Testing the ABS12 Solo Engine and Fact Generator

ABS12 Solo Game Engine and Fact Generator
ABS12: Basic Fact Generator
ABS12 Solo Game Engine: Additionals, Branching, & Conditionals
ABS12: Synonyms for writing using the ABS12 Solo Game Engine
Testing the ABS12 Solo Engine and Fact Generator

These are two tool used to help play a solo game or to help inspire in writing a story. They only help create small inspirational seeds. The author or player's creativity creates the rest of the story or game. Stories created using these tools are your own. I don't have any rights to your story. I just made a tool, much like a dictionary, thesaurus, or word prompts. These are more like word prompts rather than like outlines.

The two tools are generic and can be applied to any genre: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, mystery, action, historical, paranormal, romance, etc.

Both of the tools can also be found together near the bottom of my ABS12 gaming system draft just before the Bestiary, Monsters, and Encounter section. I also wrote two posts where they are contained separately:

Solo Game Engine

ABS12 Solo Game Engine

and Fact Generator.

ABS12 Fact Generator

Solo Engine
This will be my first test of the Solo Engine which is used to help determine results based on choosing a degree of chance such as somewhat possible, rolling a 1d12 (one twelve-sided die), applying the somewhat possible modifier (+2) to the dice result, and then finding the result on the game engine chart. Interpret the result in the story writing the details needed to help realize the result.

Twelve-sided dice are available in many hobby stores or for free virtual dice at many online websites or in many dice mobile apps

This allows the story being written to change and go unplanned - much more like a gamemaster giving creating surprises and new content. Or it might be like an author writing in surprises and twists. As long as it doesn't ruin the story it's fun.

I will use it whenever I want the story to check for the answer of one story question.

Fact Generator
The Fact Generator is used to generate sensory and descriptive keywords, also using dice, that are used to help create anything or any event. The words are generic and abstract enough that the genre of the story may have to interpret the keywords according to the setting, events, and other characters that the player is interacting within in the story.

I will use it whenever I need some keywords for inspiration. I'll pick how many seeds that might help. I'll discard any that don't make sense if need be.

Method of Analysis
I'll will write the first draft of a story and include the notes on how the story results from the mechanics are determined. The mechanic notes I will put in brackets so that they are easier to find and see. I will then post directly following analysis and comments about the system. I'll then repost the story without any mechanic details for a smoother read

I plan just to do one scene, cutting when the story sufficiently changes. I'm not worried about editing the story too much. Just a basic spell check and maybe one quick read through for obvious mistakes. This just will show the ability to help generate a first draft story content using the two tools.

In real use, I probably wouldn't add the notes to the mechanical results. That is unless I wanted to know decision points that could be changeable during edits. For that type of story, I would just keep one original copy on file, then remove the notes for my working draft. If just playing a game, I might not write anything down. It might all just be in my imagination. But I like writing things down.
I
Fact Generating Setting Details
First I'll try to find some setting words. I will pick a futuristic setting on a ship in space.

1d12 = 7 = Change Symbol
1d12 = 2 = Decrease

1d12 = 1 = Sight Symbol
1d12 = 3 = Person

1d12 = 4 = Sound Symbol
1d12 = 9 = Voice

1d12 = 2 = Touch Symbol
1d12 = 3 = Sour

Decrease, Person, Voice, Sour: In this setting I interpret the first three as hearing voices in the distance. Sour I will interpret as a sour stomach. I'll make this a sleep time setting (I wont call it night, since it's in space). Time I'll also change from 24 hours to some sort of universal time.


Establishing a scene
The character awakes partway through her planned sleep.


She sat up quickly because something was amiss. Sweat droplets formed slowly on her head. She breathed heavily, the sound of her heart beat and rumble of the star-drive echoed in her head.

What awoke me?

Blurry eyed she strained her eyes to see the atomic clock only reading 45: 90 hours metric time.

"Crap," she whispered.

Carma shuffled in the bunk above her.

Jessan's stomach churned, sour with undigested food from last awake times meal.

The beating in her ears slowly faded.

Then she noticed distant voices. It sounded like an argument echoing down the ship's hallways.

Jessan rose from her dark carbon steel bed. The voices were fading gradually.

She slipped on a standard dark grey corporate shirt and knee shorts. Each deep breath helped settle her stomach.

Then loud shouts echoed out deep and forceful.

Jessan grabbed her .45 caliber Yakima automatic hydraulic pistol. It's balanced titanium grip helped calm the queasiness in her gut.

[Does she notice anything else, 0 half & half, 1d12 = 3; No]

Her ears now fully cleared, with only the hum of the ship, focused in on voice or voices. She stepped outside one step at a time on the balls of her feet.

At the door she stopped and listened.

Carma was muttering words in the bed behind her. She heard the word, " ... grass ... ," a word she hadn't actually seen in several atomic metric years.

She put her index finger of her free right hand into her right ear and turned her left on towards the hallway.

The shouting had ceased again.

[Is the noise to the right?, +4 Very possible, due to my unwritten rule that things are always on the right, 1d12 = 6 + 4 = 10; Yes]

Looking to the right down the hall, she could hear the muffled voices coming from the holo-room.

[What does she notice? 1d12 = 12 = Description, 1d12 = 8 = Round, 1d12 = 7 = Change, 1d12 = Reform ; Round + Reform > a round flashlight beam of light bouncing off of the walls]

A round blue flash light in the distance sends beams of light across the holo-room wall. The light then began to point towards Jessan.

[Does whoever is down in the holo-room shine the light on her quick enough to catch her? Very Unlikely due to her reflexes; 1d12 = 12 - 4 = 8; Yes, however (Branching). I'll generate at least one or two clues to help figure out the branching facts].
[Branching = 1d12 = 1 = Sight, 1d12 = 6 = Location; 1d12 = 6 = Mind, 1d12 = 1 = Remember; Seeing Location + Remember > Jessan will have something come to memory about seeing a location]

The light of the flashlight captures Jessan before she could make it back into the room.

I'm caught. 

The sweat of her brow is now increasing. The thumping of her pulse returned.

"Jessan," she heard a loud booming voice.

It was Credo.

Her hand were growing cold and tingly. She shook them to try getting blood back into them. He is so intimidating and threatening. Credo was one former inmate that she wanted to avoid even if it meant never speaking to him.

She scanned the hallway and then noticed the bathroom doorway. And then she knew what she must do. Her gun slid into the back of her shorts and the right hand came up to block the blinding light.

Jessan stumbled forward.

"Could you quit shining that stupid light in my face!" Her other hand came forward, having secured the gun at her waist. It came to her belly.

"Food not agree with you?" He let out a deep laugh.

Jessan didn't have to fake a retch. Tightening the muscles of her stomach and throat helped to hold back the burning and churning.

The light moved to the side a bit, out of her eyes.

Jessan stumbled into the bathroom. The door closed behind her.

She rushed to the nearest stall, lifted the lid, and aimed. And then she puked.

Analysis of Tools
As you can see, even with the same words and results, you probably wouldn't have written the same story. The tools do not automate writing a story. Rather they spurn an imagination and creativity, to instead of coming up with raw ideas, to use some seeds of ideas to create a more fleshed out story.

At parts in the story, I put my creative hat on and try to make sense of fact clues. At other times I put on my player hat and see what comes my way randomly from the solo game engine.

When I normally write I plan the big picture out ahead of time, the results are determined by my storyline. These story tools can work with outlines, to help flesh out details on a scene level.

Writing my normal method, Jessan wouldn't have been sick. The Sour spurned me to thinking of sour stomach first. Strangely it came into play again when the story shifted sideways and spurned her into the bathroom.

I think if I had written the same scene above without the tools, Jessan would have quietly snuck quietly down the hall to overhear what they were saying. Her being caught spurned me to consider what could happen and still get a similar flow. I actually cringed when she was caught - you might be able to sense my cringe because I had assigned a Very Unlikely. The bathroom was a natural place to go when someone is sick. If she wasn't sick, I could have also sent her there to use the restroom.

Now looking back, I think the story is better because she failed.

It sets up a weird situation where they know she is there, they probably will not talk loud, and she is left wondering what the argument and shouting was about.

I'll give the scene a title and copyright my work.

Anyone using the tools owns their own creations. A quick message to me might be nice, telling me if it helps any.

"Voices from the Corridor"
a scene by Ken Wickham 
Copyright © 2016

She sat up quickly because something was amiss. Sweat droplets formed slowly on her head. She breathed heavily, the sound of her heart beat and rumble of the star-drive echoed in her head.

What awoke me?

Blurry eyed she strained her eyes to see the atomic clock only reading 45: 90 hours metric time.

"Crap," she whispered.

Carma shuffled in the bunk above her.

Jessan's stomach churned, sour with undigested food from last awake times meal.

The beating in her ears slowly faded.

Then she noticed distant voices. It sounded like an argument echoing down the ship's hallways.

Jessan rose from her dark carbon steel bed. The voices were fading gradually.

She slipped on a standard dark grey corporate shirt and knee shorts. Each deep breath helped settle her stomach.

Then loud shouts echoed out deep and forceful.

Jessan grabbed her .45 caliber Yakima automatic hydraulic pistol. It's balanced titanium grip helped calm the queasiness in her gut.

Her ears now fully cleared, with only the hum of the ship, focused in on voice or voices. She stepped outside one step at a time on the balls of her feet.

At the door she stopped and listened.

Carma was muttering words in the bed behind her. She heard the word, " ... grass ... ," a word she hadn't actually seen in several atomic metric years.

She put her index finger of her free right hand into her right ear and turned her left on towards the hallway.

The shouting had ceased again.

Looking to the right down the hall, she could hear the muffled voices coming from the holo-room.

A round blue flash light in the distance sends beams of light across the holo-room wall. The light then began to point towards Jessan.

The light of the flashlight captures Jessan before she could make it back into the room.

I'm caught. 

The sweat of her brow is now increasing. The thumping of her pulse returned.

"Jessan," she heard a loud booming voice.

It was Credo.

Her hand were growing cold and tingly. She shook them to try getting blood back into them. He is so intimidating and threatening. Credo was one former inmate that she wanted to avoid even if it meant never speaking to him.

She scanned the hallway and then noticed the bathroom doorway. And then she knew what she must do. Her gun slid into the back of her shorts and the right hand came up to block the blinding light.

Jessan stumbled forward.

"Could you quit shining that stupid light in my face!" Her other hand came forward, having secured the gun at her waist. It came to her belly.

"Food not agree with you?" He let out a deep laugh.

Jessan didn't have to fake a retch. Tightening the muscles of her stomach and throat helped to hold back the burning and churning.

The light moved to the side a bit, out of her eyes.

Jessan stumbled into the bathroom. The door closed behind her.

She rushed to the nearest stall, lifted the lid, and aimed. And then she puked.