magua-vida

[magua-vida]

Jesus can always reject his father But he cannot escape his mother's blood

Tabitha Scarlet for the Scarlet Hollow community fanart event! Background is from the game (altered). ID in alt text!

[magua-vida]

obsessed with scarlet hollow achievement titles. the "i can fix her" achievement for hanging out with tabitha. "antagonistic doctor roleplay (ASMR)" for talking to dr kelly and "i am looking respectfully" for talking to the bara styled librarian. detective! arriving! on the scene! as well as ''the smallest church'', black tabby games i know what you are. and, of course, the ultimate crown winner... "friendship ended with the dresser rat (now anybody else is my best friend)"... iconic. never knew suspecting a squatter opossum of treachery would bring me this much delight

[magua-vida]

Congratulations~

Slay the Princess — The Pristine Cut is a finalist for this year's Nebula Awards (Best Game Writing.) It's a huge honor for our work to be acknowledged this way, and we wouldn't be here without each and every one of you supporting us all the way. So thank you all so much. We have a lot more work to share with the world, and we can't wait to see you on the next steps of our journey, from the rest of Scarlet Hollow to what lies beyond the horizon.

[magua-vida]

ily katnep

[magua-vida]

the real adorabloodthirsty

[magua-vida]

Lineart. I actually don't like having to make sure it's neat every time. It's why I prefer lineless painterly art even though it takes me longer.

Erasing shading/coloring that goes past its intended position is also annoying to me.

These aren't, of course, for styles that require at least a bit of mess and sketches.

if you've never engaged with a creative art on a regular basis you need to understand that it requires concerted effort to get into "the groove" to make something and every second that it takes to get into that groove causes physical pain, but the only thing worse than doing it is not doing it.

[magua-vida]

@ronqueesha I heard you like Yrliet with her hair down

[magua-vida]

[magua-vida]

if you've ever played a game where """choices matter""" and weren't exactly taken with the one (1) different line of dialogue you got--scarlet hollow.

if you've ever lied to a character or went against your character's principles or wrecked a pottery shop just to see what would happen, and were disappointed when nothing did--scarlet hollow.

if the first time you got arrested for ransacking a random house in fable you hooted in surprise and delight--scarlet hollow.

if you liked disco elysium literally at all even a little bit, SCARLET. HOLLOW.

also play slay the princess if you haven't and it's not too violent for you (tw for gore and death and body horror, all of which is usually impermanent in case that has an effect on what bothers you like it does for me)

[magua-vida]

I actually had the opposite reaction like I was behind the times and missed an opportunity to advertise myself there, but I honestly largely prefer sites like Tumblr than having to make Tiktoks.

the ability to say "i dont have a tiktok" in social situations makes me feel so powerful. like the general reaction is "shock, confusion, then this weird 'thats probably a good thing' response" its so fun

[magua-vida]

Relationships in Scarlet Hollow

Have you ever wondered why every playthrough of Scarlet Hollow feels so different? It isn't *just* from branching off of major decisions. A lot of characters make use of a hidden 10-variable relationship system that maps to their perception of the protagonist.

These variables influence a *lot* of dialogue, as well as the sprites and emotional range of these characters in a given scene, and tracking this much information lets us take a very nuanced approach to PC/NPC relationships.

It's also why SH will probably never get voice acting.

So instead of just looking at someone likes or dislikes you, we can look at "trust" as its own value separate from surface-level likeability

ex: You and your cousin can be at each other's throats and still trust each other with your lives, or you can be cordial and share nothing with each other on an emotional level.

This system also dovetails into other parts of our narrative design, often unlocking different paths or scenes based on who someone is to you.

Your relationship with your cousin, for instance, has the possibility to unlock an entirely separate outcome in episode 3.

We go out of our way to not show off this system, even though it's a big part of our secret sauce, mostly because the whole point of it is to make our story and characters feel more alive and dynamic.

Having a meter to see that x statement gives you y openness points with Tabitha would ruin that immersion and gameify things to the detriment of the narrative.

When you're making decisions and choosing what to say in Scarlet Hollow, it shouldn't *feel* like a game, at least not in the sense of it being something you're playing on a meta-level. You should pick what feels right for you, and the game should respond accordingly.

Hiding the system has other benefits as well, including being able to *change how it functions* as time goes on without calling attention to those changes.

Values move A LOT (almost every dialogue choice) in episodes 1-3 as you make a first impression on characters, but by late episode 3/early episode 4, most of the characters in Scarlet Hollow have decided who they think you are, and it starts to take big, character defining moments to move that needle.

Just like in real life!

Anyways if this stuff interests you and you want a longer read on it, please take a look at this devlog!

Or if you haven't played the game, try episode 1 for free!

[magua-vida]

Ooohhhh my god

Are you seeing this shit

[magua-vida]

If you'd like to support me,

I got a ko-fi! Reblogs are appreciated too! Commissions and tips give me more reason to continue doing art.

https://ko-fi.com/maguavida

[magua-vida]

what is this, a crossover achievement?

[magua-vida]

I'd like to think he's dark chocolate-flavored

Yummy Nocturne crepe

[magua-vida]

[magua-vida]

textless version + close-up

I got a kofi pinned in my profile if you'd like to help me continue making art and my medical if commissions aren't your thing~