nocifer

[nocifer]

Yikes, jealous much anon?

At least it let me find out about your IF @suevi-if, seems interesting. :D

Shut up, nobody cares about your game so you're always involving yourself in drama to get followers

You know what anon, you're so right.

The 20k clicks I have on my IF are just ghosts. And so are the 1k+ followers on here.

And I only involve myself in "drama" to gain more followers from people who have less followers than me, not because I want to back up my moots and show them they're not alone.

Shame on me.

I'll go cry in a corner now.

[nocifer]

Steam, Itch.io and the banning of explicit and LGBT+ Content. What can we do?

[All images in this post have alt/id text if you need it or want to copy paste anything]

With no warning, Itch.io, a site where many host their indie games, comics, books and more, has started purging and shadowbanning explicit and LGBT+ works. Creators got no warning. And if they were still owed payouts from these works, Itch.io is saying they won't give them their money as they 'broke the rules'. Rules that were only just set in place, with no warning, and therefore no way for creators to try and draw out their money or delete these 'offending' works before they got banned under the new rules.

So Itch.io has been the most recent to fall to the demands of a group that's been contacting Visa and Mastercard and convincing them to threaten sites/businesses with 'stop selling what we consider to be explicit content on your sites of we'll stop allowing your site to have transactions with Visa and Mastercard'. Steam folded, and now Itchio has too. And a reminder earlier this year Gumroad also stopped allowing explicit content, further back than that Patreon banned some kinks and fetishes even if it's depicted in fiction not real life, and I don't have to explain to you guys the great Tumblr explicit content ban of 2018.

And as always remember this doesn't stop with sexually explicit work as LGBT+ stories and people are often labelled as explicit and already we're seeing works being taken off Itch.io that are about LGBT+ and especially trans stories. Other non-sexually explicit works I've seen already getting shadowbanned, delisted or deleted are SFW games featuring furries/anthros, SFW dress up games (because when you take the clothes the model is nude), and the aforementioned SFW games that include LGBT+ characters and stories.

I'm compiling here information I've seen around various social medias, mostly Bluesky, because I haven't seen all these things shared over here.

I don't personally have explicit content on itch, but I had been considering one day selling things on there and I do currently have explicit content on my Patreon, my main source of income, and am terrified that Patreon is going to fold next (if anyone knows alterative for hosting audio content behind a paid subscription service please let me know so I can start maybe making a back-up in case the worst happens). Because for me personally if Patreon goes next, it's not like I can go out and easily get another job. Not only because in general finding and getting a job is difficult enough, but I'm autistic and have chronic pain and have been constantly getting sick or new pains over the last few years and don't feel safe being trans in the UK right now and all of that combined rules me out of a lot of jobs and makes me feel unsafe to apply to any. I'm so grateful I've been able to make a community around my work, but if Patreon caves next and I just leave my SFW posts on Patreon... 10% of my Patreons are signed up to the SFW tier, 90% are signed up to the explicit tier... I know if Patreon caves I will go from someone living comfortably who's searching to move out of my parents so I can live in a safer environment to someone who can no longer even afford the rent I pay to my parents. I'll try and get an alterative found and set up in case that happens and I can only hope you guys will follow me to whatever other site I have to set up... but it feels unlikely that people will get a whole new account on a whole new payment provider just to support me on a website they might never have heard of...

But what can we do right now?

A petition you can sign (international but you do have to give your name, email, and postal/zip code):

Get calling:

Mastercard (US): 1-800-627-8372

MasterCard (UK): 0800 964 767

Mastercard (International.): +1-636-722-7111

Visa (US + Can): 1 800 847 2911 / 1-800-VISA-911

Visa (AUS): 1 800 125 440

Visa (UK) : 0800 891 725 or use their international call collect +1 303 967 1096

Visa (International): (call collect - it costs them $): +1-303-967-1096

PayPal (US): 1-888-221-1161

PayPal (UK): 0800 358 7911 from landline, +44 203 901 7000 mobile

PayPal (International): 1-402-935-2050

(numbers gathered from these posts X X X )

Don't know what to say on the phone? Here's a script written by timidtanuki:

Creators have had their work removed off Itch.io with no warning and since it's been removed for 'breaking the rules' (rules that were suddenly in place with no warning) they aren't entitled to get their payouts. Just like other sites such as Youtube and Twitch and Etsy, Itch.io hold onto money from their users in a wallet and then give them payouts. So there is money creators have made, are owed, that Itch.io is not giving to them.

People are recommending that if you still have works on Itch.io to turn down the revenue sharing to 0% so that Itch.io no longer takes a cut or your money if you no longer want to support Itchi.io finically but don't want to remove your works from their platform. X

Other Bluesky posts and calls to action I've seen:

radiantg.bsky.social is asking for anyone on Itch.io who got their game deindexed, removed , or payouts turned off to reach out to them (espeically if you make explicit and/or LGBT+ games) for a piece of journalism about what is happening.

sleepyhard.bsky.social is making a threat of all the games that Itch.io has censored/removed from their site search function. Obviously be aware this will include 18+ only games, games with sexual content and other dark or heavy themes.

thetransfemininereview.com wants you to reach out to them if you're a trans creator on Itch.io who is being affected by this so they can make an accurate report. they say 'authors' in their post and I'm unsure if they also want game devs to reach out.

dropdownbear.bsky.com wants you to reach out if you have purchased things on Itch.io that you can now no longer access because of this ban. they can include them in a report being filed with the Australian Consumer Commission as this may be a violation of Australian Consumer rights. If you are Australian you can no longer access things you purchased of Itch.io you can report directly with this guide.

It's a scary time for adult creators and sex workers. It's a scary time to be trans. Support creators. And if anyone knows of any alternate payment providers that allow explicit work, and/or alternate websites to Itch (and in case things get worse, also give me Patreon alternates please) where people can host, sell and/or offer paid subscriptions to writing, images, videos, audios, games and more please leave them in the replies. And please help share this post, the posts I'm linking too, and any other resources you can find.

Minors DNI. Ageless blogs DNI. I want resources and help but I don't reply to this post or follow this blog if you're under 18, this is an explicit blog and not for anyone under 18.

[nocifer]

Insane display of cowardice and dystopian-level censorship.

A fucking credit card company of all things, in service of the authoritarian conservatives, has stirred up this ridiculous puritan, pearl-clutching movement from several game-hosting companies. And they've been doing so for a while.

They have no right to do this, and the companies that are caving in are just showing everyone, once again, that corporate has neither morals nor spine.

Utterly disgusting.

https://bsky.app/profile/ebihimes.bsky.social/post/3luoe7z2zps2d

This hasn't affected tcm yet but uh...

[nocifer]

Hii, the cog demo for both shattered oblivion and the wight king is unavailable when i try to click the links😭 did you private the demos?

Hey nonnie, thanks for the warning.

There was a change to the way cogdemos names its links some time ago, and I was certain that I'd updated the links on the tumblr page, but it turned out I had not, my bad!

I've restored the links and it should all be working properly now.

[nocifer]

How close are you to finishing the update for Shattered Oblivion? I'm really excited for it! ^_^

Hey there, sorry for the delay in answering and my relative silence, I've been having a pretty rough time with the company I work for being liquidated for cause of thieving ratbastard CEO.

It's nice to hear about how excited you are though. It warms my unemployed heart.

More than half of the update is ready, there's still a significant amount of work to do, but I've written a lot of manuscripts for the missing scenes.

I can't give any kind of ETA on a release date yet, but it's definitely closer to completion than the other way around.

[nocifer]

hi! in shattered ch1, after you deal with the bandits and you confront loran, if you choose "no, something's wrong" you get this error

chapter1 line 279: Non-existent variable 'bloodcolour

Sorry for the inconvenience, I've made a full sweep of the game and corrected all the errors I could find through randomtesting, there should be no more errors now.

[nocifer]

The Shattered demo is updated? :o

Not yet, the last asks were about some coding issues that resulted in missing chapters an errors. I've updated the game to solve these issues.

I'm still working on the next update, life is doing its thing but I'm making progress regardless.

Here's a little teaser for the next major enemy you'll meet for thee souls that thirst:

Saza the reaver:

I make short work of them, a bolt find its mark in the farthest, whose attempt to evade it prove fruitless. Another is cut down with the unseen blade. Soon they all lie broken at my feet and I cast my gaze at Loran's side of the battle.

She has dispatched two bandits already, a third still stands heaving before her. His gaze is wild and unfocused, fear almost seeps tangibly from him but is clearly not directed at Loran. His eyes pierce through her as if she wasn't there, as he cast them somewhere no one but him can see. And finally he speaks… "I'm sorry… run you need…"

He seizes where he stands, gasps as a wet squelch resounds, he trembles but stands resolute spreading his arms as he speaks again, louder, "Run! Run before… !" Another squelch, then a third that rocks his entire body. His eyes roll back and he falls to the ground, reaching out to push Loran away as she watches in confusion. A moment before she cries out in alarm.

Three knives jut from the bandit's back, but it's the rattling of a chain, the glint of the sun against numerous links slicing through the air that proved to be the cause of her shout. It's all she could do to launch herself back, bend her knees and fall flat to the ground an instant before the chain punches through the place her face was. A heartbeat later a wave courses through the chain and it rises high before being slammed back down, once again missing Loran by an inch as she rolls away.

The chain falls instead on one of the unconscious bandits.

The violence of the impact makes me flinch, bone shatters like brittle glass, flesh pulps like overripe fruit as it is pulverized. Fine snow rises where the chain fell as it rocks the ground. A cackle resounds over the chain's rattling even as it rises once more, to slam into the other unconscious bandit, ending them in much the same way. Finally the chain withdraws with a sharp tug, returning to the hand of the leader.

[nocifer]

Hey i really love shattered! just here to tell you that the demo gave me an error at the beginning of chapter one :

"chapter 1 line 40:Non existent variable 'rage' "

+1 from the last ask, this should also be fixed now.

[nocifer]

If I choose rage I get this, prologue line 542: Non-existent variable 'rage' If I choose any others than rage I get to chapter 1 and get this, chapter1 line 40: Non-existent variable 'rage'

Thanks, that should also be fixed now.

[nocifer]

It seems like the Shattered demo ends early? It ends after the prologue rather than chapter 4.

Thanks for the report, the issue should be fixed now. If there's any other trouble with the version on CogDemos don't hesitate to notify me.

(Sigh, I miss Dashingdon)

[nocifer]

Hey I just saw a post on reddit that Dashingdon may be going down soon, really like your IF thought you might need the warning.

So I've heard, I'd already made efforts to port my work on cogdemos.ink but I'll do what's necessary for them to be available on cogdemos when dashingdon is done for.

Thanks for the warning though.

[nocifer]

Be strong, I know you can do it. ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ

I'm considering getting into Twine. The next chapter for Press Play will still be released in ChoiceScript, as it were, and I don't know if I'll ever move it away from ChoiceScript at all. But given the circumstances, I feel like it'd be prudent to give Twine a try. I'll probably try to make a tiny little short horror game to familiarize myself with twine; given I was already planning to use my autistic fascination with changelings in a story someday and I rly miss writing horror. Don't worry, this won't deduct from my Press Play writing time in any way. I'll keep y'all posted.

[nocifer]

I'm looking forward to the next Press Play update just as much <3

I'm considering getting into Twine. The next chapter for Press Play will still be released in ChoiceScript, as it were, and I don't know if I'll ever move it away from ChoiceScript at all. But given the circumstances, I feel like it'd be prudent to give Twine a try. I'll probably try to make a tiny little short horror game to familiarize myself with twine; given I was already planning to use my autistic fascination with changelings in a story someday and I rly miss writing horror. Don't worry, this won't deduct from my Press Play writing time in any way. I'll keep y'all posted.

[nocifer]

Considering doing the same. I have been for a while, to be fair, but with the direction CoG is taking it feels all the more attractive to do so.

Much like the illustrious Liza @pressplay-if, I see that as a crying shame, Hosted Games has provided many of my favorite IFs, and after all this time getting better at using choicescript and writing I'd have to port all that work over to a new coding language.

However as far as I'm concerned, the nebulous rules on what content is acceptable or not are just another concern I add to the pile I've felt build up at the back of my thoughts about releasing my work as a hosted game. Considering the content of my games and the content to come, I feel much the same as Liza.

The next update of Shattered will still be released on the Choicescript version. However I will start seriously considering a port of my work, and much like Liza, I will make a short IF to try my hand at that Twine thing.

I'm considering getting into Twine. The next chapter for Press Play will still be released in ChoiceScript, as it were, and I don't know if I'll ever move it away from ChoiceScript at all. But given the circumstances, I feel like it'd be prudent to give Twine a try. I'll probably try to make a tiny little short horror game to familiarize myself with twine; given I was already planning to use my autistic fascination with changelings in a story someday and I rly miss writing horror. Don't worry, this won't deduct from my Press Play writing time in any way. I'll keep y'all posted.

[nocifer]

Okay, I'm really happy listening to the new Ithaca Saga songs from Epic:The Musical rn, and had a thought; what if mc had a lover before almost dying and meeting Loren and that whole shebang?

I imagine they'd be like Penelope in the new The Challenge, song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke3Igp5CbQQ

Like, just waiting for mc to come home and having no clue they pretty much died and lost their memories. That ought to be really sad and devastating if they actually found out mc is alive though.

The Ithaca saga is awesome, I was listening to Odysseus just earlier!

As for a lover waiting at home, I can't say that is something you can expect, the situation is pretty different. There are two characters you can have something with before THE EVENT.

However the relationship with either of them will not be that of true lovers, circumstances tore them and the MC apart in a way that did not allow for them to be together.

So the situation is not the same as Penelope and Odysseus, but they can both definitely be among the people who are wondering what became of you.

[nocifer]

" Man or God i bow to no one"

have i told you how much i love TWK mc??????????????? the baddest bitch in these lands ongggggggggggggggggggggg

True royalty never bends the knee.

Thank you nonnie, they certainly are the baddest bitch in the lands. And they're only going to get badder.

[nocifer]

Happy New Year to all

Creatures big and small, the death of a year spawns the birth of another, and if it must be so, let this cycle at least bring us merriment and fulfillment alike.

May you all enjoy the fruits of a brand new year and achieve your most ardent endeavors. Cheers to all of you comrades.

Thank you all for your continued support, I hope for all of us to embrace the next cycle together as well.