Some of you, either in their heyday or just by recent discovery, have played text adventure games. And I know that there exists a small clique of developers and players out there, but they are kind of like a group of poets, in that, the only people who read modern poetry are the ones who write it. This needs changing.
So, is there any interest in seeing commercial quality IF games? Given the amount of money and work that goes into graphics these days, and the absolute lack of interesting stories being produced, is anyone interested in flipping that? We've all addicted our inspiration or escapism to flash and sparkle, myself included, but I have played a few old and few new games (non-IF) recently that have reminded me what a good story can do for a game.
This has been hashed through before in reference to games like SE4 and its graphics in the debate of modibility and graphics...I s'pose this is similar. But I have talked to people before about this and most say pretty much that it is a dead genre. Commercially dead. That may be. I can name a few other genres though that while not commercially dead cater to a niche market...one so small, profits don't come easy. Shrapnel caters to one of those. So I don't think the market is dead...it just needs a new face.
Basically, since I know this group and respect all of you (in some way or another), I'm looking for a partner or two who wants to write an IF game. I have an idea...not substantially developed, but somewhat...however, I am completely open to new ideas....nothing is set in stone at this point. I've simply realized that nothing can be accomplished sitting alone in a room cut off from the world. Developing almost any game is too much for one person.
I'm no professional in developing these things. I've tinkered and produced a few samples here and there, but I am confident that with some elbow grease it can be done.
Some of you know my writing from the game stories. I'm not great but not horrible either. If anyone reading this forum is interested in working their *** off, writing, let me know. I don't mind doing all the coding, but I will need ideas, testing, story development, and substantial writing. TADS coding isn't that difficult to pick up. If you know even a little C, C++ or pascal you can recognize the fundamentals right away. But learning it isn't a prereq, however, it would be sweet if you'd be willing to learn some of it. It is really rather easy.
Going to say, right off the bat, don't write me unless you are willing to take this as far as it can go. I have a full time job other than creative work, so I understand that it involves extra hours and late nights. But I am looking for someone who isn't going to quit after a month or two. Who is interested in busting their ***. Who is interested in great goddamned stories. I consider this to be first off, a labor of love and secondly a serious endeavor. This is anyone's chance to start on the ground floor of something. Don't know what, but it will be something. Anyone taken on will be considered a full partner in every sense of the word.
I even have some ideas for the genre itself. If you are interested write me:
menschenfresser@rcn.com Or if you have questions but aren't sure.
Even if you know nothing about IF but love to write and want to be a part of something. I am willing, not only to learn myself, but to teach. No guarantee of money or fame.
I've posted here first instead of on a game developers site because I know there are a bunch of you who read this forum and who know what I am talking about. I've written movie scripts before and I've assisted in their development and I know that it really helps to have a team...if nothing else, for motivation.
This isn't connected to Shrapnel or anything like that. Like I said, I advertise here because I respect the people who hang out here...and I know there are some talented writers around.
To finish I'll scribble down a few words that express my vision for this project: Intelligent, Adult, Avant Garde, Relevant, and if it can be said Non-gamey (I can explain this later to those interested). The system I am going to use can handle still graphics and sound. So if along with writing you can produce some music or pictures of whatever....even better. But that is for later.
This is Mensch standing out on a limb...