The fact that your only complaint is that it ended is a good sign, haha!
So glad you’re a fan of K and the smoking choice. Like I said before, I haven’t seen it implemented for the MC in interactive fiction before so I was happy to add it in.
Thanks so much for giving the demo a read 
Off the top of my head, I can only think of two IF where you can choose alcohol, smoking, or both: God of the Red Mountain and The Northern Passage
I haven’t read them but The Northern Passage is on my “Check this WIP” list. I’ll put the other one on the list too.
If you like the Hunter genre (like I do), you’ll like that one. GotRM is Chinese fantasy with spirits/gods/deities.
GotRM?
God of the Red Mountain
I see, will search it.
I really thought I’d be done with giving updates at untimely hours, yet here I am at 00:40 posting one.
I’ve been wanting to post this update for ages. Chapter 7 has taken a lot of time and was a bit of a difficult one. The code is actually soo messy, it’s terrible — but the most important thing is that it works! Would not recommend code diving, lol.
Starting and finishing the first part of chapter 7 has just confirmed how much I hate coding, and how repetitive interactive fiction can be for the author.
Having 5 extra curricular activity choices is great for MC customisation and reading experience, but needing to write about them individually, and then split them off into further branches of what you’re actually going to do (e.g., what instrument you’re going to practice) — especially if you decide to do your activity at university or the place Liv told you about — it really is a lot.
There’s side character supremacy for the first part of chapter 7, it’s all about Liv. I think when meeting the MC she was rather nice, now, well… 
she’s a little more interesting, to say the least — the MC is in for an… odd time.
The ending of this first part is pure drama. It really is. I’d love to reveal what happens so I can scream about it with someone, but it’d be a huge spoiler. There’s so much going on and fingers crossed it will be a good read for you all.
Plans:
The first part of chapter 7 passed quick and randomtesting. Tomorrow I’ll actually play through it myself and read it over.
I’ll also start the second part of chapter 7. This part has the ROs and Cardon in it, so another POV scene. You’ll get to see more of their team dynamic which I love writing — I think their friendship is great even though they all have very different personalities that work together.
… and the plan right now is to sleep.
~
Thanks for reading. Take care.
~
Total word count exclud. code: 159,954 (+ 16,294)
I’m going to challenge myself to actually post a progress update at a normal time. I guess this is what I get for working on this chapter all day and only just finishing at 00:30.
Anyway, I finished chapter 7!
I can’t lie, it was a tedious one for me to write because of coding and such (hopefully not tedious to read with all the drama that goes on!) Originally; I was going to end the chapter at the scene where the team talk about [spoilers and the party] in their apartment — then came the opportunity to get the MC back into the story as the team’s scene isn’t from the MC’s point of view.
I think the MC’s scene works rather well as even though you don’t interact with the ROs, you have the chance to interact with Jared, Melissa or Walter; thus improving your relationship with them (or not); it’s also your chance to discuss the drama going on and add or subtract to your MC’s personality stats.
Overall, I’m hoping that the pacing is okay. And my initial worry was that the next update won’t be as enjoyable because there isn’t as much romance as the previous updates, but I’m hoping the plot twists will make up for that.
Plans:
Other than sleep, I’ll test chapter 7. It passed the quicktest and the randomtest but actually testing and reading through the routes and variations will be helpful.
After that, I’ll send it off to the beta readers in the beta reader Discord channel.
I’ve been desperate to do so, like, I’ve really wanted to share this chapter with the beta readers for so long, to get their opinion on it and to finally be able to talk about the plot twists with someone other than myself, lol; so hopefully they’ll indulge with me and let me know if they enjoy what I’ve written.
~
Thanks for reading! Take care.
~
Total word count exclud. code: 171,387 (+ 11,433)
If you follow me on Tumblr, you probably saw the breakdown I had last week because of my laptop going bust on me. It’s going to be sent off for repair tomorrow, so fingers crossed it can get fixed! In the meantime, I’ve been using another device to keep up with writing and it’s going okay so far.
This week has already started off much better than the last. I was struggling a lot with writing, imposter syndrome and anxiety so, you know, just not a brilliant time. However, I managed to get quite a bit done!
Chapter seven was sent off to my beta readers and they’ve been going through it and giving me edits to make on it. The positive comments are lovely, and I finally got to share some of the drama that’s been going on.
Alongside that, I made a new banner for Golden (I literally never shut up about it on Tumblr, and you would’ve seen the image is different in the top post) and did chapter headings and subheadings. The beta readers thought they were a nice addition, so hopefully when they’re all public, readers will think the same.
There’s a lot of POV switching in this next demo update, there’s already over 30,000 extra words added from the last demo, too. The POV switching between the team and the MC allows you to see how both of them deal with the drama going on. It starts off very separate and then the team and the MC will meet together in the end.
The content in the next update will have extra trigger warnings added, just a note on that.
Plans:
Chapter 8 is going smoothly at the moment, I’ll pick it up again tomorrow. The last scene I’ve finished is the team’s POV, so I’ll be going back to the MC’s and staying there for quite a few pages.
The mental health stat is very close to being used which is exciting… not for the MC, unfortunately, but it does help make things more realistic.
I also mentioned that I have plans for another IF WIP, the brief post made about it is here. I’m debating working on two WIPs, but I’m definitely leaning more to sticking with one - but it’s also nice to be creative and come up with new worlds and ideas. Maybe you’ll see an intro post for it soon.
~
I know this was a lot, so thanks for reading if you have.
~
Total word count exclud. code: 175,481 (+ 4,094)
I always say I need to finish writing and post progress updates at normal times - well, it’s 2am, I barely ate yesterday and I haven’t slept; but I’m happy to say that the first part of chapter 8 is done, and all the graphics for the next update are done.
Weeks ago I was worried that people wouldn’t find this update enjoyable because it’s a lot more plot based than romance based, but it’s been my favourite chapter to write so far, and I hope you all find the plot interesting.
Due to the very heavy content in the chapter, trigger warnings have been updated and I may add an age rating, too.
Overall, there’s a lot going on in the chapter. A lot of POV switches, you read about new characters, there are a lot of choices to pick from as well, including a touch averse option.
It passed the quicktest and right now, the chapter is over 20,000 words, I’ve added all the graphics I made to the game and I’ll send it off to the beta readers later to get their take on it (and so I can scream over the drama with someone).
Plans:
There’s a specific scene in chapter 7 and one of my beta readers asked me to create an edit for it for all the ROs, so I think I’m going to do that at some point - I like being creative, so it’ll be fun. You’ll find this on my Tumblr when it’s done.
Then continue chapter 8… helloo mental health stat (so sorry MC).
~
Thanks for reading.
~
Total word count exclud. code: 191,976 (+ 16,495) [getting close to that 200k mark!)
@milaswriting hey to a glance in the little idea blurb and if you do begin to write it at some point I will defintly read it 
It’s 2am, but anyway, I finished chapter 8!
The amount of words I wrote in 14 days:
The amount added to the current demo:
Plans:
Pat myself on the back.
Sleep.
Send everything off to the beta readers.
Eventually update the demo.
~
Total word count exclud. code: 225,793 [200k mark!]
Good job! The game is interesting. I like (among other things) that it is in first person and that MC isn’t high schooler. (No, really, you have many plus points because of it. :D)
Merry christmas and happy holidays to all of you! as a present from me to you, chapter 7 & 8 of Golden will be released on December 29th, 2pm GMT.
In the next two chapters you will:
I’m looking forward to the update!!!
Alright, as I will say for everybody viewing this; tis will be great.
Happy holidays and thank you for the present!
DEMO LINK IS IN THE TOP POST.
Today is pretty fitting as it’s Golden’s anniversary (ahh, a whole year since the demo was first posted) and you get an update!
In chapter 7 & 8 (& the whole game):
Spend some time participating in your extracurricular activity… with a twist.
Message a member of the team, Jordan or Tristen about some… breaking news.
Have a chat with Walter or one of your parents about this news.
Get interviewed.
Have a deep conversation with your chosen RO, a conversation that can go in various directions depending on your choices, and see what they think of it from their point of view [potential soft moments!!]
Hot new graphics
Oh, and find out that supernaturals exist.
Stats:
Total word count w/ code: 250,582 (+ 90,736)
Total word count w/o code: 226,040 (+ 82,380)
Average playthrough word count: 65,746 (+ 19,854)
Notes:
This is the biggest update to date, and my fastest one (woo!). Trigger warnings have been updated, be sure to check them as chapter 8 does involve heavy content! You will have to restart the game from the beginning, so do that too or you will find bugs/glitching.
Let me know what you think!
You forgot to activate the save system. I am looking forward to this update, but it will take me a bit before I can read it.
Thank you for working so hard on this 
