Dragon of Steelthorne - 170,000 words, Game is released!

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The store page is up!

I’ve completed a new game, Dragon of Steelthorne, which I am planning to enter in a comp in 2024, if responses are positive. Due to comp rules, there will be no public link. Awfully sorry about that! Please drop a comment or reach out to me privately if you would like to test the game.

In Dragon of Steelthorne, you play as the Ardent or Ardessa of Lake Steelthorne, a mysterious city which holds a powerful secret. Originally tasked by your liege to settle and rule the city, you suddenly find yourself in possession of a power which could shape the world.

The game has some story sections, a simple city management system and a combat system. I borrowed some ideas (hope that’s ok) for the latter from Philip Kempton’s Swamp Castle.

Other notes:

  • The game is about 147,000 words long, and has passed both randomtest and quicktest.
  • There is a rudimentary save system which hopefully works correctly. It is available after Chapter 5.
  • There are five romance interests in the game, two male and three female.
  • I adopted a more minimalistic writing style for the game, as I’m not too sure of my current writing skill.
  • I tried to avoid making this game too mature, in terms of content. I was toying with the idea of making an uncut version, but that’s something to decide on at another time.
  • Achievements are not hidden. I made this decision as I wanted to tease the possibilities in the game. Thoughts on this?

Please feel free to put any comments in this thread. Please blur spoilers if you wish to put them in the thread. If you’ve any general questions, please feel free to put those in the thread as well. I’ll try to respond quickly.

Public link should be available on 1st Apr 2024. (Sorry, I know that’s a long wait)

Update: The Eternal Festival, a romance-focused chapter, has been completed. This will be exclusive to the HG release. To romance Princess Bridget, you will need to return her kiss at the end of the festival. Edit: I have taken out the Eternal Festival from the beta. Edit 2: Monetization decisions are TBD

Edit: Hmm… gained a trust level. If anyone is still reading this, here’s an awful title picture I made.
dashpic

136 Likes
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How can I get access to the game and is it on dashing don

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It’s on dashingdon, but I can’t post the link in a public forum due to comp rules. I think your trust level is too low for you to PM me as well.

Moderators, is there any workaround for this?

Edit: Hmm… looks like I can send direct messages after all…

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Goodness you’re getting in early! I wish I was that organised. (There’s no way I could have a game finished a year in advance. Deadlines to hurry things up for the win.) I’m a bit snowed under at the moment to volunteer right at this stage, but wishing you good luck :grinning:

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Thanks. Still, the Spring Thing is probably coming in Feb next year, so it’s not that early. I had originally wanted to submit this to IFcomp this year, but things ran way behind schedule.

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This very interesting, sounds like its worth the read. But in my honest opinion i would have done an NSFW version first before and SFW version. But thats just me, you do you bro. I wish you all the best on your work.

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Possibly. I was unsure if it would limit my audience. I might do something more NSFW for a future project, so never say never.

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Love to give it a try

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Can you add a save system?

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Cool, I will definitely have to try

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Love to give a try as well

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Id like to try it out too

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Yo can i try it too pls?

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Sounds fascinating, would love to try it out as well

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Sounds intriguing; would also be willing to give it a shot.

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Can I get an access to your game please?

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Same here

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Same here

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Same here

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Same here