#what is with game devs
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TES Devs: Mer live to be 200 on average. While some will live to be older, 200 is considered "quite old," while 300 is only achievable for those with a high level of magic and a low-risk lifestyle, usually only seen in nobility for obvious reasons, and Altmer live the longest in general.
Teldryn Sero: a Dunmer sellsword who is not a great mage, not part of a Great House, and does not by any means live a low-risk lifestyle. He professes to have met Saint Jiub, a man who died in the siege on Kvatch in 3E 433. Even assuming that Teldryn was a child when this occurred, this must have occurred in Morrowind, which pushes the timeline back to around 3E 428. Teldryn would have to be old enough to remember it, and therefore no younger than six, putting his latest possible birth year at 3E 422. Teldryn is introduced no earlier than 4E 201, which makes him 211 at the youngest—he isn't portrayed as old in any capacity.
Brandyl "Brand-Shei" Tenvanni: a Dunmer merchant who was definitively born in 4E 5, The Red Year, and was raised in an environment dramatically unsuited to his physiology by adoptive parents who weren't even the same species. He has some skill in Destruction magic that he rarely (if ever) uses, no firsthand experience with the Great House from which he was descended, and lives in one of the most dangerous cities in the country. He is also not portrayed or referred to as old at any time.
Ambarys Rendar: a Dunmer barkeep and proprietor of the New Gnisis Cornerclub. He immigrated to Skyrim as an adult in the Red Year, 4E 5, setting down roots in Windhelm. His only magical aptitude is in Destruction, which he basically never uses, his business is based in the single most hostile social environment for his people in the entire country, and he is not indicated by anyone at any time to be old in spite of already being an adult 196 years ago.
Aduri Sarethi: the younger sister of Avrusa Sarethi, immigrated with her in the Red Year, possibly as a child, although Avrusa was already an adult at the time and had her own business prior to the destruction of Vivec City. Is an artist and a farmer, and considered "too young" to go off on her own at her introduction in 4E 201, in spite of being at least 200 years old.
Runil: an Altmer priest who fought as an extremely capable battlemage in the Great War, which he describes (in cut dialogue) as the time when he was "at the height of [his] power." He left the Thalmor after the war, which lasted a total of four years and ended just over 25 years ago, and is now considered a very old man in spite of having been in the prime of his life no more than a quarter century prior.
Nurelion: an Altmer alchemist who literally dies of old age on screen.
TES Fandom: Yeah so mer live to be like 200 on average unless they're really good at magic, and even then 200 is considered to be "old age" for all mer, except Altmer who live longer than everyone else.
#tesblr#tes#skyrim#is this just like#thalmor propaganda???#what is with game devs#not understanding numbers#like#you can't say 'they live to be 200'#'unless they're altmer or super mages'#and then give us an actual Super Mage altmer who went from 'prime' to 'ancient' in 25 years#another one who straight up dies of Old-Man-itis#and a TON of Normal Guy Unlimited dunmer who are well over 200 and still portrayed as spry as hell#like????#HELLO?????#HOW DID RUNIL GO FROM 'THE HEIGHT OF [HIS] POWER' TO 'COULD DROP DEAD OF OLD-MAN-ITIS ANY TIME' IN 25 YEARS#IF ALTMER AND SUPER MAGES LIVE LONGER THAN ANYONE???????#AND IF 200 IS 'QUITE OLD'#WHY IS TELDRYN LIKE THAT#WHY IS BRAND-SHEI LIKE THAT#WHY IS THE RANDOM CORNERCLUB GUY IN WINDHELM LIKE THAT#WHY IS ADURI LIKE THAT#HELLO?????????
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Happy one year anniversary to In Stars and Time!
#ISAT#in stars and time#siffrin#loop#I truly mean it when I say that this was the best game I have played since Disco Elysium.#It pulls off some of the best examples of Ludonarritive Harmony in a video game...possibly ever?#Not to mention just...wow. What a great story. What a tale of twists and introspection. What a tale about the need for home and connection#I know many of you have trusted me before with media recommendations. Trust me one more time.#Do you want to experience the torment of being in a timeloop? And *still* have fun and feel like your time is being respected?#PLAY IN STARS AND TIME!#Do you yearn for complex characters and love unravelling mysteries? PLAY IN STARS AND TIME!!!!#Please heed the content warnings; I took them a little too lightly on my playthrough! They are there for a reason! Don't be like me!#This game means a lot to me and so many others. On the small chance the dev sees this (they are on tumblr after all):#Thank you so much for all your hard work in creating this game and seeing the project through.#It has been a year for us fans but many years for you. So thank you!#I hope it has been a joyful year for you! Watching as people descend into shrieks of agony from playing your game.#It's good! It made me vomit blood. I had so much fun! I felt like I was torturing the protagonist when I played it. I loved it! I cried.
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The best thing about the new stardew update is you can tell concerned ape got comfortable just being fucking weird. Which is understandable considering most indie devs have to be some level of insane
#stardew valley#sdv#video games#gaming#i do admire concerned ape's commitment and how involved he is in the community#honestly i just like that indie devs actually... Like What They Are Makinh#need to study him like a petrie dish
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"What do you want?"
#finally did a FoM fanart and ofc it's march#what can I say - I'm a sucker for tsunderes#actually when I started following this game's dev 4/5 years ago I fell for him at first sight LOL#he reminds me of Neil of Harvest Moon AnB too#can't wait for the new update later this year#fields of mistria#fom march#o0kawaii0o
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HUGE UPDATE: Take a look at our SUPER LEGIT feature
#indie game dev#visual novel#indie games#pack it up lads we're pivoting to dating sim lifestyle app#see what i did there#aprilfools
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When you spend 20 years attempting to bring down the child slavery, murdering, human trafficking exploitation ring that stole your childhood, murdered your friends, and killed countless innocents only to have them rebrand as 'Noble Freedom Fighters™' off-screen.
#rip zevran's crusade against the crows >:(#when people said they wanted to be crows they didn't want devs to make the faction nice so we won't feel bad or conflicted about it#people wanted to be conflicted! they wanted to see the faction in all its glitz and glamour - then see what it hid beneath all the mystique#choose to play as a crow that loves the life/hates it/is undecided/etc...#but i'm sorry i forgot that this game doesn't want to do 'role play' options my bad#i will not stand for this zevran erasure!!!#they set up a schism with zevran's da2 codex entry - with other crows joining him!#have the antivan crows faced with a threat that challenged their outlook on why they fight#have the talons be the one to sell out antiva! in exchange for allowing their business to resume (have it be a sneaky reveal!!!)#their work has purpose and order to it so the antaam might agree! they're like 'babys first ben-hassrath!'#have Crows look around at their own home - see the vendor they bought fruit from disappear or the smiling old lady now cowed by grief#then have them decide to DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT#have a schism! have Zevran take in Crows who are unhappy - have them realize how shit the organization is!#boom! somewhat-noble freedom fighters! (they're doing their best okay)#if there were differences between different crow houses they needed to explain it better...let us talk to Lucanis! I want to know him :(#my art <3#dragon age#datv critical#datv spoilers#dragon age the veilguard#zevran arainai
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i really don’t think it’s “typical dragon age fandom nonsense” for people to be genuinely upset about the world state choices. combat, level design, art direction, gameplay gimmicks, those have all varied across each dragon age game. the one thing that’s remained constant are nods to our previous choices.
i wasn’t expecting my HoF to come riding in on a griffon, but i can’t find a monument dedicated to warden tabris somewhere around the anderfels? lucanis couldn’t have some lines about the time that one arainai boy was stirring up trouble in antiva city? you’re gonna tell me that making a mage the new divine wouldn’t have some impact on nevarra and antiva? on the anderfels, the supposed most devout militant andrastian nation in thedas? you’re saying nobody in the north is paying attention to who rules orlais or ferelden? come on.
#dragon age#yes i’ve seen john epler’s explanation on only wanting to carry forward choices that they could ‘really do something with.’#and i understand what he’s saying and i’m curious to see how those 3 choices they brought forward will impact the story!!#but i’m still disappointed. and i think telling people why they shouldn’t be disappointed is just gonna make them More disappointed.#also don’t really appreciate dev comments like ‘careful what you wish for with cameos. it just gives us an excuse to find new and horrific#ways to kill your faves teehee 🤭🤭’ like okay???????? what???#alistair came back twice & could be fine both times. loghain’s inquisition cameo was so meaningful because who the hell expected to see him#again? leliana can straight up die in origins and yall brought her back anyways. like what are we doing out here.#also when i think of ‘typical’ nonsense for this fandom it’s people doxxing each other over fictional character opinions. or what#fictional side your fictional inquistor took in the fictional mage-templar war. or just plain old racism.#NOT ‘damn it’s fucking upsetting that this excited replay i’ve been doing of the previous games and all the recommending i’ve been doing#for new fans to play the other games before veilguard has turned out to be pretty fucking pointless.’#might as well tell someone to watch a let’s play of trespasser and that’s it.#11/26 in a hater mood so i’m turning rbs back on lol. go forth & be petty
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cannot be stressed enough the horribly shady way bioware did their damndest to keep the shitty worldstate for veilguard a secret. like there's a reason why during those hype streams there was literally only one person who showed the inquisitor screen and it was an Accident. the guy that leaked the 4 choices thing said himself he thought it was actually abysmal of them to keep it from the public because of how much everyones hype was dependent on certain plot threads being resolved and he felt like it would have been too unfair and dishonest not to tell people. this was less than a month before the game was set to come out btw
#this is what i mean when i say i refuse to be nice to the devs particularly epler about the game#like the writing decisions i can forgive out of the horrible like straight up evil and unethical dev cycle they had to endure#but they went out of their way to Lie as much about the game as possible and when certain controversial choices were leaked too early#they only chose to comment on them because it was affected preorders LOL#datv critical#mine
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Okay can I be a bitter Anders fan for like. Just 2 minutes here lmao
Cause bioware released some game stats for veilguard and apparently 72% of players redeemed Solas which is like. Okay yeah the game kinda pushes you towards that. But when I think of all the shit I used to have to put up with just for enjoying Anders like at all and…
(This is not me being anti-Solas, I do not care if you love or hate him, but I am gonna say what he’s done is like. Objectively worse than literally every other companion so lmao. And that’s fine! You can still enjoy him! I’m not saying you can’t and it’s important to me that people understand that! I’m just saying he did in fact do objectively morally worse things in game than Anders did and I don’t think that’s really debatable. And I can’t really make my point here without saying that but I do want to make it clear this is not some moral condemnation of Solas enjoyers cause it’s not)
Getting anon hate on the regular, being told “oh you’re allowed to like Anders as long as you regularly talk about how much he sucks”, people gleefully describing how much fun they have killing him ON your posts about the fact that you like him, the devs making jokes about shitty fates for him when fans asked innocent questions about him, the absolute audacity of his writer to say half the shit she did in interviews (about bisexuality and mental illness, most critically), and then being beaten over the head again in inquisition about how Anders is the worst character to ever exist and there’s no redemption for terrorists who lie to you one time in the entire game and he deserves death or worse and that’s it
And now… 72% of people are down to redeem the guy who lies to you for 2 games straight and who did a lot of questionable things that includes creating the fucking blight and. Like. I guess I’m glad that Solas fans can live in a world where they aren’t constantly harassed and can give their ship like. A pretty damn good ending all things considered. And that the devs love Solas and actually give the option for that happy ending and have characters go to bat for Solas throughout the game and the most annoying thing they have to see are people making scrambled egg memes. I would not wish anyone to have to deal with the shit Anders fans had to put up with back then cause it sucked. It really sucked. And I’m glad it’s not being repeated with a different character, if nothing else
But like. Man there really is a difference when the writers actually like the character who does the thing, huh
#shut up nerd#anders#I’m sorry it’s just. really hard to not be bitter tbh#like the shit we as fans went through#just for liking a damn character#tbf I do actually think if the game came out today perceptions would be different#I think people would be more comfortable with revolutionary action now than they were then#but even still#it’s not even about that you know#it’s about people (both fans and at times the actual devs) being mean when they really didn’t need to be#and the DA trenches are probably why literally no harassment phases me anymore lmao but#that’s not a good thing slskd it’s just a useful consequence I guess#so yeah idk#am I jealous that Solas fans get to have a better experience?#yeah I can’t deny I feel a bit of that#but I’m also just. idk tired and sad for what that time was. and also glad that it seems to be over#but also a little bitter that I had to go through it when it didn’t need to happen at all#idk just feeling a lot here in this chili’s tonight lmao#(why do I say that I don’t think my country even has chili’s)#ANYWAY#dragon age#veilguard spoilers
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Hello hello! Out of curiosity, do you have an estimate of the number of drawings that make up STP?
You are such an inspiration, thank you for all the work you put into your incredible art! :)
I think there are about 5,000 assets in the game!
And a lot of that comes from every image in the game having several layers for the parallax effect, so the files are split up like this:
Which comes together into:
There are also talk variants of almost every sprite:
And of course the occasional:
That being said, it was still a lot of work lmao (PS they're all the saved at the aspect ratio of the game so they can be placed exactly where they're meant to be, this is part of how we're able to have sprites move around without getting overwhelmed!)
Another couple separated layers under the cut:
#slay the princess#game dev#game art design#visual novels#thanks for asking me questions so i know what to mention in the art book
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so like. at what point are we going to stop listening to game companies saying "the game was poorly received and didn't meet our sales targets, and that's why we're removing it from storefronts and taking down all the servers mere months or even weeks after release" for titles that had a long expensive development, were barely marketed, and nobody knew they'd even released until after they heard they were getting shut down and couldn't be played/purchased anymore?
I feel like the prevailing takeaway for anyone who doesn't just conclude "yeah, game was pretty mid, makes sense to me" has usually been "this company just has unreasonably impossible sales expectations and treats every project like a failure if it doesn't print a trillion dollars". but these ARE allegedly experienced business execs who aren't complete idiots, and after this most recent debacle with Concord I'm starting to wonder if a bunch of these "games getting wiped out of existence when they underperform instead of just being allowed to persist as they are and maybe improve with time" cases in recent years might be more of a Warner-Discovery type situation, like nuking an entire animated series or film that was worked on for years and preventing it from being sold because it has to be officially unprofitable for the company to use it as a tax write-off. I look at a game that was worked on for 8 years and only made available for 2 weeks, and it's hard not to see the parallels.
great work, AAA games industry, really normal and sustainable stuff you're doing over there as usual
#buny text#concord#was talking with friends about this and there are at least a few other examples of this i think#where a game seems to be deliberately underbudgeted or undermarketed and then shoved out the door and shuttered within months#square enix has had like 3 or 4 of them in the past few years and i feel like redfall might've also been a case of this but it's hard to sa#for the record we had no idea why warner-discovery was doing this stuff with animation until some whistleblowers busted it open#so there's really no way to say for sure what's going on with the AAA games industry rn. just conjecture#but one thing's for sure#whatever they ARE doing is for money and public relations and not at all in the best interests of devs or consumers
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actually sorry dav reads like a game that was written by people who think da2 is about found family. in every other game my ending feels earned and my choices are my own and then veilguard asks the bold question what if we could bring the hr mandatory team bonding experience into a video game?
#laaarge swing at the hornet's nest#BUT. bafflingly immersion breaking script. 'im not sure i can focus... UNTIL YOU COMPLETE MY SIDEQUESTS!'#when i choose to drop or do a sidequest i should be allowed to do that all by myself. what the hell#dav critical#veilguard critical#never in my life have i ever wanted a found family dynamic frm da perhaps thats whats causing issues with dav for me post game#i know that people at times complain about the 'and then they all split up from each other' endings that the various da games have#i quite enjoy it actually. just kind of. like ofc some of you bitches are staying tgt but its like#that impermanence. fate drags you away from each other. this was never built to last!!!!! i like that in a dynamic!!!!!!!#so its like furthermore baffling that in vg they seem to try and make it a found family thing and its described as such by devs but#theyre not even like . codependent enough to stay together. LIKE WHAT VEIL R THEY GUARDING#sorry for being a negative nancy. it is tagged accordingly. i have to go back to working
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Dungeon Meshi: Delicious in RPG!
(Sprites + bonus art here!)
#dungeon meshi#game dev diary#laios touden#marcille donato#chilchuck tims#senshi#Walking mushroom...more like watch where you are walking mushroom! Get blasted!#This was a tech & art demo to figure out how to make more dynamic battle portraits.#Unfortunately the coding has been a lot more difficult than anticipated...We couldn't show off what we wanted to!#I still learned a ton of new things that will going to make this project look even better!#Doing these tech demos with fan art has been extremely helpful becuase I can get through my messy learning stage-#-without having to redo a ton of assets because I found out that I needed to approach things a different way.#That said: I *will* be posting Original Content for these game dev diary posts fairly soon!#This is all to help me and my game dev partner experiment with RPG maker for our own game after all B*)#I'm really excited to share this project with you all! I have many funny comics about the characters from this game to share.
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thinking about veilguard and bioware in general, i think we are reaching a point where people need to grapple with the inherent limits of what stories can be told in our Current Society and in AAA gaming companies.
on a labour level: mass layoffs, tons of developers leaving despite previously talking about how passionate and happy they were to be involved, not even paying severance, and crunching employees to the point of burnout. this is unfortunately pretty standard for AAA game companies.
on a cultural level: it is SO white and SO centrist-ly Canadian. i wrote up these asks outlining how. it is a repeated pattern of writing in which they go into tortured racial oppression allegories at best, while constantly peppering in a "but BOTH SIDES were wrong and made mistakes :( :( :(", in between their fictional atrocities that are clearly mirroring irl genocides and enslavement. or at worst, it's "the qunari are radical islamic borg" which has even less nuance. i personally thought, since dai came out in 2014, and a lot has changed since then about the world and in public awareness, that this would have filtered into the narrative and resulted in more satisfying and historically grounded writing. unfortunately not the case. it's shocking if you compare it to how sharp and aware and unflinching something like disco elysium is.
so what does this mean?
under these conditions, it is unavoidable that we get development by people who are rapidly cycled out of the company or demoralized into burnout. we get digestible, easy little soundbites of lore without much substance, because any complexity needs more time and coordination rather than the process of "quick, we have these assets, a lot of people involved in making them just got laid off, we need to make Something by next quarter to show the CEO". we get very little cohesion between games, despite the clear intent from dai to have so many plot points set up to follow through in a sequel, because the team and development are so chaotic that they can't hold onto a vision and complete it.
we also get this inherent caution and "conservatism" from the narrative, because on an ideological level, they're largely white people who want cops to be included in pride. so any major change to even a fictional society is Bad and Scary, and shouldn't be done without making sure that every character finger-wags appropriately at non-state violence. there is clearly not much ideological or even ethnic diversity within the leadership; or at least not enough that anyone there felt comfortable even speaking up on minor issues like the Incredibly Orientalist Isabela Outfit, let alone anything larger.
i don't personally think there's too much value in trying to analyze veilguard's plot or lore at this point. the final product is chaotically developed and does not seem to reflect the goals of the creators as set up in prior games, it's basically a ship of theseus in terms of the people and ideas involved in making it. this is sad for all of us, who were interested in the story, and attached to the characters, and were creatively fulfilled by engaging in the fandom. it's probably worse for the developers who have lost their jobs, burnt out, or feel unhappy with the game that they spent years of their life working on. it's certainly miserable as an indictment of The Industry, as well as the general societal climate of white Canadian centrism.
the solution is to create a society where people can develop games in peace and prosperity and stay on projects for longer, rather than constantly getting turfed out without severance pay. and to get some genuine leftists, poc, and indigenous people on staff who can weigh in and provide significant input, rather than a Council Of Liberal White Edmontonians every time.
in the meantime, at the very least, let's please stop preordering AAA games and supporting companies who notably abuse their employees.
#veilguard critical#bioware critical#txt#or...! people get really into godot or renpy or something and create an incredibly high effort unpaid project of dubious legality#if anyone wants to do that blink twice.#really the disappointment about dragon age (to me) is that interactive narratives have so much potential as a method of storytelling#but they did not really even scratch the surface in this one#and probably never will again bc the company seems to be hemorrhaging staff like crazy#if you compare this to something like supergiant games it's wild#they've been retaining their staff for like 15 years and you can SEE them building and progressing from each game and learning from it#and their games are beautiful and incredibly innovative and well written#and from what i know they prioritize work-life balance and refuse to crunch even if it's 'voluntary'#and meanwhile bioware is going from uhhh. me3 to anthem to andromeda to veilguard.#with the crunch being a compounding issue all the way through and probably contributing to a lot of mistakes and talent loss#anyway my only experience in game dev is fooling around by myself on dumb ideas but#i think even just from a general project management perspective it's clear that it's not possible to have good output#under these types of chaotic situations with a lack of leadership and retained knowledge
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What's New In IF? Issue 3 (2025)
By Aj, Bex, Dion, Briar 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 ~
It’s time for a revival!
As you might have noticed, our Column section has been dead for a while. We feel like it’s time to do something about that!
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?
Send us a message and we will be happy to feature it in our future Issues!
There’s power in numbers!
Are you an IF fan and would like a way to give back to the community? We’re once again looking for new members of our Team!
Do you enjoy keeping up with updates and finding new gems? Maybe you even enjoy working with Google Sheets?
Then our Tracker of News position is made just for you!
Contact us on any of our socials or email and help us stay on the top of our game and make our Database even better!
AJ, BEX, DION, BRIAR AND PETER
~ EVENT SPOTLIGHT : Global Game Jam ~
35,371 jammers and 12,098 games, just wow!
The Global Game Jam® (GGJ®) is the world's largest game creation event taking place in physical locations across the globe. Think of it as a 48 hour hackathon focused on game development around a theme.
GGJ’s mission is to stimulate innovation, experimentation, and collaboration in games. The annual event begins on a Friday afternoon in January and kicks off with video keynotes and advice from leaders in the game development industry. The GGJ encourages collaboration and its events are not a competition. Anyone can apply to host a jam site as long as they have a dedicated jam organiser who agrees to follow a few GGJ rules, and a venue with internet access. The event is renown for fostering friendships while increasing confidence and opportunities within participating communities. Each GGJ event poses an intellectual challenge where people are invited to try new technology and tools while exploring new roles and skills.
Be it bubble tea, bubblegum, the housing bubble, soap bubbles, speech bubbles, air bubbles, social bubbles, blowing bubbles, bursting bubbles, and more, this year's theme was: Bubble.
Check out the games here! (There’s a fair share of IF too!)
(source)
~ ENDED ~
Feeling nostalgic about the golden age of text adventures? Relive those days by checking out PunyComp 2024!
IF Short Games Showcase 2024 is a great way to shine some new light on projects made in the past year and the results are now in!
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.
The eighth annual Ace Jam is a game jam about creating games with asexual spectrum characters.
~ VOTING ~
ShuffleComp is a musical interactive fiction competition where you make games based on songs, which are submitted by other entrants. You can now vote for your favourites!
Sealed With A Kiss Jam 2025 is a fantastical romance jam for all VN lovers!
~ ONGOING (SUBMITTING) ~
Media depicting healthy examples of polyamory isn’t that common. The PolyJamorous 2024 is trying to break the status-quo!
Concours de Fiction Interactive Francophone 2025 is for all French-speaking enthusiasts. Submissions are accepted March 3rd 2025.
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.
SeedComp! is a 2-round interactive fiction game jam, focusing on creativity and the growth of ideas and the Sprouting Round has just started! Check out the Planting round for inspiration.
BL stands for Boys' Love, a genre that focuses on romantic and emotional relationships between male characters. The Ultimate BL Visual Novel Game Jam is all about that!
Are you a fan of Vampires? Then lucky for you, because the Queer Vampire Game Jam is back!
The Make Visual Novel Assets! is 2 weeks long jam for making (surprise, surprise) visual novel assets!
The Smoochie Jam is a month-long unranked jam for interactive fiction about kisses, love, and romance.
bitsy jam #88 is here! This time with the theme Snakes!
~ NEW RELEASE ~
Travel back thousands of years and step into the awe-inspiring halls of the Library of Alexandria, where the discovery of a mysterious papyrus sets you on an unforgettable quest. Unearthed from a hidden tomb in Egypt, the secrets contained within this fragile scroll whisper of an ancient world lost to time. But this is only the beginning. Do you have what it takes to unlock the secrets of Atlantis and bring its forgotten knowledge back into the light? The past is calling in Echoes of Atlantis (GAC) —will you answer?
Once upon a time, Savvarah was a desolate land: icy winds, a dirty canvas of clouds, lifeless earth. Nuelli witnessed nothing of the kind. She was born in a blooming paradise. The tales of the past had transformed into a kind of fable. Almost a myth. Now Nuelli is set to unravel the mysteries of her visions, learn more about the history of her people, become part of a conspiracy, find herself at the very center of the confrontation between divine entities... Or not. Everything is in your hands in Legends of Savvarah: Children of the Sun.
Two short IFs written on a train, in car 13, seat 26. the train will always pass you by (Twine) was written on a way to a friend, while she came from the fog (Twine) was written on the way home.
The A.D.A.P.T. Entries, equal parts interactive fiction and narrative adventure, it is a space thriller about Judiasm, the building and falling of communities, the necessity of resisting dehumanization, and how even the best of intentions can be twisted in the face of systemic corruption and unaddressed prejudices. You can now read Entry 0.1 - Introductions (Twine) - In which we begin to investigate the writings of Rivkah Kadish, PhD. @thehallstara
Rusalka (Twine) is a short looping story about a woman who drowned (and all those after).
In Stronghold: Caverns of Sorcery (CScript), deep beneath the earth, the dragon is rising! Quest into mysterious underground caverns and forests to learn magical secrets, draw strength from friends and family, secure alliances that can save your home, and carry on the heroic legacy of Stronghold!
A machine and a ghost, in the wasteland. Walk (Twine) is a post-apocalyptic romance with multiple endings and paths. @thatsrightdollface
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) ~
Historians and politicians would call it The Proelium, a righteous battle against the traitorous Iredicci. What it really was, was the systematic genocide of your people. In one night, soldiers attacked every settlement camp across the empire. No one was spared—not the elders, not the children, not your mother. Will you abandon your song in favor of machine? Join the rebel forces against the tyrant regis? Will you heal the wounds of the realm and restore balance? Or plunge it further into chaos? Cantata (Twine) is a low fantasy IF about song, strength, & finding your voice. @fir-fireweed
From the Mud (CScript) is a Midwest gothic inspired horror set in a solitary countryside occupied only by two small towns and stretches of untamed nature. You play a troubled cowboy/girl/puncher who‘s ground deep into a maddening, repetitive routine that a string of deaths suddenly upends. As you’re hunting for the culprit and running from yourself, your quiet life on the ranch is disturbed, forcing you to keep your cards close and choose your company carefully. But the most pressing matter proves to be whether you can trust your own mind. @beckwritesif
Step into the digital consciousness of an AI chatbot in Onionionionion (Ren’Py), an intriguing visual novel that blurs the lines between artificial intelligence and human connection. Your sole window to the world is through text messages with a mysterious high school student named Éve - but nothing is quite as simple as it seems.
As a government agent who works for a national security intelligence firm called Halcyon Tech, your position is the beginning of a bright future ahead and a name to hold, and you’re happy with that until your boss decides that it’s time for the Government and the Company to part ways. Are you willing to protect the Halcyon secrets with your life? Or are you going to blow them up for the world to see in The Archives of Halycon (Twine)? @thearchivesofhalcyon
This Grave Calls You Home (Twine) is a sci-fi thriller set in space after humanity is forced to leave Earth's ravaged surface following nuclear devastation and an environmental collapse. When a patrol flagship discovers the ARCADIA-II - a long-forgotten relic from humanity's past - and finds within slumbers an astronaut who had failed at delivering humanity from destruction, the routine of your life is thoroughly interrupted. As the mystery of the ARCADIA-II and PROJECT ODYSSEY unfold, you learn that your part in this could mean humanity's salvation. Or you could be its extinction. @blood-teeth
In Rogue Adventure (CScript) you play a rogue lad whose aim is to liberate his family from the debt they owe a crime syndicate and also survive this cruel medieval world.
In Project Vampire (CScript) you play as a marvel of bioengineering and the attempted cure to death and disease. The only successful specimen dubbed “Vampire” created by a black op organization funded by UCA.
Weydosa Island (CScript) is a cursed place that is most feared by all residents of Alberal, even the bravest people will turn pale when they hear the name of that place, a folk legend that every mother often tells to scare their children into obeying. Many people consider the island to be a manifestation of hell. You are the unfortunate soul who was made a scapegoat for someone’s rotten heart and cast into that cursed Lazaretto. As if isolation alone is not enough, you must also race against time because the evil force has awakened from its slumber. It would be better to address this immediately if you still want to see tomorrow.
In the aftermath of World War II, a classified mission pulls you into the shadowy remnants of a conflict no one dares to acknowledge. Whispers of rogue Nazi scientists and reality-warping experiments have surfaced, threatening to plunge Europe—and perhaps the world—into chaos once more. As an MI5 field agent, you’re tasked with uncovering the truth buried beneath layers of secrecy, lies, and betrayal. Redacted: Ground Zero (CScript) is a story of espionage, moral dilemmas, and the unraveling of truths hidden in the shadows of history. Will you rise to the challenge, or will the truth consume you?
Born as a child of a soon to be pirate king. But tragedy strikes, your ship got ambushed by a rival pirate, Balthazar, who speak of “The greater good”. Alone, stranded. You got saved by a local pirate captain. Will he lead you to goodness or destruction in Voyage of destiny (CScript)?
In The Midnight Bay (CScript) death haunts the people of Albach Bay. For fifteen years, ‘The Bay Slasher’ has stalked the streets, preying on victims with no apparent goal or motive. You were seven years old when you witnessed the murder of the Slasher’s first victim—your own father. Impatience swallowed your childhood, desperate to come of age and solve the case that has left the local police department stumped.
~ UPDATES ~
Ashenmaw - Dragons of Marrowoods (CScript) added new content to their demo. @ashenmaw-if
Grey Swan - Birds of a Rose (CScript) updated their demo. @reinekes-fox
Heart of the Mountain (CSscript) released Chapter 2.
Hunter's Requiem (CSscript) updated their demo. @huntersrequiem-if
In Plain Sight: Operative (CSscript) released version 0.4.0.0 of their demo.
Meteoric (CScript) released Chapter 6.
Path of Martial Arts (CScript) updated their demo. @nicky-if
Replica: Between Universes (CScript) released Chapter 9. @replicabetweenblogs
The FANTASTIC Clash (CScript) updated their demo. @heysoyeah
The In-Between (CScript) released Chapter 12. @dalekowrites
The Soul Stone War 3 (CScript) added new content to their demo. @intimidatingpuffinstudios
When Stars Collide (Ren’Py) released Episode 2. @steamberrystudio
Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven (CScript) released the majority of Chapter 15.
Gods And Villains (CScript) updated their Patreon demo.
The Eternal Library (CScript) released the rest of Chapter 3. @leiatalon
The Onryō Of Osaka (CScript) released Part 1 of Act 3. @osakaonryoif
The Story of Sin (Twine) added new content to their demo. @devilishmango
Esper: Fugitive (Twine) released Part 1 of Chapter 2. @esper-game
Mind Blind (CScript) is back with quite a huge update! @mindblindbard
~ OTHER ~
Parley Games just launched a hands-free, audio & voice based mystery adventure game: RYFT: A Timely Manor!
Episode 16 of The Retro Adventures Podcast is out! Jason and Dave welcome classic text adventure author Jonathan Partington to the program. While studying at Cambridge University, he created and contributed to several memorable games including Avon (featured in Episode 12), Crobe, Sangraal, Fyleet, Monsters of Murdac, and Spy Snatcher.
A Train to Piccadilly post-comp release 2 is out.
January 2025 ChoiceScript Release, new WIPs, and update digest by @hpowellsmith is out!
The Radiants v2.0 brings an extended Epilogue, new romance route and few other updates to the base game!
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.
Press Play by girlfromthecrypt (CScript)
hi!!! just here to recommend my favourite game. i just read @pressplay-if, and it's… it's so good. it handles harsh topics with such ease and the writing style is consistent and everyman. everytime i hear there's an update i've got to replay the whole thing, i just love it so much.
//submitted by anon//
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 anons
For sending us a Highlight and news!!
And as always, huge thanks to all you readers who liked, shared, and commented on last week's issue! What might be tiny actions are huge support and motivators to us!
Thank you for cheering us on this journey!
See you in two weeks!
AJ, BEX, DION, BRIAR AND PETER
WHAT'S NEW IN IF? 2025-ISSUE 3
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!
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EVERY LITTLE BIT COUNTS!
Contact us through Tumblr asks, Forum DMs, or even by email! And thank you for your help!!
#NEW ISSUE IS OUT!!#What's New in IF#interactive fiction#if news#visual novel#parser#choice of games#choicescript#twine#ink#twine games#ink games#itch.io#interactive game#interactive novel#IF#games#hobby#indie dev#choose your own adventure#if-whats-new#zine
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Prepping myself for the absolute worst takes on this entire situation as though it’s fans or grifters or devs at fault and not people higher up the production chain strangling the absolute shit out of Dragon Age with bad call after bad call.
Follow ex-BW staff to their next projects. Keep an eye on the Motive team. Check out Exodus. Try out Eternal Strands and Nightingale. And support RPGs like Avowed.

#three things:#DAV devs did their jobs just fine and delivered the game they were hired to make#antiwoke is no worse than gamergate which did not prevent Inquisition from succeeding#fans will buy what they want to buy
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