Forbidden Magic - HEART'S CHOICE - BETA CLOSED

You’re a new agent with a tricky case and plenty to prove. With your hellhound partner and devil boss, can you catch a magical arsonist before you lose your heart?

Forbidden Magic is a 145,000-word interactive paranormal romance game by Frances Pauli, author of Brimstone Manor.

At the Organization for the Protection of Sorcerous Secrets, the boss is a real devil. No, literally, they’re a devil. The vampire who works in the basement is out to get you; a rogue arsonist is lighting up the whole city; and your hellhound-shifter partner…well, you two have a history. You’re a human, but you’re still trying to get back onto the right side of the law after being caught using illegal magic.

You’ll need every bit of your wits to navigate office politics with goblins, centaurs, and elves. And you’ll need every bit of your own magic to find the real culprit and clear your name before the city burns. And if that weren’t tricky enough already, there’s magical secrecy to maintain: ordinary humans can’t know about the elves, fey, werewolves, and other magical creatures that live in the same city right under their noses.

But the closer you get to finding the arsonist, the closer you get to losing your heart. You used to be best friends with the hellhound-shifter who’s now your OPSS partner: could there be the sparks of something more? On the long hours of a stakeout, will you grow close to the rumpled sandy-haired agent from a rival organization? Or will your love take you into more dangerous territory? Your boss is dazzlingly competent and even more dazzlingly dressed. And then there’s the suspect whose vulnerability just might melt your heart…

This is a Heart’s Choice game. The PC is gender-variable. There are four ROs: one male, one female, one nonbinary, and one gender-variable. It is one chili pepper: all sex scenes are fade-to-black.


Directions for beta testing:

First, read the Beta FAQ if this is your first time testing. Beta Testing FAQs - Please Read Before Applying!

Then, email us, beta AT choiceofgames for access.

DO NOT POST ASKING WHAT THE BETA EMAIL ADDRESS IS. The first test to becoming a beta tester is inferring what it is based on how we describe it above.

Do not send DMs/PMs through the forum mail system, Discord, text message, carrier pigeon, or any other method than email.

When you send your EMAIL, include:
• the game you want to test in the Subject line of the email.
• your forum-name
• your real name (first and last).

Please indicate if your family/surname comes first as well. Beta testers’ names are listed in the game’s credits, which are accessed with the “About” link you’ll see within the game. If you don’t want to appear in the credits, or you want to be credited under a name other than your real one, please let us know.

Do not email us multiple times about joining a beta. If you don’t email us as soon as we post a beta, you go into a queue. As we post new drafts, we admit more people from the queue. Eventually, we will get to you. Some beta processes last longer than others, and it may take up to a few weeks to reach the front of the queue.

When you have been admitted to the beta, we will send you a link, a username, and a password as a reply to your email.

If you have tested before, do not use the same password that you used to test any previous game. This game has a different password.

When you have feedback to submit:

  • Return feedback as part of the same email thread where you were admitted. Copying beta@choiceofgames on that email is the best way to make sure your comments are seen as soon as possible.
  • Please send screenshots or copy/pasted quotes whenever you can; it helps us track down whatever observation you’re making. In particular, the author may see things that you don’t, and/or the screenshot may contain more information than you realize.
  • If you’re submitting feedback using the Bug/Submit button in the game, make sure you include your handle/name in the body of the email. The Submit button obscures your email address, and I can’t give you credit for feedback if I don’t know who you are.

A few more notes:

  • You cannot be testing two games at once. If you are already testing one game, send in feedback on that game before you apply to another. If you apply for multiple games at the same time, you will likely be admitted first to whichever game has testing slots open up first, and we won’t be able to admit you to the other one until you send in your comments for that one. (From an admin standpoint, it’s easiest if you don’t apply to more than one game at once – applying to multiple games makes it more likely that we’ll miss admitting you to one of them.)

  • If you’re admitted as a tester but realize you won’t be able to send in feedback for that game, please let us know! You won’t be penalized in any way - we’ll just take you off the list of testers for that game. But if you sign up to test a game and don’t send comments or withdraw, it will affect your chances of being admitted to future betas.

  • There’s no standard length of time for a beta testing period to last, and we usually don’t know exactly how long a game will be in beta when it opens. The best way to know how long a beta will be open is to follow the thread for updates.

  • It’s fine to send multiple feedback emails, but if you have a lot of quick comments, it’s easier to keep track of them if you bundle them into one email.

Tips on How to Give Feedback
We’re looking for “high level” and “low level” feedback. Not mid-level feedback.

  • Low-level = typos and continuity errors. A continuity error is when a character’s gender flips, or someone comes back from the dead, or you run into a plotline that just doesn’t make sense (because it’s probably a coding error). For these low-level issues, screenshots are very helpful. If you see a problem, take a screenshot, or copy and paste the text that is in error, and email that.

  • “High level” feedback has to do with things like plot, pacing, and characters. “Scene A didn’t work for me because x, y, and z,” is useful feedback. “B character was entirely unsympathetic, because u, w, and v,” is also useful feedback.

  • “Mid-level” feedback describes things like grammar, style, word choice, or the use of commas. As I said above, I do not want mid-level feedback. In particular, DO NOT WRITE TO ME ABOUT COMMAS.

Be SPECIFIC in your feedback. General comments like “I had a great time and saw only a few spelling errors,” is not useful feedback. In fact, it’s the sort of thing that results in you not being given access to future betas.

Some examples of useful feedback:

  • In Choice of the Dragon, you get to choose what type of wings you have: leather or scaled. Someone wrote in and asked about having feathered wings. Great suggestion! Done!
  • In “The Eagle’s Heir,” someone asked about Eugenie. They said that the romance moved too quickly–because she only appeared in the last third of the game–and wished they could have had an opportunity to meet her earlier. So the authors added an opportunity to meet her and start the romance earlier in the game (in a scene that already existed).
  • In “Demon Mark: A Russian Saga” several people commented on how the PC’s parents were unsympathetic, so the authors added a choice or two to deepen the relationship with the parents in the first chapter, to help better establish their characters.
  • Pointing out a specific choice and saying, “this is who I imagined my character was at this particular moment, and none of these options seemed right for me. I would have liked an option to do X instead,” is also really helpful feedback.
  • If you choose an option and then the results of that option don’t make sense. Like, if you thought an option might test one stat, but it seems to have tested a different one.
25 Likes

New draft!

Many many typos fixed - in particular, those pesky pronoun errors for Tyrian should be straightened out.

This is version 39019

2 Likes

New draft! Notable changes include:

  • many more typos fixed
  • exposed code concealed
  • more pronoun errors fixed!
  • the PC no longer teleports from dinner with Sasha to hanging out with Jared
  • Sasha no longer leaves the apartment twice

This is version 39083

4 Likes

New draft! Notable changes include:

  • still more typos fixed
  • Fixed OPSS consistency
  • Fixed continuity when apprehending Rina at the end
  • Added achievements! Try to achieve things :slight_smile:

This is version 39090

3 Likes

New draft! Notable changes include:

  • Added chapter headers! Aren’t they pretty? :slight_smile:
  • Fixed references to the PC’s hair
  • more typos fixed

This is version 39550

1 Like

New draft! Notable changes include:

  • Many more typos and assorted small continuity issues fixed
  • If you’re hanging out with Tyrian, you no longer teleport to Jared’s place
  • If you’ve been fired from OPSS at the end, you no longer have the option to remain in your job there
  • Expanded epilogue

This is version 39643

Thanks to everyone who has sent in feedback so far. If you’ve already played once, this is a great time to play again and see what’s changed!

3 Likes

New draft! Mostly typos and exposed code fixes. More story updates are coming soon, though, so stay tuned!

This is version 39653

2 Likes

New draft!

The bigger story edits are starting! This draft has some extended romantic scenes and more added romantic moments. (In addition to the usual array of typos being fixed.) Expect more story edits in the next few drafts!

This is version 39659

3 Likes

New draft! Notable changes include:

  • More romance! Extended existing scenes; added some new interaction with ROs
  • Added an achievement for figuring out whodunit (thanks from the author to the tester who suggested that!)
  • Expanded ending scenes
  • Added an option not to snoop in your boss’s garage

And the usual assortment of typos and continuity fixes.

This is version 39663

4 Likes

New draft!

The story edits are continuing! This one has some expanded dialogue in scenes with the ROs, and there is more to come!

If you’ve played before, now is a great time to play again to see what’s changed.

This is version 39666

5 Likes

New draft! Just a small update: some typos fixed, and some expansions to a couple Minerva scenes.

This is version 39671

2 Likes

New draft! Many many small continuity issues fixed.

This is version 39722

LAST CALL FOR TESTERS! We plan to close the beta next week. If you have not yet sent in your feedback, please do so ASAP. If you have already played and would like to try a second time, now is the time to do that! Thanks!

3 Likes

This beta is now CLOSED!

Thank you to everyone who tested. Stay tuned for Forbidden Magic’s release on Heart’s Choice next month!

4 Likes