#dragonchoice you choose

[dragonchoice]

We promised there'd be more to come from Dragonchoice this week, and here it is!

Dragonchoice: Recap has arrived! Continue your weyrlings' stories from Dragonchoice: Candidate with our long-awaited minisode - re-living Hatching day from a new perspective, getting to know your dragonets better, and becoming involved in a brand-new mystery at Madellon Weyr!

Dragonchoice: Recap is your weyrling's story so far more than a full game, but it still has over 40 Achievements, custom results pages to be posted and shared, and a huge amount of Chris S Baily's @dragonsintheattic superb artwork to enjoy!

No weyrlings yet? No problem! You can start your adventure in Dragonchoice: Candidate!

[firerwolf]

So I decided that I was gonna try to draw group pictures of the hatchlings from Dragonchoice You Choose: Candidate. And you can see I have no artistic talent.

I think you can see why the project was more ambitious than my talent can manage. Still, love the You Chose game and if you’re a Pern fan and you haven’t read Dragonchoice I cannot suggest it enough. Haven’t been enthralled by a story like I was by that trilogy in a long time

[turtletotem]

I played the interactive Pern fanfiction adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate!

I FINALLY GOT A GREEN

[lunareading]

I played the interactive Pern fanfiction adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate!

I love her. She’s feisty.

[heartofabluerider]

I played the interactive Pern fanfiction adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate!

[darktiger1991]

I played the interactive Pern fanfiction adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate!

[dragonchoice]

Are you ready to meet YOUR dragon? We launched Dragonchoice: Candidate - our illustrated, interactive, choose-your-own-adventure fanfic story set in Anne McCaffrey's Pern last year. And since then we've had hundreds of people wondering which of the twenty unique dragonets from the game they would be mostly likely to Impress. Well, wonder no more! We've gone back to the '90s, and now you can find out which of our dragons YOU would Impress with our old-skool Impression quiz! And if you create (or login to) a Dragonchoice account, your dragonet will be added to your player profile along with the Dragonchoice: Candidate runs you post while logged in! What are you waiting for - go and meet your dragon!

[dragonchoice]

Eyes on the prize!

Dragonchoice project 3D artist Mat Baily has been working feverishly on some physical prizes for players of Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate.

Over to Mat with a behind-the-scenes look at the process!

After a brainstorming session where I pitched the idea of giving out prizes for certain achievements in the upcoming Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate experience, some fool put me in charge of physical rewards.

To that end, I’ve been quietly working away on ideas for things I can make that people might enjoy owning. The first that I’ve shown publicly was the watchwher figurine that I posted recently on Facebook. So, as I’ve been hinting at for a while, you’ll soon have the opportunity to win some of my unique and limited-run creations.

Here’s a sneak peek at my preparations for some of the first prizes that we’ll be offering!

Disaster. This is a great example of some of the frustrations and failures of 3D printing. Due to a flaw in the surface of the transparent film the layers are formed against, this print suffered a catastrophic failure that I couldn’t see until many hours into the print and pretty close to when it was supposed to finish. There’s nothing you can do at this point except strip down and replace the damaged printer part before starting over.

Success. After I did the images for the different origin story badges you’ll choose from, I thought it would be cool to turn them into actual badges you could wear. These were my test prints for the Jessaf Hold and Madellon Weyr badges. The prints came out pretty much perfectly but I did them at a shallow angle so they’d print quickly, so there was some visible layer stepping to smooth out afterwards.

For the main part of one of the prizes, I’ve printed full set of parts for a watchwher and done all the fiddly work to make it ready to assemble as a model kit. I was worried about it getting bashed around in transit, so I made a foam mounting board to attach the pieces to. 

That led me to building a quick shell from card-faced foam board to make it more secure. I liked how it looked so much that I decided to go a little further.

I went ahead and made a front for the box with a transparent window, like it’s a little gift box. I’ve still got some bits to add but I’m quite pleased with the result of my first attempt using the materials I found stuffed under my crafting table at the time.

If you’re interested in getting your hands on my model kits, figures, badges, and whatever else I come up with, keep an eye out for announcements from the Dragonchoice project at https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose! 

[dragonchoice]

A Dragonchoice day out

Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate is nearing launch (and Search is still open at https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose!) - but the UK contingent of the Dragonchoice dev team recently had a weekend out in London!

Dragonchoice writer/game designer Faye Upton, artist and test lead Chris S. Baily, and 3D artist Mat Baily visited the Science Museum, Natural History Museum, and London Zoo in search of inspiration - and found quite a lot!

Chris did a lot of sketches, and here are the results (plus a bonus photo!)

We just had to take a photo when we came across this specimen of everyone's favourite drinking game magnet at the Natural History Museum! This is actually the first time I've seen this particular species of Draco lizard - not the more common Draco volans that many people seem fascinated with as a "real life dragon." I do wish that the London Zoo had had some live Draco of any species - that would have been pretty awesome to see, since they're pretty delicate animals, and somewhat difficult to keep in captivity.

This was my first sketch of the weekend, in the Science Museum - looking up at the various small planes hung from the ceiling to get a good mental picture of fighter-plane size. The rough plane sketch is a Lockheed 10A Electra, 38' nose to tail.

Below it, I'd been thinking about the actual overall proportions of Pernese dragons, and what works for my personal aesthetic preferences, the overall "feel" of the dragons from the books, and the bits of descriptive content we actually get. I've added a couple of approximately 38' dragons - a rather long-necked, small-headed and short-tailed fellow, and a more typically proportioned longer-tailed dragon, with my usual favourite fella for scale, the 6-foot-tall B'nana. The 42'ish fellow feels more like a blue to me than, say, the largest queen dragon ever.

We know from descriptions in Dragonsdawn that Carenath is meant to be just over 16 hands high (5'4") at the shoulder the first time that Sean rides him - but there are some figures given in the DLG and by AIVAS suggesting that he's meant to be visibly smaller than Ruth at 18' nose to tail. That leaves us with some really weird proportions (although this is exaggerated!) - and I have to admit, this particular dragon build is very much a "Thanks, I hate it!" I can say with some certainty that I do not believe that Carenath is this short of neck, body or tail, because there's really nothing graceful about that.

Of course, the highlight of any trip to any natural history museum is the dinosaurs. It's no secret that most of my dragons are based on generally dinosaur-like ideas - so these are pushing the dinosaur resemblance to the extreme, to see if there is a build and body shape that really looks like it works.

The large fellow ("Girth") in the middle was based on NHMUK R5674 - Mantellisaurus, the iguanodont in the entry hall of the museum. This feels a little too short in the neck for me, and visually speaking although the shoulder height isn't bad for a green, I'd want probably a third again the length to really balance her out - 20' nose to tail just doesn't work here for me.

In the upper left we've got "Width" - a generic medium-theropod based dragon (something sort of small Allosaurid) - again, 20' nose to tail - and again, too short in the neck, although I think the forelimbs are closer.

Then, down in the lower left, we've got "Length" - who is based on the sauropod dinosaur Camarasaurus (scaled down to the 20-foot length we're using for reference) - although I quite like the proportion of those legs and she looks like she'd have that skip-hop gait, she'd need to be at least twice the size (height and length) to be even a green in terms of shoulder height that's described in the books - popping her up to around 40' nose to tail.

And lastly, in the upper right, you've got "Yeth" - who is closer to my usual dragon proportioning - and again, would be too short in the shoulder to be the right size for a green.

This one was a random doodle that wanted to happen while I was sitting in Dragonchoice Central, the room where the fanfic magic happens - mostly to explore "can I draw something recognisably humanlike" (IMO the answer is still "not really, not without references!")

This one was a very sketchy one because it was drizzling lightly - this was day 2, at the London Zoo. I do really want to explore the "walking posture" of a kangaroo for Pernese dragons - it's that awkward hop-skip.

So that was the Dragonchoice team building day out – featuring ancient monsters, modern lizards, vintage aircraft and the odd live animal! And hopefully we’ll have whetted your appetite for some of the art that will feature in Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate!

[dragonchoice]

Introducing Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate!

The Crossroads Adventure books Dragonharper and Dragonfire were choose-your-own-path novels based in Anne McCaffrey’s world of Pern.

Now, the Dragonchoice project presents Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate, an interactive online fan fiction adventure in Anne McCaffrey’s Pern and Dragonchoice’s Madellon Weyr.

The Hatching begins…

In the Seventh Interval of Dragonchoice‘s Pern, there are eggs on the Sands of Madellon Weyr. Shimpath, Madellon’s senior queen, and her new mate, Muzzanth, are awaiting the Hatching of their first clutch together. You’ve been selected as a candidate. And it’s Hatching Day…

Will you Impress the dragon of your dreams, or will you be left standing? In Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate, every decision YOU make matters!

Coming soon at https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose

[dragonchoice]

Shimpath’s eggs are hardening on the Hatching Sands, and the Search riders of Madellon Weyr are combing the territory for candidates!

Start YOUR candidate’s Search story – and get an exclusive code to use when the full interactive fanfiction adventure, Dragonchoice – You Choose: Candidate, goes live!

[dragonchoice]

It’s Hatching Day!

Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate has arrived! Our interactive fanfiction adventure, set in Anne McCaffrey’s Pern and Dragonchoice’s Madellon Weyr, is now available to play at https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose.

In the Seventh Interval of Dragonchoice's Pern, there are eggs on the Sands of Madellon Weyr. Shimpath, Madellon's senior queen, and her new mate, Muzzanth, are awaiting the Hatching of their first clutch together. You've been selected as a candidate. And it's Hatching Day...

Choose your path

Play as a Holder, Weyrbrat, Harper, or Healer

Solve puzzles, complete quests, discover secrets

Make friends (or enemies) of Madellon's folk

Impress one of twenty hand-drawn dragonets

Replay to discover many different endings

Make a good Impression

Dozens of Achievements to unlock

Hundreds of unique illustrations

Post your scores to the Wall of Fame

Customised shareable results for every run

Physical prizes to be won

Play now!

[dragonchoice]

An update on Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate (our interactive fan fiction adventure at https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose if you haven't seen it already!) First, just to say that there's a dedicated Facebook group for people who want to discuss the game at https://www.facebook.com/groups/dragonchoice. People are sharing puzzle hints, tips for Impressing the dragonet you want, unusual Achievements they've unlocked, and much more. We're also posting some exclusive behind-the-scenes and making-of content, including timelapse video of the creation of some of the pieces of art. There'll be some other exclusives coming along too, including another of Mat Baily's coveted physical 3D models, winnable exclusively by group members. Players have posted over 1200 playthroughs of the game to the Wall of Fame, with around 800 Impressions. Three players have now found the Deep Secret (but it's still there for anyone to find!), and there's ONE Achievement left that no one has unlocked yet! One other thing, as there seems to be a bit of confusion about the nature of Dragonchoice - You Choose as a 'game'. It's not a video game - it's a choose-your-own-adventure. You read passages of text, decide what to do next, and depending on your decisions, the outcome changes. It's an interactive story in the same vein as the official Pern Crossroads novels Dragonfire and Dragonharper, except being online rather than a hardcopy book allows us to customise your experience far more. With over 30,000 words of story, it's the length of a decent-sized novella. There are quests, puzzles, and riddles - none of which you have to solve in order for your character to Impress a dragon! So anyone who's seen it mentioned as a *game*, and been put off for thinking, "it's a video game and I don't play video games, so it's not for me" - it's NOT Call of Duty! It's an interactive story that involves reading, clicking on links, and admiring some lovely Pern fanart!  

[dragonchoice]

Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate has been live for a little over two weeks now. If you haven't played it yet - what are you waiting for? Here are some of the comments from our players!

"I’ve always wanted a choose-your-own adventure game of Pern, and this was an absolute joy!"

"Addicted. Cant stop collecting dragons!"

"The detail and love put into this game and everything around it is what makes it so fascinating. I kept coming back and trying again. There is so much to praise."

"Such a very fun game y’all! You could have made it half as intricate and half as pretty and it would have still been loads of fun. I’m enamored with all the dragonets and want to collect them all, for sure."

"This game has kept my attention and wasted far too much time! It’s brilliant - when’s the next chapter due please?"

Play Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate

And if you're already an old hand at navigating Madellon Weyr and building up your collection of dragonets, here's an update from the Hatching Sands!

Join the discussion!

Need a hint for one of Kisha's riddles? Can't quite crack the Seven Southerners puzzle? Want some help surviving the secret tunnels? Still trying to Impress a blue as a girl? Or have you unlocked a rare Achievement that you want to share? Join the dedicated Dragonchoice Facebook group to discuss tips, tricks and hints for Dragonchoice: You Choose: Candidate, share your results, and get access to exclusive member-only prizes!

1400 dragonets Impressed!

Players have Impressed 427 green, 429 blue, 277 brown and 275 bronze dragonets! But some dragonets have been Impressed a lot less than others - have you Impressed the noisy mint-green, or the stolid turned-earth brown yet?

2100 runs posted to the Wall of Fame!

Impression isn't the only outcome! And the top spot on the Dragonchoice leaderboard keeps changing hands - will you post the run with the highest score by 7 February 2022 and win the exclusive "Wary Watch-wher" physical model kit?

Over 20,000 Achievements unlocked!

Are you one of the 13 players who's found Madellon Weyr's Deep Secret - or is our fiendishly well-hidden location still eluding you? Have you applied a greasy substance to an orange-coloured pet? And have you relived the terror of Ramoth's Hatching in Dragonflight with one of Shimpath and Muzzanth's dragonets?

Play now

Go to https://www.dragonchoice.com/you-choose to play - your dragonet could be waiting for you!

[dragonchoice]

On the Eleventh Day of Dragonchoice...

It’s the Eleventh Day of Dragonchoice, counting down to the launch of our interactive Pern fanfic adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate at http://dragonchoice.com/you-choose!

"COLD, COLDER, COLDEST" by @dragonsintheattic brings to life T'kamen and Epherineth's dramatic - and unexpected - rescue of Leda and Suatreth.

[dragonchoice]

On the Ninth Day of Dragonchoice...

It’s the Ninth Day of Dragonchoice, counting down to the launch of our interactive Pern fanfic adventure Dragonchoice - You Choose: Candidate at http://dragonchoice.com/you-choose! We move on finally to Dragonchoice 3: Weyrleader of Pern. "SEVENDAY MARKET" by Melanie Reynolds captures an intimate moment between M’ric and Sarenya (and Trebruth, Agusta and Sleek) at the Blue Shale Seahold sevenday market.