NoThis app is very unintuitive

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Jerrid

New member

First let me start off by saying this is a great idea. This could be decent edutainment software for schools, libraries and the avid creator. However it is frustratingly not intuitive.

I've tried three times to write a story and keep getting stuck on simple things. And trying to find the problem is not easy. It's like trying to find a needle in a haystack. It is quicker just to rewrite the whole story from scratch.

Here are the issues so far-

- No written tutorial or I can not find it in the app or the forum it sends me to. It's great you have a video tutorial, but it is not divided in segments. You have to watch the whole thing from start to finish just to discover what you were looking for is not available. Even if you found something and needed to come back later, there is no easy way to find it, you just have to keep jumping around until you do.

- A written segment with a clear table of contents for everything is what is needed. I see you try to give quick explanations in the forums, but the descriptions are too uninformative and not enough of them.

- Action --->Outcome--->Describe the scene after the event. How do you do get back to that? It is not part of the numbered actions. It is as if it does not exist. I think you have to go to the storyboard (which is a whole other can of worms) to find it or a combination of just trial and error till you come upon it again. But it should be part of the actual action itself, or at least a link from there.

- Also I see [have] and [not have] and [done] and [not done]. But how would you make something in between? Like you do not want to go [outside] while [on the staircase], since you are actually on it. But can before you beginning to climb it and once you get off the staircase. Any combination of things available just breaks the game. And no warnings of this, until you test it.

- I am in the main screen with all the actions, but when I test it keeps taking me half way through the game. I have no idea how to stop it. Pressing Stop Test only kicks me out and Test only brings me back to the same spot. I have to literally finish the game to start from the beginning. Why?

- My third attempt after having to scrap the other two games due to not being able to find the issues. And I come back after saving and the whole game is gone, minus the title. A complete blank slate. It was the furthest in finishing the game and now I have to start over.

But I am not sure I am going to. There is one road block after another. Hardly anything makes sense. The UI looks old, which in itself is not an issue for me. But when it lacks features or explanations it is. I think I will "fiddle" with it some more, but I think I am essentially done with it. It shouldn't be this hard to use.

Even the forum is needlessly complicated. I did not even know how to post at first. I kept clicking this large blank area to start writing and nothing happened. You have to click on the "p" at the bottom corner. Why? Why is that even a thing? I have never had a forum where that was a requirement. Just one more nail in the coffin.

Make that even another nail in the coffin.  I click Preview and it smashes all text together.  Then I have to go back and make new paragraphs and proper spacing... WTF!?

Edit:  Even editing smashes the text all together.  Seriously what is going on?  I am not even sure this will make a difference with everything else already mentioned, but on the app itself, when you swipe it kicks you out.  I think it tries to ask if you want to continue for a blink of an eye, but it just kicks you out anyway.


Interactive Story

Administrator

Ok - quite a lot to answer here smile  First up you can edit any event, description, action or outcome by clicking / touching the appropriate text. IS will automatically allow you to re-edit the text.

There are several ways to navigate the progression of your story:

U edit previous event

This will rewind to the last action tested / edited

H edit history

This will allow you to rewind directly back to the selected scene and action.

G goto scene

Will allow you to directly edit a scene without losing the narrative flow.

The availability of actions to the reader is dictated by events and scenes.  Try to structure your story so that each area or outcome has it's own scene or event.


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