Ok, so how about we start this today then? That doesn’t mean you personally have to start – I’m just giving you permission to start, if it was my permission you were waiting for.
Timing:
For our first round, let’s go with a variant of option (d) (saddleblasters): We start today (Friday, Sep 22), and end Monday, Oct 9. This is slightly over two weeks, and gives people a total of three weekends, if they’re the sort who only has time for creative stuff on the weekend. After it’s over we’ll have a break of at least a week and a half before starting the next round. Depending on how people feel about this length, we can make later rounds longer or shorter.
Although you have a total of 18 days to work on this, that doesn’t mean you should or have to use all that time. There is no word length requirement. If you suddenly come up with an idea on the last day and put it together in two or three hours, there’s no reason that couldn’t end up being one of the most interesting submissions! Ideas take time to germinate, so if you still don’t know what you want to do, or if you don’t feel confident, feel free to give yourself time. In the same way, if you finish early, feel free to post here.
As always with these clubs and jams on the forum, the time limit is a soft one. If you need more time, it’s fine. Once you finish, feel free to revise and add onto your game.
Format:
Each round we’ll make a different “format” of Twine game. For this first round, we’ll stick to interactive fiction, since that is what is most familiar to most of us, and what you probably think of when you think of Twine. Later rounds we’ll experiment with other formats. Feel free to give suggestions!
Resources:
Per Mnemogenic ’s suggestion, let’s try compiling writing prompts that others can use if they hit a roadblock. I’ve started a Google doc. If you happen to think of anything, put it here. These don’t have to perfectly general prompts anyone can use – feel free to insert prompts that feel specific to just you. Maybe someone else will be inspired by them in unexpected ways.
Twine can be downloaded here.
Here are the manuals for Harlowe and Chapbook, the two main “story-formats” most of us will be using. Twine’s story-formats are essentially different languages for inserting dynamic content into your stories. Harlowe is the default one, while Chapbook is an easier to use story-format that simplifies common tasks.
Once you’re done, here’s how to publish your game on itch.io.
Let me know if there are any other resources you think should go here.
Good luck to everyone!
If you have any questions about using Twine, please ask!