Public Stories and Immersion Variables

[Zanzibar]

Hello

I'm new here, and so far I'm really enjoying reading some of the available stories, and I'm also having a go at writing some material of my own. I have to say that a few people have already made me feel very welcome to this community so far, so thank you! I'm really hoping to be able to pass that friendly and welcoming spirit on.

I should mention that I tried searching the forums for my question, but came up with a blank. So I'm sorry if this has been asked and answered before.

I'm writing an immersive story (and drowning in ifs and elseifs), and as the variables involved have become quite complex (I'm a bit of a stickler for continuity) I have kept it private for now. But that seems sort of contrary to the whole ethos of this site, and I'd really like to make it public so that if anybody does want to join in then they can.

But... if I do make it public can other authors access, change, or delete the variables I've already got running? If somebody accidentally deleted them I think I would probably cry. Also, if the story is public and another author adds a chapter to an existing thread, can they see the variables I've set up in previous chapters?

Thanks!

 

[Zanzibar]

I just re-read the CHYOA guide, and I realise the post title 'Immersion Variables' is incorrect. My story is full of the variables which enable conditional branches rather than the ones allowing readers to enter custom character names etc.

Sorry for any confusion!

 

[MidbossMan]

Unless you name somebody as an editor, they won't be able to change anything about your previous chapters. What could potentially be a worry is if they use the same variables as yours in their own chapters, they can change the values for those starting from their own chapters. Possible ideas then would be:

1) Encourage people not to change variables you've already set. Ideally, provide a list of those variables.
2) Allow people to change those variables, only if you don't expect your material and theirs to tie back together. If your branches aren't building off their branches, then unless the game loops back to an earlier point, your content will never pick up their variables.
3) Put it in moderated instead of public, then you'll be able to see how they're modifying variables and you approve or decline chapters.

In my game stories that have a lot of variables, I usually keep them fully private because they're hard to modify. In others, I'll put an area where people can write their own stuff, acknowledging that it won't connect back to the main story (like a guest content section). In some cases I'll tell people they can write for them but acknowledge it'll be really hard to do, lol.

Best of luck to you! Really enjoying your story so far.

 

[Greyrock]

My story is variable heavy and even with my attempts to stick some variable naming and usage rules of my own making, it is still easy to make mistakes and difficult to make sense of everything.

I would make a page describing the categories of variables and their uses to help contributors parse what they are messing with.

Examples from my game:
Any variable that I will always keep invisible to track branches I keep all lowercase and use an underscore:
“category_trait”

So if Sally is sleep deprived from an all-night sex fest of some sort, I might use:“sally_fatigued”

If the variable is going to be visible all or some of the time like an achievement notification, I would use something with a leading upper-case and spaces: “Sally had her first a gangbang.”

I also have some control variables that should always be invisible and are used for things like giving the first chapter a new version number when I add some new set of variables, or if I have a generic loop counter to use at any point in the game. I go all caps for those: “VERSION”

And I log all variables in a spreadsheet.

Someone working through these things will get a kick out of seeing how other people work. So there you go.

 

[Zanzibar]

Thanks Greyrock and MidbossMan, those are really helpful pointers!

It's good to know that other authors can't change variables which are already set up, and MidbossMan that's a really good idea about setting up a branch where people could add chapters. In mine (which I know you have seen, thanks for your comments!) it could be a section for other characters apart from the ones which I'm working on currently.

Greyrock, I wish I had thought of formatting the variables in the way you describe, but I guess that's the benefit of experience for you! Next time I'm definitely going to do that, I'm sure it will save me a lot of confusion. Also I think I'll definitely add the variable list to a notes section so people can see how I'm tracking individual items of clothing and other things which might enter or leave the story.

I am also using a spreadsheet - I have all the chapters and scores listed as a flowchart so I can see what routes are possible and how the scores might build up. I'm trying to do it so nobody can ever get stuck because their scores don't unlock any of the options for a chapter, but I also don't want it to be possible to build a set of scores which open everything up. It looks like the family tree of an Eastern European royal family with lines all over the place joining different boxes and different threads together. Still, I'm having fun with it!