Blogging options for emergent narrative in the Sims 1

[Corrupted Unicorn]

So, I've been toying with the idea of making a "written show" based around a Sims 1 neighborhood.

I know this idea isn't quite novel, for there's many people who blog and record their Sims playthroughs (legacy challenges, etc.)

I've been doing some research in this forum (blogging is a common discussion topic here), and while I am glad to learn about more options other than Tumblr and Wordpress, I also feel a bit... overwhelmed by all the platforms and methods and I don't know which one to choose 

So I'm writing this topic to see if someone could help me fine-tune my options 

What do I want from this?

- First, let's assume I'll be updating the blog on a frequent basis. (the idea is to play a little every day and then record the most important events in the playthrough, stringing them along and weaving them into a more-or-less cohesive story) Because of this, I need the platform to carry the coding for me. I can make do with my own website, but it'll become too taxing with this frequency on the blog.
- I want to be able to upload images. It'd be a bit boring to read about a Sims playthrough if there weren't screenshots to go along with it. I need to let my audience know at least how the characters look like 
- A tagging system, or being able to categorize my blog entries. So people can check them according to character appearance, for example.
- I'd like an audience? Most of my creations are self-contained (and self-indulgent  ) and thus I don't expect a lot of feedback or audience participation, but since the Sims inherently have an audience I thought perhaps it'd be fun to let people comment, or run polls for minor decisions on the plot (should Simon adopt a cat or a dog?). This is probably the first time I let the audience participate in something I make... but I'd have to find an audience in the first place  And again I'm not much of an audience person. I'm very used to do things on my own. So maybe an audience but not a BIG one, that's why I'd prefer to stick to indie blogging sites even if that inherently means a smaller audience, you know what I mean?

So yeah, can anybody more experienced with blogging platforms than I am help orient my options towards what I have in mind? Thanks in advance 

(I hope the project doesn't fall through...)

[jvnkyard]

  First of all I need to say I love the idea!!!

Probably the best way in my opinion to do a blog would be making your own webpage either self hosted or through neocities. There are tools to make this job easier. The static site generator I personally use is hugo and has been working perfect for me.

There are probably other easier options I'm not aware of, but I always like the DIY approach to things. Best of luck and much love, fellow simmer.

[Corrupted Unicorn]

Hi @jvnkyard ! Thank you for your support of my idea! 

However, since you brought up Neocities, I'd like to add another reason why I'm reluctant to use it: I'm currently running on the free plan, and I want to make the most of my 1 GB. My website is mainly a repository of my art, and I don't want to take MB space from it in favour of this project 

The idea was to link my Neocities and this hypothetical new plaform together, and hopefully incorporate the latter into the former in the future, once I subscribed.

With that said, I agree running the entire show on your own is ideal, there's nothing like the freedom of coding the site yourself. Tho this time I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of that in favour of ease of update.

[jvnkyard]

@Corrupted Unicorn

However, since you brought up Neocities, I'd like to add another reason why I'm reluctant to use it: I'm currently running on the free plan, and I want to make the most of my 1 GB. My website is mainly a repository of my art, and I don't want to take MB space from it in favour of this project

There are alternatives! Github also allows you to host static sites through github.io with the only catch that the repository must be public.

With that said, I agree running the entire show on your own is ideal, there's nothing like the freedom of coding the site yourself. Tho this time I'm willing to sacrifice a little bit of that in favour of ease of update.

Static site generators do help with the task but I understand you may be looking for something more straightforward, good luck with the search!