#Game Developer

[ytcomments-archive]

[interact-if]

Our second edition of the Black History Month Author Spotlight series features beloved author, C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if)!

(CC is an absolute institution. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by doing a feature of the slice-of-life romance queen herself? CC is one the most inspiring, supportive IF writers out there, and it was a great honor to pick her brain! Read on for pandemic-setting feel good stories and Creole-based spells!)

Author: C.C. Hill

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Games: When Life Gives You Lemons (Slice-of-Life)

Synopsis: You play as an MC starting a new life in a small town called Lemon. It’s a story about self-discovery, love, and parenthood—a comfort story where the love interests want to sweep you off your feet.

Games: The Midnight Saga (Horror)

Synopsis: After finding yourself trapped in another dimension, you and your friends must fight for survival and defeat the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Make sure to grab a weapon as your quiet Halloween night turns into an out-of-this-world adventure!

Quote from the interview:

What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

Read on for the full interview!

Tell me more about yourself! What are some things new readers or long-time readers might not know about you?

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?

I'm working on so many things it should be illegal for my brain to operate this way. But mainly, When Life Gives You Lemons. My plan is to focus on the final part in March, do some beta testing, and submit it to Hosted Games in April for my birthday month.

I'm also under contract with Heart’s Choice, writing Spices of the Heart, with hopes of completing it this year. On top of that, I’m working on publishing my first visual novel, The Wedding. It’s close to completion, and I have the third quarter of 2025 planned for publication.

I only started writing interactive fiction in 2020. When the pandemic hit, I needed something to keep my brain occupied, and five years later, I’ve published three games and still have a ton of projects in progress.What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

How has your identity, heritage/background, upbringing, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process? OR How does your work feature aspects of your identity / experience?

My first game, The Midnight Saga, was heavily inspired by my background and where I'm from. The story itself is based on an old Haitian folklore about not staying outside after midnight—if you do, the Keeper of Midnight will eat you. I took that idea and built the characters around it.

I even managed to include some spells written in Haitian Creole. It was a lot of fun to write, and even though Book 2 is currently on hiatus, this story has a special place in my heart because it was my first game. The characters are a representation of my people and the struggles they’ve gone through. I’m really happy that it was my debut story.

What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?

For me, it’s branching and being able to write an MC and other characters in a way that readers can truly connect with. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of feel-good romance and slice-of-life stories, and I’m starting to feel like this is my comfort zone—and I want to stay here forever.

I never want to create a romance option that is inherently bad or purposely deceitful. My biggest challenge is writing characters who are flawed and complex—where readers can love them or hate them—but making sure they aren’t just villains for the sake of it. They’re simply existing in the world they were created in.

What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?

My writing process is a mess. My brain gets pulled in so many directions. When I get an idea, I have to code it, shape it, and give it life—otherwise, it’s going to bug me forever. That’s why I end up with so many WIPs. I need to see them through, at least to a short demo, to see if they make sense.

My desk is also full of notes, and I basically write on anything—pieces of napkins, tissue boxes, whatever is nearby. One weird habit I have is that some of the best changes I’ve made to my games, those "spark" moments, happen when I’m in the shower. It’s weird and strange, but it works.

What’re you excited to tackle/implement/work on next? Or anything you’re looking forward to in the year ahead?

Keep writing romance and feel-good slice-of-life stories. Get When Life Gives You Lemons published this year. Focus on doing this full-time. Publish my visual novel.

Overall, just stay busy and be productive.

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

To the readers—us authors don’t have all the answers. Sometimes, we start writing a story and end up forgetting certain plots or characters, which is easy to do when writing interactive fiction. So yes, we often write ourselves into a corner and just put a period there so the story can progress.

To the authors—write stories you love, something you would want to read. It makes it easier to keep going because if it’s a story you love, you’ll want to see how it ends, and that will push you to persevere.

This-or-that segment: (red = CC's pick)

Coffee or tea?

Early mornings or late nights?

Angsty or Cozy romances?  

Steady progress or frenzied binge-writing followed by periods of calm?

Introvert or extrovert?

Plotter or pantser?

[watersgym]

The Sims 2 magazine covers

[yourdailyqueer]

Rafael Lange / Cellbit

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Asexual

DOB: 11 February 1997

Ethnicity: White - Brazilian

Occupation: Youtuber, streamer, game developer

Note: Is the creator and director of the game "Enigma of Fear", which is based on his RPG series "Ordem Paranormal"

[roboticdreamz]

Patsy n' Crinkles

I thought I'd share here the project I've been working on since 2021. It's a point n' click game that is inspired by NES games and 90s computer games.

So the project was pitched back in 2021 and around that time, the rough draft of the plot was created. It wasn't until in 2023 when I ended up working on it, exerting 99% of my energy, working on the game everyday from October 2023 to February 2024.

I haven't finished the project yet because I got burned out so much and the progress is really slow since last year.

I'm not sure when shall it be released, but hopefully soon if I get the energy to focus on it again.

Anyway, here's the actual screenshots of the game. Everything is done by me including the coding and writing.

[indiexpo]

Top 4 Best Indie Games – March 2025

Dive into indie gaming brilliance! Explore Veiled Edge's #cyberpunk secrets, master rogue-like combat in Sinus, defy physics in Gravity Storm, and follow Anahita's emotional quest. Discover the best indie gems now!

0:00 Veiled Edge: https://www.indiexpo.net/games/veiled-edge 1:04 Sinus: https://www.indiexpo.net/games/sinus 1:47 Gravity Storm - First Mission: https://www.indiexpo.net/games/gravity-storm-first-mission 2:31 Anahita: https://www.indiexpo.net/games/anahita

About indiexpo: indiexpo allows thousands of people to discover, watch and share #indiegames and originally-created games. It provides an area for people to connect, inform, and inspire others across the globe and acts as a distribution platform for original content creators and advertisers large and small.

Top 4 Best Indie Games – March 2025 | indiexpo

[camashred]

It's been a wee while so *throws y'all something*

Lion Fighter 64 (pre-alpha screenshot)

[artistotel]

visual novel demo out!

hey! i made a little demo for the 2024 game off game jam.

https://artistotel.itch.io/to-the-grave

anyway, check it out. you might like it, im looking for constructive criticism and beta players~ :P

[chocolateadorable]

Are you a artist animator game developer coder writer editor or voice actor if yes then join my discord server for my object show called if my death will slowly kill me please send a example of your work and if I think It will suit the show and its style then I will put you in the proper subsections of the server and let you work on the rest of the show lf your in the wrong sections please tell me where you want to be placed and I will change your place minimum 5 people maximum 10 exceptions apply but for the pilot that’s how it’s going to go

https://discord.gg/D9Y6DkDN

[smilestrawbunny]

Happy Anniversary to Don’t Let It Out!!!🚪🦑 If you haven’t checked out the game, it’s a really short point-and-click horror about keeping something sinister inside your bathroom… 👀 free to play on itch io!

[vn-ashestoashes]

Ashes to Ashes - Yandere Visual Novel

( 03. 31. 2025 ) - Devlog #1 - Hello! It's been a while!

I think I should try posting more regularly from now on. ( I'll update once a week! )

For now, I'm focusing on the story and gameplay aspects of the VN right now so I don't have much to share without spoiling. all I got to share right now is the countless heads of Salem I draw just to get his face right lol.

Barely doing any of the graphics or the sprites until I can get the outline of this story finished. However, I'd like to say the rough outline of this story is about 60% finished?? It's a big project lmao.

Feel free to ask me any questions! I'll do my best to answer them if there is any!

So far I've got like 8 endings planned out. Three timelines, lots of choices.

So sit tight! It'll be a big read! <3

[fishnoodles]

Might of the Meek Devlog #1 - Better Late Than Never

I've been meaning to do small updates and devlogs for my game for like, forever. So I'm biting the bullet now.

What is Might of the Meek?

Might of the Meek is an incremental game me and Brynn (@brynnticus) been working on for the past few months. It's a game where you play as a God of the meek, using creatures to gather power, while shaping how you intend to grow as the game progresses.

Progression comes in the form of your Skill Tree, and at the start of the game you'll get different minions, each with their own strengths to play into on the Skill Tree, if you so choose.

Prototype for a barebones clicker is actually done! It clicks, you can buy minions, and the whole thing Works. Very very few passive nodes on the tree are also added and is functional (Basically the system is done, I just have to code in all the passives)

Other features have also been added, such as the rarity and tier system for minions. There's plans for more systems, such as abilities and trinkets, that will come later in the timeline.

So here's the priority list for code:

-Getting all the minions done

RNG for a minion's rarity and tier has been made. Right now all that's left is the passive minions have when they're Epic or Legendary rarity.

-Skill Tree

Part of the core loop of this clicker. So pretty important

-Prestiege & Trinket system

Core progression to finish the main game loop

-On Fire System & Crits

Stuff to spice up clicking, and to call on for passives

-Ability System

Planned to be a card-based system, this one is the final touch to finish what I'd call a 1.0 release.

Currently all artwork is done by Brynn while all code is done by me in Godot. I might post more of Brynn's art soon as the current UI is temp UI. It's inspired by Minecraft, since it's a style we found hard to replicate with AI in a horrendously AI asset saturated market (mobile)

In other code-related logging. Save and Load is a constant spectre on this game and I've been continuously doing and redoing my approach with it. It's horrendous and I hate it, but for now it works. We'll see if it still does every devlog onward.

That's the end of this one. The others moving forward will be more what I've done today oriented rather than introductory. ok bai

[mushroomgrenade]

My long awaited Casting Call guide for animation students and anyone who needs it — ie narrative, story telling, etc is live!!

Reblogs are appreciated!

I made this in the intent for animation students in my college program at the start, but if anyone needs it, please feel free to use this! My goal was to make this process easier for people who are just joining in the voice acting scene for the first time. It can be intimidating when you don’t know how it works, and every industry has its own unique set of rules, criteria, and requirements. I hope this serves to be a helpful guide to anyone who decides to use it!!

Art by @dizzystarfie

[crovusreality]

Hii!! I'm officially opening commissions, you can find more information in the link in my bio (You might have to copy paste it into your browser!)

[veemakesgames]

just a couple of sprites

-Bun's ship exterior -Generic Moth Green and Generic Moth Orange -Maple and Bun themselves!