Evil can never truly be defeated. Life is simply a cycle that either reduces it’s power or increases it’s influence. We get to choose how much good we bring to the world or how much evil we contribute.
War has buried its teeth into the Crescent Continent, dividing countries and families alike. The Order wishes to forge a new world from the ashes of the old, serving a dark entity known only as Blight. Fighting against them is the Allied Ministry, who serve Bright, a being of light. As factions of mages, engineers, and soldiers split to these sides, a bloody conflict drags on.
In book one of THE EPSILON VANGUARD you play a new type of soldier forged through a blend of technology, biology, and magic. Guide them through the frontlines of a world divided into a large-scale war. Choose how your Vanguard develops. Will it learn the intricacies of emotions and become more human, or lean into its machine origins and become a ruthless weapon of destruction? How will you contribute to the world as it descends into chaos?
Currently about 25% finished with 66k words and 4 chapters. The plot is outlined and planned, all that’s left is to write/code it, which I am making steady progress with! In this first demo, you’ll create your character, bond with your team, and get a feel for the world. It should give a solid idea for how the story/choices will go as well as hint at some eventual conflicts to come.
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Highlights
• Play as male, female, or non-binary; straight, gay, or bisexual
• Choose the genders of your squad mates and love interests
• Fight in a war that contains elements of medieval and trench fantasy warfare
• Pick a combat role that changes what responsibilities you’ll have in situations
• Watch your personality develop through a range of personality traits
• Approach problems from a variety of angles using athletics, technology, influence, biology, and strategy
• Discover the secrets of your origin
• Develop creative hobbies like baking, gardening, drawing, writing, and music
• Assist your squad in surviving a war torn fantasy landscape, treasuring the moments of calm that come in the midst of thrilling excitement
Meet the ROs (Minor Spoilers)
With each RO route, there are several approaches the MC can take depending on their personality to determine what type of dynamic the relationship will have.
Kyouji/Kyoko Ryu
aka “Cap”
Role: Sergeant
Description: Tall and lithe. Medium-length black hair tied half-up to keep out of warm brown eyes. Professional and treats everyone with respect. Expects a lot from their team but even more from themself. Sharp facial features softened with a smile that doesn’t show its true self often. When it does, it’s quickly dashed away.
What to expect in their route: A love grounded in respect. Reconnect with emotions long buried and thought dead. Work through survivors guilt and the heavy burden that comes with leading a team. Lots of deep discussions.
August/Alexandra Williams
aka “Flex”
Role: Lance Corporal, Gunner
Description: Towering, imposing figure. Arms littered with tattoos and scars. Buzzed red hair and bold facial features. Dark blue eyes. Despite their gruff looks, they’re the first one to smile and has a gravitational pull that brings people together.
What to expect in their route: Light-hearted at first, but with a depth that takes them by surprise. Flex is used to only being seen as the muscle. Hiding their fear behind jokes and bravado. They hold their love close and seek to find the beauty and hope in a dark world.
Finley/Felicity Thorne
aka “Fizz”
Role: Private First Class, Engineer
Description: Honey blonde hair disheveled and pushed out of their face with a pair of welding goggles. Medium build. Dimpled cheeks and hazel eyes. Tells stories with their entire body using sporadic and animated gestures.
What to expect in their route: A fun and teasing romance with emotional depth and past trauma hidden behind humor. They act like everything is a game so they don’t have to be so crushed when things inevitably fall apart. Enjoys seeing the world from a different angle.
Theo/Theresa Morraine
aka “Page”
Role: Private First Class, Cartographer
Description: Coiled brown hair braided with bits of gold jewelry. Bright amber eyes and thick lashes. Freckles dot along their face and arms. A shy smile usually hidden behind a book. Faintly glowing tattoo on the back of their neck.
What to expect in their route: Soft and sweet. A quiet but emotionally present romance. Themes of memory and the value of still moments. Is slow to acknowledge love because to them, love is always better in the stories.
Evander/Evangeline Courtier
aka “Tick”
Role: Specialist, Blood Mage
Description: Unnaturally white hair chopped into various layers that sit just past their shoulders. Lean build. Piercing grey eyes that seem to be in a permanent narrowed glare. They look as if the color was drained out of them.
What to expect in their route: A whole lotta angst. Theme of being valued for more than what you can give. Being seen as a human even with the world insists they’re not. They are used to being discarded once their flaws come to light. From the beginning, they harbor a deep hatred for the MC. But once that hatred is cast aside, they’ll burn the world for their loved one.
About me
Howdy 
I’m Shannon (aka MissMountaintop)! Currently, working as a flight attendant, but I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I’ve finished 2 novels and plan on publishing them (along with various other projects). In college I pursued things like film, photography, journalism, creative writing, game design, really anything that had to do with storytelling. I’ve always had a love/interest in video games and have found that interactive fiction is a wonderful mix of both.
THE WAYHAVEN CHRONICLES and THE GOLDEN ROSE are two of my favorite IFs. I used these when learning how to code with choicescript!
Other media that has inspired my love for storytelling through games include MASS EFFECT, BALDUR’S GATE, THE WALKING DEAD, LIFE IS STRANGE, SKYRIM, FABLE, LAST TRAIN HOME, DRAGON AGE: INQUISITION. Okay I could keep going but you get the idea. Games with character customization, team relations, and impactful choices.
My brother and I built the world of Blight/Bright for use in his D&D campaigns, and I’ve created The Epsilon Vanguard as an interactive fiction within this world.
Content Warnings
Well it takes place in a war so…all the usual war content. Blood, death, violence, language.
The romance featured in this demo is tame, but I do plan on having some fade to black steamy scenes later on in the story.
Next Steps
I plan to release updates when story milestones are reached! They will roughly follow 3 majors “acts” of the storyline. Depending on what sort of feedback I get from sharing it here will determine how much editing will need to be done after each update. I have 3 books planned that will follow your Vanguard and whatever path you take them down, whether it be that of a hero or a villain. There will be bigger story branching in the 2nd/3rd book.
Alright enough yappin, here’s the DEMO: CoGDemos
AI Disclosure:
No — This project does not contain the output of Generative AI
Yes — This project contains the output of Generative AI
I figure I’ll leave that blank but give word counts with each update here!
their snarky responses are really fun to write lol
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