For Patreon subscribers at £6+, I’ve put up Chapters 1 and 2 this evening!
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The Earth Has Teeth Progress Report: March #1
This fortnight I sort-of finished drafting Chapter 3, and outlined and coded Chapter 4. Playing through is now roughly as long as playing the whole of Noblesse Oblige.
About that sort-of-finished drafting Chapter 3: I had to cut 7000 words of writing today which I don’t feel brilliant about. I’ll move a lot of it to a couple of chapters later… but still, it’s easy to get stuck on numbers going up and seeing that as the most valuable metric of progress, and I need to write something to replace it. I’ve made a start on that and it’s already feeling more natural, so I think my instincts are right for this.
Hopefully I’ll be feeling more cheerful about how things are progressing next time I do one of these. Looking at the numbers themselves, I have done a lot - it’s just hard to focus on that when a lot has needed to be removed, and I’d always prefer to be driving forward.
(Which it still is, I know, just in a different way.)
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I do have a favour to ask - if you’ve enjoyed any of my games, and especially if you’ve played them on Steam, please leave a rating or review!
Honor Bound didn’t pick up as many Steam reviews during its early release as some of my other games, and people posted a few transphobic ones that obviously take up space; now that it’s hard to see Android reviews from other regions, Steam reviews are a major way in which players decide whether to pick up a ChoiceScript release.
So if you have a minute and would like to show Honor Bound in particular some more affection on Steam or on whatever platform you bought it on - it’ll be a huge help, and the more sales I make, the more likely it is that I can keep making these games.
Thank you for reading and I hope you all have a lovely weekend!
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Here’s a rundown of one of the befriendable/romanceable/backstabbable major characters, Nikita Leu!
Full name: Nikita Leu
Age: 25
Gender: selectable between cis man (he/him), cis woman (she/her), and transfem (they/them)
Background: Nikita is a courier like you, fetching and carrying items, messages, and sometimes people from settlement to settlement. They’re a survivalist, having a great deal of experience handling life on the plains even in emergencies, and are fiercely independent. Nikita doesn’t talk much about themself or their past: hard to tell whether that’s because they have a withdrawn personality (which they do) or because there’s something they don’t want to say.
Personality: watchful, quiet, terse, toughened
Appearance: mid-height and rangy, but holds themself tensely so they often look a little hunched. They have olive skin and wide green eyes.
Style: Male Nikita shaves his head and has a scruffy beard; a non-male Nikita wears their hair longer, with a ponytail. Nikita’s clothes are practical and durable. They wear thick linen shirts, woolen trousers, sturdy boots, and a charcoal-coloured woolen coat with fleece lining. In colder weather they wear a cloak, but mostly they use it as a blanket.
At their best: generous, prepared, attentive
At their worst: brusque, withdrawn, despairing
You’ll like Nikita if you like… a withdrawn, melancholy person who’s nevertheless very competent in a pinch, who will give their all to those in need while being intensely ruthless in certain situations, who takes a while to warm up but will be an attack dog if necessary
You’ll like romancing Nikita if you like… teasing someone and flustering them or slowly building a serious connection, opening up vulnerabilities, trauma-bonding, hot-and-cold emotional rollercoasters
A song from Nikita’s playlist: Break Me Gently by Doves
Face cast ideas: (bear in mind that this isn’t the be-all-and-end-all - feel free to imagine as you like) Luke Pasqualino, Benedetta Porcaroli, Paola Buratto
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Damn, now I’m torn between Armell and Nitika for who I’m going to romance. Guess I’ll have to wait until I encounter them both in game to decide. Either way I look forward to unravelling Nitika’s past - this type of character always has more going on than meets the eye, right?
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Hee, it’s true that there’s a bunch of stuff going on with Nikita! I’m really glad you like the sound of them and Armell 
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It’s clear just from these intros that you have a very strong grasp of character - I was always intrigued by your previous works for that reason but was put off since they’re not in a genre I enjoy. So I’m thrilled to see a story of yours that I actually want to sink my teeth into!
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@Haflaen I greatly appreciate that, and hope that you have fun with this one once it’s up! (just under 2 weeks now!)
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Here’s a rundown of one of the befriendable/romanceable/major characters, Commander Roschin!
Full name: Serhii/Sara/Saba Roschin
Age: 39
Gender: selectable between cis man (he/him), cis woman (she/her), and transmasc (they/them)
Background: Roschin has lived in Rizhala all their life, apprenticing to the town guard in the footsteps of their now-older parents. Working their way up the ranks, they gained the attention of Warden Chura and impressed them enough to become one of the commanders of the guard. Nowadays they travel a lot, helping with local problems and recruiting people to join them in Rizhala.
Personality: outgoing, loyal, jovial, resilient
Appearance: mid-height, striking, and muscular, with smile-lines around their eyes and mouth. Loose and limber. Deep brown skin, curly black hair, and brown eyes.
Style: Male and female Roschin wear their hair long; transmasc Roschin wears it shorter and cropped. Transmasc and male Roschin have heavy beards. Their clothing is practical and attractive, with good quality linen shirts dyed with strong bright colours, a padded leather jerkin studded with metal reinforcement, and reinforced waxed-canvas trousers. Their cloak is lined with fur, and its clasp is embossed with the Rizhala town guard insignia.
At their best: warm, inspiring, courageous
At their worst: needling, careless, stubborn
You’ll like Roschin if you like… someone who’ll look out for you, who doesn’t take themself seriously while taking their job and missions very seriously, who’s settled in their role in life (for the moment), who’s a good leader
You’ll like romancing Roschin if you like… someone flirtatious, who will have your back and provide protection, who will boss you around if you’re into it, who may become staunchly loyal to you, with whom you can move fast if you want, who will always make it clear how they feel about you
A song from Roschin’s playlist: Make Me Feel by Janelle Monae (fun fact, there are two songs that literally lay out what Roschin’s about, but they’re so exact that I think they’d constitute spoilers… so here’s a sexy one instead!)
Face cast ideas: (bear in mind that this isn’t the be-all-and-end-all - feel free to imagine as you like) Uli Latufeku, Simone Kessell, Alex Tarrant
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Sometimes you’re in the middle of a low-energy week and coming back to writing feels like pulling teeth… and then at the end of the workday you realise you’re halfway through your chapter and it’s maybe not been as much of a disaster day as it felt at the time. I’m more than halfway done on this section! And I’ll be posting more about the fortnight’s progress tomorrow.
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The Earth Has Teeth Progress Report: March #2
This has not been a very forward-moving fortnight thanks to a number of things which culminated in a seized-up shoulder today - so I will be brief as I can’t be at the computer too long. Sadly yesterday’s excellent progress didn’t carry forward to today.
I sorted out the revisions for Chapter 1, 2, and 3 that I mentioned from last fortnight, and I’m now halfway through writing Chapter 4.
I was keen to share how good Wanderstop and the Pathologic 3 demo are and how much I’ve fallen in love with both of them, but alas, my shoulder’s not allowing it at the moment. I hope you have a good weekend - and that if you’re dealing with illness or pain that it eases!
I’m going to try to rest up over the next couple of days and hopefully will be back in action on Monday.
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I find this particular turn of phrase very funny given the title of the game.
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Teeth! Teeth everywhere!
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The earth has teeth … and you’re the dentist.
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That’ll be the tagline for the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie!
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Here’s a rundown of one of the befriendable/romanceable/backstabbable major characters, Val Chernenko!
I think ingame they’ll be known with their full name - Valeria/Valerio but I’ll refer to them with the nickname for ease outside of the game. I’ll see how it feels once I’m writing them!
Full name: Valerio/Valeria Chernenko
Age: 26
Gender: selectable between trans man (he/him), trans woman (she/her), and nonbinary transfem (they/them)
Background: Val lived in Rizhala with their elderly grandmother who was a cunning witch. Under her tutelage they learned magic but little discretion; after their grandmother died in their early twenties, they became increasingly reckless, selling illegal remedies and charms within the town’s bounds. After one too many run-ins with Rizhala law, they thought it prudent to leave, and now live a transient life.
Personality: cynical, artful, shrewd, adventurous
Appearance: short and slender, with pale skin, straight black hair, and bright brown eyes.
Style: Val wears their hair long, usually partially tied back. Male Val has a moustache and beard. Val usually wears thick linen trousers, brightly-coloured shirts, and a deep orange-coloured leather coat, some of it embossed with decorative floral patterns. This coat is clearly expensive and well-kept, containing lots of pockets, and is reversible. Their cloak clasp is decorated with glass gems and they have a number of hairpieces, rings, and necklaces.
At their best: bright, self-reliant, smooth
At their worst: bitter, reckless, self-indulgent
You’ll like Val if you like… someone fun-loving, who will see through those who try to mess you around, who might learn to trust in time, who enjoys the finer things in life, who can persuade others to your side
You’ll like romancing Val if you like… someone who’ll flatter you, who will be a partner in crime (or who could perhaps be persuaded to a less criminal way of life), who will give you space when you need it, who will be canny about what you need
A song from Val’s playlist: Big Exit by PJ Harvey
Face cast ideas: (bear in mind that this isn’t the be-all-and-end-all - feel free to imagine as you like) Ayanga, Gana Bayarsaikhan, Wang Likun
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And that’s the first draft of Chapter 4 DONE with one day to spare until the end of the month. Whew. For a number of reasons, including various life distractions, a different tone, needing to go revise earlier chapters while drafting, and taking some time to realise that some scenes needed to be removed altogether, this has been the hardest chapter so far. Hopefully the next one will be smoother!
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Chapters 1 and 2 are now playable for everyone on cogdemos and itch!
Lose everything. Piece it back together, if you can.
Welcome to the steppes of Amikya. Good luck surviving the storms.
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Try listening to this song from my writing playlist while you play: You Aren’t Welcome Here by Mushroomer
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I’d love to hear whether you liked the chapters or didn’t, and why, how the setting feels, and just in general how the game feels to play! I pay a lot of attention to player feedback and always take it into consideration (and often make changes in response).
Please post any comments that you have here, or you can send anonymous feedback through this form too.
To everyone who’s been interested in the game, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy playing this WIP demo!
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Well, I was looking forward to this demo, and I wasn’t disappointed! Here are a few initial thoughts:
-The atmosphere is very well-crafted. I love the sense of how ancient the monastery is and how vast and imposing Vastan is.
-I enjoyed the various wilderness challenges in Chapter 2, and the subtle supernatural edge to them. Always fun to see characters battling the elements.
-I felt that Vastan’s chamber could have done with a bit more description. Initially I was imagining a simple cavern, but apparently it’s full of lush foliage? Sort of an underground grove, then?
-Likewise, I wasn’t aware that the corpses of the attackers were strewn about until I had the option to search them. Maybe they could have been mentioned earlier?
-I felt like the transition between the two chapters was a bit sudden, going straight from “you’re all alone now” to “you’ve been travelling for a bit and gained a couple of companions”. Maybe our first encounter with Issi and Nikita could have been playable?
-I get that Nikita is a very withdrawn character, but I still feel like she (or they, rather; I chose a female Nikita) could have shown a bit more personality. Especially with the early option to initiate a romance; that felt a bit odd since we know virtually nothing about the character at this point. I did like that she was willing to put aside practicality to honour the dead guardian, but maybe there could have been a couple more hints at something below the surface, or even just some more distinctive mannerisms - interesting habits while she’s checking her gear, that sort of thing.
Looking forward to the next part of this story!
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But is it HERS? 
I could be calibrating my translator in No Man’s Sky, but I’m here instead!
Summary
Yesss, storyteller mode, yesssss.
“within”. Guess I’m calibrating my translator either way. On a less absolute note, I don’t think you should use “the left one” in the second paragraph instead of “the left tiger” - I know it technically follows (sort of - you have “others” and “you” in the last sentence of P1), but it’s a completely different paragraph, so it’s sorta “eeehhhhh” for me.
I dunno if the math is working like you want it to, but my first two skill choices (++ and +) were Recall and the third (+++) was Discover. Since they’re the same number of pluses I expected them to have the same value, but they don’t. Also, rogue code in that “In Your Head” description.
“is”, what’s too much for it is the weight, not the cliffs.
So, if I pick this here:
I go here:
but “yes” isn’t an appropriate answer to the question. Drop the “how” from it, maybe?
A capital has gone rogue (and declared independence?):
Instructions unclear: this option doesn’t actually say you’re warning her regarding the crumbling mud.
Because you don’t. But actually you do because she knows exactly what you’re talking about somehow?
Also, if I just told her to not rely on other people noticing problems, this option makes zero sense:
This is why storyteller mode is important. There was ZERO CHANCE I’d look at an option that says “we should be prepared” and think it’d raise Pragmatic and not, y’know, Planner, the stat of being prepared.
I… isn’t the sky ALSO blue ahead?
Rogue code remains in very high description:
Alright, so the river crossing test apparently takes 50%+ to pass, which is a whooping ++++ in a single stat? Seems a bit high this early in the game. Like, I wanted to branch out to a third stat with my last stat increase choice, but that’s apparently a no-no because if I do I can’t pass tests.
“fall” might be better capitalised, as merits a momentous event:
P.S.: Why do we smell salt back when choosing river or lake? Is either of them saltwater (I mean, I supposed it must)? The way it was presented it gave me the impression it referred to the river, but that seems, uh, unlikely. If the river leading to the lake is salty, then the lake is worse than the Dead Sea. It MIGHT have fish in it, but they’d come pre-pickled.
But she’s such a chatty cathy all the time. 
I don’t remember this. I remember her saying she DOESN’T dance (or whatever) with people she travels with. Am I misremembering?
I’m now geographically confused. I thought we were following the river current. But if the marshes stretch all the way to the mountains (presumably different mountains) and there’s no mention of a sea, were we going AGAINST the current? Does the river flow mountains->marsh->lake? Does it end there or does it go to a sea? Where is the salt coming from?
Must confess I’m not a huge fan of tying stats to personality traits.
MC here just ready to unalive their entire group for good weed.
Is this a passed test? Because I’d put no points in any of the possible skills for it so I was convinced I was going to fail, but I’m currently NOT being mauled by a bear, which sounds good to me. I’m very fond of not being bear-mauled.
What? No! We are doing neither of these. Bear! What the fuck?
Actually, not doing anything is a whooping EIGHT-POINT hit to Nikita relationship, so I guess we’re doing something after all? How is this woman a professional nature-wanderer? There’s a FUCKING PERSON-EATING BEAR around!
I think previous instances were capitalised?
You just had an argument about wasting too much time, how are YOU a professional nature-wanderer?
Missing a word here, I think.
Thingie:
And that’s the end for now, boooo 
I can’t ask “next chapter when” because that’s against forum rules, so I won’t. UNDER PROTEST!
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Yay! I can’t (but will probably have to) wait!
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