Thoughts? I have a few.
This adventure turned out to be a lot more fun, and a lot more work, than I’d originally envisioned.
I figured I’d done all the heavy lifting in prep, writing ten missions, loosely structuring them like the sci-fi shows of old: five solid acts of action, adventure, humor, twists, and turns. Two to three days on each and I assumed the actual adventure would be comparatively easy to navigate, maybe requiring some minimal massaging here and there.
How wrong I was.
As the mission unfolded, the writing of each installment would take me about an hour a day, depending on how the previous vote had fallen. The accompanying visuals, on the other hand, would take anywhere from one to three hours, again depending on what I elected to visualize, and, every so often, I ended up biting off more than I could chew.
Up front, I am not one of those creatives who avoid A.I. I think that, realistically, it’s something that will grow to become a part of our every day lives, so harnessing it now, especially as a creator, is the way to go. That said, I limited my A.I. visualizations to mostly original elements, drawing the line at animating actual actors.
As for the adventure itself, early on someone mentioned the fact that all paths would ultimately lead to the same story destination. This was incorrect, outside of the fact that the away team’s ultimate destination was the bridge where they could establish control, seal, and repressurize sections. The door in – beaming, EVA, or jumper-to-the-bay – would ultimately present its own challenges in the retreat back to the Enterprise.
The first big decision point in the mission was the choice between investigating the life sign or investigating the depleting containment chamber. You chose the latter, which introduced Maia the android and directed the narrative one way. Had you chosen the life sign, the away team would have encountered Rhea, the “surviving crew member”, and the story would have unfolded very differently. Hell, it was more than likely that Rhea would have convinced you not to awaken Maia who would have been non-factor in that version.
Similarly, another big decision point was choosing what to do with the wounded Rhea. Had she been beamed aboard the Enterprise, then the adventure’s fifth act would have unfolded in a very different manner as well.
A smaller but no less crucial decision point was the sealed compartment beyond the hull breech. Originally, there were two choices: take a walk on the ship’s hull or find another way around. The C4 was a last-minute addition I figured the majority wouldn’t choose, but this was one of maybe a half dozen times my prediction proved inaccurate. Had you chosen to EVA around the impasse, Daniel would have had to contend with a micrometeoroid that would have compromised his suit and almost killed him, if not for Jack’s timely intervention. This would have presented a challenge in accessing the jumper, in a scenario where you were unable to seal and repressurize the bay.
A couple of pleasant surprises. The spider drones were envisioned as nothing more than background, but given the way the action unfolded with Maia, they presented a wonderful payoff at the top of our fifth act, saving Jack and Daniel from the scavengers and confirming Maia’s loyalty in a cool twist. It’s always incredibly satisfying when an unexpected narrative element clicks into place that late in the game.
The other surprise was Maia. As I said, there was a version of this adventure where she remained in her containment field. But in this version, she grew into her character and allowed for a very different ending. Originally, she was supposed to go down with the ship in a bittersweet close but, as the away team retreated to the bay, an opportunity presented itself in good old Rodney using her own base programming and logic against her. Echoes of Kirk’s confrontation with Nomad in The Changeling.
Overall, a creatively fulfilling experiment. The high point was, of course, writing dialogue for all of these wonderful characters. It’s been far too long.
So, what were your thoughts on this first mission? Let me know in the comments.
Our next mission beings Monday, October 19th at 12:01 p.m.!
#Amalgaverse
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