Not sure how it works with pull requests, but there must be a way to commit revisions on the github. Any advice from github experts please?
If you want to revise what I've written so far, you're welcome!
English is not my native language, to start with, and my writing is generally not perfect...
The minimum supported resolution is 1024x768, so texts have to fit in that format. Selection menu text (the text variable) is displayed in a rather small window with no scrollbar, so that's the biggest limitation. In-game objective text (the extendedText variable) has a scrollbar, but it shares the window with tips, who must be visible as much as possible, so it is equally limited. A few mission near the end have only two tips, that's why I could have texts a bit longer there.
In the end, it forced me to be concise and as evocative as possible, to rely on the player's imagination, so that was an interesting limitation.
The campaign itself already existed, which limited what kinds of stories could be told. I've gone with a Duskers-like first-person story with no external character, set After The End, for that reason.
Going with that, I tried to have the texts feel both personal, for better immersion and engagement, and neutral, so the players can project themselves better on the player character. That's a fine line to walk, and there may be room for improvements...
It is complicated by part of the mystery being about the player character itself finding clues of its own past. A few texts evoke that, but I intend to go a bit further with codex entries, especially relating to
[Spoiler]the Rebellion - the Rebellion "ending" planet (in the north) will probably have something about that.
The other two final planets are the southern one, where
[Spoiler]everyone disappearing started (the final text unlock there will probably have something about the event's origin)
- and the eastern one, which is the closest thing to an actual ending (being the furthest from the beginning, and with its own linear path), is about
[Spoiler]the last ones to be swept away and who may have found a way out.
I have started writing codexes, and those will require more editing work than the briefings :)
There isn't the same length constraint, so less limitations for poor writing, purple prose and awkward text construction (or god forbid, technobabble). And they will have to be satisfying to unlock, so story-oriented players are more motivated (instead of discouraged) to continue unlocking them.
They will also have to hint at interesting mysteries and questions, ideally a bit of sense of wonder, and satisfying yet open endings for the three "storylines" (with the final three missions). I have some ideas for those, but they will probably require more work.
Writing codex entries for 70 missions is also no small job, so the more we are on it, the better! We'll have to make sure the style is consistent and the stories are coherent, and that could make for nice result.
