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fantomette22 · 4 months ago

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Do you approve my geologist friend?

(would love to hear what you think it is too <3)

Crow... you have no idea of what you just unleash.... I went CRAZY over this thank you for activating my neurones! XD

I thought I talk about it before but no, it was about the Doll & Maria's pendant with Katy. It allow me to think about it even more thank you!

Short answer: I guess it's probably a weird opal gem stone yeah.

Long answer: whatever I am going to explain below XD

But first little disclaimer: I can't be certain and completely sure what were the devs intentions about it. Which gems did they really wanted to put in it and if they even had a clear idea in mind to begin with. If they did, it's also possible they didn't represent the right gem correctly. And I could never blame them for that! They aren't geologist or mineralogist. They aren't geographers or historians. They are not architects either, they are video games developers! And besides that, they still try their best to be faithful to their inspirations and create such vivid and beautiful worlds! Beautiful locations and buildings, realistic weapons, armors, clothing (with bits of fantasy), realistic battle and moveset as well etc. They already do a crazy job for all of this so we can't blame devs in general for unrealistic map (I like trying to understand the video game map geography/geology) or minor details that aren't 100 percent realistic. Or in this case the accurate depiction of a minuscule gemstone. This is a fantastic video game who's a mixt of Dracula, brotherhood of the Wolf and Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories (& fishes). Not a documentary on the 19th century. But anyway.

So yeah I'm just gonna give my 2 cents about it and maybe make you learn cool stuff thanks to my studies in geology 👍

And even if it's not completely accurate the beautiful world of HEADCANONS is here!!! XD More seriously this post may be very useful for fanfic references for exemple! That would make a cool discussions between characters or even allowed to describe more little objects like those!

Now let's begin!

The Doll Tear Stone

"Silver-shining tear stone. Use to change into a droplet blood gem that fortifies any weapon. A doll sheds neither blood nor tears and thus its nature remains unknown. Whoever thinks this is precious must be troubled by severe naivete."

"A blood gem that fortifies weapons and adds various properties. Droplet blood gems are special gems that adapt to various weapons and shapes. Created from a shining silver doll tear, this blood gem is a quiet but unfaltering friend that continually restores HP, the life essence of a hunter. Perhaps the doll's creator had wished for just such a friend, albeit in vain."

(Also can we appreciate how OP this gem is when it's your first playthrough?! Really a must have. Really worth it to go find the small hair ornament, and not just for lore.)

So it indeed look like an opal a bit. But there are other alternatives I considered as well! The first being the moonstone (or belmonite). They both are very similars, but they have different chemical formula. Also the moonstone is less rare and less expensive! It especially state in the description that the doll tear isn't precious at all. An opal is very precious and expensive in comparison.

opal SiO2 n H2O

moonstone/belmonite (Na K)AlSi3O8 ---

I can't show many references in this but on the internet you might find various colours of both moonstones and opals! With some less or more transparent.

Another moonstone for exemple.

But the doll tears also have the particularity of refracting light and shining of differents colours too. (Or diffraction into a rainbow for crystal). Opal and moonstone both have this particularity as well (even if it shows more in opal for exemple). Those phenomenons are called adularescence (moonstone), opalescent (in opal), or iridescence (bubble, fuel, cd, some fossils).

I didn't really thought about the rocks meaning too. Everything alike to "stone healing properties" are similars to an horoscope /zodiac/astrology for me. But stones meaning as in flowers meaning is very interesting! And I'm not going to dev to much but i guess they all fit well!

Moonstone: Feminity, divine wisdom, moon, calm balance, protection, spiritual healing"

DID SOMEONE SAY HEALING?! what a coincidence 🤭 But I mean almost all stones have protection meaning XD But hey it fit well with Bloodborne themes, The moon presence, the fact that it's not precious etc

Now I also need to mention other not precious stones (very common) and crystals as well, even if they don't show rainbow colours:

Quartz is well quartz but many expensive minerals can be found among it. they are formed via hydrothermal fluids.

Calcite is still very basic it's the crystal version of limestone.

Halite is salt. And guess what's in the composition of tears... SODIUM CHLORIDE/ NACL! :D ... 💀 so I thought that maybe you know... is the doll tear could be made from that....

Me now: hm do you think the tear stone is salty? 🤔

Me from almost 3 years ago: WTF is wrong with you?!?!?!

(I swear it's a true identification method for calcite to lick it but hear me out! you break the stone first to have access to a part who was never expose to air! We were all shock our teachers did this...anyway)

It's not very clear what the Doll is even made off but if indeed her face is made of porcelain well I could consider kaolinite then. Porcelain is made from it so.

In the end like the description said "it's nature remain unknown" and because it might have an organic origins as well I guess it's just it's own thing, but it resemble something that already exists. Maybe something about the old blood or bc of some eldritch mysteries. Mixed with unknowns material to become a crystal that could exist. (So new minerals just drop?? let's go)

I'm not gonna pass too much time on that (or it's never gonna be over XD) but you see the bloodstone and blood gem stones found in the game? Well there's tons of those in bb universe but in real life it's not possible.( I mean blood clot are a thing but the ones in game seems like a weird mixt being that and a real mineral structure). I hypothesis or headcanons that it's produce because of something in the old blood. Something in the great ones. But can a parasite or microorganisms really do that hm 🤔? Something that made the blood crystalize in some conditions. That amalgamate some minerals or impurity that are in too much concentration...

Quicksilver bullet can be made of blood too and we know they are made from mercury most likely (and not silver but maybe silver too)....

So yeah it's my theory to explain the weird bb biology. Because even if they had BYRGENWERTH NO ONE IS EVER GOING TO EXPLAIN TO US HOW THIS WORLD WORK SCIENTIFICALLY (and magic) SPEAKING!!!!! AND WHAT DID THEY LEARN IN ALL THOSE RESEARCHES!!!!

Why do I have such crazy ideas you ask? Well if I want my headcanons/fic to be coherent I need to think of many things to make everything stick together. Like for exemple I need to theorise things about this ^so that one day Laurence can explain to the gang WHY A GIANT MUTATED DOG IS ON FIRE AND VOMIT LAVA SOMEHOW MAKE SENSE!!!!!

YES I HAVE AN HC FOR THIS AND FIRE BLOOD MAGIC!!!! Of course it's fantasy, it's sci-fie not everything have an answer. But I cannot just say "it's magic shut up" x)

Hm let's have a lil pause before looking in the Doll's and Maria's pendant now.

Mini geology class interlude or how stones, minerals & gems are made:

About crystallization:

"Crystallization is a process that leads to solids with highly organized atoms or molecules, = a crystal. The ordered nature of a crystalline solid can be contrasted with amorphous solids in which atoms or molecules lack regular organization."

There's tons of things that can be crystal for ex water when you freeze it or salt: If you put salt in the water, it dissolve. If you heat the water and evaporate it, salt crystals are going to appear. For minerals, the longer it's exposed to heat and pression (underground) the bigger the crystals are going to be!

For exemple when lava burst out and grew colder and solid, crystals aren't visible or non existent bc the processes is very fast. That's the pitch black stone with tons of holes in it, basalt. But when the magma take thousand or millions of year to cool down the crystals are way bigger! Then erosion allowed us to discover them (like granite, gabbro or peridotite).

Of course these is for magmatic stones but the process is similar yet different for the gem we talked about, Quartz and even metals like gold who are made from Silice & found in sedimentary stones.

They are formed via hydrothermal fluids:

To put it very simply: the water get trap in the earth, get charged in lot of minerals on it's way + heat, get stuck at one place, evaporate and left behind all the minerals who become solid and amalgamate together, it crystallize and boom. You got lil crystals if not giant ore deposit.

For the geodes it's a similar processus; the water get trapped, dissolve minerals then it cristalize in the space it have;

So for Opal it's basically like this:

the best Opals are found Australia bc of the arid climate. Moonstones are made from granite mainly so it's found in lots more places.

------

End of the mini geologic lesson.

So...do you realise how much warmth the Doll might have feel from the hair ornament to create such a beautiful crystal?! Wow it's incredible. (I am so sorry this is a joke ok ?! 😂😭 But am I wrong?!)

Ok now let's get back to business. After thinking about the tear it sparks new ideas about Maria and the Doll's pendant. I couldn't identified them before but I might be into something.

----

Maria's pendant

Alright what about Maria's shiny, greenish pendants?

Well it's complicated. It's very shiny compared to the little others. It seems green too. Maria's and the Doll's one seems to alternate between silver and green depending the light or concept art or clothing descriptions. It's a mess... But at least it's based on real gem right? (If they are depicted correctly of course it can still be a mistake as well) but let's say Maria's a green one and the doll's is silver.

Well a green opal doesn't look like this 🤔 Even worst for a green moonstone.

An emerald don't look like this either they had clear marking and I don't see Maria just walking around j-hunting with a HUGE emerald that would belong to a queen or king and that cost more than the entire grand cathedral XD

I got a crazy idea at some point... maybe not about the big pendant after reconsidering it but at least the little one on her attire. What if... ok hear me out,

WHAT IF IT'S A BLOODSTONE?!

No not the one in the game! Those!

Also called heliotrope. It's a variety of chalcedony (same formula as quartz SIO2)+ red jasper spots or hematite (iron)

But they are some who are almost entirely green LOOK.

And that would fit with al the themes and stuff!?

But it's still very dark and not really shiny and while doing research I found Chrysoprase or green jasper.

The same stone can very different how it's polished too. So did the devs had a precise idea for smt or just made a pretty gemstone and didn't thought about making it too accurate to smt real? We'll never know... I know it doesn' look quite the same but I am proposing a few ideas here and I hope it could help and spark inspiration for someone! So instead of just giant it's a big green gemstone we can be more precise within fiction and let our creativity grow!

The doll's pendant

The doll pendant now. Well while doing the research for the tear stone I thought that the moonstone would fit so well for the doll pendant! Until I remembered that it basically act like a mirror 💀(and we can see the alpha ver of the hunter dream). So it can only be made from something metallic right?

So if you want to be poetic sure Moonstone will be nice. BUT I remembered thinking about another idea a huge while ago and I think it could be it! Perhaps this pendant is artificially made and is indeed a kind of mirror!

Ok hear me out x2. Gehrman made the Doll and her outfits right? Well he probably made the pendant by himself too.

So if you didn't knew mirrors are made from glass with a layer of silver pr aluminium. Then a layer of cooper or lead. In the 1800s they were made from tin and MERCURY! (mercury again our beloved).

Gehrman made weapons. Out of iron and other metallic minerals right? BRO MADE A SCYTE OUT OF SIDERITE hello!!! He made the doll clothes too isn't he? Pretty sure it would have been easy for him to make a little shiny metallic pendant who's almost like a mirror...(maybe I am not crazy in my hc that he might have made the hair ornament too let's goooo). Problem solve!

And that's it, hope you guys like those ides and this little lesson ^^

----

Also have my post about basalt in Nightmare frontier and the fishing hamlet x)

#bloodborne #the doll #plain doll #bloodborne thoughts #bloodborne observations #bloodborne headcanons #lady maria of the astral clocktower #geology #fantomette rant about stuff #stones #MY STUDIES WERE USEFUL! FOR SMT MORE THAN MY JOB AND GENERAL CULTURE!!!!!#my asks

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if-whats-new · 7 months ago

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What's New In IF? Issue 31 (2024)

By Aj, Dion, Briar, Jen and Peter

Now Available!

Itch.io - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people see it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

Apologies for the delayed Issue!

As you might know, we unfortunately had to delay this Issue due to some personal matters. But as promised, it’s finally here! We wouldn’t want you to miss out on any news.

As this Issue says on the front page, it contains news from November 23rd to November 29th.

But! The Events should be updated to match their status on December 4th, as they are more time-sensitive.

Issue 32 should be released on time. That means two Issues this week!

We want some feedback!

As we’re starting to get a hand of things, we would love some feedback from you guys! What you enjoy, want more or less off, how we could improve... Anything goes! We even have a nifty form.

We hope you enjoy this new issue!

AJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

~ BE A PART OF THE ZINE ~

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

Prefer to be more low-key but still have something to share? Send us a Zine Letter or share a game title for Highlight on…!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Came across something interesting? Know a release or an update announced? Saw an event happening? Whether it's a game, an article, a podcast… Add any IF-related content to our mini-database!

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : Videotome Jam - "Waiting" ~

November 16th to December 1st 2024

Videotome Jam is a two-week-long game jam for games made in any of the Videotome engines with the optional theme of "Waiting".

What is Videotome?

Videotome is a series of small homebrew IF/VN engines made by Freya Campbell (communistsister), an indie game developer focusing on narrative games that are usually:

science fiction, horror, &/or romance

close to 100% LGBTQ characters

free/PWYW with low tech requirements

liable to make players keysmash due to feelings

Videotome was first released in April 2022 as a part of a game entry for the Domino Club collective. The initial idea for the engine was to make writing text-heavy games as hassle-free as possible, focusing not that much on the visual presentation format, but more on the writer's experience. It would allow writers to write in a notepad and then it would somehow grab the .txt file and parse the lines into an array, spitting them out one line at a time as a kinetic novel.

At the moment there are four engines available:

Videotome, for linear, no frills text / images / music;

Videotome ADV, adding a more conventional layout with ignorable choices and branching;

Super Videotome, for more fully featured and freeform image/canvas use;

Videotome Heartbreak, adding a stat raising dating sim & storylets structure to the above.

If you're more interested in the process of making these engines, check out the devs blog post - Words, Friction, Syntax: Stuff I thought about when making Videotome. (The post also includes a very interesting case study concerning other game engines Freya has experience with.)

If you want to check out some examples of projects made with Videotome, take a look at this collection. It includes games made by both Freya and other devs.

~ ENDED ~

The Educational Jam has ended. Check out the thirteen entries and learn something new!

The voting for ECTOCOMP 2024 is officially over! Check out the results!

You can now check out all 16 entries to the Videotome Jam!

Disabled Rep VN Jam has a very simple premise but a very important message. Check out the submissions!

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

A Very Hallmark Game Jam has entered the voting phase. You can now vote for your favourite out of the five entries.

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

Media depicting healthy examples of polyamory isn’t that common. The PolyJamorous 2024 is trying to break the status-quo!

This year’s Yuri Game Jam is in full progress. The devs have until December 2nd to submit their projects.

Once upon a time, a game jam was held to create stories around the theme of fairy tales… and that game jam is the Once Upon A Time VN Jam. It’s running from October 1st to January 31st.

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.

Are you perhaps a fan of more somber, melancholic themes? Then check out the Dying Year - Visual Novel Jam! You have until the end of the year to participate.

The Black Visual Novel Jam is all about working with creative professional developers who work in visual novels to bring more Black stories to life. The goal is to create a space where Black creators can show their unique storytelling through visual novels.

IF Short Games Showcase 2024 is a great way to shine some new light on your projects made in the past year (Jan 1, 2024 to Dec 31, 2024), regardless of whether or not they are previously released! You have until January 15th 2025 to join.

Winter Visual Novel Jam 2024 is here! You have until January 1st 2025 to submit your projects.

Are you familiar with Decker? Then why not take a part in the Deck-Month 2?

Another bitsy jam is here. This time with the theme "better late than never".

~ OTHER ~

PIZZAPRANKS is accepting submissions for their Indiepocalypse Issue #61. If you’re a dev and would like to try out your luck, definitely check it out! Any game is welcomed, not only IF.

~ NEW RELEASE ~

You stand at the edge of a vast and foreboding cave system, its mouth yawning like the jaws of some ancient beast. This is no ordinary cave—it is the entrance to the Caverns of the Forgotten, a labyrinth of twisting tunnels, hidden chambers, and unfathomable mysteries that have claimed countless explorers before you.

Generations ago, invaders brought magic to the Kingdom of Jubai, setting battlemages at the top of the noble power structure and leaving everyone else oppressed. Now, a secret organization of mage hunters has risen up, phoenixlike, to stand against the mages' power and overthrow their rule. Can your secret order of mage hunters save the kingdom, or will internal strife tear you apart in Magehunter: Phoenix Flame (CScript)?

Today is your first day of work here at Toy Maker’s TOY BOX (Ren’Py). Pull apart stitches or rip off an arm or two; we support whatever you must do to ensure that you only save toys of the highest quality. Should you ever feel unsure, there’s no need to panic! Simply toss the trash where it belongs: the incinerator. After all, it’s of the utmost importance that inspectors upkeep the Maker’s image.

You're struggling for friends in a new town and decide to check out a cute diner! — 'That New Diner', huh? Odd name for a restaurant, but I see advertisements for it everywhere. Might as well check it out. Who knows, maybe I'll meet somebody?

What does the glass sound like? Quite tinkly. It crumbled into sand under the feet of all those worried people circling around. As for you, there was darkness in your eyes for a long time. And the glass has melted into silence long since. But what is this place? And who is this stranger standing in front of you? And most importantly, where — or who — did the bullet hit? — Monarch (Ren’Py) is a short visual novel game that was made during Ukrainian Micro Visual Novel Jam in 10 days.

Halloween is a big deal in Port Gillain, steeped as the town is in old folklore and ghost stories. You, the local psychic, regularly attend the festivities. This year, you can bring a friend. The Second Sight: All Hallow's Eve (Twine) is a companion story to The Second Sight: Dead Reckoning.

Your Aunt’s House (Adventuron) is a short story about mourning. @kessielrg

The story centers around Larry, a cab driver eking out a meagre existence in a dystopian near-future, until he unwittingly finds himself centre-stage in the midst of a technological revolution. — For the first time this multi-media project can be experienced in the form of an interactive novel. Larry Folger Volume I contains all the chapters of the ongoing narrative complete with music from the series.

Your feather, my wing is a game about getting close to the object of an experiment that your 'super-secret lab' leads! It's all about fun, fluff and cuddles. Nothing serious and if anyone from the "normal world" came to this organization, they'd be disappointed by the lack of pathos, mystery and seriousness. But do you care?

Nestled at the edge of an ancient forest, Ravenwood Hill looms like a shadowed sentinel against the pale moonlight. This is no ordinary place; whispers of its dark history echo through the trees, carried by the wailing wind. The townsfolk speak of disappearances, of mysterious lights flickering in the mansion atop the hill, and of secrets buried deep beneath its crumbling foundations. In Ravenwood Hill, you are the only one brave—or foolish—enough to uncover the truth.

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

Iberian Tales (Twine) - Life was once tranquil on the isolated coast of your city, surrounded by a loving family and promising prospects for success in your societal position. However, tranquility shattered as flames engulf your city, escape becomes the only viable option, if luck favors you enough to evade the soldiers blocking your path that is. @iberiantalesif-game

The Thorned Garden (CScript) is a Harem Intrigue game where you can die at any turn. Build up skills and connections to survive and climb the rankings. @opossumfern

Locked in a luxurious but ominous hotel, you are forced to face trials alongside five other people. Who abducted you and for what reason? What does the future hold with different organizations fighting for power over the world? And just how much is at stake when you play a twisted game without rules? Whether you want it or not, welcome to the Threshold (Twine). @thethreshold-if

5 days (Ren’Py) - Every step forward feels like another memory slipping through your fingers and yet, the world moves on — forcing you to find a way to follow, even when it feels impossible to let go.

~ UPDATES ~

As Gods Fall (CScript) released Chapters 4 and 5. @asgodsfall-if

Knight of Greenhaven (CScript) released Chapter 2.

Lost in your eyes (CScript) released part five of Chapter 3 on Patreon. @kathrinesadventures

Saturnine (CScript) added new content to their demo. @satur9-if

The Thousand Of Us (CScript) added new content to their public demo. @ivanwm-05

Weeping Gods (CScript) added new content to their demo. @jcollinswrites

The Summoner (CScript) released a part of Chapter 4.

Ashenmaw - Dragons of Marrowoods (CScript) added a part of Chapter 1 to their demo. @ashenmaw-if

Our Life: Now and Forever (Ren’Py) added Step 2 introduction scenes to their public demo. @gb-patch

Wasteland Pony Express added new content to their demo. @katieaki

The In-Between (CScript) released Chapter 11. @dalekowrites

Crown of Exile (Twine) released Chapter 10 on Patreon. @ramonag-if

~ OTHER ~

350p Adventure has been ported from Infor 6 to PunyInform. You can either download it or play it online in your browser. — (Some interesting trivia: The game is sometimes called Advent, because the system it was created on in the 70s would not allow filenames to be more than six characters long. This game is sometimes considered as the very first text adventure.)

As always, we apologize in advance for missing any update or release from the past week. We are only volunteers using their limited free time to find as much as we can - but sometimes things pass through the cracks.

If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week! And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!

As we end this issue, we would like to thank:

our awesome mysterious anon!

all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on the last issue! What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us! Thank you for cheering us on this journey!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

And see you again on Saturday!

AJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 31

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detestx · 1 month ago

Note

Are there any Normal. trivia facts about you . We've heard plenty of weird ones but. Are you normal in Any Way

Uh.

UHHHHHH.

This was genuinely the most difficult question I've ever had to answer but I think I got,, something,,, so;

× My birthday's in April,

× My favourite game of all time is There Is No Light (100% achievements, including one that has a 1.2% rate on steam (so little people have it it went up from 1.1% the moment I got it and I got one of the devs to congratulate me), several documents trying to decode the lore and 135.7 hours of play time, which is the most out of all the games I have (except for the 313 hours on osu and uncounted years of League of Legends. We do not talk about those. It's in the past))

× I have a (pathetically small for now) knife collection,

× I don't have time to do it almost ever but I enjoy making masks a lot,

× I have a dead sister,

× I have three cats,

× I have diagnosed ADHD,

× I have an average wpm of 72,

× I only take ice cold showers,

× My favourite genre of pretty much everything is horror,

× My favourite scent and flavour is lemon,

× The only cigarettes I enjoy enough to bother with the consequences are a very specific brand that's extremely difficult to find and expensive so I end up just not smoking almost ever.

Is this- Is this anything..? Are those normal enough??

Honestly just,, if anyone is curious about anything specific I'm very much open to any questions.

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inkabelledesigns · 9 months ago

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It's incredibly frustrating and exhausting to have to question every piece of media that passes your screen as to whether or not it was made with generative ai. I don't like that I can't trust people not to use the literal theft machine for their projects. Especially when it comes to indies.

Like, so there's a new indie horror game called Zoochosis, right? I have no stakes in Zoochosis, a game about a zookeeper that's trying to stop the spread of a mutation with the animals isn't really my speed. But I'd heard of the people who made it before, and I wanted to see if they'd grown. The devs behind it are also responsible for another game, Sparky Marky, which used ai voices, much to my frustration. I tuned into a stream today where someone was playing it, and after hearing a little bit of the dialogue from Doc, I asked if they'd hired actual voice actors. The streamer seemed unconvinced that they had. So I immediately turned it off and decided to go hunting instead, because I needed to know if real people voiced in Zoochosis. I needed to know if this dev team learned anything from their last experience.

Thankfully, there are credits for the voice actors of this game, but they're very far down, which is a little disappointing. The common threads between them is that most of them have a Fiverr page, so I imagine they were hired through there, but I can't confirm that. Frankly I don't love Fiverr given they are also run rampant with generative ai right now, it's not inspiring confidence. But a number of these voice actors have full on websites for their voice work that seem pretty legit to me. In the case of Doc's voice, Tim Stephenson, most of his work is in commercial voice over, not character voice acting, so that explains some of what I was hearing. Commercial VO and character acting for games, shows, etc. are different skills with different needs. Just because someone can do one very well doesn't necessarily mean they're perfectly equipped to do both, especially when I didn't see credits for a voice director here. Without a director, you're recording remotely and going off of your instincts, and while many actors can have great instinct for performing, getting a performance that fits the vision of the project still requires some communication.

I think it's too soon to tell if these actors were actually paid for voice acting, of if these are ai voices synthesized from their likeness. The game is so new that it hasn't shown up on their imdb credits or personal website credits yet, and until it does, I'm gonna be a little skeptical. At the same time, there are many explanations for why the voice acting sounded off. The dev team behind Zoochosis has a lot of names that lead me to believe they may not be native English speakers (and I'm fairly certain I've heard that from others too). Writing and editing dialogue for a game in a language you don't speak is NOT EASY! That's a big ask, and if that's what's happening here, then I'd actually be very impressed by the quality of what I'd heard. It's just...frustrating. I expect this from big corporations and companies, but Zoochosis is an indie game. The folks over at Clapperheads are a small team making this thing real. And I'm troubled by the idea of an indie team, something built on passion and a desire for creative freedom, using generative ai. They're not the only ones to do so. Pastra, a YouTuber who loves indie horror, has started a series of videos that play into this found footage/news broadcast horror story, and for part of it, they used ai generated images of photographs of children to represent the victims of the monster. And they defended this by saying that it was better to use these generated images of children than actual real children. And I'm just sitting here confused by that. Because like, the model that that generative ai is trained on is using stolen images of real children to make those fake photos. So not only does it fall under using a child's image without consent, but you don't even know what children you've stolen the visage from. That is not a good look. The same goes for Indigo Park. AI was used for the opening footage of Issac Indigo introducing the park, and that's part of why his facial movements are so janky. Mason from UniqueGeese at least apologized and said he'd do better next time, but like...the chapter 1 revamp came out and that wasn't changed.

It's small stuff and big stuff, but either way, it's not okay. Until generative ai is trained only on data that is given to its developers consensually, it is not a viable tool for creation. It's not ready to be tested until the ethics part is worked out, and even then, I don't think I'd ever want to touch it. Like I get it, game development is hard, and in the indie scene, it's hard to make it all come together. But also, I expect a project built on passion to at least TRY to be creative in its solutions, and for the people making it to know better than to use stolen content. I expect better. Maybe I'm wrong for expecting better. But I expect better.

I'm just...disappointed. It makes me feel like I can't touch anything in modern media. Like I may as well go back and only play games, watch shows/movies, and explore stories made before 2023. At least then I can trust that it was probably done without the use of the theft machine. That's such a hopeless thing, giving up on modern art and all the potential it comes with. I don't want to give up on art. I don't want to give up on people telling meaningful stories in modern times. Please, humans, keep making art with your own two hands. Please give me something to be hopeful for.

#zoochosis #zoochosis spoilers #zoochosis voice actors #longpost #generative ai #ai voices #artistic ramblings

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krissiefox · 8 months ago

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Blogs about horror media, metal music, and goth culture. List is below the divider!

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https://www.tumblr.com/cryptblood Horror Images

https://monster-brains.tumblr.com/ Monster art galore! Lots of horror manga art, especially.

https://www.tumblr.com/necr0g0re Art, goth fashion, music, spooky stuff.

https://plastiboo.tumblr.com/ Horror & Dark Fantasy Art

https://pixelated-nightmares.tumblr.com/ Horror art (gore warning)

https://nickolashx.tumblr.com/ Horror games

https://horrorshocklolipop.tumblr.com/ Spooky gifs & images.

https://abstractfigure.tumblr.com/ Horror & monster art

https://wormzone.tumblr.com/ Spooky art, animations, game design

https://deep-dark-fears.tumblr.com/ Short comics about people's fears

https://corpse-dog.tumblr.com/ Animal themed horror art.

https://obscure-perversions-blog.tumblr.com/ Spooky images and black metal.

https://puppetcombo.tumblr.com/ Cool indie horror game dev!

https://www.tumblr.com/sweetstench Strange videos! cool!

https://invisiblestation.tumblr.com/ Horror game screenshots & Scenery

https://brokenightlight.tumblr.com/ Spooky & liminal photos.

https://crod.tumblr.com/ Strange and spooky art. Some nsft stuff.

https://shayneofthedead.tumblr.com/ Goth fashion

https://welcome2creepshow.tumblr.com/ Blog about horror merch & music

https://lindzriot.tumblr.com/ Official blog of Lindsey Schoolcraft from cradle of Filth

https://thatcreepyreading.tumblr.com/ A Youtuber who makes videos about things like monsters and horror games.

https://carpenoctem20-blog.tumblr.com/ Classic 90s goth magazine.

https://www.tumblr.com/tapehead-finalgirl Horror VHS and t-shirts!

https://orb-s.tumblr.com/archive Creepy photographs.

https://www.mysteryfleshpitnationalpark.com/ A mysterious pit of flesh

https://sofiassecretspot.tumblr.com/ Goth fashion & metal music.

https://gut-shoveler.tumblr.com/ Creepy photos, music and game screens.

https://morbidfantasy21.tumblr.com/ Horror & dark fantasy art

https://thepumpkin-queenn.tumblr.com/ Halloween and horror gifs

https://ancientmorbidity.tumblr.com/ Metal images, spooky photos and art

https://www.tumblr.com/cinemamind Horror art and animations

https://davidfirth.tumblr.com/ Creator of the Salad Fingers video series.

https://www.tumblr.com/meat-wall T H E W A L L S A R E M A D E O F M E A T

https://goryhorror.tumblr.com/ Horror art

https://mrcreepypasta.tumblr.com/ Spooky stories!

https://www.tumblr.com/chrispandres-blog Handmade monsters, demons, etc and Satanic art.

https://hottopic.tumblr.com/ Hot Topic blog.

https://www.tumblr.com/florescentlcvesickness Goth & horror images, gifs, etc.

https://receptorconsuming.tumblr.com/ Video game blog that seems to mostly focus on horror games. Lots of obscure Japanese horror games.

https://www.tumblr.com/nocontextanaloghorror Small analog horror blog, inactive.

https://brokehorrorfan.com/ Various horror collectibles

https://danielstalter.tumblr.com/ Reviews of R.L. Stine books!

https://www.tumblr.com/drew-melancholy A very RED horror art and photography blog.

https://www.tumblr.com/sinisterscribbles Horror art accompanied by short stories.

https://www.tumblr.com/urnot-safehere Creepy photos, art and liminal spaces.

https://www.tumblr.com/decatris Creepy photos and images.

https://www.tumblr.com/c-u-r-s-e-d-i-m-a-g-e-s more weird images.

https://the-unwanted-houseguest.tumblr.com/ Scary stories & songs.

https://www.tumblr.com/ruth-hill Spooky liminal spaces

https://doctorwolfula.tumblr.com/ Blog of Youtube horror host Dr. Wolfula!

https://deadstrangeblog.tumblr.com/ Spooky stuff

https://cryptrites.tumblr.com/ Spooky & Satanic art/gifs

https://jebberz.tumblr.com/ Horror games, movies, comics, and industrial music.

https://isisaacdead.tumblr.com/ Binding of Isaac blog.

https://knivpojke.tumblr.com/ Cry of Fear / Afraid of Monsters fan blog

https://www.tumblr.com/cryoffearvibes Photos that feel like Cry of Fear locations.

https://deadmeatjames.tumblr.com/ Blog of Dead Meat, a Youtube channel featuring kill counts, a horror podcast, and more!

https://evildeadtrilogy.tumblr.com/ Evil Dead gifs.

https://ashvsevildead.tumblr.com/ Gifs and screenshots of Ash vs Evil Dead. Sadly many images seem broken, but some are intact.

https://brucestacheappreciation.tumblr.com/ Bruce Campbell gifs

https://fuckyeahbruce-campbell.tumblr.com/ Bruce Campbell fan blog

https://killerklownsfromouterspace.tumblr.com/ Killer Klowns blog!

https://www.tumblr.com/killingfloor-fans Killing Floor fan blog.

https://www.tumblr.com/flash-some-cash Killing Floor fan blog focusing on DJ Skully.

https://schwarzewoelfin-blog.tumblr.com/ Marilyn Manson blog

https://www.tumblr.com/predatormovies Official blog about the Predator franchise

https://scpfoundationfiles-blog.tumblr.com/ SCP Blog.

https://scp-087-1-blog.tumblr.com/ Another SCP Blog

https://www.tumblr.com/teamsilenthills Silent Hill images and fan art.

https://frombrahams.tumblr.com/ Silent Hill Music Archive

https://dont-go-out.tumblr.com/ Silent Hill images, fanart.

https://fuckyeahericdraven.tumblr.com/ Blog about the 90s Crow movie

https://www.tumblr.com/jolly-pirate-nicknames-blog Another blog about the "The Crow".

https://cursedimages.tumblr.com/ I don't care for the term "cursed" but I do like weird and spooky pictures!

https://www.tumblr.com/dark-priest A cool blog with spooky photos, art, and animations.

https://www.tumblr.com/rhetthammersmithhorror Cool horror gifs!

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deerhalou · 7 months ago

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I’m really inspired by haunted game creepypastas/series and I have been reading/watching/playing anything I can get my hands on in that genre for a long time. I just thought I’d make a brief list of some favorites for fun/to recommend them to anyone who might be interested! I might add more to the list later but for now I have six recommendations people might like.

Petscop

Probably the most well known on this list, one of my absolute favorites as I was always so excited for a new update and I followed it since the beginning (same for a lot of these series haha) I think it does commentary on the cyclical nature of trauma very well, as well as being at peace with not knowing everything. A puzzle you can never fully solve.

Link :

youtube

Invisible Games (A brief exhibition)

Killswitch is definitely the most well known story from this website (and a popular creepypasta in its own right) but, the website Invisible Games as a whole is a wonderful and strange place for haunted game stories/weird artifacts with a certain level of dedication and surrealism mixed with documentation that I love. My favorite story is “what happened to agent small” but all are worth reading. The website is also very fun to explore!

Link:

Summon House

While the first video in Summon House is 3 years old, the series is still updating and the creator has taken it in a direction I love! Part haunted game and part satire of pure summary analysis vids, summon house straddles the line between funny and creepy very well. I also recommend their older work AI builds!

Link:

youtube

Basilisk 2000

This is one of my favorite horror indies I’ve played in the past 2 years and I play a lot so that’s saying something haha. Explore an unfinished rpg game through its level editor and uncover the inner turmoil of the developers and possibly something much, much worse. This game is so fun to explore and play! Don’t be afraid to look at everything! I also think it’s fantastically creepy at parts and deserves more love and attention. It’s only $2 to play! I also recommend playing Basilisk SNES which is the equally cool (but smaller and free) predecessor of this game, both in universe and real life. The creator is also the dev of both Spookys Jumpscare Mansion and Lost in Vivo!

Link:

Valle Verde

Valle Verde has been around for a while and while it updates sporadically it makes sense as the visual design, animations, and general 3D modeling is some of the best I’ve seen. I love some of the brutality at play in it as well as it’s historical angle and references. I would say this is one of the more explicit ones but I think it’s done very well. It often emulates older games in impressive detail as well!

Link:

youtube

Vermis Malum

A newer series I’ve been keeping up to date with that just wrapped up disc one! I’ve been watching it with my partner as it overlaps into the more technical side of a digital worm that takes advantage of the weak and lonely. Really awesome 3D assets/voice work and lots of niche references to send you down the rabbit hole (possibly what the worm wants?) The text portions also have wonderful writing!

Link:

youtube

#Youtube #youtube horror #gaming #Deerhalou recs #youtube arg #creepypasta #petscop #summon house #valle verde #vermis malum #basilisk 2000 #invisible games #I hope this isn’t weird I just like sharing cool work!

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ebi-hime · 6 months ago

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Hello everyone! I hope you all had a pleasant holiday season, and I wish you all a happy new year!

To kick 2025 off, I'd like to announce a shiny new(?) project I've been working on very slowly for the last couple of years.

As you might have gathered by the title, I've been cobbling together a remake of the first VN I ever released on Steam: the yandere horror/romance story The Way We All Go! You can find the original game here, and the remake here!

The Way We All Go was my very first commercial VN, and it has a special place in my heart. I'm still very fond of the characters, especially Amu and Noelle (Amu even cameos in some of my newer VNs from time to time haha). During the last few years I started to wonder how the VN would look if I'd released it today.

When I wrote The Way We All Go, I was in my second year of university and I didn't have a job. I was dividing my time between writing essays and working on my horror game, which became quite expansive (somehow it wound up being over 200,000 words long), and I didn't have the budget to make it a big, flashy production.

I was a complete newbie when it came to commercial game dev. I'd made a few short, free VNs in the past, but there were all pretty humble, and I made them with purely free for use assets. I'd never commissioned an artist before when I started The Way We All Go, and I remember I was actually very anxious about the commissioning process in general haha ;;;

Given how small my budget was, it feels lke a miracle I was able to commission the few talented artists that I did for the spites and CGs. I didn't have the funds to give it any additional polish, however, and I had to use photographic backgrounds and stock music to finish it. Compared to my newer titles, it looks a little rogh around the edges, but I did the best I could with the resources I had at the time to make something special! I'm still fond of The Way We All Go and how it turned out, despite all of its early game jank, which is why I decided to remake it! I wanted to pump a bit more money into it, and give it the gloss I couldn't afford when I was starting out. The remake will have completely new character sprites, and some supporting characters who didn't have sprites befoe will get them now, like Noelle's mother and Amu's father. The new backgrounds, meanwhile, are all drawn by hand and commissioned for this project, and the soundtrack will be fully original too. I'm upscaling the game to 1080px, instead of the old postage stamp-sized 800x600, and it has a shiny new UI! I will be releasing the remake in 2025, though I'm not entirely sure when. I was hoping to release the remake on March 24th, to coincide with the release of the original VN on Steam. However, I'm not sure if the remake will be finished by then, as I need to recode the whole thing (the old code was Utterly Terrible lmao it's quite shocking...) You can wishlist the remake on Steam here if you're interested! I'll keep working hard on it. Thank you for all of your support until now; it's appreciated!

#visual novel #anime #anime game #yandere #yandere games #yandere girl #yandere game #horror #horror game #indie horror #indiedev #the way we all go

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ghostoffuturespast · 13 days ago

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Ten First Lines

Tagged by @slayerdurge. Thank you! 🧡

Rules: Post the beginning lines of your 10 (or whatever you have) most recently published (or unpublished) fanfics, then attempt to tag 10 people!

All the fics I have are Cyberpunk 2077. In chronological order of publication

1.So It Goes - Part One of my V x River Ward unintentional epic-length long fic, which is a mash-up of the base game and things I wanted to add onto and dive into more thematically.

Valerie shifted uncomfortably in her seat.

2. Tongues - Horror one-shot. This one got its inspiration from the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale. I double-dog dare you to see what’s inside.

Henry's knees scraped the concrete as he was shoved to the ground.

3. Hex - Another horror one-shot set in the world of CP2077 and inspired by one of the news segments that’s featured in the game… I’ll let you find out which one.

Allen lit another cigarette as he emerged from the NCART station, rubbing a hand over his optics and rumpling unkempt black hair.

4. The Garden - Soft, sweet, not my normal MO, V x River one-shot. Winter holiday-themed. Largely based on my River head canons and my Grandpa V, but I kept the descriptions and the setup vague enough that you could substitute your own V if desired.

V rolled over in the dark to find the other half of the bed empty as rain pattered and keened on the thin metal roof.

5. Space - One-shot. Misty’s first Christmas without Jackie. Grief with shot of hurt and a garnish of bittersweet comfort.

Small flames and gossamer smoke weaved amidst the fragrant scent of incense as the fluttered whispers of shuffled cards broke the quiet in the air.

6. Shimmer & Shine - One-shot gift fic that I wrote for @shimmer-like-agirl. Featuring her lovely OC and part-time V, Darisha. Because in my book they both deserve all the shine.

Chin cupped in one palm and free fingers entwined around the stem of her wine glass, Darisha sighed.

7. No. 1 Smalltown Boy - First installment in a very niche character back story series. Non-canonical three-shot origin story about everyone’s (un)favorite rockerboy running away from home and joining the army. Johnny has gone for a soldier.

It was an indisputable fact – that from a very young age – Robert John Linder had fucking hated his name.

8. Fugue In D Minor - More horror one-shot! This one took its inspiration from the legend of the Pied Piper. (Technically more than one sentence, but they're all one word lol)

Tap. Tap. Tap.

9. No. 3 Water of Love - Three-shot about my nomad OC Lora and how she ended up in Night City. For those of you who don’t know (because I literally never talk about her here), she’s the matriarch of Red Peaks Trailer Park, and River and Joss’s adoptive parent. Look, the devs said the trailer park was a Native American community, which they never elaborated on, and I always wondered how it got there, and how the hell River and Joss wound up there too. So, of course, I made an elaborate amount of shit (head canon) up.

Ten goddamn hours.

And one unpublished WIP makes ten…

10. Night Running - Part Two of my V x River Ward long fic series. I stuck Phantom Liberty into a shaker with a bunch of other game-inspired ingredients and ended up with this delightful cocktail. Will anyone else like it? I dunno, but it checks off all my boxes, and I’m the one writing it, so that’s all that matters. (If any readers have been waiting on this, I'm hoping I'll have a couple chapters ready by the end of summer... Provided work doesn't kill me.)

V stared at the screen, the wash of blue it emitted burning her retinas as she watched the coordinates tick closer and closer — the ellipse of her planned trajectory mapping an arc out in front of her.

Don't think I have 10 people to tag, and apologies if you got double tagged. I'm perpetually out of the loop and Tumblr got put on the back burner this week. @shimmer-like-agirl @baublekute @streetkid-named-desire @setaflow @wanderingaldecaldo @scarlettspectra @dani-the-goblin @fly-amanitaa

No pressure tags as always, and if I didn't tag you but you're reading this and would like to do it. Tag me so I can see!

#tag you're it #tag games #ten first lines #cyberpunk 2077 #writing #fan fiction #horror #v x river ward #otp: so it goes #character back story

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femalechibiblogger · 1 year ago

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More Underrated Indie Horror Games

1. Andy's Apple Farm

Andy's Apple Farm is a 2021 indie horror game developed by M36games. The game was first released on Itch.io and Game Jolt on August 22, 2021, and was later released on Steam on November 26, 2021.

The story revolves around the player Beta-testing an 80's retro game created by Thomas Eastwood called Andy's Apple Farm and discovering the hidden truth in the seemingly innocent game. You play as the titular protagonist, Andy the Apple, who in Chapter 1, had his keys stolen by his friends, and he must complete minigames and earn Bonus Stickers to get them back. As the player progresses the game, they uncover dark secrets about the creator's family and a strange dark Entity that stalked them.

youtube

2. Bonnie's Bakery

Bonnie's Bakery is a horror and cooking game created in 2022. It is being made by a group of 7 under the name Melty Clown Studio, under the publisher aislebsoupid on itch.io.

"A game where you serve customers delicious food as Bonnie! Yes, that's all it is! A game where you serve customers delicious food...

Nothing else."

youtube

3. Shipwrecked 64

Broadside Beach: SHIPWRECKED 64, known as SHIPWRECKED 64 in-universe, is the third of a three part mockumentary series dedicated to Broadside Animation, uploaded by Squeaks D'corgeh. Previously, the game had a legacy release before its official release on January 1st, 2024.

Bucky and his gang are in danger and they need your help!!With this brand new 3D platformer, Bucky and his friends are going to be taken on a wild ride through an island they had crashed upon. Help out your pals and get the ship back up and running so you can go home once again!

youtube

4. The Bunny Graveyard

The Bunny Graveyard is an episodic horror adventure about a bunny who seeks to find the horrifying truth behind her existence. Immerse yourself in a world of pixel art inspired by GBA and NDS graphics, while unraveling an enthralling story that keeps you hooked!

Begin your journey as... a cursor? Your job is to find Skye, the bunny! But there seems to be some kind of strange entity inside the computer that doesn't want you to leave... can you complete your task and survive?

youtube

5. Happy's Humble Burger Farm

Happy's Humble Burger Farm is a restaurant simulation horror game series developed by Scythe Dev Team and published by TinyBuild.

As the series sets in the urban city, the player takes the job as the employee of the fast-food restaurant Happy's Humble Burger Farm where they must do their absolute best to satisfy the customers by serving their correct orders as swift as possible, while surviving from nightmare-fueled versions of the restaurant's beloved mascots.

Congrats, you're hired! Serve customers and maintain the Happy's Humble Burger Farm restaurant alone on the overnight. But be careful; things fall apart if you mess up! After work, head home and keep your eyes open for a way to escape the Barnyard Buds and their fast food fever-dream.

youtube

6. Garten of BanBan

Garten of Banban is a game made by the Euphoric Brothers. It is part of the controversial t mascot horror genre and is the Euphoric Brothers' 8th game. Upon release the game was met with a very ftff reception from gamers and critics alike, It received a lot of popularity on the internet as well as a lot of criticism and hate.

Enter Banban's Kindergarten, and you're sure to make some friends. Explore the mysterious establishment and don't lose your life and sanity. Uncover the horrifying truth behind the place, but be careful, as you are far from alone…

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7. The Mortuary Assistant

The Mortuary Assistant is a 2022 horror game developed by DarkStone Digital and published by DreadXP. Set in 1998 in a small town in Connecticut, players control a newly hired assistant at a haunted mortuary.

Alone with the dead... Embalm corpses, banish demons, save your soul.

youtube

#Youtube #indie horror game #underrated #andy's apple farm #bonnie's bakery #shipwrecked 64 #the bunny graveyard #happy's humble burger farm #garten of banban #the mortuary assistant #scary #horror

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prizcesah · 3 months ago

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Otherworld Shadow - Upcoming 18+ indie Otome Game!

"Explore the twisted and the incompreensible. Dance in your dreams as you mock the foolish humans and experience love and hate."

"Lima is an isolated girl who prefers to spend her time in the indecipherable world of her dreams rather than living her boring, monotonous reality. Gods? War? Curses? Pests? She couldn't care less. After all, it's not her problem. Fearless and apathetic, she can only count on her friends from within her dream world. Ignoring the suffering of the apocalyptic world around her, Lima, together with her only reliable non-human friends, looks for a way to abandon the world and go and live freely in a reality that isn't boring and free to do as she pleases, while her dear companions try to plant in her some emotion other than apathy and loathing."

Otherworld Shadow is an upcoming 18+ nsfw horror game for PC made by me and my team!

Two main Love Interests:

Morpheus and Phantasos, the dream spirit twins

Morpheus - specialist in prophetic dreams and complex illusions.

Phantasos - Specialist in fantastical dreams and surreal illusions.

Main (nameable) MC:

Lima - Apathetic orphan who lives in a government shelter together with countless youngsters.

Chapter 1 demo: TBA

Languages: English and Brazilian Portuguese

Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux

Liked it? Say what twin catched your attention the most and stay tunned!

Chapter 1 demo is in its making, and we REALLY need your help!

This is a very passionate project being made with lots of effort and love from all involved parties, but we are a very small team with almost 0 reach towards the public as we all are very small accounts. So please, don't ignore this! Just by giving a like and sharing, you are helping me and the amazing people involved in this project! Please help an Indie dev 🩷 !

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slightly-gay-pogohammer · 1 year ago

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I haven't played less of p, but can keep asking questions!

Do you have any propaganda for playing the game?

hi welcome to the lies of p propaganda

literally a mix of bloodborne and american mcgee's alice when it comes to aesthetic, vibes, themes and battle systems. if you liked either of them and are upset that bloodborne won't get a port and alice won't get a sequel this is a good alternative

the devs confirmed a sequel and a dlc btw. and they're indie so they shouldn't have many problems

INCREDIBLE soundtrack, and here's some examples of my favorites because i need to share quixotic, memory of beach, shattered memories, hall of fame and arche abbey everywhere

the boss fights are difficult, but most of them are very fair and easy to learn the patterns of. while some are clearly fodder... anyone who played a soulsborne game know that every now and then you have to deal with a curse-rotted greatwood or a witch of hemwick if it means you can have a pontiff sulyvan or a lady maria in return!! if you don't mind spoilers i highly recommend checking out the battles with the king of puppets or with champion victor

tackles themes of overcoming grief, different ways to deal with it, rebirth, what it means to be human, being your own person and honestly and lies, with the latter especially being the most prominent one and heavily implying that even if honesty is good, sometimes a lie is a much better option for everyone

INCREDIBLE visuals hello

i need to talk about how good the monsters design is because body and mechanical horror fans rise UP

you can actually mix-n-match every single weapons you can find around, not including very overpowered boss weapons, and you can have a cannon arm?? like yes it's far from being the fastest weapon but consider: i can either hit and dash or i can make the boss explode

Your Choices Matter you know when a game promises you that they don't. well they do they DOOO literally every single choice starting with your very first one matter HEAVILY in the end

i can't stress enough how good the characters are, they're all full of life and energy and Love. you get a puppet in love, a beautiful charismatic old woman, a spunky young mechanic, whatever the fuck venigni my dad venigni has going on, an actually pretty fun version of the cricket and even pinocchio, who like most soulsborne seems to have little to no personality, is way more human from the get-go, with a lot of characters noting that he's so easily annoyed by their bigger-than-life personality and dramatique

this game made me cry SO many times between the music the lore and the incredible writing and voice acting. it's weird to say i didn't expect that much from it, like when the first trailer arrived we all went haha bishounen pinocchio bloodborne game, but the various npcs and even some bosses feel so human that inevitably seeing them going through situation destroyed me fr fr

but seriously the small details fuck me up so bad. the fact that pinocchio starts by making heavy mechanical noises whenever he moves and occasionally twitches and makes no noise when he attacks and the more "good ending" choices you make the less mechanical noises he makes and the more he occasionally grunts whenever he's hit is so nice?? they literally change every single one of his animation if you aim for that ending and it's so!!!!! aaaa

and also you can play fashionsouls the clothes have no effect other than being fancy so you can literally wear whatever the fuck you want and i, personally, find it very fun. big fan of the workshop master clothes btw that was my main until i unlocked the white clothes

i could go on but it would fall in spoilers territory fnasdmg point is. play lies of p

#gio replies #lies of p

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games-by-eight · 8 days ago

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Pinned post

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · · Hi, my name is Eight, and this is my sideblog dedicated to my game development!! My main blog is @eight-littlenightmares and I might post stuff about this there too. But mainly here lol.

I am a solo dev, and most of the games I plan to make here will most likely be relatively small. (I do have plans for larger games. But those will be on a different account, this one is for smaller ones)

edit: i put the rest under a read more because it’s a little bit long

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

My published games are _ (I don’t have any published games at the moment.. I literally just made this 😭)

My in development game is Untitled Whump Game.

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

You can expect to find mostly horror and whump content here. My games are mainly for the whump community—love you guys <333

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

Important tags are:

#status (weekly status update. May not always be consistent)

#update (any sort of other updates)

#announcements (announcing things—like release dates, new projects, et cetera)

#reblogs (reblogging other people’s posts)

#my reblogs (reblogging my posts from this account, or reblogging my posts from my other blogs)

#polls (..polls. This one probably doesn’t need explained)

#promotional content (this includes trailers, advertising posts, also promoting my other accounts maybe)

#art (my drawings :D)

#untitledwhumpgame (my WIP, Untitled Whump Game)

#info (just info about stuff. Probably games but who knows)

#shoutout (promoting/shouting out other people)

#devstuff (talking about stuff relating to the development process)

· · ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

itch.io

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That is all, thank you for reading!!! I hope you have a very nice day :D

(If you’d like, just let me know and I’ll add you to a taglist :)) either for a specific game or tag, or just general posts)

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if-whats-new · 7 months ago

Text

What's New In IF? Issue 30 (2024)

By Aj, Dion, Briar, Jen and Peter

Now Available!

Itch.io - Keep Reading below

If you read the zine, consider liking the post: it helps us see how many people see it! And sharing is caring! <3

~ EDITORIAL ~

Event Highlight!

In this Issue we take a quick look at the Videotome Jam hosted by Freya, the dev behind all the Videotome game engines!

Continue reading to find out more!

We want some feedback!

As we’re starting to get a hand of things, we would love some feedback from you guys! What you enjoy, want more or less off, how we could improve... Anything goes! We even have a nifty form.

We hope you enjoy this new issue!

AJ, DION, BRIAR, JEN AND PETER

~ BE A PART OF THE ZINE ~

THIS ZINE ONLY HAPPENS WITH YOU!

Want to write 1-2 pages about a neat topic, or deep-dive into a game and review it in details? Share personal experiences or get all academic?

WRITE FOR THE COLUMN!

Prefer to be more low-key but still have something to share? Send us a Zine Letter or share a game title for Highlight on…!

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Came across something interesting? Know a release or an update announced? Saw an event happening? Whether it's a game, an article, a podcast… Add any IF-related content to our mini-database!

EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!

~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : Videotome Jam - "Waiting" ~

November 16th to December 1st 2024

Videotome Jam is a two-week-long game jam for games made in any of the Videotome engines with the optional theme of "Waiting".

What is Videotome?

Videotome is a series of small homebrew IF/VN engines made by Freya Campbell (communistsister), an indie game developer focusing on narrative games that are usually:

science fiction, horror, &/or romance

close to 100% LGBTQ characters

free/PWYW with low tech requirements

liable to make players keysmash due to feelings

At the moment there are four engines available:

Videotome, for linear, no frills text / images / music;

Videotome ADV, adding a more conventional layout with ignorable choices and branching;

Super Videotome, for more fully featured and freeform image/canvas use;

Videotome Heartbreak, adding a stat raising dating sim & storylets structure to the above.

If you want to check out some examples of projects made with Videotome, take a look at this collection. It includes games made by both Freya and other devs.

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

The voting for ECTOCOMP 2024 has officially started! To vote and participate as a jury, you must do so by giving between 1 to 5 stars on each entry page of the jam. The voting period ends on November 30.

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

A Hallmark movie is a feel-good, family-friendly film, often centered around romance, personal growth, or holiday themes. A Very Hallmark Game Jam with a theme of “Charming Love Interest with a Secret” is also all about that!

Are you a fan of Videotome games? Then the Videotome Jam with an optional theme “Waiting” is for you!

This year’s Yuri Game Jam is in full progress. The devs have until December 2nd to submit their projects.

The Educational Jam is a perfect place to learn something new. Discuss some obscure tidbit. Showcase your insight about a specific thing, your pub trivia skills, or that Wikipedia rabbit hole you went down last time.

Disabled Rep VN Jam has a very simple premise but a very important message.

Once upon a time, a game jam was held to create stories around the theme of fairy tales… and that game jam is the Once Upon A Time VN Jam. It’s running from October 1st to January 31st.

Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.

Are you perhaps a fan of more somber, melancholic themes? Then check out the Dying Year - Visual Novel Jam! You have until the end of the year to participate.

~ OTHER ~

PIZZAPRANKS is accepting submissions for their Indiepocalypse Issue #61. If you’re a dev and would like to try out your luck, definitely check it out! Any game is welcomed, not only IF.

~ NEW RELEASE ~

In Arctic Adventure unearth forgotten journals, repair malfunctioning equipment, and solve puzzles to piece together the station’s dark past. But beware—some secrets are better left buried in the ice.

You are a dragon - huge, winged, flying and even capable of magic. Only here, in a system of caves created by your magic, you can be yourself. But the time has come for you to leave your home. The old map, that you've been keeping since times immemorial, is now ready to unravel it's secrets in A Dragon and the Tower.

You’ve spent your whole life visiting the majestic Hotel Lexington, and now you’ve inherited it! The once-grand building is in disrepair, and rumored to be haunted! You’re the only one who can restore its former glory before it’s lost forever. Check in to your hotel, and check out the ghosts in Haunted Hearts Hotel.

As always, don't forget to check out the submitted entries to the events mentioned in the previous pages. They deserve some love too!

~ NEW RELEASE (WIP) ~

You are a key member of "The Constellation Club," a close-knit group of friends brought together by your shared love for music and dreams. Over time, the club members drifted apart, but a mystery brings you all back together. Reunite with your friends, uncover secrets, and chase the dreams that first united you in The Constellation Club (Twine).

Have you enjoyed the first Volume of Oblivious Melodies? Then be sure to check out Chapter 1 of Volume 2 (Twine)! You play as the Horne siblings, navigating their emergence into gentry society. You will delve into a country divided by class, religious dissent, political factionalism, and the ever-encroaching interests of empire. @oblivious-melodies

In Ashenmaw - Dragons of Marrowoods (CScript) you play as a freshly hatched dragon whelp, navigating the odds and ends of the politics and mysteries of the five flights. Intermingle with the younger races, and jump headfirst into uncovering the secrets of Ashenmaw and the Marrowoods. @ashenmaw-if

Aydan joins his husband Leo in this important family reunion that takes place 2 months after his father’s death. Suddenly, they are all trapped in the house for 3 days and the lawyer states that one of the siblings is the murderer of their own father! Find out who the real culprit is in Guilty at 5PM (Ren’Py).

In a realm of forgotten tales, you emerge as a ghost to yourself. Stranded in a land where memories fear to tread, the icy breath of solitude kisses your bare flesh, a chilling reminder of your forsaken existence. In this realm where salvation dances with oblivion, Snowborn (CScript), awaken to tread the treacherous path through a world steeped in sorcery and demise.

You are a young nobleman, in a stagnating empire, either on the verge of resurgence, or it’s final demise. An Empire held together by fragile institutions, led by ego-driven men. And here you are, in the middle of it all. As this den of vipers strike, where will you fall? Find out in Scion of the Alason (CScript).

You wake up suddenly with a system telling you that you are occupying the body of a green tea b!tch! The spy of the fearsome overlord, Hasthael who betrayed him for the male hero, resulting in the death of his beloved lightning hound. Avoid the fate of dying and accomplish the missions given by two of the available systems in Project Dominion (CScript).

You are the Aeon, an omniscient entity as old as time. When your powers begin to malfunction and the source of an incoming threat is unbeknownst to you, how will you protect the fabric of the universe? Abandon your omnipresent form for the first time in millennia and craft an identity as a demon to infiltrate the Ethereal Plane in The Time Keeper (CScript).

~ UPDATES ~

Aesemyr: The Withering (CScript) released 3/4 of the "university gathering" path of Chapter 3.

After Dark (CScript) released the last part of the fifth day of the journey.

Eldritch Tales: Inheritance (CScript) released part one of Chapter 3. @darielivalyen

Honor Amongst Thieves (CScript) updated their public demo. @leoneliterary

Oh Mother, Where Art Thou? (CScript) started Act 2 of Chapter 1.

Our Life: Now and Forever (Ren’Py) added extra content to their Patreon demo. @gb-patch

The Abyssal Song (Twine) released Chapter 5. @ri-writes-if

Virtue’s End (CScript) has updated their Patreon demo. @virtues-end

When Life Gives You Lemons (CScript) updated their public demo. @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if

~ OTHER ~

Is playtesting something that interests you? Check out part one of Drew Cook’s let’s TEST IF #1: being a playtester. @golmac

GlasswingGames is currently running a giveaway! You can enter to win either a chibi or emote of a character of your choice! @glasswinggames

If you think something should have been included in this week's zine but did not appear, please shoot us a message! We'll do our best to add it next week! And if you know oncoming news, add it here!

~ MAYBE YOU NEXT? ~

We did not get a submission this week. But if you have an idea for a short essay, or would like a special space to share your thoughts about IF and the community...

Shoot us an email!

~ HIGHLIGHT ON ~

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

God-Cursed by @wings-of-ink (Twine)

I think this game is fantastic. Plot, ROs, writing, everything. Deserves thousands of reads and compliments!

//recommended by Briar [Team]//

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserves some highlighting?

An old or recent game that wowed you so much you spam it to everyone?

Tell us about it! And it might appear here!

Hello! I appreciate what you all do. As a living thing with a 9-5 job, I couldn't regularly check updates from existing WIPs, especially the ones I really like. I also tend to be the last person to know new IFs with lots of potential. So, I'm glad that with your zine, I get weekly updates from everyone in one place. Thank you, thank you so much!

- a very mysterious anon

WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU ALL! WHETHER IT'S GOOD OR BAD, OR EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN...

Have something to say? Send us a message titled: Zine Letter!