Hello everyone! I’m making a new interactive fiction, Love in a Time of Earthquakes for Heart’s Choice! After Moonrise, I’m going in a new direction of solarpunk near-future dystopia with magic and kisses and all sorts of odd. I wanted to make a post to a) let y’all know and b) keep me accountable.
The Pitch (so far)
In a world where magic is money and money is power, you have never wanted for anything. Fresh out of mage academy, your only concern should be what to wear to the next high society event—until a mysterious (and mysteriously attractive) thief steals a dangerous heirloom necklace, your family names you their Champion for the upcoming Tournament to control the city, and marriage proposals knock on the door. La Ciudad calls out to you, from its dingy alleyways to its crystal-decked ballrooms. Conduct a clandestine investigation: will you hack your way through the city, flash your cash, or magically bend reality to your whims? What will you believe in: the laws that guide society, or the radical politics of the dispossessed? Will you romance the helpmate your mother approves of, confess your love to the beautiful techno-mage who believes in order, fall for the rebel allure of the criminal, or be seduced by the enigma of the city’s guardian? If you win the Tournament—and that’s a big if—what future will you guide La Ciudad toward? Will you even survive La Ciudad—and will La Ciudad survive you?
Cool features
Play with he/him, she/her, or they/them pronouns.
Romance the cute jack-of-all-trades, the nervous techno-mage, the dazzling thief, or mysterious Guardian
Discover the dark secrets of La Ciudad’s history and the festering corruption of today
Fight for your family’s right to rule the People’s House
Favor the bloodflow of magic or the circuitry of the new age
Embark on 15 different dates, from museums and beaches to jewel heists and water treatment plants (yes, really).
Adventures in Not Disappointing Your Mother Or She Will Make Sad Faces At You aka get that necklace before someone burns to death purposefully on accident
Secret: has stolen the last cookie in the cookie jar
Fun fact: She’s so good with faces and names that she’s never had to refer to a book’s character list, even if said book was A Song of Ice and Fire or Kushiel’s Legacy
Thank you, @Konoi for the question! It inspired me to get on making some Picrews! There are four romance options: a man, a woman, a nonbinary person, and a gender selectable choice.
Many thanks for the Picrew artist! The Picrew is here, and the artist’s twitter is here.
Hey now, hey now, I appreciate the support, but no need to put down the other Heart’s Choice titles like that. They’re awesome games that I can only pray to hold a candle to. I beta-tested both Dawnfall and Never Date Werewolves, regular played A Player’s Heart and awarded them 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads (link, link, link) and the Interactive Fiction Database. I gave Jazz Age a whirl and the writing is meticulously fantastic, though the story not to my taste. D. Chaudron is one of my favorite interactive fiction authors ever, and I beta’d If It Please the Court and have it on my Steam Wishlist.
If you like the sound of The Witch’s Necklace, I’d suggest giving Dawnfall (portal sci-fi dystopia with wild outfits and cute aliens) and Never Date Werewolves (domestic werewolf parenting sim with surprising political depth) another go. Enjoy! Smooch! Destroy the hegemony!
This one made me so emotional and it was the most wonderful feeling having some sort of personal connection with the story.
I enjoyed Moonrise and I believe your writing is just as good as those, so don’t get too down on yourself, have faith that everything will come together. I’m sure more than just I have enjoyed your writing, and after you finish this one, I’m sure you’ll have even more who enjoy your writing.
It wasn’t my intention to put down other hearts choice games I do apologize
What makes them repetitive to me is that they mostly focus on easy romance that doesn’t really build up over time.
I’m sorry if I came off as rude and I’ll continue to support your wip.
Thank you for the apology and sorry I bit your head off a little. I’ve read too many “this game doesn’t conform to my very specific tastes and therefore it’s bad” posts lately.
@Lycanthromorphic Ahhh, you’re much too kind. Thank you! A Player’s Heart is just [chef’s kiss]. The fencing scene with Celeine was and Myrr is !!!
And thank you to @Canix ! There will be vampires and werewolves in this universe, but super low-key in the background…I will miss those nerds, but I’m also happy to give mages time to shine!
I didn’t intentionally borrow concepts from Mage: the Ascension (or the Awakened). I haven’t read any Mage books or played it. My interaction with that game line has been limited to encountering a mage during a VtM Chronicle and the few in VtM - Night Road. BUT the WN characters do fiddle with the fabric of reality, and I’ve been given to understand that’s kind of what the mages in World of Darkness do too. Another good comparison would be Wanda Maximoff from Marvel Comics.
I want to read an MtA sourcebook eventually to see if it would be a good comparative title. Comp titles are super useful for marketing and giving potential players a quick gist of the game. Got any recs? The latest one is like, an anniversary edition, right? I’ve seen fans asking when MtA, 5th edition is coming out.
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