Blood For Poppies (Public Beta Test Now Live! Game Complete! 10/9/20)

One of your NPC has the same name as me, that was refreshing to see as it is not a common name :slight_smile:

Congrats on finish the story and I love the arts.

Thanks everyone for reporting back to me. I’ve made note of all feedback and bugs posted so far, and I’ll have a new update incorporating it soon. I’m very busy this week, but I’m hoping to have the update released sometime by next week. Even I don’t incorporate all feedback, I still appreciate all feedback so don’t hesitate to post your thoughts.

@LiliArch @Jackpot1776
Thanks for the input on how that part reads to you.I like hearing about how the prose, sentences, and words read from the player’s perspective. I’ll likely keep it as it is, as I agree that the description is fitting.

@nocturne
Nice catch. Thanks!

@Havenstone

That is the dream, isn’t it? I almost don’t believe it. Thanks for the support. :slight_smile:

Also, I haven’t read MythAdventures for years, but I remember loving it. I enjoy stuff like Pratchett a lot, too, but who doesn’t love Pratchett? I’ve had my fill of melancholy with BFP, and so I’m ready to work on something less grim. Not that there won’t be moments of morbidity or sadness in whatever new project I tackle, but I might write a joke here and there. Somebody might get a little chuckle out of it.

@CC_Hill
The art is incredible. It fits the tone and mood of the game well. It really encapsulates what BFP is about. It’s by a user who used to frequent this place back in the day, @Pale_Strider. The art is what lures people to play this game in the first place, and so I owe much to the artist.

As for the name, I’m sorry for stealing it. :wink: But, it is quite a nice name.

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No… way… I followed this game back in 2012, and I was in love… I was just taking a trip down memory lane, reminiscing about my old favourite stories, and I find out that it’s back?! I’m in shock!! I’m definitely playing this
Kel, loml I’m coming, ily, wait for me :heart::heart:

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I LOVE IT!!! I did a doodle of Kel this morning, I hope you like it!

I did notice that there were quite a few spelling errors and things caused by coding errors etc, but I can imagine that those are difficult to check for in such a long game.

This game makes me feel so nostalgic hahaha and I’m glad you persevered with it after all these years!

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Oh my goodness, my heart stopped when I looked at this. I can’t get over how talented you folks are! I love this style! Thank you so much! You’ve made my day.

As far as coding/spelling errors, whenever you run into any, feel free to report so I can fix em. Thanks!

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My answer to this story is you gave me to many feels :sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::sob::pleading_face::pleading_face:

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That is a lot of crying emojis, and I appreciate the sentiment. It’s kinda funny, but while writing this thing, I wasn’t fully aware of how sad/bleak/whatever it is. I’m not sure what kind of story I thought I was writing haha. I was probably just trying to make sure the story held together and the code didn’t explode. And my playtester friend pointed out that, uh, no this is a really sad story. And I was like “what? How?!” And she said “But yeah, that’s why a lot of people would think it’s a sad game. There’s a lot of sacrifice (not just of characters, but emotional sacrifices as well, such as certain characters not accompanying the MC if they leave depending on their relationship, the inability for some characters to move on with their lives, etc .”

I promise my next project is going to have jokes.

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Well thanks for the story anyway really enjoyed it and the interactions with the other characters was spot on emotionally and characters profile wise :hugs::grin:

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@Lyle_Schiefer
Thank you! I’m happy to hear that. So much revolves around the characters in this game, so I’m glad that they affected you!

General Update

  • I’ve fixed all bugs that have been reported in the thread so far, and I’ve fixed quite a few bugs that I found through my own playtesting. These bugfixes are not reflected in the current update.
  • I’m halfway through writing relationship endings for dying MCs. I won’t post the next update until these are completed and have been through initial private bugtesting.
  • This next update has taken more time than I initially thought; I’ve been slammed this week, but I’m making gradual progress and that’s all I care about.

Keep the reports coming! Please break my game!

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Awwww I’m glad you like it! I love Kel :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: and I’ll give it another run through, and send a list when I can!

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Years passed but this is still one of my favorite projects. I’m so happy it got finished :two_hearts:

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NEW UPDATE 11/9/20

Play it and break it. Oh, and report back to me about it. Check out the changelog to see the new content created for this update. Otherwise, most changes were bugfixes that were either reported in the thread or I encountered during my own bugtesting. Thanks!

https://dashingdon.com/play/LaceTheDisgrace/blood-for-poppies/mygame/index.php?cb=77682

Changelog

  • I altered character creation at the beginning of Chapter 1 to allow the player to input their own skin, hair, and eye colors. This is a simple change requested a long time ago, but it’s important since the measly descriptors I originally included in the game are hardly able to encapsulate the whole of human appearance. Have anime hair! Go wild!

  • I added relationship endings for MCs who ultimately die. This means that the other freaks (Carmelle, Kel, Ashton, Alyce, and even Poppy or Doctor) will visit the MC on their deathbed. These are just a bit sad, but hopefully give a sense of closure to the dying MC’s narrative.

  • In Chapter 6, an MC who escaped in Chapter 5 is able to return to the apartment. The MC may return with Haroldson and Calvin. If Poppy is alive, then there will be a scene where Poppy talks to Haroldson and Calvin. Previously, there was no closure if Doctor is either alive or in the machine. This has been corrected. There are now special scenes if the MC meets the right requirements.

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I think there’s an error with the save slots. image

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@ninjablu

Yep. I just fixed it. I uploaded a new startup.txt file without the *sm_init bfp | 6 line that dashingdon requires. Easy fix. Thanks for letting me know.

It should be working now.

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This game seems very interesting, and I’m sure it would be a thrilling read.
However, I have a rather fundamental problem with it. I don’t really know how other people experience the kind of games that CoG and HG are, but I personally immerse myself into it as completely as possible, in essence I become the MC. But with this work, I don’t think I want to, the constant use of the words freak and monster make me feel like I’m descending into some sort of lesser state of mind, not to mention the wings, reading this I can quite literally feel them protruding out of my back. It makes for a disturbing experience very quickly
I don’t think this game is bad or poorly written, what I did read I actually found quite good, but I don’t think I can get over the issues I have with it.

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I understand that, this game is dark, weir and sometimes disturbing for me but I still enjoy it

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@OscarKane
I appreciate your thoughts and perspective, and I appreciate you giving it a try even if it wasn’t ultimately something you wanted to stick with. That means a lot to me. I certainly wouldn’t want you to stick with something that makes you uncomfortable.

As I’ve said before, this game is based on some dark, mournful feelings in my life. Maybe this will illuminate why the game is so dark or gives some (many?) folks great unease. This game is intensely personal; I wrote something I would want to play. I started the game when I was pretty young (20) and the majority of the game was written while my father was dying of cancer. He fought stage IV lung cancer for five years before he died. I didn’t intentionally channel my feelings of entrapment and hopelessness into the game, but that’s inevitably what happened. During the entirety of the ordeal, I had to reckon with death, what it means to die, and what it means to love someone so much and watch them slowly die.

However, there is hope–just as there is hope in BfP. Although death is inevitable, I found comfort and levity in the people around me. I remember crying in the bathroom at uni and a stranger comforted and hugged me. I remember the people–friends and family–who were there for me and loved me. It’s those kinds of moments that I always remember. In the same way, in BfP your fellow “freaks” and the relationships you build with them are one of the few sources of levity and hope in the game. These are relationships built from shared trauma. They’re not necessarily doomed, but they’re difficult. If the MC rejects these relationships, or mistreats the other characters, they’ll find it’s a much different and lonelier game.

As far as freak and monster go, I totally get you. It is unsettling to be called that. Although, I think Doctor–incompetent but desiring of absolute control, creating a world where he can be supreme after academia rejected him–is the true freak.

I’m in a happier place now. I doubt I’ll do something exactly like BfP again. It was the product of a particular period in my life.

Anyway, once again, thank you for your thoughts. I know I wrote a lot, but your comments made me reflect on why BfP is the way it is.

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very meaningful game! Very emotional and intriguing. Love the characters (all are very realistic) and love the plot.

My fav RO is Kel, badass but adorable at the same time :slight_smile:

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Hmm. I’ve been considering putting some sort of content warning on the game, but I’m not sure what exactly such a content warning might encompass. The last thing I want to do is make people uncomfortable when that’s not something they want.

Right now the description mentions trauma, but that might not be enough to really prepare folks. Maybe I could write: “This game could provoke feelings of unease”? I don’t know. If anyone else has any opinions, lemme know. I’m simply too close and desensitized to this game (as the writer) to know exactly how it might impact people or the feelings it might provoke.

@Mistyleaf123
Ah, thank you for the sweet words! Kel and Carmelle are quite popular. I’m glad it affected you.

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I think if you added the “This game could provoke feelings of unease and discomfort.” that would be just fine. It is a personal game, you put your feelings into it. Nothing wrong with that (besides, its just a magnificent game regardless)

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