How many remember interactive text adventures like Zork? Interactive Fiction has a small but very loyal following. Today there are a few programming languages (TADS 3, Inform) and even IDEs (Quest) which can be used to create very complex adventures.
Here is an interesting prototype of a mini-text adventure interfacing with our products! (it shows the desktop app reacting to in-game events with a red status bar message)
Behind the scenes (attention, geek zone):
- A small, one-room adventure was written in Inform 7 and compiled to z-machine code. At this point this game runs with any interpreter on Windows, Android and Linux but since it's a virtual machine it can't do anything other than output text.
- Parchment.js is a JavaScript z-machine interpreter which allows playing the game in a browser. Again it only allows text to be input and output but that can happen within a browser.
- The Vorple library creates a bridge between z-machine and custom JavaScript code! So now the adventure can call Javascript and do anything the browser can do.
- The whole thing is encapsulated by a windows app, with a web browser control, so that now JavaScript can call C functions; this way the text adventure can not only do anything a browser can, but anything your PC can!
The end result is that actions within the text adventure can trigger functions within the windows app and therefore activate scripted DreamLover 2000 and ChronoVault functionality!
Well, text adventures aren't necessarily immersive now that we've got CUDA arrays and VR displays. But you'd be surprised at the level of detail that can be achieved by the modern text adventure writing languages!
While text adventures cannot hope to compete with modern games on the graphical side, they have huge advantages:
- developing an impressive game is still within the power of a single person
- the interaction with the environment can be extremely rich depending on how much time went into creating the world. In a text adventure you can do anything the programmer imagined. In a modern 3D game the range of things you can do is severely limited by the cost of creating graphical assets and animations (which is why most games are highly repetitive, such as run and shoot).
You may want to take a look at this Inform 7 handbook PDF (real code examples in blue after the intro). It takes a lot of work but you can extend what the parser understands with nearly no limits as far as world complexity and object behavior.
Some possibilities:
- the adventure could require real-time action (daily, throughout the day etc). Conceivably an Android version could be created instead of Windows, but that requires some further research.
- the adventure could include a training journey in a DreamLover world - the player learns proper etiquette and is punished with ChronoVault days of chastity and DreamLover 2000 pulses for errors
- Of course custom adventures could be created by anyone in Inform 7 and plugged into the software
In order to justify the time investment we need to know that there is sufficient demand / interest, so please let us hear what you think!
I was surprised - in a positive way - to receive an email from DreamLover Labs. It is refreshing to see that there is some action going on and that product development could still be going on.
While I can see that this particular line of development - text adventures - could be interesting, I think there are so many other ways in which the product could be improved that I would hardly elect that a priority.
I might be wrong but I think women - as mistresses and key holders - would have little interest in this development, as computer gaming in general is mostly a male area of interest.
That said, I was excited to learn you are still figuring out ways to improve and add new functionality to this most unique product, and for that I would like to leave my congratulations.
The one thing I've found in this lifestyle is that both partners need training. The keyholder needs as much training as the chaste partner. It would be an instrumental tool to teach a woman keyholder how to become more dominant and a chaste male to be more submissive. In the long run, the chaste person doesn't want virtual fiction; s/he wants it to be reality. So, having a storyboard that progressively trains the keyholder as well as the chaste into FLR would be a valuable tool in the market. (I suspect many subs are the ones that purchases the Dreamlover for the FLR.) For example: If a woman who grew up conditioned to be submissive, gentle, and kind was given a choice to chose between being more dominant than submissive, and she chose the submissive path on the storyboard, then her sub would be sent a shock. She would learn that dominance would be kinder to the submissive than her own conditioning to be gentle and kind in the relationship.
It doesn't really interest me. What has kept us from buying your product even though we are interested are two things. First, is the apparently PC-centric interface which makes things problematic for our Mac-only household. Second, what we'd really like is not so much time-based locking, though that has its uses, but the ability to control the lock remotely either via SMS message or a remote web portal (e.g. log in to the Dream Lover website to check on the status and unlock/adjust the lock).
The text-based game is not something that would put us over the tipping point to buy at this time. Glad to see you're still working on the product. Good luck!
I've just had a look and cannot see any information on the Chronovault and SMS on the site... I would love to find out more. I'm assuming the Chronovault would have to be connected to a windows PC to accept any commands? They couldn't be queued until connection?
Off topic for this conversation, but your comment made me search through the site for more info.
Oh god. Yes we built so much complexity into these products that we can't even keep track of what they do anymore. The ChronoVault can be controlled via the Internet but not through SMS at present. The DL2000 accepts internet and SMS. The ChronoVault could easily accept SMS commands too now that it connects to Android phones. However as you point out the vault would have to be connected. But that is the case with the DL2000 as well. We just send an SMS back saying the command could not be delivered. So perhaps in an upgrade we could add SMS support.
I second that. macOS support would be a major improvement. Way better investment of time than creating this text game. I have tried installing the software and drivers on a virtual machine - both Parallels and VMWare - under macOS, but it does not work.
This application, while interesting (especially for us late-70's/early-80's kids)... it would not fit into the way that I utilize the DL or Chronovault with my guys. It is my preference that men focus on productive tasks and video games, text-based or not, don't qualify.
It seems like something a solo user would enjoy. I think development energy and effort would be better spent on fixing the bugs and making the devices more affordable.
"- the adventure could include a training journey in a DreamLover world - the player learns proper etiquette and is punished with ChronoVault days of chastity and DreamLover 2000 pulses for errors"
This is the only good part about this I can see. Maybe include this with "the adventure could require real-time action (daily, throughout the day etc)."
I think the priorities of DreamLover should be in this order:
1. Ensure lowest costs possible ($1400 for a $100 device with a shock system)
2. Right now, there just isn't enough training software, not enough to do with the device, to justify spending over ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. Make available as much software as possible. "Male Training Courses" are an excellent direction and could perhaps be expanded into a full day-to-day training program. You can charge for the day-to-day training program in exchange for bringing the cost of the device down.
3. Once there's an abundance of software (which you can charge for, once again) to keep users satisfied, you can focus on improving the device itself with more features. It could always be easier to use. The battery life could be improved (or allow a way to charge it without removing the device, and if the wearer does not charge it the device starts shocking stronger and stronger until he does). Canine mode is really amazing, more features like that would be incredible.
I know this seems like a lot, but it is pretty simple: Improve the price, then SOFTWARE, SOFTWARE, SOFTWARE.
It seems like a good idea to me. However if I could choose I'd rather have a few male training courses first. The domestic service demo is promising and I'd really like the time to be invested in more of these. Thanks for the hard work!
I would personally be very interested in a text adventure that interacted with the chronovault. I don't have one, but a self lock game would have me very interested.
I really like this idea. I've been playing around with twine ( https://twinery.org/ ) recently and the stuff you can do with interactive fiction is quite involved. I can imagine some very interesting possibilities indeed.
I hope you do do this, but am also pleased to see that you guys are interested in continuing to improve your products!
You may want to check out Inform 7 then. The possibilities for interaction are far greater than with conventional multiple choice branching stories. Far more work intensive though.
I appreciate You at Dreamloverlabs. Taking the time to ask me for my input. I wasn't sure if the log you are talking about was a Technical Log or a Storyline Log? If it was along the technical side I don't know much. If your talking about Story Line then I can help you.
It is my belief that in order to have your items to sell you need to go back to promoting a story line on male training theory only I would include the subjects about your product line like Leash mode & Canine Mode show how they work in your story which could create sales for the product that features your product has. I would also write stories on conditioning and training of how your male should behave.
I would make two classes of your product lines an affordable line for those who can afford the lower cost line and your higher priced line which you could sell at a higher cost. It would be like Sellign a Roll's Royce or a VW Bug at least your product will be out there creating conversations about your product line. I would also include a subscription on your writings if you go that route. I would have a chastity device created exclusively by you that you can call your own as well as working with others like you have done before
I don't know if you have followed this line of thinking in the past, have already done this or not. These are just my thoughts
I hope my input was worthwhile. Please take care and stay safe.
I have been following the DreamLab product for many years, and was asked whether DreamLab should invest time in text based interactive adventure software linked to their product. The main reason I have not purchased your product is cost, and compatibility to existing male chasity products. So this feature would not induce me to buy this product at this time. However, there could be a huge market to the single young male if your product could be tied into the gaming industry with this text based adventure software. Young male gamers could be rewarded or punished based on their responses to a text based adventure. Whether the young male had an interest in Chastity, male training, or submissive behavior it wouldn't matter as much as the game effects of feeling the consequences of a wrong move, and getting a reward for the correct play. Whole new attachments could be made to fit the gamer, and with the increased numbers of unit the cost could be reduced. For the male subject choosing to be locked up, tying the release to completion of a male training course, would increase the marketing of the male training courses.
Instead of providing training courses on CD, the training material could be divided in small units, and be made available on a personal web account on your server. The account is accessible only by the mistress and her male to be trained. The account is paid for on a monthly basis and charged according to the material made available. The mistress is able to pick those small parts that she wants her male to be trained in, and in the way that she wants. She can adapt the material and add other material. There should be templates for training material about domestic services, like ironing, serving food and drinks etc, about how to speak in a respectful manner when allowed to speak, about providing sexual pleasure to the mistress when ordered to do so (through silent commands) and about behavior towards other persons.
You could create a virtual persona to be a training assistant. Let's call her Ivy. Ivy is a computer program on the server, and serves as an intermediate between the mistress and the male. Ivy schedules the training units to be administered to the male and checks that the tests are completed successfully. She will schedule the chores to be performed during the day, according to the mistress's requirements. When the mistress comes home, Ivy will ask her to check if all chores have been carried out correctly, and she will schedule repeat training for those items that were not executed correctly. In the morning Ivy asks the mistress if sexual pleasure was provided as required, and asks which aspects of it should be improved. Based on those answers, Ivy reschedules those items in the next training session.
Training sessions are performed in leash mode. If all tasks were performed correctly the previous day, the training session should only take 5 minutes or so, the time to learn a new task. For tasks that were not performed correctly the previous day or night, the training will be repeated several times over, so the training session could take a long time. Tests can be done orally: Ivy puts various questions in a random order; the male has to answer in the exact wording as expected.
Ivy could do many more things. Obedience and responsiveness should be rewarded and Ivy reminds the mistress to reward the male for good behavior in order to encourage him to improve further. If punishments are needed, Ivy will impose them herself, so that the mistress doesn't need to feel pity or remorse.
Respectfully, I have been thinking along similar lines. Ivy is a good idea, even the name has a sense of being tied down by creeper which infiltrates and weakens and eventually can do great harm. To bricks and mortar anyway.
Ivy could run on the Android phone which the male to be controlled has to carry/be close to at all times, on pain of punishment from leash mode.
My thoughts were that such a program could schedule a list of chores to be performed, either one offs or ones to be done daily, weekly, annually, or whatever. For example make Mistress a birthday cake or spring cleaning Mistress' home. Mistress would have the ability to control the level of access to the pending list. Maybe so all the male can see is what he should be doing now, and only when he presses a button to say it has been completed does he see his next task. It would of course allow Mistress to interrupt with another task, and the male would be reminded of the half finished task when he returns from interrupt level.
All tasks would be timed and the fastest ever time to complete each task recorded. Beyond a certain threshold of delay beyond that ideal time would either flag up to Mistress that there is a problem, maybe laziness or perhaps Ivy could deal with it by issuing punishments on an escalating scale and only flagging a problem to Mistress on repeated failures.
Mistress would be able to view the schedule weeks ahead and maybe reward the male with rest periods or 'play time' at her discretion, maybe with Ivy being able to take away such privileges for bad behaviour. Canine mode could be used in reverse to ensure Mistress' subject is upright when it is time for the male to get up in the morning at some ungodly hour.
The male could be required to use the smart phone's camera to make images of certain completed tasks which Mistress could rate and if necessary, correct the male, either herself or via Ivy.
Myself, as a live-in maid, I am committed to making my Mistress' life easier, putting her whims before my needs. I would never want my Mistress to feel pity or remorse, I wish to improve her life, always try to appear to be happy with my lot in life, never to be negative in any way. If Ivy can handle my discipline then my Mistress will just see a happy hard working maid and never have to think about what makes me work so hard. It might sometimes be necessary for Mistress to inform Ivy that I do not look happy, and Ivy can then correct my attitude. Mistress might assume I have cheered up because Ivy has rewarded me, but Ivy would 'know' that I had in fact been punished for failing to have a smile on my face or sighed or whatever. Maybe Mistress could daily rate my cheerfulness, demeanor, efficiency, courtesy, respectfulness etc to Ivy so Ivy can maintain these all at appropriate levels via the stick and carrot of the DL2000.
Hello,
Ivy is a really good idea. It should allow the mistress to focus on her needs and desires and be less concerned with punishment. Punishment is generally perceived as annoying, disturbing by the Mistress and can make she feels guilty. This is exactly what a want to avoid.
Let her plans chores, specify start, duration, periodicity, deadline.
Let her interrupts tasks, evaluates result, ask for new training.
All this sound very good.
But it's maybe also time to update the DL2000 to allow more possibility to Ivy, in particular the accelerometer. It can be used to enforce different position, not only the doggy one. It can also enforce immobility or physical activity.
Strong support for this proposal, the design of a virtual hostess program, training, I believe that such a single male purchase customers will be doubled, women can easily find, has been trained to complete the man.
While this sounds great. It would be a better use of resources to be the interface to run on Mac OS as this has been the reason why many Mistresses i have spoken to won't use this awesome product
As a self-user, I would love having a program to punish me. Would there be a way i could start the program and not be able to shut it off until i finish it or an elapsed time of zaps for not finishing? Maybe a long period of shocks if I quit the program? I would put my key in the chronovault and start the program and let it own me. :]
While I can see that this particular line of development - text adventures - could be interesting, I think there are so many other ways in which the product could be improved that I would hardly elect that a priority.
I might be wrong but I think women - as mistresses and key holders - would have little interest in this development, as computer gaming in general is mostly a male area of interest.
That said, I was excited to learn you are still figuring out ways to improve and add new functionality to this most unique product, and for that I would like to leave my congratulations.