Game

I think a game is a great way to write a book nowadays. For traditional books with words, I find that many people do not read past a few sentences because they are stuck filtering each sentence with their guards always up. Even if the answer might come a few sentences or paragraphs further, they will stop before reaching that part and judge right away due to short attention spans today. There’s no flow, making it difficult to guide someone’s thoughts with a book. People just want immediacy and a sense of decision-making to strengthen their feelings.

So a game is a much more engaging way to touch base with one’s own consciousness. Fortunately, our time allows us to do so. I can’t speak for the future, but in past centuries, people couldn’t make books as video games. I can’t say if this will radically change things. Let’s see.

Making a game: Wise whispers of the trees

Jane and I, along with Dawn, have decided to create an RPG game in 2D using Godot around May 2024. F joined the crew in December 2024.

The name of the game is: Wise Whispers of the Trees - (樹木的智慧低語 in Chinese, 樹木の知恵の低語 in Japanese, and Lời xanh từ rễ sâu in Vietnamese).

And we are the - c本y crew - (pronounced K crew).

The word “cây” means “tree” or “木” in Chinese and is pronounced like “K” in Vietnamese, while “本” means “root” and looks like “”.

Our - c本y crew - office is set up; it is also our home, with around 100+ plants. Thanks to some friends, all our gear is set up: beefy PCs, drawing tablets, digital piano, etc.

F, a friend since childhood, worked as an architect until now; her latest project was a museum in Da Nang. Now she is drawing architectural designs for the game.

Dawn has taught herself Python, GDScript, and Godot with help from a few AIs. She’s now discovering the project codebase and soon will be handling the lighting of the scenes in the game.

Jane is drawing the sceneries and objects with Krita and Aseprite, and designing other assets.

Now, I’m working on refining the assets for the first few chapters. I have a lot of fun playing with shaders to make the game more lively.
I still have to work on the game’s story, which is equivalent to writing a new book.

We are drawing assets and characters for the first chapters of the game.

The game right now has a workable backbone: a turn-based combat system, menu system, bartering system, scene management, items, spells, skills, etc. The plot, mechanics, and characters are somewhat worked out. There will be 30+ chapters, each relating to an aspect of life.

We are enjoying the process, and it’s been a pleasure doing things together. Even the potential financial return doesn’t seem to really matter at this point, though I’m certain it will be a success when the game is out. Our aim is to make the best RPG game, which is also the best philosophical book, meaning it has to be beautiful, engaging and educational. And this kind of education is not based on discipline, meaning people are not made to conform.

Anyway, we are sharpening every little detail by the day.