Okay, so I’ve been messing around with this idea of creating, like, a super simple text-based game. And the whole concept is “my daughter is a dragon.” It’s silly, I know, but it’s been fun.
Starting Simple
First, I just opened up a basic text editor. No fancy software, just a plain old text file. I started by writing out some basic scenarios. You know, like:
- “Your daughter, Ember, breathes a small puff of smoke. What do you do?”
- “Ember is hoarding shiny objects again. How do you react?”
- “Ember wants to fly to the grocery store. Do you let her?”
Just brainstorming, really. Getting the core ideas down.
Adding Choices
Then, I figured out I needed to add some player choices. So under each scenario, I started adding options, like:
- A) Give her a marshmallow to toast.
- B) Scold her gently.
- C) Try to distract her with a toy.
And for each choice, I wrote down a little bit about what would happen next. Nothing crazy, just a sentence or two.
Making it a Little More Complex
After that, I decided to make things a tad more interesting. I thought, “What if some choices lead to other choices?” So I started connecting things. Like, if you choose to give Ember a marshmallow, maybe then you get a new set of choices about what kind of marshmallow, or what to do when she accidentally sets the curtains on fire (oops!).
Turning it into… Something Playable?
I try my best to make this paragraph simple.
I copy pasted everything to a online complier.
It’s really basic, no saves, nothing to save in fact.
But It’s a start.
It’s still super rough, more like a choose-your-own-adventure book than a real game. But it’s been a fun little project, and it’s kinda cool to see my silly idea take some sort of shape. I might keep tinkering with it, who knows? Maybe one day Ember will have a whole digital world to fly around in.
