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"There is only one admirable form of the imagination: the imagination that is so intense that it creates a new reality, that it makes things happen."- Sean O'Faolin

Interactive Science Fiction Fantasy Adventure

The next electrifying fantasy adventure in the world-famous Pentari series.

After saving the Kingdom of Pentari from ruin and total destruction in First Light, you have ascended from the ranks and installed as Governor of the new sixth city of the empire across the Quondem Ocean. This bold move to expand the kingdom to the distant shores of Umbra comes with great rewards and much uncertainty.

Lest you forget - the rogue wizards who nearly destroyed the Empire hailed from Umbra.

The growing young city of Lindon is making quite a mark on the natives; some embrace your settlement while others shun it and seek to snuff it out.  An ancient threat known only in legends grows in strength outside Lindon's walls.  As the leader of the thriving young City of Lindon, you must protect your people and the interests of the Empire.  Taking matters into your own hands, many dangerous tasks lie in front of you as well as a line in the sand you are dared to cross.

Appearing August 2007

Designer's Journal

20 August 2007

The Tortoise and the Hare

I'm starting to see a whole new wisdom in the old saying "slow and steady wins the race."

Pentari: Second Dawn is now on Release Candidate 4 and bug reports have slowed down to a faint trickle.  The primary reason for this is that a small army of readers and players have been drilling and testing this science fiction adventure for over a month now.

The other reason is that I'm a little short staffed just now.

One of my testers is in the hospital for a scheduled procedure (funny how one of my testers was in the hospital during The Apprentice testing too, eh? Some folks may wish to NOT volunteer to test my next title!!) and another is on vacation until tomorrow.

Since the chap in the hospital is one of my oldest friends, one of the buddies I'd hang with during my teen years and play Infocom games with, I didn't give a second thought to waiting until he was back home and able to play. And the fellow on vacation is a seasoned English teacher who has been a tremendous resource where editing the prose is concerned. He's also a tremendous Infocom fan.

Scott and Arnie are well worth waiting for.  Each day I wait, Second Dawn gets better.

One of my veteran testers told me (while going through Release Candidate 3) "Wow, there are hardly any bugs anywhere!" Now that's one very serious compliment coming from him!

I'm liking this more relaxed approach a lot.  No more rushing around to meet an artificially-imposed deadline. No more sweating it out and hoping we caught every last bug (we never do.  Infocom never did. It's just dang blamed impossible but we still try our very best....) just to slap my forehead and exclaim "DOH!" when the first post-launch bug report lands in my inbox like a bomb.

Waiting a couple of extra weeks lets players really explore the title in their own time and on their own terms. This relaxed approach lets the reader think of new things to try and new possibilities which leads to new discoveries.

And while they're on the path of adventure that leaves me free to dabble a bit with the details and fine tune the surroundings to get everything just right.

I've been a wine connoisseur for quite some time but only now can I appreciate the economics of fine wine. Fine wine starts with the finest grapes, a very long time to ferment and mature which leads to a respectable price tag. You can buy a $5 bottle of Glen Ellen aged one year and get an acceptable glass of wine. Or you can wait quite a while longer for the really good stuff, pay three, four or five times the price (or more!) but you end up with a truly impressive experience from the very first sip.

I find that approach very agreeable not just as a consumer but as a producer.

On a closing note to this blog -- Second Dawn pre-orders are now being accepted and we are shipping Second Dawn on August 31st - right in time for the long Labor Day weekend.

2 August 2007

The Beginning of the End is Nigh.

Pentari: Second Dawn Release Candidate 1 was sent out some two hours ago.

It's "Game On!" as two teams of quality control experts scour every inch of Lindon and her outskirts as well as the City of Eddington and the Ethereal Plane of Atrii making sure every last aspect of this new fantasy adventure is completely and utterly perfect.

And fun.  Let's not forget fun.

Because the fun is the thing, isn't it? Every story that makes the grade must engage the reader and I'm proud to say that Second Dawn accomplishes this in two distinct ways:

1) The ever-present crossover between Second Dawn and The Apprentice lends two different perspectives to the exact same story.  Readers will be gratified and giggling when they experience every nuance of the plot as portrayed from two different points of view. Naturally, one must experience both titles to savor the ironies and the intricacies of this first-ever crossover in science fiction history.

2) Standing on its own, Second Dawn is a very satisfying sojourn into the realm of the fantasy adventure.  Magic, mirth and mystery can be found at almost every step as you, the main character in the adventure, go forth to save Lindon from obliteration at the hands of a bitter foe.

I expect to hammer out a few last-minute bugs and add a couple of additional mood-enhancing elements.  Apart from that, I'm done.

Then it's off to Vegas. Hoorah!

27 July 2007

Crawling Towards the Finish Line

My latest foray into the fantasy adventure world is now 99.5% complete.  Pentari: Second Dawn can be successfully completed right to the end (I know because I tested the endgame sequence just five minutes ago) and there's lots of awfully hard puzzles along the way.

Some months back I alluded to crafting Second Dawn to be the Spellbreaker of the 21st century because of the complexity of the puzzles and the underlying philosophy of the plot.

Done.

I can say this because seasoned testers who have played dozens of Infocom text adventure games and Malinche interactive fiction titles over the years have been stumped by more than one puzzle in Second Dawn.

I'm not going to blink on this; the puzzles in my latest interactive fiction masterpiece are hard but they are fair. No flinching.

Gang, put your brain into overdrive before you start out on this text adventure game!

At this point I need to expand some logical interplay with some of the spells and magic artifacts such that casting a growth spell on an already-massive troll will be pretty funny and trying to blast a little old lady with the Golden Orb might spell trouble for you!

Second Dawn enters beta testing tonight with beta 1 being sent to two different test teams. 

With the cover art almost finished and the primary gizmo we're putting in the folio edition still in production, there's absolutely no reason to hurry.

So we're not. 

15 July 2007

Pentari: Second Dawn Enters Alpha Test

Tonight, Second Dawn Alpha 1 entered Alpha test with four veteran play testers.

Yeah I know that just three days ago I said that we'd release the game to three different alpha teams.

I changed my mind as is my privilege. The power of an Implementor can be frightening at times.

There are half a dozen or so puzzles I need to complete, a couple of NPCs to expand and a plot twist or two that begs elaboration.

With this in mind I thought it prudent to release Second Dawn to my most seasoned, most experienced veteran play testers.  A team of players that have been with me practically since the beginning of Malinche almost five years ago.

Yes there's a bit more to do. Even so the game can be started and finished with no undue amount of detective work.

With The Apprentice there was a tremendous sense of urgency because we had to make a May 24th launch brooking no delays.

Second Dawn has none of that pressure so I told the testers to go nice and easy as they set out to explore Eddington, the capital of Pentari itself and Lindon, the newest addition to the Empire.

With Eliza Gauger working on the cover art and one of our manufacturer's still formulating one of the "feelies" to be included with the folio edition, there's no rush at all.

On that note I'm saying here and now that I am DONE with deadlines.

Yeah, I know that deadlines serve to inspire and motivate with the pressing sense of a "due by" date but this is absurd.

I blew every deadline for The Apprentice and Second Dawn so far out that I would do the late great Douglas Adams proud.  Mr. Douglas Adams, God bless him, was notorious for missing every deadline ever set and putting forth some truly great writing whenever he felt like it/got around to it/felt motivated/etc. much to the chagrin of his editors, his publishers, his agent and his fans.

I think he knew something that I don't. 

"A Saint in Sin City" is set with a preliminary launch date of December.  We'll probably miss that date and that's OK by me.  I'm not one to sit on the fence but I have to find a fine balance between the writer in me and the businessman I am.

I have no intention of turning out one new interactive fiction every other blue moon either just so we're clear. :)

My ultimate goal is to publish two interactive fiction titles per year and settling for no less than one per year. Wishes can come true don't you know?

On a lighter note let me turn the spotlight on some of the really monumental things waiting for you in Second Dawn...

There is a rich history of Pentari that runs deep and meaningful giving you, the reader of this science fiction epic, a true sense of purpose and pride as you go forth and protect the Kingdom's latest claim in the world.

Really cool new magic spells are all over the place with lots of good fun to be expected.  The super-powerful Skyfire can do some very serious damage whenever you call it down. Scry will literally tell you the future of your adventure from several different points of time in the fantasy adventure then there are some old favorites like Fwoosh, Repeal and Aera which can be of real help to the adventurer in a pinch.

I'm particularly proud of the Scry spell.  It lets me give you some nice, subtle hints while allowing me to convey a number of different perspectives of where the story might go at any given time.

The Three Orbs of Power from Pentari: First Light are in your possession from the very start of the game.  It's very reassuring for you to have all that power at your fingertips starting out but more than a little unsettling when you realize that even the Orbs may not be sufficient against some of the powerful forces aligned against you.

There is an over-the-top text adventure game sequence and Easter Egg that every Zork fan will savor for the rest of their lives. I mean it. I'm a Zork fan and if I experienced the Easter Egg in Second Dawn I'd be giggling and grinning for a solid day.

I took a philosophical turn and Implemented a higher concept of existence prevalent throughout Second Dawn that many spiritual people and metaphysics mavens will appreciate. This introduction of higher-order thinking is not only enlightening, it's relevant to the plot and entertaining as well.

I embedded a message into the fantasy adventure that will make perfect sense once you get to endgame.  I ask you all to get to endgame, scrutinize every word and consider every transpired event very carefully before developing an opinion.  Hasty conclusions are verboten.

All told it could be said that playing Second Dawn from start to finish will be a moving, religious experience on top of being entertaining and thought-provoking.

As an artist I couldn't hope for better.

12 July 2007 10:01 PM EST

Second Dawn has Compiled Successfully.

Starting this morning and working through lunch, I took a brief break in the afternoon and kept on going all through the night. I added 35 new rooms, more than 50 new objects and tore through over 100 new bugs. 

Twelve hours of gushing inspiration later I found myself at the finish line.

Second Dawn now compiles flawlessly and stands at 239 distinct locations.

Yawning as I am despite the Raging Bull pumping me up, I stand back in amazement of how I did so much in a single day.

I just rode the river of inspiration and let it take me to my destination.

Some days my inspiration meter is flat-lined and I won't even look at interactive fiction source code.  Other days I don't Implement at all but just sit at my desk and think up new plots and puzzles.

Then there's a day like today where I'm full-tilt boogie from morning to night with new rooms, ideas and puzzles leaving plenty of brainpower left over for debugging and other analytical tasks.

OK so Second Dawn compiles successfully.  Am I done with this science fiction masterpiece?

Of course not.  If you've been following my work for any length of time you should know that there's more yet to do.

I plan to issue Second Dawn Alpha 1 to THREE play test teams this Sunday.

8 July 2007

The Home Stretch

Starting Friday and wrapping it up today, I ran through the first set of compiles of Second Dawn. As with The Apprentice, I sliced through 200 or so blatant bugs and ended up with just some error messages "complaining" about missing rooms.

About 50 of them.

All in all it looks like Second Dawn will have a game area some 250 rooms or so in size.  I might decide to cut something that really doesn't fit or serve some purpose or I might be inspired to make a last-minute addition that grows the game by 10 or more locations.

Then there's still the matter of completing a few puzzles and plot threads and we have a winner.

That plus the finishing touches of Eliza's cover art and it's a wrap.

Meanwhile, I've been unable to help myself with regard to focus.  Three puzzles for Saints in Sin City have already been documented in the baseline code which I implemented last week.

4 July 2007

The Triumphant Return of Eliza Gauger

Let no one doubt that hard work and perseverance pays off.

After months of searching, emailing and calling as I strived to contact her, one of my calling cards reached their mark.

Eliza is on board and will resume her work on Second Dawn's cover art.

The previous cover art will not be totally eliminated but it will NOT be the cover art for Second Dawn.

And if Eliza is up to the challenge, she'll do all the photography for "Saints in Sin City" as well. That'll happen on location in Las Vegas, of course.

Talented women need to be kept busy putting their talents to good use.

And Eliza is about as talented as they come.

I am perfectly happy to delay the premier of Second Dawn until Eliza's next Malinche artwork masterpiece is ready.

2 July 2007

The Sun is Setting on Second Dawn Implementing

Today I wrote the endgame sequence for Second Dawn.

As with First Light but unlike all of my other titles, there is a single way to win Second Dawn.

Unlike First Light, there will be very few shortcuts to win the game.  In First Light you could skip the treasure hunt (and sacrifice a lot of points) and many of the other objectives and go gunning right for the Lich Lord to snuff out the evil at its source.

That's not to say you should do that -- but it is possible.  That's the beautiful thing about the interactive fiction I write; I give you a very wide range of motion and leave a lot of the big decisions up to you.

In Second Dawn you will be building upon your other achievements during the course of your adventure which will prepare you for the final sequence of events that brings lasting peace and harmony to the Pentari universe.

At this point Second Dawn stands at 190 locations with maybe just a few more to be added  We'll probably top off at about 225 rooms or so when I'm all done.

There are a few mid-level puzzles to work through and a few plot threads that need to be tied up.  I fully expect Second Dawn to enter Alpha testing within two weeks.

12 June 2007

I'm a Professional Boxer

Sure I'm built like a heavyweight boxer or a professional football player but that's not what I'm talking about.

Reuniting with Boxer 7.5 for DOS (scroll down a few months and read more about that) forced me to realize the power of progress.

Geek Mode: <ENGAGED>

I was sitting in the Starbucks in Matawan with some time to kill and my newest laptop by my side.  The latest addition to the Malinche arsenal is an Acer 5500.  She's nicely equipped with an AMD Turion TK-36, a gig of RAM, ATI Radeon graphics and other things I hardly care about.

The only thing that really matters to me in a laptop is its power to edit text.

That's why the Vista Premium operating system pre-installed on the Acer really forced me sit up and pay attention.

I booted up my new Acer, dropped to DOS (Ok, Command Prompt) and tried to run my ever-faithful friend Boxer 7.5

It crashed. Scowling I thought "WTF?"

Three more tries with various configurations brought about the same results.

Shit. Boxer 7.5 is not compatible with Vista.

I felt cold sweats break out all over my body.  Could I feel hives forming? Was I developing a nervous tic?

Reluctantly, I surfed over to www.texteditor.com knowing that Dave Hamel put out a Windows version of Boxer.  Despite my resistance to changing the tools I use that have been proven to work, I downloaded Boxer 12.0.1 and took her out for a spin.

"WTF?!" I thought as I took on the appearance of the mesmerized and tried out the on-the-fly spell check and customized the environment to resemble DOS as closely as possible.

I instantly spotted a dozen or more spelling mistakes and made rapid corrections.  In awe of this new power I went ahead and crafted three new rooms in the village of Cambridge.

Since Boxer 12 can handle files up to 2 GB in size there'll never be a multiple-file memory issue with my interactive fiction titles.

I'm sold.  Boxer 12.0.1 is now the official text editor of Malinche.  Boxer 7.5 will still see active duty on Pegasus where I'll run through quick edits during the compiling/debugging phase which I still do and will always do in DOS so long as I am able.  Long live DOS! Long live Boxer! Hoorah!

Geek Mode: <DISENGAGED>

With ongoing development of Pentari: Second Dawn in Boxer 12.01, spelling mistakes will be eliminated before I compile the first alpha version.

Every other development tool, platform and environment I've ever tried is nothing compared to what Boxer can do. Believe me when I say I tried them all.

I've been on the quest for the ultimate operating environment since Malinche launched almost five years ago. Now I've found it.

So, yes, you can consider me a professional Boxer.

13 May 2007

An Easter Egg on Mother's Day

With Second Dawn coming out next month (June, 2007) I thought of the perfect Easter egg today.

Did you know that the legendary Zork was released in June of 1977?

To celebrate this history-making 30th birthday I wrote in the ultimate salute to Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Tim Anderson and Bruce Daniels.

They are the Implementors of Zork and Malinche wouldn't be possible if not for Zork.

I've got some more surprises in store to salute Zork... I can't wait until June 1st!

5 April 2007

Outer Space is Back on The Table

On my blog entry of June 11th, 2006 I talked about Second Dawn, as a fantasy adventure, intersecting with the greater genre of science fiction. Back then I talked about my feelings in heading that way and said it wasn't going to happen

My subconscious has steered back in this direction and it is in this direction we are going. Everybody should go with their gut instinct.

I am currently implementing the Ethereal Plane of Atrii and my subconscious told me to implement a downed jet aircraft.  I already knew in my head that an alien spacecraft shot it down.  Yet I couldn't reconcile my inspiration with my intention to implement a "pure" fantasy adventure.

It's settled.  Second Dawn is a fantasy adventure which will flirt with its first cousin science fiction.

But we won't get too close for comfort.

18 March 2007

Cover Art Unveiled

Alas, Eliza Gauger is not to be tracked down and another artist who had promising work had an agent who desperately needs anti-psychotic medication. Needless to say, negotiations fell through.

Nevertheless! The search is over.... I am proud to present the cover art for Second Dawn!

18 February 2007

Grues Make Their Triumphant Return!

They're back and they're as ravenous for adventurer's blood as ever! In Second Dawn they will remind the whole world that they are a force to be reckoned with.

Who's up for trying to walk on eggshells? (That's a game hint, folks.)

14 February 2007

Surmins and a Score to Settle.

It's been a long time since a surmin appeared in a text adventure game, don't you think?

4 January 2007

At the height of the Infocom epoch they labeled their interactive fiction titles with difficulty ratings.  Spellbreaker carried an "Expert" level while Wishbringer was ranked as "Introductory".

Consider Second Dawn the Spellbreaker of the 21st century and The Apprentice as the modern equivalent of Wishbringer.

Both titles will be lots of fun for young readers and seasoned adventurers.  But Second Dawn is turning out to be wicked hard.  But fair.  My puzzles are always fair and make sense.  Just make sure to load up on plenty of brain fuel before starting out with Second Dawn.

What I also like is how I am able to explore a slightly more serious aspect of science fiction with Second Dawn and also keep it a bit lighter with The Apprentice.  Both titles are balancing each other nicely while each can very easily stand on their own merits as independent fantasy adventure titles as well as being part of a series.

27 September 2006

Endgame in Sight

This morning I made the crucial breakthrough in determining what the "ultimate" puzzle for Second Dawn will be leading to winning the game and, by extension, protecting the Kingdom of Pentari.

Interactive Fiction owes its very origins to Infocom and over the years I haven't kept this fact a secret. This time I will make a tribute to Infocom like never before.

The ultimate puzzle in Second Dawn involves an Implementer or two, a Coconut and Magic.

Die hard fans should be able to make the connection immediately.  Everyone else will enjoy the synergy and savor Second Dawn's endgame as they make their way through this grand adventure game.

22 August 2006

The Light and the Dark

I broke some serious ground in both Second Dawn and The Apprentice tonight.  I'm getting used to programming in split screen.

Geek Mode: <ENGAGED>

I usually take turns coding my games on any of my three Macs or my three Windows machines depending on my mood, where I am and which of the two laptops I have with me in the event I am traveling.  In many cases both laptops are with me so it comes down to which of the two laptops is closest to me in the hotel suite.  Or my mood.  Oh heck, here comes an infinite loop.... CTRL-C to break loop.

And we continue.

This project is seeing much more Windows time.  Or should I say Command Prompt time.

Hell,  let's just call it DOS.  There, I admitted it.  Heck, let me come right out and say that every single interactive fiction title I've ever created has ultimately been compiled in good old fashioned DOS but, yeah, under Windows XP. 

Each title was opened in a separate window on screen at the same time thanks to split screen.  Old DOS programmers and even some users out there will totally understand what I'm talking about. I thrived on split screen as a teenager.  Qmodem.  Procomm. DOS Edit. Boxer.  Split screen was a sword and I wielded that weapon masterfully.

Split screen does just what you think it does; it splits the screen in half and displays two different files on screen at the same time.  Unlike that new fangled Windows stuff that has a hard time displaying two windows at once without one taking the backseat to the other, split screen allows me to simultaneously edit both titles.

The two new additions to the Pentari world are so complicated I actually had to go out and buy a new DOS editor. Ha ha. "New" DOS editor.  That's rich.

Check that.  I had to call upon an old friend to help me out of this one.  My trusted companion on many a coding project where the technology I was grappling with threatened to murder thousands of my brain cells due to complexity.

I knew what I wanted to do.  I knew what I had to do.  But the tools at my disposal just weren't cutting the ice.

I called up Boxer Software and placed my order for Boxer Version 7.5.

David Hamel, the man responsible for Boxer, took the call himself.  When I told him I wanted to order Boxer 7.5 for DOS I swear he thought it was some kind of prank call.

Either that or he felt he was talking to a DOS programmer who was just thawed after a ten year stint in suspended animation.

He was right on both counts.  I'd used Boxer extensively in the late 1980s and early 1990s when I coded for my multi-user Galacticom BBS platforms.  Long live BayLine.  All hail Excaliber.  I wrote jaw-dropping code and made those ancient Internet precursors do things nobody could believe possible.

The functions and features I coded left my customers stuttering in awe. Back then people paid by the hour to be online.  My competitors were Compu$erve, Delphi, etc. which were giants in their industry at the time and threatened to crush little guys like me. BBS Sysops were mavericks.  And I was a member of the  Sysop aristocracy thanks in large part to my ability to write wicked code and communicate like an educated adult although I was merely a well-read teenager.

$14.95 unlimited DSL/cable modem access was inconceivable back in the 1980s/1990s.  You paid $6.00 per hour for access.  "Cut rate" prices of $3/hour for 1200 baud access was dreamy. I took on the biggest boys in the game and charged 25 cents per hour.

You young whipper snappers have no idea how good you have it!

(Reference point -- 1200 baud is roughly 750 times SLOWER than the slowest DSL connection. No, I am not kidding. Does the introduction to BOFH make more sense now?)

How primitive were things back then? Let me give you a couple of examples to serve as reference points:

When Hayes and US Robotics came out with 14,400 baud  modems my friends and I fantasized about those modems more than a Traci Lords porno movie. Bear in mind we were all teenagers....

Covered wagons would often pass me and my friends out on the corner of Nostrand Avenue and Avenue X in Brooklyn as we emerged from the Radio Shack store (the same one I had my very first encounter with Zork in...) in a dream-like trance after perusing the latest Radio Shack computer catalog.  Playboy was "OK" but NOTHING beat the Radio Shack computer catalog where adolescent excitement was concerned.

Not even the coveted Suzanne Somers issue.

(none of you have any idea about what the fuck I'm talking about, right? Brave on, dear reader -- I'll get back on track and lead you out of the woods...)

I was coding in Borland C++ back then but that didn't matter. It was all text just as Inform is all text. 

Time for history to repeat itself and continue my legendary performance....

Dave Hamel told me the product was retired almost two years ago.  The tone in his voice told me he was startled by my request.  I asked him if it was still for sale. 

He went and checked some closets and came back to the phone some minutes later and said he could manage to assemble a complete package for me.

That affirmative answer almost gave me wood.  Boxer is the best text editor on the planet.  The Windows version is, I'm sure, a splendid product. 

But the Windows version just wouldn't do anything for me.  It had to the DOS version.

Dave sold his first copy of Boxer Version 7.5 in something like two years to me.

I fired up my fully registered copy.

My giggling fit began immediately.

Stifling the urge to fall out of my chair laughing in glee, I did some customizing to the Boxer environment to make it work better for me.  Super.

Another giggling fit took over for four or five minute as glorious flashbacks washed over me.  I felt the power simply surging through my keyboard.

I limited myself to a chortle or two every other minute as I started coding with my long-lost friend.  It was the sweetest kind of reunion.

Until the first time Boxer locked up and I lost the footpath rooms near the Cryborne Mountains.

The thing crashed hard.

I discovered that using the mouse to manipulate blocks of text in any way crashed the editor.  I lost work like three or four times.  Shit.

A quick consultation with David led me to conclude the mouse was just not to be used with Boxer.  Keyboard all the way.  Bareback DOS.  DOS the way it was meant to be.  Like in the old 2.11 or 3.3 days. Hubba hubba.

No more crashes.  Glorious creativity with the best text editor on the planet.  Sexy!

Stop laughing. Neil Peart has the tools of his trade and I have mine.

Drums haven't changed much over the years and neither have text editors.

Geek Mode: <DISENGAGED>

Thanks to split screen and the astonishing power and fluid-like operations of Boxer 7.5, I  broke ground on the crossover between both fantasy adventures.

One title has the dark while the other, naturally, shines the light.  Each is a twisted mirror reflection of the other.  What happens in one will reverberate in the other.

The tricky part is to implement the crossover in each title in such a way so as to make it meaningful to readers who decide to purchase one title and not the other yet still deliver a powerful, totally moving experience to the player who experiences the crossover if and when they explore both titles.

The trickier part is to implement all of this in such a way so as to give away NO HINT of what the player should do in either story except, perhaps, to reveal what the single best outcome should be.  But <giggle> you'll have absolutely no idea of how to achieve that single best outcome until you figure it out on your own.

I am taking science fiction to the next level here.

Cool. :)

1 August 2006

Red Line Approaches

Winter.  2006.  That's it.  No more  delays. I'll forego sleep and food if I must but I will see to it that The Apprentice and Second Dawn are released this Winter.

I'm write now (that's not a mistake) Implementing Billy Bonkers' Candy Factory on the outskirts of Eddington.  Gnomes labor in the sun loading wagons of chocolate and other delectable candies.  And neither me nor the gnomes will stop working until these interactive fiction titles are delivered unto you.

4 July 2006

I Changed My Mind

Up until now, your role in Second Dawn was that of a member of the nobility newly installed as Duke (or Duchess) of Lindon as a reward for your heroic achievements in First Light. In fact, the introduction to Second Dawn at the top of this page stated that quite clearly until just today.

But not anymore.

It nagged me.  In the annals of the fantasy adventure subgenre of science fiction, It's unprecedented for a commoner, no matter how gifted or important, to be elevated into the nobility at such a high station.  The truly gifted can certainly see a rise in their station (remember Jimmy the Hand from the legendary lands of Midkemia?) Ok so being elevated to the lowest level of nobility as a squire, perhaps even a real jump to the semi-lofty rank of baron is plausible.  But a duke? Of so important a station as a new expansion of the Empire to a distant shore? No no no.  This just won't do.

You, dear reader, have been more or less "demoted" to Governor of Lindon.  Sorry, gang.  But I write what's real. I'm drawn back to one of my favorite sayings by Stephen King -- tell the truth when you're writing fiction. It sounds paradoxical at first glance but it really isn't.  Installing the player at such a high rank of the nobility just doesn't sit well with me.

But don't worry.  As the Governor of Lindon you have all the same authority, rights and privileges as a  Duke (or Duchess) but without the political mess. You'll bear a royal warrant signed by no other than King William himself. But you won't be a Duke (or Duchesss).

How could I realistically progress the Pentari series in such a case? As a writer all sorts of problems come to my mind.  If you were to remain a Duke (or Duchess) I can imagine a number of different cabals that could stem from jealous members of the proper nobility who were aching for a chance to ascend to the rank of Duke, a lofty post that only the sons and daughters of the five existing dukes could hope to achieve. Heck, a coup to overthrow the king and conquer the throne would be on the table.  Let's run along those lines and bring up an excellent case in point taken right from First Light-- shouldn't Kari be the Duchess of Lindon? And if I did write the story that way, the player would be close to her.   I always take great pains to write my titles in a decidedly gender-neutral way (we'll overlook kissing Vera in First Light, OK? <grin>) and I just couldn't see Second Dawn with Kari as Duchess.

Why?  If the player were male (60% or so of Malinche's established audience) and I didn't write in all sorts of romantic hints and possibilities male players may rightfully feel cheated.  And if I did write in some hints of romance and even passion I risk losing the other 40% of my audience by placing female readers in an obtuse and awkward situation that they may find uncomfortable to say the least.  Going in such a direction is not a possibility. It would take away far too much from the story and ruin it for the ladies in my audience.  That's not an option.  Never has been and never will be.

As an Implementor I write for you -- to immerse you in the story.  To make it real for you as your imagination takes over. And in this day and age I need to leave things very open-ended for the very diverse audience Malinche caters to.

The original Implementers at Infocom had it easy back in the 1980s.  Implementing the princess in Zork 2 was a no-brainer with easy appeal; 99.9% of computer users back then were male.  Ah, what it must've been like to be an Implementor at Infocom back in the 1980s.... <wistful sigh>

MOVING RIGHT ALONG....

I had an amazing spark of inspiration last night.  I'm Implementing a chocolate factory in the city of Eddington. Following that trail of creativity led me to a brilliant idea for folio edition packaging.

The royal warrant and the actual metal key in Pentari: First Light were pretty cool. The neat feelies we'll be packing in Second Dawn (or perhaps in The Apprentice) will be sweet.  Seriously.

The chocolate factory will be pure fun. Maybe even useful.

11 June 2006

Back in the Saddle.. I'm Writing Again

Christ, I thought being a new daddy would be a fairly basic element to fold into my life as I continue to carry out my responsibilities as the only active Implementor left in the world.

I was dreaming.

I haven't written a line of code in either Second Dawn or The Apprentice in more than two months.  This week I did a bit of dabbling letting my primal interests in science fiction drive me. It really is like riding a bicycle.  I proved that with Pentari: First Light -- picking up where I left off after a three year hiatus.

I just finished Betancourt's latest novel in the Pre Amber Trilogy for inspiration and find myself playing with several different possible directions the stories can take.  At one point I entertained a futuristic space-based branch but immediately dismissed it.  Space-based science fiction is all well and good but it would totally corrupt the fantasy adventure sub-genre of science fiction I am tuned into now.

Writing a futuristic science fiction piece is definitely on my wish list but right now I'll stick to the essential elements of a good fantasy adventure work of science fiction.

But that won't stop me from getting really, really fancy....

3 January 2006

Crossover

I suppose the most fitting analogy I can draw with Second Dawn and The Apprentice is best compared to a single picture being painted on two very large canvasses.

PSD and PTA (Pentari: Second Dawn and Pentari: The Apprentice respectively) are two very different adventures that I am writing at the same time.  I'm using split screens to code both titles at once as the story lines run parallel to each other with occasional intersections. Imagine, if you will, each screen I code represents a canvass.  Split screen = duo = two canvasses.

Are you saying "Huh?"

For example, in PSD you will walk the halls of the same Wizards Guild in Lindon as a reader of PTA will.  But in PSD you're a noble but in PTA you're a magician's apprentice.  Two different perspectives of the same place.  Delivered in two different titles.

This morning, for the very first time, I coded these two games simultaneously and naturally moved from one screen to the other logically and emotionally extending my thoughts and feelings about each game into the other.  What a rush!

Am I making any sense yet?  

20 December 2005

Insane.

That's the only word to describe my decision over the past two days to write two full-length Pentari games simultaneously.

Simultaneously?

Yes.  I am now writing two different titles of Interactive Fiction at the same time. Well, technically three but we'll just say two. We won't count my third project for a major advertising agency in New York because it's a whole different species of Interactive Fiction and so far apart from what I've done before. But, yes, I am right now creating three distinctive works of Interactive Fiction at the same time.  Again.

It should be old hat for me considering I successfully tackled three projects at once this same time last year.  Even so, I still shiver at the enormity of the tasks at hand.

The natural question that begs asking is... why? Why shoulder all this work? That's easy enough to answer. Inspired as I have been over the past several months to actually do something about getting younger people to read, I am committed to crafting an adventure specifically targeted to (but not restricted to!) younger readers of teenage years.  I'm tired all of the play video games get while the children of the world drive their brains into a borderline vegetative state.

We will be launching Pentari: The Apprentice on the exact same day as Pentari: Second Dawn. The Apprentice will be written for a younger audience (12-16 comes to mind) but adults should also find much entertainment and enjoyment.

The interesting thing about this new, expanded endeavour is the timeline.  Follow this closely with me.  Second Dawn is the natural sequel to First Light.  Apprentice, in the Pentari timeline, will PARALLEL Second Dawn as it caters to a younger audience.

Players of Second Dawn will not need to purchase The Apprentice to be "in sync" with events as they unfold in the Empire.  They might want to, though, because The Apprentice and Second Dawn's plots w ill be intertwined.  Does that make any sense now? It does to me so please bear with me as events unfold.

6 December 2005

The city of Eddington, the capital of Pentari and the seat of the King's Power, shall be open for your exploration.

That's on top of the story's basis in the new city of Lindon.

That gives you, ardent adventurer, two cities to explore on top other, uncharted land.

4 November 2005

Wherever My Imagination Takes Me

So here I am implementing the coffee house on Galin Boulevard when a new idea hit me like a lightning blast.  Instantly changing gears from writing about the exotic, exquisite aroma of the coffee and the murmuring voices that punctuate the air, I quickly scramble up several screens and begin creating Lindon Harbor and writing about the pungent smell of the briny sea. Elapsed time to shift from a coffee house to a sea port; 20 seconds.

When I'm all the way in to writing Interactive Fiction I lock the door to my office, hit the "Do Not Disturb" button on my phone and follow the trail of my creativity regardless of where it takes me or how many times I change direction. The President of the United States and her Royal Majesty the Queen of England could both be waiting outside in our reception area and they'd just keep on waiting until I was done. Malinche office staff would, of course, show good manners by serving the very best refreshments we had on hand while they waited for me to finish.

As soon as the Port of Lindon is roughly sketched in words , I turned my sights on the roof of Lindon Palace.  A harbor needs defending.  Why aren't there cannons pointing out upon the horizon of the Quondem Ocean to defend the city from an attack by sea?

This Implementor wished for cannons upon the rooftop of the castle and it was so. First, the rooftop was implemented adding eight rooms to the adventure.  Then the cannons themselves appeared as if by magic.  Then the cannon balls that are to be loaded inside.  Then there are the steps leading down into the castle.  They must have a barrier of some kind to shield those inside from missile attacks from above and outside the castle.  What if invading ships launch flaming arrows? Cannon balls of their own? Catapults? The people besieged inside Lindon Palace would be doomed.  My fingers worked the keyboard in a blur to implement the ideas that came to me so quickly from my mind and the protective stone shields around the steps materialized.

Pentari: Second Dawn is turning out to be the greatest title I ever wrote. I feel it. Great things take time.  And launching this game next month is just not going to happen.

I'm pushing back the launch of Second Dawn to next spring.  I hope I'm done by then.

If I'm not, I'll push the launch date out again.

4 October 2005

Let it Flow!

I dunno if it's the daily dose of fish oil in my diet, the modest but steady flow of coffee or just the right alignment of the planets but I am on a writing rampage! I am steadily churning out 10 rooms per day with puzzles and plot twists popping into mind at  the rate of one every 5-7 minutes.

I am on fire and I am going with the flow. The Keep of Lindon is nearly done as the small city itself starts to take shape.

Also forming are a mass of creatures and criminals outside the walls of Lindon.  They have come to see you. And none of them are happy with you or the Empire itself right now.

A myriad of details are always coming to mind as Implement Second Dawn and I am implementing many of them as I go.  I can already see many more sights and sounds engaging you at every turn in the story.

I am definitely taking game play to the next level; there are two very interesting puzzle elements within just three rooms of where you start out... in your own bedroom.

8 September 2005

It feels good to be back in the world of Pentari.  When considering Malinche's first sequel, I dabbled with a game set in one of the five existing cities, perhaps Kent or Eddington.  Then I thought it wouldn't serve First Light's core premise.  First Light put "alien" invaders front and center in its central plot so I decided to reward adventurers with a sojourn taking a confrontation to the invaders' own doorstep.

Who are the rogue wizards? Why, precisely, did they attempt to overthrow the Great Urban Empire of Pentari? It is my intention to answer many existing questions while posing new ones.

And so Second Dawn begins....far across the Quondem Ocean in the newly-born city of Lindon.

I am really enjoying my time implementing the new Palace of Lindon. Second Dawn is shaping up to be a light-hearted romp with some serious but mild undertones.  After the harsh year we've all endured from the massive tsunami in January to Katrina in August and lots of other heavy stuff, I feel the need to Implement a title that is mirthful and frivolous yet also meaningful.