Effie | ENFP | interactive fiction author | find my WIP here | itch.io
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Early Access Poll ▸ Small Update + Favour
This update is ONLY concerned with LOADING TIME.
So before I go ahead and announce Update 0.1.3 in an itch.io devlog, I have a favour to ask anyone following my tumblr blog!
There's no new content to play, but it would be so incredibly helpful if you have time to visit the Garden of Bones itch.io page and simply load the game to see if it's faster. I made a big change to how the source files are compiled.
Feel free to message me directly if you have more detailed feedback! Otherwise, please at least consider running the game and voting in this poll, because that would really help me out a lot. It's loading much better for me, but everyone has different load times.
If loads in seconds for most of you, that's fantastic, and if not I have more improvements I can make tomorrow or the next day!
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Great News + Hmmm News
The great news is, I'm making heaps of progress on Chapter 2, even if I don't know how to quantify it for you! There are So Many Scenes. A few are completely skippable. Several of them you'll only get if you made certain choices. One scene requires a character customization feature. Some are finished, some are not.
And, put simply, if you managed to make U angry, you are going to have a different experience from other players. But this is not necessarily a bad thing - so don't despair if you secretly (or not-so-secretly) like U but gave them a hard time in the previous chapter!
Your choices here matter just as much... and more.
All said it's a tricky update that has a few different flavours depending on your decisions in Chapter 1, so even this much is no small achievement.
Coding it has been absolutely WILD.
$U looks to the window, as if the answer for this inexplicable turn of events lies somewhere in the desert sands, and then glances back at you with a puffed sigh. "You are ridiculous."
In hmmm news, I have a mild cold, and my tablet is running a bit louder than usual... keeping my fingers crossed it's an update issue that will resolve itself shortly, because this device is where I do all of my coding and audio editing and artwork for Garden of Bones - and a tablet upgrade is above my pay grade at this present moment in time, if you catch my drift.
But what can one do besides hope for the best, really?
I'll make sure everything is backed up and keep working!
Anyway, I've split this chapter in half in my mind: the final scene, which will be insane to draft, and all scenes leading up to the final scene. Those first scenes have a bullet-point outline of which order each scene should end up in, but the final scene has its own flowchart if that means anything to you, lol.
Similarly to the arson choice from last time, there might be a blocked path or two when the chapter is first released.
My usual alpha tester will be running through the choice-limited version of the beginning in a day or two for some early feedback before I complete the chapter and send it to betas, which is always helpful, so I'm pretty excited about that.
Rest assured I'm working as quickly as I can without giving myself burnout.
PROGRESS!
~ Effie
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Single Choice Jam starts today!

Come restrict player's choices with us :)
We will track entries on Tumblr with the #singlechoicejam, but you can also tag @neointeractives!
Join the Neo-Interactive Discord
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Sketching U + Z
I have decided to attempt a full-colour digital portrait for both of the twins... but I'd like your input. My initial thought was to include silhouette images with the game, but now I plan to actually render Z's eyes, since you have already glimpsed them in the painting you were given, and U's mouth, because you cannot see their eyes behind the veil... yet.
So to be clear: I won't be illustrating any more of their faces than this. Only the gaze, the smirk, to give you a place to start with your own headcanon of their appearances, if you wish for it.
Here is a VERY blurred look at my rough sketch of m!Z and m!U. And yes, I'll be sketching f!Z and f!U too based off what I'm outlining here.
NOTE: some of Z's features have been altered for spoiler reasons, and I'll leave you to guess at what that might be...
Nothing about this is final, but it should give you an idea of what it might look like when finished! I'm not a professional illustrator, but I am really hopeful that the final versions won't make me mumble "skill issue" under my breath...
If they do, rest assured I will not ruin the integrity of the game by including them!
Will probably reblog this a few times.
~ Effie
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AND I FINALLY GET TO READ ABOUT IT AN ENTIRE MONTH LATER! This was such a nice message to find in my inbox.
YES to the questionable behaviour.
YES to the manipulation.
YES to refusing the gifts!
I'm so glad you're having fun with these options - that was always the intention.
Comply. Flirt. Do neither. Do both. Keep secrets. Be scathingly transparent. I support engaging in mind-games with your local fey royalty, lol. After all, U is clearly weaponizing some level of manipulation at all times - why shouldn't their chosen mortal be able to respond in kind?
How you have shaped your Justice and their introduction to the world also shows me how collaborative the storytelling can be, which is amazing to hear. It's both tragic and a bit cute that a smile was Justice's first response, and so fascinating that their "endgame" is regaining control, because that lack of control is something we'll start defining in Chapter 2!
The personality archetype names are still placeholders, but the "delicate flower" is a set of traits that I'm currently intrigued by: those unassuming petals can also be quite deadly.
I hope Justice gets the revenge they're looking for and takes back that lost sense of control... one choice at a time.
Belated thanks for the ask, Anon!
~ Effie
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Hello at long last, Anon from the previous blog! I think all of the options have merit. You might try saying them all out loud to see which one sounds like your MC!
Honestly I'd love to "yes and" this scenario by declaring that whichever name you choose, your MC's forgotten Self haggled back-and-forth with U right up until the beginning of Chapter 1, and even then they managed to postpone the deal for upwards of several hours, convincing them to give you "five more minutes" or "a few more seconds" or "one moment more" every time you felt you had almost lit upon the right name.
Even better if, in the end, your MC circled back to whatever name was mentioned first, because that would make U infinitely more frustrated with the entire situation lol...
"That was a very daring and pretentious waste of my time, Irenmalegance—and I have more time than you would ever know what to do with."
Thanks so much for your extra thoughts on the name choices, Anon! I wish I could have gotten back to you much sooner.
New side-blog @gardenofbones-if.
~ Effie
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Awwwww!
Thank you so much, Anon! I have to admit I was wondering for over a month who Umr reminded you of, because I couldn't read more than the message preview until my inbox was restored!
It really says something about the popularity of "Obscura" in the Otome / IF community that I knew exactly who Cirrus is without having played the game, ahaha.
I definitely see it now that I'm looking at him again - there are a few very similar motifs! Including the mask. But I'm happy to hear that Umr stands on his own in your opinion. "Extra" is a good word to describe Umr, I think - he's less of a psychopath than what I know of Cirrus... although your MC may decide otherwise by the end of the game.
Playing a crybaby MC will affect how your personality is shaped, but maybe not as much as you're thinking it will. I'll do my best to explain without spoiling any of the character development!
If you cry a lot, you're more likely to end up with the "softhearted" trait, as opposed to being "blunt", but it won't affect anything else about your MC or the endings that are available to you in later chapters. However, if you choose to break down crying after your first conversation with U (the choice is marked as important), then that is most likely to be how you break down again in the future, if you do. It will also colour many of your interactions with the world!
So crying will become one of your "automatic" responses to stress that just happens occasionally. When it comes to choices, you can always decide how your MC reacts in the moment, although different options might be available to you because of that automatic response.
For example, near the end of the chapter, before U leaves your MC, you can shout for them to "wait!" and ask one last question.
MCs who broke down crying in front of U are able to ask this immortal entity if they have ever cried before, and get a predictably cagey response. It's not that important but those are the details I personally enjoy in IFs, so I'll be including them where possible.
But depending on your combination of choices, you can be an absurdly optimistic crybaby, or a very angry one, or a crybaby who's just too tired to care anymore, lol!
Your English is lovely by the way, and I see no misspellings whatsoever. :) It's honestly just amazing to know that someone took the time to play the heavily text-based Garden of Bones when it's written in their second or third language. Thank you so much for playing, and for the kind message!
New blog is @gardenofbones-if, by the way.
I'll reblog this reply and any other messages I respond to from the old blog to the old blog to give the original anons a better chance at seeing them.
~ Effie
#FINALLY I CAN RESPOND#thank you so much for your patience#asks#interactive fiction#garden of bones if
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You, a mortal, awaken in an unfamiliar land of heat and sand, staring into the unfeeling mask of a spindly stranger who claims to rule the deathless kin of the air.
Beholden to an unremembered promise to assassinate their disgraced twin sibling, bound for an eldritch garden hidden somewhere in the arid plains, and compelled by an enchantment you do not understand, certain choices are beyond your control...
...yet even so, the power of life and death is forever fated to slip through immortal fingers. It lies within your hands, and yours alone. Many questions plague you, but only one can you answer.
What will you do with it?
GARDEN OF BONES is a 17+ interactive work-in-progress with an emphasis on relationships, and includes some content that may be triggering; complete warnings will be included within the game and updated if necessary.
MAIN CHARACTERS
The Younger (M/F)
Weary of being disregarded and mocked for their aspirations, the Younger needs their disapproving sibling and crowned ruler out of the way, for good... and only a mortal can kill an immortal. Will you be their weapon?
The Elder (M/F)
A banished ghost haunts a garden removed from the flow of time; they had not considered that their beloved twin would stab them in the back... and now they are doomed to rise and fall by your hand. How far will you take this lie?
The Mortal (N/A)
A forgetful assassin, sent to dirty your hands on behalf of an immortal ruler from another realm. Cling to the past with bitterness or longing, or abandon it all if you wish. Forge a path built on vengeance or mercy. What will you sacrifice?
Note: as the siblings are identical twins, both ROs must be set together, so you will have the opportunity to play the game with immortal sisters or immortal brothers as your romantic options and potential allies.
SIDE CHARACTERS
The Servant
Sworn to the younger's cause, just like you, yet she seems to be little more than a thorn in their side... there is a history between them that remains unspoken. Will she ever trust you?
The Guard
Nameless, voiceless, faceless, and unwaveringly loyal: the younger twin is rarely seen without their personal champion shadowing their footsteps, and others fear that silent presence. Do you believe the rumours?
FEATURES
CURRENT FEATURES
⮞ fey-adjacent immortal folk ⮞ 2 M/F selectable romance options ⮞ customize your appearance ⮞ shape your personality ⮞ 45+ minute playtime
PLANNED FEATURES
⮞ a curse (may not be discovered) ⮞ bones (quite a lot of them) ⮞ riddles and revenge ⮞ finished romantic route ⮞ finished platonic route ⮞ 4+ highly variable endings ⮞ impactful decisions
Everything here is subject to change.
LINKS
DEMO | ITCH.IO | RO INTROS | PINTEREST
Current word count: 70,000.
I find friendships to be equally as captivating and fulfilling as romantic affection (and also fully support your right to antagonism and arson if desired) so expect me to do my best to ensure that each route is as lovingly detailed as possible!
Thanks for your interest and I hope to craft a most distressing and positively delightful journey for you.
Ask me anything!
~ Effie
#just realized i forgot to reblog the updated demo to my old blog!#any notes on this revised and much more visible intro post are appreciated#even if you've reblogged the old one#also i moved blogs#have i mentioned that yet lol#interactive fiction#if wip#twine if#twine wip
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UPDATE 0.1.2: Existing Demo Edits
Note: my previous intro post is no longer up-to-date, so you can click the links below to view the new intro post and an improved RO page! Likes or reblogs are even more appreciated than usual.
DEMO LINK | INTRO POST | ROMANCE OPTIONS
This is the last update before 0.2.0 aka a new content release! No new chapter yet, so for some of you it might not be worth replaying, but minor edits to the first chapter are finally done. If I did my job well you won't notice most of them, but if you're interested in seeing what's changed be warned that you may need to re-play again before the next chapter.
The arson branch is short, bridging two other scenes you will have seen before, but there are a few different choices to determine how it plays out!
There shouldn't be any game-breaking errors, so I'm just posting it now because I am VERY eager to resume working full-time on Chapter 2! Finally I can return my focus to new content for the rest of the month, and I’ll be able to make much faster progress because of changes to the code.
YOU WILL NEED NEW SAVES.
NEW CONTENT
Don't expect too much to be different, but I did make some changes!
the arson option is complete! now you can not only turn the room upside-down, but light it on fire ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜
sprinkled more flavour text throughout
a few scenes were slightly revised for clarity, such as the prologue and the dream scene at the end
described the servant and guard in more detail
1 small interactive choice for the servant and the guard
new customization options: more scar choices, near or short sighted, greying hair/beard
CODING IMPROVEMENTS
The true (invisible) star of this update is all the changes to the code!
re-coded literally everything seriously there will be errors please message me if you see any
adjusted U's affection and trust stats (still a WIP)
corrected some flavour text coding errors
the "not-a-gift" scene should now reference all items you were given, if you decide to use them
USER INTERFACE
I did my best not to go too crazy with this until the new content is finished...
default dark mode
improved main menu screen
adjusted settings and saves menu colours
UPDATE NOTES (+ how to set stuff on fire)
Ignore if you don't want any spoilers!
To set the tower ablaze, you will need to choose the option where you scatter the nightblooms, not the other two options (sinking to the ground or touching the flowers).
I think this goes without saying, but do be aware that if you choose to light things on fire, it might - might - impact your experience in Chapter 2 next update, depending on what I decide moving forward and how your unique choices play out. That's not a reason NOT to do it, but it is something to note.
You can read the new intro post HERE if you haven't played before or want to give it a like (TYSM), or jump straight into the updated DEMO.
Thanks for playing!
~ Effie
#forgot to reblog this to my old blog#in case someone missed moving day lol#interactive fiction#if wip#if game#twine if#twine game#if update
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OFFICIALLY MOVING BLOGS
I won't be posting here much anymore - if you want updates for Garden of Bones, you can follow me @gardenofbones-if!
Anons, please do feel free to message me there if you still want an answer; my inbox is inaccessible to me on this blog but I have been able to reply to anons on the side-blog. I'm sorry for any inconvenience - the response time of tumblr support is beyond my control, unfortunately.
As mentioned previously, a new update will be going live soon. Not a new chapter, but it will tidy up the original demo so I can return my focus to Chapter 2 for the rest of the month. I'll be able to make much faster progress after that because of changes to the code!
Hope to see you on the new blog, and THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the follows, messages, likes, and reblogs over the past few months.
I appreciate every single one!
~ Effie
#self reblog#will probably reblog it once more next week#thank you again#and hopefully see you there!#interactive fiction
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OFFICIALLY MOVING BLOGS
I won't be posting here much anymore - if you want updates for Garden of Bones, you can follow me @gardenofbones-if!
Anons, please do feel free to message me there if you still want an answer; my inbox is inaccessible to me on this blog but I have been able to reply to anons on the side-blog. I'm sorry for any inconvenience - the response time of tumblr support is beyond my control, unfortunately.
As mentioned previously, a new update will be going live soon. Not a new chapter, but it will tidy up the original demo so I can return my focus to Chapter 2 for the rest of the month. I'll be able to make much faster progress after that because of changes to the code!
Hope to see you on the new blog, and THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the follows, messages, likes, and reblogs over the past few months.
I appreciate every single one!
~ Effie
#seriously#thank you#interactive fiction#if wip#twine if#twine game#interactive game#interactive novel#garden of bones#interactive story#garden of bones if#if game
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First Progress Report on the New Blog!
Yaaaay thank you so much for 73 followers! ⸜(˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶)⸝♡
All my appreciation to everyone who followed Garden of Bones here from the other blog, and if you're new, hello and welcome!
Small update for you: troubleshooting is going VERY well and I'm much happier with this version of the demo! I haven't changed too much aside from the arson branch, but it's simply... better. Especially glad that you will get a few more paragraphs with the servant and the guard - that final scene was a bit rushed.
This was always going to be a built-in way to play with individual choices, but based on your early feedback, a new flag has been added to specifically mark your early feelings for MCs who choose to believe U from the beginning or commit fully to the cause. I've been affectionately referring to them as les dévoués while playtesting: the lonely souls and living weapons are seen in this draft.
You can now also find U superficially attractive (or superficially unattractive) outside of whatever choice you make about how to approach your unique relationship. I'm not sure how I'm going to use this information yet, exactly, but I have some ideas...
Update 0.1.2 is almost ready to go live, and hopefully a new intro post will be finished by then, too.
PROGRESS!
~ Effie
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New Side-Blog + Pinterest Boards
I CAN REPLY TO ANONS AGAIN (I THINK?)
You can find my new side-blog HERE! Definitely give it a follow if you're following here for updates, because this blog is shadowbanned and I don't know when support will get back to me. Still unsure whether to port everything over or use it as a temporary measure, but I'll be posting there while waiting for tumblr to respond to my ticket. I know very little about how side-blogs interact with your main blog, so I'm hoping for the best!
VISUALS
For those of you who were interested in mood boards, my least spoilerish pins have been moved to a public PINTEREST board! These boards are always changing so I'll keep adding and rearranging, and there is definitely more to follow on Z's board after certain in-game reveals...
Really did my best to define the vibes and inspirations per twin as far as clothing and cultural details as well: while there are many inspirations for the general look and feel of the Arid Plains inhabitants, Z and U each have a unique "style."
TBD how successful it was.
TO-DO LIST UPDATE
In other news, my to-do list is still in progress.
Not because nothing has been crossed off, but because everything has been crossed off and a lot of new troubleshooting items have been added.
Now that I've included more customization options, found and eliminated multiple instances of vestigial coding from last year that are probably still confusing a few of you in the current version, completely restructured every single variable for your MCs in Chapter 1, and will not be bothering my beta readers until Chapter 2...
I'm currently in the middle of solo playthrough #82,365 and stopping to troubleshoot my code every few choices.
IN CONCLUSION
Love this WIP beyond words, but am more than ready to get back to the next chapter when this update is finished! Chapter 1 was a months-long adventure in learning CSS and JavaScript, and despite adding several new passages, I could probably recite the entire thing backwards in my sleep at this point.
The hair customization in particular may cost me my sanity.
Thoughts and prayers welcome.
~ Effie
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New Side-Blog + Pinterest Boards
I CAN REPLY TO ANONS AGAIN (I THINK?)
You can find my new side-blog HERE! Definitely give it a follow if you're following here for updates, because this blog is shadowbanned and I don't know when support will get back to me. Still unsure whether to port everything over or use it as a temporary measure, but I'll be posting there while waiting for tumblr to respond to my ticket. I know very little about how side-blogs interact with your main blog, so I'm hoping for the best!
VISUALS
For those of you who were interested in mood boards, my least spoilerish pins have been moved to a public PINTEREST board! These boards are always changing so I'll keep adding and rearranging, and there is definitely more to follow on Z's board after certain in-game reveals...
Really did my best to define the vibes and inspirations per twin as far as clothing and cultural details as well: while there are many inspirations for the general look and feel of the Arid Plains inhabitants, Z and U each have a unique "style."
TBD how successful it was.
TO-DO LIST UPDATE
In other news, my to-do list is still in progress.
Not because nothing has been crossed off, but because everything has been crossed off and a lot of new troubleshooting items have been added.
Now that I've included more customization options, found and eliminated multiple instances of vestigial coding from last year that are probably still confusing a few of you in the current version, completely restructured every single variable for your MCs in Chapter 1, and will not be bothering my beta readers until Chapter 2...
I'm currently in the middle of solo playthrough #82,365 and stopping to troubleshoot my code every few choices.
IN CONCLUSION
Love this WIP beyond words, but am more than ready to get back to the next chapter when this update is finished! Chapter 1 was a months-long adventure in learning CSS and JavaScript, and despite adding several new passages, I could probably recite the entire thing backwards in my sleep at this point.
The hair customization in particular may cost me my sanity.
Thoughts and prayers welcome.
~ Effie
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Okay, alright, I'm on it!
Visuals aren't always a game-changer for me personally so I wasn't sure what the results would be, but I love a mood board and 31.6% so far feels like an overwhelming majority with only 5.3% disinterest! Working on some POSSIBLE illustrations for U and Z, but I want to keep any depictions very subtle in the game itself, so hopefully this will be helpful for those of you who voted yes!
You're welcome to keep voting (am curious about the final numbers with more people - how many of you do like mood boards?), but that was all the convincing I needed lol.
Thanks for sharing your opinions!
Question about Mood Boards
How many of you use Pinterest?
No promises but I was just remembering that I have some personal boards for this project, and could make public (read: spoiler-free) versions of those boards at some point if you would like to see some of those inspirations! Although, it wouldn't necessarily be canon. On a scale of 1-10...
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Question about Mood Boards
How many of you use Pinterest?
No promises but I was just remembering that I have some personal boards for this project, and could make public (read: spoiler-free) versions of those boards at some point if you would like to see some of those inspirations! Although, it wouldn't necessarily be canon. On a scale of 1-10...
#polls#a fun one this time imo!#interactive fiction#pinterest#garden of bones if#if wip#twine if#twine game
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Slow but Necessary Progress
My to-do list may have gotten slightly out of hand when I realized that NOW is the time to get all your MC's variables in order and find "systems" that work for me moving forward, so while I'm hoping to get 0.1.2 finished this upcoming week, I want to do this well, not quickly. Not many items left to cross off that list though!
Here's a glimpse at what remains of my to-do list:
objects and arrays (send help)
more flavour text
final arson route edit
add [SPOILER] option to other routes
finish new hallway interaction
...and a few other last-minute details for Chapter 1 that almost nobody will notice, purely because it makes me happy. Everything else is just tedium and troubleshooting.
Hoping for all of these changes to go live sometime in mid-June! I'll definitely post a note here to let you know.
After the update, I can focus on my draft for Chapter 2 again, and all the choices that come with it. One Glorious Choice in particular. A deceptively fleeting choice, tbh, but I still can't even bring myself to hint at what it is because it should be an in-game reveal.
Not all of you will see this particular variant of the interaction, but the excerpt I posted in May is actually from that same scene.
If only you knew.
I'm very excited guys but the boring stuff must happen first.
Slowly making up for time lost to headaches!
PROGRESS.
~ Effie
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