true but that does mean smaller writers get promoted because most people knows about interact-if's existence if they're on tumblr
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Stories that left you disappointed for a reason
- Thread starter Sant
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I mean I don't have a problem with promotion, I think it's a great idea to give people fresh ideas instead of the same If that keep going round. I find it's a double edge sword as you now have the pressure of fans wanting something you might not be ready for.
I am not an author (though occasionally I do work with real, published book authors) but as a reader I see no problem with someone being in a creative rut UNLESS they are taking money from their readers. If you have a paid sub, you are providing a service, and so you need to follow certain obligations. If it's a hobby project, do whatever. Like, do I get disappointed when absolutely free passion projects get abandoned? Yes, but I don't judge. If someone took money from people for months and then just dropped the thing with no explanation? Well, that's not just a lack of integrity, but also a disservice to other IF authors because people might be more hesitant to support them after a bad experience with someone else.
...that being said, how the hell does abyssal author manage to post a tiniest updates once a blue moon but still gets around 800 usd a month? I am mad because I like the story, but charging people for not even a chapter worth of content is scummy.
Absolutely, and to do it justice, I will say that it's half and half. Meaning, there are the ones who don't have Patreons and who just don't want to write, and there are also the ones who do have Patreons but also don't want to write. I've seen cases of both, and I also want to point out that I completely agree with you. Passion project/hobby I get, even though it does suck, but having people pay for nothing boggles me. Though to be completely honest, people are known to throw money, so there's that (I am keeping it vague for various reasons)
I just realised that Anti-mutant academy is there. There's few IFs that one can compare to Wayfarer when it comes to updates and that's one of them.
That rare or that sizable\substantial?
Rare. Very rare. One update took 2 years to publish, and the last update was November last year and that was a mini update with a new hangout.
The only IFs I can think of that take that long are the Sherlock Holmes one, Honor Amongst Thieves, and Mommy, we created a plot hole. Hell, I don't even know if they're still alive anymore. The last time I tried this with a wip (Broken Fable) I came back to find it still very much dead.
The updates take so long that you have to replay the game every time just to remember the plot. So I gave up on trying to keep up with them. I just come and go from the interactive fiction scene while waiting for my favorites to update. I'd rather wait a few years for a game to be nearly complete and play it all in a few days than wait six months between every update.
Recently, I replayed all of Samurai of Hyuga, books 1 - 5, just to remember the plot before Book 6.... it wasn't worth it.
Honor Amongst Thieves recently got an update (that I hated), I'm 90% sure the other two are dead. Especially We created a plot hole.
Why did you hate it?
Honor Amongst Thieves has a major problem with railroading and that update was just more of it. The entire story is tailor-made to specific choices, so every other choice really doesn't matter.
I picked every option that was against becoming leader of the guild and lo and behold, I'm now the leader of the guild. Between that and the chick who keeps throwing tantrums that you constantly need to babysit, and you can't really tell them to F off or bench them (that whole setting fire to your employer's campfire because you don't like them pissed me off so badly).
This is just a personal problem but I wish stories with the option to be queer actually had that effect anything especially in historical stories you're telling me everyone is going to be fine with my character being gay or trans in medieval Europe??? And It doesn't bother me if it's meant to be a light hearted story but it's kinda ridiculous too me when it doesnt effect anything in "dark" stories (also sorry for anyone reading this who has problems with my grammar i am dyslexic...)
No, I agree.
If you want to make a historical story, be realistic about the queer issues or don't include queerness as an option. I only play modern stories due to the fact I am a, queer, and b, have no interest in historical stories, but either make it relevant or don't include it. I know a disabled IF writer who refused to give people to option to be ND or disabled because then they have to write multiple versions of each scene, especially as there are so many disabilities and versions of neurodivergence, and if players want it, imagine it themselves, and since they're disabled, they get it, and I feel this should apply with queerness. If it can't be done justice, don't bother. We have imaginations, and while I do believe IFs should be interactive, I also believe options around identity should have weight and actually affect the story.
100% agree, but that's a sensitive topic since depending on the game, most readers are queer themselves and want to "immerse themselves," not be reminded of the bigotry in the real world. Historical IFs are pretty rare to begin with and barely sell, so authors don't want to upset people by including that.
I remember that in the Soul Stone War there's an optional path where your childhood friend was killed due to transphobia (though I may be wrong it's been a while since I last read it)
The Relics of the Lost Age series did this well. There are several bigoted characters, not just the Nazis, whom you can either rebuke or ignore. If you write in a way that makes it clear the homophobia isn't the author's own opinion and allow the player to react to it, it works great.
I do understand this, I just find it's something that would pull me out of the game if people were easily accepting of things that aren't easily accepted.
With the announcement of chapter 5 rewrites (it isn't even finished), I'm just bringing this thought piece back.
Placing bets on another wave of rewrites before she finishes chapter 5. Just to add some random new scenes, like talking about periods. TBH talking about periods (and potentially getting laid thanks to Garwin sweetheart route) added more to BoC than the dragon romance ever did.
...so it's just slice of life with Arthuriana/Camelot as background scenery now, got it lol