Using the online version?

Jud_Casper

Never understood why the online version has so many options compared to the download one (such as choosing the Story Format, etc) but can anyone please explain any disadvantages to using it?

If I created a game purely online/in browser, could I still provide people with a link to play it? I want a stable game that will stay up indefinitely, but I can't see how this can possibly work if I use the online/browser version of the software.

Thanks in advance.

Wraithling

The primary disadvantage to using the online version of Twine 2 is the ephemeral nature of its files; until you publish them, they're saved as browser data, so if you clear your cache, they'll be irretrievably lost. Also, since they aren't being stored on a server somewhere, you can only access them from a single computer.

Games created on the online version of Twine can definitely still be played by other people, though! You just have to go the menu at the bottom of the story screen and select "Publish to File" from the pop-up menu. This gives you a built Story HTML file-- I'll quote Greyelf on what you can do with it:

greyelf wrote: »

The Publish My Work section of the Twine 2 Guide contains information about this topic, basically you can either.

1. Upload it to a web-site, either your own or someone else's.

2. Create an archive (ZIP, RAR, etc) file containing the Story HTML files (as well as any image, sound, and video files it references) and then upload the archive file to a file hosting site.

If you're interested in uploading it to a website, there's a dedicated platform for hosting Twine stories at philome.la (it requires you to have a twitter account)-- or, if you want to host it on your own website, but you haven't got one, you can also use free webhosts, like I describe below:

Wraithling wrote: »

A Twine game is basically a website, and as such, you can post a Twine game anywhere you would host a regular website. There are plenty of free webhosts out there that would let you do that. I've used Neocities in the past.

Quick instructions for publishing using Neocities:
-Make an account
-Upload the .html file containing your story to your dashboard / homepage
-Your Twine game can now be played by going to the link
http://yourname.neocities.org/nameofyourstory.html

For example, if my account name was Wraithling and my story file was called "adventure.html" it'd be
http://wraithling.neocities.org/adventure.html

Jud_Casper

Thanks for the reply, Wraithling. You've given me the info I was seeking, namely that I'm not wasting my time creating a game using the online version.

What about any added CSS? I would more than likely customise the game's appearance using the online's CSS editor, so would this CSS simply be included as part of the html file when I hit publish?

greyelf

Jud_Casper wrote: »

... so would this CSS simply be included as part of the html file when I hit publish?

Yes, as would any Javascript you place within the story's Story Javascript area.

Jud_Casper

Thank you