#CRWL

[manonamora-if]

Retrospective 2022

Long image below, transcript in Read More. Links to published project in Read More.

Changing the format compared to last year, a lot more has happened this year than the last one. There is also much more I would want to touch upon (like STATS :D), but that'd make this post way too long (already the Post-Mortem of The Thick Table Tavern last month was a lot).

Below is the TLDR. Here is Part 2. The Stats are in Part 3. And the Future is in Part 4 (TBP).

Last September, I had made a little Schedule for the End of the Year. Obviously, I was way off. I only published/updated half of the things I said I would, and ended up putting out new smaller (more fun, less frustrating for me) projects instead.

Next year's expectations is to... finish my WIPs (starting the smallest ones to have them off my desk). I have too many projects in my hands, and it's not sustainable. I've been preaching about not having too may WIPs, but don't even follow my advice. My goal is to have by the end of the year only Crimson Rose & White Lily, SPS Iron Hammer, and The Thick Table Tavern still unfinished (TTATEH is dependent on MelS's progress more than mine). Knowing me, I'll try to squeeze a few Jams/Comps entry anyway...

Links

Assets:

Templates: 100% Good Twine SugarCube Templates (Simple Book and One Page)

Tweego: Ready-To-Use Tweego Folder

Guide: CScript to SugarCube Transition + Compiler

Tutorial/Resource: Coding Support

Games (first release date order):

Meeting the Parents (Complete - EN/FR)

Crimson Rose & White Lily (WIP - EN - @crimsonroseandwhitelily)

Exquisite Cadaver (WIP - EN)

SPS Iron Hammer (Incomplete/Hiatus - EN - @sps-iron-hammer)

The Thick Table Tavern (Incomplete - EN)

The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt (WIP - EN)

La Petite Mort (Incomplete - FR)

Goncharov Escapes! (Complete - EN)

P-Rix - Space Trucker (WIP - EN)

Le Jeu de la Dévotion Partim 500 (Temp* - FR) *will be moved to my website soon

Sites:

Personal Website

Itch Page

IFDB Profile

IF Anonymous Confession Box: @if-confessions

The SeedComp! website (@seedcomp-if on Tumblr)

Interact-IF Tumblr: @interact-if

Other Sideblogs: @manonamora-rb, @crimsonroseandwhitelily, @sps-iron-hammer

Transcript

Retrospective 2022

January: Participation in the Interact-If Jam, seeing the release of SPS Iron Hammer, a sci-fi IF project.

February: - UI Update for Meeting the Parents - Release of Scene 2 of Crimson Rose & White Lily - Ending Guide for SPS Iron Hammer

March: - Ending Guide for Meeting the Parents - Release of Scene 3 of Crimson Rose & White Lily - Starts re-writes on Exquisite Cadaver - Announcement of The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt

April: - Re-haul of previous Scenes of Crimson Rose & White Lily (grammar/style edits) - Re-writes of Exquisite Cadaver continue.

May: Beta for Crimson Rose & White Lily starts, while finishing the writing of Scene 4

June: - Published the introductory Post for The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt - V1 of Personal Website. - Release of Scene 4 of Crimson Rose & White Lily

July: - Re-writes for Exquisite Cadaver continue - Start of the ground work on The Thick Table Tavern - Release of the first SugarCube Template: the Simple Book template

August: - Bonus content for Crimson Rose & White Lily (Summer prompts) - Exquisite Cadaver V2 is released (Story Mode until Round 9) - Release of the Ready-to-Use Tweego Folder - Start of the #coding support - The Thick Table Tavern build continues

September: - Release of the ChoiceScript to SugarCube Guide - Focus on The Thick Table Tavern

October: - The Thick Table Tavern is released for the IF Comp - Release of the One Page SugarCube Template - Demo Release of The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt - Release of La Petite Mort - Re-writes for Meeting the Parents starts

November: - The Thick Table Tavern is available on Itch - Ranked 37 on the IFComp, 1st in the French EctoComp, and 3rd in the English EctoComp - Release Goncharov Escapes! - Completed Translation of Meeting the Parents

December: - Meeting the Parents is updated for the final time. - Organised the SeedComp!, a 2-Round creative IF Jam - Released P-Rix - Space Trucker - Participation in the Partim 500

2023 Expectations

Completion of Projects: - P-Rix Space Trucker: missing content, mobile accessibility - La Petite Mort: missing rooms, English translation - Goncharov Escapes! : text edits, French translation - Exquisite Cadaver: missing rounds

Updates of Projects: - The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt: dependent on MelS - The Thick Table Tavern: if time

Hopes: - Update of Crimson Rose & White Lily - New SugarCube Templates - Start re-writes of SPS Iron Hammer - Entry to Jam/Competitions

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

African Ghost Valley, “NIKOL,” CRWL. Fort Evil Fruit, 2022.

[swagging-back-to]

all of the girls are getting into burrowing more and more but the main colony jus started their first ever entirely underground burrow and it's actually so cute.

it's just pepper making it rn but it's all the way at the bottom of the tank and she even has it right up against the glass so i can see inside it </3 and it's soooo cute she keeps going up to the main nst to get bedding and bringing it down her lil tunnel </3 </3

[the-disemvoweler]

🕳🏃💨

*crawls back into hell hole* YOU WONT BE SAVED! I’LL ALWAYS BE BACK!!! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

🕳🏃💨

*crwls bck nt hll hl* Y WNT B SVD! ’LL LWS B BCK!!! MWHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What

[trulese]

its so hard to be normal an to not be clingyy an figur out ur addrss an crwl into ur bed at nigh an cuddl an chok u to death so i can be the las person u cuddld an touchd

[if-confessions]

My confession is that i regret posting an intro post without a demo… I’m terrified i won’t live up to the expectations and it’s taking the joy out of writing. Whenever i receive asks it give me so much anxiety my stomach starts hurting. I wish i waited an released a demo at the same time so that people who followed me are here because they actually like my writing and story… I’m not english and i’m a beginner so i’m scared i’m going to loose all support when i post it

Oh, Anon....

I'm not going to lie to you and say it will get better as soon as you post a demo. This feeling can come back every time you post an update (have seen many authors worry about this on my feed) or even when posting a change in the game (locking a character aspect - gender, sexuality, race, etc...; re-writing a part/the whole thing; going on hiatus; answering a difficult ask; etc.... Or just come back... just because.

Creating IF is not easy to begin with, because of how the medium is constructed (whether it's choice-based or parser... so much variation to take into account sigh), where you are (usually) both the writer and the coder. But advertising your project adds another layer to it, because now you need to deal with expectations and feedback and comments and ratings and questions (a.k.a a customer service position), on top of making announcements and posting extra content (a.k.a a marketing position), and maybe even set up beta-testing rounds (a.k.a a quality control position). It's really a lot...

There are some advantages of releasing an intro post before having a demo. That's what I did with Harcourt, teasing the announcement, then posting an intro post with a release date, then posting the demo. All this spanned half a year. But I still got some lovely return from it. CRWL also didn't have a demo when I started posting about it. Building some hype about a project is a good marketing strategy!

The worse that can happen is that the demo doesn't live to your follower's expectations....

And that's fine. If some people leave, you will probably have other people coming onboard that like what you do. You will make mistakes along the way (everyone does), what is important is how you respond to them and how you grow from them. We all have to start somewhere :)

So right now, take a deep breath, maybe have a drink and a snack, maybe even a nap or a walk outside. Maybe take a little break from Tumblr or turn off the asks box for a while. And when you come back to your project, don't think about anything but what you want to do with the story. And maybe, when you have a bit ready (like a prologue or a chapter), have a beta-testing session for feedback.

Creating IF should be about having fun (even if writing/coding is frustrating), not tormenting yourself with what could happen.

~~~

If you want to get a little more experience before you go on tackling (back) your big project, may I suggest participating in a small game jam to test the waters and create something small? There are currently two unranked jams on itch that you might like: the Anti-Romance Jam and the Neo Twiny Jam (@neo-twiny-jam).

[danthropologie]

Did you see this clip. I love how Anne Hathaway recognizes Danny Ric (and also that he looks a bit starstruck by the encounter). https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrwL-tpLej7/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

yes it's SO funny 😭 she's literally just like me, catching a glimpse of him and IMMEDIATELY knowing exactly who he is. he is also just like me, completely star struck at the thought of fucking ANNE HATHAWAY, american royalty, knowing who the fuck he is!!

[v-anrouge]

RARAGAGAHAGHFHH FGHHRHRGRGR AWOOOOOO FGGRRR FRRURGFF RUFF GAGGRRR AAAVAGABBSSB D DDROOLS SCRWMNS RIPS MY HAIR OUT BAMGS NY GMHEA DGASIMRT THE WALL ROUNDS AOURN DGROWS A TAIM TURNS INTO EMO ALPHA WEREWOLF STARTS EATING SAND GROWLS CRWLS IN ALL FLOOR STARTS BURNING

[lyman-garfiel]

the best way to cope with a bpd split!! SIT ON THE GROUND LET A BEETLE CRWL ACROSS YOUR TALONS LOOK AT THE ANTS STARE AT THE BUGS STOP THINKING JUST LOOK AT THEBUGS

[whobotcha]

for spooky things that crwl on the walls or or even things that slither

they're not natural but those underground tunnels full of pipes and wires beneath cities are a type of biome to me

[manonamora-if]

My entry to the French IF Comp is out! Play it here!

It has dark stuff, puzzles, suspense... and an unexpected end :P

You can vote for the French IF Comp until the end of February! (please go vote, the games are really cool!)

(also I saw a funny Chicken picture, and I had to submit to this other jam for the lolz. Like the SeedComp! prompt, you can use that one however you want! It's under the CC-BY license)

Fixed :

some visual issues with small height non-mobile screens

settings in the light mode, and labelling overall

title page small edits

Reloading the page will only give you the logo

the glitchy text in Chapter 3 is fixed (it now works! if you have the setting turned on)

MelS wrote quite a bit this week too! We've passed 8k words.

I don't have any substantial story update to give yet... but I've still some a tiny bit of coding work:

Some visual issues are getting fixed (similar ones to TTATEH + others).

2 new fonts will be included: a monospace and Atkinson Hyperlegible.

I am also adding Keybindings to the main story (the Codex Pages will be a bit tricky, as of now they won't work) for computer play.

I will be changing the code for the notification to a more aria/screen-reader friendly (and there's a lot of them)

A big bug found in the last update of TTATEH has turn up in CRWL too, so that's getting fixed...

Some other bugs raised lately have to be checked out...

OH and the biggest thing: I am adding custom pronouns AND give the choice for the player to choose their title (liege, lord, lady) regardless of their genre :D

Anyway, the Settings, the whole Prologue and Scene 1 is clear. I have started Scene2. Going through the scenes is a bit dull and repetitive (there's 1.5k lines of code for each scene on average), but I am chipping away at it.

Nothing big actually. Just added 2 fonts : a Garamond like and the Atkinson Hyperlegible.

No I haven't forgotten P-RIX. I've been fighting its code all this time...

Anyway, the UI will be changing slightly to give more space for the text (less scrolling, especially on bigger font sizes). The background has also changed (especially the stars looking less like rain, lol). And the radar actually works this time too!

And I've been testing a Mobile portrait version (finally!), which will not include the background, but will be much easier to play!

[It'll be the next UI template too, but bare]

This is the first update of February, so here's a little run-down of what to expect here this month:

a small CRWL update (general UI and bug-fixing)

a P-Rix update (UI for sure, extra content maybe? time will tell)

my SeedComp! entry (if I manage, it will be Gonch-short)

Onto some other IF related information:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~IFDB AWARDS~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The IFDB Awards are ongoing. You can vote for Outstanding entries published in 2022 until the 17th of February!

Check out this post for more information. This is the first year of this award, so the turn out will decide what will happen to it (or at least some categories) next year. Please go vote! (I have like 7 games that are eligible this year, some have appeared on the polls already, it's neat :P )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SEEDCOMP !~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are about 3 weeks left on the Sprouting Round of the @seedcomp-if ! Come join and create a little game. :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~SPRING THING~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Spring Thing 2023 Edition is officially open. You can register your intent until March 1st !

~~~~~~

I've updated the Coding Support list too!

And that's it :P Been a pretty productive week :)

[kimani2]

#Henny https://www.instagram.com/p/Crwl-0xsKqp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[if-confessions]

I feel down about lack of artistic skill. So many IF authors are knocking it out of the park with their UI designs and promo images, and I'm here getting stressed out on canva struggling to even make a nice looking simple "game updated" banner with text on a background. are there guides anywhere on how to make these banners? are they really needed to get people's attention? (they feel like they are... the most popular blogs seem to have loads of shiny visuals that are really pretty but I just don't have the skills right now...)

Hey Anon!

Don't feel down...

This is really not something that happens overnight. Sure, some artistic talent will help start you off, but it is still a skill. One you can learn. But like all skills, it takes time to nourish and make it flourish. (and that amount of time needed will depend on the person.)

Also, Graphic Design is a very broad field. In the IF community, it will often embrace two different things: the UI, which requires learning a programming language (CSS) and the assets (including promo images), which requires learning about aesthetics, a graphic program, etc... These are very different skills to learn.

So you will make mistakes along the way, everyone does. It takes quite a lot of trial and error (with a lot of error) to get it right, then to get it right and quick. That's part of the learning process.

And, I can't lie and pretend innate artistic talent won't take a big part of making this process easier. Knowing how things should look, nicely or easy on the eye, is very helpful to make the whole process faster. As well as having studied those skills before starting making IF content (like in school/uni, or having learned by spending decades in a fandom making those weird little edits and banners for your forum signature that you spent hours making sparkle....). Or, in some cases, the author was able to get assets directly from someone with those skills (as paid content).

I don't know where you are on your IF journey, but don't despair. I know it's hard not to compare yourself to other authors and their skills (I know I do that, and have to remind myself not to do it), but you don't know how far they are on their graphic design journey. Maybe they struggled like you, once.

I know I did...

... and I still do!

This post is getting quite long, so I'll share my lil bit of experience below.

I've been on the internet for a while (when Forums were the thing), and learned a lot of those graphic stuff through graphic design-help forums (some where full on forums, others were just sub-channels, but you got to learn from someone with knowledge, that was cool). Also didn't realise then the use of images. I def used copyrighted images when I shouldn't have... the early naughties were a different times (and so was I, being 12 and all...)

But, before starting IF, I hadn't touched Photoshop or other Graphic Design program for about... 15 years? I had lost a lot of skills in that time. I had to relearn a lot of things (as well as learn some new ones, CSS had never been in my wheelhouse).

It used to take me hours to make banners and the such. I fawned over other creators' ability to make gif (which is doable on Canva), or have the perfect aesthetics to match their project (and their drawing skills...). For CRWL, I spent days on Canvas editing the main banner, because it didn't look right enough. I've re-done that one a couple of times, and I am still not happy with it.

Even after almost two years of doing this regularly, I still struggle. I can spend days/weeks on a UI to make it look nice and have the right palette, only to realise when it's published that the sizing messes up for some people. And I still spend hours on those Coming Soon posters (and then forget I have night light on my devices, so it messes with the colours). And have we talked about the time spent trying to find the perfect picture to use (on copyright free websites)? Though for smaller projects, I might slap two things together and call it a day. You can't go wrong with a simple colour background and a special font.

[fivefve]

Whatever force pulls the strings, that voice has already taken over your body. You’ve felt it a couple of times already since you woke up. Still now, you feel it has control over this flesh and seems reluctant to let go. Whenever it wishes, it pushed you aside, locking you away, unable to do or say a thing.

Crimson Rose & White Lily (@crimsonroseandwhitelily) as Penguin Covers

[the-disemvoweler]

m tkn t th dctr t b crcmcsd nd whn th ct m blls ff nd th plp nt th flr mllns f bb spdrs crwl t.

im taken to the doctor to be circumcised and when they cut my balls off and they plop onto the floor millions of baby spiders crawl out.

[nicenightmare13]

no Cody in Teen wolf?? no Theo?????

that's it.