Games by JimD Newsletter – Part 3, Part 4, and Vampires

Welcome to my 50th newsletter!  I should have planned something major for the fiftieth newsletter, but I’ve been so busy writing that I haven’t thought about much else. The big news is that I handed in ZE:SH Part 3 to the copyeditor! You may be wondering why it takes another three and a half months before Hosted Games publishes Part 3, and in this newsletter, I will go over what happens next.

Even though I turned in Part 3, it doesn’t mean I’m taking any breaks. I immediately started working on Part 4 and will share the first few thousand words with my beta testers. I’ll describe my timeline for Part 4 below.

After five years, it’s really strange to be thinking of Part 4.

In this newsletter, I will talk about ZE:SH Part 3 & 4 and also describe the next big update for Vampire: The Masquerade - Out for Blood.

Let’s get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 3 & 4

Part 3 is currently at 665,000 words! That’s over 24,000 words written since my last newsletter. Before my deadline to send files off to the copyeditor, I was able to continue writing conversations the MC can have with other characters and also add some content requested by beta testers. There will be more to write after the copyeditor returns the files, and this is a good segue into the preproduction process.

What happens next? The copyeditor will take the next two and a half months to go through all 665,000+ words and correct typos and minor grammar issues. I write very lean code, so this process is extremely time-consuming for that editor. What is lean code? Writing programming code that is simple and efficient. I do not reuse code and use every method in Choicescript, the programming language, to reduce the complexity of the game. Some games boast huge word counts. Many of these games reuse code or even portions of the game and consider that a higher word count. Let me show you an example:

You raise your sword and drive it through the skull of the infected soldier. A splatter of blood shoots from the back of his head, coating the windshield of the SUV.

Let’s say you need to use the above and change the text based on the type of weapon the player uses. Here’s a poor use of code.

Example A

*if weapon = “sword”

     You raise your sword and drive it through the skull of the infected soldier.

*if weapon = “baseball bat”

     You raise your baseball bat and bash the skull of the infected soldier.

*if weapon = “hand axe”

     You raise your hand axe and cleave the skull of the infected soldier.

A splatter of blood shoots from the back of his head, coating the windshield of the SUV.

The above are common lines of code in many games. I actually did code like this early in my programming career, and you can find code like this in the original Zombie Exodus.

Let’s look at a better way of coding. In the below example, current_weapon is actually a variable that tracks the weapon used and another tracks the action the weapon takes (current_weapon_action).

Example B

You raise your ${current_weapon} and @{current_weapon_action drive|bash|cleave } it through the skull of the infected soldier. A splatter of blood shoots from the back of his head, coating the windshield of the SUV.

Look how much leaner the code has become in Example B. In the first example (A), the word count is 71. In Example B, the word count is 34. Now consider we are doing this throughout the game, and you can see how much word count can be inflated.

Why am I bringing all this up? When people reuse code, the actual word count is far lower than they report. An editor may only have to review 400,000 words of a 700,000 word set of files. When you write lean code, the editor will have to review all of the code, because little of it is the same. It takes far more time and effort.

After the copyeditor finishes fixing up the files, they send them back to me for review and further edits. The editor may find mistakes that they cannot correct or may have suggestions on improving the text. I need to address all of those issues. That will likely occur in early February. I will take only a week to address those issues and return the final files. Hosted Games will add code to make Part 3 work with the published app and code the method to purchase Part 3. That will take until the end of February, and then the game is released on March 3.

Part 4 is underway, and so far I have started chapter 13 on the trip back to the Junkyard. It will set the stage for the first major storyline that occurs in Part 4 which will touch on events way back in Part 1. It’s possible to resolve loose ends and set the stage for the future.

Vampire: The Masquerade — Out for Blood

Since my focus has been on ZESH Part 3, I have only had a bit of time to work on Out for Blood. I started the first major update that will add True Faith, one of the most potent weapons in the arsenal of a hunter. True Faith is based on the connection between the main character and their deity. In the lore of World of Darkness, True Faith is based on Abrahamic religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). I’m also adding a custom religion that can be used for anyone who wishes to explore other faiths. I am highly customizing the experience you have with each religion. For example I tried to give a realistic account of the life of a Muslim in America. While I’m no expert on Islam, I have done research that hopefully translates into a realistic experience. I’m also going to have Muslim readers review the work before it’s published.

Aside from adding True Faith, I’m also giving the main character more opportunities to hunt vampires. There are numerous opportunities to track and destroy them that I hope to add to the game. You can expect to download and play this free update in the new year.

That’s all for this month. Until next time, stay safe and thank you for all of your support!