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Gamebook authoring tool?

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gamebook authoring tool?

Post by simkn on Apr 21, 2011 17:25:52 GMT

For all you fan fiction writers out there.

I've been in the gamebook writing hobby for some time now and I thought this might be a good place to ask a question that I've wondered for a long time.

Is there a good tool out there for keeping track of your gamebook sections with all of the branching plots?

Back in the stone ages I invented my own cryptic pencil and paper technique for doing it. In this computer age I figure there must be something better. Lately I've been using MS Powerpoint's flowcharting tools. These are nice because I can attach arrows to boxes so that when I drag the boxes around the arrows will follow.

However I find Powerpoint still leaves a lot to be desired. For one, you cannot put labels on the arrows that indicate, for instance, this branch is where they go if they have Sixth Sense, this one is where they go if they roll 0-5, etc. Furthermore, and perhaps worst of all, as the game expands and the plot branches multiply, the arrows end up criss-crossing in every which way, and without a lot of manual maintenance the flowchart starts to look like someone spilled uncooked spaghetti all over my screen. If I decide to introduce a new thread I spend a lot of time rearranging flowchart boxes to make room for new boxes, and then rearranging the arrows so that I can make heads or tails of it all.

My latest story is up to 350+ sections and I find that I spend more time tinkering with the flowchart to keep track of it all than I spend on writing, and that is getting frustrating because it has really slowed the writing process. And yet without an organizational tool, keeping track of all of the plot branches would be a hopeless endeavor.

Is there a better option than Powerpoint? Something that automatically rearranges itself to accommodate branches would be nice, thereby removing the headache of trying to keep it uncluttered. And if I can put labels on branches that would also be a big plus.

Thanks for any suggestions!

Last Edit: Apr 21, 2011 17:28:54 GMT by simkn

After a little more digging around I just discovered Graphviz is a package used by Project Aon.

It looks like I would have to learn the "dot" language. But a simple scripting language that creates a graph for me is much preferred over the incessant clicking-and-dragging that I currently do.

Would you recommend I learn to use "dot" for the job?

There are a number of free software programs that purport to help in managing gamebook creation. The most well known of these is probably Advelh by Oiseau, who sometimes posts on these forums. I think you can create flowcharts using Advelh, which may be easier, but I've never used it myself, so I can't really comment.

I used DOT/GRAPHVIZ to create the flowcharts that are on my personal website. I've attached the DOT file that I created to generate the flowchart for The Warlock of Firetop Mountain. and it may give you some idea about how to write a DOT file. Load it into GVEdit (part of the Graphviz software package) and it will generate the flowchart for you, and save it as a GIF or an SVG.

Personally, I prefer to hand-create the DOT files because I have more control over them, though the Project Aon DOT files are auto-generated from the source XML files using arcane scripts that I don't understand.

Thanks for the link outspaced. I agree that it looks like a useful page.

One thing I haven't figured out yet is how to do a subgraph. I've tried the given syntax but it gives me a compile error. Has anyone seen an example using subgraphs?

OK, I dug out a DOT file someone sent me some years ago as a flowchart for FF 59 that uses subgraphs. I asked him for a copy as I couldn't get subgraphs to work either! I still don't really understand the syntax and usage, so I won't be of much help, I'm afraid, but I hope the example I attached will help.

On that note, if anyone has the original DOT files for the PA flowcharts, I would be happy to add this feature if there's an interest in having it.

The DOT files are generated automatically from the xml using conversion scripts. I have no idea how they work! I don't know how complex adding subgraphs would be, but I think it would be extremely difficult. -\

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