Seoul isn’t a city.
At least, it’s not a city in the way that Chicago is a city. Seoul stands with New York and London and Tokyo, a sprawling labyrinth of tiered levels, neon skyscrapers looming over tangled roads that arch over and dip under each other in a stream of ever-moving headlights. On your third day in Korea, you decide to visit a few of the quieter areas, palaces with courtyards the size of football fields and shrines where the trees are twined with red ribbons.
The...
2022-03-31 04:55:23 +0000 UTC
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I’m currently finishing up March’s Saucy Side and UCRT fairy tale, having given up on perfecting Chapter Five this morning. Despite being less active online this month, March has actually been one of my most productive months yet in regards to wordcount (since March 1st, I’ve added around 80,000 words to the story and this doesn’t include code). The finale has diverged even more than I anticipated, but I’m extremely happy with the routes I have written. May will mark Mi...
2022-03-26 22:59:32 +0000 UTC
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I've been struggling with rewriting the intro of Chapter 5, but on the flip side that means I've procrastinated by instead finishing another of Mind Blind's endings! Still can't be played since the entire middle of the game needs to be recoded, but hey it's written. Turns out being in a rut isn't all that bad if it means that I write to avoid editing.
Still, I figure it's best to collect feedback for the next two chapters so that when I finally finish with Hope's new C...
2022-03-26 01:01:08 +0000 UTC
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I had a burst of inspiration and pulled an all nighter to finish (only 5 more ends to go!). It is 5:30am and I'm only now heading to bed, but I have ZERO REGRETS.
It's so good, y'all.
Also, Shard is a slippery jerkface who deserves their own reality TV show. Because damn.
. . . That's it. That's the post. I just got excited and needed to share.
2022-03-25 10:39:09 +0000 UTC
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Title:
Cumulative Commentary
or
The Historic Tale of Four Innocuous Comments That Made One Comment Matter More Than It Should And Inevitably Lead To Disaster (And A Pun)
“For your suit, I say we go sleek. The last Justice looked like an overequipped tortoise. R&D r...
2022-03-25 04:31:30 +0000 UTC
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Referring to Open Gate as a mere ‘pub’ would be akin to calling the Hope Diamond a ‘shiny bauble’. The statement is technically true, but it’s also so much more.
Open Gate is one of the world’s few Neutrality Zones open to all species and human variants. Members of warring Fae factions sit at the same table, discussing everything except politics; Wendigos and Rakshasas order onion rings and drink Guinness alongside humans who would, in any other location, b...
2022-03-21 21:46:37 +0000 UTC
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Currently writing the family reunion for Chapter 5, but here's Chapter 4's update to play with! (Although 90% of Chapter 4's changes are behind the scenes, so you may want until Chapter 5 to replay.)
Originally, I'd expanded upon John's conversation with Button, but came to the conclusion that the original version worked better after I took out Hope's phone call . . . especially because the majority of the new material with John focused around whether or not Button wanted to talk ...
2022-03-19 04:59:55 +0000 UTC
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Let’s start off with the good news: another one of Mind Blind’s endings has been fully written! My wordcount currently tops 670,000 words in my private build, and this only includes parts that are coded! My feelings of accomplishment are so profound and excitable as to require exclamation points to end of my sentences!!
The bad news: I deleted Chapter 4’s new phone call with Hope. I loved this scene. Adored it. Button got to be vulnerable/angry/sad clown, and Hop...
2022-03-19 01:45:59 +0000 UTC
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Editing an IF is one of the most difficult things that I've ever done in my entire existence, and I say this as someone who used to wrangle small children for a living. It's extremely disorienting to rewrite things when the scenes don't flow. I feel like a blindfolded toddler holding an upside-down map, and half of my time is spent just figuring out which choice leads to which scene and trying to remember why the heck I thought it was a good idea to name a variable "Fred."
Whic...
2022-03-13 03:16:22 +0000 UTC
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The first route in Mind Blind is written! All the way, to the end, for a total of nineteen chapters. (I might make Chapter 20 an epilogue but we'll see.)
This route (which happens should Button accept Shard’s offer of help) isn’t yet fully coded, as I don’t yet know what thresholds will be required for stats in order to achieve certain sub endings—I’ll be keeping track of all the opportunities to raise/drop these stats as I continue editing prior chapters. The ending ...
2022-03-10 01:30:26 +0000 UTC
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Ah, reality show reunion episodes. Is there anything better than when celebrities in the death throws of their contracts drop their filters and bring in the megaphones to taunt and provoke each other?
. . . Ok, I admit, I've never seen a reality show reunion except for maybe three minutes when changing channels during commercials (back in ye olden days before streaming). But I did google the term "Shocking Reality TV Reunion Episodes" in order to write the intro for this post, and appar...
2022-03-08 01:55:24 +0000 UTC
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I fell asleep at my desk last night before posting Friday’s update. Weirdly, my back feels great? There might be benefits to sleeping upright instead of half-falling off the bed in starfish position like I usually do. Regardless, as of this morning I’m finished with Chapter 4 and currently editing Chapter 5!
(This post also serves as a final request for any feedback on these two chapters, which you can submit here: 2022-03-05 20:36:09 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 3’s rewrite is complete, and John’s relationship variable count is now up to ten! Unlike the other eight variables that I listed in my last blogpost, these two new variables track John’s feelings based on your dialogue choices (determining how comfortable/cautious/apologetic he behaves towards Button). I keep bouncing between his scenes in Chapters 3-5, and at this point most of the scenes involving him have been either edited or completely rewritten (with the code completely ov...
2022-03-02 20:29:29 +0000 UTC
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Next month will be an interview as usual where you guys ask questions, but I thought I'd mix it up a little for February.
Enjoy!
"Interview" Link: https://uquiz.com/iz4puP
2022-02-28 20:25:47 +0000 UTC
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Note: This story was originally a flashback in Mind Blind! Arden could be chosen as either a past fling or a friend, so I've tried to leave it vague for the purposes of this piece.
The original intent of the scene was to show that Button had choices other than staying in Chicago while also emphasizing how their Zero impacts their every moment spent in public. Ultimately, I took out the scene because it slowed down the main plot's momentum and intro...
2022-02-27 23:56:10 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 3 will be out this weekend! Overhauling John’s relationship means simultaneously recoding his scenes in Chapters 4 and 5, in order to make sure that the relationship variables I’m tracking work throughout all of John’s main conversations. And I must say, I’m really pleased by how it’s turned out! I’ve talked a little in past posts about the new overhaul for how Button’s relationship with their parents is tracked, but I haven’t gone much into what having variables inste...
2022-02-26 04:49:16 +0000 UTC
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It's time for Chapter 3, which means it's time to focus on John and Hope!
Let me tell you, their new relationship tracking a doozy. A doozy that I'm extremely excited to implement, but still a doozy.
If you have suggestions about Chapter 3 (especially when it comes to how you'd like Button to react/feel during their lunch meeting with John), I'd love to hear it! The options involving Button's parents for this chapter will be the foundation for all future interactions with...
2022-02-19 03:33:26 +0000 UTC
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Link: https://dashingdon.com/play/wildelight/mind-blind-20/mygame/
Fun fact: Chapters 1 and 2 consist of a combined 82,000 words, which is around a sixth of Mind Blind's total content! (This is mostly the fault of Chapter 2, which clocks in at 50,000 words. Hopefully, future chapters will be quicker to edit and rewrite.)
What's New...
2022-02-19 03:27:47 +0000 UTC
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I ended up having to divide Unity's Founding and The Korean Reunification into two separate entries, with the Korean Reunification in particular ending up a lot longer than I anticipated. I'm posting the first part up (on the Reunification) in it's entirety before the rewrite in order to solicit your feedback--please let me know if there's any awkward wording or anything seems unclear!
If the text seems biased . . . well, the winners write history. And Unity definitely le...
2022-02-17 20:51:57 +0000 UTC
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Finishing up the final entry to the Aeon Student Guide (which will be included in the stat screen next update). The above photo is an extremely rough draft, but overall the Student Guide is almost 4,000 words of pure lore dumping.
Completely optional lore dumping, mind you!
There's some reactivity if you read over it before Rosy's class, but the game is fully playable and comprehensible regardless of whether or not you choose to read this extra material (I didn't includ...
2022-02-16 06:22:18 +0000 UTC
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The assignment is simple: find target, shoot arrow, profit.
Having just gained your wings as a fledgling Cupid, you aren’t about to mess up your first solo mission. It’s imperative that you be at the top of your game; your new supervisor has been looking for an excuse to kick you off the Infatuation Task Force from the moment you were introduced. Something is up Cupid #197’s ass, but it’s certainly not one of your affection-inducing arrows.
You glance down at your mission ...
2022-02-15 04:35:24 +0000 UTC
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The assignment is simple: find target, shoot arrow, profit.
Having just gained your wings as a fledgling Cupid, you aren’t about to mess up your first solo mission. It’s imperative that you be at the top of your game; your new supervisor has been looking for an excuse to kick you off the Infatuation Task Force from the moment you were introduced. Something is up Cupid #197’s ass, but it’s certainly not one of your affection-inducing arrows.
You glance down at your mi...
2022-02-15 04:22:45 +0000 UTC
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For paws and fangs that you can’t see,
Put your trust in a cuppa tea.
-Advertisement for Mama Marygold’s Certified Anti-Shifter Droplets
When vampires and weres were revealed to exist, panic set in as to how ordinary humans could identify these outsiders given their exterior similarities to mortals. Revelations that vampires could enter buildings uninvited and that werewolves weren’t any more hairy in human form than anyone else ca...
2022-02-14 05:50:35 +0000 UTC
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I’m currently working on integrating the new scene within all of Chapter 2 and have almost reached the conclusion that my first instinct may have been correct and that the chapter may now need to be split in two. I’m reluctant to do this however, as having the explosion at the end of Chapter 3 just feels so tidy. Ending a chapter right before the assignment greatly slows down the narrative forward force (it makes for an easy stopping point, and I personally am of the school that ...
2022-02-12 06:56:22 +0000 UTC
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Chapter 2 is going to have a lot more story changes in it than Chapter 1, as I've written a new yet crucial scene that foreshadows a lot of what's to come and delves into the motivations of certain characters (while also providing a lore drop about Unity's founding). This new scene is one of the big reasons I needed to do the rewrite, in fact.
Because of all the new material, Chapter 2 will end up being separated into Chapters 2 and 3, with the previous Chapter 3 becoming 4. We'll see!<...
2022-02-10 02:07:19 +0000 UTC
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Thank you everyone so much for your feedback! It was clear that a lot of you put a lot of thought into your comments, and I appreciate it so much.
Mind Blind 2.0: https://dashingdon.com/play/wildelight/mind-blind-20/mygame/
There were a lot of great suggestions, and I'm only sorry that I wasn't able to respond to and implement it all. T...
2022-02-10 02:01:46 +0000 UTC
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Just wanted to give everyone a behind-the-scenes glance of how the new romance and relationship system works! In addition to the "attraction" and "crush" stages, all ROs also have a "feelings" and "romance" stage, with romance requiring a positive relationship to progress from one stage to the next. Rosy also has their "intrigued" stat which will need to remain active to successfully woo them.
Several people can end up on the Nemesis Role Call (which tracks contentious relationships) in...
2022-02-07 03:45:25 +0000 UTC
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Tentatively, I think I’ll be able to release the rewritten Chapter 1 on Sunday depending on how much more feedback comes in. Thank you so much for those who have provided insight! I don’t want to speak definitively about what’s been changed just yet (in case it changes further), but I’ve incorporated a lot of ideas that I would’ve otherwise overlooked! There were also plenty ideas that I wish I could’ve included, but ultimately had to nix (whether due to complexity, length, or sim...
2022-02-05 05:38:58 +0000 UTC
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Happy February, everyone! I spent all of today writing down every single new variable that will be integrated into Mind Blind 2.0, most significantly charting the relationship system overall. I'm pleased (and somewhat intimidated) to announce that this currently amounts to 72 variables that will track Button's relationships, attitudes, and personalities.
There will be additional variables to remember player choice, of course. But these 72 stats, both visible and hidden, w...
2022-02-02 01:34:47 +0000 UTC
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On stage, Nicholas Wiseman sits across from Clarence Garfield. Their sense of styles could not be more different: Nick wears an emerald green dinner jacket that tiptoes the line between “classy” and “host club,” while Clarence wears a dark grey business suit with overlong sleeves, of a style that can best be summarized as “accountant at a funeral.”
Nick faces the camera. He lacks the usual sparkle in his eye, and his voice is dull and dejected.
2022-02-01 00:33:47 +0000 UTC
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