Eastward is a self-contained narrative entity; it has a linear storyline where players' choices have no impact upon anything that happens. I wanted to change this, so I wrote my own quest for Eastward: one with branching narratives and psychological ramifications.
Read MoreWelcome to Week Four of my project, “I Created A Video Game in 8 Weeks, Using RPG Maker MZ,” where I create a self-contained video game quest with impact, choices, and multiple endings, from scratch, using RPG Maker MZ!
Last week, I created my video game’s intro! (Did anyone order a boatload of exposition?) Read all about it, here!
This week I focused on the soft skills of game creation: narrative design, theme, and how to create complex, interesting villains…all while implementing the hard skills that I have gained over the course of the project.
It was a hodgepodge of creation.
A flurry of activity.
A hotbed of ideas.
...We’re talking theme, we’re talking sex dormitories, we’re talking sympathetic villains. It was a little bit of everything, all rolled into one (cue Alanis Morisette voiceover).
Read MoreWelcome to the time I wrote two stories in twelve hours.
This actually isn’t unheard of for me; ideas sometimes start flooding in for me all at once—something about unlatching the door to the Imagination Cupboard and seeing what’s been accumulating inside. What is unusual for me is having no other option but to write two stories in 12 hours.
When the pressure is on, suddenly that cupboard latch starts to feel more like a well-loved toothpaste tube that you’re fighting to squeeze the last amount out of.
This is the position I found myself in when I entered the final round of the NYC Midnight 250-Word Microfiction Challenge writing contest (contest results are currently pending).
Read MoreWhen Outfit7 posted a job opening on their website for a “Narrative Designer,” I had a lot of fun creating a personalized project for my application.
For my project, I:
Created a brand-new character to add to the Talking Tom & Friends universe
Wrote the script for a “Talking Tom & Friends” episode that introduces this brand-new character
Provided base outlines for two games based on said character
Meet Kyle, the Fugitive Alien Prince!
Kyle (K.Y.L.E.), which stands for “King of Your Little Earth,” is a prince from space who is on the run, and he needs the gang’s help to stay hidden where his alien parents can’t find him.
Young by alien standards but old by Earth ones, Kyle is inquisitive, impulsive, and used to getting what he wants, when he wants it. He wasn’t allowed to have many friends growing up because of the security risk, so when he meets Talking Tom and friends, he is eager to fit in.
Episode Description:
An alien prince named Kyle lands on top of the garage and demands that Talking Tom and his friends help hide him from his intergalactic parents! The best way to keep an alien hidden on Earth is to teach them how to blend in…right?"
Read MoreA word of advice: if there are signs outside of your dorm warning you about an emergency drill the next day, write it down so you will remember. And if you decide to take a nap, keep a change of clothes within easy reach of your bed.
As you may already suspect, I was sleeping when the emergency alarm went off today in my university dorm.
In retrospect, I guess it is pretty impressive that I managed to stumble over to my clothes, blink at myself in the mirror, locate my dorm room’s door, and stumble out into the hall...all in time to run into the cute boy I’ve been crushing on for the past three weeks.
Crush: "You look tired."
Me: "Grrrraaaaaggggh."
Encountering a gorgeous human while personally looking like a swamp creature that just woke up from an enchanted sleep is embarrassing, but I’ve had worse Wednesdays.
Read MoreHi! My name is Charlotte Toumanoff, and I am a first-time game developer. This post is part of my project, “I Created A Video Game in 8 Weeks, Using RPG Maker MZ,” where I create a self-contained video game quest with impact, choices, and multiple endings, from scratch, using RPG Maker MZ.
To see the rest of the project (and play the game), click here!
…Welcome to the time I learned how to program self-switches, in order to have my character interact with a sack of flirtatious potatoes!
Read MoreI'm thrilled to announce that my short story, "Mother Knows Best," won First Place in round two of the NYC Midnight 250-Word Microfiction Challenge writing contest!
5,400+ people entered the competition back in October and I am now one of 125 writers moving on to the final round!
The way the contest works is: you receive a prompt at 11:59 PM containing a required genre, action, and word. You then have 24 hours to write a 250-word (maximum) short story incorporating all three.
My prompt was:
GENRE: Suspense/Thriller
ACTION: Getting an oil change
WORD: Crack
Read MoreThis is a short story I wrote for a writing contest back in 2020. Although it is technically “finished,” I know what happens next and haven’t written it, yet—which makes this also very, very unfinished. Or maybe possibly a Part One?
Warning: Rated “R”
My Monster Wingman
"It's safe, now," I whisper, leaning over the bed.
My monster sticks his head out. "Really? You mean it? I don't have to go back?"
"Never again," I reassure him. "It's popsicles and strippers from here on out."
He growls with displeasure. "You know that doesn't do anything for me, right? Too few arms, not enough eyes."
"...Gross."
"You're gross."
I pat my bed. "Come on, hop up. Be my wingman." I hold out my phone and show him the violently pink heart bubbles floating on the screen. "She keeps sending me 'likes,' but ignoring my messages."
Read MoreZoink recently released their brand-new game, Lost in Random, and I’m crazy about it.
Lost in Random combines everything I love about video games: amazing storytelling, beautiful graphics, and a brand-new, imaginative world that you get to explore and experience at your own pace.
I loved roaming the teapots of Onecraft, meeting the multiple personalities of Two-Town, resolving the civil war in Threedom, receiving a pep talk from Death outside of Fourburg, arguing with the alchemist in Fivetropolis, and confronting the Queen in Sixtopia...all with my trusty Dicey by my side.
By the time I finished the game, I was hungry for more. I wanted to learn everything I could about the world and the characters within it.
I went on a lore hunt, chasing down all of the information I could find.
Read MoreMy character sits in a limo across from a giant praying mantis.
Many of the “plibbles” covering my character’s body from head to toe—little purple tubes with suction on the ends—hold tasty chocolate treats, which the praying mantis eyes, hungrily.
I point accusingly at a small, quivering yellow mass on the limo seat next to us and say, “I don’t think Freddie is here for the right reasons.”
…I am playing “Space Bachelorette” with my friends, and my character just pulled a dirty trick.
Read MoreLucinda stretches, luxuriating in the heat rising up from the volcanic lair’s floor.
Life as a super-villain’s beloved cat is good: treats and snuggles flow freely, and Lucinda gets to menacingly purr from the cradle of her mistress’ arms during big speeches.
Read More“Hello, and welcome to Supers Anonymous, where we help each other recover from the trauma of being Overpowered Beings.”
Anthony, an apartment building superintendent, shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Contrary to what he had believed upon seeing the sign, he would not find himself in the warm bosom of like-minded brethren, swapping horror stories about clogged toilets and nightmare tenants.
A man wearing comically-large oven mitts stands up. “Hi, I’m Mega Mitts, and this morning a tenant of mine clogged up her toilet like she was angry at it.”
Huh. Or maybe I will.
Read MoreI grew up believing there was a ‘right’ and a ‘wrong’ way to write.
I learned that good writing meant nothing if you didn’t follow the rules, and every misstep you took would make your creations stand out like a sore thumb.
The adults in my life acted like this wasn’t a problem—like they had their own easy-to-reference list of rules printed on gilded paper and embossed with the secrets of the universe, nestled in their back pocket at all times. In contrast, I felt like my awareness of writing rules more closely resembled a used Kleenex that missed the trash can and lay deflated on the floor.
Even worse, writing rules seemed to change all the time, and trying to keep up with them felt like chasing an elusive ribbon floating in the wind.
I lived in fear of being “found out” as a fake writer—as a toddler trying to sit at the big kids table.
It wasn’t until 2016, when I attended an advanced creative writing program at the University of Oxford, that I finally learned to throw all the rules out the window.
Read MoreCan we all agree that time and gravity are extremely rude? I don’t recall signing a consent form to make parts of my body feel like they are laughing and pointing at me at all hours of the day.
The older I get, the more I relate to a nervous chihuahua: jittery, with decreased bladder control.
As someone who recently had a discussion with a friend about the pros and cons of buying a bread maker, suddenly finds the dads in Disney films hot, and now understands the appeal of naps, I can’t ignore the truth any longer: I’m an adult.
This revelation feels like being slapped in the face with a dueling glove, with no hope for retaliation.
Read More…A recently orphaned boy, on the verge of adulthood.
...A mysterious summons from an ineffable presence.
...A cult that sprang out of a famine.
...A choice that impacts the lives of many.
Welcome to Visiting G.R.A.N.D.M.A., a video game I made from scratch using RPG Maker MZ!
Grounded in emotional realism, yet swimming in absurdism, Visiting G.R.A.N.D.M.A. is a hilarious romp with a dark storyline. It has multiple endings that each emphasize the impact and consequences of the players’ choices and will stay with you long after you finish playing.
What will happen to the people you encounter? How will meeting you affect their lives? Only you can say.
Read MoreThis short story won “Honorable Mention” in round two of the NYC Midnight 250-Word Microfiction Challenge writing contest!
The way the contest works is: you receive a prompt at 11:59 PM containing a required genre, action, and word. You then have 24 hours to write a 250-word (maximum) short story incorporating all three.
My prompt was:
Genre: Historical fiction
Action: Bricklaying
Word: "step"
Read MoreThis 250-word short story won eighth place in the first round of NYC Midnight’s “250-word Microfiction Challenge 2021” International Writing Contest. Contest participants were given a prompt at midnight, and then required to turn in a 250-word maximum short story within 24 hours.
The prompt consisted of a required genre, action, and word.
My prompt was:
GENRE: Ghost Story
ACTION: Running
WORD: “play”
Read MoreThis story won 7th place in the first round of NYC Midnight’s “250-word Microfiction Challenge 2020” writing contest. Contest participants were given a prompt with a required genre, action, and word at midnight and then required to turn in a 250-word maximum short story within 24 hours.
My prompt was:
Genre: Horror
Action: Pet sitting
Word: Serve
Read MoreMy favorite podcast also happens to be one of the largest and most popular in the world.
From its website: “With over 280 million podcast downloads, two sell-out world tours, an HBO comedy special, Hollywood fans including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Dame Emma Thompson, Dan Levy, Nicholas Hoult & Michael Sheen and rave reviews from the likes of Variety, The Guardian and Time Magazine, My Dad Wrote A Porno is quite simply ‘a cultural phenomenon' (The Sunday Times).”
Yup. You read that right. The podcast is called “My Dad Wrote a Porno,” and it’s exactly what it sounds like.
Jamie Morton’s father self-published a pornographic book on Amazon, titled Belinda Blinked 1: A modern story of sex, erotica and passion. How the sexiest sales girl in business earns her huge bonus by being the best at removing her high heels, and gave it to his son.
Instead of recoiling in horror, Jamie decided to read it out loud to his best friends James Cooper and Alice Levine, and the My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast was born.
Read More
