a design document.
>plot Most of the faults in quests with plot happen when QM either doesn't give players enough agency (and it turns out like complete fanfiction) or when QM gives a player too much agency, anon fucks around and plot barely goes anywhere. In both cases, QM's skill can still save the quest. I want regular choose-your-own-plot-arc votes, in which anon decides what to do within the quest to progress and/or where to go and QM writes things according to results. Give players more control over direction, give QM more control over everything else.
>characters Give them actual personalities and make them develop. Every QM has their own "flavor" of 2hus, a filter of sorts that makes characters behave in a certain way. It's (probably) nearly impossible to force QMs to stick to canon completely or even out of their chosen comfort zone, so just do your best to have fun with the setting.
>scenes It's alright as long as they're not completely bland. The main fun from quests is watching things unfold and interaction, so whether you make anon the star of the show or have him play second fiddle, he can do something about it either way if he wants to - whether it's stylishly performing Moonlight Sonata or smacking someone really hard with an oar. All that other stuff about limiting anon's options/write-ins to reasonable amounts you already know, there is no need to repeat that here.
>genre DO WHATEVER THE FUCK YOU WANT TO. I'm not you and if you get bored with the quest it will just get abandoned. Be interested in writing it and in watching anon complete it. To do that, have clear direction of what you want to do. Not being constrained with things like "you have to write in genre X" HELPS.
⋮ No. 16061 >>16060 >We need DETAILS if you're going to pilot my ridiculous idea and be the savior of THP. What character, specifically, tickles your fancy? SUIKA'S DRUNKEN PUNCH ADVENTURES NEVER SOBER WITH DRAMATIC FINAL STOP AT BIRD MOUNTAIN
REIMU GOES BALLISTIC AND EXORCISES EVERYTHING IN SIGHT
MARISA STOPS LIMITING HER BEAM WIDTH
GOD, I BET YOU COULD PROBABLY WRITE SOMETHING NICE (DESU NE) WITH EVERY BLOODY CHARACTER EVEN THE NEWHUS (GROSS)
>What genre do you like. ACTION-PACKED ADVENTURE
⋮ No. 16067 >>16061 MARISA BECOMES AN ATTORNEY AND SUES REIMU FOR KILLING HER MENTHOR, MIMA, FOR NOT PAYING RENT. SUIKA IS THE RIVAL BECAUSE REFERENCES.
ALICE, MARISA AND SOME OC FIGHT GODS. Oh wait.
SANAE GETS RAPED: THE QUEST. No, that was done before.
err... I'm running out of ideas folks.
⋮ No. 16070 >>16067 >SUES REIMU FOR KILLING HER MENTHOR, MIMA Too easy. Reimu can just invoke the castle clause along with a prolonged, four year long self-defence.
>Magical sluts V.s. God PMMM/Touhou has already been done.
>Green Shrine Maiden Rape Assualt; Violent Semen Inferno Already a great visual novel. I really wanna see some of the Newhus cast as sluts. It's way past time the fanon got some new personalities.
>>16069 Have you read ToY? My answer could possibly be different depending on your reply.
⋮ No. 16124 >>16122 >posting is too hard step 1 type word
step 2 hit reply
hth fam
