http://kschnee.xepher.net/code/unit.....zard_game.html is an early experiment with a wizard-themed game. It shows the basic mechanics of a map screen where you take a series of turns; a scripted conversation with choices that can affect your stats (even after the conversation), and a battle system based on that "Firstfeather Demo" idea. I have a system for loading data from external XML files, but can't yet make it work in the Web player format.

Next phase of development: loading external data and integrating systems. Show ability to study/build various things from the map, and visit several locations, leading to several semi-random scenes and battles.

(BG and character portraits from OpenGameArt: http://opengameart.org/content/anim.....lpc-characters has the portraits.)

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/p/1GCM6OIDHB0RG

Hello! My science fiction novel "The Digital Coyote" is now part of Amazon's Kindle Scout program, where it's eligible to get a publication contract. If you've got an Amazon account, you can go to the link above for a free preview. If you like what you see, just click "Nominate" to call it to Amazon's attention as something they should buy. If they do, you'll get a free e-book copy before it's formally released.

About the book:

Digital immortality was a fringe benefit.
Pete signed up to have his brain diced, so he could become a better person. Now he lives in the virtual reality realm of Talespace with fellow "uploaders" and native AIs. He's a beta-tester for the ruling AI's experiments, helping both Talespace's buggy new society and the real world.
Some days he pilots robots on diplomatic missions back "Earthside". Sometimes he learns magic and battles monsters. Oh, and sometimes he tries to outwit a rival AI god. It's a pretty good job.

"Coyote" will be available for nomination from June 23 to July 23. Thanks for any support!

http://kschnee.xepher.net/code/twin.....stelander.html

A little game demo where you go scouting repeatedly to uncover new locations and raise your skills and amount of scrap, which you spend on upgrades. It'd probably look more like http://kschnee.xepher.net/pics/code.....planar_rpg.jpg than like a Twine game though, with you moving around on a map.

I'm wondering about what setting I'd use for this. Post-apocalyptic wasteland has been done a lot, of course. Been thinking about a lot of other ideas to work on.

Something I could use input on: Seafarer Engineer Volleyball Ottergirls.
The idea is a silly fantasy/soft-SF adventure novella about oceanic traders. My question here is the tone and market for it. The characters are cute ottergirls, but would readers be interested in "adventure that has some silly fan-service like high-stakes volleyball", or does the nature of the premise mean people expect or want pornography from it? For comparison, the inspiration is the game "Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirls", where the running gag is that the characters are all sexy catgirls who solve problems with alternating bouts of violence and seduction. That's a card game with illustrations hinting at what's happening. I'd be doing story text with actual character development, so my attempt to write a good story might clash with readers' expectations that I won't just fade to black while describing how Soandso distracts a guard. Also: I want to show respect for my characters, so having them act like sex objects goes against that.

I will likely try to market "The Digital Coyote" via Amazon's Kindle Scout program, by which a part of the novel goes up online and it has 30 days for people to look at it and mark it as something they like, bringing it to the company's attention as something they should buy on contract.

https://kindlescout.amazon.com/

The novel itself is close to done! I want to look at the opening scene again and collect any further comments on any part of it, and most of it still needs .DOC formatting.

Today I completed a draft of "The Digital Coyote", a science fiction novel in the world of "Thousand Tales". It's got transformation, transhumanism, hacking, inappropriate use of video game music, slow-motion explosions, evil AIs, and "evil" AIs.

First 2/3 or so is close to done; the rest needs more work.

Kindle Edition: https://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Fate-...../dp/B01FVPVEFS
Print Edition: http://www.amazon.com/Dragon-Fate-I...../dp/153326581X

The book is now available, with 21 endings! Thanks to everyone who commented on the Twine version; you found a lot of bugs.

Thinking about possibly expanding on "Dragon Fate", most likely in the form of an e-book. What would you want to see? Current thoughts are the kobold cave, returning to the village as part of the quest before the actual endings, mentioning the dragon egg to the dragon (which does what?) and a cavern farming area to explore that does... I don't know.

http://kschnee.xepher.net/code/sundrop/ is an experiment from a few years ago in pure Javascript, my own engine. Didn't get far with the engine or game but did put together the basics of moving between rooms/events. It's based on a pen-and-paper RPG scenario about exploring a temple full of aquatic transformations and magic. Any interest in this one? There'd be more interaction with the village before you leave for the temple, and I would need some way to handle combat and magic in the Twine engine.

If you liked this game you might also be interested in "First Light Hotel", https://www.furaffinity.net/view/19127729/ , by  skiesofsilver . It's about exploring a hotel and seeing many types of transformation.

Also there's "Alison and the Cool New Spacehip Body" at http://www.furaffinity.net/view/16159961/ , very different subject matter but interesting science fiction also done with Twine with graphics too.

http://www.amazon.com/2040-Reconnec.....dp/B0199ERB9U/ (e-book)
http://www.amazon.com/2040-Reconnec.....dp/1519770561/ (print)

"2040: Reconnection" is now on Amazon for just $0.99, or $4.99 for a print edition.

Digital Paradise. Some Restrictions Apply.

2040: The video game "Thousand Tales" has become a world. If you can afford to have your brain sliced and scanned, you can live there, maybe forever. Its ruling AI, Ludo, exists to help all her players have fun.

For Alma, "uploading" to Ludo's world was a better deal than dying of disease. She's got a new body, magic, uploader and native AI friends, and a country back in the real world that still needs her. Can she reconnect to Earth and make herself useful? She'd better be careful, though, because her new home isn't quite the heaven she expected.

Set in the world of "Thousand Tales: How We Won the Game".

I've been posting the first few parts of a story to FA and DA. The story is already well over 15K words, far more complex than originally planned. I'd like to try selling it on Amazon, probably as a 99-cent story. Wouldn't I be messing up my sales efforts by posting the rest of it here, even as a rough draft?

If you would like to follow what I've written so far, the TSA-Talk mailing list has more of it and I'm continuing to post there.

Also tempted to write another chapter or two that don't fit into the main story, but that's to worry about later. (In the draft I have a pony character, but I'm writing him out of the piece for now. He could show up in a chapter where the heroine goes to visit his world, but for copyright reasons and marketing I don't think that part of the tale belongs with the rest. The other thing I don't plan to expand on in this piece is an offhand mention of "clerical magic", which has some troubling implications. I imagine a chapter with Alma waking up one day and going, "Wait a minute, clerical magic? What is that?" and carrying on from there. As the story stands, I opened a can of worms in chapter 4 ("Why don't we upload the mentally disabled people?") and don't know how that's going to get resolved.

http://www.furaffinity.net/view/17966434/

 vixyyfox asked for an article about writing, and I forgot to post a link to it here!

Mostly unrelated: Check out the game "Undertale". Good music, unusual storytelling with some weird meta-fiction aspects, and unusual gameplay. Any description of it is spoiler-heavy, but basically the game is aware of normal RPG mechanics like saving/loading and killing monsters for experience points. The story changes based on your behavior. It also has a friendly talking flower!

If you've played that one already, you might also like "Cave Story" and "Iji". Both are platformers that don't do the meta-fiction thing but have branching storylines, good storytelling, and strong music.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z2Y2AF2

My novel "Thousand Tales" is currently on discounted sale on Amazon! Reviews appreciated too.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z2Y2AF2

I'm trying out a different program for writing sales. If you have Kindle Unlimited/Amazon Prime, you can currently read my latest novel for free. Anyone else can get the e-book for just $2.99 or a print copy for $8.49.

This is "Thousand Tales", a story of transformation and utopia... sort of. See my recently posted story "Luminous" for a glimpse of the setting. I might post a preview of the main book here, too.

I will be at Mephit FurMeet this weekend, probably hanging around in the board gaming room with the name Kris. Come and say hello if you're there!

Hello. I see that FurAffinity has changed its standards somewhat since 2009, when I quit. For that reason I'm considering tiptoeing back in. Not sure what I should post or re-post to this site.

One thing to note is that I'll be at Mephit FurMeet this September. Not running the writing track this year, but you can likely find me in the board gaming room or (hopefully) at an artists' alley table with some books.

The other news is that I've got a new science fiction novel out (at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Z2Y2AF2 ):

"Thousand Tales: How We Won the Game"
We Found Paradise. Now What?

Student Paul Kostakis has caught the attention of Ludo, an Artificial Intelligence obsessed with games and stories. In return for a few little favors, she's offering "brain uploading". She can fatally dice your brain, scan it, and recreate you in a virtual-reality heaven she controls. You can do anything in there: become a griffin, upgrade your mind, fall in love, or go mad. When Paul accepts Ludo's offer, sooner than he would've liked, he learns that people can find real problems even in a digital world. One of them is that Ludo has powerful opponents who want to shut her down, bring death to her immortal people, and end her game forever.

I've recently written several spinoff stories that might become a stand-alone novella.

I'm quitting FurAffinity, meaning that I'll post no more of my work there. I'll briefly explain why. At the bottom are details on where to find my work if you want a copy.

FurAffinity hosts such material as furry pedophile gang-rape bondage pictures. (If the material has been deleted since then, I'd be happy to learn of it.) To me, the image in question crosses a moral event horizon. "Just ignore it," some people have said. "The furry fandom is a big tent, and we should either just get along, or work alongside the uber-porn artists to compete with them." As noted in the previous journal entry, I brought my misgivings up in a forum thread, which was promptly ridiculed and locked.

A few points: (1) FA's owners and admins have every right to decide what material to allow, and no obligation to match my moral standards. (Ironically, their decision to lock the thread shows that they have that authority and don't have to just ignore what they dislike.) (2) Artists have a right to create whatever they like, so long as they're not violating anyone's rights by, eg., using actual kids to do so. (3) As far as I know, what they're hosting isn't actually illegal, just horrible. (4) One could certainly set other reasonable standards than the specific thing that set me off. (5) I'd like FA to be successful if it contributes to making the fandom worthy of respect.

I've asked myself the same question as I have in politics: "If I feel that what's going on here is wrong, am I powerless?" The answer is no. I'm not especially popular, but I can still make a small contribution. I can withdraw my support. Just as a tyrannical government can't function without officials to carry out its laws, an art gallery can't be popular without people to contribute to it. I posted my work because a friend and other people whose work I like were here. By participating, we've all helped establish FurAffinity as a mainstream furry site that represents the fandom. We could choose to go elsewhere, thus marginalizing the things we oppose without ever forcing anything on anyone. If we choose not to do what is within our power to do, that's our right. I've made my choice. My conscience is clearer as a result, because I've done a little bit to weaken something that I think is wrong.

It's an accurate statement that FurAffinity doesn't have a big problem even with fictional kiddie-porn. To the extent that the fandom embraces FA, it's also a true statement about the fandom. Each of us can express, through our actions and choice of associations, whether that's okay with us. I respect your right to choose differently than me.

---

Now, on a more cheerful note: some of you expressed an interest in saving copies of the work I've posted, or seeing more of it. I'm flattered. The material already posted will stay here for at least, say, a week. You're free to copy it for your own reading/viewing.

I post some of my fiction to TSA-Talk, TFWF, and Furry-Lit, mailing lists that can be found on http://lists.integral.org/. Joining is free and simple, and you can elect to receive no messages while having access to a full archive. Most likely I'll establish an account elsewhere, maybe on DeviantArt (a much more reputable name!) or Shifti. Edit: http://kschnee.deviantart.com/. Finally, if you'd like to contact me, for at least a week or so I'll be reachable by the shout/PM system here. You can also try this disposable e-mail address: <fa.20.snowesq@spamgourmet.com>.

Thanks to all who read and commented on my work.

-Kris, 2009.4.10

Here is a forum thread I posted tonight, as I'd been meaning to do for some time. I won't be surprised if it gets locked, moved &c. for raising an uncomfortable topic: whether it's right for FurAffinity to have the content standards it does. The main response seems to be the misunderstanding that I'm afraid of burning my eyes out.

Mephit FurMeet, a furry convention taking place in Memphis, TN this September 4-6, needs volunteers! I'm looking particularly for people to run writing events. I have some ideas, but would welcome input on what you'd like to see even if you can't run one yourself. People interested in volunteering for other tracks such as Spirituality and even Puppetry can contact the relevant departments on the above Web site, and earn credit towards free admission, I think.

It has come to my attention that a particular image exists on this site depicting something beyond the pale:

Anthro-dragons gang-raping a young dragoness. Apparently this is the character "Cynder" from the "Spyro the Dragon" game series -- and is a kid. If you really want to see for yourself, the very-NSFW image is currently under the FA username of "winddragon" and can be seen if you have a registered account with filters off.

I don't want to showcase my work on the same site as such a thing. I don't demand that any such site be squeaky-clean. I knew there was pornography here. I justified joining FA on the grounds that it allows stories (unlike, say, ArtSpots), that I might get commissions and critiques (thanks to those who offered), and that several artists whose work I respect are here. (To name a few by FA username: XianJaguar, Kacey, MaryMouse, Hibbary.) But some things are just too much. Really, the fact that certain other material is on this site should probably have pushed me to protest sooner.

So, the users and managers of FA can decide whether they'd rather have my work on this site, or that sort of thing. On a related note, do you want this fandom to be one that openly tolerates very nasty stuff? The idea that we should tolerate each other's preferences and even fetishes is generally a good one, but that doesn't mean we're obligated to interact with and stand beside people whose work, in our opinion, goes beyond simply gross and into just plain wrong. Those people can go elsewhere to draw young dragon girls getting raped and the like... or they can stay here with you, and without me. I understand that I'm a small-time person on this site, and that it'll go on without me. So be it.

The site's fate is in your hands.

Seen on Slashdot:
"[Ray] Kurzweil wants to use technology to make us immortal or give rise to machines that supercede humankind and take the next evolutionary step as a technological rather than biological one. Meanwhile, people want to make money, get laid, watch stupid video clips, listen to music, and act like their opinion is the best thing there's ever been."

What do you think? This quote is a humbling reminder for a SF writer that most people have little reason to care about nifty future technologies.

On a related point, publisher Baen is holding a contest for stories about the near future of space exploration. I don't think that there is a near future for space exploration, with a possible exception for heroes like SpaceX and Bigelow Aerospace.

I almost never write about far-future settings, partly because those futures are closed to us, basically just fantasy. We don't get to the space-empire level, ever, barring a change in direction. (There are several reasons for this that I won't get into here.) I also find it more plausible to say that if Cool Technology X gets developed, it happens in a new country rather than in the West. Several times now I've written about ocean (surface) colonization, aka. "seasteading," as a pathway to a better, freer future. I have yet to see a convincing plan for making that economically viable, but I know that some people are working on that problem and not just saying "yeah man, let's build a utopia by unspecified means."

I have a PayPal account now, which makes giving me money easier! 8) I have yet to try getting money out of it. Should make it easier to buy things online, should I find the need.

Here is the beginning of a Web site for politics, from the perspective of a need to restore the Constitution. I'll not get into the argument here, but anyway that site will have more articles soon.

I'm struggling with a story idea, but hoping to have it together Real Soon Now. Frustrating.

I'd like to call attention to the nature photography of a friend, who goes by "faolruadh" among other names. His work can be found here. He does impressive close-up animal photos, among other things seen during his frequent hiking trips.

I'll be at Mephit FurMeet, the convention coming up in Memphis, TN. Say hello at the writing events if you attend!

I should mention it too. I'll be at Anthrocon, helping out with several of the writing events. I'm interested in playing or possibly running an RPG session of some sort, too.