Welp, there you go, pack it all up, I’m done! Or… not really.
My plan has been to start at the end and work backwards, so I can cut loose if I start running out of time… But actually, there are so many dependencies for the actions the player has to take that working backwards feels like it’s taking extra time to get my head around.
I think to some extent this is because I’m making much more normal text adventure puzzles than I usually would for a game. Like, look how normal this is:
> square
A clever fairy like you knows what a square is! It’s a flat shape with corners. Yes: this is a square in the floor.The stranger points his gadget at the square and it chirps melodiously. He walks over and scrabbles at the square with his hands. Stupid stranger! You can’t pick up a flat shape!
> whosit
A brass object about the same size as you. Definitely a whosit.The stranger points his gadget at the whosit. It makes a short, cheerful noise like “chu”. The stranger puts the doohickey in his pocket and picks up the whosit.
> square
A clever fairy like you knows what a square is! It’s a flat shape with corners. Yes: this is a square in the floor.The stranger points his gadget at the square and it chirps melodiously. He walks over and inserts the whosit into the square before lifting it up. You are confounded! If it’s lifted up, is it still flat? Is it no longer a square?!
In the square are a dingus and a doojigger.
I’m finding it difficult to judge how much of the game is actually done and how much is left to do…
Hopefully there’s three evening’s-worth of work left, because that’s what I’ve got!