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TIGSource ForumsCommunityTownhallForum IssuesArchived subforums (read only)CreativeWritingWriting software?
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Müsta Klaki
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« on: May 27, 2015, 07:39:06 AM »

I need a good alternative to Microsoft Word, something that would be good for game dev. Simple, organized, and pages can be as long as needed (basically each page could be a level or chapter in the game).

Free would be nice, but not necessary.
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Jordgubben
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« Reply #1 on: May 27, 2015, 11:43:27 AM »

Have you tried a micro wiki, like Tiddly. The nice thing is that, because it has links and tags, you can let the document structure grow organically. It does take some getting used to though.
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Capntastic
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« Reply #2 on: May 27, 2015, 03:39:16 PM »

Scrivener ain't free but in the writing circles I hang out in, it's the go-to for organizing larger works.

It's pretty adaptable to most things, and has a lot of functionality packed in.



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IonForceStudio
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« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2015, 10:49:46 PM »

Try Google Docs
Your docs will be available everywhere.
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lithander
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« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2015, 11:54:49 PM »

Try Google Docs
Your docs will be available everywhere.

I second that. All the google web apps are really great to work with - I'm especially in love with Slides.
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IonForceStudio
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« Reply #5 on: June 02, 2015, 12:35:24 AM »

Try Google Docs
Your docs will be available everywhere.

I second that. All the google web apps are really great to work with - I'm especially in love with Slides.
But is there possibility he wanted?
"pages can be as long as needed (basically each page could be a level or chapter in the game)"
I really don't know.
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Sir Fishelsworth
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« Reply #6 on: June 12, 2015, 11:39:02 PM »

What exactly are you trying to write? If you're want to write a script, Final Draft isn't free but the auto-formatting will save time in the long run.

Scrivener is also good and contains views that can help you plan out scenes and sections.

If you want to write out events and scripted sequences though, writing software might not be what you're looking for. Personally I find post-its and notebooks are easiest for those things  Gentleman
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Impmaster
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« Reply #7 on: June 26, 2015, 08:10:02 AM »

Celtx is a good free script writing software, but I think it's only for mac?
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« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2015, 01:32:36 AM »

i don't want to hijack this thread, but what software would you recommend for writing academic papers?

i wrote two papers in openoffice and it was an absolute pain both times. right now i'm in the middle of writing my thesis and im using openoffice AGAIN against my better judgement. it's still early enough to transfer my work to something else.
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ProgramGamer
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« Reply #9 on: June 28, 2015, 06:36:28 AM »

Why aren't you using word or something like that?
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Codex_Steven
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« Reply #10 on: June 30, 2015, 04:06:26 AM »

I use OneNote for all of my writing.  The learning curve may be considered a little steep, but the organization features and the endless pages make it perfect for organizing works, chapters, etc...
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« Reply #11 on: July 26, 2015, 12:05:04 AM »

I forgot to post this for a while, but before I leaned on Scrivener I used yWriter which is basically the same thing in an uglier, but free package

http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter5_Screens.html
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Monstro
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« Reply #12 on: September 08, 2015, 05:06:55 AM »

It all depends on what your needs are, but I'd put in another vote for Google Docs.

It's free. Collaboration features are excellent. Sharing and privacy control are trivial and effective. Docs is good for straight prose, but you'll almost certainly need to move into Sheets before any text gets loaded into the game. If you can code in Javascript, you can also add your own reporting, stat-collecting and export features (giggity! Well, hello there!)

If you're building a bible for a game universe, then wikis are indeed a good way to go. I've used Google Sites before and found it to be an excellent tool for organising knowledge (as well as hosting discussions).

You can prototype and test interactivity and dialogue trees with Twine or Inklewriter. Really valuable tools if you're prepared to put time into using them.
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« Reply #13 on: September 08, 2015, 08:44:56 AM »

i don't want to hijack this thread, but what software would you recommend for writing academic papers?

i wrote two papers in openoffice and it was an absolute pain both times. right now i'm in the middle of writing my thesis and im using openoffice AGAIN against my better judgement. it's still early enough to transfer my work to something else.

btw im using openoffice again against my better judgement. as long as you don't use tables it's fine.
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Necdilzor
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« Reply #14 on: September 08, 2015, 06:39:40 PM »

i don't want to hijack this thread, but what software would you recommend for writing academic papers?

i wrote two papers in openoffice and it was an absolute pain both times. right now i'm in the middle of writing my thesis and im using openoffice AGAIN against my better judgement. it's still early enough to transfer my work to something else.

btw im using openoffice again against my better judgement. as long as you don't use tables it's fine.

Maybe try LibreOffice? Or avoid tables, that's working. Right?
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Dacke
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« Reply #15 on: September 08, 2015, 08:04:56 PM »

Yes, OpenOffice has been completely superseded by LibreOffice.

My experience is that Word and Open/LibreOffice are equally good/bad. They don't give you access to under underlying markup so obviously everything increasingly becomes a huge mess over time.

Some TeX version is a pretty clear choice for academic stuff if you want some control. Just find a decent template, add your markup and you're good to go. As a bonus, it actually works with version control.
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« Reply #16 on: September 08, 2015, 11:57:58 PM »

As an answer to the original post, I find that Wordpress + a basic clean theme + the DirectEdit plugin do the trick for me, allow me to host it on my FTP and access it from anywhere. DirectEdit lets you edit page titles and contents without going into Admin so it gets rid of the issue of having to go back and forth. That way I can have a hierarchy of pages, links to other pages, galleries, embedded pictures, etc. It's less interconnected than a wiki would be, but I find it a better match for my way of organizing my thoughts. Add in a plugin to restrict access to only members if you don't want it public.
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« Reply #17 on: September 12, 2015, 02:40:36 AM »

I use MovieDraft because it makes scripted dialogue appear in a very easily readable format (which'll be useful for getting approvals on your script if you're working with an IP-holder) and because it's both XML and allows you to add notes to any line, which has enabled me to write software which can parse the file and pull out line counts, embed filenames for lines and all sorts.
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« Reply #18 on: September 16, 2015, 01:07:20 PM »

I keep track of all written info for my games using Evernote. I make a separate page for each section (Art, Music, Level Design etc.) and when I feel a page is getting too long/has too many different ideas in it, I'll turn it into its own notebook with pages for each idea.
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« Reply #19 on: September 17, 2015, 10:15:04 PM »

Celtx is a good free script writing software, but I think it's only for mac?
I've been using Celtx for my game ideas for the last 3 years now, both under Fedora Linux and Windows. I also sometimes use Celtx Script for some quick editing on the train.

Celtx is pretty nice since it keeps a master catalog of characters and settings. I would be very glad if Celtx could create nonlinear scripts but I've been rather content with writing my game plots in the traditional screenplay format.
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