Questions for the Beaver Island pirate

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Nich
Posts: 155
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 5:34 am

Questions for the Beaver Island pirate

Post by Nich »

Questions for the Beaver Island Pirate:

If you were a fictional character instead of a "real live" being, like we all know that you are, would you allow me (or help) to develop a fictional Beaver Island Pirate for a project I am working on?
At this point it is just a hobby project. Something to do over a long upcoming winter. I need to develop some sort of pirate for it, but since we already have one, I thought why not stick with the real thing?
Interested? reply or email me.

Note: if you're not interested, that's okay. I will develop a completely different pirate with a completely different persona. I won't be stepping on anybody's toes. Besides you would have me walking the plank if I did. :-)

You would be sharing the stage with many of the island legends; The Island Yeti, the Lone Wolf-Dog, and yes, even Leonard the leprechaun and his pink elephant Lane (and any others I can come up with, I'm wide-open for suggestions.)

What is the project? It's written like a book, but it's not really a book. It involves programming concepts, but it's not really programming. It will end up as software that anyone can use, like a mystery, adventure game. But not like any games of today. Very retro, remember Zork?

Staying in fashion with the genre, look deeper if you're interested.
Ted Nicholas
nich01@tds.net
BI Pirate
Posts: 1146
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:41 pm
Location: Whiskey Island

Post by BI Pirate »

I think I'm in. When I lived on BI before it got too crowded, I enjoyed seeing Leonard patiently waiting at Donegal Bay Road and waiving at passers by. I loved that little guy and his elephant companion, Lane. When I read you know :wink: Leonard that is what sold me on your project.
I'm just waiting to hear from my agent for the all clear. He is checking to see if I am still under contract with Disney Pictures for any future, Pirates of the Caribbean, films. Also needs to check with DreamWorks who want me to star in a film under consideration titled, Pirates of the Irish Riviera, to be filmed entirely on location at Beaver Island. The hold up seems to be your governor has stopped all tax credits for major film productions in Michigan. :( We are currently arguing that Beaver Island isn't in Michigan or even the United States. :roll:

Skull&CrossBones
Nich
Posts: 155
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 5:34 am

More Info

Post by Nich »

Great! I'll organize some more information and links, so you have a better idea of what it is I am working with. (see further below) Do you have an anonymous email where I can contact you (For future use)? You could set up a BI Pirate@Gmail account, just remember to turn off that satellite thing. :-)

What I am working with used to be called text adventure games, now it's called interactive fiction. In essence, I'm creating a virtual, future Beaver Isles Archipelago. The "game" will be only text, allowing for the exploration of creative writing during development. The player will be able to type commands and wander around exploring a fictional future archipelago. It's becoming a sci-fi, fantasy, mystery adventure. I'm doing it with a programming language that anyone can download and use for free, Inform 7. it uses programming concepts, but the structure is all English words and sentences. It's fun! It will produce a game file, that is usable on all computers and digital devices. The user will need to download a free "interactive fiction player" from online, there are many of them.

The project is still 90% undeveloped. I am still in the stage of creating areas, characters. mysteries. and puzzles. I am still learning the Inform 7 programming language myself, and having a lot of fun with it. I want the project to be very fictional, very fun, about a "future" Beaver Isles Archipelago. It will be "flavored" with the atmosphere of Beaver Island, and it's local fictional legends, all done very tastefully and respectfully, of course. (Rated G/PG) (it takes place thousands of years in the future, no real people or places will be mentioned without permission and collaboration.)

I'll post some more information, and some links for people who may be interested. And then I will stop hogging the forum. :-)

I'm also open for suggestions, or collaboration with anyone else who is interested in creative writing, or game creation, or learning an easy programming language. It's a fun winter hobby. Involvement could include anything from brainstorming ideas and writing them down, to helping create virtual areas and creatures, helping with ideas for "Islander" puzzles and mysteries, to helping with actual programming. It will also involve; making a hand-drawn map, making a flowchart of connected areas, making a spreadsheet of items creatures and areas, and typing instructions.

Pirate: No need for agents yet, most IF (Interactive Fiction) projects are distributed free afterwards. This is a fun hobby project that will hopefully be years in the making. :-) And, Leonard says no worries, the future "Beaver Isles" only exists in a state of mind. Now if I could only get him to stop throwing stuff out of my backpack! LOL

Links with more information follow below. A teaser from the game follows after that. And remember....

Dark gray clouds skud across the bare treetops, driven in frozen huddles against the stiff winter morning wind. Biting snow bounces off of your cheek, clinging to your hair and eyelashes. You can barely feel the frozen windshield under your numb fingers. The thermometer says there are no degrees this morning. Winter is coming. Time for a warm, cozy hobby? :-)

Links:
About interactive fiction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interactive_fiction

Beginners guide to playing interactive fiction:
http://brasslantern.org/beginners/beginnersguide.html

Inform 7, the programming language I'm using:
http://inform7.com

IF Player Apps:

Zoom for Mac OS X, maintained by Andrew Hunter.
Zoom for Unix or Linux, maintained by Andrew Hunter
 Windows Frotz, maintained by David Kinder

The iPhone/iPad app is called Frotz, and is free in the Apple App Store.
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/frotz/id287653015?mt=8

The Android one is called jFrotz, and is free from the Google Play market
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... 972.jfrotz

Most of the above players come with a default set of games ready to play.
To find other games to play in the above players:

Here is the Z-Machine section of the Interactive Fiction Database (IFDB
http://ifdb.tads.org/search?sortby=rcu& ... AZ-Machine*
(

From Ted: I'll be posting a link to a website I have that will track different versions of my own project, and looking for beta testers. Right now the project is in its early beginnings, and is barely considered an Alpha. If you're interested in testing, or helping, send me an email.

----------------------------------
Teaser: (Intro from the game)

Year: 4545, The Great Inland Sea.
The hover-pad speeds across the Great Inland Sea 'Michigammi', a vast stretch of fresh water that covers the entire mid-western US. Being a humid climate, the air hangs heavy over the water and patchy clouds of mist part slightly as you pass. Small swells and peaks in the surface blur beneath you as the miles speed by, seemingly suspended in a rippled chrome reflection of the sky.

The hover pad slows as you see the Beaver Isles on the horizon, the steaming vent-cone of Mt. Pisgah rising ominously from the forest canopy, black smoke curling into the blue sky. A strange and unexplored island awaits you. Aside from your fellow scientist, who is now missing, you will be the first human (sort of), to explore the Isles in over 500 years.

Following it's programming, the hover pad approaches slowly, scanning ahead for trouble. It drops you off at the predetermined 'safe area'; a small islet jutting up from the sea, just off the main shoreline. The half-standing ruins of an ancient lighthouse still remain, it's signal light replaced long-ago with a mound of rust and melted glass, sparkling in the sun as if still sending out it's signal after eons.

The hover pad moves back out to open water, disappearing into the blue chrome sky, and awaits your signal from a safe distance. You have much to learn and to prepare before you venture out onto the main island. What happened to the previous scientist who explored here? What are these islands, and what life exists here? You only have a one week vacation this year, so you better get busy!
Ted Nicholas
nich01@tds.net
John Bolton
Posts: 374
Joined: Sun Nov 11, 2007 1:07 pm
Location: Sioux Falls SD

Post by John Bolton »

Jeesh BIPpy,
Your not going to be able to get your head through the door at the pub with all the strokes this young lad is giving you.
BTW Ted... be sure not to lend him any money... he still owes me.....
and he drinks..... 4 nights a week....
If we do not all hang together,
we will all hang separately,
Ben Franklin
BI Pirate
Posts: 1146
Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 1:41 pm
Location: Whiskey Island

Post by BI Pirate »

John, You know that whole money thing was a big misunderstanding, let it go. :roll: And by the way, only amateurs drink 4 nights a week. :wink:
Ted, I'll e-mail you soon. I'm working on research for the Bluenose recovery :D .

Skull&CrossBones
Nich
Posts: 155
Joined: Sat Nov 15, 2003 5:34 am

Post by Nich »

I guess some of my links didn't work in that last post, here is a link to a page full of interactive fiction players(Interpreters). If you are interested in checking out interactive fiction, download one of the Zoom, or Frotz, flavors. The game files I am working with are "Zâ?? machine" files. My hobby project is in its very beginnings, but most of these IF players come with several games preinstalled.

Link to interactive fiction players: (the links to the players are about halfway down the webpage.)
http://inform7.com/if/interpreters/

Pirate,
No worries about money or drinking. Leonard says,"Never display money or rum in front of a pirate! Or was that always?"
E-mail me when you're ready. I'll probably just have some particular questions for you as the game develops, or you can be more involved if you wish, by beta testing the game as it progresses, or even help develop the game areas and puzzles.
Or if you are totally crazy like some of us (Ahem!), I am willing to show and teach the code as well. It is a "English language" code. So it really isn't that bad.

John,
No worries, you know how these Hollywood types are. :-)

Note: I have the first dozen or so areas already created. I am in the process of testing (playing) and refining them. There's no main plot coded yet, but plenty of small plots and other things going on. Leonard pops in once in a while, tries on some of your gear, then leaves again. LOL
Oh well, it's better than watching the news. :-)

I'll stop hogging the top of the forum now.
Ted Nicholas
nich01@tds.net
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