i’ve been trying to wrap my head around the idea of remembering time within a story, as in - you are given a limited time to read something, or a limited time to complete a task. i understand there are timers, but the idea i’m thinking of is a lot more complex. this could be used for:
a limited time to complete a task/minigame
time based stories (like limited time to finish a chapter, if that even exists?)
a break within an interactive scene
there are plenty other of examples, but my point is to think of a system where your time is remembered. as in, you can revisit something without your time being reset. this could result in more complex minigames, more interactive stories, and another aspect of complex directing.
this is something i have been trying to figure out myself for quite a while. using points for time, and gains for remembering your position makes a lot of sense, but this would mean multiple gains - multiple labels and a whole lot of mental capacity.
this was just the approach i had thought of, and i am sure there are plenty of better ways to pull this off. which makes it even more exciting to read replies!
i am curious to know whether there is an easier way to achieve the same outcome. perhaps you can think of something that makes more sense? i may even be oblivious to some type of method of creating this that i am unaware of, if this is the case, i would appreciate a little help! i hope you understand what i mean, if not i can explain it more :))
From your article I have the feeling you are looking for sam ultimate time code which would be simple and will not requiere things like lables gotos or remembering choices.
Well in this I have to disapoint you, such thing doesnt exist. The only simple time based thing are timmed choices but they are limited only on one choice.
Anything more complex will requiere complex coding.
Ah, it’s been a while since I read it; but I think Belle Rose implemented a system like this into one of their minigames in episode 2 or 3 of Cabin In The Woods. I can’t say exactly how they did it with my novice coding expertise, but maybe you can study that scene and figure it out. Or, better yet, reach out to them and see if they’d be willing to share some tips. Personally, as long as the scene/game does not exceed one minute (is that the limit for timed choices?) and isn’t too complex, I think having the minigame inside of a timed choice would be how I’d go about it. After that, you could tally up the the number of points the reader was able to collect in that time.
*Edit: Omg, that got me thinking. For stories based in high-school/university, it would be fun to have a “crash-course study” minigame where the reader has 30 seconds or so to read as much they can before taking a pop quiz or something :’)
**Edit Edit: A deep dive into timed choices help threads has reminded me that tappable overlays can be timed as well so I [ Need to think about this section more before I write it out but I’m sleepy lol ]
omg! thank you for your reply, this is actually really interesting! perhaps i will reach out, thank you so much for your help
i am actually so grateful you replied, you have given me a lot to take into consideration! tappable overlays are always a possibility, and a timer seems like the easiest way to add a time limit - even if it isn’t exactly the answer i was looking for. perhaps i will think of something. or maybe, there will be a new feature in the future? who knows!
those are both really fun concepts by the way! i hope, if you are writing a story - you include something like this. i would be so excited to see you implement it into a story! this could be a really fun minigame, and not entirely difficult (if you focus enough of course, coding is never easy haha)
i hope you have a good sleep, i completely feel you with the tired thing. it’s a hard life out here!
Minigame inside timed choice will not work as timed minigame… timed choise is for time necessary to make the choice itself, once you tapp any of the choices the timer will stop.
Its of course possible to make timed minigame ( I have myself such in my story) but as explained above it requieres complex coding.
Tipical games one can make as timed is to have limited time to pick up clues or objects or to find something - usually they are done as tappable / panable games.
i have looked at minigames using this method, but it isn’t exactly what i am looking for. i guess a minigame is probably the best way to sell the idea i had in mind…? the idea i had relied heavily on reader’s choice, and a limited time for them to complete the entire episode. i get it is kind of an impossible idea, but i was hoping someone may have found a way.
thanks for the help though, what was your story called by the way? i would be interested in reading ;))
I understand what you want but I cant think about method how exactly do this with existing coding.
Also out of curiosity… if there would be a way and reader didnt finished chapter one in time… how you will asure next chapter will make sense for him?
Stopping in any possible time in several chapters will lead to endles combinations of what info reader does and doesnt have, which if ignored will most likely lead to total confuzion of reader when he will see characters talking about things that didnt happen for him… or if you would like to take it into account it will lead to enormeouse branching to cover all the possibilities of combination of readers informations.
The timed tappable pannable minigame I have in story CAVEMAN - you have to find in darkness wounded person before your flashlight goes of, there are several spots marked that you can search, but the time is not sufficient to search all of them.
good question! i haven’t given it too much thought if i am being honest the idea i had would exist in a way where each chapter was a new story - as in, each episode was a seperate character. the previous episodes would not be mentioned in the next. if they were to not meet the specific time limit, it would not affect the overall story experience, if that makes any sense?
the entire story wouldn’t have a time limit, just a segment of the story. it’s pretty much a minigame within a minigame lol
the idea i had would exist in a way where each chapter was a new story - as in, each episode was a seperate character. the previous episodes would not be mentioned in the next. if they were to not meet the specific time limit, it would not affect the overall story experience, if that makes any sense?