Worldbuilding Snippet: How To Get Magic

longmei龙梅 blossoms in drizzle, 普安禅寺pu'an chansi, yongjia, wenzhou, zhejiang province in china (cr 沈愈之)

*opens word doc covered in blood* it doesn’t have to be good. it just has to be done.

The vast stretches of lone trees and wild grass of the rural countryside lures the ego overboard, pulling consciousness off course into addiction, delusion and seduction’s disintegrating madness. You barely pull yourself home from there every evening, the sun telling your time, the birds your weather forecast. One day you might not return home at all.

From the Mud is a Midwest gothic inspired horror set in a solitary countryside occupied only by two small towns and stretches of untamed nature. You play a troubled cowboy/girl/puncher who‘s ground deep into a maddening, repetitive routine that a string of deaths suddenly upends. The sheriff of the neighboring town along with a driven journalist and an old friend whose bridge you’ve long since burnt comes to town having heard the news. As you’re hunting for the culprit and running from yourself, your quiet life on the ranch is disturbed, forcing you to keep your cards close and choose your company carefully. But the most pressing matter proves to be whether you can trust your own mind.

From the Mud

☆ Interactive fictional psychological horror written in choice script

Features

Play as either a man, woman, or other

Choose your appearance from overall features to minor details

Experience nuanced romance as either straight, gay, or bi, or forgo romance altogether

Choose whether you’re religious or not in an overly christian rural town

Experience the world react differently towards you depending on who you identify as

Get wrapped up in the chaos to solve the mystery of several murders

Lose touch with reality and slowly question everything around you

Reject the possibility of unnatural forces at play, or believe

Rot in a jail cell

Ride a horse!

Play a game mostly not driven by numbered stats but meaningful actions and a fuck ton of trackers

Demo TBA soon | pinterest

Basics about some of the important characters and other below

The Sheriff ☆ Zachariah “Zach” Mallory ☆ a man in his mid thirties

Sheriff Mallory works from his office in Two Rocks, and though his occupation means working closely with other people and seeing to their needs, it would be indolent to describe him as being good with people. At all. Being abrasive and ill-natured, the man does, however, suit the role of authority well. When the angry crease on his forehead soften, you might find there is something else within his tired eyes.

The sheriff has dark brown, chin-length hair and a matching little effort short beard. His sand-colored skin is sun-kissed from being outside, the circles under his eyes almost a purple kind of shade. Under a heavy set of brows sits a pair of dark blue, almost stormy gray eyes. Standing at an imposing height, Mallory is nigh refused anything, and can’t be forced to wear the ugly uniform his rank requires. Instead, he sports a simple white fitted t-shirt and a pair of well-loved denim jeans.

The Journalist ☆ Candy Tillman ☆ a woman in her early thirties

Working for the local news station in Two Rocks, Ms. Tillman has through work experience and excellent mentoring from her predessessor become a hound chasing stories and truths. She is both idealistic and romanticizing (that which shouldn’t), and yet entirely unsusceptable to bullshit. When her facade falters who will accept her then?

The woman with the sweetest name has blonde hair that falls to the middle of her shoulder blades, which she loves to blowout. Her tan skin is contoured by a natural style of makeup, her small, light blue eyes painted. Candy is average height, reaching taller stature with her go-to minimalist pumps. The journalist prefers simple, feminine silhouttes of clothing, keeping up with the times.

The Best Friend ☆ Blythe Abel Goodwin ☆ a woman in her mid twenties

Blythe is your best friend who you grew up with in Ashley and who stuck around when everyone left, though you know she would’ve loved to leave just as much as you once did. In response to the death of her dreams and the narrow-minded opinions of the general inhabitation of the area, she has defiantly become a person of unique and unpredictable character. You’ve known each other through thick and thin, but is there a side to her yet to be discovered?

Your childhood friend is a contrast-filled woman just under average height. Long, black, cascading hair falls from her head down to her mid-back. Choppily home-cut bangs frame her small face. Her fair skin turns rosy in the cold. Blythe’s almond eyes that are sometimes obscured by a pair of reading glasses, are hazel. She wears whatever the fuck she wants.

The Colleague ☆ Ford Wiley Mallory ☆ a man in his early twenties

Ford Wiley is the younger half-brother of Sheriff Mallory and your colleague on the ranch. Working there only half-time, the younger Mallory is dedicated and driven only in the field of his passion; music. His band has only ever played at the local bar, though. Reserved and perhaps somewhat more thin-skinned than most living out on the countryside, Wiley makes do with refreshing optimism. Whether this optimism is genuine or fabricated is yet to be revealed.

Your part-time cowboy coworker has long, wavy brown hair that he sometimes makes an effort to style, and otherwise lets it live its own life. He and his half-brother have little in common, appearance included; Wiley has olive skin covered in freckles. His eyes are dark brown, and he is of average height. The musician’s clothes consist of unwanted (by himself) hand-me-downs from Zachariah and ill-gotten items.

The Old Friend ☆ Sawyer “Saw” Brennan ☆ a gender selectable person in their late twenties (m/f)

You grew up with Sawyer along with Blythe, and the three of you braved your childhood and youth in this godforsaken place for years. But they left when things got hardest, and you haven’t been able to get past it even after all these years. Over the years Sawyer has been away they’ve grown into a person you barely know anymore, and you struggle with their sudden return. Will you be able to understand and forgive them for leaving?

Sawyer has inky brown curly hair, worn long (f) or short (m) and loose, carefully taken care of and styled. They have warm brown skin and sharp eyes to match. Your old friend is tall, fitting their frame into oversized graphic t-shirts and either color matched sweats or baggy jeans.

My intentions with this game: It is not supposed to be a beautiful story, it is supposed to be ugly. Writing this game in the way I am is my taking a step away from perfection and seeing where my unpolished writing takes the story. I have been ruled by fear of inadequacy and a desire for ‘perfect timing’ long enough. If I continue to wait for the ‘right moment’ to create, I will end up not creating at all. My only desire now is to simply create, and continue doing so until I have something to show for it.

noone on Instagram properly appreciated my meme of king henry the eighth saying "off with her head. i mean they"

show off the goods

I have made good progress in the prologue, mhmm. Another 1000 words in. I'm nearly done with this half of the prologue, then I can get on to the next bit. And then...code it...

Very happy with today's progress 😌

Your eyes fly open, and your other senses slowly awaken. You’re lying on the floor in some unknown place. Rain’s sound is muffled, with a thunderstorm raging just outside. Your sight falls on the silhouette sitting by the fireplace, murmuring their prayer to the gods. You have no recollection of how you got there.

Furthermore, your brain can’t remember your name. But, it seems that that’s not your only trouble - the door creaks and someone hooded enters the room.

FEATURES

Play as a man, woman, or non-binary.

Travel the world and rule the fates of its many residents.

Decide what are you living for, whether it’s helping other people, upholding the law, or satisfying your own needs (even wicked ones).

Influence other characters’ development, guiding them toward what you desire.

Define your fighting style: be an agile, precise trickster or strong, durable heavy-hitter - or combine it however you want.

Find love, befriend, or antagonize four gender-selectable ROs.

Rise to the highest positions in your kingdom, thus being able to impact its regime.

Spare your enemies ØⱤ ₴Ⱡ₳Ʉ₲Ⱨ₮ɆⱤ ₮ⱧɆ₥ Ⱡł₭Ɇ ₵₳₮₮ⱠɆ

The game's events are set in a dark, low, medieval fantasy world, where each step you take needs to be tread lightly. Your journey starts with you awakening in an unfamiliar hut that’s located hell knows where. Try to find out what happened to you, carving out your own story in the process.

LINKS

[DEMO (SFW version - outdated)] [FORUM (SFW thread)]

[DEMO (NSFW version)] [FORUM (NSFW thread)]

[RO's List] Note: I may not answer in-depth RO questions. I consider these characters an integral part of the story, and revealing information about them before the intended point might impact certain aspects of the plot and ruin the atmosphere of the unknown. I hope you can understand me.

☾. IF DEMO ANNOUNCEMENT

Hi everyone!

I'm so excited to announce that part 1 of the Memento Mori Demo will be available on Itch.io starting on:

Friday, August 4th at 6:00pm EST. ♡︎

At the moment, the prologue is ~9,000 words including all branching choice variations.

For anyone that is new here, Memento Mori is a 18+ interactive fiction game that is best suited for the genres of sci-fi, romance, and horror. Wrecked and ravaged by an alien invasion, Earth is on the brink of war. War with who? That is yet to be determined, as no one knows who is the predator, and who is the prey.

Developing the world, characters, romance options, and main character for this story has been so much fun; I hope the love I've poured into part 1 of the demo shines through for each and every one of you.

On Friday, Aug 4, I'll post a link here to the demo and add it to my intro post (which I will link here: Memento Mori Intro Post)

Thank you to everyone that has shown me the most heartwarming support, from the bottom of my heart I appreciate you! ☾.

All my love,

Cheye