So, the whole reason I was running into problems during NaNoWriMo was that it was really hard to create/edit/delete the rooms and actions. This led to me doing a lot of the writing and map-building on paper– and then it was a pain and a half to get the new data back into the program.

Add to that the idea of having a library of visual novels instead of just one… and I figured I needed to start the redesign off with a GM Interface.

What it Says on the Tin

In very broad terms what I’m looking to design now is an interface where a Writer create/edit/delete novels and then create/edit/delete the components in the novels. Right now that’s just Rooms and Actions, but I’ll give it room to grow.

Which means I need to be able to create/edit/delete Writers (yay authentication? sigh) and let them own things.

Actually– Writers might want Beta Reading/Testing/Editing help with the stories, so I’ll also need a Read-Only mode. Maybe thrown in a ‘notes’ section that would act like a ticketing system to let the writers know there are issues… 🤔

Okay, feature creep! BACK THE HECK UP BRAIN!

Achem, yes.

1. Need to be able to create Writers and give them access to mess with stuff
2. Need to be able to mess with Novels
3. Need to be able to mess with components of Novels

1. Writers

So let’s see what these critters will need to have…

• Name (and then a Display Name, if I ever do royalties)
• Email Address
• Some sort of authentication system
• An ID number I can link to editing permissions
• Needs an account creation step
• Needs an account deletion step
• Needs an account recovery step
• Maybe some social media/outside links for a bio?
• A bio!

I can actually put this off for a bit, since I’m going to be the only Writer for a while (possibly ever). But I would really like the ability to share the platform with people if I can ever get it working properly.

2. Novels

This is where things can get a little crazy. Just looking at AO3, there are a LOT of ways that I could categorize and filter things. But I seriously doubt there will ever be more than a few hundred novels, so let’s keep things simple for now.

• Title
• Cover art?
• Status for Finished/Updating/Abandoned
• Wordcount? Roomcount? Need something to indicate size, but not sure what. Actually, ActionCount and RoomCount might not be bad.
• An ID number I can link to the components so I know what goes where

From Big Plans to Little Plans

So, in terms of which pieces need to be build first: Writers have Novels, Novels have Components. That means Writers will need to come first.

Breaking things down to the simipliest inital itteration, we need to be able to create a new Writer with the ability to log into the application. Not that logging in will do anything, we just need the generic ‘create an account’ to work.

Only I’ve never done authentication before… so Step 1.1.1 will be researching the types of authentication that I could use and the various security risks that come with them. Whee?