#morris visual novel

[tattlestarbeepbop]

Holy shIT-

Okay, so the new update is amazing, but one things stuck out for me and I'm putting it under the cut because spoilers.

This just downright broke my heart. I felt so god damn guilty about what happened to these two. Their shop is in shambles and the only time I actually got to do anything there was to get madge's glasses there... I could hear a beasty scuttlin' around in there. And chapter 4 confirms it, I think.

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls

I think next chapter, the world comes unfurled

Ladies and gentlemen, packs and derms,

Everyone, next chapter, we might date a worm.

Of the virus variety.

Was that a good poem? You think mine'll ever compare to Morris'?

[maddymoreau]

Game: https://cattrigger.itch.io/morris-heart

[tattlestarbeepbop]

I ADDED THIS TO THE WRONG POST THE FIRST TIME, BUT I FOUND THE RIGHT ONE AGAIN... ...so, might I add?

"If 433 people came to me... liked me enough to encourage me to work on my poetry, and liked me enough to DATE me... and have me come out of my shell... That's 433 MORE people in your world that showed me love than anybody here." "Your world is worth saving. YOU are worth saving."

-An underrated horror game in disguise as a dating sim that's NOT DDLC that I believe needs more attention

“i am a monument to all your sins” is such a fucking raw line for a villain it’s amazing that it came from halo, a modernish video game, and not some classical text or mythos

[daemonologist]

Something that occurred to me when watching OSP's Dracula video is when Red says that Dracula can't work as anything but a novel, I realized that hey, maybe adaptations to film or television or theater can't capture what makes Dracula Dracula, but a video game could. There have been plenty of Draculas in plenty of games, but I think a near-identical translation of Dracula into the video game medium could be the closest we get to an actual adaptation. And specifically, one that changes styles multiple times throughout the game.

Think, we start with Jonathan Harker on his way to Castle Dracula. It's a fairly normal 3rd-person RPG that morphs into survival horror as the secrets of Castle Dracula and the Count are unearthed. Then it abruptly turns into a visual novel of Lucy and Mina exchanging letters, complete with a romance subgame with Lucy and her suitors. Interspersed throughout the game are Seward's interactions with Renfield through the lens of a puzzle game. Then we're on the deck of the Demeter in a full-on horror game as Dracula feeds on the crew.

We're back to the visual novel style as Lucy and Mina go on holiday to Whitby, which ends when Mina receives a letter about Jonathan being in Budapest. Then once again we're in a 3rd-person RPG, this time as Seward, and we are finally introduced to Abraham Van Helsing. This part of the game would incorporate the puzzle elements of the Renfield sections as we attempt to diagnose Lucy's illness.

After Lucy dies, the game shifts into a more action-focused tone for a time as we hunt down the Bloofer Lady and finally stake Lucy. After this, Jonathan and Mina return to the story and it becomes a mystery game as we track down where Dracula's coffins of earth are. Mina begins to show the same symptoms Lucy did and we get a rhythm game from Van Helsing's POV as he hypnotizes her to aid in tracking Dracula.

In the final section of the game, we follow the three groups in sequence. First, Mina and Van Helsing in a dungeon-crawl game as they reach Dracula's castle, ending in Van Helsing destroying the brides of Dracula. Second, Quincey and Seward's travel as the pair follow Dracula on land, ending with the sight of Dracula's coffin being loaded into a wagon. Third and finally, Jonathan's POV as he, Holmwood, Quincey, and Seward converge on Dracula, and the final fight of the game begins. Afterward, we see the epilogue play out and thus ends the Dracula video game adaptation.

It would probably be insane to pull off but if it were, it would be glorious.

[h20milk]

i can't believe my computer virus is this cute!

play the game -> morris<3 !

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Bowen McCurdy and Jordan Morris’s “Youth Group”

NEXT SATURDAY (July 20), I'm appearing in CHICAGO at Exile in Bookville.

Youth Group is Bowen McCurdy and Jordan Morris's new and delightful graphic novel from Firstsecond. It's a charming tale of 1990s ennui, cringe Sunday School – and demon hunting.

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250789235/youthgroup

Kay is a bitter, cynical teenager who's doing her best to help her mother cope with an ugly divorce that has seen her dad check out on his former family. Mom is going back to church, and she talks Kay into coming along with her to attend the church youth group.

This is set in the 1990s, and the word "cringe" hasn't yet entered our lexicon as an adjective, but boy is the youth group cringe. The pastor is a guitar-strumming bearded dad who demonstrates how down he is with the kids by singing top 40 songs rewritten with evangelical lyrics (think Weird Al meets the 700 Club). Kay gamely struggles through a session and even makes a friend or two, and agrees to keep attending in deference to her mother's pleas.

But this is no ordinary youth group. Kay's ultra-boring suburban hometown is actually infested with demons who routinely possess the townspeople, and that baseline of demonic activity has suddenly gone critical, with a new wave of possessions. Suddenly, the possessed are everywhere – even Kay's shitty dad ends up with a demon inside of him.

That's when Kay discovers that the youth group and its corny pastor are also demon hunters par excellence. Their rec-rooms sport secret cubbies filled with holy weapons, and the words of exorcism come as readily to them as any embarrassing rewritten devotional pop song. Kay's discovery of this secret world convinces her that youth group isn't so bad after all, and soon she is initiated into its mysteries, including the existence of rival demon-hunting kids from the local synagogue, Catholic church, and Wiccan coven.

As the nature of the new demonic incursion becomes clearer, it falls on Kay and her pals to overcome these sectarian divisions over the protests of their guitar-strumming, magic-wielding leader. That takes on a special urgency when Kay learns why the demons are interested in her, personally, and a handful of other kids in town who all share a secret trait.

I confess that as someone who lived through the 1990s as a young man, there is something disorienting about experiencing the decade of my young adulthood through the kind of retro lens I associate with the 1950s or 1960s. But while the experience is disorienting, it's not unpleasant. McCurdy's artwork and Morris's snappy dialog conjure up that bygone decade in a way that is simultaneously affectionate and critical, exposing the hollowness of its performative ennui and the brave face that performance represented even as the world was being swept up in corporate gigantism.

McCurdy and Morris are really onto something here, implicitly asking us why the 1990s gave us Buffy and Sabrina (and The Coven, etc etc) – what was it about that decade in which Reaganomics and globalism consolidated the gains of the 1980s, where the climate emergency took on its undeniable urgency, where media monopolies mastered the art of commodifying counterculture faster than it could mutate into new forms?

Morris's writing really shines here. If you enjoyed Bubble, his earlier outing based on the post-apocalyptic comedy podcast of the same name, you will love this one:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/08/21/podcasting-as-a-visual-medium/#huntr

Morris is also half of Jordan, Jesse Go!, the long-running podcast where he and Jesse Thorn do a weekly ha-ha-only-serious goofball schtick that never fails to smuggle in really clever and insightful ideas amidst the poop jokes.

https://maximumfun.org/podcasts/jordan-jesse-go/

John Hodgman calls nostalgia a "toxic impulse." Church Group deftly avoids nostalgia's trap, managing to be a period piece without falling prey to the Happy Days pathology of ignoring the many flaws and problems of its era. And of course, it's a hoot and a blast.

Support me this summer on the Clarion Write-A-Thon and help raise money for the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers' Workshop!

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/06/16/blight/#the-dream-of-the-nineties

[athinginmotion]

does anyone have any recommendations for intelligent, beautifully-written but non-academic books about visual art? Some I’ve read and enjoyed have been: Laura Cummings’ Thunderclap; various books by John Berger; Celia Paul’s Self-Portrait and Mark Doty’s Still Life with Oysters and Lemon. Currently on my wish list are biographies of Gwen John, Paula Modersohn-Becker and William Morris and Christopher Neve’s Immortal Thoughts: Late Style in a Time of Plague, but would love more recommendations if anyone has any. Biographies, essays, history or criticism all welcome, even novels about artists.

[renee-descartes]

Green Fuse Burning by Tiffany Morris

"'I never wanted this,' she confessed. 'Any of it- I'm sorry. I know I was supposed to. I really tried to want to be alive.'"

I thought it might be nice to do a book review (spoiler-free!) as I've just finished this one. Green Fuse Burning was recommended to me by a tumblr post about horror novels. I was drawn to it by published praise that Morris "masterfully reclaims cosmic horror from its white tradition," not that I can say I've read a lot of cosmic horror before, white or otherwise.

At 156 pages, I clocked a little under 2 hours read time, though I am a very fast reader. Though I sort of didn't expect it to after the first chunk, the novel drew me in. There isn't really a plot; if I described the main character's actions in chrono, it'd be about three sentences. It's a story told through dreamscapes so vivid it feels like you're seeing the paintings that are described every chapter. I just sank into the visions this book was portraying: of life coming from death, of alienation, of nature.

There were a couple moments where cliches dropped into the text in ways I found ineffectual. One line stuck out to me just because it felt so on the nose- "Her memories were colonized by trauma." These truly were my only gripes, though, and given they were specific lines rather than ongoing problems, it feels like nitpicking.

It's not that the book is art for art's sake- the themes are heavy with meaning, with importance. The book just cares a lot more about showing you those themes visually than acting them out narratively. If you're into that, I'd definitely recommend it. It was beautiful, it was easy, it made me want to go on my own weird artist swamp journey.

[borderlineseaweed]

OKay! so I'm not dead,, yet-

So, I decided on the future of "One Day At a Time."

so far...

I will continue writing and expanding on it and the relationships/dynamics of the characters. (yippie)

The main point of view will still be in the eyes of Lizzie and Raz because I gravitated toward Lizzie once I saw her interactions with other interns and towards Raz. Although she is an overall jerk, she lightens up to Raz and the others later.

(Of course, she still teases him, calling him "pooter" and the confrontation with Cassie as the Green Needle Witch.)

More interestingly, Lizzie even later admits her true feelings towards her sister

"I just want to beat my sister, okay?!" 

"I love my sister! There! I said it! I know she's a pill, but I love her anyway!"

Also, why did she sign up as an intern for the Psychonauts? Did Lizzie tag along because of her sister or because of something else? 

I mean, everyone else has a reason:

Sam is already tied to the psychonauts with Compton Boole and family recognition.

Morris has a connection to Millia as a guardian/parental figure

Adam is a big psychonaut nut and the "big dog" of the group.

Gisu is a genius engineer working with Otto on dreams and psychic material.

Norma is an (egotistical) glory seeker seeking high recognition and a sense of accomplishment.

So yeah, just wanted to explore this character a little more.

Overall, this will be an add-on to my intentional one-shot

The setting is still around 1982-early 80's and will feature implied locations from memory vaults or ones already established. I do this because I love the lore and scraping everything I can from characters' dialogues.

Things might be expanded on:

Characters

Relationship building

Delugionists

Anti-psychic propaganda

International spy missions (MISSIONS! FUCK YEAH!)

Turmoil of elites and power

I will still make my art to coincide with my writing. I want to enrich my storytelling and aid as a visual guide. My guided style seems to lead into a graphic novel type and I suppose it is very fitting with the original idea of the fic. That, and I love maximalism art and I can sprinkle in Easter eggs.

I will open my ask box if you want one scene in particular to be drawn. I will gladly do so! :)

Given my circumstances as a (busy... Currently looking at my schedule, Jesus Christ-) student, updates will be sparse and few in-between.

However! Not all hope is lost because the Psychonauts 2 Art Book is close to finalization! The world of Psychonauts will be further explored, and more concepts will be covered! (double yippie)

[cattrigger]

The Making of 'No Robots Allowed'

A short visual novel I made, and how I made it.

No Robots Allowed - A Short Game in the Date Time❤️ Universe.

On Sunday, I released a small visual novel called 'No Robots Allowed', a post-apocalyptic comedy with a bit of romance & horror put in.

You’re at the doors of PARADISE…

…but it seems that the security protocol doesn’t trust you.

Can you prove you’re not a robot?

If you haven't played yet, check it out before reading the post!

Play the Game!

The Making of No Robots Allowed

This was for a game jam called "O2A2" (Only One of Any Asset), a minimalist focused jam that challenges developers to make a game with as little as possible:

-Only one character

-Only one background.

-Only one sound effect.

-Only one song.

-Less than a thousand words.

Game Jams are an amazing way to get started on game development, and O2A2 is both a challenge and an opportunity to work within constraints & make something without overexerting yourself with asset creation.

For last year's O2A2, I worked on "Long Time No Life", a romantic / comedy / drama about resurrection and love.

This year for "No Robots Allowed" I wanted to take the opportunity to expand a tiny bit into the universe of Date Time, while still making something unique that can stand on its own.

Design

Do you know I can do more than Pixel Art? It's true!

While the game does take place in the Date Time ❤️ universe, I also wanted to work on something that was very different from the 8-bit look.

I did want to make a more 'realistic' environment for this game, especially since it was going to be the environment the player was going to spend the entire time in. Even with Melissa❤️ & Morris❤️, I had different environments on screen to show variety.

The environment also had to be high detailed so that it wasn't tiresome to look at, and also allowed me the freedom to have the camera pan from one part to another to give a more dynamic feeling to a piece that would be largely static.

The environment is largely a mixture of flat color & texture, with blobs of lighting painted on top.

There were a few times I used photos, for instance, Petya's sides are actually ends of lightbulbs.

Our Robotic Protector

Petya, the security protocol, was originally a large robot with big hulking arms. On the screen, I drew them to have a head and face, similar to the characters of Melissa, Morris & Anna.

However, I made the decision to step back from giving them a 'human face', since technically Petya wasn't a "Date Time" software entity, they're developed for something completely different, and that would not require 'human features'.

I then made the decision to get rid of the 'body' in replacement of them being a hanging monitor.

Story-wise, it was convenient, as the entire theme of the game is about the separation of humans & robots, and having Petya being as visually non-human as possible was a cool way to drive the point home.

(Early version of the 'body-less' Petya concept)

A Mad Dash to the End

For me, development of a story for games is always an evolving element as the game gets closer and closer to finished.

I do always walk into a project with an outline, but things get altered so quickly as I begin drawing out assets and programming the game.

All of my game jam games have had some drastic changes late in their production cycle, and 'No Robots' is no different. A 'finished' version of the script was done Friday night, roughly a little over 24 hours until I was to publish the game.

Even during these late stages, I was still changing things. Adjusting designs of the face, adding / removing things in the story, and experimenting with new visual effects and shaders at my disposal.

I would love to say that I always walk into a game project with a strong and unchangeable plan, but that is just not how I work with games.

So much of my creative process is in the moment, and veering into new avenues that I may not have considered during the sketchbook / concept phases of the game.

Speaking of facial expressions, for instance, Petya's 'face' wasn't finalized until I was nearly done with the script. At the end of Thursday, I drew the first 'pack' of expressions for Petya based on what I 'felt' was most fitting for them.

Obviously, this system just wouldn't work under other team setups. If I was a dedicated artist on a project, and someone ELSE was writing. I definitely would be annoyed if the writer dropped me an insight on how a character would look 48 hours before everything was to be due.

I am a professional artist in another industry, and you never want to be 'that guy'.

Causing psychological damage ON YOURSELF though, is a little bit more acceptable. And... sometimes FUN! :D

Will We See Petya in Date Time?

I'm surprised by all the positive feedback I got for Petya, so I guess at this point I don't have any choice.

Thank you everyone for playing 'No Robots Allowed', more Date Time content is incoming.

Sign up for the newsletter to get these write-ups (AND MORE) earlier!

[writingmoth]

wip folder game

tagged by @duskforged (ty!!)

Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, & then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! Tag as many people as you have WIPS.

ORIGINAL FICTION

nano [this is fantasy romance wip)

merpirate

antisnowwhite [i have each chapter in a new doc for some godsforsaken reason]

the cursed prince of wouldnt you like to know

queen of hearts [also known as aroaceprincess]

FANFICTION

puzzle pieces

GAMES (interactive fiction and/or visual novels)

briarheart

winter vn jam

triple jam

tagging @isabellebissonrouthier @memento-morri-writes @i-can-even-burn-salad

[tattlestarbeepbop]

I had to nab a no commentary playthrough to get the audio, but I really like how this turned out.

[maddymoreau]

Visual Novel: https://cattrigger.itch.io/morris-heart

[byneddiedingo]

José Ferrer and Zsa Zsa Gabor in Moulin Rouge (John Huston, 1952)

Cast: José Ferrer, Colette Marchand, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Suzanne Flon, Claude Nollier, Katherine Kath, Muriel Smith, Theodore Bikel, Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee. Screenplay: Anthony Veiller, John Huston, based on a novel by Pierre La Mure. Cinematography: Oswald Morris. Production design: Marcel Vertès. Film editing: Ralph Kemplen. Music: Georges Auric. 

If Moulin Rouge had a screenplay worthy of its visuals, it would be a classic. As it is, it's still worth seeing, thanks to a stellar effort to bring to life Toulouse-Lautrec's paintings and sketches of Parisian nightlife in the 1890s. The screenplay, by Anthony Veiller and director Huston, is based on a novel by Pierre La Mure, the rights to which José Ferrer had purchased with a view to playing Lautrec. He does so capably, subjecting himself to some real physical pain: Ferrer was 5-foot-10 and Lautrec was at least a foot shorter, owing to a childhood accident that shattered both his legs, so Ferrer performed many scenes on his knees, sometimes with an apparatus that concealed his lower legs from the camera. But that is one of the least interesting things about the movie, as is the rather conventional story of the struggles of a self-hating, alcoholic artist. What distinguishes the film is the extraordinary production design and art direction of Marcel Vertès and Paul Sheriff, and the dazzling Technicolor cinematography of Oswald Morris. Vertès and Sheriff won Oscars for their work, but Morris shockingly went unnominated. The most plausible theory for that oversight is that Sheriff clashed with the Technicolor consultants over his desire for a palette that reproduced the colors of Lautrec's art: The Technicolor corporation was notoriously persnickety about maintaining control over the way its process was used. It's possible that the cinematography branch wanted to avoid future hassles with Technicolor by denying Morris the nomination. (Ironically, one of the more interesting incidents from Lautrec's life depicted in the film involves his clashes with the lithographer over the colors used in posters made from his work.) The extraordinary beauty of the film and some lively dance sequences that bring to life performers such as La Goulue (Katherine Kath) and Chocolat (Rupert John) make it memorable. There are also good performances from Colette Marchand as Marie Charlet and Suzanne Flon as Myriamme Hayam. And less impressive work from Zsa Zsa Gabor, playing herself more than Jane Avril, and lipsynching poorly to Muriel Smith's voice in two songs by Georges Auric.

[byfurries4furries]

Where the Demon Lurks (Supernatural Action Visual Novel)

So I've talked a lot about visual novels. As you may be able to tell, there's been a recent trend of thematically and emotionally intense furry visual novels in unconventional genres like horror, sci-fi, and fantasy (Well I haven't talked about any fantasy ones yet, but they are out there). And this bucks against the previous trend of most furry visual novels being slice of life dating sims. That isn't to say they're automatically bad, but they're typically not that enticing beyond aesthetics. Where the Demon Lurks doesn't fit either trend.

This game is much more in line with shonen anime and light novels. It takes a lot from the Devil is a Part Timer and borrows plenty from Mob Psycho 100, Naruto, Blue Exorcist, Black Butler, Sailor Moon, and even more unusual influences like Saiki K. It's not really common for even non-furry visual novels to stylistically be like this (at least for the ones that become popular in the West or are made by Western writers).  It's very unique in that way.

But what is it about? Well you play as Kobu, the son of the last demon king who's inheriting his father's position after he died. Kobu, however, really hates this job. He at first tries to implement his own ideas, which constantly fail, because his assistant Vendrake flat out refuses to assist in implementing any of them because he is only really concerned with getting Kobu to basically do what his father did. Eventually, after years of this, he suspends Vendrake and contemplates quitting himself. Before he can make the decision though, Vendrake carries out a coup and drains Kobu of most of his magic, leaving him with only enough to open up one last portal to the mortal realm and put on his mortal disguise. There he builds a new life as a convenience store clerk along with his manager/new best friend, King. However, after a few years, Vendrake tracks him down and sends an assassin after him. In the scuffle though, King manages to get shot with the killing blow. Since harming mortals is EXTREMELY not allowed, the assassin is automatically returned to hell before he can finish off Kobu. King is fortunately still alive, but he's also transported to hell where the protocol is simply to immediately wipe his memory of hell and return him. Vendrake however exploits a loophole to hold him hostage so Kobu can come down to try to save him. He's going to need some help though. Fortunately, in the past few days, he's met some guys who might be able to figure out how to return him. There's Morris, the exorcist, Lucien, an angel sent by God to help Kobu take the throne back, and Toast, a very dumb ghost who somehow escaped hell.

Now there's a lot to love about this game. For one, it's pretty fun in the way a good shonen often can be and while it's not devoid of drama or emotion, it's certainly refreshing to see a furry VN that's funny and quirky more often than emotionally intense. There's also this amateurish charm to it. It's something I've always loved about Echo, but Where the Demon Lurks has a unique form of that charm. There's a sense that the developer, Bokedaidu, really loves what they're doing and are more concerned with making a fun story than making a very tightly written masterpiece. It's not trying to be the next Echo, Adastra, or Remember the Flowers. It's just trying to be entertaining. I can really admire that, especially as it fills a niche that most might not even notice was missing.

I would say if you don't want something as intense as the new crop of dramatic furry visual novels, but still want a story with higher stakes than "will the cute boy I like accept my love confession at the local festival?", then Where the Demon Lurks is perfect for you. However, if you do just want a slice-of-life smutty school romance, but with characters you can be sure are unique and likable enough that they could carry a higher stakes story if given the chance, then the spinoff, Kibbleton University, might be better for you. I will warn you that neither is very close to completion. Each route has barely even started and updates are pretty rare. Still, if you want a furry VN that stands out, Where the Demon Lurks might be for you. Until next time, keep on yiffing.

Links

Itch.io (Where the Demon Lurks)

Itch.io (Kibbleton University)

[the-dark-elements]

Headcannons - The Dark Elements/The Harbringer Trilogy

Hello all! Since I'm just getting this blog up and running I wanted to start with something simple and easy to interact with. Feel free to add to this list or message me with your own thoughts and opinions.

As mentioned, I do love to talk about this world and these characters so I'm truly down to chat about anything, so don't be shy.

Also, as a reminder this is all for fun. I'm here to have a good time, so if this isn't your cup of tea that's fine.

Without further ado here are some of my personal headcannons:

Trinity has ADHD - this isn't really a headcannon because it's all but confirmed in Grace and Glory, but I like mentioning it.

Danica and Jasmine are Hispanic.

Geoff left after Abbott died. Gideon was hired to replace him as the resident 'tech guy'.

Layla is a Scorpio. I've tried to do the math several times to figure out what her sign would be and based on the timeline she'd have to be either a Scorpio or a Libra. Yes, this is partially me projecting since I'm a Scorpio. (let me know if you think my math's off though).

Sam was autistic. Based on what we see of him he exhibits a lot of the traits of autism. I also headcannon that Layla is on the spectrum as well and that's part of why they got along so well. I feel like she doesn't read social cues or understand social norms very well, and honestly same.

Cayman fell in love with a human once.

Trinity is Bisexual. You can pry this from my cold dead hands.

Roth plays the piano really well. He also has an amazing singing voice. No one outside of Layla and Cayman have heard him sing.

Morris was on vacation during The Harbringer Trilogy. Because seriously where did he go? I loved him in The Dark Elements Trilogy and he was nowhere to be seen.

Layla prefers to stay at Roth's apartment because she can leave and go places without needing to drive. And it's smaller with a cozier feel to it.

Trinity loves The Last of Us. She played the first video game when she was younger and more recently played The Last of Us Part Two. I think she would appreciate the story telling and the fact that part two is the first fully accessible video game for the visually impaired. Yes, this is me projecting again as I love The Last of Us, never played the video games since my mom never allowed us to play violent games, but the storytelling is amazing.

Layla is a book nerd. I mean all kinds of books. Ranging from fictional novels to comics. She spent a lot of time reading when she was younger.

Since Roth and Layla shared Bambi as a familiar Roth's taken on some of her traits. Nothing too dramatic or noticeable, but he'll sometimes have much stronger human emotions.