SailingShellsGames posts
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Extended Writing Update
I'm caught up on all beta feedback, the beta closes on Tuesday, and Harper and Cash officially have kiss scenes in Flashpoint. Not a bad week of work, if I say so myself!The past two days of writing have been a desperately-needed break for me. I got caught up on Leas on Friday, so I've only had one project to work on instead of the usual two. It gave me some space to get a few chores done around the house, get used to a new medication I&#...
Extended Writing Update
So remember that time there was a map for this game?Cue the spongebob "we forgot his name" scene๐So yeah, I gotta get on finishing that and adding it in. I'm cracking up at having forgot it this long. I finally remembered it this past week when I was working on art assets. On the upside, the existing map looks so much nicer than I remember it.In writing news, I've had three beta testers request a codex, so into the game it goes...
Fae minigame sneak peek ๐
Here's an excerpt from the first story of the game, as well as the intro page and scene file names โฃ๏ธChapter 1 Excerpt:Text reads:The scents of a place determine its character.I am the thoughts between them.*page_breakA bright desert morning blooms around me. I learn the season when a bee darts past me towards a pair of five-petaled flowers. It hovers by the white, but the pink smells sweeter. I feel the moment it decides between them, an...
Sometimes editing is unserious
Also, obligatory:
RO bonus story topic voting!
What theme would you like to see for the next round of RO bonus stories?
September's content release schedule :)
Here's what to expect this month ~Friday September 6th:Poll for the next round of RO bonus stories releases (Agent tier)Saturday September 7th:Sneak peek of a scene from the fae minigame (Citizen tier and up)Tuesday,September 17th:Beta ends! This isn't a content release but I wanted to mention it, since it means that within the following 1-2 weeks I'll be submitting the game to Hosted Games :DFriday, September 20th:Monthly Extra (Wild...
Extended Writing Update
The mood:It was such a mad dash to get Flashpoint wrapped up in time to post the second mini-update lol. But I did it, yay! I estimate it's about halfway written at this point. Next month I'll finish it while working on other stuff for Leas, and the full beta will release (schedule coming this week).I'm all caught up on beta feedback edits. There were a bunch of typos/pronoun errors found, some variable errors, and some plot-related i...
The next Flashpoint mini-update is live :D
You can play it here :)One notable addition: you can now select MC's sexuality and RO genders will be set accordingly.
Extended Writing Update
The beta is coming along nicely! I've been blown away by how thoughtful and thorough the feedback from many of the testers has been. I've got a few items added to my to-do list to spruce things up pre-launch, but for this weekend I've been focused on taking care of all the little typos/pronoun errors, and writing Flashpoint's next update. I find I can't focus on the bigger picture items for the beta until all the "housekee...
Flipping between Leas and Flashpoint is funny
I'm imagining Rin and Harper meeting (because they look similar and are both the snarkiest member of their respective groups), and both of them staring at each other like they're looking into the darkest mirror imaginable ๐Like, here's Harper:And here's Rin staring back:
Spent time putting together some game resources today โจ
The main things I need to put together are game descriptions, screenshots of scenes from the game, and artwork. Today I focused on screenshots! I came up with the ones below. (Some might get pared down in the final version, but I'm going to let Hosted Games tell me what needs revising since that's not something I can know from my end)
It's starting... ๐ (Book 2 spoilers)
Image 1: folders on my desktop, with one named "Leas: Fey Moon Rising" circled in red.Image 2:Outline, first version (subject to change)Prologue:- Begin with a dream, because I am nothing if not consistent xD- Tentative dream idea: It starts with MC as themself, looking up at the pillar above the city. Can almost hear the forest sounds at the other end, catch snippets of fae in the desert the flow of magic traverses, then ends up back in ...
Ngl Cash in Flashpoint has me reacting like this in the scene I just wrote
I gotta say, I really like these romances. I hope you guys have fun playing them!
Extended Writing Update
I got so swept up in the beta process I almost forgot to write this ๐ Don't worry - I set alarms on my phone for exactly this sort of thing.The beta is going amazing. I admit, I was worried I wouldn't be able to find testers other than the two I'd already recruited (who are both amazing, so I would've done alright even so). But turns out I had nothing to worry about! I'm getting such good feedback that it reminds me with ce...
Side-project sneak peek: Apotheosis (low-fantasty, supernatural romance)
You know how a writer always has ten projects in their head? Lol, well I've currently got Flashpoint, the fae minigame, the island side story for Leas' world, and something called Apotheosis on my list. They all get about 100 words a month because I'm first-priority-focused on L:CoTS but hey, I still have fun with those 100 words! ๐I wrote a little for Apotheosis this morning. My head's been ricocheting around from topic to top...
๐ The beta is out! ๐ What now? (Tldr; there will still be monthly demos)
Okay first things first, obligatory happy screaming from me:Okay, thank you for indulging me ^_^ Now I want to explain what happens for the Agent tier, since the beta demo is all of book 1. There will still be demos released! I've got a lot of side projects I've been working on, some of them related to Leas! So you can expect demos of:The fae minigame (yes, that's still a thing I've been working on quietly in the background ๐)F...
โ๏ธ The L:COTS Beta is Live! โ๏ธ
You can play it here! :DDashingDon version here(COGDemos had some issues after the recent update, so I've added this DashingDon link as a backup)It includes the full game, including the new chapters 12 & 13! I hope you enjoy it and thank you so much for your support ๐I've done a ton of playtesting so I expect things to be smooth, but if you encounter any problems playing the game let me know! I'll be checking my notifications regul...
Available soon... ๐
I'll be posting the link either tonight or tomorrow, depending on how long it takes to upload and do final playtesting!
Monthly Extra: Tiane's Field Notes
Excerpts from Tiane's field book:1st of FlameHello, notebook. How's it going? You ready to probably be dropped in the wilds while I run away from a fae? I told Adaan a hundred times I'm not a diary kind of girl, and he just said blah-blah-protocol-standard-practice-for-missions... and some other stuff, I don't know, I kind of zone out when he starts going on for too long.10th of FlameHello, new notebook. Ready to meet your ancesto...
The list is getting so small guys ๐
The tension between me and #33 could be cut with a knife. I've just been pretending it doesn't exist for so long for no other reason than, "I don't wanna." ๐Things are really getting close. Chapter 13's totally beta-prepped other than that final RO scene mentioned in the list, and other than that it's just these items.---Image text reads:PRE-BETA DEMO Tasks:New (6.20.2024)Big items:33. Time to pay the piper: figure ...
Me, every time an RO's story needs a rework
(I kid, I love them all to pieces๐)
Wren's final romance scene lowkey has some Aladdin vibes
It's also so freaking cute, in my very humble opinion ๐ It had me kicking my feet on a reread.
Extended Writing Update
This was such a weird week/weekend writing-wise ๐ Send help. I got really burnt out and also ate something I shouldn't have by accident, so I've been sort of sick for a few days. And yet somehow despite all that chapter 12 is both beta-prepped and playtested! Ironic, given that I was planning to do playtesting at the end, so technically it's out of order but hey I'll take it - it's less work for me later!Funny story, how th...
This is my favorite thing about writing choice-based games
It might seem like a small thing, but I love being able to write both of these options instead of having to choose one ๐
Extended Writing Update + a lore tidbit ~
(Lore about the Guardian fae in the bottom paragraph for those interested๐)Chapter 12 is at the 2/3 point for beta-prep! I was hoping to get it finished this weekend but reality hit when I realized I was exhausted from doing the whole first half in a day yesterday. So I got as much done as I could today, and I'm still pretty sure I'll have finished the chapter by tomorrow night.This chapter's been interesting to edit. I forgot how ...
Me plowing through the first half of chapter 12's beta prep in a day:
Oh and chapter 11's ready. Did I mention that? It's all a haze ๐
Oh, the perils of editing...
It is simultaneously so crushing and hilarious to read back your finished draft of a chapter and catch the sentence: "I rapidly scan the surroundings rapidly."
August's content release schedule :)
Here's what to expect this month ~Thursday, August 15th:Monthly Extra (Wilds tier and up)Date TBD:Beta release of Leas: City of the Sun (Agent tier and up)Every Sunday:The usual extended writing updates (Citizen tier and up)Saturday, August 31st:Flashpoint Demo's second mini-update (Agent tier and up)
The Flashpoint demo has updated!
Here's the link again, for convenience: Flashpoint demoNot featured: me retconning the sh*t out of the angels since the announced theme is "vampires, murder, and disco" ๐๐ชฉ
Quick announcement (Flashpoint demo link)
I just found out the halloween jam's theme will be announced late tonight - which I'm very excited about! :D But it also doesn't leave me much time to write today ๐ So to ensure everyone who's been a member in July has access to Flashpoint's demo, I'm posting the link here now: Flashpoint DemoYou can play a (very) short prologue now. The real content will come tomorrow,when I have the theme plus a little more than 2 hour...
