leoneliterary - Tumblr blog

[leoneliterary]

I read somewhere that tango was used by criminal gangs to build trust and understanding of how one’s partner moves incase of a knife fight, and now I just imagine dancer MC teaching Sutek to dance as a form of a trust exercise…

Love your story, ravenously waiting for the next update <3

I'm sorry, tango was used to WHAT?!

I have never heard that before, but the idea of gangsters being like, "Go tango with that dude. For research purposes, of course," is wild.

I'll see what I can do with the Sutek and the dancing, but it probably won't involve tango hahaha!

[leoneliterary]

This is so cool! There is an IF Zine/Newsletter and we were included in it!

Thank you so much for including my game update @if-whats-new!

What's New In IF? Issue 1 (2024)

By Erika, Marjorie, Alex, Zach and Noi

Now Available!

Itch.io - Google Drive - Keep Reading below

EDITORIAL

We were always just lurkers… But no more! We were always just lurkers… But no more!

We had been talking for a while about the Interactive Fiction community, and wondering what we could to do… you know, do our part to help it become its best self.

And out of all the things available out there, between the directories and the group chats, the forums and the discord servers… it can get pretty overwhelming to be part of it all, to keep track of everything. And we realised there wasn't really a newsletter for IF. Something that tracks of what is happening…

RIGHT NOW!

So why not just… make it happen?

Like a lot of things, What's New in IF started on a whim. But we hope we can turn it into something great. Something that can help the community keep track of what's happening.

And we hope that you will join us too!

PS: we did cheat a bit on some dates for this edition :{

ERIKA, MARJORIE, AXEL, ZACH, AND NOI

EVENTS

~ CONFERENCE ~

You can now register for the Narrascope! It is happening June 21-23, in hybrid. They've also released the schedule of talks!

The Interactive Narrative Exhibition is looking for IF pieces to be displayed in a Museum in Poland!

~ ONGOING (VOTING) ~

Until mid-May, the Spring Thing is welcoming players to check out the entries vote for the “Best in Show”!

Do you speak German? The annual Grand Prix has released its submissions and is looking for voters!

~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~

The Dialogue Jam by the @neointeractives group is open for submission until the end of the month. Only Dialogue is allowed!

In less than two weeks, the window to submit for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam 2024 will end. The goal is to make a parser for beginner players.

Also ending at the end of the month is the Amare Games Festival 2024, which is all about love!

On the Choice of Game Forum, the Diversity Jam is running. They accept any CScript game… as long at is not in ENGLISH!

~ ENDED ~

After months of hiatus, the 79th edition of the Bitsy Jam finished recently. The theme was: long distances.

The Second Edition of @seedcomp-if recently released its results. Congratulations to the winners!

~ OTHER ~

The Interactive Fiction Showcase is running throughout the whole year, where you can submit and/or play IF games from a wide variety of authors. It is happening on itch!

GAMES

New Releases

The Dice (Twine) is a psychological horror short game. (@stanwixbuster)

Summoned at 2 (HTML) is a short game where you must complete a summoning circle.

Giving Yourself Away (HTML) is the newest release of the Domino Club.

The Wretched Bitsy (Bitsy) is short adaptation of The Trail of the Wretched in bitsy.

How Do You Like Pain (RenP’y) is a visual novel about pain, death, and maybe nothing. Also part of the ‘Art Without Blood’ universe. (@catskets)

New Releases (WIP)

Corruptant (CScript) is a dark fantasy game, where you play as an amnesiac coping with their situation. (@cyn-if)

No Peace (CScript) is a ONE PIECE inspired pirate project.

The Psion (CScript) is a high-fantasy game, where you have Psionic abilities.

The Red and White Knight (Twine) is a Medieval Arthurian inspired project where you play as Lancelot du Lac. (@theredandwhiteknight-if)

Mutually Assured Destruction (Twine) is fantasy thriller about bonds and destruction.

Blackwood Manor (CScript) is mystery romance project.

Shattered Eagle: Fall of an Empire (CScript) is Roman Empire political intrigue.

hic est nihilum (Twine) is post-apocalyptic fantasy story, where you struggle against dieties. (@nightingale-the-lurker)

Speck (CScript) is a Horror/Sci-Fi project inspired by ‘Alien & Spiecies’.

GAMES UPDATES

Agents of Lucifer (CScript) added chapters 4 and 5 to its demo. (@aprismaticodyssey)

Era of the Archdemons (CScript) added chapter 3 to the demo.

The One Chosen (CScript) added more content to their beta. (@parrotwatcher)

Echoes of Kingdom: The Last Stand (CScript) added extra scenes.

Dawn of Heroes (CScript) added chapters 21 and 22 to its demo.

Honor among Thieves (CScript) added extra content. (@leoneliterary)

Dawn of Heroes (Twine) completed its second chapter. (@bladeweaver-if)

Merry Crisis (CScript) has made its last update available to all. (@merrycrisis-if)

Remnants of the Past (Twine) uploaded the final chapter of Act 1 (limited release before sale). (@remnantsofthepast-if)

What lies in the past (Twine) added chapter 1 to the demo. (@maluarty-blog)

Fallen Light (Twine) latest update is available to all. (@fallenlightsif)

OTHER

Limerence (Twine) is back on Tumblr. (@limerenceif)

We apologize in advance if we missed something, and forgot to add projects to this list. Please, let us know if something should have been added to the zine, and we will shout it out next week!

HIGHLIGHT ON...

A couple of games that we thought were cool.

Social Democracy: An Alternate History by Autumn Chen (DendryNexus)

That weird political game that took Twitter by storm, so strongly that there's even a fan subreddit where you can share your stats. It's all about what might have been…

i won't finish this game by Naarel (RenP’y)

An emotional visual novel about being a struggling indie dev game developer and depiction of suicide in narrative games. It is very short and hits hard.

Eat Me by Chandler Groover (Inform)

It was weird, it was gross… It's just genius. There's no way to describe how insane this game is. Maybe the most disturbing escape game ever made. No wonder it's so highly rated and won awards… TG for walkthroughs!

Your favourite game here?

Do you have a favourite game that deserve some highlighting? Tell us about it! A old or recent game that wowed you so much you want to spam it to everyone? Tell us about it!

We'll add it to the page!

FINAL WORD

We... don't really know what we're doing.

Yes, it's true! Not a lot of thought process went into making this. We actually started putting this together at 3-4am after making the Tumblr Blog.

We haven't really made any plan on what should or should not be included in this zine. We just knew we wished we had something like this when we started.

So while it may seem bare right now, we hope, in time, to fill all the pages, and even add more, as we find more projects, and events, and other IF- related stuff to share!

But for that…

We need your help.

Did you find a cool game that was just released? Or a project that shared a demo or update? Did you come across some cool event? Or found a neat article/blog post talking about IF?

Then, shoot us an ask or submit it on our blog!

THANK YOU!!

ERIKA, MARJORIE, AXEL, ZACH, AND NOI

WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2024-ISSUE 1

[leoneliterary]

Hello sorry to bother you! I love your story so much but often don’t know what was added to the demo or not and since i have to restart i would love to have a small list of what was updated if possible? Sorry if it’s too much of a bother or if you do post that already i just can’t find it anywhere 😣

Thank you for bringing this to my attention!

I'll start including a list of changes and updates going forward. It also seems that y'all prefer longer updates instead of shorter, more frequent ones, which is understandable.

This update involved your character exploring the temple, and interacting with Aretas, Heka, Merikh, and Tamu.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but sometimes it's hard for me to gauge how long an update actually is, because of the different branches.

[leoneliterary]

Obviously this is something that entirely depends on your own level of comfort and story planning but when it comes to the dancer class it’s mentioned that some of the other dancers are brothel workers. Would the player be able to pursue a path similar to this, at least working as a seductress (and I say that gender neutrally cause idk what else to call it LMAO) styled assassin working to get their targets at their most vulnerable for a kill.

Or, take this now as an ask in regards to lore, would papa bear simply just not allow the player the pursue this.

This is a bit of a spoiler, but I think it's good to clear up expectations surrounding this!

Later in the story, you can definitely lure a some characters to their doom, either by doing the seducing yourself or employing some of the other performers to do so. An important part of this story is that your character isn't alone and that your actions impact others, so keep that in mind when you make choices like this.

Regarding lore and background, Amatus and Hadassah have not allowed your character with the dancer background to do this before. Amatus didn't feel comfortable putting you out there like that at a young age to get close to his enemies, although he was called out by some in the guild for still using you as a thief. (Amatus and his moral dilemmas.) And even if he had, Hadassah wouldn't have allowed it. She refuses to run an operation like Mara, but the performers under her roof can do as they please ass long as they follow certain rules.

And that's all I can say on that without spoiling so events that are going to happen soon...

[leoneliterary]

YESSS!! More Kreios+Thalia/Alim representation!! I like the dancer MCs, but I also equally love the scholar/fighter too!!

I think Alim-raised MCs would probably have an uncanny knowledge of many subjects, and they could probably show it off through a lot of politicking or maybe just having a keen awareness of Cusmo history! Having a great sense of history could come to play by maybe knowing a few old and forgotten passages here and there 👀

I always imagine Kreios+Thalia MCs to be very good with endurance and very easily learning to use new weapons. Also, I can imagine that Kreios and Thalia fight a bit differently from Cusmo locals since I think I recall them not originally being from Cusmo? That can be an interesting dynamic with an MC that takes a lot of inspiration from Kreios and Thalia’s fighting style!

I finished making yet another MC for the latest demo (a fighter this time) and I imagine them to be very mercenary-like. They got the sneakiness of a thief and the swordsmanship of a warrior; silver-armored individuals beware!

First of all, love the build of your new MC!!

Asnd second of all, thank you for your ideas on how to incorporate the different backgrounds! This ask actually inspired me when I was working on a scene this week. So Kreios+Thalia MCs, prepare to fight weird!

[leoneliterary]

Well I've mostly read only 3rd view books looking back but in any view if crafted well and I'm drawn, I think it's good! I only recall one series where it was first person. Years ago it may be but all I remember is a beautiful journey that touched my heart in an impeccable way. A man who could see ghosts, going on a journey with the warming presence of Elvis Presley's ghost tagging along. I don't remember the series title, if you find it please let me know!

Yeah, if I remember correctly, most books were written in 3rd person with 1st person rising in popularity in recent years, especially in romance and YA novels broadly.

I've never heard of that book, but it sounds really interesting!

[leoneliterary]

hiiii! just found your story and I love it so far! also I dont know if youve heard this already but have this weird fun fact: Sutek means 'Nipple' in polish haha! It always brings a smile when I read smth about him because of that lol

Hahaha! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far!

As for Sutek AKA Mr. Nipple...

Picture it anon. It's at the beginning of HAT's release. I've meticulously crafted my characters, their storylines, and the romances each will have. I've picked out names and surnames and houses. I thought that I had taken everything into account.

Except for one thing. The Polish language.

It's how I discovered that some of my earliest readers speak polish. Because here is this character who is supposed to be a fearsome opponent with the potential to turn into something more and what reaction did my polish audience have?

So yes, I've heard it and been asked to never change his name. Shout out to Poland

[leoneliterary]

Point Of View Poll

This isn't exclusively related to interactive fiction, it's more of a question to readers out there in general. What point of view do you like to read in? Do you like to be in the story through the character's eyes via 1st person, or do you like a bird's eyes view through 3rd omniscient? I'd love to know!

[leoneliterary]

CANT PLAY THE RIGHT THIS SECOND CAUSE IM PAINTING MY NEW APARTMENT BUT IM SO EXCITTEEDDD!! :DDD

Congrats on the new apartment!!

Don't worry, the story will be waiting for you after you finish fixing up your new spot!

(I'm curious to know what color you're painting it!)

[leoneliterary]

Sooooo I was going through some answered asks and spotted that Merikh has an ex? And it sounds like it didn’t end well??? Who hurt him?? Who hurt my mans?? 🥺🥺

This also had me wondering what the ROs experience level is romantically and/or sexually? (If I’m allowed to ask!)

He does have an ex and it ended horribly! You'll be hearing all the details really soon.

As for the ROs romantic experience, a similar question was answered here!

[leoneliterary]

thinking about how those metal folding fans used in avatar the last airbender would be so cool for a dancer mc to use

I like it!

I already have several dance variations in my drafts, so I'll probably add it in!

Another thing I'm trying to be conscious of is that it's easy to give performer MCs the chance to show off, but I don't want to neglect our children of Kreios and Thalia, or Alim. So I need to think more about our scholars and warriors.

[leoneliterary]

Bruh i swear im dyslexic or something cause for some gosh darn reason i kept reading cusmo as chicago!? What the heck! Lolol. LIKE! I thought chicago was windy and rainy, not sunny and deserty lmfaoooo

Haha, you must have been so confused lol!

Time for me to write an alternate universe where the Talons are a crime gang in Chicago, but in the future, where global warming has turned the windy city into a desert stronghold.

[leoneliterary]

Hi Leone just needed to know, does the updates mess up the saves? No because, on the last public update, my saves got erased I had to replay the whole thing once again just a few weeks ago. I saved at the Time and today when i wanted to play the New update, my saves were gone again. It's kind of discouraging, do you know anything ? -sarah

Hello Sarah!

The update probably messes with the saves. I don't know why it does, but every time I update the demo, the saves are lost. I haven't figured out a way to fix it, so if anyone has any potential solutions, please let me know!

[leoneliterary]

Spoilers for story obvi but

Is it possible to kill ROs? Cause Sutek is gonna need some major help after my mc stabbed him in the chest and collapsed the cave entrance 😭

That's a good question!

I mean...you haven't seen him since then, have you?

(MUHAHAHAHAA)

[leoneliterary]

Not an ask, but omg i love this story so much, plan on getting the patreon as soon as payday is here. Your world and character building just flows so well, i'm usually really bad with imagery when reading but with this i can picture everything. Frothing at the mouth for more Aretas.

Oh my goodness, thank you so much for liking the story and for your support!

Feel free to let me know if there are any things you'd like to see on the Patreon, and hopefully you'll enjoy what's next for the MC and Aretas haha

[leoneliterary]

I love HaT so much, you have no idea. How do you plan for the IF? Do you make flowcharts, or just go with the flow as you write? Do you put in stats/code as you go, or add them in when your writing bit is over?

Thank you so much!

I'm looking at being more organized, so I might get fancied with my plotting in the future, but right now I just make bullet points for what needs to happen in each scenario.

It's like an overview of the paths before I write them. Sometimes I write things that happen chapters ahead, so I have to ask myself, 'What must happen here, in order for that to happen there?'

As for stats, in the beginning I put them in as I went, but my stat page is volatile, so I stopped inputting it for the sake of speed. (I may not be the fastest, but I'd be even slower dealing with the stats haha!)

Now I make a note of potential stats and use a temp stat for each scene. If it's relevant outside of that, then I go ahead and add it to the startup page.

[leoneliterary]

I know they're supposed to be ducklings but fuck do these just make me CRY thinking about them and MC

Searching for character descriptions of Tamu and Sefu STAT

Oh my goodness, I love this! How adorable!!

Y'all should label who is who in this picture, haha!

And Tamu and Sefu are described earlier in the story, but I'll have to add another now that y'all are grown up. I'm pretty sure their artbreeder portraits are around here somewhere. (Speaking of, I need to commission an artist for the portraits, asasp.)