hey amy!! hope things are going well for you :) i was curious how you implemented the interchangeable pronouns? i haven't seen that in any other if, and i'm considering working on my own and would love to implement that option if i did. i actually used the she/he pronouns on my infamous mc a couple months ago and that was what made me decide i wanted to start using them myself lol, so thank you for that!! sorry if the answer is like. completely uncomplicated and obvious LOL. have a good one :)
Oh that's lovely to hear!! I'm glad! and don't apologize, it's okay!
I use magiciansvoyage's pronoun template! I knew I wanted to do that but I am not at all an advanced coder so it felt really limited for me coding-wise, so I'm really happy I discovered that template. It's also very easy and straightforward to use! Hope it helps! Hope all is well for you too <3
Hello guys!! So sorry for my absence! I've made JS code free for anyone to use in their Twine game, which allows you to have multiple pronouns for your main character -- for example, she/they, she/he, she/he/they, whatever combination!
Some features include:
Completely customizable, and therefore neopronouns-friendly!
No limitations as to how many sets of pronouns you can add—you can add even just one.
Can determine singular and plural pronouns, even if you use pronouns that are different
Automatically switches between pronouns -- and you only need to write ?mcthey, ?mcthem, etc.
If you want to stick to one pronoun temporarily (e.g. so a character refers to MC as she/her and not switch to they/them mid-sentence), it is possible, too!
SHOUTOUT to @magiciansvoyage for inspiring me to do this for Twine!! :)
Why I Did This
I was inspired by @magiciansvoyage (!!!) who made multipronouns in CS, and I wanted to make multipronouns in Twine. Shout to them for this, they're amazing!!
I'm aware there are other gender code out there, but as far as I know, I don't know of any that can have multiple pronouns and switch between them using she/her and they/them automatically, for example.
How to Implement?
Just copy and paste the JavaScript code into your JavaScript, and copy and paste the variables into your StoryInit passage! Link to code here!
You can find the macro with in-depth explanation of what everything does here! I will include a How To underneath the readmore as well for a quick and dirty, but you will still benefit a lot from reading through the readme on GitHub.
How to Use?
This section will be more process-oriented than detail-oriented. For a better explanation on ?mcthey, $mc_they, and the <<gender>> macro, look at my readme on GitHub where you pull the code!
The Setup
Allow the player to add their pronouns for themselves as you would normally. Set these to $mc_they, $mc_them, $mc_theirs, $mc_themself, and $mc_plural (true if plural, false if singular).
Then, you can add this to your MC's pronouns with < < gender $mc_they $mc_them $mc_their $mc_theirs $mc_themself $mc_plural > > (had to add a space between the triangle brackets because Tumblr is weird). This will add that set of pronouns, which will be in rotation throughout the story. Make sure to add every argument, or else the macro will complain you've added too little.
When you want the player to add a new set of pronouns, repeat steps 1 and 2. You can keep prompting the player to add pronouns until they're satisfied. Make sure you give them a confirmation and reiterate what pronouns they've added, as there will be no way to remove pronouns once done (I may add this feature in the future if needed).
In-text
If you want to change between she/they, use ?mcthey or ?mcThey for capitalization. For her/them, use ?mcthem or ?mcThem. And so on.
If you want to use is/are, use $mc_is (a $ this time, not a ?), or $mc_was if you're writing in past tense. It will take the latest pronoun mentioned to determine whether to use is/are. If "they" was last mentioned, it will use "are". If "she" was last mentioned, it will use "is".
If you want to use a contraction like they're or she's, then use ?mctheyre or ?mcTheyre.
If you want to stick to one pronoun temporarily, use $mc_they, $mc_them, etc. It will stick to the last pronoun mentioned by ?mcthey, ?mcthem, etc.
If you want to use singular verb vs. plural verb, use $mc_s. Again, it will take the latest pronoun mentioned to determine whether to add "s" to a verb or not.
I also added $mc_has that follows the same logic as $mc_is to determine has vs have.
If this isn't super clear, make sure to read the readme. Also, feel free to DM or ask questions otherwise! :)
Don't mind me, just getting this coding master list ready ahead of time to make it easier to keep this blog organized! I've already got a few ideas on some things I want to share :) Come across something incorrect? Let me know, please!
Oh - if you got tagged in this list, just ignore me, and sorry for the bother!
Getting Started
Pros & Cons: ChoiceScript vs Twine - coming soon :)
Introduction to CScript
Introduction to ChoiceScript
Commands for ChoiceScript
Text Editor Recommendations - coming soon :)
How to Hide a Choice Based on a Variable
Variables
Setting up Variables for Character Creation (name, pronouns, hair, eyes, etc) - coming soon :)
Introduction to Twine
Twine Cookbook
Twine for Brower (Chromebook) or Desktop Download
Sugarcube Documenation
How to Approach Character Creation - coming soon :)
Templates (I believe all of these are for SugarCube)
Twine Template (mobile friendly) by Vahnya, @outoftheblue-if
Twine Template II by Vahnya, @outoftheblue-if
Sugarcube Template by @nyehilismwriting
Twine Sugarcube Template by @nyehilismwriting
A Quick Guide to Character Pages by @gamesbyalbie
Twine Sugarcube Template by @cerberus-writes
100% Good Twine Sugarcube Template @manonamora-if
Twine Sugarcube 2 Template by a.w. morgan
Variables and Choices
Setting up Variables - coming soon :)
Coding Cycling Choices (where the player clicks to change an option) - coming soon :)
UI, CSS, and Theme-Related Things
How to Add Images to Twine (local and online) - coming soon :)
CSS Chart and Keywords (great to reference when changing colors in your UI)
Google Fonts (download a free font to match your game's theme and/or for accessibility)
Canva - has free and paid assets that you can use
IF Authors / Writers / Coders (AKA Wizard Guru Extraordinaires)
honestly idk which one . . . i'd like to make an IF but i only have a chromebook. i have no idea how to get started at all lol
okay, gotcha. so, im not familiar with Chromebook as I use MAC. So take some of this with a grain of salt! Sorry for the kinda long post below..
But I did google it to check and if you want to use Twine, you'll need to use the browser version, not the downloaded version because it's not possible on Chromebook or it has a problem running correctly. If you use Twine online your data is saved to your browser, so DON’T clear your data (cookies).
If you want to use CScript, that's fine. But I would tell you to download a text editor. I use Atom but it's getting sunsetted so don't bother. But I can recommend VS Code. Or if you want to use it from the browser: https://choicescriptide.github.io/about/.
CScript is pretty easy for beginners but Twine allows more creative freedom and isn't too complicated once you get the basics. Your decision. I'm moving my game to Twine but CScript is obviously what I used for my current demo.
So, I'll just include a few resources for both Twine and CScript so you can take a look.
Twine Resources (I use Sugarcube format)
Twine for Browser
Twine Cookbook
Twine Games discord: https://discord.gg/SXuHBQw8Pk
Twine Template for Sugarcube - created by @nyehilismwriting
So if someone is writing in Arabic, here are some pointers!
Arabic starts from right to left, you can implement that is CSS with direction: rtl;
So, Arabic words take either masculine pronouns or feminine pronouns, so for example (شجرة) which means Tree takes feminine pronouns while (باب) which means Door takes masculine pronouns, why you might ask? I have absolutely no idea :).
Sometimes words can have multiple plurals (شجرة) which I just used can be expressed in the plural form as (اشجار) or (شجر), both having the same meaning, it depends on which ones you want to use.
This one is not really necessary since it's very uncommon and even if you happen to come across a word like that you'd typically just choose one but there are specific words that have a plural to its plural, I highly doubt you'll encounter them by hey, it's a fun fact!
To express the word "The" in Arabic, you used the letters (ال) so the tree translates to (الشجرة).
So this is gonna sound a lil bit confusing but in Arabic there is something called (التشكيل) and the easiest way to explain it is, "Data" and "Data", you've read them differently right, there are some words in Arabic that look identical but different in (التشكيل).
Now Arabic grammar (النحو) aka. spawn of Satan is probably a lil too hard when you first get into it, it has what feels like (and probably is) a million rules, and if you don't get it right at first it's completely okay, as a native speaker my Arabic grammar is as good as my ability to use my brain (hint: not good :) ).
There are multiple dialects and it depends on the character you're writing and all.
There are letters that don't exist in the English Alphabet (ض) which sounds like a (D) but it's not really a (D) - (ص) which sounds like an (S) but it also isn't an (S) - (ط) sounds a lil bit like a (T) but isn't a (T) - (ظ) I've seen several people say it sounds like a (TH) but I don't know I've never seen the resemblance - (غ) this letter doesn't sound like any letter in English but imagine you're gargling mouthwash, it kinda sounds like that - (ع) also doesn't sound like any letter in English and I really can't remember anything that resembles it - (خ) doesn't sound like any letter in English but imagine a cat hissing? I don't know I'm trying my best here :) - (ق) also doesn't sound like any letter in English and I also can't remember anything that resembles it, it sounds like a heavier (K) imagine a metronome of sorts.
As you noticed, Arabic letters connect with one another, with the exception of (ا - د - ذ - ر - ز- و) which don't connect, other letter connect.
There is the equivalent of Old English but for Arabic, it's used in very old songs and books, some people use it to this day in their songs and books just to spice things up, you can learn it if you're trying to write a character in an old setting but if you wanna make a modern character who speaks Arabic it's not common for people to speak 'old Arabic', just see what's your character's Arabic dialect and that's that.
Arabic numbers: They're also a bit complicated when you first get into them If you wanna say 31: You say the one first then the thirty, 131: You say the hundred first then the one then the thirty, 1131: You say the thousand first then the hundred then the one then the thirty etc.
Speaking of numbers: This is a two: ٢ This is a six: ٦ and this is a three: ٣ (They kinda look alike) This is a five not a zero: ٥ and this is a zero: ٠ This is a four not a three: ٤, This is a seven: ٧ and This is an eight: ٨ (They look very similar)
Arabic dialects vary a lot, some are easy and some are very hard, not all Arabs can communicate very easily which is something to keep in mind.
Some letters change their shape depending on where they are in the sentence and/or if they're connected to another letter.
The word "no" which consists of the letters ( ل ا) said letters intertwine and becomes لا, and this is also the case most words that start with those letters.
So that's about all I can think of, if I remember more I'll add them and I'm by no means a teacher, my brain is literally too small for that, that being said hope this helps and remember Arabic isn't easy at all so if you make mistakes it's totally okay!
Please please share some coding/designing wisdom. Your game is so damn pretty 😭😭😭 Could you tell us what template you used and how hard it was to make it look like it is today? I imagine so much work must have gone into it
😭😭 I am no expert, but these are just my rationale/methods behind the visual choices I made!
For the template I used—I used Vahnya's Template! However, this post by @/manonamora-if has a whole section for templates that I wish I saw or checked out before making my IF! In another lifetime, I might've just used nyehilism's template to achieve the bottom sidebar instead of torturing myself learning how to do it... ;;
Below, I go into detail the timeline of designing Uroboros, as well as advice through the process I went!
Design Timeline
I started designing the UI late October 2022, and kept fixing, changing, editing it well into February and maybe a little bit of March 2023.
October 2022 - Early iterations of the design. Looked for stock images and began implementing it to add a background to the sidebar and the actual passages. Swatched some color palettes and began implementing them into the IF. Later decided to make the sidebar on the bottom instead of on the side. Also, added a title screen.
November - Testing different backgrounds for the IF's sidebar. Added a textbox to the passages, also worked on the black fade transitions.
December - Finished working on the sidebar background for both light and dark theme, began work on the background of the IF instead.
January 2023 - Finished working on the dark and light theme backgrounds! Started work on drawing the skill icons for light and dark theme, and finished!
February - Changed the title screen to look better on mobile, created a circle logo, added a border to the textbox. Also, made further edits for light theme.
March - Just remade the "Uroboros" logo.
If you're wondering why it took approximately 5 months to get to the final version—don't worry! I wasn't working only on the design for 5 months. My partner helped make the edits for the design, while I worked on coding them in and writing.
I spent a lot of time trying to get a grasp on Javascript, SugarCube, and HTML all throughout this time as well, to know how to fluidly add these things. Meaning, while I was working on these visual elements, I was also figuring out how to do the "looking" mechanic, black and white transitions, figuring out how Tweego worked, radio buttons, and so on.
Do note I've been busy the entire time throughout, so perhaps you can do this much quicker than I can!
The "Secrets"
1. Please—look at IFs you love! What are some visual aspects of other IFs that you love and want to include in your story? I started by analyzing parts of other IFs that I love. I liked Wayfarer's textbox; I liked how the choices looked in When Twilight Strikes. I liked the textboxes in the beginning of Zorlok. Find the things that amaze you about other IFs, and implement it your own way!
This seems like super basic advice—but trust me, once you think, "How can I put this in my game?" you will not only be able to have it, but most likely, you'll also learn a LOT.
While seeing how I could make the radio buttons, for example, I started researching. I googled "How to live change text?" and then I found out about jQuery, how to use the replace macro, etc. etc. JUST from researching how to do exactly one (1) feature.
2. What is missing in other IFs? Think about your own reading experience. I didn't like the clunkiness of some, how the sidebar is on the side when space on a mobile-screen is severely limited length-wise. So, I put the sidebar on the bottom.
I didn't like how other choices look in IFs, so I wanted a way to do mine that's nice and elegant(though it's still a little hard to read, admittedly).
Again, researching how to do the things you want opens many doors for you. I learned how to style <li> and change how bullets look, learned how to style links in Twine in general, etc. etc. again with just this ONE thing I wanted to change/add.
3. Don't do the work all by yourself. I struggled so hard because I hate asking for help. I was happy to Google other people's problems, but I never thought to open up my own thread or ask anybody in the community for help. Please, not only ask, but also—your work doesn't have to be completely original.
Use templates. Look at manon's amazing masterlist of things you can implement. I also have a few macro's that you can use, like multipronouns for MC, that does the work for you, for free.
Rip people's codes—respectfully. I'm not saying from other IFs, but online in other places. If they appear on help forums or are publicly available through places like CodePen, chances are that they're open-source or licensed in such a way that anyone can use it (e.g. MIT license).
Again, here is Manon's masterlist, which includes custom macros you can use in your game (Chapel, HiEv and Cycy are my high recommendations)! Additionally, here's my code for multipronouns here and my code for setting RO genders here.
4. MAKE IT READABLE!! Even if you want your game to look pretty... please, I'm begging you, make it easy to read. This is the most important thing ever.
I have a short attention span, and so does my partner. We reviewed the game to make sure we are NOT compromising the reading experience with our design. As much as we want fantastical backgrounds, we wanted to make sure it was at least not distracting. As much as we want gaudy styles, we want the actual passage to be suited for the long haul.
The most, most important part is to enhance the reading experience--not by adding things on, but by making it simple and intuitive. As someone in the computer science field, the user experience is CRITICAL. Put yourself in their shoes, think about them first and foremost.
Twine is amazingly customizable, and its powers can be wielded for good and evil. Plenty of amazing writers but inexperienced UI designers, especially from CoG, get into Twine. CoG almost completely takes away the design element, so Twine is a whole new ballpark.
Uroboros has a lot of pomp, but the actual textbox is uncharacteristically simple in comparison. The simplicity against an otherwise fantastical, but non-distracting background helps give it elegance. The sidebar, in contrast, is very eye-catching—but, it's also out of view most of the time, and isn't built for long reading.
To add on, make sure it's readable on mobile. I guarantee 80% of your readers are going to be reading your IF on their phone, and probably at 3 AM, so you will want the mobile to look as good as PC, or even better.
Closing Thoughts
Anyway, as basic as this advice is, this is really what guided my entire thought process behind my visual choices! -- Picking and choosing what you like from IFs, figuring out how to do them through research, and making sure your IF is built to be read for a while.
Thanks so much for asking, thinking that I have wisdom to impart!! 😭🫶💕
Whats your advice for other wip ifs on tumblr? Ive got my intro post and everything but it seems like no one is seeing it :(
🥹😭 I'm flattered you think I'm qualified to answer this, especially as I don't consider myself wildly popular or anything! I wouldn't call myself an expert on this, but I'll tell you what I know:
Tumblr's tagging system / Discoverability
Make sure you're searchable! If your blog is too young, or if you have links in your post, or too many pictures, etc. etc. anything can trigger Tumblr's alarm bells. What this means is that your post won't show up in the tags, aka won't be shown when people search it up. Here is a post about actions you can take to prevent it and another one here. Generally you want your blog to be older than 2 weeks, and to be posting a few times on it before it gets any searchability. (This sideblog used to be an old fanfic blog that I've repurposed for the IF for this exact reason!). If you'd like, copy and paste your intro post, and re-post it (if you don't mind losing too many notes on it), or you can just experiment with another post. Tag it with the appropriate tags, and then wait 2-3 minutes before searching Recent posts on the tag (like #interactive fiction). If you don't see it, your posts aren't showing up!
Make sure you're tagging your post. Bigger one of them, I think, is #interactive fiction (since that unifies CS, Twine and visual novels together). You can, however, add things like #twine/#choicescript, #twine fiction, etc... Any tags you personally might use to search posts up. Just make sure people can see your post in the first place with the first bullet above!
Timing. For whatever reason, I get a good amount of traffic around 9PM Pacific time/5-7AM in Europe (UK to Greece)/12-2PM Eastern Asia (Philippines to Sydney, Australia). I have friends from those places, so I memorized the time difference. For reference, this is 4PM UTC time. My guess is that Europeans are waking up a couple of hours around that time, and some Americans and Asians/Australians are active around that time as well. You should experiment with timing with your posts!
Submit your post to Interact-IF. I got more notes when I submitted mine through their blog! They have a page called, "Are you an IF author looking to promote your project?" and they'll put yours through the queue. Here's the link!
Formatting
Make sure your post is eye-catching, and a pleasure to read. I think what catches the eye is
A header and a title. Find a header that conveys your IF's atmosphere/mood/vibes/aesthetic. Then as far as making it a pleasure, make sure the text guides the eye smoothly. This means:
Organizing your post logically. Synopsis->features->characters makes the most sense to me, as these are the top things people look for besides the characters, which you have to contextualize before you introduce them! You can also...
Mix up formatting--synopsis can be a wall of text, then features can be a list format, and then characters can be a list in prose format, etc.
You may also include breaks, like using a header or line with a title to signal a new section, e.g. the start of the Synopsis, the start of Characters, etc.
Just don't make it hard to read for whatever reason! Your goal is to make the process of learning about your IF digestible and smooth.
In fact, I made a point to make this post itself as a teaching lesson! It could have all been a wall of text, in paragraph/prose form, but it isn't. I organized the sections in a logical sequence, titled them and grouped them, and used a generous amount of formatting available to me (but not too much to hurt the eye).
Intro Writing
Just to discuss certain sections you should pay particular attention to, and what you may want to include in them!
Check for errors. Minimize any typos, grammatical errors, etc. It's totally fine if you're a beginner writer! Just make sure it's polished, lest it may disrupt the flow of reading.
Write an interesting synopsis. Your idea could be the best, but you need to put real thought into how you introduce it to other people! For me, I read other people's synopses for inspiration. You generally want to a) describe who your MC is, b) describe the setting, c) "Everything used to be..." d) "... Until the fire nation attacked!" -- meaning, describe how life used to be for the MC, and what threw all that off-balance, hence revealing the conflict of the plot or the disruption in the story. You can make this section show your writing abilities, but I constrained myself to shortening mine as much as possible (digestibility).
Features. Again, look at other intro posts! Outline what can be customized about your MC (appearance, personality, sexuality, etc.), a brief mention of the ROs (without names) that can be romanced if there are any, cool features your IF may have (a codex, a dice rolling system), a sneak peek into what readers may expect to do in the story, and more!
ROs!! You'll want to tap into what personally inclines you to liking an RO right away, and include that. You can make this section as detailed as you want to be or as brief but effective. Some include character appearances, some don't. All of them mention who they are in the story, and a description of what they are like. Maybe you can hint at their deeper, individual character subplot! Hitting upon keywords of certain archetypes as well may make it easier for the reader to go, "Ah, so this is the X character," in the story. Leaning on tropes a little isn't bad, especially to play it up for the audience to know "this is the cold one, this is the flirty one, etc." so long as your characters aren't merely their trope.
Your Story
Did you notice this is the last thing I'm discussing? Before you change your actual story, you want to make sure you've considered every reason why your intro post isn't very public, which may have NOTHING to do with how interesting or appealing your story is. Think of it like chess--the last thing you want to do is move your king. It's also just simply harder and disheartening to change the vision of your story.
In fact, the vast majority of things covered here are only points to consider, rather than things to actually change.
Do you have a demo? People want demos before investing into a story! a) They want to know if they will like your writing at all, b) demos give a good look into what they may expect from the story overall, and c) it's more promising for an IF to have one, as far as actually finishing the story!
And if you do have a demo, is it polished? Is it short? Does it actually introduce the conflict or any of the characters people are interested in? Does it look good?
Who really is your target audience? Your story is probably written for yourself, but you may want to understand what generally appeals to people. You can't please everyone, hence mainly appealing to a certain audience. If your story is high-fantasy, people want you to mention all the fantastical things your MC can do, see or experience in your story! If your IF is a revenge story, make the MC feel dangerous, and capable of exacting their plans. Mention everything people would WANT to know about your brand of story.
What's the gender ratio of your ROs? The fact that your story may be exclusively/vastly heterosexual, or your story may specifically be a wlw or nlw/mlm or nlm story may influence how much reach it has. I hate to say it, but IFs with mainly male characters are in abundance compared to female interests. However, this doesn't mean you should change your ROs, especially if you intend the story to be heterosexual/lesbian/gay--this is just a factor to consider.
Consider other factors. Does your story have any actual romance? (People really like romance.) Is it only going to be short? (People like long stories generally.) Are you using Twine or CS? (Most people like both, some may have a preference. I almost exclusively read Twine.) Will it feature very disturbing content? (If it does, it may appeal only to certain people).
Closing Thoughts
I am flattered you asked for advice, so I took the time to exhaust everything I know! Of course, again, I am no authority or expert on the subject, so do with this as you will. Either way, I'm happy you asked ! 🥹💕 Thanks for asking!
P.S. If you want, my messages are open on my personal blog! You can send me a DM if you want feedback or an opinion :)
