Various Random Musings from Days 4 and 5

It’s funny the things I have taken for granted in my decades of playing text adventures.  Little things, like “look behind”, that I try in just about any game I play, and have always assumed were just standard commands.  Of course, when I decided to put something behind a painting, I quickly realized the folly of my ways.  I couldn’t just write a simple “Instead of looking behind” statement, I had to first explain to the thing what “looking behind” was in the first place.

Frogs and Fuschias

Today marks the third day of effort on the game (titled, by the way, “The Things We Don’t” or TTWD), but the first day of real progress and achievement. First, some facts that I think are significant for putting this whole exercise in context:

I am not a programmer. The extent of my programming abilities lies in designing Access databases (which, I should say, I am pretty damn good at) and very basic HTML coding. I am using Inform7 because its natural language approach appeals to me – my first half hearted attempt was with Inform6, and I soon realized that unless I was going to be happy with a one room game that consisted of a look command and possibly a door that opened, I was never going to get anywhere.

I am a flake. I am what I call ODD, a blend of OCD and ADD. I get incredibly, hopelessly, horrendously obsessed with some new interest, then throw it all over my shoulder when I lose interest a few days later. It’s one of my more endearing features. I am also easily distracted, which explains why this part is so long when I really just want to get to the good stuff…

Taking the leap

Well, more like re-taking the leap.  I actually started an attempt a couple of years ago but quickly got caught up in the trials and tribulations of that dread “real world” and never got very far.  But here I am, determined to give it a real go this time, since my brain needs a challenge both creatively and intellectually.  I write for a living, but that’s far different from writing for myself.

Anyway, I thought that blogging my experiences might serve two purposes:  one, it would be interesting to look back on, and hopefully interesting for anyone that happens to come across it; and two, it may help keep me on track, since I am notoriously flaky and tend to get completely obsessed with things just to get bored a few days later.  So that’s that – this blog’s raison d’etre.

Enjoy.