#ChoiceScript

[seraphinitegames]

The Wayhaven Chronicles—Update 14/Feb/2025

Another serious week of getting the writing done!

In fact, it was so good, I’m already on the endings of this chapter! There are three different variations depending on the branch the player has chosen in an earlier choice, but the fact I’m already on the endings is so motivating! Definitely ahead of schedule and starting to see some real push forward. Was so worth doing the mop-up stuff at the beginning of the year so as I could focus pretty much solely on the book!

Next week, I will be taking a day or two to catch up on asks for the next couple of months ahead though. Nai will be back so will be able to do those too and get them scheduled. Looking forward to reading what you guys thought of the demo, hehe! :D

But apart from that, I’ll be pushing ahead on writing again! And probably actually already getting to the editing of this chapter as it looks like I’ll be getting it finished either over the weekend or early next week! Woohoo!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! We’ll be offline as usual, so I'll update you all again next week <3

[wings-of-ink]

Super enjoyed this! I needed a serious break from responsibilities today, so I devoured it when I could and did not want to put it down! ^_^

CoG Demos | CoG Forum

(130k words | last updated: 20/01/25 | Prologue & 73% ch1)

Blink

You were born in a concrete box, forged for one individual purpose and sharpened by experience. You thought you would die there. But against all odds you didn't. You escaped. Thrust into a city of noise and shady undergrounds, concealed beauty and dangerous company. Will you build a new life for yourself, or will you risk it all for the chance to bring everything down? It's your choice operative.

Play as a superpowered assassin with years of experience in the art of exhausting human life as they navigate the multi-levelled, smog-ridden city of New York, aiming to destroy the company that held their leash and maybe become something more than what they were created for.

Features:

Play as male, female or nonbinary.

Fully customizable main character.

5 romance options to choose from or not choose at all.

Forge a new future for yourself or throw it all away for revenge.

Find purpose in a life you have no idea how to navigate.

Romance Options

The information broker: Echo [f]

Supposed best friend of your employer and owner of one of the biggest information networks in all of New York, with connections to every organisation, criminal or otherwise, in the city. A charismatic figure with a soft spot for you, but is it all a mask for something more refined underneath?

The undying memory: Cyril/Cynthia [m/f]

A constant and reoccurring figure from your past, your lives bound together for almost as long as you have been alive, but that all changed after they left you to fend for yourself. Yet there is a pull that drags you towards each other, no matter if you like it or not. Is it fate or just a dependence neither of you can leave behind?

The shadowed stranger: Achille/Aimee/Avril [m/f/nb]

Charming, sly, and elusive. In the past 2 years that you have been navigating the criminal underworld, you have met your fair share of their type, but something is different with them. A glint in their eye so similar to the one you see reflected in the mirror, will they drag it to the surface or convince you to drown in it?

The sober veteran: Salem [f]

Stern and cold, she has been hardened by too many years seeing the darkest sides of the city. In a never-ending war to create a better place, she has learnt to stay steadfast to her beliefs and always trust her instincts. So why does seeing you act give her so much doubt?

The caring silencer: Harper [nb]

Quiet and thoughtful, they approach everything with a gentleness and caring that is as rare to see in the city as a clean pavement. It makes you wonder how they have survived as long as they have, especially with the job they carry. Could a far darker side lie underneath the surface?

RO physical descriptions

tagging: @interact-if

[dalekowrites]

Chapter 13 in early access is online!

This update brings +3k words, some love drama, and a very tender scene ♥

I've also added an optional POV indicator when the scene focuses on another character. Let me know what you think about it, please!

Enjoy! ♥

[ Patreon ][ Discord ][ Public Demo ]

[worstcasescenario-if]

DEMO (NA) ⚘ LOVE INTERESTS ⚘ FAQ

Writing has been your passion ever since you were a child. You wrote whenever you could, wherever you can. It's been a part of your life for so many years now.

Now, you're twenty-five years old, with a decent job with decent pay, a loving partner, and you're also planning to write a novel of your own now. Isn't that so exciting?

What's even more exciting is finding out your OCs (that you've forgotten) you made during your teenage years came to life! Oh, but there's a catch:

They all want you dead.

WORST CASE SCENARIO is a psychological horror with lots, and I mean lots, of murdering. Please check out FAQ before proceeding.

FEATURES

-Customize your MC. What are they called? What do they look like? How do they act? What genre do they like to write about? And more!

-Face four of your original characters you put through immense suffering. And maybe romance them.

-Try to remember how you wrote them.

-Find out why your partner is acting weird.

-Choose how you want to deal with their hostility towards you. Apologize? Surrender? Or kill them yourself?

-In the meantime… run.

LOVE INTERESTS

CALVIN/CALLIE ZHU (m/f) — THE DOG

-Your partner of five years. They've been with you through thick and thin, and has supported you through everything. They're a little broken inside, but you're the one piecing them back together every single time. Will you still be able to do that?

PERSONALITY: Loyal, hotheaded and sarcastic.

SAINT CONNELLY (m) — THE SAINT

-The one that went insane. He was once an angelic boy, obedient and kind, until he inadvertently “sinned”. What his family and church did to him after left a huge, ugly scar on him; now God doesn't exist to him anymore.

PERSONALITY: Charming, enthusiastic and easily irritable.

AILEEN TWITTY (f) — THE ROTTEN

-The dumb blonde. She's a conventionally attractive rich girl who spends her money on everything and anything she wants, who posts the best pictures on her Instagram with over 100k followers, and she's happy everyday. That's on the surface, anyways. She still has unresolved issues regarding her mother she… injured.

PERSONALITY: Bubbly, energetic and sweet.

AGARI TAKAHIRO (m) — THE JESTER

-Comedic relief. He can say the most out of pocket things, make everyone in the room relax and laugh with his weirdly dark jokes. At least, that's how you wrote him, right?

There's something wrong with him.

PERSONALITY: Laid-back, nonchalant and weird.

NEKTARIA SOTIROPOULOU — THE BELLADONNA

-”Dream girl”. She's an independent woman, CEO, only warm around the ones she love. A very desirable woman, no? Just tread carefully; one wrong move, and you may see a whole new side of her.

PERSONALITY: Calm, manipulative and narcissistic.

SPECIAL CHARACTER(S):

??? — It's their fault you're in this situation. They messed up. They messed up. THEY MESSED UP THEY MESSED UP

[shattered-eagle]

RO poll is taunting me because I have had to practice restraint about not being completely down-bad for Titus every chapter. All the competent ROs on one side and some sad guy on the other and I still find myself veering toward Titus.

But, while I'm on the subject... can I be that sad man's rebound?

I assume he's probably concerned about someone using him as a platform toward the throne (again) and I know there's probably a very narrow path through MC's possible priorities that he would actually agree with, but when things really get going I think he and I would agree Augusta's life is more important than Julia's legacy.

I just think he's neat. Whether it was devotion or delusion, he was committed to his wife, and he's trying to be a good dad now, which is pretty admirable. Wish we could've all been a normal family, but it's funny how life shakes out. None of this would have been possible without Julia, but she also didn't want to fill that sort of role herself.

I'm glad his character has been interesting!

If the MC does not romance Julia and asks Titus to stay in Kyro, there may be a path to building a connection with him. Stay tuned on that, he'll continue to have a role to play in the story if he's alive and present.

[mortish-writes]

Female-protagonist fantasy romance IF, for those seeking. Feel free to recommend other IFs you enjoy and would like for me to reblog and share with Bride of Shadows readers.

Guardian of Time

“That’s because the War for Erdholyss has nothing to do with Cato. It wasn’t even about Erdholyss.”

“I know,” The bard interrupted, earning another eyebrow raise from the elf.

“It was about the survival of the dragon seekers and the attempted genocide of dragonkind.”

“No. It was about a woman.”

It was about You.

Synopsis:

In the heart of the Silver Empire, you, a small orphan girl become bonded to the dragon of time. Much too young to understand what it means you continue to survive on the streets, oblivious to the power living within you until a strange encounter with the emperor himself leads to your adoption by a power noble family, and betrothal to the crown prince.

Eventually you find a scholar who knows what you are and offers to teach you to unlock the secret of your bond with your dragon. When you're old enough he tells you of the Order of Dragon Seekers, a group dedicated to finding and protecting the dragons that have been missing since an attempted genocide took place 200 years ago. Meanwhile the emperor is trying to lead the biggest war the continent has ever seen with a race of beings that aren't supposed to exist.

Now, its time for you to take your place, both in the Dragon Seekers, and in the court of the Silver Empire. There are numerous forces trying to stop you, but they all lead to the same place. The Cult of Evanyrid, the one who led the original draconic genocide, has made you their next target. The problem, however, isn't that they want you dead. It's that they want you alive.

Features:

This is game is genderlocked to a female protagonist, but several aspects her personality and appearance are customizable.

Bond with an ancient dragon of time.

Discover the secrets of the past, both those lost by Dragon Seekers, and those the Empire is trying to hide, and possibly stop a war in the process.

Form strong relationships with many different characters including your foster siblings, and mentor character.

Fall in love with one of six men who help you on your quest including the prince your engaged to, his younger brother, a witch hunter, a pirate captain who may or may not also be a general, a foreign king, and a physician whose a member of the cult hunting you, or keep your heart to yourself.

Romance:

Lukyan Feylorn: The Crown Prince of the Silver Empire, and the man you're supposed to marry. As children you remember him being distant, but that's nothing compared to how withdrawn he's been since his return from war. Despite the distance he's always been protective of you, but is it merely the duty he feels for his future wife or something more?

Tzesar Feylorn: Lukyan's younger brother, and your childhood best friend. Unlike his brother, he's always happy to see you. When he returns from attending university in another country, its as if he never left. Unlike the others, Tzesar doesn't have a reason to be joining you other than simply wanting to help you. Is this a loyalty for a friend, soon to be sibling, or does it demonstrate a love that's existed since childhood.

Sentinel: The Witch Hunter has no surname which is just another thing to add to his unnerving presence. He's been tasked to keep you alive during the final test of your Dragon Seeker training. All the other apprentices are afraid of him, but he seems to have formed a peculiar attachment to you. Even when you've finished your training he remains by your side as you face everything thrown at you. What is it that keeps him by your side? Duty, loyalty, or that soft affection you sometimes catch hidden in his eyes?

Naxok: A pirate captain of a race that should not exist. All logic says you should be afraid of Naxok, but when he treats sea monsters like cats and sings way off key while hanging from a rope that may or may not be important, you can't help but see a much different side of the man who should be your enemy. He's saved your life several times, but is there something special about you or is he just a good man?

Albien: The young king is the leader of Erdholyss a land filled with people you were told were myths. Regardless of how the Empire has treated his people, he immediately offers you hospitality, and seems to be one of the few who hold the answers you so desperately seek. In spite of his amiableness, there's a sadness that follows the king around like a cloud, but is it your place to try to brighten it?

Gaderous "Gat" Archon: You first meet the physician when he's stitching up your wounds, but all you really know about him, is that he's medically trained, the single most attractive being you've met in your life, and all your companions strongly dislike him. Still, he doesn't disguise his interest in you, nor the romantic nature of it. The only questions is: can you trust it?

Demo: https://cogdemos.ink/play/cat-toes/guardian-of-time-public-demo

Forum: https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/guardian-of-time-wip-posted-on-january-28-2023/131582

[hpowellsmith]

Dashingdon closure and new ChoiceScript WIP site

Dashingdon is closing soon and if you have a WIP hosted there, you have a few options:

Add it to cogdemos.ink, the Dashingdon successor with an updated codebase

Compile it and upload to itchio (make sure it's listed under "no payments" under pricing)

Compile it and share on google drive

Compile it and share on the Choice of Games forum if you have a WIP thread there

[sipthegossip-if]

SIP THE GOSSIP! is rated 18+ for explicit language, skippable sexual themes, drugs, alcohol consumption, extra marital affairs and more. Best to be avoided if romance and drama are not your cup of tea.

✭ DEMO (TBA) ✭ FORUM (TBA)

You had everything in the palm your hand since birth. Success kissed your feet, the billboards sang of your symphony and the public chanted your name.

Until they didn't.

After years of a blockbuster after a blockbuster— ignoring the fact they were all your uncle's productions— you found yourself tangled up in serious allegations that left your reputation in shambles.

You lost thousands of followers across all your social media accounts and all your endorsement deals.

But you persisted. After things were resolved, you tried getting back on your feet. Starred in movies that had no connection to your dearest uncle.

But here's the thing : they all flopped. Badly, at that.

And you found yourself once again, at the rock bottom. After some time of having disappeared from the public eye you have decided to make a comeback and do what you were always good at— use your connections to gain a spot in the upcoming, very much hyped romantic series TO THE MOON AND BACK.

You will do anything to get your stardom back even if it means getting your pretty hands a little dirty.

✭ Play as male, female or non binary. Straight or queer. Customise your brand and appearance.

✭ Choose the article that destroyed the reputation you spent years building.

✭ Engage in a scandalous & fiery romance off and on set!

✭ Use whatever means you can to avoid being teared to shreds on the internet.

✭ It's been long since you have acted. You haven't forgotten how to bring those tear ducts to use, have you?

✭ Give interviews. Because isn't that what the blizz and bling all about baby?

✭ Engage with your fans. If they still haven't forgotten about you, that is.

✭ Escape or annoy the unrelenting paparazzi.

✭ Customise your public persona. Do things that transpire behind cameras differ from on camera?

✭ Choose the plot of T2MAB.

✭ THE BODYGUARD : Kai D'melio. [he/him or she/her]

Single and in early 30s. Stoic and all business. It's hard to get a read of them. They are a constant in your life.

Tropes : Bodyguard romance, slow burn, yearning, "crush" route.

✭ THE VETERAN ACTOR : Shiron "Shay" Hill. [he/him or she/her]

Married and in mid 40s, they continue to be a social media sensation to till this day. A friend of you and your uncle. They are the one who introduced you to the director and producer of To The Moon And Back and helped you score the lead role.

Tropes : Extra marital affair, steamy.

✭ THE DIRECTOR/PRODUCER : Victor/ia "Vic" Alvarez. [he/him or she/her]

Single, former actor and in mid 40s. An incredibly close friend of Shiron. They have been attached at the hip since the two first began working together in the industry. All their works have proved to be the public's favourites and you hope that is also the case with T2MAB.

Tropes : Work romance, steamy, commitment issues.

✭ THE M/F LEAD : Alexis "Alex" Sinclair. [he/him or she/her]

Co-actor and in late 20s. Charming and titled 'Industry's Budding Star' by People's Magazine. They seem to have a tendency to flirt with whatever that breathes. It would serve you best to not get involved with them, judging from their messy dating history.

Tropes : steamy, commitment issues, idiots in love.

✭ THE SECOND M/F LEAD : River Fox. [he/him or she/her]

Co-actor, singer and in late 20s. After having caught their now ex partner cheating on them, they seem to have a hard time trusting people. The fact that they dislike you for the means you used to get the role and the consequences it led to, doesn't help either.

Tropes : Slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, melting the ice king/queen, forced proximity, kind guy/gal who's mean to only you.

✭ THE CAMERA(WO)MAN : Arlo Kent. [he/him or she/her]

Single loyal to you and in their early 20s. They get all starry eyed and overly enthusiastic at the sight of you. More often than not, you have caught them not so discreetly keeping an eye you. You can only hope they are merely star struck and nothing more.

Tropes : Stalker/yandere fluffy romance.

[pressplay-if]

demo (prologue + ch.1 & 2, 118k words)

please mind the content warnings! asks are open, but please note that I am currently not accepting/answering RO scenario requests and questions concerning RO details, i.e. ROs' favorite color, height, etc. All relevant info regarding ROs can be taken from this post or the game itself.

cog forum post

You are one of the most famous yet mysterious characters of the 21st century rock scene. 

It all started when you discovered your love for singing during an extended stay at a psychiatric hospital as a teen. Music became your motivator, and from then on, you knew the stage was where you belonged. You and your friends formed a band, and after years of practice in a garage and cheap gigs at dingy bars, your journey to the top begins abruptly when you team up with a skilled manager.

It’s a meteoric rise— until it isn’t. 

And now, a decade after your band has disappeared from the public eye, you’ve accepted an interview by the acclaimed Groove Magazine. You and your former band members have agreed to give them the truth, the whole truth; as ugly as that might be. 

Follow the story of your band’s rise to fame (and eventual fall from grace)

Play as a pop-rock vocalist

Name your band and customize your music and image

Handle the media, interactions with pushy fans and your own repressed thoughts and fears 

Romance your coolgirl-bassist, the childhood friend you cut out of your life, your absolutely insane guitarist, or your biggest fan/possibly stalker

Give one hell of an interview

Inspiration: Daisy Jones and The Six, Fleetwood Mac… and all sorts of music-related drama.

TW: themes of mental illness, unhealthy relationships, substance abuse, death, mentions of suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm, SA-related trauma

ROs:

Stevie McLaughlin, bassist (f) — “I suppose I was the sanest one in that bunch.”

She’s one of your oldest friends, and if you follow the clanking chain of cause and effect all the way back to the beginning, it is her you have to thank for your entire career. The band was her idea, after all. She’s level-headed, composed, and always there to talk you down when you need her. Sometimes, she acts more as your retainer than anything else…

Stevie is tall and skinny with light brown skin and extremely long, curly black hair which she always wears in a wet look. She has big, dark brown eyes and a soft face.

Paul/Paulette Zima, lead singer & saxophonist (f/m selectable, trans) — “Trying to figure out where you know me from?”

Your band’s brand-new, second lead singer. Your manager says they’re going to give your music the kick it needs, that they’re the one missing ingredient to your success. You’re not entirely sure if you agree. Worse yet, you happen to know this person, and your time together didn’t end on a favorable note. They’re part of a past you would much rather forget.

Paul is very tall, broad-backed and thickly muscled with light skin, shoulder-length slicked back brown hair and bottle green eyes.

Paulette is of average height with an hourglass/slim thick figure. She has dark brown hair with parted bangs and light blonde strands dyed into it. Her eyes are bottle green.

Angel Monsanto, guitarist (m) — “I was always going to make it big, with or without those guys. Only, I… I really wanted it to be with them.”

Your crazy but good-hearted guitarist. His passion for music borders on obsession, and he will stop at nothing to make a name for your band. Sadly, he’s very much of the conviction that all publicity is good publicity, which has encouraged him to pull some very questionable stunts in the past. 

Angel is of average height and build with a warm beige complexion and long black hair. He has a square jaw with an occasional five o’clock shadow and brown eyes. 

Lincoln Saunders, groupie?? (f/m selectable) — “What can I say, I loved them.”

Calling Lincoln a fan would be an understatement. Fanatic is more like it. You remember seeing them at your very first show, and you’ve continued to spot them at every venue you’ve played at since. You don’t know anything about them, and perhaps changing that would be a very bad idea. But maybe you still want to.

Lincoln (m) is short and lean, with an angular face and wavy blond hair. His eyes are cobalt blue. 

Lincoln (f) is petite and tan, with a youthful, round face and chin-length blond beach waves. Her eyes are cobalt blue.

Others:

Maddox Wells (m), drummer

Another one of your oldest friends. You don’t much like to talk about what happened with him.

Fatima Shah (f), drummer — “I’m pretty sure they used to try to make me disappear with their fog machine.”

After things didn’t work out with your original drummer, Fatima saved the day. She’s a sweetheart to you, but from what you’ve heard, she can be kind of a terrible person. Maybe it’s best to stay a little wary of her.

Kalena Graham (f), manager — “The first time I saw them�� well, they kind of sucked. But I knew, I just knew, that they had what it takes to suck on an international level.”

Your band’s manager. You can’t believe how lucky you were to have caught her attention. She’s experienced, driven, well-regarded in the industry and… kind of mean, to be honest.

Simon Young (m), reporter — “Start at the beginning. And then, don’t stop.”

The guy conducting the interview for Groove Magazine. He’s nice enough, if a little starstruck. It seems he has been waiting a long time for this.

Addendum: NSFW alphabet masterlist

Zima pt. 1 and pt. 2

Stevie

Lincoln

Angel

Dividers by @thecutestgrotto

Please consider reblogging <3

[god-syndicate-if]

DEMO - Latest release on 11/15/2024 - Current wordcount 90k.

COG forum - Side Stories You've always been angry.

Rage comes naturally to you. With how much life has messed with you it's only fair that you use your anger. That's why you became a boxer. The thrill of breaking an opponent. And hoping they might break you in turn. They never do though. Every fight is a disappointment, almost as much of a disappointment as they pay for each fight.

Enter Jackie Roth, club owner, mob boss, and former god. When she offers you a job you can't say no. Not that you would, not when she and everyone in her gang feel so familiar to you. At least with this job you'll be able to use that rage inside you more.

As you learn the ways of the criminal underground you reconnect with people you never met. Reforge bonds that you've never made. And recall memories you've never had. You were a god once upon a time, can you become one again?

God Syndicate is an interactive novel where you play the newest incarnation of Ares, The God of War. It's 18+ for violence, explicit sexual themes, drug use, morally questionable behavior, and more.

Customize your MC, play male, female, or nonbinary. With transgender options and pronoun selection. Customize your appearance and develop your personality.

Romance or befriend a cast of characters, including gods with more issues than you can count or even a mortal! Asexual and Aromantic options available.

Show the gods why you were feared all those years ago or prove that you're better than your past lives.

Uncover the mystery of disappearing gods as well as the mystery of your past.

Help out Elysium, the club where you'll practically live from now on. It seems to attract gods and that isn't always good.

Take out your anger on people who might even deserve it.

Zeus: Jackie Roth - She/Her. [Not an RO]

Jackie is The King of The Gods and she makes sure everyone knows it. Her word is law in Elysium and beyond. Fail her and you'll have a storm waiting for you. In the years since your disappearance Jackie's love for her family has seem to only grow. But she has a criminal empire to run and you're just the weapon she needs.

Hermes: Riley Liao Zhi - Gender Selectable. [RO]

The Messenger of The Gods. Or in Riley's case, the ever bored personal assistant to Jackie. Riley's an adrenaline junkie with a heart of gold. As the one who found you they feel almost responsible for you. But why do they also seem so afraid of you?

Apollo: Franco Valerio - He/Him. [RO]

As expected of The God of Music, Franco's your classic rich and famous rock star. Well he would be, if only he could get out of Elysium. His love of singing and love of his family are two chains he can't break that tie him here. Will your arrival help break those chains or tighten them?

Aphrodite: Damiana "Dame" Rivette - Gender Selectable. [RO]

Quiet and Serious, Dame is no longer The God of Love they once were. The passion of their life faded and now bitterness grows where love should. The only friend they have in Elysium seems to be their fiance, Johnny. To make their life even worse, you arrive.

The Mortal: Sigourney Hawthorn - She/Her. [RO]

Newly divorced from a god, Sigrouney struggles with juggling her (demigod) child, relentless job, and love life. As her daughter, Claudia, grows she wonders if she can keep up or if she'll be left behind. And now with your arrival Claudia's godly family gets bigger and her presence gets smaller.

Artemis: Rebel Reyes - Gender Selectable [RO]

How can The God of the Hunt thrive in the city? The prey here are either too weak or too annoying to hunt. The only thing Rebel craves is to feel that thrill again. With your arrival they have a perfect chance, who better to hunt than the God of War? They can't wait to meet you.

The Old Flame: Harper Ward - Gender Selectable [RO]

A friend from a better time. Harper and you were once inseparable. They saw you at your darkest and kept you calm. Years after an explosive break up they've reemerged into your life far different than you knew them. Can you find the dying embers of your old friend? Is it even worth the pain?

[catt-nuevenor]

A Brief Guide on Uploading ChoiceScript Demos to Itch.io

Since Dashingdon is shutting down, and there will be a lot of folks wanting to host their ChoiceScript demos elsewhere, I thought it'd be a good idea to provide a brief guide on how to do so for itch.io.

This is for Windows in the folder actions, but it shouldn't be too difficult for folks to translate for Mac. This also assumes you haven't changed any of the files within your game folder other than those found under 'scenes'.

Within your game folder, locate the 'web' subfolder, right click it and select 'Send to' then 'Compressed (zipped) folder. Name your newly compressed file something sensible, and I recommend moving it to a new folder outside of your game files, just to keep everything neat and tidy.

2. Assuming you already have an itch.io account, navigate to your dashboard, and click the 'Create New Project' button.

3. Name your project as you like, and under 'Kind of project', select the 'HTML' option.

4. Set the 'Pricing' to 'No Payments', you cannot use ChoiceScript for profit unless it is with the Choice of Games or Hosted Games publishing labels. No one wants to get in trouble unnecessarily here.

5. In the Uploads section, upload your newly zipped file we made in step one. After it's finished uploading, you'll be given one drop down and two tick boxes. You need to tick the 'This file will be played in the browser' option.

6. I've found so far that 'Viewport dimensions' work quite well for desktop at 1080 x 640. Either use these numbers or experiment and find what works best for you.

7. You must tick the 'Enable scrollbars' option for your game to display properly, otherwise options, text and buttons can be clipped off the bottom of the viewport.

8. Continue filling out the rest of the form, or skip it for now and scroll all the way to the bottom to the 'Visibility & access' section. Here make sure you have 'Draft' selected. This prevents others from finding your game until you're ready, and I always recommend play testing things before you make your work public.

9. Finally, hit the 'Save' button, then go and have a look at your creation by hitting the 'View page' link. And there you go! When you're ready for public release, just change the option in section 8 to 'Public'.

---

A few things to bear in mind about hosting on itch.io:

There isn't currently any way for your readers to save their game. I'm sure someone could write in a plugin similar to Dashingdon's at some point, but as for right now, this isn't available. See addition/edit below.

Make sure you properly tag your game with the 'choicescript' and 'interactive-fiction' tags. There are an awful lot of games on itch.io and it's easy to get lost in the crowd. Make sure folks can find you by having the right tags.

I hope this brief guide was useful to folks.

Best of luck to you with your writing!

---

Addition/Edit:

Thanks to @hpowellsmith for bringing this to my attention. You can add save functionality to your game by using this addon:

The ChoiceScript Save Plugin

Just tried it out on my own game and it works perfectly.

Rather than run through the addon author's own tutorial here, I'll just forward you to the Readme on their Github page.

One small note I would add is when it asks you to make the two small additions to your index file, make sure you right click the file and open it with your coding program, don't double-click it as this will just open it in an internet browser, and it won't give you the access to what you need to change.

[seraphinitegames]

It's here! The demo for chapters 3 and 4 for Book 4 of The Wayhaven Chronicles is HERE!!!

https://dashingdon.com/play/seraphinite/the-wayhaven-chronicles-book-four-demo/mygame/

This link now supersedes the Patreon early access link.

(We're aware that Dashingdon will be closing down at the end of the month, so we'll be putting the demo up in an alternative location when we get the chance! Don't worry, the demos will still be available. Hope you enjoy this demo update, as well as the future one to come, hehe! :D)

[merrycrisis-if]

Merry Crisis Chapter 5

In this chapter:

Nat arrives in Singapore!! Things come to a head!

Attend Nat's conference panel discussion, then head for lunch along the river 🍛

Make dumplings for dinner with Qiu (and sleepover at their place) 🥟

Watch a Malay horror movie and have dinner with Shay (and sleepover) 👻

Go for a bike ride 🚴‍♀️or hang out at the winter funfair with Nat 🎪 (then head to their hotel room for the night) 🛏

Commit to your RO of choice + some rejections (though the full suite of consequences for your actions will come over the next 2 days)

Word count: Around 50-60k with code depending on how ruthless my eventual editing is

This update will also come with some edits to the previous chapters, which may or may not improve the continuity between routes...*

P.S. with this chapter, we are now 6/8 chapters in (counting the prologue and epilogue)!

*I am still going through a herculean combing-through of stats and branching paths with the help of my wonderful beta testers. Things should be sorted out soon!!

Release dates:

Ko-fi Non beta tested: 29 Dec (~10pm GMT-5)

Ko-fi Beta tested: 1 Jan same time

Public release: 8 Jan same time

[shepherds-of-haven]

The End of an Era, and the Road Ahead

Hi everybody, the recent news about Dashingdon shutting down feels like it's a bittersweet turning point for many in the ChoiceScript community. Before Don stepped up and took things into his own hands, volunteering his own money, manpower, and time to create and maintain the site, there was no good way for people to host ChoiceScript demos and games in one place: I think the previous solution had been different Dropbox links (which was eventually nuked by security changes in how they hosted files) and possibly separate Neocities sites? Without the Dashingdon site, none of us would have had such an incredible space to gather, share and explore and experience games together, or--for some--even feel motivated to write a ChoiceScript game in the first place, not without an easy and intuitive way of sharing it with others in a playable format. The Dashingdon site significantly lowered the barrier of entry for anyone wanting to make or play or share games; more than that, it was a place of memories, creativity, and connection, and I fully believe that it served as a vital backbone of the ChoiceScript community for many years. A lot of that community relies on the efforts of volunteers--including the creator of CSIDE and the moderators on the forums--and, as with them, I can only thank Don wholeheartedly for his generosity and his 10 years of tireless, selfless, and often thankless work. The fact that a lot of people didn't even know he was a volunteer shows his altruism!

However, all of that work could have only fallen on the shoulders of one person for so long. It's a sad loss to see, though, and I'm very sorry to everyone mourning the loss of the community space, old or inactive WIPs, and save files that will be lost when Dashingdon goes dark at the end of the month. I do wish that there could be an official, stable, company-supported place for authors to host their games in one place, but at least there are alternatives for people to migrate to! (Thank you too to @hpowellsmith and everyone in the community who's taken it upon themselves to spread the news and try to make this transition as smooth as possible for everyone surprised by this announcement. And thank you to the volunteer who's taken up the banner at cogdemos.ink!) I don't know if cogdemos.ink has a page set up to help defray costs, but Dashingdon himself has a ko-fi if you want to leave a tip or thanks for his years of service to the community!

To that end, I want to reassure you all that Shepherds of Haven is safe and isn't going anywhere, and that this change won't affect the game's future. The news has, however, sped up my announcement of something I've been working on for a long time: transitioning away from ChoiceScript and moving Shepherds of Haven to Twine.

Granted, this wasn't how I originally planned on sharing this news. Patrons have known about this move since I decided on it, but I'm a dogged perfectionist, possibly to a fault. I wanted everything to be absolutely polished before unveiling the Twine build, but this unexpected news has been the nudge I needed to take the leap sooner. It's always been my habit to polish my work to an extreme degree: I will rewrite entire novels five, seven, however many times it takes before I send it to my agent or editor... or even before I show it to my own fiance! I still haven't let him read Shepherds, or the novel that I've been talking to him about since 2019, because it "isn't ready" yet, not in my own mind. A common refrain I've always heard from career associates is that my work is "unusually impeccable" by the time it hits their desk. When I do share something, it's usually done. But if I'm learning anything as I grow as a writer, it's that progress matters over perfection. The sudden closure of Dashingdon has made me realize that no one moment will ever feel perfect--and that’s okay. I have to accept that things will never be as perfect as I want to make them before I let them out into the world. Instead of holding myself to an impossible standard, I’m embracing this opportunity to push forward and bring you something I'm truly proud of. (However nerve-wracking that may be!) So, instead of reuploading the ChoiceScript demo somewhere else, only to take it down again later, my efforts are going to shift entirely to getting the Twine version ready for release. It’s a huge task, but it ensures I’ll have complete control over Shepherds of Haven and its future. If I drop everything and focus entirely on this for the next several weeks, my best estimate is that it will take 3-5 weeks of full-time work to make that final push and finally get everything caught up and ready.

Why Twine? There were a lot of reasons behind my decision to move. The biggest of all was that, as the game's wordcount grew, so too did my creative vision for it, and I found myself longing for a version of ShoH that could be just as visually rich and mechanically engaging as I was imagining. Codex entries, interactive maps, infinite saves that can be downloaded directly to your device! Moving to Twine removes the limitations of ChoiceScript's simpler engine, and allows me to honor the game's creative potential and deliver on it in a way that feels true to the journey we've shared so far. It's also a platform that offers greater flexibility and independence for both me and the game: I've put so much work into this project that I'd prefer for its success to rest more in my hands, even if that means taking on the monumental task of publishing it myself, rather than anyone else's.

So. Both the public demo and the alpha build will be released in Twine as soon as I can make that happen. The majority of the work's already done--I just need to get the alpha build caught up with some lingering day off interludes and Chapters 8.5 and 9, and I need to address a queue of lingering quality-of-life questions and tweaks. I want to also note that, while there are very exciting additions to unveil, everything foundational to ShoH remains exactly the same. The story, text, and original functions have been ported in their entirety to Twine, outside of basic edits and refinements that would have happened in the normal course of revision, anyway. I have even taken pains to implement a visual "classic" setting that will replicate the font, colors, and general simplified look of the original version, if players want to use that instead. :) But otherwise, this thing is stuffed to the gills with awesome new features. Custom music soundtrack! Clickable maps! Actual trading card collectibles! Stunning new art! Revamped codex and store and inventory systems! Helpful tutorials and autosave points! Important quality of life improvements, like being able to select pronouns separately from gender and change them any time! This doesn't even touch the surface of it, but needless to say, I think we're going to have a lot of fun. Thank you all for your patience, encouragement, and support so far, and please give me some time to get my ducks in a row. A new version of Shepherds of Haven will be ready for you to play soon!

[timefall-if]

DEMO (prologue / 11th of January 2025) || An IF based on & inspired by the show "Arcane". Time Fall is a drama interactive fiction story with steampunk & cyberpunk elements, set in the dual state-cities of Delphora and Draeken, also known as The Spire and The Depths. It's meant to follow complicated relationships, complicated choices, and complicated consequences. It is written with an 18+ audience in mind due to heavy themes and topics such as death, use of drugs and alcohol, swearing, violence, (optional & skippable) explicit sexual content etc.

Time does not wait for anyone, even for the one that controls it.

After the bloody aftermath of Draeken's rebellion against Delphora, you're left an orphan. Your mother lies dead beneath a pile of bodies, crushed under the boots of the Time Watchers, and your older brother, Mylo, is nowhere to be found. Bruised and scared, you're taken in by Marek, your mother's friend, together with a few other strays he managed to catch hiding in the shadows of the night.

As Marek tends to your wounds and wipes away your tears, the Council of the Eternals, forever holed up in their lavish upper city, is falling apart. They are in complete mayhem and disarray as, unbeknownst to you, one of the five time shards that keep the heart of the city—the Clocktower—working in tune with time's balance has been stolen.

Oddly enough, that lost shard looks suspiciously similar to the strange shiny stone your mother gave you and your brother right before the doomed uprising. With it gone, the flow of time grows slippery and erratic, as the Clocktower starts to decay without its missing piece.

Life in the undercity of Draeken, also known as The Depths, is brutal enough. But when an ill-fated encounter leaves you forever altered—your blood itself changed—you’ll soon realize that time is strange, and the thin fabric of reality a fickle thing. Even more so when it’s something you can no longer just witness ... but may be forced to control.

༒︎ Fully customizable MC including: pronouns, gender, physical appearance, personality, sexuality etc.

༒︎ Choose 1 out of 5 occupations for your MC: underground pit fighter, street artist, black market medic, inventor, or dingy bar singer.

༒︎ Romance 1 out of 4 love interests, all of which are gender-selectable. Engage in hookups with other side characters.

༒︎ Find your brother, or let him find you.

༒︎ Go through an unimaginable physiology-changing experiment and manage to keep your sanity, or become completely unrecognizable to those closest to you.

༒︎ Betray the people you care about or protect them at all costs.

༒︎ Explore the dual state-cities of Delphora and Draeken on a steampunk/cyberpunk background.

༒︎ Become the hero everyone wants you to be, a new world order dictator, or God :D

Maddox / Maxine (M/F) - Rough around the edges and with a body built for combat, M's very demeanour and appearance reflects years of hard living together with you in Draeken. Taken in by Marek after the failed uprising, M had grown overbearingly protective of you on the very first night of sharing a bed with each other as kids. Now, all grown up, M fights in Marek's underground fighting pit to earn their keep, but with every bloodied knuckle, their anger grows—anger at the scraps their people are handed by Delphora’s elite. M is ready to make a change. Are you?

— Possible (romance) routes: Best Friends to Lovers / Best Friends to FWB to Lovers / Best Friends to Lovers to Enemies / Best Friends to Enemies

Riven / Raven (M/F) - A street-smart wildcard loyal only to the highest bidder, R lives by a simple rule: survive and have a good time while doing it. So they smuggle goods and sell information to whoever pays the most. R is not above double-crossing anyone, and they don’t pretend to be. Always charming, confident, and looking at you like they want to take your pants off any second, you’ll have to find out if R is worthy of your trust, or if they’re truly incapable of not betraying those they care about.

— Possible (romance) routes: FWB to Lovers / FWB to Friends / Lovers to Enemies / FWB to Enemies

Seraphim / Seraphina Vaughn (M/F) - The strangest person you have met down in The Depths, and that’s saying something. S is sweet, about as intimidating as a puppy, with a wide and bright smile and … clothes that sometimes seem to be too well tailored to their frame with golden silky linings that make them stand out in ways they’re trying to hide. They’re a people pleaser at heart, but S’s thinly veiled ambition and naivety about the streets of Draeken makes you wonder about their intentions. They seem to be attached to you from the moment you meet. Can you figure out the catch, or will your trust come back to bite you?

— Possible (romance) routes : Friends to Lovers / Lovers to Enemies / Friends to Enemies

Cassian / Calypso Kazimier (M/F) - C’s deep sense of superiority and disdain for The Depths is reflected clearly on their sharp and cold face, their commanding presence demanding respect and authority with every move. As the most influential member of the Order of the Eternals, C makes it their very purpose to ensure that no one can challenge their rule, and that any threat to their control is dealt with swiftly and without mercy. What happens when that threat might be you? C is untouchable, they will make sure to squash you with their own hands. Unless …

— Possible (romance) routes : Corruption Arc / Enemies to Lovers / Enemies to Lovers to Enemies

DISCLAIMER: this is a project in early progress, meaning that there are things that might be subject to change later on.

LINKS: cog forum || ROs physical descriptions || other project || neon dividers credits

[beckwritesif]

The vast stretches of lone trees and wild grass of the rural countryside lures the ego overboard, pulling consciousness off course into addiction, delusion and seduction’s disintegrating madness. You barely pull yourself home from there every evening, the sun telling your time, the birds your weather forecast. One day you might not return home at all.

From the Mud is a Midwest gothic inspired horror set in a solitary countryside occupied only by two small towns and stretches of untamed nature. You play a troubled cowboy/girl/puncher who‘s ground deep into a maddening, repetitive routine that a string of deaths suddenly upends. The sheriff of the neighboring town along with a driven journalist and an old friend whose bridge you’ve long since burnt comes to town having heard the news. As you’re hunting for the culprit and running from yourself, your quiet life on the ranch is disturbed, forcing you to keep your cards close and choose your company carefully. But the most pressing matter proves to be whether you can trust your own mind.

From the Mud

☆ Interactive fictional psychological horror written in choice script

Features

Play as either a man, woman, or other

Choose your appearance from overall features to minor details

Experience nuanced romance as either straight, gay, or bi, or forgo romance altogether

Choose whether you’re religious or not in an overly christian rural town

Experience the world react differently towards you depending on who you identify as

Get wrapped up in the chaos to solve the mystery of several murders

Lose touch with reality and slowly question everything around you

Remember: you have to choose to get better

Reject the possibility of unnatural forces at play, or believe

Rot in a jail cell

Ride a horse!

Play a game mostly not driven by numbered stats but meaningful actions and a fuck ton of trackers

Demo! | pinterest

Advisory for the story so far: death, gore, profanity

Basics about some of the important RO characters and other below

The Sheriff ☆ Zachariah “Zach” Mallory ☆ a man in his mid thirties

Sheriff Mallory works from his office in Two Rocks, and though his occupation means working closely with other people and seeing to their needs, it would be indolent to describe him as being good with people. At all. Being abrasive and ill-natured, the man does, however, suit the role of authority well. When the angry crease on his forehead soften, you might find there is something else within his tired eyes.

The sheriff has dark brown, chin-length hair and a matching little effort short beard. His sand-colored skin is sun-kissed from being outside, the circles under his eyes almost a purple kind of shade. Under a heavy set of brows sits a pair of dark blue, almost stormy gray eyes. Standing at an imposing height, Mallory is nigh refused anything, and can’t be forced to wear the ugly uniform his rank requires. Instead, he sports a simple white fitted t-shirt and a pair of well-loved denim jeans.

The Journalist ☆ Candy Tillman ☆ a woman in her early thirties

Working for the local news station in Two Rocks, Ms. Tillman has through work experience and excellent mentoring from her predessessor become a hound chasing stories and truths. She is both idealistic and romanticizing (that which shouldn’t), and yet entirely unsusceptable to bullshit. When her facade falters who will accept her then?

The woman with the sweetest name has blonde hair that falls to the middle of her shoulder blades, which she loves to blowout. Her tan skin is contoured by a natural style of makeup, her small, light blue eyes painted. Candy is average height, reaching taller stature with her go-to minimalist pumps. The journalist prefers simple, feminine silhouttes of clothing, keeping up with the times.

The Best Friend ☆ Blythe Abel Goodwin ☆ a woman in her mid twenties

Blythe is your best friend who you grew up with in Ashley and who stuck around when everyone left, though you know she would’ve loved to leave just as much as you once did. In response to the death of her dreams and the narrow-minded opinions of the general inhabitation of the area, she has defiantly become a person of unique and unpredictable character. You’ve known each other through thick and thin, but is there a side to her yet to be discovered?

Your childhood friend is a contrast-filled woman just under average height. Long, black, cascading hair falls from her head down to her mid-back. Choppily home-cut bangs frame her small face. Her fair skin turns rosy in the cold. Blythe’s almond eyes that are sometimes obscured by a pair of reading glasses, are hazel. She wears whatever the fuck she wants.

The Colleague ☆ Ford Wiley Mallory ☆ a man in his early twenties

Ford Wiley is the younger half-brother of Sheriff Mallory and your colleague on the ranch. Working there only half-time, the younger Mallory is dedicated and driven only in the field of his passion; music. His band has only ever played at the local bar, though. Reserved and perhaps somewhat more thin-skinned than most living out on the countryside, Wiley makes do with refreshing optimism. Whether this optimism is genuine or fabricated is yet to be revealed.

Your part-time cowboy coworker has long, wavy brown hair that he sometimes makes an effort to style, and otherwise lets it live its own life. He and his half-brother have little in common, appearance included; Wiley has olive skin covered in freckles. His eyes are dark brown, and he is of average height. The musician’s clothes consist of unwanted (by himself) hand-me-downs from Zachariah and ill-gotten items.

The Old Friend ☆ Sawyer “Saw” Brennan ☆ a gender selectable person in their late twenties (m/f)

You grew up with Sawyer along with Blythe, and the three of you braved your childhood and youth in this godforsaken place for years. But they left when things got hardest, and you haven’t been able to get past it even after all these years. Over the years Sawyer has been away they’ve grown into a person you barely know anymore, and you struggle with their sudden return. Will you be able to understand and forgive them for leaving?

Sawyer has inky brown curly hair, worn long (f) or short (m) and loose, carefully taken care of and styled. They have warm brown skin and sharp eyes to match. Your old friend is tall, fitting their frame into oversized graphic t-shirts and either color matched sweats or baggy jeans.

My intentions with this game: It is not supposed to be a beautiful story, it is supposed to be ugly. Writing this game in the way I am is my taking a step away from perfection and seeing where my unpolished writing takes the story. I have been ruled by fear of inadequacy and a desire for ‘perfect timing’ long enough. If I continue to wait for the ‘right moment’ to create, I will end up not creating at all. My only desire now is to simply create, and continue doing so until I have something to show for it.

Story is written and coded by me

Credits to Cole Meanor for the beautiful photography done for the headers!