Hello! I am an aspiring novelist. What does that have to do with anything? Well, one of the most important things to remember with any craft is you need to continually practice it as often as possible, so this means quite a few writing exercises. What you're reading right now? A fun writing exercise for me and hopefully entertainment for you.
You see, I also love the X-Com series. All of them, the old ones, the UFO series, even things such as Jagged Alliance. This includes Enemy Unknown which I spent a good hundred hours on. In celebration for Enemy Within, I intend to play another hundred hours except this time it will be streamed with some added rules.
To begin with, I will be attempting to stream every weekday from 7-9 PM Central time. Weekends are my own time, sorry. I will be playing on Classic Difficulty. I would use second wave options, but they are not available until I beat the game once.
The part that's different, is every week I will also be writing a story based upon the missions. I might take a group of missions and summarize them in a debriefing, I might take a soldier in a mission and put him in the point of view of tragedy or heroism. I may go through a scene of alien autopsy or a civilian running in terror. Regardless, it will tell a coherent story that will continue based upon how the game itself goes.
Before I continue to the less important parts, allow me to answer a few questions that I'm sure some of you are thinking.
CAN I BE IN IT?
Absolutely. The first soldiers are reserved for close friends of mine. But as anyone who plays X-Com will tell you, I'm going to need more. I prefer not to use your real name (my friends will have their names butchered as well) so what I will need is:
- A FULL name (First and last, middle unnecessary. If it IS your real name, please mention it, I might change it slightly.)
- A nickname.
- Preferred gender (EITHER is an acceptable answer)
- Preferred nationality. (this will not guarantee this, but if it is available I will use it.)
I will make a list, and simply go down the list.
I WANT TO BE A CERTAIN CLASS
Everyone will be named as recruits. Until I get the upgrade that makes everyone squaddies--which I will likely not get until by the end of the game if at all--means what you are is what you are. It will be random. Sorry if you hate being support and happen to become one, but I would prefer that over changing names after they become squaddies.
I WANT MY CHARACTER TO ACT LIKE THIS
I will happily accept suggestions on your characters personality, but they will not be law. It's largely due to the game itself, and creative freedom. For example; if you say you want a cool and collected guy, with a snarky attitude. I will find it slightly difficult to explain why he panicked and shot his best friend in the face.
If you do have an interest in the way your character acts, give me a quick bullet points on his likes and fears. Keep them relatively vague, and I can use it as a reference in writing.
MY CHARACTER WAS EX-CIA WITH HIGH MARKS IN...
First: Not a question.
Second: No. Sorry, executing creative freedom in the idea of soldier backgrounds. I do not want to have to bend the world to fit a few characters, and I would like a bit of freedom in character histories for the sake of a coherent narrative.
WEEKLY? THAT'S A LONG TIME TO WAIT FOR A TEXT UPDATE
No it isn't. Seriously that's average at best.
Also I am unsure of how much time it will take out of my schedule. I'm working on a novel, it always comes first. If it turns out it takes too much time, or that they just flow out of me I can adjust the time later.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIPE?
I write a conclusion to that story, and call it a tragedy. If people still enjoy this, I will simply start again. It'll be a new story with no attachments to the previous one. If people aren't enjoying it, that will be the end of it.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIN?
I will write a conclusion to that story. If people still want more, I will simply start again with a new story. It will have no attachments to the previous one. If people have lost interest I will stop there.
Added bonus, if I complete the game twice on Classic in a row, and people still want more. I will go to impossible and wipe continually in the first three months.
WHEN WILL YOU CONSIDER A GAME LOST
When I actually get a game over screen, or I lose every soldier. I will play it out until either of those cases. This means if my A team, and B team both wipe, and all I have is two guys--I will still play until they die too. Even though, I know it's already over and I'm sure other people do as well, it makes a better story.
If you have any further questions, feel free to post them and I will add them to the list.
I will start this November 12th (or 13th if it turns out it doesn't unlock until extremely late.) This will be a blind play through in the sense that I would have never played the expansion. I will give the text updates on this forum in chunks. I also intend to get a blog going for this later, likely after a handful of updates.
You see, I also love the X-Com series. All of them, the old ones, the UFO series, even things such as Jagged Alliance. This includes Enemy Unknown which I spent a good hundred hours on. In celebration for Enemy Within, I intend to play another hundred hours except this time it will be streamed with some added rules.
To begin with, I will be attempting to stream every weekday from 7-9 PM Central time. Weekends are my own time, sorry. I will be playing on Classic Difficulty. I would use second wave options, but they are not available until I beat the game once.
The part that's different, is every week I will also be writing a story based upon the missions. I might take a group of missions and summarize them in a debriefing, I might take a soldier in a mission and put him in the point of view of tragedy or heroism. I may go through a scene of alien autopsy or a civilian running in terror. Regardless, it will tell a coherent story that will continue based upon how the game itself goes.
Before I continue to the less important parts, allow me to answer a few questions that I'm sure some of you are thinking.
CAN I BE IN IT?
Absolutely. The first soldiers are reserved for close friends of mine. But as anyone who plays X-Com will tell you, I'm going to need more. I prefer not to use your real name (my friends will have their names butchered as well) so what I will need is:
- A FULL name (First and last, middle unnecessary. If it IS your real name, please mention it, I might change it slightly.)
- A nickname.
- Preferred gender (EITHER is an acceptable answer)
- Preferred nationality. (this will not guarantee this, but if it is available I will use it.)
I will make a list, and simply go down the list.
I WANT TO BE A CERTAIN CLASS
Everyone will be named as recruits. Until I get the upgrade that makes everyone squaddies--which I will likely not get until by the end of the game if at all--means what you are is what you are. It will be random. Sorry if you hate being support and happen to become one, but I would prefer that over changing names after they become squaddies.
I WANT MY CHARACTER TO ACT LIKE THIS
I will happily accept suggestions on your characters personality, but they will not be law. It's largely due to the game itself, and creative freedom. For example; if you say you want a cool and collected guy, with a snarky attitude. I will find it slightly difficult to explain why he panicked and shot his best friend in the face.
If you do have an interest in the way your character acts, give me a quick bullet points on his likes and fears. Keep them relatively vague, and I can use it as a reference in writing.
MY CHARACTER WAS EX-CIA WITH HIGH MARKS IN...
First: Not a question.
Second: No. Sorry, executing creative freedom in the idea of soldier backgrounds. I do not want to have to bend the world to fit a few characters, and I would like a bit of freedom in character histories for the sake of a coherent narrative.
WEEKLY? THAT'S A LONG TIME TO WAIT FOR A TEXT UPDATE
No it isn't. Seriously that's average at best.
Also I am unsure of how much time it will take out of my schedule. I'm working on a novel, it always comes first. If it turns out it takes too much time, or that they just flow out of me I can adjust the time later.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIPE?
I write a conclusion to that story, and call it a tragedy. If people still enjoy this, I will simply start again. It'll be a new story with no attachments to the previous one. If people aren't enjoying it, that will be the end of it.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU WIN?
I will write a conclusion to that story. If people still want more, I will simply start again with a new story. It will have no attachments to the previous one. If people have lost interest I will stop there.
Added bonus, if I complete the game twice on Classic in a row, and people still want more. I will go to impossible and wipe continually in the first three months.
WHEN WILL YOU CONSIDER A GAME LOST
When I actually get a game over screen, or I lose every soldier. I will play it out until either of those cases. This means if my A team, and B team both wipe, and all I have is two guys--I will still play until they die too. Even though, I know it's already over and I'm sure other people do as well, it makes a better story.
If you have any further questions, feel free to post them and I will add them to the list.
I will start this November 12th (or 13th if it turns out it doesn't unlock until extremely late.) This will be a blind play through in the sense that I would have never played the expansion. I will give the text updates on this forum in chunks. I also intend to get a blog going for this later, likely after a handful of updates.