#that's like “if your player wants to play a detective then give them a mystery to solve” lol

[wizard-loving-wizard]

i really appreciate aabria giving K some people to ship just for fun. probably not plot relevant. just cause it would make erika happy :) delivering some enrichment directly to our enclosure

[glitzglamgunpowder-if]

"You were destined for a life better than this. A life free from violence, from bloodshed. But here you are once again, it's like you never left."

YOU were a child destined for greatness, for your name to be written into the pages of history. Whatever happened in your past didn't matter anymore. You were born with raw talent and charisma that couldn't be wasted, that people can only dream of. But your innate gift didn't mean your path would be easy. After the circus shut down, you stumbled through life delivering each performance like it was your last. You thought you've reached your peak, until a mysterious offer suddenly throws you into a life of crime.

Play as a male, female, or nonbinary performer

Customize your MC’s physical appearance, façade personality, and choose a pseudonym for them

Befriend or Romance 4 ROs

Dedicate yourself to honing your natural talent

Choose your end goal and earn the fame you have craved your entire life

How do you want the public to perceive you? To be respected, or to be feared?

Learn more about the secrets of your dark past. Will you learn how the circus fell? How you ended up here of all places?

Will you acquire the fame you deserve, or will you fade into history?

Outline of Stats/Routes!!

Alistair/Alice Delacroix - THE RIVAL

AS you adjust to your new life, you hear rumors about your fated rival. One whose mind was poisoned to despise every fiber of your being. It's no surprise they're known for their ambition, their cunning, their ruthless nature. Their path led them to inevitable darkness, but will yours?

Trope: Forbidden Romance/Enemies to Lovers

Samuel/Samantha "Sam" Kaminski - THE BOSS

YOU are an acquired talent on behalf of the current wealthy owner of the elusive Spotlight Syndicate, one of the most popular bars of its time. They're one of the few people who don't question your mysterious past, who trust you as implicitly as the air they breathe. You know deep down they have a soft spot for you, one of their greatest assets, but they're motives are...difficult to discern. But is there a possibility your relationship could go beyond transactional business?

Trope: Boss x Employee/Age Gap

Hendrik/Helena Rietveld - THE BODYGUARD

YOU don't know much about them, nor do they seem willing to give you any more information than necessary for your safety. But one thing's for sure, they're loyal to the ones they serve. And given your new...circumstances, that may be exactly what you need: someone who would travel from heaven to hell and back if their duty called for it. Will you be the first to crack the unsolvable's code?

Trope: Bodyguard Romance/Potential Grumpy x Sunshine

Jesse Lê - THE FRIEND DETECTIVE

YOU never expected to see them again after...never mind that! They stand before you now, a completely reinvented version of themself. A stranger to everyone they encounter. Will you be able to slip off the carefully curated mask they've built and heal from your past together? Or will that smoking gun be laid to rest once and for all?

Trope: Childhood Friends to Lovers -> Detective x Potential Criminal

Physical Description of the ROs!!

Despite being a frequent IF player, this is my very first time trying to create an IF myself as someone with little coding experience (I'm more of a writer if anything). I'm definitely learning as I go, and I understand this may lead to mistakes or disappointment at times, so I preemptively apologize for them. I tend to become overly ambitious, and I want to make sure I always deliver on the promises I make. I say this because some of you may have ask about certain features being implemented and I will have to say "Sorry, I don't really know how to do that yet, but I'll try and learn how!" Hopefully, this will be a fun learning experience, and you all have a fun time on here! Sincerely, Mira <3

DEMO || BETA TESTER FORM || PLAYLIST || BLUESKY

[theresattrpgforthat]

Ok I know this sounds specific, but do you know any good investigation/mystery games that AREN'T Eureka?

THEME: Non-Eureka Mystery Games.

Hello friend! I've got quite a few recommendations for you, especially at the end of this post! I hope that one way or another, your mystery game craving is sated!

Delta Green, by Arc Dream Publishing.

WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

Born of the U.S. government’s 1928 raid on the degenerate coastal town of Innsmouth, Massachusetts, the covert agency known as Delta Green spent four decades opposing the forces of darkness with honor, but without glory. Stripped of sanction after a disastrous 1969 operation in Cambodia, Delta Green’s leaders made a secret pact: to continue their work without authority, without support, and without fear. Delta Green agents slip through the system, manipulating the federal bureaucracy while pushing the darkness back for another day—but often at a shattering personal cost.

In Delta Green: The Role-Playing Game, you are one of those agents. You’re the one they call when unnatural horrors seep into the world. You fight to keep cosmic evil from claiming human lives and sanity. You conspire to cover it all up so no one else must see what you’ve seen—or learn the terrible truths you’ve discovered.

I don't think I can do a better job of recommending Delta Green than Quinns from Quinns Quest, but since his review is an hour long, I'll summarize: Delta Green is a heavy trad game that takes much of the horror of Call of Cthulhu and revitalizes the genre by turning you into everyday government workers pulled into investigations at the cost of their peace of mind. The rules of the game seem to be pretty down-to-earth and detailed, but the mundanity of the core of the game is what allows the horror of the adventures to well and truly pop. In his review, Quinns mentions that for much of the investigative parts of the game, a well-built crew will hardly ever have to roll to gather clues - which means that solving the mystery is doable, smooth, and makes room for plenty of interesting story once you start putting the pieces together.

Detect Or Die, by silkandstone.

Discover who you were. Decide who you are. Solve the Case. A tabletop RPG of neo-noir empiricism, unstable detectives, and total ego death & resurrection. Inspired by science fiction stories of memory and detection like Blade Runner (1982) and Disco Elysium (2019), Detect or Die places the players as the various inner voices of the Detective, collectively embodying the fractured psyche of an amnesiac protagonist attempting to solve the Case - whatever that entails.

One player takes on the role of the World, laying out the setting and mystery for the rest, using a bespoke variation of the Powered by the Apocalypse game engine influenced by Blades in the Dark and Bluebeard's Bride. The rest play Personality Components, the fragments of the Detective's Ego who combine investigative competencies with erratic coping mechanisms, trading off control and emotional stamina to make it through the Case to the ultimate revelations - about the World and about the Detective.

I'm intrigued about the pattern of mystery games and their attachment to systems that encourage you to inflict negative changes to your character as they discover more and more about the truth over the course of play. Detect or Die is unique in that all of the players are technically embodying the same character, or rather, fractured pieces of them. The pull from Disco Elysium gives you some really unique and iconic terminology, such as Exofamiliarity (a skill), Heartbleed (a skill), and Egghead (an archetype). I think it's also fascinating that Detect or Die pulls threads from Bluebeard's Bride, which is also about many facets of a personality inhabiting one person, but is a much different, very horrific kind of game.

The creator of this game has released a free case: The Case of the Signal Fire, as well as an example of play for folks who might want to get a taste of what the game is about. I still feel a little bit out of my depth with this game, and I suspect that's because I'm unfamiliar with much of Disco Elysium, but the combination of PbtA and Blades in the Dark rules certainly has me intrigued.

Elementary, by Black Armada Games.

Elementary is an Agatha Christie-esque game of convoluted relationships, seemingly insoluble mysteries and quirky detectives who solve them. It is GM-less: you take turns to introduce clues one at a time, building up a picture of the murder and who might have done it. And, it's competitive. You each have a preferred suspect and you try to introduce clues that will implicate them. At the end, like the movie Clue, you each create an alternate ending where the detective accuses your target suspect.

If you really like watching mysteries with friends and trying to guess who the murderer is before they are actually revealed, you might enjoy Elementary. It feels like the GM-less format is meant to allow you to play the game competitively if you wish, and GM-less games also typically spread out the burden of rules-knowledge, which means that this game might be easier to pick up if your group has a hard time deciding who should be the GM. Judging by the store page, you might be able to learn how to play Elementary in a way similar to how you might learn a board-game, and that's another strong point in its favor in my book.

Red Harvest: Mystery on Mars, by fuzztech.

RED HARVEST: MYSTERY ON MARS is a one-shot tabletop roleplaying game based on the 1929 novel RED HARVEST by Dashiell Hammett.

Play as a private investigator from the Galactic Detective Agency. You have been hired to investigate a mining colony on Mars. It looks like it’s going to be a routine case. That is, until your client turns up dead at the dig site. It’s up to you to solve the case, and unravel the mystery of the mine.

Includes Player Manual (1 page) with rules for character creation and taking actions, and Game Master Manual (3 pages) with a pre-written mystery scenario and supplemental materials.

Mysteries… in space!

Red Harvest is a relatively simple mystery game with four basic backgrounds for your character, with two skills per background. The game is meant to be a one-shot, with the mystery and setting laid out for the GM, as well as a map for the players to move through and investigate. Equal parts mystery, sci-fi and horror, this is a great game for folks who want a one-and-done taste of roleplay, and might even be a great introduction to the hobby!

Unravelled Knots, by Emily Cambias.

Each Saturday, a rag-tag group convenes in a dusty tea-room to discuss the criminal cases detailed in their local newspaper. Their leader is the mysterious Old Man in the Corner, whose knowledge of each case (and the true perpetrators of each crime) seems unmatched. From each newspaper headline, he extrapolates the truth of What Really Happened to these victims, and the missing pieces of each case that escaped the bumbling authorities—aided by his eager listeners and his trusty piece of string. Based on the book Unravelled Knots and The Old Man in the Corner by Baroness Orczy.

Instead of dice or cards, Unravelled Knots uses a piece of string as a measuring tool for when your story is coming to an end. It's less like a traditional mystery game and more a collaborative storytelling exercise, with each player taking turns adding clues to the mystery as well as offering up reasons as to why those clues bring you closer to the real answer. You take turns playing The Old Man in the Corner, who acts as a sort of Poirot or Sherlock, in that he presumably holds the knowledge about What Really Happened. You also pick up other roles that are meant to introduce new clues, such as the details of the crime scene, the gossip surrounding various suspects, and the real state of the deceased's finances. If you like Agatha Christie novels, you might enjoy Unravelled Knots.

The Road Ahead, by WendigoWorkshop.

In The Road Ahead… you play as a group of young adults returning to their hometown for a summer of fun, parties and nostalgia. After one of their close friends suddenly disappears, new and old feelings stir, eventually getting them involved in the case. Through the carefree lens of an eighteen-something, uncover the truth and make sure it is the best summer of your life!

This game uses a deck of playing cards to provide resources for the characters, as well as dice to help resolve decisive actions. Built on the Songs and Sagas SRD, it's meant to be inspired be OSR-style play, with a flowchart to help the GM put a story together - a kind of adventure-builder, if you will.

The Road Ahead doesn't feel like it's solely a mystery game: your character is probably going to get into dire situations that they need to fight themselves out of, and if the right consequences happen, it feels like there's also personal fallout that each character might have to deal with, which feels very iconic of games about teens and young adults.

Haunted Echoes, by gaa_txt.

Have you ever wondered who died when the echo of a bell toll reached your ear?

Who died when the masked man descended from their black church to burn the flesh of the forgotten? Some say there aren’t enough of them to give names to the bodies, find the culprit. Even worse when you slip through their fingers, the only thing you can do is return as the worst memory you ever had, hoping your loved ones aren’t a part of it.

HAUNTED ECHOES is a lightweight TTRPG focused on one-shots and short term games where we play as weird detectives in the rainy streets of a fantasy Victorian city. Use your talents to gather clues, solve cases, banish ghosts, deal with elemental demons and ruthless scoundrels while trying to search for an answer to the question that haunts your very being.

This game combines mystery with the paranormal, giving your investigators technical and/or supernatural abilities that will help them try to solve a mystery of using a clock that is reminiscent of the same mystery clock found in games such as Bump in the Dark, or Brindlewood Bay. The game is a stripped-down Forged in the Dark rule-set, with play-sheets that are less differentiated than a typical playbook, a brief overview on how to run the game, and plenty of cases, questions, and details to help put together a mystery as well as flavorful characters to learn about as you play.

Some Days, You Just Can't Get Rid of a Body, by C.R. Legge.

You have received a letter that you hoped to never get. The one person that could ruin your life has invited you to a party, and wishes to discuss things…

As you arrive at the old mansion, they find you and ask that you meet them in a side room at a specific time. When the time comes you see a few others moving towards the room as well. Cautiously, you all enter the room and see them standing in front of the fireplace, arm against the wall. Before anyone can say anything, your host falls backwards onto the floor, dead.

You all had a reason to want them out of the picture. Unless you find out who really killed them, any of you could be framed for the murder…

This game is unique in that everyone who sits down to play must embody someone who had a reason to kill the central character. What I think is absolutely hilarious about this little game is the fact that since all of your characters are suspects, you as a group must carry the body of the victim with you around the house, to prevent NPCs from discovering their death. I can think of so many shenanigans a crew could get up to in trying to solve the crime while also keeping the key piece of evidence out of everyone else's hands.

Games I've Recommended in the Past...

One More Thing, by Nathan D. Paoletta.

Brindlewood Bay, by The Gauntlet.

After the Mind, the World Again, by Aster F.

Grandmothership, by Armanda.

Film Noir Game Recommendations

Mysteries Recommendation Post

If you like what I do and want to leave a tip, you can check out my Ko-Fi!

[angelwood-if]

DEMO (EDITING)

Genres and tropes: urban fantasy, romance, found family, enemies to lovers, exes to lovers, friends to lovers, murder mystery, action

LUNAR CITY: a gritty but bustling city where supernaturals and humans live in (relative) harmony. Humans live alongside Fae, witches and warlocks, vampires, and so many more. It's normal. It's your normal.

When your father died, he left you with one thing: his antiquities/pawn shop. Decades upon decades of collecting and trading bits and bobs from all types of supernatural histories sit right here in Angelwood Antiquities, a staple of Lunar City and the shop you have now inherited.

It was his life's work, and you've done everything in your power to keep it running.

But when someone comes in bloodied and begging for you to take hold of a magical object, you don't know what you're agreeing to. You definitely don't expect him to die at your feet, telling you to take good care of...them.

Them?

Turns out the object is no object at all, but an ancient being that could be the key to stopping a multi-species war that's been brewing right under your nose..and your father may have had something to do with it. And when that being chooses and bonds to you--giving you its power--you are now thrust headfirst into the world of supernatural. The same world you've managed to avoid.

Entangled with a cast of characters who will help you save the world, you are now both human and supernatural, a rare feat. And the most important person in the city. And it will be up to you to save it.

Angelwood is an urban-fantasy inspired by stories by Sarah J. Maass, Cassandra Clare, and Holly Black. It is primarily centered around romance, with a fantasy, murder mystery, and war brewing at its core. The demo is already written and undergoing editing.

FEATURES.

Customize your MC's gender identity, pronouns, appearance, personality.

Navigate a gritty city of supernaturals.

Embark on an adventure to find out what war is brewing in supernatural circles and how to stop it.

Romance a multitude of supernatural and human characters, including a Fae, a Greenwarden, and an entity bonded to you.

Angelwood is a primarily romance and character-driven.

Play in a gritty, supernatural world where not everything is what it seems.

CAST [ROs]

IVAN CROSS (M)(FAE) - Ivan is the cold and distant Detective of the LCPD. He is also a powerful Fae, with a menacing reputation that makes most people scared to cross him. Ivan is not exactly a team player and he seems insistent on railroading this tentative partnership you didn't even want to have with him, but he's also the only one who can make sense of whats happening to you. Seems like you're stuck with him.

It doesn't help that you two aren't on the best of terms considering he closed your father's case without much effort.

FREYA (F)(GREENWARDEN) -- Ivan's second-in-command and your other partner that forms this...odd trio. You expected Greenwardens--powerful sprites that manipulate all things nature--to be smooth talking and caring. Wrong. Freya is snarky and punchy, and determined to get her mission done. Maybe it's because she's half human. Who knows.

DOMINION (DOM)(UNKNOWN) - Dom is the smooth-talking entity that is now in your head and giving you their powers. You...don't really know what to say. They sure are a flirt, at least.

KALEL/KALIS (M/F) (VAMPIRE) - K, once your old friend (and possible ex partner) is now insistent on joining your group considering they seem to have a stake in this too. (pun non intended)

SELINA (F)(SERPENT/HUMAN HYBRID) - Selina the Serpent is the owner of the biggest gambling den in the red light district, and also someone you don't want to cross. Over the years, she's traded with you on all sorts of things people leave behind in exchange for information...and now she wants to join in one the group. Having her around would really help, considering she has eyes everywhere.

QUINN (F/M)(HUMAN) - your best friend and the one you hired for Angelwood. And a human, which seems to be rare these days.

[therivercrow]

Nice Little Things

I was tagged by both @pixiedurango and @antivan-sprig in this cute tag game from @akuma-misery.

I've loved seeing what other people chose for their Rooks - objects can tell you so much about a character.

Rules: Choose 10 objects that you will place in the room of your Rooks on the places intended for customization. These should be small objects that can be placed in the following places: 2 on the tables by the doors, 2 on the tables by the aquarium, 4 on the bookcases and 2 on the walls. Attach a photo of these objects and give a short description of why your Rooks chose them.

Answers for Alana de Riva under the cut:

Tables (2 items)

Elven Bass (in game item)

Much like Antivan Sprig's Lisel, Alana is a bass player. Viago wanted them to learn an instrument as part of their Crow training, in case they needed to go undercover as a musician for an assassination contract. After trying and getting frustrated with the more obvious choices of piano and violin, Teia gave Alana this elven bass that she got from a Dalish contact. Alana picked it up quickly and learned some traditional Antivan and elven tunes. They play it when they need to think, but have never performed with it in front of others.

Vanity Kit

Alana never goes anywhere without their makeup. They favour dramatic purple eyeshadow, smoky eyeliner, and dark black lips. It may not be subtle, it may not be traditionally beautiful, but it makes Alana feel like a badass Crow. For certain battles or contracts, they paint their face with streaks of black and purple, obscuring their features or shading their eyes even further. The kit also contains various perfumes from the Treviso market, another part of Alana's regular preparations to face the day.

Bookcases (4 items)

Novels and Serials

Borrowed from Bellara, mostly, though Alana has taken to buying their own whenever they pass through Minrathous. Reading "trashy" books helps them unwind after a long day. Alana enjoys sapphic romances and whodunnit mysteries. They can't stand books about assassins, though - they always get the details wrong.

Azure Crow Mask (in game item)

Given to Alana on the night they became a fully fledged Crow. This was a deeply significant moment in their life and they keep the mask on display as a reminder of who they are, even when the world seems spiralling out of their control.

Decanter of Antivan Brandy

With two glasses for sharing with a certain detective who may have reason to spend the evening in Alana's room. This is a rare vintage, which Alana stole from Viago's personal collection (after checking for poison of course). It is mellow and sweet, with hints of exotic fruit. A drink for sipping while telling stories long into the night.

Medical and Poison Kit

As a mage, Alana doesn't tend to use poisons as a weapon, but every de Riva fledgling received extensive poison training, to build up immunity and to know how to make antidotes out of common ingredients, as well as basic field medic training to tend to injuries on the job. Alana keeps a medical kit in a small case, in easy reach just in case they ever need it.

Walls (2 items)

Weapons Rack

Alana is meticulously organised. Keeping your weapons clean, polished, sharp and ready was drilled into them in their training. One wall features a number of mageknives, from the first basic blade they were given as a Crow through to ornate enchanted knives with jewels and crystals embedded in their hilts, and carved filigree running down their curving blades. You can tell the ones Alana uses in combat the most from their more worn handles and scuffed metal. Others are purely decorative, or taken as trophies from contracts.

Painting of the Drowned District

A reminder of where they came from - not the gilded spires of Treviso's wealthy core, painted in so many classical landscapes, but the humble poverty of the city's Drowned District, where dockhands and fishermen eke out a living on the edges of the city and the sea.

I chose Van Gogh's lesser-known "starry night" painting, Starry Night over the Rhone (1888) to represent this image. Alana is more drawn to impressionism and the emotional play of light and brushstrokes than the technical accuracy of the classical Antivan Masters.

Aquarium Tables (2 items)

Chess Board

Alana enjoys chess and played it with Viago a lot as a fledgling. He used it as a way of teaching Alana how to read their opponents, getting to know their strategies, their tells, their approach to battle. In the lighthouse, they play mostly with Emmrich who is something of a master, at least when Manfred isn't knocking the pieces off the board.

Vase of Lilacs

Alana keeps this in a position where they can see it when they are sitting on the sofa or meditating. The magic of the Fade keeps the flowers fresh for far longer than they would normally last.

Tagging: @robinsea for either Ivy or Sihu!

[anim-ttrpgs]

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy Introduction

The world of Eureka is, for the most part, just like our own. Its history is our history. Its people have families, friends, jobs, struggles, and flaws. It is a world that those who inhabit it think they know well, trusting science—or at least headlines about science—to tell them all the answers. We all learned that there were no monsters under the bed when we were six years old, and everyone knows force equals mass times acceleration, right?

Theft, disappearances, murder, conspiracy; in the world of Eureka, there are mysteries to be solved, and investigation will lead to answers–sometimes inexplicable answers, but answers. Perpetrators can be punished, victims can be rescued - but the dangerous and unexplained do not confine themselves to the mystery at hand. There's always another mystery to solve. Perhaps one was at your side the entire time….

Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is a role playing game for veterans and newbies alike about mystery-solving detectives (amateur or professional) using their different sets of knowledge, personalities, and unique gameplay mechanics to sleuth their way through a challenging world. Roleplay and mechanics are tightly bound together, supporting rather than resisting each other, and your character’s unique personality and traits will ensure a totally different gameplay experience from your fellow players’. Eureka supports and rewards real-time deduction from the players and gives you the power to build drama, suspense, and excitement around every corner! (You can also get the latest PDF for FREE for a limited time by joining the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club!)

Elegantly designed and thoroughly playtested, Eureka represents the culmination of three years of near-daily work from our team, as well as a lot of our own money. If you’re just now reading this and learning about Eureka for the first time, you missed the crowdfunding window unfortunately, but our Kickstarter page is still the best place to learn more about what Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy actually is, as that is where we have all the fancy art assets, the animated trailer, links to video reviews by podcasts and youtubers, and where we post regular updates on the status of our progress finishing the game and getting it ready for final release.

Beta Copies through the Patreon

If you want more than just status updates, going forward you can download regularly updated playable beta versions of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy and it’s adventure modules by subscribing to our Patreon at the $5 tier or higher. Subscribing to our patreon also grants you access to our patreon discord server where you can talk to us directly and offer valuable feedback on our progress and projects.

The A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club

If you would like to meet the A.N.I.M. team and even have a chance to play Eureka with us, you can join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club discord server. It’s also just a great place to talk and discuss TTRPGs, so there is no schedule obligation, but the main purpose of it is to nominate, vote on, then read, discuss, and play different indie TTRPGs. We put playgroups together based on scheduling compatibility, so it’s all extremely flexible. This is a free discord server, separate from our patreon exclusive one. https://discord.gg/7jdP8FBPes

Other Stuff

We also have a ko-fi and merchandise if you just wanna give us more money for any reason.

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.

[zerbu]

Project Squealer BIG REVEAL

Calling all mystery buffs, adventure seekers, and gumshoe wannabes!

I am developing MY OWN INDIE GAME under the working title PROJECT SQUEALER! In this action-packed adventure RPG game, a disease called Laughter Pox has plagued the town, and it's up to three kid detectives to investigate!

These days, I'm mostly known for making mods for The Sims 4, but I've been interested in game development as far back as 2009. In fact, I originally bought The Sims 3 for PC back in 2012 as a tool to plan out characters and worlds, before becoming hooked on the gameplay. For a long time, The Sims was my main creative outlet, but I was still coming up with game ideas in the background.

Skip ahead to mid 2016: while playing with my Go to School mod, I needed to create some child characters to fill the school with. I created two rival teams of kid detectives, and came up backstories and mysteries for them to solve. I ended up liking these characters far more than any other characters I had created. They felt like my creative masterpiece, begging for something bigger than just creations made in a character creator.

That's when "Project Squealer" started brewing in my brain. This indie RPG wasn't just some vague idea; I was developing full-blown stories, environments, and gameplay planned for my kid detectives. I also had the perfect art style in my head. Emphasis on in my head.

Turns out, bringing my dream art style to life was way harder than I thought. So hard, in fact, that I spent the next few years learning how to create art. It took until 2020 to finally have character and environment art that could (almost) pass for pro-level game stuff. Not only that, the project was undergoing what indie devs refer to as scope creep. I kept adding more and more ideas to the design doc, making the game more complex and pushing the release date even further into the future. In 2018, I even decided to move from 2D to 3D, and switched engines from MonoGame to Unity (and later to Unreal Engine 5 in 2023).

Now, it's 2024, and I'm finally, finally ready to announce what I've been working on for the past 6 years!

Project Squealer is the working title for my own indie game about a team of three kid detectives: Orlo (middle), Von (left) and Zoros (right). Together, they go on adventures and solve mysteries… or at least they would, if they weren't constantly having their business stolen by a rival detective team.

In this action-packed adventure game, a mysterious disease known as Laughter Pox has plagued the town, causing people to laugh hysterically. Where is it coming from? How can it be cured? It's up to our detectives to find out! If they can convince others to trust them with such an important mission, that is!

Project Squealer uses a hybrid of 2D and 3D graphics to create a 2D cartoon look with full 3D movement. Characters and some organic objects are 2D sprites that move with the camera. Most environments, objects and buildings are 3D, but have texture-based outlines to give it a 2D look.

The game features a variety of different quests, characters, abilities, enemies, locations, weapons and items. In addition to the main storyline, you can help out NPCs by performing "errands" for them, which will unlock cool rewards and even side missions.

Unlike many RPG games, Project Squealer won't include a character level system, because I want the player to be able to progress using their own skill, not by grinding levels. One of the game's main design philosophies is that there are few, if any, permanent upgrades. Weapons will eventually break, status effects that make your stronger will eventually expire, etc.

Project Squealer is still in relatively early development. I plan to post more information, screenshots, and eventually even videos, as it gets closer to release. Follow my Twitter for quicker updates: https://twitter.com/ZerbuTabek

Your support and feedback is welcome, and will help improve the game!

[airacomehome]

Aira Come Home Chapter III Casting Call!!!!

Aira Come Home's final chapter has two characters left to voice act, and we need your help! NO VOICE ACTING EXPERIENCE REQUIRED!

All you need is a mic and Discord! More details under the cut!

Requirements for voice acting:

You have a microphone of any quality. Stand mic, earbuds mic, even your phone's mic will work!

You have Discord, or some other way to contact me. Discord is the easiest as that's where all of the development chat is.

You can get all of your lines done within the span of 3 months. Each character has 11 lines, which are anywhere from 0.5 to 5 seconds long each. I can go all the way up to December 21st, 2024 as a deadline, but no later than that unless the entire game gets pushed back.

(For the sake of avoiding spoilers, I will be masking the identity of both characters, who I will be referring to as Character A and Character B, to everyone except the people who get the roles.)

Character A:

A is a can-do, flamboyant person who plays the role of Y/N's wingman of sorts. They've been observing Y/N from afar for quite some time, and are ready to finally get Y/N to achieve their ultimate dream of... well, that's for the player to decide!

Sample lines for Character A:

[Peppy] “Heeeyyyy~!” [Annoyed] “Girl, bye.” [Inquisitive] “Tell me what you want.”

Character B:

B is just as serious as they are mysterious. They're a no-nonsense detective who's dedicated to their craft more than they are to any person in Enstarrie High. And what's more, Y/N can tell that deep down, they have a grudge they're holding...

Sample lines for Character B:

[Natural] “It’s a pleasure to see you.” [Insistent] “That is top-secret information.” [Revelation] “I’ve got it!”

If you're interested in either, or both, of these roles: great! All you need to do is either join the Discord server, or message me on Discord, @cl0ckworkpuppet!

You can DM me some recordings of the sample lines. You don't have to do all of them if you don't want, I just like giving options, but I selected lines that display the diverse range of each character, so it definitely helps to do all three. The recordings can be any filetype, as long as they are listenable. That's to say, it doesn't matter if it's .mp3, .wav, .m4a, etc. so long as I can open the file and listen to it.

If you have any further questions, feel free to DM me on Discord, or on here. I'll respond to any questions, so long as they aren't spoiler-related.

Thanks for reading, Enstarries, and I hope to hear from you! Aira~bu!

[kermwrites]

Video Games that I would show each of the demon brothers:

Lucifer: I don’t know if I would give him any games for him to play himself, but I think he would enjoy watching you play something with an interesting story. He enjoys theatre a lot, so a game where the focus is more on the story would be more his thing. Games where choices matter, or maybe even visual novels (not dating simulators or anything like that). If we were to get more specific, my favourite story in any video game is Yakuza 0, though I would probably have him sit and watch you play it instead. Other games could be the Dark Pictures Anthology games (or any games by the same devs), or the Telltale games.

Mammon: Hear me out… The Sims. Why? Well, if you show him the Sims on PC, he can mod the game and get a bunch of cool clothes or hairstyles. I also think it would be good for him to scratch that itch of wanting money or expensive things. Show him the motherlode cheat. He’d probably have a lot of fun with it. (He’d totally have a secret save file where he and MC fall in love and get married). Also, make him watch you play a horror game.

Levi: Levi would like just about anything. I have been playing a lot of Taiko no Tatsujin lately, and I would love to see him get into those games. It’s hard to get specific with him when he’s already a gamer. Maybe show him some really cool indie games that he might not be able to get in the Devildom. Also, Dead by Daylight. (I know for a fact they made a reference to Dead by Daylight in an event at one point, I cannot remember which one it was. It might not have even been an event, actually. Regardless, he was the one who brought it up.)

Satan: I can think of so many games that Satan would love. Firstly, Professor Layton. It’s a mystery game full of puzzles. It’s his dream game. Plus, a DS is smaller than a book, and it would be something nice to do besides reading. There are a ton of other mystery games out there for him to play and take on the role of detective. I have not finished this game myself yet, but Judgement (from the Yakuza devs) is another detective game that I think he would really enjoy. Plus, there’s a mechanic in the game where you look around and search for stuff, and you get a little bonus if you find any nearby cats! Also, just like Lucifer, show him games with a really good, dramatic story.

Asmo: Style Savvy. It’s obvious, isn’t it? It’s perfect for him. You get to dress up your own character, run a boutique and give your customers a make over and give them clothes based on their style and what they ask for. He would play for hours. I would also give him the Sims as well. Mostly for the dress up aspect of it. I also think he’d be really into Just Dance.

Beel: DO NOT GIVE HIM COOKING GAMES. You may think that you’d give him something like Cooking Mama. DO NOT. HE WILL EAT THE CONTROLLER OR THE TV. I do have a hard time thinking of what Beel would like in a video game. Maybe he would just like something like Pokemon? I’m not sure why. I don’t play sports games, but I know he likes sports. Maybe one of those? Beel just isn’t a gamer to me, like Lucifer. He could always just be your player two. Wii Sports.

Belphie: Horror games. This boy will fall asleep if it’s anything else. Horror games might be good enough to keep him awake. Loud noises, unsettling atmospheres and sound design. If you give him a cozy game, he’s not staying awake. Give him Outlast, Resident Evil, Amnesia. Anything that could scare him. If not a horror game, something fast where his hands will always be busy, like a rhythm game. Not to bring up Taiko again, but Taiko no Tatsujin. 

[violivs]

NMTDaily: We Are The Watch and The Game is Afoot(ball)

- Doing the first two Dogberry & Verges episodes in one post. They’re always the characters I care about the least in any version of Much Ado, but these two are so cute I can’t help but love them.

- I totally forgot their videos are all posted on Ursula’s Watch Projects channel! I definitely somehow developed the incorrect memory of them having their own channel because they have orange borders on their thumbnails and every other new thumbnail color so far has heralded a new channel.

- Someone in the comments called Dogberry & Verges “Sherlock and Brittany S. Pierce,” and I will never recover from the sheer brilliance of that call. Verges definitely has Brittany energy.

- They’re very cute, arguing about what kinds of cases they’ll take. Do we ever find out whose cat Tibbles is? I bet she’s Dogberry’s cat and she got out when he left the door open too long.

- The malapropisms and exaggerated speech are so perfect though. It takes skill to write (and act!) two characters who are so wrong in every big fancy word choice and yet so convinced they’re right, who take their detective work SO seriously even though no one else does. And making them two kids playing at a detective agency. What great adaptations of these characters from the play.

- I think we already got the famous line “my mom says I have to wear the suspenders to keep the Devil from infiltrating me” in Vox Pops if I’m not mistaken, but I forgot to talk about it. Do we think Verges’ mom is crazy religious so Verges hides out at Dogberry’s house to get away from her? I love their friendship but the idea of Verges feeling unsafe at home makes me sad.

- “We are The Watch. And we are Watching!” *staring awkwardly*

- The kazoo Sherlock theme!!!! I genuinely almost forgot about that. Comedy gold. I love it. And I love that D&v definitely recorded that together (with Ursula’s help). I was wondering whether the Kazoo player was Dogberry and then the accompaniment of the second kazoo started and I cracked up imagining Verges very seriously chiming in to play her part. On kazoo. Amazing.

- “The ginger nuts you will find in your bag are from us” Perfect unhinged yet thoughtful energy. I know this video description is addressed to Ursula, but I have a strange urge to check my own bag, as though D&v have reached across ten years and thousands of miles to somehow leave ME ginger nuts. Mysterious.

- Starting “The Game is Afoot(ball)” now. I love how many angles we get on this same scene at the game. Reminds me of a future scene we get multiple angles on, except that scene we get D&v scrambled footage first and are left to frantically piece together what’s happening…

- Okay, I had to pause the video to die a little at Verges saying “masturbation” instead of “mastication” when talking about the muffins. I cannot believe they snuck that in lol. I want to cover Verges’ ears even though she doesn’t know what she’s saying! Cringing so hard for her right now.

- “We are going to interview civilizations!” Love that line lol

- So the first game of the season is a rematch with the team Messina was forced to forfeit last year’s championship or whatever to because the fire alarm was mysteriously pulled. Wild how Dogberry & Verges are actually giving us Important Backstory here.

- “what does that have to do with soccer” GASP! Why did that girl say “soccer”? She’s not American! Huh??? (This may be copy editor brain wondering whether I try really hard to get terminology right in my fanfics for nothing…)

- Does Pedro/Peter know that John pulled the fire alarm? It seems like everyone else does. It makes you wonder why he’s so surprised that John hates him enough to do what he does later on. I guess he’s just in denial of how bad things really are between them.

- We get shown exactly how bad things are between the Donaldsons with Pedro’s snippy “HALF-brother” comment and the way he slaps the car keys into John’s hand in that little moment we see between them. All is not well in the house of Donaldson. And at this point, we only know that because of Dogberry and Verges’ videos. It’s amazing how everything is important in its own way in this show.

- Pedro must be so eager to publicly distance himself from John with the half-brother comment both because he begrudged John’s arrival making his family life tough for a while, but also because other kids at school think John’s weird and Pedro, however unconsciously, doesn’t want him to tarnish his image. At least he does seem to feel bad about the little tiff over the keys.

- You also have to feel for John, because Pedro making comments like that publicly means that the whole community knows all of John’s personal business and probably whispers about his parentage, and he knows that they all know. It has to be very lonely to be John. And Pedro is doing the opposite of making things easier for him. It all must have been hard on Pedro too, their family being so talked about, and he’s also just a kid, but it’s still a huge dick move on his part to treat John that way.

- “John owned up to it” says Claudio, so everyone does know, so Pedro must know that John sabotaged the game. He just doesn’t understand it as an act of sabotage against him specifically, which is clearly what it was. He picked the most important game of the season because it would hurt Pedro most to have ruined, more than any other game. (And Robbie helps John pull the fire alarm because *he*, Robbie, wants revenge against Claudio for ‘stealing’ his spot as goalie, so he ruins Claudio’s first ever game).

- Ooh Ben is walking away with the group and does not have his green uniform shirt with him, so he did leave it on the ground in front of Beatrice! Do we think she really took it home to give back to him at school? Or did it end up in the lost and found? Not that we ever see another game, but he would need it back. Oh, maybe Bea gave it to Leo to give back to Ben, without telling him who left it there so he and Hero wouldn’t have more ammo to tease her about Ben. Analyzing incredibly minor details is fun!

- I also adore that Benedick apparently named this video by making a “the game is afoot-ball” pun when talking to Dogberry and Verges. Interesting that there’s so little footage of Ben in this video- did they interview him in this scene at all? Or did he name the video when he and D&V were all over at Ursula’s house getting editing help with their new vlogs? Either way, love this random little Ben-related detail.

- Also, you hear a lot of Ben being described as all limbs, but watching him walk away in the background here? Jesus, the boy is TRULY all limbs. Look at him! Flailing around. Playing catch with Balth, establishing them as friends. I am… like, still ALARMINGLY obsessed with this character, my god. I was just trying to see if we could hear what the group walking away were saying, I swear, lol.

- The blond guy who was standing with Balthazar in Balth’s clip in this video: Surf-Lifesaving Tony? Other Tony? Damien???

- “Exit stage right!” “It’s left, you moron!” Adieu for now, readers!

💖🦩🥭

[twistedtummies2]

Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes - Number 9

Welcome to A Gathering of the Greatest Gumshoes! During this month-long event, I’ll be counting my Top 31 Favorite Fictional Detectives, from movies, television, literature, video games, and more!

SLEUTH-OF-THE-DAY’S QUOTE: “How do you think this all works? By being big and being bad.”

Number 9 is…Bigby Wolf, from The Wolf Among Us.

“The Wolf Among Us” is a video game made by the now-defunct developers Telltale Games. The game was based on the comic series “Fables.” I’m going to come right out and say it: I have never read the comics, and I have basically no real knowledge of them or how the characters and lore in them may differ from the established points in “The Wolf Among Us.” HOWEVER, very thankfully, the game is able to stand up on its own two feet regardless, and so are its characters, so even someone who has basically no knowledge of the source material can still enjoy it.

The game is a sort of choose-your-own-adventure sort of deal; a point-and-click adventure where the player’s choices every step of the way affect how the story plays out, the kinds of relationships you form with other characters, and so on. Some choices are more important than others, but virtually every choice of note is worth pondering. The plot is a combo of film noir crime story and dark fantasy: it takes place in a world where various characters from the world of fiction, after their universe was mysteriously destroyed, have fled to the “real” world in order to seek refuge. They’ve established their own city, called “Fabletown,” where real world problems combine with fantastical adventures, as they struggle to build new lives and survive in this different universe, and hide their identities from the “normies” who exist beyond the borders of the city.

The main character is Sheriff Bigby Wolf. Bigby, as you may have guessed from his name and the title, is the Big Bad Wolf of fairy-tale infamy himself. In the world of the game, Bigby is a werewolf, who can transform from a human to increasingly more wolf-like forms, his true and ultimate form being a GIGANTIC feral beast bigger than elephant, able to create hurricane-force winds with his breath alone, and more than capable of swallowing a person whole. Needless to say, with this kind of setup, and his reputation as one of the greatest, most archetypal villains in history, Bigby isn’t exactly a popular Sheriff. Many fear or distrust him, and those that don’t typically still keep their distance for one reason or another.

Because of the playstyle of Telltale games, Bigby’s exact personality can shift depending on the choices the player makes: he can be sort of a gentle giant, who looks rugged and tough but really isn’t that bad. In contrast, he can be much more morally and ethically dubious, an anti-hero closer to Dirty Harry, who walks a very fine line between a man and a monster. However, regardless of the choices you make, a few things remain constant: Bigby’s general demeanor is that of an almost stereotypical noir-style detective. He’s gruff, grumpy, coarse, and can’t seem to go five seconds without having a cigarette. He’s often cynical and sarcastic, very much the sardonic hard-boiled sleuth. The character is voiced by Adam Harrington, and he does a phenomenal job giving Bigby the airs of such a great archetype, while also injecting vulnerability and sympathy into his portrayal.

The most notable constant of all, however, is Bigby’s motivations: even if you make him especially nasty, it’s usually pretty clear that this Big Bad Wolf is racked with guilt over his past. He knows the stigma that hangs over him is VERY well-deserved, and he legitimately wants to try and help people and make things better. Even when he makes questionable decisions, the majority of them are still justifiable in some fashion or another. He doesn’t want to be seen as the bad guy anymore, he wants to try and start a new life. It’s up to the player to determine if Bigby is truly able to put away the vicious, cruel, beastly sides of his personality and turn over a new leaf, or if his efforts and desires are all in vain.

Even though Telltale officially closed down in 2018, the first game was so popular that it was eventually revived for an upcoming sequel, made by the remnants of the Telltale staff with help from AdHoc Studios. The new game is set to release sometime this year, though no official release date has been given. Whenever it arrives, I look forward to seeing how Bigby’s story continues, and what new paths and new cases will await him in the future.

Tomorrow, the countdown continues with Number 8!

CLUE: “Just one more thing…”

[lebomboniere06]

[In your own way with a positive attitude]

To be honest, I had no idea what the title "Inheritance Detective" meant. How the two elements of inheritance and detective are connected together should be the key to this story. "Unlike general mystery works, this work focuses on the thoughts that the deceased wants to convey. I think a will can be a message."

Haie, played by Akaso, was once an elite lawyer, and now as a detective, he intervenes in issues related to inheritance. As long as it involves inheritance, interpersonal relationships will inevitably become complicated, and Haie is a "floating and elusive" character. While being aware of the comedic elements, he said, "I wanted to be able to make a clear switch between the serious parts.

Recently, I have been starring in a lot of works. "In some ways, I may have grown as I have gained experience. On the other hand, sometimes I think, 'It would be better if I did this.' I hope I won't be too confident and always have doubts about 'This may not be the right answer.'"

His sincere attitude is just like the "good young man" impression he gives people in his works. But will this image hinder him from expanding the range of roles? "Everyone will be affected by their growth environment in any way, there will be positive and negative effects. If I am in a positive and favorable situation now, I hope to expand my range. In terms of acting, I think it is important to expand and play out the characteristics that I have."

I'm already 30 years old. When I was a kid, I imagined myself getting married, having kids and pets, and taking walks with them at 30... "Now I'm just concentrating on the script, mumbling my lines to myself. I never thought I'd end up like this."

I don’t hate myself like this. “I don’t want stability, I want to always stay positive and enterprising. Although happiness as most people think of it might be great, I will work hard step by step in my own way.”

Q: If you weren't an actor, what kind of career would you be interested in?

A: If I didn't consider my own ability, I would like to be a player like Shohei Ohtani. Be a major league player. But this is 100% impossible. Because I like cars, I would like to work in a car dealership or be a car repair technician. I would probably choose one of them.

Q: What are you interested in recently?

A: I have been watching videos of cats. Looking at the appearance of cats and being healed is my recent hobby. They are really cute.

[theresattrpgforthat]

hello! i have been really enjoying your suggestions so far, and i have bookmarked a lot of them to try. thank you for putting them together! i do have a question/request that i didn't find an answer to after searching your blog.

i really like the strategy and worldbuilding aspects of ttrpgs, but to be honest, i think my very favorite parts are the social situations, character-building, and friendship-building. fleshing out characters by having conversations and making decisions as a team, creating vivid stories together, solving puzzles using character or team traits, that sort of thing. i don't know if that's too general of a concept for a ttrpg to focus on, since most games in general have a social aspect, but i figured i'd ask if there were any that do focus on that part, just in case.

anyways, thank you again for all the work you do! <3

THEME: Character Growth and Spotlight.

Hello, thank you so much! I am very excited to get down to this ask. I was thinking about what might scratch this itch here; I have a lot of similar goals when it comes to playing TTRPGs. Watching a character grow over the course of play and learning about who they are is so satisfying, and putting them in situations where they interact with other characters in a meaningful way has created some of the best moments in my games this year. Let’s pull from a couple of different places to see if we can get what we’re looking for.

Spectres of Brocken, by ehronlime.

Spectres of Brocken is a role-playing game about making friends and then years later going to war against them in giant mechs. Make up some young, naive, messy trainee mech pilots. Find out who you are. Find out who you are to each other. Find out what you want in the world. Years later, find each other on the field of battle, each in your own fearsome custom mechs. Find out who you've become. Find out what you've all done to get here. Find out what costs you would pay to get what you want in the world.

I was clued into this game by @monsterfactoryfanfic's video about the two phases of play replicate the transition from high school to real life, and the strain it can place on your relationships. In Spectres of Brocken, your characters are experiencing that in the context of a large war, with the possibility that they are fighting on opposing sides. This game gives you character advancement, but it’s not like the other games on this list: advancement is a phase of the game that brings you from one half to the next. The most powerful move gives your character the ability to heal from wounds from the past; it gives this game a sense of hope, and I think is perfectly reflective of the character growth that you’re looking for.

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes and Watson, by Martian Machinery. (Requires Good Society to play)

The Uncanny Adventures of Holmes & Watson is a role-playing game about a crime-fighting, mystery-solving team. Players can roleplay their own take on the famous partnership, taking the roles of Holmes and Watson and putting their own spin on the story, or they can create original investigators and navigate either the Holmes casebook or cases of their own design.

Explore a Partnership. While the characters are tasked with solving mysteries, the partnership itself is the focus of Holmes & Watson. Is it a smoothly efficient operation, or does it buzz with chaotic energy? Are the partners the best of friends or do they just barely put up with one another? The cases they undertake together will test their relationship; it may draw them closer together or push them apart.

Good Society has a unique mechanic in its Reputation tracker that can wax or wane throughout play, and I think it might replicate the character growth that you’re looking for. What Holmes and Watson brings to this game is the intrigue and action of a murder mystery - and the teamwork built into running a detective agency. A Holmes and Watson campaign includes slowly uncovering your arch-enemy, a nemesis who is a true master of crime.

The Watch, by Ash Kreider.

…your people were semi-nomadic, living in clans with an ever-shifting network of alliances and enmities. Although one people, the clans were diverse in tradition, outlook, and custom. Those along the old border were traders, prosperous and widely traveled. Those living in the central plains were gatherers and trappers. And those living furthest from the outside world were mountain herders, solitary and secretive. And then the Shadow came.

Powered by the Apocalypse games are known for the complex relationships between characters and the moves that make your social connections a treasured resource. The Watch takes these relationships and strains them by placing the player characters into a world tainted by a chaotic, toxic force that has stoked rivalry and feud. The Shadow is a thinly veiled metaphor for patriarchy, so expect some heavy moments in this game. Your characters will be disappointed. That being said, this feels like a game where each character will have a moment to shine, using moves to evoke really powerful moments.

If you want to hear The Watch in action, you can check out the actual play podcast Trials of the Apocalypse, which has a short series of The Watch in their feed.

Alchemistresses, by Gal Pal Games.

Alchemistresses is a tabletop roleplaying game designed to let you play out a season of a magical girl anime. Players will take on the role of everyday teens going to high school and dealing with all of the shenanigans that ensue. But there is something very special about these particular teens. They are the reincarnations of very powerful magical beings from the ancient past. They are the Mistresses of the five elements - the Alchemistresses. 

The Alchemistresses have forgotten who they were and what they could do. But when the world needs them again, their magic starts to return, along with tantalizing glimpses of their past lives. 

Play Alchemistresses to find out: who were you then? Who are you now? What will you give to save the world? And by the way, who are you going to ask to prom?

Another game about self-actualization, Alchemistresses combines the cycle of high school with legendary adventures of mythical beings. You’ll have moments where you’re stressing over classes and crushing on a classmate, but you’ll also have moments when you’re fighting the forces of evil and wielding great magical powers.

Neon Black, by NotWriting.

Neon Black is a role-playing game about a community of poor people fighting back against tyrannical corporations and the indifference of the rich, as well as surviving in a dystopian city state. It’s like real life, but in this world you can kill the CEO’s, rob banks to pay rent, and help your friends do the same. You'll help your community, go on dangerous heists, explore artificial realities, and encounter friendly and nefarious machines. We play to find out if the community can survive amidst warring corporations, an unforgiving climate, and the negligence of the extravagantly wealthy.

Forged in the Dark games’ biggest strength is the ability to build something as you play. In Neon Black, the thing you build is a community. Your community is under threat, usually from a large corporate power, and you’ll be crafting missions to get your community necessary supplies, dealing devastating blows to corporate threats, looking for allies and in general trying to make life better for your neighbours. As a cyberpunk game, this goal is going to be a struggle, and death is looming in the background. I think that this game has a lot of potential to watch something that is bigger than your characters grow, and your characters will undeniably be changed in the process.

Additionally, there are a number of other Forged in the Dark games that will give you a chance to really revel in your character's cool abilities and the building of something great. I'm going to list a number of other games I've recommended in the past below.

Games I've Recommended in the Past

Moth-Light, by Justin Ford.

Bump in the Dark, by JexJThomas.

Brinkwood: Blood of Tyrants, by Far Horizons Co-Op.

Slugblaster, by Mikey Hamm.

Songs For the Dusk, by Kavita Poduri.

[plopspoodle]

10 Game Recommendations

Bonjour~ As someone who has a lot of free time, I like to populate that time with various activities: reading, crafts, watching TV, language learning (mainly Duolingo) and playing games. Whilst I mainly like mystery/puzzle games, there are other genres I get involved in so hopefully this list will be varied enough!

Nancy Drew Her Interactive

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Point and Click Mystery 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: Join teenage sleuth Nancy Drew in various mysteries by exploring various environments, finding clues and interviewing suspects. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series - my favourites are Ghost of Thornton Hall, Blackmoor Manor and Sea of Darkness 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Varies on each game, most games you can choose "Junior" (easy) or "Senior" (hard) Detective, but it's common and acceptable to use online walkthroughs if you get stuck. There are also hint systems within the games. 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PC, a couple are on the Wii, Mobile and DS but PC is a vastly superior experience. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: This is my favourite game series and a special interest of mine since I was 8. It has wonderful music, well thought out environments and an atmosphere that always gives me happiness. I own every game available on Steam and usually replay all of them every year!

League of Legends Riot Games

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: MOBA 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: It features a team-based competitive game mode based on strategy and outplaying opponents. Players work with their team to break the enemy Nexus before the enemy team breaks theirs. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series - League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, Legends of Runeterra (Card game) Wild Rift. 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both (predominantly online but there are AI modes, LOR has offline modes) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Pretty hard, it takes people a while to get it properly and to be honest is quite hard to get into if you don't have anyone to learn with/help you learn. 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PC, Mobile 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 7/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I, like most people, have a difficult relationship with LOL. Whilst I generally enjoy the game, I like a lot of the skins and the music + Arcane are amazing, the game itself is quite hard (the only MOBA I have ever played) and the community is kinda awful. You are almost guaranteed to experience toxicity every single game, regardless of the mode, and even if you are in Blind mode (you must reach Level 10 for Draft where you choose your role and Level 30 for Ranked), and are clearly new, you will likely be with people who already play the game but are on new accounts (called Smurfs). You can mute people (best method is typing /mute all in the chat) but it's annoying when you have to deal with it rather than people just be civil. If you do get a team that are nice, then great! The game is fun! Unfortunately, I really do exercise caution with this game, as I have known absolutely no one who has played without quitting or taking breaks (including myself).

What Remains of Edith Finch Giant Sparrow

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Exploration Narrative (some describe it as a horror game with no jumpscares (bar 2)) 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You play as Edith Finch revisiting her old family home - you explore the house and the surrounding area and read the old stories written by the elder of the family. You try to uncover the "family curse" before time runs out (figuratively, you can spend as long as you'd like on the game, there is no actual time limit). 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Single game (there is a parallel game if you want to continue the vibe) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy, no prior experience required 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS4, PS5, Switch, XBOX One, XBOX Series X + S, iOs, PC (what I played it on) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Whilst Nancy Drew is my favourite series, What Remains of Edith Finch (WREF) is hands down my favourite game of all time. It is, admittedly, very very depressing, and I think if you're not feeling too great mentally it isn't a good idea to play. I first played it at a time where I was doing okay, so now when I revisit it (regardless of mood) it brings comfort. Because of the previously reinforced comfort, if I'm not in a good mood and I play it, it makes me feel very creative. The way the game works honestly feels like therapy, how every story is different. I don't think I'll ever find another game like it, and that is why it is so precious to me.

Animal Crossing Nintendo

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Life/Social/Farming Sim 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You play as a human visiting a land of talking animals! Help rejuvenate the community, make friends and have your dream house. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, most recent is Animal Crossing: New Horizons (NH) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both, you primarily play offline but it has online features and you can play with up to 8 others in NH 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy, very chill 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): depends on the game but includes Gamecube, DS, 3DS, Wii, Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Animal Crossing has been a consistent series throughout my life and is a very good comfort game. I've never tried Stardew Valley as I don't particularly like the farming elements of the game, so AC is better for my tastes. Whilst I do love the series, it isn't a 10 because I, and many people, find you can only play in motivation spikes. It generally means means you'll play for a month straight then take 6 months off. It's not exactly a problem, just means if you're looking for a consistent gaming experience, you may experience AC burnout!

The Room Fireproof Studios

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Mystery/Puzzle Solving 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You find yourself in front of a box on a table. You must open it and discover the history of secrets inside. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, most recent game is The Room VR: Dark Matter 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Medium-Hard, has hint systems but can sometimes be very difficult and require looking at a walkthrough 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): iOS, Android, PC, Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: The Room, of which I first played the mobile versions, is one of the most beautiful mobile games I have ever seen. I don't know how Fireproof managed to make the graphics so amazing, but they did! I love puzzle games, and I wish I could actually have a box to solve puzzles from. That being said, the paranormal elements aren't something I'd like to have to experience in real life! Only isn't a 10 because I don't have VR headset so I can't play the latest game and that makes me sad.

Assassin's Creed Ubisoft

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Stealth Action Historical / Open World RPG 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The fight between the Assassins and the Templars has spanned across history, and each game allows you to play as someone on either side in a period of historical significance. There is combat, stealth, economy and a whole lot more. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series, my favourites are AC2, AC4 and AC Syndicate (as I am from the UK) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both, primarily offline but online multiplayer is available in most games (if Ubisoft hasn't shut down the servers) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Varied, they usually begin pretty easy but get harder as you go along, AC2 I found I could mash buttons and beat anyone :) 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Pretty much every platform, I have played on XBOX 360, PC and Nintendo Switch 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 10/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I love this series. I love history, first of all, so the prospect of getting to play in various time periods is incredibly appealing! I've given a 10/10 because, even though I don't think every game is a 10/10, the amount of fun I had in the 5 games I've completed is enough to pull up the ones I don't like. Because of the (expected) quality of each game, some aren't as great (e.g. Unity had one of the most infamous bad launches in gaming history and I still can't play it properly due to bugs and poor user interface) but some are amazing. I personally think AC2 is the best one to start with, but fair warning: you will fall in love with Ezio.

The Forest Endnight Games

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Survival Horror 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: In this first person game you, Eric Leblanc, must survive The Forest after having already survived a plane crash. Either plan an escape or go deeper into The Forest to find your son Timmy. The question is: how deep can you go? 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series (The Forest / Sons of The Forest) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Medium-Hard 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS4, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 9/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: If you play it right, The Forest is essentially horror, adult Minecraft. You can choose the difficulty but I still find it hard even on easy (I am not very good at games). Whilst I cannot give story spoilers, I was truly enamoured in the lore of the game (and now series) when I first found out about The Forest. But, importantly, it is scary. No matter how many people you play it with, it's still scary. I've only been able to play it with male friends, but they have never sounded less manly than when they've played this game. There is a sequel called Sons of The Forest (as seen in the gif below), but it is currently in testing so whilst I have access to it, I wouldn't consider it a full game yet and therefore I don't want to make any ill-made judgements. The Forest is honestly very beautiful and, if you're like me, you can always make it less scary by using console commands and making yourself invincible.

Do Not Feed the Monkeys Fictiorama Studios and Others

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Digital Voyeur Simulator (not in a NSFW way) 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: You essentially work as a spy with access to security cameras in various places, usually places of residence. You can report to your bosses through emails, you can simply watch, you can even interact with the people you see. But you probably shouldn't do that last part. Unless you want to. Or not. All you truly know is that repeated phrase: Do Not Feed The Monkeys. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Offline 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy-Medium 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Nintendo Switch, Android, PS4, XBOX One, XBOX Series X & S, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 8/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: I bought this game after having previously enjoyed Papers, Please (I may feature this game if I do a second part), and it is very fun if you like time management. Every single camera (or room) has a schedule, and in these schedules they will talk and give important information highlighted in yellow. It's a very fun game because you don't necessarily have to follow the rules you're given. Even though it's a management simulator, it also tests your morals (and you can see how good your morals are through a plant you get gifted). If you struggle with the main mode, Peeper Mode makes it significantly easier and the only drawback is you can't unlock achievements.

Journey Thatgamecompany

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Indie Adventure Game 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The player plays as a robed person journeying towards a distant mountain through a sandy desert. The game has a multiplayer component, in which players can interact on their journey and assist each other. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Single Game 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Both 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): PS3, PS4, iOS, PC 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 7/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: Journey is one of the most beautiful games I've ever played. Even if you have just a laptop, like me (at this moment in time), it still looks stunning. The multiplayer element is fascinating, as it's not entirely clear that you're playing with people. A lot of people aren't even sure if you always play with other people or if they are bots, but it doesn't really matter. You go on this Journey, and you're not alone. Now, you may be wondering, if it's so lovely, why is it only a 7/10? This is because, as much as I'd like to be one, I am not a cosy gamer. I like very stimulating games and Journey is lovely for if I want a calm gaming experience, but I rarely feel like that, so it just sits in my Steam library for months before I get the motivation again. It's by no means the fault of the game, just my own personal preference.

The Sims EA & Maxis

𓆩⚜𓆪 Genre: Life Simulator 𓆩❀𓆪 Gameplay description: The player creates virtual people called "Sims", places them in houses, and helps direct their moods and satisfy their desires. Players can either place their Sims in pre-constructed homes or build them themselves. 𓆩⚜𓆪 Single Game / Series? Series (most recent is The Sims 4) 𓆩❀𓆪 Online / Offline / Both? Technically both (usually offline but you can install mods to make it online) 𓆩⚜𓆪 Difficulty: Easy 𓆩❀𓆪 Platform(s): Basically everything 𓆩⚜𓆪 Personal Rating: 8/10 𓆩❀𓆪 Personal Notes: The Sims was probably one of the first games I ever played (bar a Garfield game I had on my DS). My cousin had the Sims 2 on DS, and I actually bought it recently to relive that time. I, unfortunately, did not realise how much she had already completed, so I lost the motivation for that one. However, I currently regularly play the Sims 4 on my laptop, and have quite a lot of mods and have all the packs (Anadius, IYKYK). I've remodelled my room recently, and the Sims meant I could plan it all out and I am very thankful for that. There are also so many options for building, customisation and traits. It is, however, not a 10, as the packs are way too expensive and morally I think it's kind of extortionate to make players pay hundreds of £/$ just to get a proper gaming experience. I have lots of mods to make it more fun and more full, but I don't feel I should have to do that. The only other game I've ever modded is Minecraft, and that's because I've been playing that since I was a child. The Sims is great, but it does get kinda boring at times.

And those are all the games I'm covering today! I may make another part in the future since there are obviously many many games in existence, so if there are any genres you would like covered, leave a comment~ <3

[goron-king-darunia]

Annon-Guy: What do you think of the four Team Theme songs from Sonic Heroes?

They're all really stellar for their teams! "We Can" focuses in on a lot of the stylings of Sonic's usual themes, especially with the guitar riffs, and the lyrics focus on teamwork sells the major gimmick of the Sonic Heroes game while emphasizing the synergy that Team Heroes can manage when they all have the same goals in mind. "This Machine" has the most interesting vocal arrangement, in my opinion, but coming off the tail of Sonic Adventure 2 and being the bridge between SA 2 and Battle, right before Shadow the Hedgehog, it falls just a little short of really driving home the core of what Team Dark is up to. Considering the absolute bop that Waking Up from Shadow the Hedgehog is, it's a shame. But the vagueness of the lyrics seems intentional since Waking Up also isn't necessarily about diegetic or literal lyrics. It does get pretty stuck in with the individual team members motivations, though, and in a way, I do think that's pretty directly what Team Dark is about. They all have different goals and are working together for convenience and because they've all worked with each other in a way. I will say that the chorus goes so extra hard with "we all danced in fire/ trapped in this machine" Makes the little emo/scene kid in me so fucking happy. Metal as fuck.

My personal pick was the Team Rose theme. While Amy's previous theme slapped and Big's original theme was a guilty pleasure of mine growing up, I think leaning big on Amy here serves the whole team. The lyrics are most heavily from her perspective, but Team Rose at its heart is a bunch of characters working together because they care about each other and, more importantly, they all have others that they want to protect. They have a vested interest in keeping each other safe because they're friends, yes, but they also have a shared belief that their care toward others is what makes them strong. And they're absolutely correct. Like, for the context of gameplay, they are very much the cute soft team directed toward the little sisters of the main audience. They are the team "for girls." But in spite of being a pretty open stereotype of "this is the cute and girly stuff team for when your baby sister wants to play" the same way Tails in orignal appearances was very much a "hand your baby brother the player 2 controller and he'll stop pestering you to play" deal, I am still very much that bitch that thinks love as a driving force and love as strength is super underrated, even with how very many games and movies and books, especially for kids, are very patently about it. "Follow Me" Expertly serves as a natural improvement on Amy's theme, but also includes Cream, Cheese, and Big as well, as they're all characters whose main arcs center around how their devotion to their friends gives them the strength and courage to keep moving forward. I'm never not going to be soft for that sort of thing.

Team Chaotics has technically been around since the Knuckes Spinoffs, but Heroes has been their big debut as far as I'm concerned. They really started being fully incoorporated into games starting with their spotlight here. Their eponymous themesong does very literally tell you it's their theme song, which is an interesting choice, if a little goofy. But the Synth and the chorus of cheers does definitely set them up with the very literal lyrics. They're detectives. They're here to find out what the hell is going on in this massively mysterious and disjointed series of events in this wacky game. It's a far cry from the more lore-heavy entry of SA2, but there's still stuff to piece together to at least give you a reason the characters are back at it again on top of just the vague paint by numbers standard of "Eggman is up to stuff again." Because, like, yes he is. But the Chaotix being involved at all already sets this up as something that, like, characters outside Sonic and Friends care about. There are other Freedom Fighters besides Sonic and friends that care that Eggman is running amok. Sonic Heroes is very much a gameplay-forward game, but the fact that there's any lore in it at all is mostly due to Team Dark and Team Chaotix. A very efficient themesong. While it does lack the core synergy of "We Can" or "Follow Me" it balances out because it follows the same pattern of telling you what the individual team members are about as the theme of Team Dark did. Which I think works well since it's been a while since the Chaotix have been involved, so it introduces them to a bunch of players that might just now be meeting them for the first time. And I just think they're neat.

[anim-ttrpgs]

A new video about Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy!

Curtesy of @talenlee!

This video isn’t so much a review of Eureka’s mechanics as it is an overview and analysis of some of Eureka’s goals, such as how Eureka differs from many other RPGs in that it isn’t just a story about detectives solving a mystery, it’s a story about detectives confronting the unique challenge of solving a mystery which has a set solution. The culprit doesn’t change in reaction to who the players thing it is, which goes against a lot of conventional GMing advice.

Which brings us to a related point he made, which is that the default state of a Eureka mystery is “failed,” and that is very much true. If the PCs simply do nothing and wait for the solution to fall into their lap, they will fail, every time. The party must take initiative and work to overcome this puzzle, and how the characters and players react to the challenge of overcoming this puzzle is something Eureka is there to study.

Also, he likes the Wealth mechanic.

To turn this post into something additive that creates an actual discussion, however, we’d like to address one of @talenlee's criticisms of Eureka. Namely, that character creation is the second chapter, while most of the core rules are the first chapter.

@talenlee argues that character creation rules should come as early as possible in a rulebook, which helps a reader get hooked in, because it puts all the rules that come after in the context of “this is what your character can do.” You can watch the video above, and some of his other videos, for a better and deeper explanation.

That may be true for some people, but we argue that putting the character creation rules after the core rules leads to a smoother gameplay and character creation experience, which is why we structured the book the way we did.

Even though character creation in Eureka has been praised quite a lot for being very easy, there are quite a lot of choices to be made, all of which are very impactful. There is almost zero randomization as well, meaning every choice in character creation is one that you must manually make yourself.

But an uninformed decision is not a decision at all. Anyone who has played an old CRPG from the 90s will know what I’m talking about. Those are famous for giving you detailed character creation right there in the first 2 minutes after you launch the game, before you know how to play or really what any of the numbers mean. It will say things like “Strength dictates how much damage you do with melee weapons, how much inventory you can carry, and how much heavy armor you can wear.” Okay, well, how much damage do I need to do with melee weapons to be able to kill the rats in the first area of the game? How thick does my armor need to be for me to survive in mandatory battles, and how much Strength do I need to wear that armor?

“Accuracy determines how likely you are to hit an enemy?” Okay, how much Accuracy do I need to hit my enemies? I can select Accuracy 1-10, but without knowing how much Dodge an average enemy has, or how a Hit is calculated, this knowledge is useless. You have to play the game first to learn any of that, and then start over to make a new character. That’s no fun.

While it is very difficult to accidentally make a totally unviable PC in Eureka, it is very possible to end up making a character whose stats and traits do not represent exactly who you want them to be if you don’t know what the numbers mean, and who your character is is very important in Eureka.

And that’s why we tell you all the core rules before we tell you to start making a character. That isn’t to say that the other way around is wrong, just that that’s how we prefer it.

Comment below if you have any more insight on this! Discussion is great!

And don't forget, we are in the last week of the kickstarter! The Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy kickstarter ends at 2:00PM CST on Friday May 10th! Get in and support it before it's too late to get custom artwork in the rulebook and the option to write your own entry in one of the tables that determines who playable monsters will have the opportunity to eat!

If you want to try before you buy, you can download a free demo of the prerelease version from our website or our itch.io page!

If you’re interested in a more updated and improved version of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy than the free demo you got from our website, subscribe to our Patreon where we frequently roll our new updates for the prerelease version!

You can also support us on Ko-fi, or by checking out our merchandise!

Join our TTRPG Book Club At the time of writng this, Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy is the current game being played in the book club, and anyone who wants to participate in discussion, but can’t afford to make a contribution, will be given the most updated prerelease version for free! Plus it’s just a great place to discuss and play new TTRPGs you might not be able to otherwise!

We hope to see you there, and that you will help our dreams come true and launch our careers as indie TTRPG developers with a bang by getting us to our base goal and blowing those stretch goals out of the water, and fight back against WotC's monopoly on the entire hobby. Wish us luck.