I Know I Haven't Talked About This Project In A While, But I'm Still Working On This. Just Very Slowly

I said ooh girl

Intro

DEMO (soon)

In the underworld kingdom, where demons fight for survival against the abyssal monsters, you are just an Oracle. In the distant past the Oracles were at the top of the demonic hierarchy, but those golden days are long gone. You did what you were most afraid to do and now sit under arrest in the royal palace.

When the Abyss sends you a vision of a terrible disaster that will happen in the future, you make an inevitable “deal” with the Sovereign to try to change the future and improve your abilities, not only to become stronger and learn more about the coming disaster, but also in an attempt to achieve mind stability. 

However, what has been happening to you since you received the vision makes you think that you are already slowly but surely losing your mind. 

Will you be able to maintain your sanity and help others protect the kingdom, or will you become just another name in the long list of Oracles gone mad?

This is an interactive fantasy story with a heavy focus on friendship and romance (with strangers to lovers or enemies dynamic). The story is rated 18+. Content warnings: violence, death, loss of sanity, trauma, possible sexually suggestive/sexual content, and more (the full list will be in the demo).

Customize your Oracle: pronouns, traits, and appearance. Choose your full ✨ demonic form. ✨

Decide what you do for fun. Do you sing, dance, play a musical instrument, or write? 

Deal with the old friends who let you down. 

What you did cannot be undone. Your reputation forever ruined, how will you handle the public’s new attitude toward you? 

Learn more about the Oracles’ past and what truly drove their royal clan into ruin. 

Maintain your sanity. Depending on your choices, you’ll either move closer to loss of control and madness or further away from it.

Decide what fate awaits you. You’ll have to make an important decision that will open two very different paths for you, influence the plot’s progression, and your relationships.

Will the victory be sweet?

✨ Vezriel, The Sovereign (m / f)

Vezriel seems a perfect ruler: they’re smart, calm, patient, know moderation, and always put demons’ well-being first. But you’re not so naive as to think this is their real face—many secrets lurk under the golden shell of the nobility. You never thought of meeting them in the past, but now spending some time with them is inevitable. Perhaps you will find out what lies beneath their mask?

✨ Osara / Osaron, The Heir (f / m)

Vezriel’s only child and heir, O is their Chief Counselor, and they have a consistently good reputation. Their character reminds of their parent, though O is much more cold and reticent. Nothing seems to touch or shake their emotions, despite the known long list of ex-lovers. You don’t need their attention, but the circumstances have put you right under it. What will you make of this opportunity?

✨ Lazarus / Lazaris, the General (m / f)

L rose from the bottom of the ladder and made a name for themselves, though judging by old rumors, their clean background wasn’t always so clean. They’re charismatic and popular but keep others at a distance—everyone except their friends… and you. L treats you especially well, but you’re not foolish enough to blindly play their game. What do they want from you?

✨ Ashmedai, the Royal Healer (f / m)

Ashmedai was sent to observe your condition after the incident and to help you with mind stability if needed. They performed their duties without showing any displeasure or impatience no matter how you behaved. Ash is secretive and reserved, and you guess their restrained temper is connected to the dark rumors surrounding them. Will they open up to you?

✨ Azarias / Azaria, the Royal Musician? (m / f)

Ash’s younger sibling, Az somewhat resembles them in appearance, but their characters couldn’t be more different. Az is bold, humorous, and fickle. They know everyone—and everything about everyone—and enjoy a special favor from the Sovereign, which has allowed them to retain their place in the royal palace for many years. You’re concerned about their peculiar attention to you because there’s no reason for it—you two have never met before. Or… is there a reason after all?

Progress

Two chapters are written; editing the second. After I'm done with it, I'll start coding them. Soon ✨

They say that small towns hide the darkest secrets. At least that’s what your mother always said about this one. You thought she meant how Father Simmons has a well-known drinking problem, how Mrs. Gladstone’s son looks more like his uncle than his father or that the mayor has been in power for 15 years because of voting fraud. Things everyone knows. Human Things.

But now as partially eaten bodies have been left in alarmingly rates all over this small town the world has no record of, you now know she meant something else.

Play as peculiar and disturbed individual surnamed Crown after the very town your ancestor founded, returning after a traumatic event two years prior that landed you in a psychiatric hospital. As your comeback coincides with a rapid increase of disappearances you find yourself in-broiled in a town conspiracy, a past that’s more alive than ever and the ever shifting self interested motives of those who claim to be your allies.

Who can you trust? What’s the truth behind your family? What are things that you see in the dark? 

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what shapes monsters come in.

Customize your MC from looks to gender

Reveal your sister’s disappearance

Rely on a group of complimentary polar opposites to find out the mystery and save your life

Befriend or romance a choice of three from enemies to lovers, childhood friends or an eternal admirer

Rating: 18+

Imre Duran

Quintessential good-boy-next-door. The most most-liked teenager in town. As son of the mayor and pageant queen, Imre has an image cultivated by him and maintained through his status which is why his back door activities are his cherished secrets. He is rather eager to help you… isn’t he?

Nia Mir

In the very real and present high school hierarchy Nia would be one of the nobles. As a wannabe doctor with a loathed father and an absent mother her dream is to leave behind this backwater town and all it’s weird phenomena that she doesn’t care to know more of. She liked you, once.

Lorcan Stark

Every town needs its bad boy and so Lorcan has aimed to be as every bit worthy of that title. The shunned son of a murderer and his victim, he is not really thought of as having a future beyond prison and petty crime especially in a town like this. You don’t remember a time when he didn’t hate you.

Salvatore Crown

Your brother. The heir to whatever fortune your family has left and the only one of the family who seems to like you.

Orla Crown

Your sister. No one ever knew what she thinking, a closed box full of unknowns. You knew she kept things, especially from you.

Mayor Duran

Seems like every other politician. Oddly enough no one ever really sees him, an entity watching over the town.

Mother

She never acted like one to any of her children. She’s never sober anymore.

Mrs. Mir

Disappeared years ago without a trance. No one remembers her first name. Was thought to have been clinically insane.

Demo (TBA) | Spotify (TBA)

Man, the flesh sucks. I'm gonna abandon it for the machine.

Seven Hard-Won Tips Specifically for Writing Interactive Fiction

This is pretty fun, putting together these lists of writing tips. Today's list is explicitly about interactive fiction.

The trick to writing great interactive fiction that anticipates, foreshadows, introduces themes early, and has interesting choices that set up later events is to *go back and rewrite the earlier chapters* after you’ve written later chapters.  That way you look like a genius who can plot things out way in advance, but in fact, you just went back and made it seem that way.  Good writing is recursive, and that’s just how it is.

I start with an outline, then I write a code skeleton, leaving blanks for the prose, and then go in and fill in the prose.  This way I’m either in code-brain or prose-writing-brain.  I don’t like switching between the two.  Then, after than phase, I go back one more time and I do the callbacks—you know.  Might the main character be wearing a feathered boa in this scene?  Here’s some custom text.  Might the main character be limping?  Here’s some more custom text.  If you do that after you write the prose, you’ll have the leisure to think of anything fun and specific you can use. 

Callbacks tell players that their choices are unique, important, memorable, and valued by the writer.  It tell them that their choices have led them down their own particular path that the writer is rewarding with unique prose.  It doesn’t have to have a stat effect or create a new fork in the narrative.  Great prose is the reward.

Find an group of alpha readers to read your work early and often and then shut up while they read it and just listen to what they say and comment.  You must resist the urge to explain because you won’t be there at everyone’s house when they are playing your game or reading your narrative.

Make rules for yourself about how you are going to name your variables.  Don’t do what I did, with a horrible blend of sometimes calling a chracter “gil” in the variables and sometimes “gilberto”; sometimes “fitz” and sometimes “fitzie”; sometimes “metvyv” and sometimes “met_tabby”—ugh!  This is self-torture.  Don’t do what I did.

Keep your initial creation of variables super organized.  Write comments in there explaining what these variables are and when you might need them.  I comment most when I am creating variables.  You might create a variable in chapter one called “mustardallergy” that you don’t need until chapter eight, so write a comment that says “variables for chapter eight” and stick that “mustardallergy” variable under it.  I didn’t do this for my first games, and I regretted it. 

Use generic variables and make your life easy.  If you are writing a scene at the racetrack, just make a “xrace” modifier and add and subtract to it willy-nilly to represent just general ups and downs of fortune.  Stub your toe?  -5 xrace.  Wear a fine hat?  +8 xrace.  Throw around some money at the bar?  +12 xrace!  Eat some bad shellfish?  -15 xrace! Then add xrace to every test.  It’s a way of tracking just the ups and downs of fortune.  You can omit it when it doesn’t make sense, but it’s just a great way to make tests and rewards and penalties cumulatively meaningful without having to have a billion variables tracking every last *reason* for the rewards and penalties.

Discover more mini-essays about writing interactive fiction, writing in general, and the process of writing the forthcoming Jolly Good series below.

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The Noble Gases, est. DCIVMCD

I am a weak man, what of it

Bronze age vampire adventure...

Route to Eutopia - New WIP IF

You have one year left to live.

But are you afraid of dying? Probably not. Since you don’t even know how to live your life. You have been hidden away from society's eye since young. And the only friend you have is an Alter, genetic-modified species born to only serve other people and nothing else. Alters live so ‘people like you’ could live.

That makes the two of you. Alive. But never here. Never lived.

If opportunities arise, would you take a chance to change it? Only you can answer.

In a world where feeling nothing at all is better than letting your emotions rule over you, your choice to break those rules and make a change will paint a new shade of history that no one ever could. 

Hidden behind shut doors to live your quiet life as a secret child of Bastien Palmer, Sole Leader of Eutopia paradise, you never experience anything except for repeating the same old routine your entire life. You are the existence which should not be known, not just for the reason that you are the byproduct of your father and his secret lover. But also because of your frightening ‘Alter-like’ eye color, most of it is silver like any Stargaze–but nevertheless… tinted shamefully by crimson streaks.

You are told to stay away from public eyes for the sake of Palmer’s reputation in which you feel obliged to. However, your life of peaceful solitude will never be the same again after tonight…

Route to Eutopia is a violent dystopian loosely-conceptual interactive story where you are a bystander surrounded by The Chosen One of your own choice. You are to designate whether this story will head towards the direction of mutual peace between Alters– a human-like specie believed to be plagued by uncured disease since birth– and Stargazers —a group of survivors whose ancestors once lived on a faraway planet before an inevitable disaster occurred and forced them to flee into another dimension, or towards a doom fate that cannot be reversible.

To be noted; RtE is a heavily-relationship based game (not necessarily in platonic/romantic sense) each of your interactions with any character will determine the tone and purpose of their motivation. Any choice you have chosen, make sure to embrace the consequences of your action at your own expense.

With that being said, it is also worth mentioning that you don’t need to engage into a romance or specific relationship with any character to complete the story.

RtE also rated 18+ for explicit contents, disturbing topics such as discrimination against race, gender or sexuality and more… which will be tagged and cautioned about once the demo is released.

Settings

RtE takes place in a post-apocalypse society where the concept of time is lost and any history known was only speculations at best and rumour at worst. Trying to maintain their sense of utopia, Stargazers built and operated their space colony as a temporary base for self-preservation (in which only fews know details about) called ‘Eutopia’. 

In this dystopian paradise people’s sole purpose of living was fixated on surviving. And in order to do that, the whole population creates a solid ground rule not to let themselves ‘feel’ about other emotions that do not serve for public favors. Hence, you will be challenged to adapt to several situations and handpick the best flavor of your actions based on the emotions you have learnt or developed from your surroundings.

Who do you play as?

For now, you will be playing as a secret child of Bastien Palmer, the leader of Stargazers who already has a wife and two other perfect children, your younger sister and brother. Ones you have never interacted with nor you ever get the chance to.

MCs subjectively considered a white sheet which you can paint anything on by your preferences. Explore the world full of colorful emotions or bottomless pit of numbness by your own choices. 

But remember, Eutopia is a place where everything goes according to one simple rule ‘To survive’ hence the marriage between a man and woman will be set as the norm and only truth, and someone who will state otherwise must face and suffer the ugliness of social standards accordingly. However, I do not encourage any transphobic/homophobic behavior of the characters in this story. Please kindly be assured of that.

There might be a chance where you can start off as other characters, that is, however, still a subject-to-change matter as of now.

Introduction to the Chosen Ones [ ROs]

**Please be aware of mild spoilers below**

Vegaris (M/F) 19 Star-crossed lovers or Nemesis route, The Rebel.

They would do anything to survive, even if it means to betray the only person who trusts them deeply… like you.

Vegaris is an Alter who has so many sides hidden behind closed doors. Unpredictable, cunning, hot and cold are the words that describe them best. Due to their traumatic childhood (much like other Alters on Eutopia), they have a deep-root hatred for Stargazers. Although they were brought in by your family and treated almost the same as one of your father’s own kids. They still witness the unfairness of being an Alter in society and never afraid to point the wrong in other people’s doings. 

Their usual mask, however, is one where you cannot crack open that easily. They always remain calm and composed in front of you, and only show their fangs when circumstances arise.

Dana/Darren Regency (M/F) 22 Childhood friends, Forbidden route, The Face.

For a person who seems to be easy to read as much as an open-book, they sure talk with silence better than with their own voice.

A poster girl/boy for Regency Academy. Your former childhood friend (for some unknown reason, they're trying their hardest to avoid you) and an only child to the Head of Deans at Regency, Sandalphon. They are the precise image of how one should raise a Stargazer. Being a honor student. A model citizen. And a perfect ideal partner. They are assigned to be married with the most capable genetic-wise fiancé. As popular as they appear to be to the public, their private life (as private as it can be) is still a gigantic loophole for most imprudent reporters trying to catch even just a glimpse.

It seems like what they are trying to avoid is not just you, but the entirety of Eutopia.

Sandalphon Regency (M/F) 40 Age-difference, Single-parent route, The Pacifist.

Do you believe in something just because it's true, or it becomes the truth only when you believe in it?

Sandalphon is the most powerful influence among the deans of Regency. A group of people that has control over governing matters even beyond that of Bastian Palmer, the President. For Sandal, they are anything and everything people could ever ask for in a Regency. Kind, generous, well-versed with every branch of knowledge in the universe. Never wrong in anything. And never judge anyone based on their bias.

If only people knew the truth, they’d probably beg to differ.

Maybe they are just good at hiding beneath that gentle facade, maybe a calculated mind with strings to pull works best with neutral suggestions... who knows?

One more hidden character will be revealed in the demo, Into the Madness route, The Savior.

[ Classified info. ]

**There will be two sub ROs and flings to be introduced later in the story.**

More info will be announced.

Demo TBA.

Datalog is completed roughly til the end of the story. Coding and polishing will certainly take time. Any more updates will be announced solely on this blog.

Follow & Reblogging is appreciated. Thank you!

Word List: Kill

for your next poem/story

-cide: killer; killing

Avicide - the killing of birds

Barmecide - providing only the illusion of abundance

Biocide - a substance (such as an algicide or fungicide) that destroys or inhibits the growth or activity of living organisms

Deicide - the killer or destroyer of a god

Ecocide - the destruction of large areas of the natural environment as a consequence of human activity

Floricide - the killing of a flower

Herbicide - an agent used to destroy or inhibit plant growth

Ixodicide - an agent that destroys ticks

Liberticide - the destruction of liberty

Menticide - a systematic and intentional undermining of a person's conscious mind; brainwashing

Mildewcide - an agent that destroys mildew

Ovicide - an agent that kills eggs; especially: an insecticide effective against the egg stage

Phytocide - a substance (as a herbicide) used to kill unwanted plants

Piscicide - a substance used to kill fish

Taeniacide - an agent that destroys tapeworms

Uxoricide - murder of a wife by her husband

Vaticide - the murderer of a prophet

Verbicide - deliberate distortion of the sense of a word (as in punning); one who distorts the sense of a word

Vulpecide - the killing of a fox by means other than those of hunting with hounds

Weedicide - herbicide

More: Word Lists

Redemption IF

Demo (tba)

Genre: Romance, Young Adult

Themes: Reflection, Sacrifice, Second chances

Dig two graves if you want revenge. For redemption, you only have to dig once.

You rush down the living room, your mother yelling at you to slow down as she was cleaning. You made a quick apology, before running towards the doorway meeting your sibling halfway there.

"Woah, slow down, you are in no rush after all," your sister exclaims. "You literally yelled my name and added 'urgent', so what gives?" You retort while giving a slight shrug.

She just smiles, giving you a poster. "I found this, that's why!" You consider her excitement, skimming over the words. You work out the words "Competition", and after, "Astra Academy" and immediately thinking of ways on how you could compete.

This is just a too perfect of an opportunity.

You were a student and a duelist enrolled in the best school in the country by scholarship. You have competitions, or rather enemies of sort, but you are better than them. Until one unfortunate night that caused your expulsion...

Five years later, you come across a poster presented by your sister. The poster shows a flaring base that can pique interests of others, and that is just the catalysts. It turns out, the Academy will be rewarding a very generous price to the winner; enough to turn your whole life around.

Blood, sweat, and tears will be shed. You, however, will shed more than that. Your history is complicated, your future is distant, and the journey is beyond treacherous.

Will the prize be worth the effort? If it is for your family, right?

⇨ Play as a person in search of redemption.

⇨ Customize your MC's appearance, gender, and sexuality.

⇨ Shape your skills throughout, master different forms.

⇨ 10 characters to meet, and 6 different characters to romance.

⇨ Reconnect with old relationships, weather it be rivals or friends.

⇨ Decimate your rivals, or spare them from your wrath.

⇨ Win the tournament... or not.

Romantic Options

🃁 Lys (M/F)

Possibly the greatest duelist inside the Academy... that is when you are not around. They are your ex, and still show hostility towards you. Perhaps you two could set aside your difference.

🂲 Page (M/F)

Your former classmate and closest friend in your circle. It has been years since you two had seen each other, and they went through many changes, however they still are a total airhead.

🂳 Rain (M)

A person with an interesting set of skills. His reason of joining is simply for fun, and to learn. He doesn't seem to have any interest in winning, but he hangs around to watch and cheer.

🂴 Yuna (F)

A person with an oozing positivity. She is charismatic, tolerable, and just a nice person in general. While she has some interest in competing, it is totally fine for her to loose.

🃅 Serai (M)

The most passionate player you will come across. His only hopes in this tournament is to win and nothing else. He will do everything to get this recognition.

🃆 Elaine (F)

A more laidback person than her brother, Serai. She does share the same goal as his brother, but is more accepting in whatever they receive.

Platonic Options

🃑 Resha (F)

Your number one fan, and sister. Even thought time is tough for you and her, she is very energetic and constantly bounces around. Her specialty, much to your dismay, is to annoy you everyday.

🃒 Anders (M)

Your favorite teacher. He is quite a father figure to you, he is the one who pushed you outside your comfort zone and shape you to the person you are today.

🂣 Whitey (M/F)

Your rival. They pretty much hate you more than Lys does. You pretty much have beaten in every duels, duo matches, and free-for-alls. They changed a lot, but their hatred still remains a passion.

🂤 Red (F)

Your former classmate, and another one of your rivals. There is no hate between you, since she is more of a training partner, though that doesn't mean they will go easy on you.

• Forum

• RO Info (wip)

• Patreon

< avalon was once an isle of legend, now it’s a city of hell >

< AVALON CITY. 2087 >

fifty years after the world’s radical takeover by an extremist group now known as the daughters of avalon, you awaken hooked up to a machine with fractured memories from a time that no longer exists.

the world you knew is gone and you are the power source for this new one.

you currently reside in the capital city governed by four sisters. they demand absolute obedience and dissenters are shown no mercy. it’s a dog-eat-dog world and no one is ever truly safe.

but that matters little to you now, all you know for certain is that you must escape. escape this machine, this facility, this city, this world. no matter the consequences.

< features >

-> customise your mc’s appearance and identity. cis and trans options are available and pronouns and titles can be chosen separately.

-> three characters to romance. poly routes are also an option.

-> explore the new world you’ve awoken in and discover both who you are and the depths of your abilities with the aid of your companions.

-> story driven.

< cast >

< SERAIAH | RO > a champion street fighter. a golden retriever in human form, ey is extremely popular on the holonet. you know you should stay away from em, but there’s something about em that draws you in and won’t let you go.

< JINHAI | RO > someone you remember. you feel as though you know them, but they seem determined to keep you at arms length. the only thing you know for certain is that they’re willing to die to keep you safe.

< AZRIEL | RO > the latest and most elite synth model. they were sent to hunt you down and bring you back alive. they’re ruthless and cold, but obsessed doesn’t even begin to cover what they feel for you.

< MANSI | NON-RO > an older synth model and your first companion. she was thrown out by her previous owners for being outdated. you saved them and in turn they swore to protect you.

< PENN | NO-RO > a young but highly skilled hacker. xe seems rather attached to you and does everything xe can to help you. you haven’t figured out why.

< TARAJI | NON-RO > the youngest of the four sister who govern avalon. she claims she’s on your side, but can you really trust her?

< POLYS > seraiah/jinhai | seraiah/jinhai/azriel

< notes >

header picture cr. patrick perkins [unsplash]

trigger warnings. sexual content (optional), explicit language, classism, unhealthy relationships, partial amnesia, mental health issues, panic attacks, depictions of blood and gore, body modifications (consensual), captivity and induced coma, death, murder and attempted murder, instances of drug and alcohol consumption and abuse, harassment, and extremist views.

asks. all types of asks are welcome, including those of a more explicit nature. any asks i am uncomfortable with will simply be deleted.

inspo. wolf’s rain, ghost in the shell, skulduggery pleasant book 7 (prison scene), and several other pieces of dystopian/cyberpunk media.