#chronicles of tal’dun: the remainder

[the-remainder]

Square Weasel Studio Games

We are Ze and Nim, a couple who journeys through the waking and dreaming world together. We strive to write stories awash in warmth and sadness. Our characters are flawed but worth saving. Their journeys will make you think, and may break your heart, just to put it together again in a way that is a bit more hopeful, a bit more wholesome than before.

Discord | Patreon | Kofi | Twitter

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder

This is a story of two magi, Vyn and Ilar, who find themselves trapped in a collapsing tower with their only hope for salvation being a difficult ritual. Or at least that is what Ilar tells you. The thing is - you don’t remember anything, and Ilar’s story makes less and less sense the closer you are to the ritual. Are they hiding things to protect you from the bitter truth, or are they deceiving you for some more nefarious reason?

Guide Vyn’s actions to death and beyond and uncover Ilar’s truth. Are they your colleague, lover or something completely different? Read between the lines of what they are telling you, explore your surroundings for clues and use hands-on deduction to break the vicious circle and set them free.

form: VN/IF hybrid | status: finished | price: $19.99 | play at: Steam | Itchio

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Longing

Most people spend their whole lives never touching magick, and some are gripped by it before they ever open their eyes. Is there a place in this world for a child cursed with the hunger of the moons? For a child with a song that wants to be sung? Will they devour one another or find salvation in each other’s embrace?

The world of Tal'Dun is shaped by mysterious forces of the Sea, a power that gives and takes life. Touching its waters brings death to most people, but in rare cases some survive it and become magi. Evin and Near come from very different circumstances, one grew up in a tiny village and stumbled upon magick by accident, and the other was born with it and spent their life locked away in a temple. Despite this, as if pulled together by the currents of the Sea, their paths cross, and now a storm is brewing.

form: illustrated novel | status: ongoing | price: currently free, $ when finished | read at: Itchio | wishlist: Steam | more chapters at: Kofi | Patreon

Our Winding Road

Disillusioned with civilian life, former heroes Rowan and Jori retrace the steps of the journey on which they fell in love, with the hopes of rekindling their strained relationship.

Assume the role of the-great-“Ogre Slayer”-turned-desk-jockey Rowan, brave the various dangers lurking on your way, yourself being chief among them. Will you and your love find your way back together again, or will this journey mark the end for you two?

form: VN | status: finished | price: free | Play at: itchio

[interact-if]

Hello! I’m looking for games with a childhood friends to enemies to lovers dynamic, that is the RO we’re friends with the MC in their childhood, but something separates them and they return was enemies or fighting on separate sides only to fall in love again? Bonus if the MC has no idea why their childhood friend left them. Thank you!

Hi Anon,

This is bit of a specific scenario, and while we have a few potential titles below, it is possible they do not fit exactly. If any has any further suggestions, feel free to reply and we'll add them below!

Completed:

Rex from The Fog Knows Your Name by Yeonsoo Julian Kim

Demos:

Sifra from Advenio by @adveniogame

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder by @the-remainder

Emilia from Crimson Rose and While Lily by @manonamora-if

Luci from Disenchanted by @disenchantedif

Syfyn from The Exile by @exilethegame

Wesley from Hollowed Minds by @shai-manahan

[chadsuke]

please play chronicles of tal’dun: the remainder. holy shit.

[comikachi]

My favourite games of 2022:

The Chronicles of Tal’dun: The Remainder (2022)

Othercide (2020)

Inscryption (2021)

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope (2020)

Dorfromantik (2021)

Lake (2021)

Nancy Drew: Sea of Darkness (2015)

Alan Wake (2010)

[nimudraws]

“Where are you?”

Recently I’ve been obsessed with an extremely beautiful mystery of a visual novel - Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder . It’s an absolutely stunning work of art, an emotional story and an engaging mystery that leaves a deep lasting impression. Couldn’t help myself and drew something as an expression of my love for this game.

[rodfire8181]

I felt like drawing but didn't know what to draw so I decided on some fanart. This is the lovely Vyn from the visual novel Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder.

[farvn]

“Do you remember now, my dear Vyn? It hurts doesn’t it?” Square Weasel Studio’s “Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder” receives an overall score of: 9/10 OUTSTANDING + SILVER MEDAL OF UNIQUENESS Read my Steam Review here: https://steamcommunity.com/id/Far2close/recommended/1616280/

[the-remainder]

We recently made some progress with the art style of The Hunger. We wanted to try doing it in full colour this time and this is the style of the dialogue sprites we currently settled on.

Also, Evin got redesigned so their image fits their personality better. Hope you like it. ^^

If you enjoy my art, make sure to keep an eye on the Kickstarter which is starting on August 1st, where among other things you will be able to get art prints and even original ink drawings.

We are raising funds for the making of the expanded version of our first game Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder. So naturally, you could get the game itself at the KS if our demo sparks your fancy - try it here, or if you just want pretty art on your wall, that’s fine too. ^^

Even if crowdfunding or physical goodies are not your thing, you can help us out put by sharing this post so more people who might like the things we do.

In case you would like to know more about our goals and rewards, you can check out this post here.

[the-remainder]

Added another character to the lineup of sprites for our next game CoT: The Hunger!

If you enjoy my art, make sure to keep an eye on the Kickstarter which is starting on August 1st, where among other things you will be able to get art prints and even original ink drawings.

We are raising funds for the making of the expanded version of our first game Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder. So naturally, you could get the game itself at the KS if our demo sparks your fancy - try it here, or if you just want pretty art on your wall, that’s fine too. ^^

Even if crowdfunding or physical goodies are not your thing, you can help us out put by sharing this post so more people who might like the things we do.

In case you would like to know more about our goals and rewards, you can check out this post here.

[the-remainder]

Take a look at the beautiful, moody art of our story. Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder is a tale of love and loss, of two magi looking for redemption.

Play it on Itch and Steam.

[interact-if]

hi! do you know of any ifs that have dealing with grief as one of its themes? or just the mc having a loved one that passed away

Hi Anon!

We do know of IFs fitting your request. Here they are below:

Abyss by @abyss-if

Advenio by @adveniogame 

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder by @the-remainder

Greenwarden by @fiddles-ifs

Hollowed Minds by @shai-manahan

Inner Demons by @innerdemons-if

Midnight Diner Game by @midnightdinergame

Sinners and Saints by @sinnersandsaints-linwrites

Siren's Call by @the-siren-call

Solid Ground by @solidgroundif

The Fernweh Saga by @lacunafiction

Thrill Seeker by @thrill-seeker-if

Twin Coves by @twincovesgame

Werewolf Noir by @canismaxim-games

We All Bleed Red by @lost-kiwi-dev

[the-remainder]

First free chapter of Evin’s story is up!

Read it here.

We will post one chapter every month on our Itch page. It’s a linear story set in the world of Tal’Dun which will introduce you to our new characters and set up the scene for our next game Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Hunger.

Reading our first game Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder is not required to make sense of the story. However some lore might require some explanation if this is your first step into our world, but we will have a glossary so it shouldn’t be much of a problem.

The first chapter is just a few pages long and each future chapter will be around 10-15 pages. Each of our 6 charcters will start as a separate story and they will with the stories of others somewhere along the way.

I’m also making some art to accompany the text.

This whole thing is still a work in progress, so the chapters might get tweaked with time. So far we have around 80k words written and that is just a fraction of the story we have planned.

In case you don’t want to wait so long for the each chapter you can become a supporter on our Kofi or Patreon where we post chapters every two weeks.

[the-remainder]

Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder is released!

Play on Steam and Itch!

Woooohooo!! We did it! It’s live!!

This is a story of two magi, Vyn and Ilar, who find themselves trapped in a collapsing tower with their only hope for salvation being a difficult ritual. Or at least that is what Ilar tells you. The thing is - you don’t remember anything, and Ilar’s story makes less and less sense the closer you are to the ritual. Are they hiding things to protect you from the bitter truth, or are they deceiving you for some more nefarious reason?

Guide Vyn’s actions to death and beyond and uncover Ilar’s truth. Are they your colleague, lover or something completely different? Read between the lines of what they are telling you, explore your surroundings for clues and use hands-on deduction to break the viscious circle and set them free.

This Interactive fiction/visual novel hybrid is made by two people - Ze and Nim and it is our very first game! It features hand drawn illustrations, animated scenes and an original soundtrack, all working together to immerse you into the world of Tal’Dun.

The game includes descriptions of sexual themes, violence, blood, physical and mental abuse, self harm, death, and suicide. Characters are going through emotional struggle and are dealing with a life threatening situation. If you are sensitive to some of this content please proceed with care. Recommended to a mature audience.

[interact-if]

[ID: a banner-style graphic featuring light blue details over a dark blue background. Tiled floral designs decorate the borders of the banner, and the border is separated from the rest of the image but a rectangular border with inverted rounded corners that feature a small floral design as well. A faint mandala made of rounded lines decorates the middle of the image, behind the centred text. Text reads, in light blue: "Interact-IF presents: Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month". /end ID]

May is Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month!

During the next following weeks, we will feature interviews of Asian and Pacific Islander creators. Discussing their inspirations for their projects and experience as IF creators, we want to shed a light on their journey.

Here are our month’s featured authors, please check out their works and join us in supporting them.

Nacre, Author of Joint Venture.

Five years have passed since Eric died in the hands of the Agency. All this time you’ve been on the run with your brother’s murderers on your heels.

One day, during a mission on your own, you meet some mysterious strangers who intervene with your plans.

Although they turn out to be old friends with your brother, you’re not sure whether you can trust them. Nevertheless you share the same goal: earning back your freedom by taking down the Agency.

You play as an ex-agent trying to solve the murder of your brother while you are hiding from your former employers who, unfortunately, want to see you dead too.

Read more about Joint Venture here.

Play the Demo here.

Tags: Crime, spy-fi, romance, action, conspiracy, bromance

Nacre is also the author of Morning Star, a dark fantasy game where you play as Lucifer. You can play that demo here.

Ze, one of authors of Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder

(VN)

This is a story of two magi, Vyn and Ilar, who find themselves trapped in a collapsing tower with their only hope for salvation being a difficult ritual. Or at least that is what Ilar tells you. The thing is - you don’t remember anything, and Ilar’s story makes less and less sense the closer you are to the ritual. Are they hiding things to protect you from the bitter truth, or are they deceiving you for some more nefarious reason?

Guide Vyn’s actions to death and beyond and uncover Ilar’s truth. Are they your colleague, lover or something completely different? Read between the lines of what they are telling you, explore your surroundings for clues and use hands-on deduction to break the viscious circle and set them free.

Read more about Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder here.

Play the Game on Steam or Itch.

Tags: Fantasy, Mystery.

Allie, author of College Tennis: Origin Story

Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you succeed in making a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court? And perhaps more importantly…how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?

Start at the bottom as a newly-recruited freshman at Cargill university, and claw your way to the championships. Forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances, attend classes, and rush term papers -or party- till the sun comes up.

Read more about College Tennis: Origin Story here.

Play the Demo here.

Tags: Sport, Slice-of-life.

Allie is also the author of Merry Crisis.

Zico, author of The Night Abridged

You were supposed to be a sacrifice but instead of dying, you find yourself being the new vessel of an old Eldritch Horror who offers you power that no other could have for a little taste of freedom. Unfortunately for you, your captors had other plans for you and decided to utilise your newly given abilities as their own personal puppet.

After being sent out to hunt down a traitor of The Court of Night, a series of unfortunate events sends you off the intended path and onto another where you then find yourself fighting an evil greater than the ones you know.

Will you remain a puppet of The Court or will you cut the strings that tie you to them?

Read more about The Night Abridged here.

DEMO: TBA.

Tags: Fantasy.

Zico is also the author of Exurgo. a fantasy project where you play as a newly awaken immortal being. For more information, click here.

Mouse and Ram, authors of Beau Ideals

Merchants stare up and out, some advertising their goods, yelling, others perched, confident that the outward quality of their wares is enough to draw customers in: rubble arranged on tables, mageware scattered in between with display lights illuminating milky crystals; the fruit of their ventures into the Expanse, the hope that it was worth their sacrifice. It all passes in a blur and I feel the press of time. One of these items will be worth the risk of stealing. It will be my last act as a free citizen before disappearing into the Southern Expanse.

A low-level criminal on the run for the crime of the century, the end of your journey approaches as you arrive in Lau Lyssa, the Kingdom’s southernmost city. Resigned to your fate of living as a fugitive in the wilds of the Southern Expanse, you know you only have so much time before word of your misdeed sweeps the land.

Read more about Beau Ideals here.

Play the Demo Here.

Tags: Fantasy.

Jinx author of Elsinore: After Hamlet

Once upon a time, a prince avenged his father’s death. If only he could have foreseen his own.

The year is 2021—or maybe 1602? Hamlet the Younger has just tragically died and Fortinbras the Younger, King of Norway and newly-conquered Denmark, has a lot of cleaning up to do. Elsinore: After Hamlet is a text-based interactive fiction exploration of William Shakespeare's Hamlet as a plague text and a reckoning of Asian American identity during these trying times. Also contains bad puns and glowing text.

Read more about Elsinore: After Hamlet here.

Play the Game Here.

Tags: Fantasy.

Jinx is also the author of The Harrowed and the Hushed and Rougi.

Shan, author of Deliverance

You are the Messenger. Your job is to deliver messages. Get in, get out. Simple, really.

Now, it’s time to put your life on the line to deliver the most important and dangerous message yet. A bad omen has driven the lands into a frenzy, and the Prophecy foretells that the Chosen One needs to be found and awoken to bring peace back to the lands.

Embark on a quest to seek the Chosen One to help restore balance to the world, or witness the world succumb to chaos and catastrophe..

Read more about Deliverance here.

Play the Demo Here.

Tags: Fantasy.

Sou, author of Cherry Soda

As children, an accident between you and your friend Ryan changed the course of your life forever. Since then, you have transversed the boundary of life and death: your waking moments are haunted by memories of the living and the remnants of the deceased.

The two of you diverged; Ryan began attending elite private academy, and you summarily moved across the country. A phone call years later between the two of ends with you promising to come visit her, a throwaway sentence you thought to be nothing more than a platitude.

Following six months of radio silence, you sense her death before the search team even finds her body. And suddenly, the phone call may have been part of something a lot larger.

Swept up in a whirlwind of the horrific inheritance she left behind for you to uncover, the more you investigate, the deeper the lies and secrets go. A reckless desperation to break the fate that threatened to overtake the both of you had led Ryan down a path of no return. The same path you now find yourself on.

Read more about Cherry Soda here.

Play the Demo here.

Tags: Fantasy.

Neha, author of Demurela.

DEMURELA is a dark fantasy interactive fiction. You, a former witch, now a night-hunter (people prefer to call you The Seeker) are seeking revenge for your dead lover, and your dead father, along with your siblings, from the millennial old eidolon who has been after the witches of your blood line for centuries.

Along the way, you find the lives at stake because of your journey. Will you protect them or let them fall as collateral damage? What makes you think you have the power of choice when you land in thr capital city of Demurela? The capital visited only by the most superior of the courts? The capital where The Undead Queen and The Lupine Leader dominate?

What will you choose to do when the rulers’ adopted child nears to be the collateral damage of your rage? Will you protect the little one while fulfilling your oath, or will you give into the feeling of the world being nothing but selfish?

Read more about Demurela here.

Demo TBA.

Tags: Dark fantasy.

[the-remainder]

Greetings everyone!

We are busy creating the next installment of Chronicles of Tal’Dun and I’m happy to say it’s progressing swimmingly. Currently we are working on writing backstories for our new characters. These stories will tell you more about our world and hopefully make you invested in characters you will interact with in the game, so in that sense they will serve as a prequel to the game. The first character we’ve fleshed out is Evin, our healer. We will publish these stories chapter by chapter every two weeks on our Ko fi page for the $5 tier membership, with the first chapter already being up.

That’s another thing I wanted to tell you about. We did a big overhaul of our Ko fi page and soon we will publish a patreon page as well (they will mirror each other). We uploaded a lot of concept art, sketches, and finished artwprks for The Remainder there and will soon have a print shop as well. If you enjoy our work and would like to help support us in making the next game and read about our character while you wait for it, consider becoming a member. If $5 is too much, we also have a $1 tier for those who want to give us a small tip and get an occasional art and game update. We are very grateful to everyone who supported us so far and we hope you will continue to enjoy our stories.

[interact-if]

Final Day of our Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Featured Author Interviews, continuing with Ze Hai Lu!

Ze Hai Lu, one of authors of Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder

(VN)

This is a story of two magi, Vyn and Ilar, who find themselves trapped in a collapsing tower with their only hope for salvation being a difficult ritual. Or at least that is what Ilar tells you. The thing is - you don’t remember anything, and Ilar’s story makes less and less sense the closer you are to the ritual. Are they hiding things to protect you from the bitter truth, or are they deceiving you for some more nefarious reason?

Guide Vyn’s actions to death and beyond and uncover Ilar’s truth. Are they your colleague, lover or something completely different? Read between the lines of what they are telling you, explore your surroundings for clues and use hands-on deduction to break the viscious circle and set them free.

Read more about Chronicles of Tal’Dun: The Remainder here. Play the Game on Steam or Itch. Tags: Fantasy, Mystery.

[INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT UNDER THE CUT!]

Q1. Hello! Could you tell us a little bit about to yourself and your project?

Chronicles of Tal'dun: The Remainder is a dark fantasy mystery game. I made it because I really wished that more games existed that focused on story, characters, mystery and surprises. My partner and I made it together, we learned how to write, produce music, script, and design in the process of making this game

I was a game artist for several years before this. I've always played casually with building stories and worlds, but never made a complete project until now.

I used to feel like I wasn't ready to create a compelling story, and was waiting until I became ready to start creating one, but making the Remainder has taught me that I'm ready when I decide I am.

Q2. What inspired your current project?

Games: Dark Souls, Hades, Dragon Age

Writers: Lois McMaster Bujold, Joe Abercrombie, Robert Anton Wilson

Film: Miyazaki

Q3. Do you pull from your own identity for inspiration? How has that been reflected in your work?

I've moved every few years for most of my life, from several provinces in China, to Canada, to Germany, to America, to Croatia. I shifted through many worldviews, atheism, agnosticism, buddhism, christianity, agnosticism, sufism, liberalism, conservatism, anarchism, and more. I played with changing my body and my mind, and I never settled on one thing and said 'I am this'. I guess you could say I had a fluid identity. I think that's why the Remainder's story has a lot to do with change, and its characters are very diverse and weird. They're non-binary, they're non human, they anything but normal. Normal is a concept, an illusion. 

I've also dabbled in a few different spiritual practices and philosophies, and had a number of mind-altering experiences. A near-death experience, heroic doses of psychedelics, ayahuasca ceremonies, and deep meditative states. I borrow liberally from these to enrich the world and the story. The most inspiring one to me is Buddhism and its marks are all over the world and culture.

Q4. What are you most excited about your project?

I really enjoy the fact that since only two people work on the game, and we have no obligations to investors or publishers, we're free to experiment on many unconventional mechanics, subjedt matters, and storytelling techniques. We ended up with a story unlike any other I've read.

Q5. What has your experience writing an IF and with the IF community been like?

We didn’t know what to expect at first, but we're positively surprised at how helpful and friendly people have been. 

Q6. What changes in the IF community would you like to see?

We're relatively new to the community but we either got very lucky or the community is just very supportive and nice. We have no complaints at all.

Q7. What piece of advice would you give to fellow creators?

I've heard a few people express a desire to write a story but struggle with some sort of inhibitions that stop them from doing so. I hope they will give it a shot in spite of these fears. Even if it doesn't turn out perfectly at first, improvements will come. So long as you put down one word after another, you'll get better. There is no perfect, but all you need is good enough.

Not everyone will like your work, not everyone will care, but that's OK, the world is so big and filled with so many people that you will find those who will love it, and they will make it worthwhile.