Honey and Fire (TEMPORARY HIATUS - New RO added)

Hosted Games Works In Progress
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Some of the descriptions remind me of Leigh Bardugo a YA author who is known for her Shadow and Bone series and the Six of Crows duology. she has also written Wonderwoman’s story in a dc series and some short stories but the first things I said are what she is most known for. It’s a perfect level of description. I read a lot and there is another series I’ve started where I love the characters (it’s very character driven) but its way to descriptive. Where as this is my nice, interactive fiction is definitely my favourite :heart:.

and haha yeah in books I like the gruff and/or stoic bad boy types like Day. I always go for this type haha while in real life I would like to say I more fancy nice guys :sweat_smile:.

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Just finished the demo…I love it!!! Day and Koda beg me for at least two run already!!!
I really like your writing style, and the characters are all cute! I love getting the chance to customize my MC, and I’m very curious about how it will continue!

Great work!!!

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Really loving this update and seeing more of the other characters! There is one little glitch I’ve noticed though: as a female MC if I try to choose the suggested name of “Melora” the game sets it to “Arcadia”. Otherwise this is great writing and I’m excited to see what happens next!

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@Lola I’ve never heard of her before (admittedly, I kinda stopped reading real books after I dropped out of school) I’ll have to look those up though, they sound cool!

I also can totally relate. My type when it comes to fictional boys is all over the place, but Day ticks all the boxes for one of them. (but please be nice to me IRL //sobs…)

@Willow_Felya_G Thank you!! :blush:

@cipher_M so sorry about that! I didn’t read as carefully as I should have when it came to the code. Either tomorrow or the day after there’ll be a tiny update to clear some things up and add extra choices (to cut down on long stretches of text), so that should be fixed then.

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I am really liking the variety of options especially the stoic and untrusting options so i will keep my eye on this game great work.

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@Arcane_warrior Thanks! I like when I can play as a stoic character as well :slightly_smiling_face:

Okay, so very small update. Small enough I’m not putting it into the title lol. I fixed the wording in some sentences and choices as well as added a couple new choices. Only two new *fake_choices to try and break up the pages of text and assume less about the MC’s personality, but also I added a couple extra choices to existing ones to keep consistency for roleplaying. (You don’t have to worry too much about starting choices with the characters btw, like how you feel about them right off the bat. You, as the MC, don’t know them and you’re still confused, there’s plenty of opportunity to make more solid choices later once you’ve gotten to know them)

I don’t think I remembered to fix any tense issues if there are any, so that might happen later. If you find any grammar mistakes, it helps if you screenshot or quote them so I can find them easier! I think that’s it for now. Thanks, everyone, for playing :blush:

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Is her name Niina or Niinara? 'cause I think there’s a typo with either the stat screen or the pages. Or are they actually two different people ohhhh, which one’s the evil twin?

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@nulCat Her name is Niinara but everyone calls her Niina, so the narrative will too! Olilia will also be called Lily throughout, but the stats page uses the two’s full first names.

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Good, because I was a total ass.

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Ah ok, I was confused there for a moment lol

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Just making a comment here for those who might be interested. If you haven’t checked out the tumblr, we’re already passed 100 followers and to celebrate that I posted some teeny snippets from the RO’s backstories, which you’ll have the opportunity to see more of later in the game.

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Boo…

Twiddle is stealing you from us here lol don’t go fully to the dark side ! The cake is a lie

:smirk:

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Hey, just wanted to say I like what there is so far. I love how all the characters are quirky in their own way and really unique.
And actually when I read through the game for the first time I was having more torture/kidnapping vibes than dragon

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@alexxo97 Thank you! :heart: Yeah, that was also on purpose (sort of. I won’t confirm or deny that exact wording) both and the connection they share will become more clear the farther this story goes.

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Small writing update (9/9/18) -

Nothing much to report other than it’s back on track after some struggles. I was trying to force a very lengthy scene (or rather a series of scenes that were increasing the workload) that I really didn’t have the motivation to work on. I finally accepted the scene wasn’t vital and was just slowing progress. I did like the idea so I’m keeping a backup in case I find I can finish it and work it in properly, though.

With that out of the way, work on chapter one is resuming. Which I’m prioritizing over Tumblr asks because I have like, 60 of them and they’re basically all asking for all 8 ROs, which is the kind of work that’ll take away from me working on actual canon content.

Do any of you experience executive dysfunction? I struggle with it everyday and I know solutions kind of have to be tailored to individual situations but I wonder if there’s anything specific anyone can recommend trying to help.
Hell, for me, just cutting and pasting that one scene into a different document to forget about makes me feel like a weight has been taken off and i feel motivated, which lines up with something else I’ve seen someone say about their executive dysfunction (that I can’t find anymore…)

Anyway, before I forget what I started this comment for, I have something bothering me at the back of my mind. Would you guys prefer choices to define your sexuality and gender (beyond the initial one in the prologue)?

Let me elaborate. Sexuality - I let the ROs state what their sexualities are (some of them anyway, if it feels natural to the scene) to avoid them being labeled as simply “playersexual” because bi/pan/queer/etc representation is also important. I’ve been wondering if I should allow the player to do the same for their MC, if just for the proper sake of it. This question really became prominent in my mind because of an anon on tumblr asking if you can be asexual and the answer is you don’t have to sex if you don’t want to, but I hadn’t any plans to put the MC’s sexuality into words.

The problem there is the MC doesn’t have the words for it at the start anyhow. If they learn any words like pansexual, asexual, homosexual, etc etc, that’d be later in the game. Naturally, I don’t have have to use such specific words, of course. Still, sexual attraction isn’t really a priority at this point of the story and that’s why I’m asking. Would it even be worth it answering that later in the story or would it be too awkward/out of place/too late to have any effect if I wait so long to ask such a question?

  • Yes, I want the option even if it’s late in the game.
  • No, it would be pointless at that point.
  • I don’t care either way.
  • I don’t care as long as I can romance the one I want to.
  • Other (comment)

0 voters

Next: Gender. I already have the option in the prologue of being male, female, or non-binary. This is especially about the male and female options, but could end up being about non-binary as well.

Right now, as it is, there are the options to choose your gender and the game doesn’t assume anything about you (beyond pronouns that the initial choice implies). It doesn’t know if you are cis, if you’re just addressed the way you are because you don’t care, or if you’re trans. I was wondering if I should include an option later to define that, in a similar style to Fallen Hero. But I don’t want to include the option of realizing you’re trans later in the game because, unlike FH, this option would also be later in the story and there would be no early indication that you could be questioning your gender. So not only might it feel kinda out of nowhere, but I also don’t know if such a choice would get much traction since I’m not sure how many trans players would want to play as a gender they don’t want to for half the story just so they can play as the right gender later. (Especially if I go for the former of just defining later if you’re trans or not)

I know some trans players like playing as trans characters and it might be nice to have that canonically validated rather than just headcanoned for their MC. What do you think?

  • I’d like the option to define that, even later in the game.
  • Just leave it as is, i.e. the game not assuming anything
  • Other (comment)

0 voters

(And by not assuming anything, I want to clarify I mean it doesn’t assume anything about your physical sex based on the initial gender choice. The game will always not assume anything about you (like personality or abilities) based on your gender and will continue to not do so even if I include the choices I mentioned)

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I guess you wouldn’t need to use the actual terms for it, though. You could just let the player choose what gender(s) they’re attracted to (e.g. men, women, both, neither)

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Which is what I said immediately after that part. It’s not like such a choice will have much impact, but I know it’s the little things that matter to some people and it might even add to the story in a small way if not a coding way. If people are vocal about wanting it, I don’t see a problem finding a nice spot to bring that up, but if people don’t care I won’t bother.

The gender question is my biggest concern. I know what the poll says right now, but I may end up doing it anyway. I see it making more significant impact to the story (hopefully in a positive way) than a sexuality choice and I might listen more to those who such a choice means something to than those who wouldn’t really care. I haven’t decided though, hence the polls.

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For executive dysfunction, I don’t personally have it but I work with people who do. Their manager and team lead ultimately become the little voice in their heads: “Did you do that? You need to do it by tonight. I can help” and they go from there. I don’t know if you have someone like that who could help, but if you put up reminders for yourself, that could be easier too.

Something that could work is also spreading work into very easy, small tasks. Start with “I am going to do 3 of these today” and pick a few, then cross them out. Or, pick some goals for the week, no more than 2-3 small ones. My corporate side will be showing here, sorry, but they should be specific, measurable (I am going to do 50% of x), time sensitive (in 2 days, a week, on the 20th of September, etc) and achievable (don’t add more work for yourself than you can complete and insert some extra time for that for risk mitigation purposes)

If something takes too long (like that specific scene), you can cut that into bits or make an executive decision and put all scenes that take too long (over, say, 20 days to write) on the back-burner and set a different goal for those later. Keeping things like this written down takes more time, but they also remind you of things so that may help?

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Just found this. I like it, different and interesting theme. Easy to read too, well structured and all the good stuff. :relaxed:

Hope to see more of this, I enjoyed my visit to Amveros so far. :grin:

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A bit more personal than I’m used to getting on the forums, but I have ADHD, primarily type 2 (inattentive), I have some symptoms of type 1(hyperactive) but not enough to fit the diagnoses of Type 3 (combined). I’ve had to contended with it for the vast majority of my life (I was diagnosed at four) and have only broken down enough in the last two years to finally seek treatment for it. Now I know that people with EFD don’t always suffer from ADHD, but there is a relationship between the two as well as some overlap between the two symptoms wise.

Other than medication, which may or may not be an option for you and should be discussed with your mental health provider, I can only offer some of some of my experiences, how I try to finish a story and the advise I was given in counselling regarding time management and working on large projects.

Like yourself, when writing I sometimes have to 'section off" parts of my narrative (I personally put at least a page of blank space between what I’m stuck on and what I move onto) and come back to them later, so I’m able to finish the chapter or passage or w/e otherwise I’ll get fixated on the part I’m stuck on and either sink an inordinate amount of time trying to push through it, or I’ll just lose motivation and end up quitting. Dividing my goal of let’s say writing a fight scene into fourths (ymmv on the number) so that it’s more manageable has helped me a bit, I’ve found when I’m able to complete those smaller bites I can maintain motivation and use that to propel myself to the next task.

-Outlining has helped me tremendously as well, sometimes having the skeleton of an idea or scene makes it easier for me to complete said section or idea. That goal also helps me stay on task and focused also when I lose motivation or interest I can always jump around the story and fill out the next scene, conversation or plot point. Speaking of which…

-I let my attention flit around, while staying on task. Sometimes I can’t finish a scene because it’s just dragging on and on (and on) so I become bored, and lose interest. Instead try working on another section of your story, or creating lore, scripting dialogue between characters, world building or whatever. Basically do something else that furthers your goal of finishing your novel, even if it’s not the thing you set out to do originally.

-Writing extensive character outlines helps me 'get in the heads of my characters when I’m stuck and can’t a scene to work the way I want it to, even inconsequential details that might never make it into the finished product (like their favorite flavor of ice cream).

-I also experience hyper-focus or target fixation from time to time and all I’ll want to do is write and I won’t be able to get the urge out of my head to the detriment of other things, if it’s a weekend and I have the time, I’ll give into the urge and use it to get down as many words as I can, even if I end up throwing half of them out or rewriting what I came up with at a later date and that’s cool because I’m getting words on the page. Alternatively if I can’t just sink an afternoon into writing, I’ll use it as a reward for when I do something else, for example I’ll wash out the gutters and then write for twenty minutes, even if the urge to write hasn’t been sated I can use that to help keep up motivation for other tasks.

That said I’ve learned not to fight myself, sometimes even when I break things down, or outline or whatever it is just not going to happen. I’ve found to not be overly critical and harsh on myself. Do what you can, when you can. It may not come as fast as you’d like but that’s okay.

-Anything else I could offer would be generic stuff; minimizing distractions, giving yourself rewards for accomplishing milestones etc.

I hope something in here was helpful to you, but even if it isn’t maybe it’ll be of use to someone who stumbles onto it shrug. Anyway, best of luck to you going forward. :smile:

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