Well that was indeed silly... I only went and opened the toolset, and before I knew what was happening, I'd opened a conversation file and started tinkering again.
Does this mean there's hope after all? Hmmm... to be honest I'd say there's currently about 20% of what I intended for chapter 2, and even if I magically got it to 100%, it would still end on a bit of a cliff hanger much like Chapter 1. It was always my intent that Chapter 3 would resolve the cliff hanger of Chapter 2 on completion, with Chapter 4 offering a multiplayer game where friends could play as the 3 main characters from the previous chapters. That, I am painfully aware, is far too ambitious. Having said that, I found nostalgia had me yearning to do more, or at the very least, complete enough of Chapter 2 that it would provide some nostalgia for those who enjoyed Chapter 1. It would be a shame to shelve it completely, particularly with the work that has gone into it so far.
Players of the original may recall the effort I went to. There was a real sense of story with a rich mythology. Anything that could be clicked on had a unique description and nothing felt out of place.
What exists in Chapter 2 strives to have the same level of detail, and much like Chapter 1, combat is light to begin with. As Chapter 2 involves playing a Thief, the story starts with a cutscene in which the player is tasked in a threatening manner to steal a sword. I didn't want this to simply be a case of beating up a shop keeper, so some elaborate planning has been undertaken to ensure it felt like a real accomplishment. The heist has to be carefully planned with a number of tasks undertaken to warrant success. It seems a shame to let such planning go to waste, so I'm seriously considering if I can just get the heist section sorted it would be worthy of an upload, even if just so that someone else can use it in a bigger project of their own. Of course, there's always the danger that I'll end up thinking I may as well do a little more. We shall see.
So, I expanded on a conversation file. I always enjoy those. They can end up quite detailed. I end up checking lines of dialogue and asking myself if some animation would add to the scene, such as drinking or a simple head scratch. It's always nice if you can get nearby characters to interject too as it can make a scene feel so much more alive... curses! I only opened the dam thing because I thought it was worth copying the text from items if I planned on releasing a book about running a roleplaying game in Relbonia, and now I find myself bitten by the bug again!
Ah well. Have to work tomorrow. Will see how I feel the day after.
Happy gaming all. :)
