(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
OK everyone, here’s an amazing little game – the character creation engine is the game. So raise stats, unlock choices, play character – and this guy is looking for contributors/help! So go on, try it then ask him how you can make it awesomer!
https://beschizza.github.io/charactercreationisthewholegame/
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
And here it is, Color Generator! Thanks for all your feedback, this was a delightful one to make. I learned a lot about language and mood and a sense of “being” in a sentence and these lessons will make me better at both generators but also as a writer.
So let’s get some examples!
- Ichas – The red of a rose. Used for secret paintings.
- Pantedsh – The supreme green. Those that see this color cannot forget it.
- Paost – The purple of imaginary wine. Paintings using this color ward off jealousy.
- Khang – The sickly yellow of hatred.
- Buife – A light red. Paper of this color is something everyone knows how to make.
- Cecymbir – A flamboyant green. The gemstones of this color are said to grant one intelligence.
- Lotruin – A harsh purple. Tattoos of this color are associated with laziness – but only if concealed and only if worn on the left arm.
- Sufofe – A sober blue. The color once associated with scientists.
- Icasanget – The orange of ideal sunrises. Those that see this color will dream of what they saw.
- Canturn – The yellow of gold that can only exist in the future. Those that see this color see other worlds.
So there you go! Now let’s see what our infinite new spectrum brings . . .
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
And as promised weekly updates, or “standups” on the projects I’m working on since I’m planning more Scrum style and loved Failbetter’s use of Scrum-style updates.
So what have I done the last week?
- Got the Color Generator to final beta. It’s basically ready to go, so I’ll check feedback, give it one more look-over, and call it done. I’ve learned a lot about language working on this one, lessons that’ll pay off in later generators.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #1: Is off to the editor. Unfortunately she has family visiting and broke a finger, but expects to be typing-worthy next week. I had no plans to use the edits until later anyway, so it won’t throw my plans off.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: I’m writing questions at my planned pace.
- Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: My plans to start promoting talent on the Sanctum are figured out, so I need to line up candidates soon – I’ve got a list.
- General: Also went to two meetups on writing and project management on top of some gaming. I think this new planning method is working out!
What am I going to do this week:
- Finish the Color Generator: I’ll integrate any feedback, do a final check, and consider it done.
- Way With Worlds Minibook #5: I’ll be writing more of this!
- General: Another professional event this week, gearing up to purchase a new laptop, some chores, and possibly cleaning a closet (you know those boxes you never unpack until years after moving?).
Challenges and blockers:
- No direct blockers, but I do have a concern about how to pace final edits on the Minibooks. My default plan is essentially do a final edit early in the month they’re released, but I wonder if that’d just become a drag and I should do them all at once. My gut take is I should do this, though I might have to up my writing pace – and really, that does sound like it’d turn into a drag.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
The Color Generator is coming along nicely. Check these out!
http://www.seventhsanctum.com/generate.php?Genname=color
- Rentehiem – The oldest blue. Under light of this color gold tarnishes.
- Osochawn – The yellow of gold. Those that see this color go insane.
- Enklu – The yellow of gold that you will one day see.
- Stast – The orange of a sunrise. Those that see this color become sane.
- Pigurmote – A bold greenish-blue. The color of old dreams.
- Tefrou – The orange of a sunrise. Paintings using this color stop envy.
- Ichre – The orange of imaginary fires.
- Ouwath – The purple of disgust and of the evening sky that can never be imagined.
- Detingat – A fiery yellow. The color of clothing once worn by witches, but that changed because of a prophecy.
- Saffican – The orange of unknown sunrises.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
I’ve been thinking of how I organize my projects and share them with you my audience and friends. I’ve not been thrilled with how I’ve done updates, and recent spates of illness and surprises derailed a few things. So what I’m doing is taking my projects to be managed much more traditional Scrum style. I got the idea here from Failbetter’s use of Agile to make them publicly engaged via blogposts while doing Sunless Skies.
If you’re not familiar with Scrum,, its basically a method of organization where you A) keep a backlog of stuff to do B) do it in small increments called sprints, and C) regularly report and measure progress. I recommend reading up on it.
(I’m still big on the Getting Things Done method, and will use it as part of my work, but my large amount of longer-term projects require some different approaches plus this lets me try out techniques from work.)
What this means for you is
- Every month (a “sprint”) I’ll tell you what I’m planning to tackle on my projects. Most Sprints are two weeks, but I plan my projects quarterly/monthly so this is a bit easier.
- I’ll do weekly reports (a sort of Standup) on progress. These are usually daily in proper Scrum, but I have my limits.
- I’ll do a roundup/retrospective at the end.
So what’s up for April!
Finishing The Color Generator: I’ll finish the Color Generator in April with the goal of deploying before the end of the Month – preferably mid-month. I’ll be regularly updating it with new data so keep an eye out.
New Seventh Sanctum Spotlight: A new Seventh Sanctum project to spotlight talent and interesting media – this is an experiment and may or may not succeed.
Way With Worlds Minibooks #1: The followups to Way With Worlds. I will send this to editor – remember these don’t launch until June.
Way With Worlds Minibook #5: Get this to at least 60% completion if not more. And, yes I have four of these suckers written already – make room in your summer reading!
There are also some marketing efforts, tech purchases, and home maintenance but I don’t think you care about those.
So I’ll be posting updates weekly (probably Monday) to let you know where everything is once a week!
And as it’s Sunday, let’s get to a status!
What I’ve worked on:
- Wrote 5 more questions on Minibook 5.
- Minibook #1 will be in the hands of the editor next week.
- Reached out to initial “promotables” for the Sanctum Spotlight and designed how it’ll run. It’s pretty much ready to go, I’ll start it later this month.
- A few notes on the Color Generator are in place, I’ll dive into that more soon.
What’s coming up this week:
- I plan to focus on the Color Generator to get as much done as possible.
- I’ll be attending two professional events, so that consumes time.
– Steve
- (This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
It’s here! The second book in the Way With Worlds series – in both Print and Kindle! Go get it now!
To celebrate, here’s what I’m doing this weekend!
- The first Way With Worlds Book will be on sale from April first for a week on Kindle. It’s your chance to catch up!
- The Power Of Creative Paths, my guide to creative methods, will be free this weekend and Monday!
So now you’ve got two books on worldbuilding to help you out. Spread the word!
But there’s more coming! I’m working on a series of smaller, more focused, more personal worldbuilding books – small, 99-cent ebooks to help you focus on specific subjects in more of a coaching manner. Those will start coming out this summer, so stay tuned!
Meanwhile, keep writing, keep gaming, and keep creating new worlds!
– Steve
The Color Generator is in Beta and Seventh Sanctum!
This generator makes colors that aren’t or should be, are mysterious or otherworldly. Inspired by the Neathbow of Fallen London as well as things like Octarine in Discworld, it’s a way to make colors that aren’t your standard spectrum – or lurk in between the colors we know.
A few examples:
- Anihe – A deep blueish-green. Under light of this color mirrors show falsehoods.
- Celvoweur – The penultimate orange. Under light of this color people have religious visions.
- Cong – The purple of the early morning sky.
- Brot – The green of half-forgotten grasslands.
- Ilva – The iridescent red of curiosity.
- Serneo – The green of leaves in legends.
- Cheppan – The purple of bravery and of the early morning sky that you fear seeing.
- Thue – A flamboyant orange. Under light of this color wounds heal.
- Cephutem – The yellow of loyalty and of half-forgotten sunlight.
- Auguahe – The muted yellow of loyalty.
The generator needs to be expanded – the names and basic shades are mostly done, but the descriptions and symbolism and effects need a lot more work. So go on, take a look, leave feedback!
- Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Here’s some samples from the latest generator. It generates colors, inspired by the Neathbow from Sunless Sea/Fallen London – http://thefifthcity.wikia.com/wiki/The_Neathbow
I loved the idea of creating new colors, so here we go! It’s probably about 25%-33% done at this time – there’s a nice amount of detail, but far more coming.
So tell me what you think!
- Moten – The mellow orange of joy.
- Lebode – The purple of the evening sky in your memories.
- Elde – The blue of shallow water that you fear seeing.
- Cesque – An iridescent green. Under light of this color plants grow.
- Khuppen – The one true green.
- Bitohoem – A deep greenish-yellow. Those that see this color have glimpses of the future.
- Cerate – The yellow of sunlight falling on the incurious. Under light of this color plants grow.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
OK everyone, Way With Worlds Book 2 review copies are ready! So if you want to review contact me and let me know about your interest, if you have a blog, where you can review (amazon is appreciated), etc.!
Right now it’s looking like it’ll be out the very end of March or early April.
– Steve
(This column is posted at www.StevenSavage.com, www.SeventhSanctum.com, and Steve’s Tumblr)
Yes, another update. I am on a roll! For now. We know how that goes.
- So first, comments are back at Seventh Sanctum. I had to take them down due to some bizarre issues where they seemed to be messing with some formatting. Or search results. Or something. It got a bit strange. I think I figured it out but am not entirely sure. Anyway they’re back!
- The Way With Worlds Book 2 gets formatted this weekend. If all goes well, it’ll be enough to do a test print. I’m hopeful I can get it all together – I’d still like to get it out end of March, but early April is looking more likely.
- Those Way With Worlds are in the works – book four in fact of six I plan to write.
- The new generator is still in progress. I’ve got a bit more on my plate then expected but hope to finish it up before end of March.
- I also have been enjoying A House Of Many Doors, a literary exploration RPG that you really need to check out.
Also no new illnesses. Well, on my part, but considering the rain here and all the diseases still flying around I kinda want to hide for awhile!
– Steve
