#project amble intro

[hpowellsmith]

New Game Announcement: THE EARTH HAS TEETH by Harris Powell-Smith

Play the current WIP demo on cogdemos or itch!

Developer Diary | ROs | Tagged posts

A century ago, the tiger god Vastan fought a risen demon over the steppes and mountains that are your home, battling for mastery over the earth below. Their war poisoned the land, causing magical storms that twist the mind and the elements alike. At the moment of Vastan’s eventual triumph she was grievously wounded, retreating beneath the mountains to be cared for by a sect of worshippers known as the Guardians of Tulara. You are one of those Guardians: a scout who ventures from the secretive monastery to hunt, gather, and trade with those living on the plains. Protected from the storms by Vastan’s power even as she sleeps, you care for your wounded god in your small, safe community. Until today. After an attack on your monastery that leaves your comrades dead and scattered, you cut a piece of your god to preserve her in a weakened, half-alive state and run. Scraping together a living as a hunter, forager, and courier on the dangerous steppes, you must survive the gathering storms while searching for a way to bring your god back to life. In this fantasy game of tragedy and survival, will you rebuild your order or forge a new path of your own, align with Vastan or rebel against her? Will you bring back your god and protect your lands, or take this chance to seize power for yourself?

Play as male, female, or non-binary; cis or trans; gay, straight, or bisexual; asexual and/or aromantic; allosexual and/or alloromantic; monogamous or polyamorous

Befriend, romance, clash with, or destroy an ambitious, stubborn magic enthusiast with a lot to prove; a hard-bitten courier determined to be self-reliant while looking after their own; a haughty, visionary herbalist obsessed with preserving knowledge for future generations; an outgoing, no-nonsense guard with a strong protective streak; a fast-talking witch-turned-con-artist who might have a heart of gold somewhere.

Survive the storms: use your skills and knowledge to help the communities on the steppes–or only yourself

Unearth dark secrets on the steppes: will you share them with the world, or bury them once more?

Build your relationship with your dying god and rebuild her power, or use it for your own ends

Give of yourself or others for the greater good, persuade your god to different paths, or rebel against her entirely

When the storm hits, what will you sacrifice for survival?

The MC of The Earth Has Teeth

You’ve lived in the Tulara monastery all your life, along with a group of around fifty Guardians of Vastan. After your parents died in a storm when you were in your mid-teens, you were cared for by the other Guardians and have lived a comfortable, if hard-working, life.

You’re now 25 and an experienced scout, adept at travelling alone and surviving in the wilderness. Thanks to Vastan’s power and protection, you’ve rarely wanted for food and even if some of your trips outside were harder than others, the safe haven of the monastery walls was always waiting for you.

Not anymore.

Vastan the tiger god

In your holy texts, Vastan is described as a tiger larger than the sky who moves faster than the eye can see and has all-powerful influence. As you know her, she appears as a tiger striped black-and-gold the size of a house, who sleeps in a huge underground chamber deep in the Tulara monastery.

While the demon Nerekay had influence over and could warp the elements, Vastan’s power is entwined with nature, protection, and growth. She made unearthly plants grow and flourish in the monastery, and her presence improved the health of her Guardians. She can also provide protection from the hypnotic, mind-altering storm sickness and, before the attack, she shielded the monastery from storms hitting it at all.

You carry a part of Vastan with you now, and although her powers are diminished, she can still lend you help when you’re in need.

Magic in Amikya

In Amikya, the land in which you live, priests draw magical power from Vastan through time-honoured religious ritual, whereas witches do so through practices more like folk medicine and superstition passed down through generations of folklore. Not all witches consider their power to come from Vastan: some see it as drawing magic from the earth.

There are blurred lines between the practices, though not every witch or priest would like to admit such a thing, and not every town approves of magical practices at all.

Major Befriendable and Romanceable Characters

All the romanceable characters are gender-flippable. All characters can be romanced monogamously; some can be romanced polyamorously in various configurations - more on that later!

Armell Bassar (23): the only child of a town leader, Armell is passionate about learning more magic to protect and expand their home. With a keen mind and more intensity than they know what to do with, Armell is eager to prove themself to their community and to their mother. (flippable between cis man/cis woman/agender)

Elisei/Elena/Elis Kiriyak (32): an expert herbalist and potion-maker, Dr. Kiriyak is near-obsessive about their collection of seeds and potions and the knowledge they’ve amassed. Some might call them arrogant; Kiriyak would say that’s irrelevant. (flippable between trans man/trans woman/genderqueer)

Nikita Leu (25): a courier carrying items and messages as well as escorting people, Nikita is an excellent survivalist and has endured a dangerous itinerant life on the plains despite experiencing tragedy. Nikita is generally withdrawn and self-reliant to a fault. (flippable between cis man/cis woman/transfem)

Serhii/Sara/Saba Roschin (39): the leader of a town guard, Roschin is boisterous and cheerful, and likes to be the first to dive in to fix a problem. Roschin is a bold fighter and protector who may go too far when joking around but will stand up for others when it matters. (flippable between cis man/cis woman/transmasc)

Valeria/Valerio Chernenko (26): a flamboyant witch who guides travellers through storms and sells magical charms, Val’s trinkets aren't always as effective as they claim. Living a transient life, Val relies on their wits to avoid trouble - not always successfully. (flippable between trans man/trans woman/nonbinary transfem)

[lettalady]

FEBRUARY FLASH FIC [OR DRABBLE OR FICLET] - Day 7 - endearing

There’s this way that he frowns when he’s trying to drill words into his brain that makes me fall a little more in love with him every time. Not that I’m stupid enough to tell him. Most days I’m content to remain his friend, content to enjoy the close proximity that that particular moniker allows without doing anything foolish to jeopardize my standing. Most days. 

Then there are some days when I open my mouth and thoughts spill out that have no right to be aired. I swear that’s how we became friends in the first place. After being paired for a project I glanced over at the hunk ambling towards me and muttered - at a decibel I thought no one could hear - ‘fuck me, we’ll be the giraffe and the hamster’. 

Of course he heard the comment, and his warm smile melted into a heartfelt chuckle that zipped straight into my chest and stayed there. From then on, in addition to the various assignments we tackled for the sake of education, my mission as I chose to accept it was to make him laugh at every opportunity. It’s great watching him double over because I’ve laid another horrible pun on him. Don’t get me wrong, I aim for wit. I just usually miss. 

Don’t start swooning over the height difference, either. It’s comical, not endearing. Like a chihuahua befriending a great dane, comical. I’ve never been so grateful for an intro class, though. Never before, and never since. 

While our shared classes have ended, the friendship has not. Study sessions are great for torturing myse- I mean, focusing on the things that will be coming up on our respective exams. I’ll blame sleep deprivation and chemistry - sadly just the formulas making me cross-eyed in my textbooks and not the other kind, for what came out of my mouth that night. It certainly wasn’t a moment of bravery. 

"Why aren’t we together?” 

He emits a harrumph and tosses his head just enough to make his fringe flop out of his eyes for a moment, even though in the next second it’s settling into place over his eyelashes again.  Out comes that smile that makes making myself cross-eyed over formulas worthwhile. “Your poor jokes and - as you’ve told me on many occasions - I snore.” 

He thinks I’m messing around, as usual. I act mock affronted, placing my hand over my heart to try to play it off a bit before switching to point at him, “You love my jokes. And I could invest in earplugs.” 

He raises an eyebrow at me before dropping his gaze back to the book propped on his knees, a smile on his lips. “Hm. Guess you’d better go shopping, then. Let me know if they have bulk rates.” 

[Wherein the writer lost track of the drabble for a bit there. Whoops.   Have an idea for a February Flash Fic(let or drabble or prompt)? Let me know!]

[jordanthoughtsoup]

You wake up. The light is yet to pierce your iris but your eyelids shade to red, spoiling what is to come. The sun beams through the intertwined leaves resting high above you. If only you could remember...

A faint voice hums in the distance, luring your attention. It’s a delicate, familiar melody, though you cannot piece where you know it from.

As you amble closer, the sound multiplies. Seems as though it was a choir singing all along, but your ears point in one obvious direction only.

Your eyes notice a foggy, misty female figure calmly washing her cloths in a pond, as the water ripples through the surface. You cannot quite see her, though everything around her is clearly visible.

The humming gets closer, louder, and fuller every step you take towards her. It’s as if she was singing through the body of three different intonations.

Without notice, she speaks to you from afar, though you can hear her whispers close to you.

“There is a long journey ahead of you, my dear. You can refer to me as Guidance, though I will solely talk to you when the time is right. You must go now; follow the path you wish to choose. Once found, will you be blessed with the soup.”

As a stream of questions rushes through, the innumerable choices before you have a paralyzing effect, cementing your feet in the soil.

You close your eyes, and in the hopes of following your heart, you take a first step.

The soup journey has begun.

Second week of lectures, first few chapters down and already a project on the way. Today marks the first day of development for Game 1: The Platformer.

Though I am yet to clearly define what the game will feel like, I definitely want to follow the recently learned Guidance rules for the ideation phase.

I am looking to invest the next few days brainstorming ideas based on other famous platformers, mixing them with the calm, relaxing storyline-based feel I already decided to implement. These ideas will be then collected and refined into my elevator pitch, keeping closely in mind the experience of the player.

Accustomed to working in SCRUM Agile, every week's iteration will have it's own issues. Every week, at the end of the sprint, the game will be tested. This is to ensure player-centric development, where I can gather feedback on what was implemented during the sprint. Unfortunately, we only have three weeks for this project.

I expect to have the game conceptually clear by the end of the week, granting me time to implement it well in the following two.

[tonguetiedmag]

music: weekly roundup (our favorite song submissions of the week

The Indigo Project - Sertraline

This track reminded me of a poppier Arctic Monkeys. One of my absolute favorite things, as I’m sure I’ve said before, is when a vocalist’s accent doesn’t disappear when they sing and this song is a prime example of that phenomenon. This is a love song for antidepressants, which is a dialogue I love to see in music - it’s definitely something we should all be talking about. Despite it’s heavy content, this track is presented in such a catchy way. The vocals, lead and backing, really pull you in and the guitars are so exciting.

steve. - Ankle Biter

You know I just have to have a punk track each week, and this week’s selection from DIY rockers steve. is exactly what I’m looking for all the time. This track packs such an intense punch into only a minute of music. The attitude in the vocals is palpable from the very first line: “I’ll be your disposable friend, yeah I’m pissed off with how it ends.” If that’s not relatable, I don’t know what is. The guitars are in your face, the drums are wild and unstoppable, and the ending is abrupt - exactly what I’m looking for in my angry outbursts. As someone who’s seen a lot of close friends come and go, this is the anthem I never knew I needed. Please excuse me while I listen to it every day for the rest of my life.

Anna Sofia - No Fun

As someone who hates most “going out” activities - going clubbing, going dancing, karaoke, etc. - this song just gets me. The vocals are laid back, cool-girl chill and the instrumentals are so interesting, they really pull you in. I’m a sucker for a track with a little bit of brass in it, so the 2:00 mark really sold me (as if I wasn’t sold already). She sings “I just wanna go, I just wanna go home” and I felt it. Stay home girl, I’m with you. We can listen to this song, because you know it’s on our chill playlist.

Pink Leather Jackets - Wasting Time

The intro to this song made me laugh, which of course immediately won me over. It’s the perfect start to this track and preps you for the vibe of the song perfectly. I would expect to hear this song at a house show somewhere, maybe there’s a couple making out on the couch, maybe someone jumps in the pool with their clothes on, who knows. The vocals sound real; they’re not overly polished, but they’re just right for the punk undertones of this track. While the outro is maybe a bit much, it really fits and pulls the intro through the song, and what’s more pop punk than an outro that makes you go, “what?”

David Corson x Corey Hale - Wait a Little While

This is a song that wouldn’t be out of place in a 90’s teen movie, most likely over a rom-com like montage of a misguided couple that’ll figure it all out in the end. The acoustic guitar intro pulls you in, the vocals are low and a little rough (swoon), and the instrumentals keep it all upbeat. The instrumentals in this seriously rock, so make sure to pay them the attention they deserve. This track is perfect for: your road trip playlists, staring out the window thinking about unrequited love, slow sunday mornings sitting in the sun.

BENEE - Supalonely ft. Gus Dapperton

This song was a bit of a surprise for me - I normally don’t go for tracks that are mostly electronic beats, but thirty seconds into this I knew I wanted to hear it again. The vocals on this just ooze confident, cool-girl energy. The backing track is so intensely catchy it’s almost frustrating; the pacing is upbeat but still lowkey and a little meandering. The song grabs your hand and takes you with it on a really self-aware journey about being by yourself. Everytime I listen to this track I find myself singing, “I’m a lonely bitch,” to myself under my breath. It’s true, I am. Relatable.

KNASH - Waste My Day

Another synth-forward track this week, but this time the vibe is a little more hypnotic. The first thing you hear in this track is a low hum over some really crisp drums. When the vocals kick in, they are so smooth and cool that all I wanted was to hear them in my ear forever. This song reminds me a lot of those really fantastic 90s girl alternative anthems. This is the anthem I needed about a day spent doing nothing. It’s my lazy day theme song now.

Egomi - waiting on you

This week was full of surprises for me on the style-preferences front. A really interesting combination of electro-pop backtracking, smooth R&B style vocals, and mainstream pop lyrics, this song had me hooked at precisely the 00:36 mark. Each chorus takes the energy the song has and winds it into something just a touch more intense. In a really strange way, this song made me a little stressed, and that’s exactly how I knew it was a great track. The cadence of the vocals pulled me so far into the story that I felt like I was living it. Definitely don’t overlook the lyrics here, either - they’re so tender and raw.

WINEHOUSE - Pretty Lips

The vocals on this are seriously ethereal. This woman could sing me the phone book and I’m pretty sure it would make me feel beautiful; her voice is somehow sultry, delicate, and mature all at the same time. The instrumentals are a beautiful foil to this: between the drums and the stunning brass outro, they’re full-bodied and really round out the sound. The lyrics on this are sugar sweet. Seriously, I want her to be singing about me.

Bumblebee Saturday - My Farm

This track is laid back, easy listening. It rounds out this week’s playlist for the more low-key listeners with a beautiful, almost Beatles-esque track. The first time I listened to this track, it lulled me into such a calm. This song just ambles along and takes you with it as it goes to any old place. It sounds the way a lazy, late-summer Sunday evening feels, when you don’t have a care in the world and everything is that beautiful shade of sunset-golden. If you listen to this song and aren’t lulled into some kind of serene daydream as they cycle through mini-odes to farm animals, you need to listen to this song again.

Listen to all these fo all these songs on our playlist! 

Article by: Jacq Kozak

[souichipresents]

Now right off the bat I should tell you something; I’m not kidding about how long I’ve sat on this review. I have the solid first half of a review sitting in my drafts almost literaly since the game came out. So why now, and not then?

Well… because if I can’t make a review without feeling like I would hurt people, I won’t make it.

And while I love what this game does as a horror concept, a lot of it’s thesis rests on  “weird sonic fanart” and “scary creepy WEIRD kinks”. Which… as a thing, there’s a lot to unpack there. Seriously, I could be here all day. And have been! This intro was a full review length at one point. But I think i finally got it down to the bare bones of the problem.

I might love this game, but making fun of sonic fandom/people with niche kinks is the pits. That kind of mockery is disproportionately aimed towards children/young teens, and non neurotypical folks. It’s shocking how much people feel they have the right to be viciously cruel with as little justification as “likes something oddball” or “not a sufficiently polished artist. If that was the only core to this game I could find, we wouldn’t be here. I feel that Sonic Dreams Collection uses the Sonic franchise and “weird” fandom media as an on-ramp into something else completely; but I also can’t say it’s not there. Really… pretty there. And that absolutely sucks. I hate it.

But I also hate a lot of stuff in otherwise good horror. Outlast 1 is in an Asylum which is the PITS. Silent Hill tends to focus on sexualized and injured female bodies as a horror motif- that sucks! Junji Ito… wrote Hellstar Remina. What I’m saying… is… liking horror is suffering.

But mainly that if I tried to review things without flaws in this genre, I’d run out of material pretty damn fast. I chose to attach this pre-amble directly to the first video in the upload, so that the series, and my discussion, wouldn’t be split up. If how I wind up talking about it winds up still being insufficient, and the projects a wash, I accept that consequence. If I fail in demonstrating my thesis, then I will have failed, and I will make it right.

All i can do is try to be responsible; being a reviewer means I’m assuming some level of authority in the field, after all. I owe my audience that much.

[blankpagesofmine]

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of e-chatting on Instagram with a friend and fellow writer by the name of Craig Atkinson. I could spend time pre-ambling by saying just how great of a wordsman/sketch artist he is, but I’ll let the writer chat speak for itself. Mind you, this was kind of a laidback conversation between two fans of literature, creating literature, and general passion project fiends, so apart from a few corrected typos during the live talk, the majority of this is unedited. Also be sure to stop by Iron Lung Press and order a copy of Craig’s chapbook titled “The Longest Weekend.” It’s currently out of stock (because it’s that wonderful), but I’m sure the reprint will be making its way webside very soon. You can also find two of my chapbooks on the ILP website, titled “The House of Wander en Crone” and “Regection.”

  Blankpagesofmine: So first off, good morning. I find it interesting that when you and I chat on Instagram it’s on completely opposite schedules.

Craig: Haha. Good morning.

Blankpagesofmine: It’s funny because I’ll be up at the crack of dawn and we’ll chat for a bit, then I’ll go to work, you’re out for the night, then by the time I’m leaving you’re up again. Not sure it gets much more backwards than that haha. Anyway, thanks for taking the time to chat with me a little about our beloved craft.

Craig: You’re welcome. It works the same for me too. While I’m at work, the US is quiet. But I’ve always lived in this time zone, so nothing new to me. Australia is a hour ahead of Japan.

Blankpagesofmine: Makes sense, it’s become your normal day-to-day routine. How long have you been out in Tokyo now? What brought you out there from Australia in the first place?

Craig: It’s a little complicated, but I first landed in Tokyo in 2007 on a working holiday visa, after a year and a half in London. I lived here for another year and a half, and in that time a met my wife. We’d been together a year when my visa ended, so she decided to move to Australia with me. We lived there for 5 years, then 2013 we moved back to Tokyo.

Blankpagesofmine: That’s a very interesting movement back and forth between a few places! And also a very cool romantic story, by the way. No wonder you’re a writer, the backstory of Craig is easily something I could picture reading in an engaging novel. I’m jealous of the relocation aspect of your career because it’s something I’ve never experienced personally. I’m sure it’s had a fair share of work and effort put behind it as well, but I imagine you’re pleased with how everything turned out since first leaving Australia. I also find it fascinating because as writers, I believe that our words and stories are products of the environments we’ve lived and roamed around in. How do you draw on those locations in the chapbooks, zines, etc. that you’ve written?

Craig: My whole childhood is broken up into moving houses. I moved so many times within the same town, then in my 20s involved a lot of moves too.

A lot of my work is drawn and about the past. A certain memory will be linked to one of the places I lived.

The story sounds interesting now, but to a confused 22 year old, it was hell.

Blankpagesofmine: Wow, you’re a dude on the move for sure. I can relate, in my twenties I moved five times leading up to where I live today. And let me say for the record, the more books you buy, the more books you have to move up and down flights of stairs. The last place I relocated to, the mover actually almost threw out his back when carrying my box of espionage books! Whew. I did warn him in advance though haha. Anyway, that’s very cool! It’s interesting how your twenties, for many of us at least, were confusing and disorientating, but make for some of the best writing material one could possibly conjure up. Moving, puddle jumping from place-to-place, I can definitely pinpoint some of that in the works I’ve read of yours. Let’s get to some of your amazing publications. Between Coffee & People and The Longest Weekend, I can’t choose which one I enjoyed more. I also am drawn to the way you mesh art with writing, which isn’t something you see blended with such finesse. What inspired you to be so bold and creative with it?

Craig: Firstly, thanks.

I always considered myself terrible at drawing. And the first two Coffee & People I used photos. Then I heard on a podcast how important it is to just play for 5 minutes each day, so I bought a small notebook and started drawing, and what has came out of that is all sorts of things, including zine covers. If my writing has taught me anything, it’s by doing something every day improvement will usually follow, and that’s happening in my drawing. And for bold….

I’m 39 now, so one thing I’ve realized is that you just have to pick one or two things, you don’t even need to be good at it. Just pick something you like and are interested in, and go all in. You never know what might come of it. Also, throw some of your past in there. In my late teens I was into diy punk rock stuff. I might have lost touch in my late 20s and early 30s, but it’s never too late to return to your true love.

Blankpagesofmine: Probably one of the best tips that an artist could get, to practice for small windows of time each day just to see how the experience ups the ante a little. I agree, my sketches aren’t what I or anyone would call pieces worthy of an art gallery, but I try to spend time with it each day in the manner that you suggest. And in your case, it’s easy to see how it’s payed off. You designed one heck of a catchy logo for Iron Lung Press recently and did a mockup for the brand that I’m developing as well. Would you say that there’s a simplistic beauty to drawing and sketching that manages to see the light of day because of the wonderful world of zine and chapbook writing?

Craig: Totally. I used to have a blog, and felt so limited due to my very limited computer skills.

Blankpagesofmine: I’m inspired just to read how you feel about sticking to the passion projects that a person holds sacred. No matter the age, these things are vital to who we are and personally I couldn’t imagine a day without writing/sketching/creating. If the world has some intangible system of checks and balances, responsibilities and routine lay on one side, while being an artist/creator course corrects the other side to an even level. Glad to hear that you’re working hard at it! What’s next for you in terms of projects? What can your fans and fans-to-be expect in the upcoming months?

Craig: I just wrote a very short book review that I made into a mini zine. I want to do more of them. I’m also in the middle (and struggling) of a longer story that I’m trying to write. In the past few months. I’ve made 5 or 6 mini zines as they are easy to do in my down time at work, and also fit well while I’m working on a longer piece of writing.

Blankpagesofmine: I remember you mentioning the book review mini zine before, that’s going to the top of my queue if you end up pushing it out into a bigger release. It’s like they say in baseball, “these are the dog days.” The intro to a story or novel usually starts with a bang and then it’s surviving those hallowing dog days through to the end. I wish you luck with that, I’m sure you’ll find a way to see through it. That’s a versatile approach which I dig very much, not putting all your eggs in one basket and piecing together a few works at once. On a side and complete unrelated note, I’ve been wanting to ask for awhile now. 1) Are you big into music/what bands and songs get the creatively motivational wheels churning for you? 2) What’s a big to-do in your region for fun? Going to a theater to see films? Outdoors time? Exercise? All of the above?

Craig: Yeah, writing is a weird beast. I fight with it for months, then in some random place I get the answer of how to end the story, and I’ll have to scribble it down on a piece of paper there and then.

I used to be heavily into music.

Since 95 when I was 15 and heard Dookie for the first time. I was also learning the drums at that time, so a few years later I met some friends and we decided to start a band.

We played together for 3 years, also practicing daily.

I moved away from music when I was 25 (2005) when I started traveling. I didn’t, and still don’t have a computer (write on my phone or iPad), and just started reading.

Now, I listen to a bit of music, but currently focused on books. (I know some people will be mind blown)

Fun things??? Hmmm…. Drinking good coffee, writing, and reading.

Blankpagesofmine: To shamelessly quote one of the greats, “when the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.” And here’s the living proof! Dookie was a crazy addictive album, I’m with you there. Between that and a few other 90s rock/punk/grunge boppers, it’s all I wanted to listen to. That must have been a heck of a time, what instrument did you play? Any vocals? And of course, the most prominent and important question here…what was the name of the band?? Haha. If there was ever a more perfect substitute based on the circumstances, you can’t go wrong with reading. NO WAY! We love those things over here too! I guess the world is smaller than I originally thought 🙂 nice to see that opposite ends of the world share similar interests.

Craig: I played drums. I wrote one song, and sang it. I’d drummed for 2 years and the other two just started learning their instruments the week we started. We were friends first. You can find an album we recorded on Spotify. We were called Mondo Pest. I had very little to do with words and reading back then, but the lead singer (who is still playing live shows) did introduce me to my favorite zinester, Cometbus.

We recorded on a number of things (comps and alike), but the album is the only thing I can find online.

Blankpagesofmine: Get out of here, an album on Spotify? How insane is that, I never would’ve known. I know exactly what I’ll be listening to come Monday on my commute to work. Drumming is one of the most skilled instruments out there and I think that’s awesome. Never had a knack for it, but I did play the trumpet for awhile. I do dabble in the fine art of Guitar Hero every now and again though (insert rock on emoji). This has been a really great chat man and I appreciate you taking the time out on an early weekend morning to do so! We will have to rally again for a Part II to this discussion, because I didn’t get a chance to get through a chunk of what I wanted to because the topics just transpired into an incredible realm of their own.

Craig: Haha. I was terrible, and still are. Seriously.

Thanks man.

Diorama Society – Writer Chat w/ Craig Atkinson – 4/12/2019 This past Friday, I had the pleasure of e-chatting on Instagram with a friend and fellow writer by the name of Craig Atkinson.

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal: 6 days to go!

In the dark fantasy setting of Project Amble, gods and demons have existed on earth for as long as history can remember. Where they manifest they create both blessings and catastrophes; some can heal, some can control human minds, some can create objects out of nothing.

Here in Amikya, the steppes that are your home, lives Vastan the tiger god. Her blessing heals and nourishes those around her, causing magical fruits and flowers to grow and sustain those around her.

But for the moment, Vastan lies dormant. As powerful as gods are in this world, they're not invulnerable.

You know this better than most: you're one of the isolated few who care for her in her weakened state.

Because a hundred years ago, she was nearly killed.

From the Project Amble writing playlist: Plague Awake Here by Mushroomer

-

Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble announcement and title/intro reveal on Patreon!

All paid members of Patreon are getting a reveal about Project Amble today including title, MC, plot, setting, and romanceable characters!

Subscribe to any paid tier to find out what Project Amble is all about, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get early romanceable character introductions from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal: 5 days to go!

They call it Vastan's Triumph, and it was: she defeated a demon after decades of magical battles that ravaged the land of Amikya. Battles that tore up the earth and split the sky.

But the demon took Vastan down with it.

Gravely wounded, Vastan could no longer exist and manifest in the way she could before. She hid away, in a cavern deep beneath the mountains, close to her sacred spring for sustenance, to be cared for by a secretive sect of worshippers.

And one of those worshippers, a hundred years later, is you.

From the Project Amble writing playlist: Still Sacred by July Talk

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Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal: 4 days to go!

Your god Vastan lives - exists - in a huge cavern beneath the warren of caves that is Tulara Monastery.

The monastery has existed for more than a thousand years, but since Vastan's Triumph and near-death it has had a new function: protecting her while keeping the traditions of the Guardians of Tulara alive.

Born into this sect, you've lived here all your life.

As you and your comrades protect Vastan, she shields you from the dangers of the outside world.

And there are many dangers. The ravages of the magical battles remain, a hundred years later. The land of Amikya is still scarred.

From the Project Amble writing playlist: Last Morning Watch VII. by Marcus Fjellström

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Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal: 3 days to go!

Outside your bubble of safety in Tulara Monastery, magical storms wrack the land: a holdover from the battles between Vastan and the demon.

The storms make the land wrong. They cause usually-peaceful elemental spirits to rise and attack - whirlpools will grow to swallow a dock, a duststorm will attack travellers - and make phenomena that should not exist. Snow will eat through metal, fire will continue burning even when water is poured on it.

Not only that, but the wrongness in the air is hypnotic. If you grow sick from being out in it too long, your body and mind will want to stay and rejoin with the earth.

Storms are lethal for those who don't know how to handle them, and even those who are experienced can be surprised. That's what got your parents.

Luckily for you, you've been taught well.

From the Project Amble writing playlist: Elephants by Austin Basham

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Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble Newsflash

I'm going to start doing these regularly again now that Project Amble is well into drafting mode. So far in January I've written Chapter 1, submitted it and done the revisions, and coded Chapter 2. Right now I'm about two-thirds through writing Chapter 2. It's rough at the moment, but I'm focusing on getting it down on the page so that I can polish it up later.

It's challenging working within a new setting and type of game, but very satisfying as well. It's exactly what I needed!

I've been enjoying writing interactions with one of the romanceable characters, and various other (non-romanceable) major players. And letting myself explore this new world I'm writing in.

Most of the fortnight has been very positive, writing wise, although today I had a horrible night's sleep and have had to spend my workday on moodboards and romanceable-character-intro-posts instead - which is still productive, even if it's not what I'd have preferred to be doing.

Next up: the next Bonus Supplement will be up on Patreon on 28th January, and it's an adorable story about Raffi & Stargazing.

What I'm doing next: continuing work on Chapter 2. I'm hoping to have that drafted, polished, and submitted by the time it's the next Newsflash post in two weeks. Fingers crossed!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal on Wednesday!

Catch up on the background teasers for Project Amble here:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

And see you tomorrow for the intro reveal!

From the Project Amble playlist: First Light of Winter by Miranda Lee Richards

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Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble intro reveal: 2 days to go!

Vastan's blessings bring forth fruit and vegetables from the land that helps with farming, and the beehives yield plenty of honey, but you're all human. There are supplies and equipment that you can't make yourselves.

That's where you come in.

As a scout, you're experienced with travelling to villages and farms on the plains, passing through to trade as well as to hunt and gather in the mountains, and protecting yourself from the magical storms.

Some of the other Guardians of Tulara rarely or never venture beyond your little sanctuary, but you're used to going back and forth, meeting new people, and bringing precious supplies back to the monastery.

Still, as far as you journey, there's always have your home to return to, and Vastan's purring breath echoing through the cave tunnels.

From the Project Amble writing playlist: We Are Not Checkmated by Sea Power

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Subscribe to any paid tier on my Patreon to find out what Project Amble is all about early, and subscribe to Sneak Preview to get romanceable character introductions before anyone else does from 12th February onwards!

Check out what else is coming up in February here!

[hpowellsmith]

Project Amble Newsflash

This fortnight I finished drafting Chapter 2 of Project Amble, submitted it and got my editorial notes back, and planned Chapter 3! Coding is just a squeak away from being completed on Chapter 3: I had some delay as I was ill and slept badly earlier this week.

We're getting closer to a Project Amble intro reveal! I'm posting daily sneak peeks about Project Amble on here: they're tagged with Project Amble background - I hope that link works as Tumblr is notoriously bad for linking tags.

The Project Amble intro post and title reveal went up on Patreon for all paid subscribers!

Also up is a cute friends-to-lovers Raffi story on the theme of Stargazing for bonus supplement subscribers.

Next up on Patreon:

11th Feb (bonus supplement): Beaumont story

12th Feb (sneak preview): First Project Amble RO reveal

19th Feb (sneak preview): Second Project Amble RO reveal

If you'd like to read a detailed progress report including wordcounts and excerpts, along with the Project Amble intro reveal, please sign up to any paid tier on Patreon!

Also... there's potentially going to be this silliness for a chaotic MC; I haven't entirely decided whether I'm going to put it in, but I'll have it decided by the next time I do one of these posts!