Greetings,
Someone asked me what tools I use on this project. Let me first declare my amateur status on all of them, except PowerPoint. I've got years of experience in that beast. This list is basically the same stuff used on the Getting to Know Brenda game.

Poser Pro
This is where most of the work happens. I have a collection of figures and props, often deployed with a lot of customization. There are cameras, and lights and about a zillion variations and properties on everything. Very time intensive. The final products of the renders are individual graphic files, although it will do .avi animations as well.

This application is a total resource hog (with good reason). I'm running a Pentium Dual CPU @ 2.00 GHz with 8 GB of RAM and a video card with another 1 GB of RAM and still when I do a render it makes the CPU 90 - 100% busy and uses up to 70% of RAM during a 3-5 minute render of a single frame.

If you want to see really professional items made with this tool, check out the Renderotica Gallery on the web (requires registration). I'm not a fan of all the content types there, but I abhor censorship more.

PhotoShop
"Post work" as it is called is often necessary to add effects not possible or practical in Poser and to touch up minor flaws. Much of the customization done in Poser involves editing graphic files that are used for the appearance (texture, color, detail etc.) of figures and props.

PowerPoint
Used as a storyboard tool as well as the source of the word and thought balloons and other graphic elements that get imported into Flash.

Flash
This is where the final product is made. Graphics are imported and simple cross-fade animations staged and other elements like navigation, text and whatnot are implemented. Another time consuming stage.

So that is probably more than anybody wanted to know, but it is what it is.

It is very pleasing to get a bit of an "inside view" as to what is required when these sort of things are put together, seems that many of our readers think that the various stories and games just happen!

PowerPoint isn't difficult. I spent around a day learning most of it. However, becoming a master requires years of practical use.

If you don't want or can't spend a large amount of money, you can download DAZ Studio for free. I find it much easier than Poser, and this is where I create most of my work. You can find loads of freebies on the net. If you plan to go commercial, however, make sure the rights includes commercial as well.

tlaero wrote : "Not me, I have cloning scruples." Lol. I can completely understand her falling for this guy.

I didn't understand what was happening at the start of the second episode. Did she own all 3 cars? Usually when you press the unlock button on a car key the lights flash. It seems wierd that she's unlocking the convertable and he thinks its the truck.

This is really good. Please keep 'em coming.

Tlaero

Hi. I'm kind of catching up on messages here. I guess the scene did not quite come across as I wished. Part of the problem, I think, is that the running lights of the parked cars look like they are on, when none of them were. It is an artifact of the scene lighting that I was not able to overcome at the time. It was supposed to be him, following her, and each time she passed a vehicle she would stop or touch it or something and he would figure that was hers, but then she would go on to the next one and so on...

Norse Graphics wrote : PowerPoint isn't difficult. I spent around a day learning most of it. However, becoming a master requires years of practical use.

If you don't want or can't spend a large amount of money, you can download DAZ Studio for free. I find it much easier than Poser, and this is where I create most of my work. You can find loads of freebies on the net. If you plan to go commercial, however, make sure the rights includes commercial as well.

Just looked at your web site. It looks like you are one of the experts all right. Really nice work. You make me want to give DAZ Studio another try. As a hobbyist, going commercial, as you put it, is not really on the radar screen.

tlaero wrote : Good stuff, Cugel. I just read 3-6 and am looking forward to more. The dialog is great, and the characterization of the guy is wonderful. We've lost a little of the innocence with the women (okay, all of it) but that's okay considering what you're doing (a self proclaimed "horny fantasy").

Keep it up!
Tlaero

I see what you mean about loss of innocence with the Sharon character. I noticed that I did something similar with Brenda in the game. I used the excuse of some circumstance, or pent up/hidden desire/motivation to justify the relative extremes of talking and doing the dirty. I guess I don't want to write a female character that is "slutty by nature" so I find an excuse for the behavior and then show it anyway. Give Cindy a chance though, she's next and her fantasy is less laden with testosterone.

Cugel, it's amazing. I find myself looking for new episodes daily.
your writing skills are inspiring, I enjoy the dialogs so much.
your characterization is so good I actually feel like he's "betraying" Sharon when he goes to partisipate in the other girls fantacies...
but I'm too horny to complain

keep up the good work.

Cugel, the work you're doing in Poser is great! It's just that many can't wrap their minds around Poser or DAZ Studio, while being a pro at the other program. You should use the program that works for you, and it might not necessarily being DAZ Studio (as you do have talent in using Poser). There are threads dedicated to this subject at the DAZ3D-forums. Use what works for you. Most freebies work in both programs.

And thanks for the confidence, though I'm just a medium level artist, not an expert.

Added Episodes 11 & 12 - see first post for links.

My congrats, cugel. You´ve done a great, great job. I love this awesome, arousing story. I can´t wait to see the end of Cindy´s game and what Liz has in mind for her part. Please go on in this style of the story.

Hi Cugel
great work...hard work .i know.
is this a game? ....That's an very nice story ..I have see all 12 stories and will wait to the next..
my congrtats

Squeeky;
I went here:
http://www.ieaddons.com/en/
and downloaded a flash player addon for IE. IE8 now correctly displays the frames.
LRM
Misplaced my manners; Cugel the adventure just continues to get better. Thank You

Josefus wrote : Hi Cugel
great work...hard work .i know.
is this a game? ....That's an very nice story ..I have see all 12 stories and will wait to the next..
my congrtats

It's a serial story really, Josefus, like Milly is

Greetings. Links to the final 3 episodes of Paradise Found have been added to the first post in this discussion. I appreciate your feedback and encouragement.

My next project is a RAGS game called Xtracurricular Activities. The RAGS development system is a pretty cool game development platform that combines interaction and multimedia in a way that makes development pretty fun and relatively easy. Right now I have the main game stubbed in. The graphics and other multimedia elements along with a substantial amount of writing are left to be done. At some point I'll ask for volunteers to do some beta testing. I'll start a new thread in this forum when the time comes.

Be cool, and if you can't be cool, at least go out and be nice to people.

Good luck with your next story Cugel.