2773

Hi all! I’ve been toying with turning this idea into an IF novel for a while now, so I figured I’d throw up a little post about it to see if there’s any interest!

You work at The Moonhouse Lounge, a mysterious bar built into the top floor of an old lighthouse. None of its patrons remember seeking it out so much as they just sort of find themselves there, night after night. You, as the Moonhouse’s bartender, have a job that goes beyond serving drinks.

In essence, you are a… professional confidant. You let the bar’s patrons air their worries and vent their frustrations to you. You gently pry from them their secrets, their woes, their regrets. You listen until they have nothing more to share, nothing left to tell — and once their souls are finally laid bare before you, you never see them again.

This, the truth: The Moonhouse is a bar that exists in purgatory, functioning as a sort of ‘waiting room’ between life and the After. The patrons who come to you are as lost as ships at sea; no longer who they used to be, but unsure where they’re meant to go next. As you talk to them, as you learn who they are, you oversee their final judgement. Are they deserving of their perceived heaven? Their presumed hell? Are they to be reincarnated as something new, or to have their very essence torn asunder?

So! That’s a pretty rough/vague summary of the overall concept, and for a bit more clarification, I’ve included some gameplay details/other things to know down below. Potentially spoilery, too, albeit only for a couple of the super early reveals:

Other Notes
  • You don’t really remember anything before the bar. Yet, from time to time, you recall faint memories of a life that you think might’ve been yours. Were you human, too, once? And what does it mean if you were? The plot (or at least, the way it’s currently outlined) follows an episodic ‘patron of the week’ structure, with this mystery gradually unfolding alongside it.
  • You will be interacting with numerous patrons throughout the story and, depending on the questions you ask/the things you choose to talk about with them, they’ll reveal different aspects of themselves that affect how they are inevitably “judged.” In this way, said patrons’ fates are influenced by you over time, rather than made as a single decision.
  • You don’t work alone! You are the sole bartender, yes, but the Moonhouse does have a few other constant faces: a mischief-making server and a bitter-hearted entertainer/musician fill the roles of your colleagues, while many unseen strings seem to be pulled by the lounge’s enigmatic owner.
  • Relationships, whether romantic or otherwise, will play a pretty big part in the game. I currently have three characters that are definite romance options, and another three that I am still deciding on whether or not should be ROs (though they do play a part in the story regardless).
  • I’m hoping to include a fair bit of customisation for both the MC (gender, appearance, personality, etc.) and the Moonhouse (in that you can personalise the aesthetic of your bar, though I imagine it’ll mostly be for flavour text reasons).

I… think that’s most of what I want to put out there, for now. Not really sure if I’m giving too much or too little away, but regardless: is this an idea any of you would be interested in seeing/reading/playing? Additionally, if you have any questions about this or any comments to share, or maybe even suggestions of any kind, feel free to let me know!

52 Likes
2774

I’m worried already, don’t be numerous, I would suggest put a limit to that, I’m afraid that the plot or plots might would not have enough room to develop and that things might be rushed.
But you do you, I’ve already hooked with the idea, I believe you could manage that.

2 Likes
2775

I love this idea! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: I think the episodic structure you suggest would work very well, dealing with the patrons on a case-by-case basis and discovering new bits of information as time goes on.

Also, I’m ridiculously excited about being able to customise what the bar looks like. :laughing:

5 Likes
2776

This is an interesting concept and it reminds me of an anime called Death Parade. I can’t wait to read it!:+1:

5 Likes
2777

Thank you all for your feedback so far!

Oh, I definitely intend for there to be a limit! Maybe ‘numerous’ was the wrong word — right now there are about a handful of them planned, and each one is tied to the progression of the main story/meant to be thematically relevant to the arc in which they appear. Hopefully that clears it up a bit? I’m really happy to hear you’re interested in this idea!

Thank you so much, I’m really glad to hear it! I don’t know yet how in-depth I can make the bar customisation, but it’s an element I’m really excited to play with. For now, my notes include variables like drink specialties, layout, lighting, and decor. Grungy dive bar with exposed brick and industrial furniture? Sure. High-end cocktail lounge with glass walls and a grand piano? Why not. …May the coding gods be kind.

Oh, I’ve heard of that, actually! Never got around to actually watching it so I’m not sure how much will be similar in practice, but from a quick perusal on Wikipedia, I can already see what you mean :laughing: Thanks a ton for your interest!

8 Likes
2778

This definitely looks interesting, you should go for it :+1:

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2779

Hey guys! I’m completely new to writing, but recently I got really into writing backgrounds for my different protagonists for other CoG/HG novels. Doing that, sparked a desire to write in me, which I honestly hadn’t experienced prior to this. I’m playing with the idea of a modern fantasy, set in the wonderful city of sins. This is just a quick thing I did for it, to try and see if it’s something people here are interested in. It’s not super detailed yet, since prior to writing this I was only playing around with the idea in my head. [TW for alcoholism]

Songs of Sin

Living with your now estranged mother in the city of sin, wasn’t always so bad. There was a time, albeit long gone, that you think back on fondly. Back before your dad died that is. Memories of spending time as a family, having fun with mundane activities like going to the aquarium, or a theme park together every now and then. But that was back when she wasn’t dependent on drinking at least one bottle of vodka, just to get her through the day, so she could collapse on the couch and start all over again the next morning. Needless to say, you weren’t surprised when you got a call from from the local sheriff’s office, informing you of your mother’s death. She’d finally managed to drink herself to death, and as usual she’d left you to clean up her mess. If nothing else, you suppose you could at least thank her for kicking the bucket doing your break from college, so you wouldn’t have to take classes off to go and take care of the final mess she’d thrown in your lap.

What was supposed to be a simple trip back to Vegas to close your mother’s affairs, suddenly turned a lot more intense after a run-in with a group of unnaturally attractive people in a shady bar. Will you get through this unexpected return to home unscathed, or will you be consumed by the sins of Vegas? Either way, anything that happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas right?

-Play as male, female and non-binary (options for trans characters will be present)
-Be straight, gay, bi, pan, asexual or aromantic. (On the fence about a poly route as well, but I’ll see if it fits in down the road)
-Romance your roommate from NYC, or a cast of different supernatural creatures, including a vampire, a werewolf, a incubus/succubus and more!

31 Likes
2780

It’s a neat idea! I always like modern fantasy, but as you said, it’s not very detailed yet

Just a few questions that immediately came to my mind that might help you flesh it out a bit if you didn’t already:

Where do you want to go with the story?

Why does MC end up in a shady bar?

What do they get themself into when they were only going to wrap up their mother’s last affairs? What were those affairs?

Is the general public aware of supernatural creatures?

Also, it seems like MC doesn’t get along with their mother on default, or is that something the reader would be able to choose?

It seems like the kind of idea that can easily blow up, so be careful about that, especially because you’re a first-time writer ^^ (speaking from experience here :sweat_smile:)

But I think you can do a lot with this idea and I’m curious to see what you will come up with :smiley:

5 Likes
2781

Thanks for the prompts! I did have most of this figured out in terms of ideas in my head, mainly because I hadn’t started putting it on paper yet so to speak.

I want to take the story down a mystery/thriller route, with obvious romance elements. I wouldn’t say that the romance is the main focus, because it isn’t, but it’s certainly still a big part of the story that the player can interact with along the way.

Why the MC ends up in the shady bar, is kinda entwined with the question of what the mothers affairs are. You primarily go there to sign the death certificate, and to look through your childhood home to see if there’s anything you want to bring back home to New York. While rummaging through your mother’s things, you find a box stored away in her closet which contains documents regarding your father’s death. You were only told by your mom as a kid, that it was a mugging gone wrong, which to you as a kid was all you really needed to know to believe it. But as the world would have it, the documents that you mom never shared with you tells a very different story than the one she told you. He was found in an alley, but unlike what you’d expect from a mugging he wasn’t shot or stabbed. His throat was ripped out, which the investigators just “wrote off” (wink wink) as being an animal that got hungry after the body was dumped. Along with the files, there was a clear plastic bag containing the items he had on him when he was found. There’s the expected stuff like keys and a broken phone, but what stands out to you is the bloodied business card of what seems to be a bar? Deciding to look into the lead in your father’s death, is what takes you to the bar. All of this happens early on, so I’m not scared of talking about it :joy:

The relationship with your mother will be estranged regardless, but the player will be able to determine whether you felt pity for your mother, or if you hated her for how your childhood turned out after your dad died. I’ll give multiple choices, so people can pick themselves to which degree in coldness their emotions about their mother goes.

And thanks! I’ll take your word for it, since I am one of the people who follows your WiP :joy:

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2782

And I forgot to answer one thing. The public doesn’t know about the supernatural at large.

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2783

The more you talk about this the more I want to read it :joy:

:two_hearts:Well, then I guess we’ll see each other around in the wip section :wink:

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2784

Hi! I’ve been working on a story I’ve had in mind for while. However, my dumb*ss finally realized that I probably should check to see if anyone would actually want to read it before I got too invested.

The Hauntings of Philemon’s Creek.

After your parents die, completely out of the blue, you come to the scary realization that you don’t last forever. So what do you do? You drop everything to come to stay with your estranged aunts, Georgia and Beavis, and work at the families’ diner for the summer. Get ready for a summer of healing, reconciliation, and fun in a quaint little town!

Except… that doesn’t exactly go to plan. First you notice that there’s something not so normal about this place. Some people you meet act strangely, never leave a specific area, never seem to grow old or change appearences, and can vanish once you look away, including one of your own relatives. Could this be apart of the reason why your parents cut off contact so many years ago?

Then something else weird ends up happening. After your arrival, it seems that deaths have increased as some start winding up dead in the woods. Yet only those from one of the 6 big houses that have lived here since the creation of this settlement almost 220 years ago. Well, it’s been almost all 6 of the families, except for yours.

So team up with the rest of the families and stop whatever is plaguing your town. Before someone becomes another haunter of the creek.

  • Play as male, female, or non-binary(with own pronouns)
  • Romance any of the six interests, plus a secret seventh one.
  • Learn more about your ansectors and how they came to the great country of Canada begins aggressively blaring anthem
  • Choose whether or not you want to enthralled in remembering those before you or be a trail-blazer.
  • Learn to how to accept your parents’ death and move on
26 Likes
2785

Well say no more, I always wanted to work in a mysterious bar built into the top floor of an old lighthouse.

Me too!!

On a serious note, this might be one of best HG ideas I’ve ever seen. Color me intrigued :grin:

3 Likes
2786

The more you talk about this, the more interested I get

1 Like
2787

Finally a game not set in the USA! Nicely done!

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2789

Idk I liked it. It’s an old french name.

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2790

Yes to everything on here. I don’t know of many horror CoGs/HGs (with The Fog Knows Your Name being the only notable one that springs to mind) and I really want to see how this is going to go. One thing I’m a little iffy on is the “accept our parents’ deaths and move on” part.

I really don’t want this to be something like The Grim and I (even though I loved that game) and would rather we just focus on the horror for the most part. I mean, some scenes about the parents’ deaths are fine, since it would definitetly impact the MC, I’m just hoping it’s not the focus of the story. I’m also really hoping that it doesn’t follow that horror trope of “once you’ve accepted their deaths, everything will be fine and the killings/hauntings will stop, and life is normal again”.

3 Likes
2791

Howdy folks! After struggling with my own lack of discipline and focus for long enough and with life problems finally resolved, i mustered enough courage to post here.

I’m fairly new to writing, my only experience comes from being a DM for some years now, creating characters, base plots, notes, etc, but never a full fledged book or anything. (Although one campaign i DM’ed would make for a pretty crazy game. I might develop it later, who knows.) So, i decided to share some of the ideas i have right now with you and see what and if people are interested.

Quick Note: English is not my first language, and although i am very proud of my skills, errors are bound to happen and be corrected.

Terra-2

From a dream it came, when he was only a child, of a place far beyond the seas where humankind would prevail, with pillars reaching the hearth of the earth and a shield scraping the sky, protected from anything nature could throw. The domed-cities rose on the sea, and humanity last sanctuary they became.

Little is known about how it happened, but one day on a calendar long forgotten, missiles torn the skies, casting one last plague upon mankind. The world outside the domes ended, and it took the ones inside two days to realize it. Years and generations have passed, and humanity, somehow, thrives on their isolation. With new technologies, implants, a new platform being built for a new dome, life is looking good. Well, at least for the ones living on Alpha City.

You live on Gamma City. Once fully led by the mafia, the city is torn apart in districts due to a long period of internal conflicts for power after the assassination of the family boss.

The west is the Mansoldo Family territory, controlling the access to the bridge that connects Gamma to Alpha. The East is led be the Winged Hussars, the closest thing we have to law and police, protecting the sea miners and fishermen. The north is the entertainment district and the neutral grounds, you want some good food? Maybe gamble a little? Have some good sex? That’s the place to go, but entertainment ain’t cheap. And then, there’s the South District, or at least, what remains of it. Mutilated by the last internal war, what remains are the metal structures of destroyed buildings and empty houses.

This is where you live, on the ruins of the orphanage that was your home after your parents death during the first conflict. Alongside the other orphans that you grew up with and your younger sister, you scrap here and there to make a living, hoping for the day that you will hit big and get a better life for your sister. Well, apparently, that day came. Rumors of the Mansoldo Family stealing diamonds from the miners begun to spread around, and tension is rising again. Armed with your family old revolver and six bullets, the time to make a move is now.

Some features planned so far without spoiling much:

  • Dealing with the factions in a diverse manner of ways.

  • Helping and dealing with the South District community.

  • A couple of heists sections.

Genres: Cyberpunk(ish), Drama, Adventure. (Maybe more genres apply here, i have a hard time defining those)

Romance: Between 2 and 5, not sure yet, but not gender-locked.

The Cursed, The Demons and a Skinless Hooker (Temporary Title)

Warning: Possible trigger for the more sensitive and/or people with traumas.

Most people are blessed with ignorance, unaware of the true colors of the world. Unfortunately, you are not one of them. Descending from a bloodline of killers cursed with the ability to see beyond the veil, your ancestors fought those who sought forbidden knowledge and the horrors they awakened. Your ancestors succeeded, and thanks to their success, the world doesn’t even know they existed, and things must stay that way. Even though times of peace came, the teachings were still passed from generation to generation for they knew that those things would return someday. They were right, and that day arrived when nobody was ready.

On a normal day, as you were returning from work, a fresh young adult, you felt something strange, something inside you rushing you to return home, but on that day, the journey seemed to be longer than normal.

You arrived to see your house in flames, and the echoes of your family screaming in pain still haunts you to this day. As you stood, motionless, staring at the fire, you saw shadows appearing around you, and you first met the horrors you had only read about. Crawling in your direction with toothless smiles and crooked limbs, the skinless demons with protruding bones laughed around you at your despair, feeding on your pain.

The pain turned into anger, and in a surge of rage, you killed all of them with your own hands, just as the police arrived. You saw the demons and cleansed the earth from them, but the police just saw you murder a bunch of normal people with a maniacal face, for they are blessed with ignorance.

You got arrested, and after a couple of years in jail fighting the demons that followed you there, on a day that you would be transferred, a struck of luck reached you, and the bus that was carrying you got hit by a truck and you, miraculously, escaped unharmed.

Now free, you travel through the countryside, trying to find your uncle, your last family alive. But, as luck comes, it goes, and out of nowhere, your motorcycle broke right at the edge of this small country town you never heard of. You were trained for your whole life, but nothing could prepare you for what you are about to face.

Some features planned so far without spoiling much:

  • Investigation segments.

  • Managing your own sanity.

  • Some cool fights and shootouts.

  • Possibly a exorcism segment if people are okay with it.

  • Cigars and whiskey without ice.

Genres: Neo-Western, Horror, Thriller.

Romance: 2 characters so far, still thinking and creating others. Also not gender-locked.

Slice of Life/Sports/Teaching/Management Game (Title REALLY Pending)

I don’t have a good summary for this one yet, i am still doing my research and learning how it would work, considering the cultural differences between my country and most of the others (I’m Brazilian btw).

It would be about your life as a fresh formed trainer/teacher on your first job on a school, training and managing one of the clubs. Probably i would leave for the players to choose which one, although not with a lot of options, otherwise, i would have to sacrifice on the plot side. My ideal number for options would be 2 or 4, i believe i would be able to manage this amount and still be able to create a good/enjoyable plot.

And that’s where I’m blocked at the moment, because in my country, the most common things would be a Soccer Club and/or a Jiu-Jitsu one, maybe a chess club if you studied in a really good school, and I’m not heavy on the research yet because i don’t know if people would be interested on this idea.

The management part would be there always, but wouldn’t be the heavy focus of the game, because i don’t really like games that rely too heavily on stats. The main focus would be you living your adult life, with it’s own troubles and joys, and your relationship with your co-workers, the school, the students, helping them with their problems and maybe on their personal lives. I know that finding the perfect balance will be rather difficult, specially for a new writer, but i really liked the idea and am up to the challenge.

So far i have though about maybe a Chess club and a Swimming Club. I think that a balance between sports clubs and more Social/Cultural clubs would be nice, so one of each or two of each, maybe a Drama club, a soccer one, i don’t know, i am open for suggestions. If you choose this idea i will probably open a pool for you to vote for the clubs when time comes for a WIP post.

Genre: Management, Sports, Slice Of Life.

Romance: Not sure how many yet.

Quick Note: I didn’t put it individually on every single one because this applies to all of them, you will be able to choose your gender on all of them, and the option to not romance anyone will be there as well as no gender-locked romance.

I felt a little reluctant about posting the second idea because i saw that Tiranka is working on a similar thing and i didn’t want to interfere with their project, but i think that the goals we have for our games are different enough so that they wouldn’t compete and it would be better to leave it up to you to decide.

If you have any questions, suggestions, tips, critics, opinions, please, share them with me!

I will leave a pool below so you may vote on your favorite idea, if any of my ideas interested you, and help my chaotic mind focus on something.

Independent on what you choose, my main goal is to have it mostly done this year still, maybe even finish it if a streak of inspiration and creativity reaches me, with the possible exception for the Slice of Life one since it would be the bigger one. (Unless life decides to be a B* again, i have plenty of free time). And who knows, probably I will end developing all of them as time comes, but right now it would be better if i focused on one.

Thank you for reading so far and for putting faith on my ideas if you liked them. And if you didn’t, hey, maybe you will like one of my future ones! :purple_heart:

  • Terra-2
  • The Cursed, The Demons And A Skinless Hooker
  • Slice of Life/Managing Game (Title Pending)

0 voters

6 Likes
2792

Hello, fellow tupinikin :raised_back_of_hand:t3:

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2793

Hello all,

Long time CoG player, and like many I have decided to finally bite the bullet and have a go at writing a game of my own. I have the first draft of my first chapter done (after a bit of time trying to get my head around ChoiceScript), but thought I should probably check in here before I continue.

The story I am working on is a light hearted/comedic story set in 1920s England, and sees your character attempting to save a failing Polo team.

The will be numerous ways to achieve this:

  • Honing your skills to become a great polo player and carrying the team to victory yourself
  • Managing the team to victory through clever tactics
  • Find new and better players and ponies for your team
  • Resort to underhanded methods to sabotage your opponents
  • Any mixture of the above

The story will take the player from the Polo field to other highlights of British high society; balls, dinner parties and more. And of course, romance will be possible along the way.

Is there anyone who would be interested in this type of game?

Also, when do people generally put up WIP threads? I was thinking of waiting until I had four chapters complete (as Ch4 will feature the first actual polo match of the story), but is this too little or too much to start with?

Would be most grateful for any feedback!

16 Likes