Hi everybody!
Due to my broken Wacom tablet I’m still on a forced break in terms of drawing, but I’ve continued to write one of the last chapters of the PI mission. The most exhausting thing of all is when the character doesn’t just simply die, but their story has to be told to the very end…

But it probably doesn’t make sense to complain about too much text in a text adventure.

In addition to getting a refreshing dose of horror from the Fantasy Film Fest, I also wanted to get some storytelling inspiration and the different decisions that the character has to take. So finally I started playing Detroit: Become Human! It looks incredibly pretty! But! My skepticism stirred when my fingers had to stroke the touchpad in rhythmic succession so that the android character – a housemaid – would clean the dishes properly. Maybe even a bit earlier, when a Detroit apartheid bus showed up in which the androids had to sit in the back of the bus.

I’ll still keep playing it, because I’m an idiot who loves interactive stories and I enjoyed the character interactions so far but… oh boy.

I wasn’t joking

Choice of Robots is quite different. I only discovered it yesterday and I’m already completely hooked! In my first playthrough I lived a happy life and died in the circle of my family (mechanical & human) of the Algernon(!) brain disease. I started the second one this morning before work and I’m already moving dangerously fast towards a Terminator scenario.

Stupid toasters.

Basically, the game consists of being an up-and-coming young robotics expert (m/f) with the task of having to assemble your very own little robot. Depending on how you treat the robot and what you teach it, the AI will either become more independent, compassionate, skilled, or competent in the military field. These game mechanic values are visible to you the entire time, alongside your fame & wealth. On top of that, you’ll also have to decide for yourself which career path to take. You can launch your own start-up, be hired by the military, accept a dubious offer from China, or join an existing company.
Whatever you choose, your first robot will accompany you, learn from you and possibly question you (if you have given it this ability). Really philosophical, sometimes unpleasant, sometimes heartwarming questions arise, which I didn’t expect from the rather cheap presentation.

Will your robots become giant mechs, empathetic surgeons or toys?

The game supposedly has a volume of 300,000 words, which is a lot, and the extreme difference in content in the first two games I’ve played has already made it my favorite, ranking above Sorcery, 80 Days & Lifeline.

But why trust me writing about it? You can also play the first two chapters (the default is 8 for one run) for free.

At the moment, the completely text-based game is far more exciting for me than Detroit: Become Human, but I’ll certainly come back for the pretty rain, and… someone has to do the laundry.

Almost three months have passed and I finally found time to write an update again

Ok, let’s keep it brief: I have…
… quit my job
… found a new job.
… scrapped my Cintiq by a firmware update
… annoyed Wacom’s customer service
… created a Github repository (- this has once again confirmed my suspicion that there is an internet guide for dummies for absolutely ANYTHING.)

The story is now two thirds finished, which is a lot. Oh god, just look at it. For illustration purposes, here’s the flowchart of a scene called “dinner”. Above is the start, the green marked fields are a few ends or branches which lead to another chapter. Choices includes simple, stupid things that the character can say, but also hard choices that may have huge consequences.

Whew!

Following a great and very motivating test run at the Comicsalon Erlangen I was able to convince my long-time comrade Timo to join me yet again after a longer writing break. Two weird brains are better than one. For three years, we worked together on the webcomic ‘Tales from the Couch’, so I expect only the best/worst.

Until my Cintiq died its horrible, decrepit death I had also been working on backgrounds and characters. You can never have enough impressions of stormy beaches and dark alleys as you all know…
WIP, I hope Wacom lets me finish those.