I would just like to welcome zfnorth to FoI! I'm a regular around here, but I've been a tad defunct lately for social issues/arisinggs etc etc - most of you know how it is!

I for one, would be happy to throw the story at you for scripts!

We could do, just like zfN said - pass it around like we once did with the storyline with comments, suggestions, etc.

Also, I would like to see Alex's 'character expert' idea in motion. These experts could also chip in for specific scenes that have really high emotions running. (these are usually slighly difficult for straight scripters.)

This chipping in would be RP'ing. I would like to see it in AIM but backed up for displaying on the board. Any changes, recommendations, etc etc from the individuals that didn't quite get online in time...can post on the boards.

*runs around to the next topic on his rounds*

S'ok! =D

As far as I know, the entire story line is all complete, but part 1 is a final.

I'm pretty much convinced that you can start scripts for all 4 parts. If anything gets changed, you only need to edit very small parts, if at all.

If you use ICQ/IRC/MSN/Y! other then AIM, I recommend Trillian. It allows you to use all these IM applicatins, all in the single program. D/L here.

Look on the right of the page, for the free version. - not the Trillian Pro version! You gotta pay for that. Unless you want to, of course!

A few questions so I can write some stuff:

1) Profanity?
2) Format (file type and such)?
3) What age level are we talking here?
4) I was thinking just writing sequences and letting graphics folks decide what gets made into FMV. Does that work?

5) Voice acting?
6) Name imput?

-Zach

1) Profanity - Absolutely none. End of story. The same as the masturbation issue with Dell, there are some things that are just too offensive for people, and trust me, there are many people who will not play the game simply because of language (even if there's only a little). It could work Threads of Fate style by using "[Explitive]" whenever there was a swear (in ToF only for a serious swear, but in our case for all). However, you can see how annoying it would be to see [Explitive] all over the place, so the swearing would therefore be reduced. Believe me, there will be many gamers who will appreciate the fact that there is no swearing, and few (if any) who will be stupid enough to be mad that there is NO swearing. There will be many people offended if it's in there, and none offended if it's not. Therefore, better that it's not there, and I think Dev will agree.

Now, of course, we need to define what words we consider "swear words". I don't consder words like crap, piss and suck to be swear words, and even though there are still peole who are offended by these words, I'm not so much, besides I think these words are pretty funny (especially crap - you know, Strong Bad? haha) when used in the right context...well anyway...to stop babbling, I think it's important for us to define what we consider as "swear words". But please do consider my reasonings for not having anything profane.

I'm sure you can come to understand that you don't NEED profanity to make a great story or great characters. Lord of the Rings, ie, has ZERO profanity and ZERO sex. Have you noticed they are the bestselling movies and there are very few people that dislike the movies and/or story? Besides this, profanity shows weakness and immaturity. You will all know how tempting it is to swear in several situations, and swearing shows a lack of discipline and (to be bold) wisdom. I'm not trying to hurt anybody or make anyone feel bad, but...don't you ever noticed how much more intelligence and discipline someone who doesn't swear has compared to...for example, Eminem? Just think about it, and don't take my comments for flame-throwing. Just try to imagine our characters are both cussers and non-cussers, and which ones seem more intelligible.

(Phew, I really pushed that issue there, huh? Ok, moving on then!)

3) Age Level - Teen, but that means about 13-30, so pretty intelligent. Just try to remember what the story is and the mood of the story, and that should help with how smart you make the comprehension requirements (and I making sense?).

6) Name Input - This was never talked about, and I'm not sure I want to integrate this (except maybe as a cheat) because I personally like the consistency of our story with...everything else, including names, know what I mean?...I mean..."ya know?" =) I do enjoy being able to fool around with names once in a while, and I LOVE to hear things like "Dan, you're the only one who can save us!...Dan, you're the Hero of Time!" etc.etc. =) I just prefer to use the in-game names the first time playing through so that I see the story for how it truly should be, ya know?

well voice acting is crap in RPGs IMO. It was discussed in the past. We aren't having voice acting full stop.

We had a HUGE debate over FMVs. No FMVs. Period.

'.' see that? It's a full stop...a.k.a a period. There.

Davy's right, we agreed a long time ago that there wouldn't be FMVs
and the voice acting shouldn't be there, not in this.
To get the clear voices we would need a recording studio, anyone care to tell me how much one would cost to rent for even an hour?
And we'd need em for long time to get everything.
We'd have to rent many out as the voice actors won't be in the same place.
Trust me, great cost, great hassle, and the game will be great without it ^_^

EDIT
custom names shouldn't be a problem, on a programming level anyway.
Global variable, set to that, refer to variable for names, no problem, but thats just me ^_^

About voice acting, I'm thinking that, if we were to find some clear way of voice recording, we could have people give it a try. FFX was bad because it was, like anime, dubbed. The game was programmed for the japanese vocals. Now, if we were to program for english vocals, we could get places! Plus, we don't have to sound utterly retarded like Tidus and Yuna...but that's my opinion. I'd say, if we could find a cheap way of recording, we could give it a try. If we find we have some good actors and it works great, we may just have made the game quite a bit better. If not, well, at least we tried.

I don't think anyone will have a problem with mild profanity, if they do then they probably have a problem with mild violence as well and wouldnt be playing the game anyways. And I don't think anyone would be offended by #$%&(cute question though :P)

I think we should leave strong language such as "fuck" and "shit" out of the game. Not that I'm offended by it(most people arent) but that it doesn't match the game and seems too modern. It would be better for an FPS or something.... have the character say a dirty word while blowing someones head off or stabbing him with a knife. ha ha ha! :)I also think that we should make this world a little better then the one we live in now.

Also remember that we don't have motion capture so we will have to manually animate the characters speaking.