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9746 2012/06/26 (Tue) 19:33 No. 9746
I've hit kind of a slump with RiG here. Probably due to my own poor planning and execution, of course, then scrambling to try and fix it all on the fly.

I've talked to some friends about it, and I'm really mixed on what to do. So I thought, why not talk to anon? After all, you're my readers and voters, thus the ones who have to deal with it all anyway.

So, as you noticed in RiG2.5, I started tracking things like the season, day, and time of day, in addition to actually putting solid numbers to Reina's finances beyond just ambiguously saying "she has money".

Now as I did more of this, and then introduced how to handle all the "work" without filler votes of "[] Do work [] Don't do work", I began to think about the system some more.

Using three times of day (morning, afternoon, and evening), and assuming maybe 2 updates per phase, means 6 updates per day. This translates into 180 updates per season, or 720 per year.

To put it into perspective, the entire run of the first Restorer of Gensokyo was only 195 updates to cover essentially an entire year. Probably because I never said WHAT month it was and just kind of skipped entire months/weeks as I felt I had too.

Moving along. I've been struggling to try and decide what to do with the mess I've gotten myself into. I'm fond of the game mechanics myself, and I never really liked kind of jumping around the calender at random, or giving you lame votes such as "Should we work on this job today, or tomorrow?", not to mention it was all moot as Reina is always capable of finishing the job on time.

But at the same time, 720 updates for a year? That's just a silly amount of writing. Even if I cut the seasons down, to say... 15 days, we're still looking at (using the above example) 90 updates per month, so about 360 in a year. If we do 10 day months, well... that's down to 60 per month, 240 per year.

Now, why did I even think of this system in the first place? When I wrote RiG as my slice-of-life entry into CYOA proper, it was always inspired from my love of games like Harvest Moon. There was a bit of Princess Maker thought into it, but I don't think that'd translate well to a CYOA (Given, until the newest, you did your planning for entire weeks).

Still, I want to try and keep the game mechanics, but make it flow better, but I'm just not sure how to do it. What do you think anon? Do you have a suggestion? Or should I scrap the mechanics and start RiG2 over again, until like... RiG2.75 or something.

Enjoy some random, non-RiG related artwork of the protagonist of Exile of Heaven that I'm still struggling to work on. I have ideas for it though. I just can't nail them down still.

2012/06/26 (Tue) 20:59 No. 9747
You're not happy with how the story is slowing down.

You've discussed your dissatisfaction with the way game mechanics are slowing you down.

You already have your answer.

And for what it's worth, this Anon would prefer an updating Restorer without game mechanics than a stalled one while the mechanics are "worked on". Story first. Everything else is window dressing.
2012/06/26 (Tue) 21:06 No. 9748
If the mechanics you've applied to your own story are tripping you up... Well. There's little point in an arbitrary system that does nothing helpful.

That doesn't mean you need to restart the story. Again. Just go from where you are. Don't limit yourself to a linear progression of time. It's a slice of life story, so focus on the characters. Advance time as necessary, taking leaps of days or weeks as appropriate. For continuity, you can have characters talk about past events that happened "when the narrator wasn't looking".
2012/06/27 (Wed) 10:02 No. 9751
How about dropping Restorer entirely and thinking up something else? Isn't it a little creatively bankrupt to be stuck on a single story for 3 years?
2012/06/27 (Wed) 15:59 No. 9758
>>9751
Considering some stories run on for decades? Not really.
2012/06/28 (Thu) 01:53 No. 9761
>>9758
I can't think of a single story in any medium that's run on for decades. Unless you're counting series, but still.

And yeah, just drop the mechanics if they're making things unnecessarily difficult. If you like them that much, change them to require less updates (less per in-story day, and/or less planned in-story time in total.)
2012/06/28 (Thu) 03:33 No. 9762
>>9761
Off the top of my head, Berserk has been running since like 1990.

I personally find it tough to maintain any type of mechanics in a story. I can't be bothered to keep track of all the tiny details - game mechanics belong in games. The only suggestion that comes to mind would be to not use game mechanics and just keep the feel of them in the story.
2012/06/28 (Thu) 08:28 No. 9763
>>9758
Fine, whatever, my point is that Restorer is stagnant. It hasn't gone anywhere.
I know it's supposed to be a slice-of-life kind of thing, but... eh.
2012/06/28 (Thu) 22:46 No. 9773
>>9763
Life doesn't go anywhere but towards Death.
2012/06/29 (Fri) 15:08 No. 9780
Hmmm, so popular opinion is the mechanics don't matter that much.

Or to just drop RiG and do something else.
2012/06/29 (Fri) 15:27 No. 9781
>>9780
Just do something with it instead of keeping it as a plotless "slice-of-life" story.
2012/06/29 (Fri) 19:40 No. 9782
I think the mechanics are gumming things up as people mainly enjoy RiG for the Slice of Life elements and yuri subtext, focusing on that would serve you better than trying to cram in "game" elements that distract people from it.

You could also attempt to liven up the choices as they're often on the dry side.
2012/06/29 (Fri) 20:33 No. 9783
>>9781
There's a plot. I'm just really horrible at figuring out how to pace things.

Probably because I get caught up more in the "slice-of-life" and forget I actually had a plot in mind. Beyond just slicing that life.
2012/06/29 (Fri) 20:37 No. 9784
>>9783
Always remember you have a plot. It completely screw your story if you're getting sidetracked.
2012/07/03 (Tue) 21:13 No. 9884
>>9784
I'm pretty sure RiG is pretty much "Get Sidetracked: The CYOA" given how I write it...
2012/07/04 (Wed) 15:55 No. 9903
>>9884
Funnily enough, I would gladly read a romance story where the main character is lesbian.
2012/07/05 (Thu) 13:09 No. 9914
>>9903
What a shocker.
2012/07/06 (Fri) 11:31 No. 9919
>>9903
Well, I don't.
2012/07/09 (Mon) 15:37 No. 9938
>>9903
As long as it's used to comedy purpose, I'm fine with that. If it's just your average /at/ story, then no.