Games by JimD Newsletter – Project Updates, Writing for CoG vs. HG

Welcome to my 44th newsletter!

Here in the US, life is getting back to “normal” based on how they were before the pandemic. With 38% of our population fully vaccinated and roughly double that partially vaccinated, many states are removing their restrictions, such as masking and social distancing. It’s amazing to think of the changes that have occurred as a result of a viral outbreak. As a writer of apocalyptic fiction, it makes me wonder what the world would look like if the Zeta virus was eradicated and zombies stopped being created. That world would look far different than ours, since the population would have been decimated and only a small percentage of living people would have to put the pieces back together again. It’s definitely something I would like to explore in a future series. Zombie Exodus will continue to explore life during a viral outbreak, although the timeline will change. Safe Haven focuses on the start of the outbreak and has only progressed for a few weeks. Expect time jumps in Part 4, although we won’t go too far into the future. I want to show the gradual change society undergoes and how it affects this specific group of survivors.

In this newsletter I will provide updates for both of my games in active development. Publication of both of these games is coming soon!

Let’s get started.

Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Part 3

Part 3 is currently at 502,152 words! That’s over 20,000 words written since my last newsletter. I’m continuing with the last chapter in Part 3. As of today, I’m writing the final scene at the Silverthornes’ camp. I will admit I’m struggling with finishing this part of the story. There are numerous loose ends to tie together, which possibly includes any of the following:

• Negotiating an exchange between Benton and Kelly.
• If Kelly was not taken, but Benton is a hostage, returning Benton to the Silverthornes.
• If Kelly was taken, but Benton is not your hostage, negotiating for Kelly’s release or breaking her out.
• Negotiating peace with the Silverthornes.
• Scouting their security and any weaknesses.
• Forging an alliance with the Silverthornes.
• Attacking the Silverthornes and destroying their camp.

Chapter 12 needs to accommodate all of these options and combinations of them. The worst thing to do in a game that has been under development for as long as Part 3 is to disappoint the reader on the last chapter. I need to make this chapter the best of the entire part.

Now, I know what you are saying. Here’s where Jim tells us he’s going to delay this part even longer. No, not this time. I’m actually on track to finish in June, which is what I had predicted last month. This means I will finish adding romantic encounters and other needed content in July along with editing and proofreading. My goal is to send Part 3 to Hosted Games by the end of July. They will perform copyediting and prepare it for publication. Once I have a timeline from them, I will let you know.

Vampire: The Masquerade - Out for Blood

Beta testing is underway! I have already gone through a few weeks of testing feedback and have made significant changes to the story based on suggestions from those testers. Writing for Choice of Games is a much different process than for Hosted Games. Even though I work with an editor at CoG on official titles, you often do not show your work to testers until you are finished with the game. However we do considerably more outlining and editing as the story is written, which is something I do not do for my HG titles. Some of the feedback for Out for Blood suggests major changes that just aren’t possible at this stage of development. That’s not to say those changes are gamebreaking, but I do wish I could have seen such suggestions earlier in development.

Two clear advantages to writing an official game are in the graphics and error checking. I am working with an artist to include a dozen character portraits for Out for Blood! This will really increase the value of the product, and you will get to see renditions of the most important characters. The cost of images often prohibits their inclusion, but CoG is taking care of that cost.

CoG also provides support in checking for continuity errors. They actually have multiple testers read through every line of code and try different paths to catch errors before they publish the game. In my HG games, I provide various types of beta tests for my readers to do this step or pay people to do to test. Having support provided by CoG is a phenomenal help and ensures a better product.

Having said all that, I still tend to prefer writing HG titles. I have complete freedom to write at my own pace and more flexibility in changing the story as I write. Maybe I have just gotten used to writing Zombie Exodus for so long and have gotten comfortable in that style of writing. Even though I will continue to add content to Out for Blood for a few months after its release, I will not be writing for CoG again for the foreseeable future.

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