Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Nathan what the actual F*** am I looking at, your newest update changed the entire game, it doesn't even look the same!

A: Don't worry. That's supposed to happen. This is my newest update, the CONSOLE! The CONSOLE is probably going to be the most important part of the game in it's full glory, however, I wanted to make sure that I had a playable 'game section' that worked, before trying to create a brand new system.

If you've never used a computer that doesn't have a GUI (Graphical User Interface) before or played around in the command prompt (windows,) I'll give you a brief run-through of what you're looking at, and how to get to the game again.

First off, think of the CONSOLE, as a verbal File Explorer. It has a directory and a bunch of files that you can access. Instead of clicking on the files to access them, you have to type in the name of the files themselves. The commands to change your directory (open a new file folder) and open any other file, are 'cd' and 'open' respectively. You can use the 'dir'/'ls' command to see the list of files in the current directory. You can access the game by going to C:/Documents/ and using the open command on... wait, what? It's not there? I could have sworn I put a .exe file for the game there...

Anyways there is some fun funky stuff to find in the CONSOLE. It's not just aesthetically pleasing, it's also going to be highly lore intensive, and it will contain the save feature once I make it.

Q: Help! My command isn't working! What do I do?

A: Usually when people have this problem, there are a few common issues. Here are the top 5 most common problems and how to fix them!

1: Your command is not a command.

Usually, this happens when you're playing the game for the first time, and you've never played a text adventure, or done anything in a terminal-esque setting. If your command is something along the lines of "die" or "git rekd n00b ur dum" (yes it's happened), use the 'help' command to get a list of commands that actually work.

2: Your command is spelled wrong.

This is one of the more common commands, and isn't a big problem, but can get annoying. If you're on a mobile device, just remember that the commands are Case Sensitive, and you need to have the command's first letter be NOT uppercase. the ONLY command that I've accounted for the first letter uppercase, is the 'help' command. If you don't trust yourself to remember to not capitalize, or your command isn't spelled right on numerous occasions, (ie: you don't know how to spell 'examine'), you can literally just copy and paste the exact wording from the help text when that scenario applies.

3: You're not using the command right.

Imagine you go to the bank, and say "Hey! can I get a cheeseburger?" They're going to tell you to go somewhere else because you're in a bank. In other words, some commands only work in certain scenarios. the 'shop' command is one of them. You can only shop if there is a shop. You're buying a cheeseburger in a bank, except you're schizophrenic and you're imagining the bank in this scenario. It may also be a case where you're trying to use a combat command when you're not in combat. No, you can't attack the shopkeeper. You can only buy and sell stuff.

4: You're not hitting enter.

This one really isn't common, but the answer is self-explanatory. Hit the Enter Button, whether it's on your keyboard, or in the game.

5: There is a legitimate bug in the game.

IF for whatever reason, you have corrected your command for the above 4 reasons, and your command still doesn't work, send in a bug report. If it doesn't work for you, then it's probably not going to work for other people, and I need to know how to fix it because nobody is going to magically correct the bug without you saying something.

I hope that this fixes your problems.

Q: What is a text adventure?

A: I'm honestly surprised that people don't know what text adventures are anymore. A text adventure is an older style of game, in which the story is told through text on a screen instead of through graphics.

I imagine the conversation to create the first text adventure was like:

"Hey, did you know trying to make a very story-rich game is hard?"

"Yeah I did. Graphics are a pain." (notice this takes place in 1982, when the Atari was all the rage and graphics were absolute poop)

"It would be great if we could just write an interactive book."

And then they made an interactive book.

There are really two main types of text adventures. One, which is the kind I'm making, is done in a way where you input commands into a text box, and the other type, is more like a "choose your own adventure" book where you get specific choices that lead to different outcomes. The way I'm doing it, means that the player gets more freedom of choice in what they do, and it serves as more of a classic RPG style game, instead of following one of many set paths. However, this does mean more work for me, and I think that the trade-off there is acceptable.

Q: Why did you decide to make a text adventure instead of just making a game on unity or something?

A: I was taking an Intro to Computer Programming class, (ICP for short) and in my ICP class, we were learning JavaScript. Now, we were learning how to make rudimentary vector graphics, however, they were a bit to difficult to work with. So when I had the opportunity. I decided I wanted to make a game using JavaScript as a sort of side-project about half-way through October. And of course, Looking back on that decision, I wish I could go back in time and slap myself in the face because I'm stuck doing this now. In all reality though, the idea to do it in Unity never crossed my mind. And it's not like after 4 months of coding I can translate all of the JavaScript into whatever language Unity uses, So I guess I'm stuck here on this website.

Q: Why are you making a FAQ when nobody is actually asking any questions about your game?

A: They are, actually. I'm not lying about that either. Every time I talk about my game, Someone always asks "wElL wHat'S a TeXt aDVenTuRE?" and I have to explain the ENTIRE thing to them and I was getting fed up with it, so I'm making a FAQ to answer the dumb questions like that so I don't have to.

You're welcome future me.

Q: Ok but you totally made up that last question on your own.

A: yes. yes I did. but the answer is still correct.

Q: When do you plan on finishing the game?

A: I have no clue. Currently the game is in a "Playable Demo" state. However, I plan to expand the demo to a point in which the game is exactly 1/7th finished. From then I will be releasing the game in "Days" sort of how DELTARUNE has 9 (I think) chapters planned. I plan to add 7 days in total, to make it a week. Oh shoot that's a great name idea. "A Week in ________" That's a great name. Better than THE GAME OF DREAMS!. Sorry, getting sidetracked. Day 1 I plan to finish by the end of the year, and from there I will decide if I want to follow through on the 7 day thing.

Q: Is there going to be lore?

A: frick yeah. I love lore. My ultimate goal is for Matpat to play my game in the end once I've finished it all the way through. I plan to achieve that in the way you fish. Dangle lore bait on a long pole and wait for a wild theorist to bite.

Q: What does FAQ stand for?

A: find ants quietly

Q: How many people actually play your game?

A: Not enough. Currently, the only people who have seen my game are the ones I gave the link to. Maybe my one follower on twitter saw my link and is reading this now, (heya if you're here). This means, that I would love if you shared the game with friends and family if you think what I'm doing is cool. Yeah this is on the lines of "SMASH THAT LIKE BUTTON AND SUBSCRIBE" but I've heard it actually works.

On that note, I will no longer be adding FAQ posts, so if you have a question, go here, to ask a question. I'll be posting the answers on the Q&A page, so you should be able to see if your question got answered.