Yeah he's right! Do you have a CSS background? You accomplished things in your story I didn't even attempt!
Awesome job.
I don't really have a "CSS" background, as such. I have a small webpage that I maintain, and virtually of my "CSS" skills come from googling "how to do this and that", and then copying and pasting and modifying the code.
I found Harlowe pretty easy to get into, once I understood some basic concepts. (This forum has been invaluable, as there is little documentation on Harlowe, and what is there assumes previous knowledge of stuff). I came to Twine very recently, and had zero knowledge of any type of programming, so I enjoyed learning this stuff. I also saw a few tutorials on Harlowe on youtube which were quite helpful, (vegeterian zombie, and Dan Cox, I think they were called).
I think I am going to stick with Harlowe for now, rather than delve into other formats or programming languages, mostly because I need to manage my time, as "THE CHALLENGE" ironically shows, and my original project is already underway in Harlowe.
Anyway, thanks everyone for all your help. It's always nice to connect with people who freely give to others in a spirit of community.
I played through your story and I found it fairly gripping. I was not, however, able to produce any alternate ending, no matter what I did. Perhaps I am missing something rather obvious, though I tried many different combination of things and still the only option I had was to produce the last result of the guillotine. Is there an alternate ending? And if so, have you tested to see if it works on the version you posted? If it does, then it is just me who is too thick to work it out!!
Otherwise, I liked the content of the story and the experience of navegating through the place.
I love it, Feliwebwork! Very funny! We all know that feeling, and, this one:
I'll get the second post updated with your story!
Great job!
Hi Sharpe. Thanks for the encouragement, and thanks for the opportunity to particpate in the challenge.
I wasn't totally sure what you meant about "the feeling" in the image you posted. My guess is that it relates to something I often feel when I have spent way too much time getting stuck into "fun activities" and not being responsible with getting rest or taking care of other duties. At those times, I end up feeling like I "hate myself" (or more accurately, hate the repeated patterns I produce when I am not self-disciplined). Are you referring to that kind of feeling? Or is it something else?
Also, @Dominia , if that is the final version, could you also attach any source files that go with it on this thread (if you don't mind)? Having those available will help some of us see how you did different things, and assist us in learning and improving our Harlowe skills. Thanks.
I was not, however, able to produce any alternate ending, no matter what I did.
It's 1000 words. I didn't bother with an alternate ending. My purpose was only to follow @Sharpe's specific bullet points for the challenge since I've never bothered with Twine 2.0 and Harlowe before. I'm in the middle of a Competition using a different IF engine for the month of May so this is all I had time for.
I'd like to revisit Catacombs at some point but will probably port it to SugarCube and 1.4.2 since I am most comfortable using those.
Glad you enjoyed my little slice of IF. Mission accomplished. *super impressive flight suit and helmet pose*
Also, @Dominia , if that is the final version, could you also attach any source files that go with it on this thread (if you don't mind)?
You can import any Twine game as long as you have the url for the starting passage.
1. Right-click this link and save it as file to your hard drive: Catacombs of Chaos
2. Since you know it's a Twine 2.0 game, open Twine 2.0.
3. Select Import From File in the right-hand menu of the Twine 2.0 UI.
4. Choose the file you just saved to your hard drive and it will import.
5. Edit and view the code!
GREAT voice you have there. I love the noir feel of it. You really pulled it off. Quick banter. Word play. Fantastic story. Loved it to pieces. Good job!
Good use of graphics and css techniques. Fun little story. Captured frustrations and distractions creators experience when faced with the blank page. Good job!
Annnd I'm at 1,006 words and feel like I'm only 75% done. ... Feel like I know Harlowe just about as well as Twine 1's Sugarcane/SugarCube, so goal accomplished there.
I don't know what I was thinking with this challenge. I ended up ripping out a mini-combat system, culling 66% of the wandering mob code, removing two passages, and a few descriptions. I ended up with 1,000 on the dot and only one ending.
Glad I did it, though.
I can't say I am an expert with Harlowe by any means but I've learned enough to appreciate the effort the guys put in for 2.0.
I have some notes I took during the process and will post a lil post-mortem here to document my experience.
ANYWAY... I was thinking about trying the WAG contest coming up.
Sometimes I think we're all really just one organism connected by these invisible threads of thought. I have the WAG challenge up in another tab on my browser and was just thinking about posting a thread about it here.
Yep. I am doing that one as well. Will use Twine 1.4.2 and SugarCube. I'm hoping the theme will be something I can immediately act on. We'll see!
You also did some things in there that showed me how experienced you were with the coding. I bet you've done this before.
I am still a novice when it comes to Twine. I do have seven (7!) WIPs right now. Believe it or not. THIS challenge is the first time I have considered something *completed*. Feels good. The pressure of a deadline helped a lot.
When I see @Greyelf and @MadExile and @Klembot and @L spouting off code from the top of their heads (pointy, little or non-), it feels like I've found religion.
I think it's awesome that the three completions so far are so different. Shows the versatility of the Twine engine.
@Dominia, I like some of your imagery — some nice suspension of disbelief there. It’s tough to make a game in 1,000 words, though. I’d love to see this expanded.
I was not, however, able to produce any alternate ending, no matter what I did.
It's 1000 words. I didn't bother with an alternate ending. My purpose was only to follow @Sharpe's specific bullet points for the challenge since I've never bothered with Twine 2.0 and Harlowe before. I'm in the middle of a Competition using a different IF engine for the month of May so this is all I had time for.
Thanks for explaining that, as I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I kept thinking that picking up the flint was needed for some other action and I couldn't work out what it was. It makes sense now knowing that you had other features in the story that you had to later chop out.
I think this is one of the things that makes it exciting, and also helpful.
I tend to communicate a lot, verbally and in written form, and being forced to limit my words was a very good experience. I included a lot of code in The Challenge, and I had to decide between adding words to the story or to the code. So I experimented to see if I could communicate clearly, concisely, and at the same time make it an enjoyable experience for the reader/player.
I am hoping to do another little story for SSSC, even if I don't finish it by next Monday, simply because I love the concept of restricting it to 1,000 Twine-recognizable-words.
Thank you, @feliwebwork . Can I ask a question about yours? Did you have to do A TON of customizing to get the pictures and layouts in place the way you did? All I did was write, basically.
Oh, and by the way, I love Harlowe syntax. As a total noob, I found it easy to understand and learn, and once I understood the concepts, the code flowed fairly naturally, even in areas that I hadn't had experience in before.
I am looking forward to Harlowe 2.0, and any other improvements that are made to this format.
Thank you, @feliwebwork . Can I ask a question about yours? Did you have to do A TON of customizing to get the pictures and layouts in place the way you did? All I did was write, basically.
No, I wouldn't say I had to do a TON of work for that part.
Adding the background images was one of the easiest things to do. If you check out the CSS part of my game, you will note that for the background images I just copied and pasted each "body.class" code and modified them according to the class and picture I wanted (most of which were just screen shots from the computer).
The "hack" code that is used to get the class of a HTML element to change is also a "cut and paste" job, where you just have to change the part that relates to the element or class you want.
For the opening page, where I positioned the title "The Challenge" onto the computer screen, and the "START" link to a place where it was more readable, it took a bit more fiddling.
The easiest way to work things out is to use the "inspect element" function of your browser (usually found by right-clicking) and then play with the CSS code there, which modifies those elements on the fly, and once you are happy with it, you copy that CSS code and paste it into the CSS part of your Twine Story. (I may share more details on how to do this in another thread about CSS... right now I'm a bit strapped for time).
But do check out the CSS part of my story. Also note the "hack code" at the start of each passage where I want the background image to change... and then copy and paste and modify it for your own purposes. (bear in mind that the hack does use up 3 or so words in Twine).
Also the CSS parts that relate to tw-story, tw-link, etc. can also be copied and pasted and modified according to your tastes.
I have a plan! A big hairy audacious goal! (god save me from motivational speakers).
It will eventually be a dungeon crawl with combat, inventory, on-use objects, and various other shinies.
The first map link shows the entire dungeon. The second map shows only what I could fit into the 1000 word limit. The room with the red dot (on both maps) is the room with the Iron Maiden. Other things go on in that room that I couldn't fit in. Things with the sarcophagi. Things with the owlbear skeleton. The IM on the smaller map shows the position of the IronMaiden. The X (on both maps) is where the guillotine is.
The Iron Maiden will be a timed puzzle the player has to solve before accessing the rest of the dungeon (or die trying).
Comments
Also... if anyone is interested, I put it up on IFDB if you wanted to rate it.
Yes. I KNOW that it is naive and silly considering it was for a game challenge. But I'm just built that way. I like to get excited about stuff.
http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=4waui4k94723t14d
Did you at LEAST find everybody's names in there?
Seriously though, thank you SO MUCH for your help. And for rating it.
It also contained a number of visual technical features showing a good grasp of the story format.
Yeah he's right! Do you have a CSS background? You accomplished things in your story I didn't even attempt!
Awesome job.
Thanks, and your informative posts helped me along the way.
I don't really have a "CSS" background, as such. I have a small webpage that I maintain, and virtually of my "CSS" skills come from googling "how to do this and that", and then copying and pasting and modifying the code.
I found Harlowe pretty easy to get into, once I understood some basic concepts. (This forum has been invaluable, as there is little documentation on Harlowe, and what is there assumes previous knowledge of stuff). I came to Twine very recently, and had zero knowledge of any type of programming, so I enjoyed learning this stuff. I also saw a few tutorials on Harlowe on youtube which were quite helpful, (vegeterian zombie, and Dan Cox, I think they were called).
I think I am going to stick with Harlowe for now, rather than delve into other formats or programming languages, mostly because I need to manage my time, as "THE CHALLENGE" ironically shows, and my original project is already underway in Harlowe.
Anyway, thanks everyone for all your help. It's always nice to connect with people who freely give to others in a spirit of community.
Catacombs of Chaos
Hi Dominia,
I played through your story and I found it fairly gripping. I was not, however, able to produce any alternate ending, no matter what I did. Perhaps I am missing something rather obvious, though I tried many different combination of things and still the only option I had was to produce the last result of the guillotine. Is there an alternate ending? And if so, have you tested to see if it works on the version you posted? If it does, then it is just me who is too thick to work it out!!
Otherwise, I liked the content of the story and the experience of navegating through the place.
Hi Sharpe. Thanks for the encouragement, and thanks for the opportunity to particpate in the challenge.
I wasn't totally sure what you meant about "the feeling" in the image you posted. My guess is that it relates to something I often feel when I have spent way too much time getting stuck into "fun activities" and not being responsible with getting rest or taking care of other duties. At those times, I end up feeling like I "hate myself" (or more accurately, hate the repeated patterns I produce when I am not self-disciplined). Are you referring to that kind of feeling? Or is it something else?
Also, @Dominia , if that is the final version, could you also attach any source files that go with it on this thread (if you don't mind)? Having those available will help some of us see how you did different things, and assist us in learning and improving our Harlowe skills. Thanks.
It's 1000 words. I didn't bother with an alternate ending. My purpose was only to follow @Sharpe's specific bullet points for the challenge since I've never bothered with Twine 2.0 and Harlowe before. I'm in the middle of a Competition using a different IF engine for the month of May so this is all I had time for.
I'd like to revisit Catacombs at some point but will probably port it to SugarCube and 1.4.2 since I am most comfortable using those.
Glad you enjoyed my little slice of IF. Mission accomplished. *super impressive flight suit and helmet pose*
You can import any Twine game as long as you have the url for the starting passage.
1. Right-click this link and save it as file to your hard drive: Catacombs of Chaos
2. Since you know it's a Twine 2.0 game, open Twine 2.0.
3. Select Import From File in the right-hand menu of the Twine 2.0 UI.
4. Choose the file you just saved to your hard drive and it will import.
5. Edit and view the code!
Also... did you like the game?
http://ifdb.tads.org/viewgame?id=4waui4k94723t14d
^it's here^
P.S. *heads over to The SugarCane for a MadExile*
I felt bad about calling it a dive.... but you can't do noir without tropes (and maybe a little bit of cliche).
One of the comments I got asked me to put in Glorious Trainwrecks... so I made a quick switcheroo.
Still at a thousand and I got to add one more person as a thank you. Not too bad. A few different endings.
ANYWAY... I was thinking about trying the WAG contest coming up.
You?
PS, your story was incredibly immersive. At times I was SURE you crossed a thousand words (I know you didn't. I was saying it was great.)
You also did some things in there that showed me how experienced you were with the coding. I bet you've done this before.
I don't know what I was thinking with this challenge. I ended up ripping out a mini-combat system, culling 66% of the wandering mob code, removing two passages, and a few descriptions. I ended up with 1,000 on the dot and only one ending.
Glad I did it, though.
I can't say I am an expert with Harlowe by any means but I've learned enough to appreciate the effort the guys put in for 2.0.
I have some notes I took during the process and will post a lil post-mortem here to document my experience.
Sometimes I think we're all really just one organism connected by these invisible threads of thought. I have the WAG challenge up in another tab on my browser and was just thinking about posting a thread about it here.
Yep. I am doing that one as well. Will use Twine 1.4.2 and SugarCube. I'm hoping the theme will be something I can immediately act on. We'll see!
I am still a novice when it comes to Twine. I do have seven (7!) WIPs right now. Believe it or not. THIS challenge is the first time I have considered something *completed*. Feels good. The pressure of a deadline helped a lot.
When I see @Greyelf and @MadExile and @Klembot and @L spouting off code from the top of their heads (pointy, little or non-), it feels like I've found religion.
I think it's awesome that the three completions so far are so different. Shows the versatility of the Twine engine.
Thanks for explaining that, as I thought maybe I was doing something wrong. I kept thinking that picking up the flint was needed for some other action and I couldn't work out what it was. It makes sense now knowing that you had other features in the story that you had to later chop out.
Hi @Sage , I checked out your story and enjoyed it. I liked the wit you have, the clever remarks and word plays. Good job.
I think this is one of the things that makes it exciting, and also helpful.
I tend to communicate a lot, verbally and in written form, and being forced to limit my words was a very good experience. I included a lot of code in The Challenge, and I had to decide between adding words to the story or to the code. So I experimented to see if I could communicate clearly, concisely, and at the same time make it an enjoyable experience for the reader/player.
I am hoping to do another little story for SSSC, even if I don't finish it by next Monday, simply because I love the concept of restricting it to 1,000 Twine-recognizable-words.
I am looking forward to Harlowe 2.0, and any other improvements that are made to this format.
Good point. They are very different. It's a great platform. Small learning curve. Great flexibility. Play in any browser.
What's not to like?
No, I wouldn't say I had to do a TON of work for that part.
Adding the background images was one of the easiest things to do. If you check out the CSS part of my game, you will note that for the background images I just copied and pasted each "body.class" code and modified them according to the class and picture I wanted (most of which were just screen shots from the computer).
The "hack" code that is used to get the class of a HTML element to change is also a "cut and paste" job, where you just have to change the part that relates to the element or class you want.
For the opening page, where I positioned the title "The Challenge" onto the computer screen, and the "START" link to a place where it was more readable, it took a bit more fiddling.
The easiest way to work things out is to use the "inspect element" function of your browser (usually found by right-clicking) and then play with the CSS code there, which modifies those elements on the fly, and once you are happy with it, you copy that CSS code and paste it into the CSS part of your Twine Story. (I may share more details on how to do this in another thread about CSS... right now I'm a bit strapped for time).
But do check out the CSS part of my story. Also note the "hack code" at the start of each passage where I want the background image to change... and then copy and paste and modify it for your own purposes. (bear in mind that the hack does use up 3 or so words in Twine).
Also the CSS parts that relate to tw-story, tw-link, etc. can also be copied and pasted and modified according to your tastes.
It will eventually be a dungeon crawl with combat, inventory, on-use objects, and various other shinies.
The first map link shows the entire dungeon. The second map shows only what I could fit into the 1000 word limit. The room with the red dot (on both maps) is the room with the Iron Maiden. Other things go on in that room that I couldn't fit in. Things with the sarcophagi. Things with the owlbear skeleton. The IM on the smaller map shows the position of the IronMaiden. The X (on both maps) is where the guillotine is.
The Iron Maiden will be a timed puzzle the player has to solve before accessing the rest of the dungeon (or die trying).
I expect the entire dungeon to be ready by 2025.
Entire Dungeon
Portion used for SSSC: Harlowe 1000