CH.2 - Daemon of Hunger - is now out!

Hey there! 

I'm back with the second chapter!

This isn't just more of you poking around Eleanor’s flat - this time around you are following her through an entire working week at the Bristol Institute of Archaeology and Antiquities. 

You can choose her duties throughout each day: her work assignments; what she has for lunch; how she spends her free time. Every choice ripples outward. Eleanor's growing appetite affects how her clothes fit, how people perceive her, and whether she ultimately can secure funding for her archaeological expedition to Brittany.

Her colleagues matter, too. You can influence your way into romantic routes with the likes of Mary, Richard, and Violet - each with their own dedicated storylines that unfold based on your choices throughout the week. Can Eleanor catch Richard's attention? Can she navigate the social complexities of Mary's world? What secrets might Violet be hiding?

Manipulate objects, witness past events, influence thoughts: Eleven different endings are available to you. 

Some focus on Eleanor's professional success, others on her personal relationships, still others on... well, let's just say her appetite can lead places. Yours can too.

***

ALRIGHT SO THIS CHAPTER IS MASSIVE OOPS MY BAD

I got ambitious ok?? Get off my back! 

I think I already wrote about this before, but Chapter 1 was initially meant to be a demo. The bulk of the game was always going  to be Chapter 2. Now, I want to yap a little about the gameplay, as it is kind of different from the first chapter. You’ve still got a lot of that sandbox feel from my previous games, but it’s also gotten closer to a dating sim, in some places? Or, like, a choose your own adventure book? I always wanted to make a more management style game with these themes - there’s a lot of them on this forum, and I do enjoy playing them! But I also didn’t want to give up on the random interactions here and there, or the multiple choices/endings. So there you go: kind of a pain to set up in Twine, and especially using Chapbook, but I well damn did it.

If you played Chapter 1 and wanted more Eleanor, more choices, more consequences  - this is it.

HOW TO GET IT

This chapter is a paid one - sorry about that. But! The demo covers the entirety of Monday (Eleanor's first day) and you can play it free in your browser. You are free to select, from the calendar in Eleanor’s office, all of the starting events of the Midday and Leisure time slots. Hopefully those should be enough to let you decide whether this game is worth the price or not - I obviously think it is, but I don’t know man, I might be biased on this one.

The full chapter is available for purchase on the main itch.io page with the first one… but… there is… well… another option.

I’VE MADE A PATREON

And (once it’s hopefully been approved) you will be able to visit it at this link!

I felt the release of a new chapter was likely the right time to make the announcement. There’s a tier where you can get both chapters, in full, plus Emily’s Midnight Snack too - all at 5$ less than the price of the two chapters on itch.io.

And I’m planning on having some other stuff there too:

• There’s the full game downloads, I’ve said that
• Early access to updates and guides
• Occasional FA art and game snippets
• Occasional snippets or demos from upcoming chapters/games
• Technical stuff! Mostly related to Twine and Chapbook: the custom scripts powering my dialogue systems, inventory mechanics, ASCII art ecc. I might even do some templates for people to use, I’d love to see more text-adventures in this space!
• Random experiments, like versions of my CRO dice system, or other stuff if people look to be interested
• Perhaps even a Discord? Would you people like that?

My games will obviously remain on itch.io, either freely available or also available for purchase there too. This is just another way to support me and maybe occasionally get behind-the-scenes access to the process!

Posts here will likely be sporadic, occasional: this is basically a way to donate if you like what I do, with some bonus content thrown in. Just the occasional "hey, look at this cool thing I made" when the mood strikes.

I know, not really marketable or customer friendly - I do not care. This is a hobby, not a job! And for anyone who decides to subscribe anyway, even if for a little bit of time, thank you (:

GUIDE??

Yeah sure (:

But not right away: I do want to give people the chance to find things on their own, that’s the fun part. I’m planning to release a comprehensive guide in… about two to three weeks? Give or take. I'm also hoping to make drawings for all the ending screens, like I did for Emily's Midnight Snack. Again, those take a fair amount of time though, so they are coming *eventually*. 

AI DISCLAIMER

For transparency I’ve actually written a full rant about my use of AI for this project (and the use of it in general) in the About section. Still, here’s the  same exact tl;dr from it:

• AIs are lame and, at the time of this writing, actively becoming less creative. However, they are also getting better at following detailed, technical instructions.
• This works out: I employ them to write code, format passages in the .twee format, and plan things out. They can also make for decent brainstorming buddies and great research assistants.
• They remain unreliable, forgetful, and uninspired. Their creative writing can - on occasion - be okay, but will always need a comprehensive rewriting. Also, I will never use AI-generated images.

CHAPTER 3 WHEN

Eagle-eyed, smart and handsome/beautiful players will notice that I’ve scattered some sneaky little hints about what comes next! Not enough to know exactly what I’m planning. Well, I think so, at the very least? …well, maybe actually. Uh.

Ok, well, I don’t expect you to, but you are free to try it out. For now, the only thing I’m giving out is that it (obviously) won’t be set in England, and that its setting will be much, much different - I’m planning for a pretty drastic turn. I’m sure you’ll like it.

***

Big, huge thanks to the few who playtested this in advanced - you were the candlelight to my writing table. My moon to my sun. My Raid® Essentials Ant, Spider & Roach Killer 30 Rosemary Mint to my very kitchen. I cherish you deeply.

Bug reports are as always welcome - I'll fix them right away. More importantly, I'd love to hear what you think about this chapter! And very much hope you’ll like it.

Have fun!