Back in the Writing Spirit

Just in time for mid-terms, I finally got back into the writing spirit...but with no time to write. Such is life, I suppose...

I did do a bit today, though. Specifically, I got through the first major choice you get to make: which major plot quest you do first out of the three. Originally, this was going to be a fairly trivial decision...but I think it would be cool to have it mean something and to have consequences happen as a result. For example, if you choose not to go to the Port of Sileas first, then you'll see (or hear about) the empire's main import/export center shutting down due to plague and what that's doing to the economy, somewhat similar to the rumor system in some Bioware games. Nothing would be so severe as to be game-ending (or even game-ruining), but just little reminders that the world is still moving along, with or without you. :)

I also thought about what I'm going to do about when you're traveling from place to place. When going to a new province, you'll get a scene usually (at least the first time), but what about when you're just going to a different town? Showing up there instantly as soon as you click on it would be pretty lame, especially since it would be a few days later according to the "calendar." So I thought of putting "loading" screens in between...but they would have to be interesting or it would just be annoying, right?

Thus, I came up with the idea of showcasing the characters for the loading screens, with a random selection of the characters you currently know, kind of like how they showcase a character before a commercial break in anime. Loading screen art will be done by the same artist who is doing the new CGs, so they're bound to turn out well. Now the hard part is deciding the pose!