YOUR FIRST SCENARIO

Okay, you've finally finished! You're ready to release and become BoA's
newest hero!

Just slow down a bit.

Have you played it? Probably you have, but have you played it again to make
sure it still works? I recommend going through your scenario several times,
carefully noting down all problems and fixing them before your next run
through. If this seems like too much hard work, players will probably feel
the same way. Get it as good as you can by yourself.

Now, leave it to cool. The excitement of finishing a scenario is powerful
stuff, and plenty of people have released them without thinking to add a
readme file, or some other important detail (myself included). Yeah, it's
cool and exciting, but it will still be cool and exciting in a week's time.
If you send it out now, you'll be kicking yourself tomorrow once you
remember that really important thing you had to change.

Finally, you're ready to release it to the world, right? Wrong. You need
beta-testers. Just post on Spiderweb's forums and you should get volunteers.
Be warned, beta-testers can be very unreliable. Don't think "Yeah, there are
a few bugs in it still, but my testers will pick that up." If you don't put
in the effort yourself, there's every chance that they won't. Nearly every
designer has had testers vanish into the ether - sometimes all of them.

Be careful who you pick. If someone can't spell, they probably can't test.
Certainly you can't rely on them to pick up typos. Designers usually are
good testers as well.

As a newbie designer, there's a serious chance that no one who's actually
any good at testing will volunteer. So many first scenarios are so poor that
those who are diligent and talented find it a waste of time to note down
problems the designer could have fixed himself. However, if there's someone
you'd love to test your scenario, you can always ask them directly. The
worst they can do is say no.

Think you're finished yet? Not by a long shot, jojo.

It's a bad idea to just send your testers a scenario and wait for them to
respond with whatever comments they have. If they're any good they will
naturally pick up bugs and spelling errors, but you can get more than that
out of them. Ask them questions - which bit of the scenario was the most
fun? Did they get stuck anywhere? Was there anything that was just plain
annoying? Did they think the villain was an interesting character? This is
your first scenario, so probably not all your ideas were very good. You can
do more than just cover the surface blemishes in beta phase, if you want to.

So you get the reports, modify your scenario, and play through it again to
make sure it's still winnable (NOTE: that last one is important!). Now what?
Well, you can send it back to the testers for another round if you want,
though there's not a lot of point doing this if they don't do a good job the
first time. If you made some major changes, it's probably a good idea to
give it back to them. Repeat if necessary.

You really want to release that scenario now, don't you? I know, I've been
there. Hopefully, you haven't been foolish enough to start a series with
this scenario (like I was), but it's too late now. Put it aside to cool
again.

I know, I know. Arrgh!

If you can't think of anything to add or change after a few days, you're
ready to send it to Spiderweb.

Then you'll have to wait an aggravatingly long time for it to get put up for
people to download.

Then, finally, it out there for people to play! Congratulations! You have
just released your worst scenario!

Please note that this is not an insult. Your scenario might be very good -
but even then, your next scenario will almost certainly be better.

Now, you wait for the accolades. Well, don't be too surprised if they don't
flood in. You'll get emails asking for help, and maybe saying they've really
enjoyed it so far, but never as many as you would like.

Also, don't take it too hard if people criticise it. Very, very few
scenarios get a clear run. Most WILL be mocked by someone, even the greats.
You don't need to get upset about this - if they say something you can learn
from, take it. Leave the rest.

But hey! You've finished a scenario! That alone is a subsantial achievement.
And if it's good, you're already ahead of the crowd. And every scenario from
now on will be better and easier.

- The Creator