Poll:
Hey guys, so I’m working full time as well as trying to balance social outings, health, grad school applications and life in general, which is to say, finding time to work on these games is pretty difficult. However, I’d love to go in depth discussions about the world/characters (with reservations about spoilers) on a tumblr page and/or discord. Ofc, I’d want to know if there would be interest in either of these channels, so lmk in the poll below!
Would you personally be interested in following an Invicto-themed…
- …a tumblr page?
- …a discord channel?
0 voters
Hello, my name is Whale. :3 I’m a huge fan of Interactive Fiction and the IF community, and I’m really excited to try to present the WIP that I’ve been writing for a while now.
Right now, I have about two chapters finished, with several distinct branches for each chapter. I will update as frequently as possible, though my schedule is a little irregular. Right now, the plan is updates at least every other week.
In terms of genre, I would say this story is a blend of dark fantasy and low fantasy.
Blurb:
Five years ago, your best friend became a missing person. You couldn’t save her, couldn’t stop her, and try as you may, you could never find her.
But tonight… tonight, they found you. Live through a story you were never meant to have a role in.
ABOUT GAME:
Synopsis:
Summary
You are a bright young adult who runs into a peculiar misfortune: your best friend turns out to be the lost heir to another realm. When she reclaims her past, you end up getting dragged along for the ride, and find yourself a stranger in a very strange land: the mysterious “Leivy”, an isolated city nestled in the undersea abyss, that survives purely on the beneficence of a serpent god known as the Leviasun.
Everyone who knows about the Leivy knows the Leviasun, and everyone who knows the Leviasun loves, praises, and worships the Leviasun. Everyone except, perhaps, you.
Features:
Summary
- Play as male, female, or nonbinary.
- Become acquainted with the people of the Leivy, and attempt to unfurl a past that is unknown even to its most esteemed citizens.
- Use your knowledge of the Leivy and freedom of choice to undermine it, defend it, or work with its enemies.
- Up to six RO options are available; all are playersexual.
- Choose a skillset and lifestyle in the modern world that will aid you in your dealings with the Leivyans.
- Explore your own hometown’s secrets and learn how they connect to the Leivy itself.
- Attempt to resist the allure of the Leviasun, or don’t resist at all; either choice opens up a new road of possibilities.
Characters
Summary
Player Character:
MC: Can be male, female, or non-binary. A foster child whose foster sister went missing and was presumed dead five years ago. Their life since then has been spent coping with grief and uncertainty, though their reaction to her reappearance is up to you to decide. Possessing no intrinsic ties to the new world they’re about to become acquainted with, their status as an outsider could be a blessing or a curse.
Specific ROs:
Caroline Alkaya/Crown Princess Afrodite Leviasun: A former “wildchild” and the MC’s best friend and foster sister (of about a year). When we meet her as a teenager, she’s a run-of-the-mill rebel and attention seeker, though as a young adult she’s revered as heir to a mysterious, fantastical monarchy.
Princess Helga Leviasun: The younger half-sister of Afrodite, and the former heir to the Leivyan throne before Afrodite’s arrival. Though she has been displaced from her heirship, Helga remains an unfailingly sweet and hardworking young woman, with a strong sense of filial piety and duty to her people.
Fidelis Mariamsun: Afrodite’s personal bodyguard who puts her safety and happiness before anyone else’s. He’s serious and stand-offish to many people, especially the MC. Unusually for someone in his society, he is blind in his right eye.
Anu Mariamsun: Fidelis’s twin brother and an aspiring scholar with a strong fascination in the cultures of the continental planes (aka, your realm). His impulsiveness and extroversion underlies his true level of intellect.
Shiloh Sofiasun: A personal advisor to the Monarch of the Leivy, Queen Ishtah Leviasun. Shiloh is exceedingly competent, polite, and gracious, but is disliked by many of the other protagonists
for reasons initially unknown to the MC. Their gender is determined by the player, but they can be male, female, or nonbinary.
All are playersexual.
Other Characters:
Reigning Monarch, Queen Ishtah Leviasun: The politically active grandmother of Helga and Afrodite, and the mother to a deceased son named Ahmunn. Ishtah has a strong prejudice against humans from the continental realm, which makes her less than thrilled about her granddaughter’s attachment to one.
Prince Neifion Leviasun: The late brother of Queen Ishtah. Not much is known about him, although the player first has the ability to experience the Leivy through Neifion’s perspective.
Mary Szasz: Mary was a young woman who was imprisoned in and later disappeared from the Yarnfaire Oceanside Center for Hysteriacs in approximately 1924. Her fate, lost to history, has been sensationalized since then by coming generations of Yarnfaire inhabitants. (Her surname is a shout-out of sorts to the psychiatrist/advocate Thomas Szasz, who spoke against the sort of coercive treatments that Mary and other YOCH patients experience in the story.)
Mila Gonzalez: A Sophomore who briefly dated Caroline and was there on the night of her disappearance.
Isabella: An enigmatic and exceedingly peculiar young woman who was almost definitely involved in the disappearance of Caroline Alkaya on October 31st, 2015.
The Boy: The first character the player speaks to, who seems intent on understanding what they want out of him. While he looks young, he is clearly far wiser and more powerful than he appears.
Trigger Warnings:
Summary
It has some adult themes, including allusions to emotional abuse and sexual abuse, violence, mental health problems, misogyny, and non-explicit sexual themes.
None of these themes are explicit and none of them will take up very much game time, but they exist in the backstories of certain characters.
Player’s Roles:
Authors thrive on feedback and commentary! Please let me know if you have any concerns with:
- The pacing of the story
- Confusing plot points or confusing lines and dialogue
- Any dissatisfaction with MC’s handling-- are they customizable enough, and do you feel like you are given the freedom to create a complex, interesting protagonist?
- Bugs-- inconsistencies, typos, or points where the game won’t run.
Every bit of commentary is super valuable to authors, so lmk if you have any questions, comments, or things to say!
DEMO LINK: Invicto (dashingdon.com)
Update 08/03/2021:
[details=“Summary”]
Due to a few recent circumstances, I have updated this WIP with the following changes:
- I’ve done some simple readjustments of grammar, spelling, and made the character customization section of the initial story a bit more clear. (For example, several players pointed out that it is not obvious that the player needs to put in their first and last names separately, and the option that selected MC’s gender didn’t read like a gender selection option to everyone.)
- I’ve also updated part of the third chapter-- Peccatum Originale-- with the intention of fully completing the chapter and updating with the complete version ASAP. Given the preferences expressed in the poll, I think I will stick to updating after every chapter is completed after this update though. [/details]
Update 08/20/2021:
Summary
Hi guys! I’ve finally updated with a new 35k chapter (whoo-- that was a lot!)
Admission: I included a stats check for this chapter, after having added the stats retroactively last chapter-- the beginning of chapter 3 will ask you which stat boost you would like your character to add. I’m sorry for this mistake!
This chapter contains a lot of differing branches and options, which makes it a little difficult to keep track of-- so please let me know any of the following:
- Are there times when your character is only given one single choice rather than several (at least visible) options?
- Does the plotline in this chapter move too quickly or too slowly?
- Does the characterization and writing feel decent, or need some work?
- Any other comments or concerns!
- And of course, any points where the game freezes and I need to zap some bugs?
Next chapter, if all goes as planned, will take place mostly in the main time zone-- five years later.
Update 08/29/2021:
Summary
This was a brief update, but I tried to fix some bugs which I’m still a bit baffled by in CSide ChoiceScript, rewrote a few scenes and tried to fix what I perceived to be problems with pacing depending on which options the player chooses. This chapter was supposed to have had more of an “open sandbox and place exploration” feel, which is harder to pace!
Update 01/30/2022
Summary
Hey folks!! I just finished with the fourth chapter of the story. Now, MC is about five years older and we are able to choose their profession, educational background, and response to events that occurred five years prior. I may go back and make small edits later, but right now I’m burnt out and going to hit the hay soon. Send me any feedback-- positive or negative (and I mean it! Authors love even constructive criticism. I may be slow to fix some things, but I appreciate all feedback!!) I’ll keep checking in this week to see if there are any small edits, but enjoy the new update for now! 
Update 04/02/2022
Summary
This is basically a chapter 4.5 update-- which is to say, I edited in a few options from the previous chapter and wrote out a longer ending to Chapter 4. I also have been given more responsibilities at my job and in my volunteer program, which is going to impede my ability to write for a while. However, I foresee having much more time on my hands in August. Until then, progress will be slow… bits and pieces, but steady! If you have any feedback or questions, please let me know. It gives me and this story life to hear responses and what you think!
Update 11/12/2022:
Summary
Whoo- this update includes a currently 38k word Chapter 5, with plans to expand the chapter later on. I have some tweaks I still want to make, but all the meat of the chapter is here. I also implemented a new stats system and added more meat to the MC backstory, which gets some mentions in the first and fifth chapter of Invicto!
Update Features:
- New Personality Stats system
- New EXP/skill system
- All of the ROs get some exposition in Chapter 5, although two of them the MC still has not met face to face.
- First major skill check toward the end of the chapter… and the possibility of death for MC.
- Learn the answer to the question that has haunted MC for half a decade-- one leaves them with even more questions waiting to be answered!
Link to Tumblr page: Invicto (tumblr.com)
) choosing that option makes the game stuck, i had to reload the tab to get it working again
Super interesting game, you got me curious. Good luck 
