The day after you and your twin rewrote your mother’s unfinished bedtime story, you quickly find out why she never finished it. You have unleashed a plot hole—a portal to different story worlds—and now the villains from the stories you’ve written have become real. They’re here to crash your school fieldtrip, and they’re here to finish your mother’s story for good.
Grab your plot armor and join your twin and friends in a meta-fictional adventure! Explore different story worlds—from fantasy and sci-fi, to mythology and mystery. Will you discover the truth behind your mother’s story? Or will villains, plot twists, and character development prevent you from getting your happily ever after?
Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! is written as a love letter to all the kids-at-heart out there, who’d like to revisit their childhood and reimagine it as one big fantasy adventure (with slice-of-life elements). It’s light-hearted, it’s whimsical, but it also aims to explore, deconstruct, and reconstruct the more serious tropes and themes on what it means to be a character in a story (such as character deaths and the abundance of orphan protagonists).
I made a preview of the animated trailer here!
Create a completely unique character!
With over 80+ character traits available for you and your twin that each affect the story in their own way, you can be anything you want!
You can be a stoic cuddlebug with a sweet tooth, a competitive and precocious yet manipulative crybaby, or be an aspiring astronaut-slash-demigod while developing your own secret language with your twin!
Explore different story worlds!
Choose from 8 origin story genres: Fantasy, Fairytales, Sci-Fi, Mythology, Horror/Supernatural, Mystery, Superheroes, and Adventure!
Pilot a flying school bus, join a pirate gang, and solve the mystery of your mother’s secrets, as you complete side-quests and fight legendary monsters alongside your army of adorable animal companions (while singing to a musical)!
Develop Telepathy or Empathy powers (and more)!
Use your magical locket’s powers to find out what effects your choices have on the story! Keep track of your choices, as well as your treasure collection and secrets you’ve discovered with your inventory and personal diary!
What other powers and abilities will you unlock?
Inevitable puppy love (and friendship) subplots!
Develop friendships and crushes with your classmates and other companions as you travel through enchanted forests, post-apocalyptic colonies, and maybe even the underworld.
See how your choices compare to others!
At the end of the demo, you will be able to see the percentage of readers who picked the same choices as you!
Dear Diary, We Created a Plot Hole! (Ver. 2.2.10 - Updated Feb. 20, 2022)
Current word count including code: ~142,000
Average words per playthrough: ~43,000
Survey
When you finish the demo, you will see a code that you can submit to a survey. I’ll be sharing the data collected at the end of the demo, where you’ll see the percentage of people who picked the same choices as you. It’s not necessary to submit a code, but you can submit as many codes as you want. I would greatly appreciate it!
Here’s the link again if you missed it!
What's in the next update?
Here's what to expect in Chapter 3
- The rest of the way home.
- Aunt Julie and Uncle Robert’s introduction!
- Your bedroom! You can finally name your stuffed toy again!
- Preparations for Roselyna’s birthday party (and sleepover)
- Visit Wayne in The NeStore!
I also made a 50k word sidequel story for DDWCaPH!
Check out this post for more information!
Your Family
Your Twin: Your 12-year-old opposite-sex twin sibling. Your twin has a customizable appearance and personality depending on several variables, but they will always have a different opinion about your mother. You and your twin will be 13 years old by the end of the story.
Mommy Maggie: Your mother. She’s the reason you and your twin love bedtime stories so much. She started writing her own bedtime story where you are the two main characters, but she never finished it. She left you and your twin when you turned 5 years old to work abroad, or at least, that’s what she said. She promised to return when you turned 9, but she never did.
Your Father: You’ve only seen your father through pictures, and your mother seems reluctant to tell you the truth about where he is. But she seems to be very sure of one thing: that he loves both of you.
Auntie Julie and Uncle Robert: Your mother’s estranged sister and your auntie’s husband. Your mother left you with them before she went abroad. They were reluctant at first, but eventually they grew to love you as their own children.
Kuya Patrick: Your 17-year-old cousin. He may be a little irresponsible at times, but he treats you and your twin as his own siblings, mostly because he grew up as an only child. Ever since your mother left, he’s been the one telling you bedtime stories, although he has been busy with school work recently.
Crush Options
The available crush options are currently: Wayne, Roselyna, JM, Lily, and Brandon/Beatrice. At least four more characters will be available as the story progresses.
I’m calling them crush options because the characters are still too young to be in an official relationship. Characters who like the MC back will be referred to as a “mutual crush”.
If puppy love is not your thing, each character has a friendship route which has similar scenes, so you won’t miss out on anything.
You can find out more about 2 of the 4 minor crush options in this post.
You can check the character page to learn more about the characters. More information can also be found in the MC’s diary in-game! (Click here for a mobile friendly version)
DDWCaPH! now has a Tumblr! Follow the blog for updates, information about the characters, and other fun stuff!
Follow the In Auctorem Credimus sideblog for spoilers and other sneak peeks!
Questions about the story
When is the next update?
I don’t know! I’m currently taking a break to focus on other stuff, so progress will be very slow for now.
How long will the game be?
DDWCaPH! is currently planned to have at least 6 volumes, one for each story world. Volume 1 is currently planned to have 7 chapters.
When will the adventure start happening?
The fieldtrip will begin in Volume 1 Chapter 6, while the actual story world exploration starts in Volume 2.
Questions about crush options
Who are the crush options?
The available crush options are currently: Wayne, Roselyna, JM, Lily, and Brandon/Beatrice. At least four more characters will be available as the story progresses.
I’m calling them crush options because the characters are still too young to be in an official relationship. Characters who like the MC back will be referred to as a “mutual crush”.
If puppy love is not your thing, each character has a friendship route which has similar scenes, so you won’t miss out on anything.
You can check the character page to learn more about them. More information can be found in the MC’s diary in-game.
When will we meet the other crush options?
You will meet one of them in Volume 2, two in Volume 4, and one in Volume 5. These are the only ones planned for now, there might be more later in development!
Please note that due to their nature, the side characters will appear later in the story and you won’t be able to meet them again until the epilogue after you leave their respective story worlds.
You can find out more about Cordelia and Chamyrrha in this post.
Can I have a crush on more than one character?
Of course! However, you can only confess and have one “mutual crush” at a time. The others won’t have a crush on you until you say that you are no longer interested in your previous crush.
I’m not comfortable with anything poly-related with a young MC, but the concept will be explored in one of the story worlds.
If I don’t have high Charm or the Romantic trait, am I locked out of having a crush?
Nope! You’re not locked out of having a crush as long as you don’t have the [Not Interested] or [Cootiephobe] Traits. The [Romantic] Trait just unlocks special interactions.
You will be able to change these traits in the sequel.
Will the MC’s Twin have any crushes?
Probably not. It just further complicates things with the MC, and it doesn’t really add anything thematically.
If the twin has the heart locket, they might have a crush on a minor side character, but I probably won’t focus on it.
Questions about MC and their Twin
Can the MC be older than 12?
The MC will turn 13 during the epilogue, but otherwise, no.
If you want to play as a teenager, there are plenty of other games where you can play as one. I already aged the MC up from 8 years old—if playing as a child makes you uncomfortable, this isn’t the story for you.
Is the MC a Filipino?
Not necessarily! Read In Auctorem Credimus to find out why!
Can I play as the MC’s Twin?
Right now there aren’t any plans where you can actually play as your twin, but there might be scenes in the future where the POV will be from the twin (and some other characters) with very limited choices.
For now, you can replay the story and pick different choices accordingly.
Can the MC’s Twin be non-binary?
Probably, but I will most likely implement it towards the end of development. The twin uses pronouns more often than the MC, and it’d be a lot easier to implement them all at once instead of during writing.
The twins will always stay opposite sex however, and no plot hole will change that.
Questions about choices
Why are some of the choices grayed out?
This most likely means you didn’t meet the requirement, but some of the choices are actually a part of the MC’s thoughts, and are intentionally unpickable. You can’t decline the first quest, for example.
Why do my twin and I have different dream job/class choices?
The suggested classes are based on your birthday wish and favorite genre, while your twin is based on the locket shape they are wearing. If none of the classes fit your characters, you can type in whatever job/class you want! This also has the benefit of letting you choosing the stat bonuses.
Is there a guide on how to get the achievements and where to find the secrets and trinkets?
Nope! But I will definitely make one once there’s more content. For now, have fun hunting for the secrets and trinkets!
None of the achievements are possible to get currently, as they haven’t been finalized yet.
How do the personality stats work?
Please check out the Personality Stats Guide.
Can I make fanart/fanfiction?
Absolutely! I would love to see your creations, and hear more about your twins! You can either post them here in the thread, or through Tumblr (Please mention @ddwcaph-game and tag #ddwcaph and #dear diary we created a plot hole).
I found a bug/typo/plot hole! Where should I report them?
Please report them here in the forum thread, or through the Tumblr ask box.
If I haven’t answered your question, feel free to send me a question here in the thread, through PM, or through the Tumblr askbox!
If you enjoyed it (or hated it), I’d really appreciate it if you drop me a like and some feedback (here or through PM). It encourages me to keep doing what I’m doing.
Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts, I’ll try to consider each feedback. I can’t solve what I’m not aware of, after all!
Feedback I’m looking for:
- What did you like/dislike about the characters?
- Was there any point in the story where you felt bored?
- Was there a choice that gave you a different personality stat increase from what you thought?
- Was there a scene where your MC acts inconsistently, or out of character? (For example, an independent MC acting clingy?)