I have completed work on the moods; they are now fully integrated into the system, although I have not tested them. I know that I should test them before moving on, but my morale demands that I add features to the game, making it bigger and better. So here I will list some of the features that I’d like to add:
Lies
An actor should be able to lie in either gossip or deal-making. There is a bit of a trick involved: the decision about whether or not to lie must be made BEFORE the answer wordsockets are filled. I think that the way to do this is to create a boolean box that is filled in the Emotional Reaction that evaluates the desirability of lying. This is an immensely important calculation; I could easily overdo it with a terribly complicated equation. I must come up with something reasonably simple yet good enough.
Consequences of defy and submit
Currently these verbs have no consequences. I need to fill those in; they should lead naturally to some of the other verbs in the conversation cluster.
Trading beads
Beads will be important in the game; they will help reveal an actor’s true moods. I need to add them in as trading options. But isn't one bead worth a lot more than one auragon count? Aha, here’s the solution: make beads weak enough that they’re not worth a lot. You have to have many beads to enjoy significant benefits.
Mood display
It might be fun to write up the code for the mood display. I had been putting that off in the expectation that I could find a programmer capable of doing it, but my thoughts on it are pretty clear. This would provide a welcome break from the grind of storybuilding.
Interstitial stories
Perhaps I could add the interstitial stories feature. That would certainly beef up the game; I could use the standard TinkerToy Text features already built into the Interpreter.