Hi! Hi!

Hello readers... I'm realizing I never actually announced it so I'm just coming here to say things are on now back on track re. chapter 5 and the release is... on the horizon.

No, you don't get to know what day it is. We're going back to the ominous "soon" system, release dates be damned.

In my defense your honor I had really good music on and it made me want to do something evil

I used to think scifi was off limits to me because I can't subtract 15 from 50 without having a minor mental meltdown... but then I remembered my brother has a masters in astrophysics and I'm very good at bullying him into doing what I want.

Coming soon. Written by me but with all the maths and science done by someone smarter than me.

Werewolves in Space!

This post is a joke. Unless...

GONCHAROV (1973) Dir. Martin Scorsese.

Hello! Long time no see! I haven't been active in a meaningful way since early January. A lot of Not-So-Good things have happened (as well as good things) in my life and Emberwood kind of got lost in the mess.

I opened up the chapter 2 file and reread it and decided to just put it out. It's done, and it works, but it can be better so I'll consider it an alpha chapter. My beta testers offered great, great comments and corrections and critiques and so I have made the decision to go back and rewrite and update once I'm more on top of things. I just wanted to share it with you guys because Chapter 2 has been collecting dust in my files a while now and I don't see why I wouldn't post it.

so here it is!

DEMO (PROLOGUE + CHAPTER1 + CHAPTER2// 106,261K words)

I *highly* advise rereading from the beginning for a refresher (it's been a while.)(it might break anyway.) Also, I would say ignore the stats and the stat page as I have plans to overhaul that. There's probably some errors and stuff but there shouldn't be any game breaking errors (aka you should be able to play the entire demo.)

Just to reiterate: Chapter 2 will eventually get overhauled and updated.

If there are any errors, I would rather get reports at emberwoodif@gmail.com since I am not on Tumblr much.

Thank you for your patience, your understanding, your enthusiasm and everything else!

initially it’ll be funny but I guarantee u will all end up in tears missing the good times and thinking wow that was crazy I love u all

College Tennis: Origin Story

Will the once-great Cargill Coyotes succeed in reclaiming the NCAA Div I championship title for the first time since the 90s? Will you succeed in making a name for yourself, both on and off the tennis court? And perhaps more importantly…how much are you willing to sacrifice in pursuit of these dreams?

Start at the bottom as a newly-recruited freshman at Cargill university, and claw your way to the championships. Forge lifelong friendships, pursue budding romances, attend classes, and rush term papers -or party- till the sun comes up.

Fifth update (16 Oct) is here!

Demo | Separate Tumblr [New] | Cast of characters (images)

Play as female, male, or non-binary — with options to be straight, gay, or bisexual.

Experience the ups and downs of college life alongside an ensemble of colorful side characters.

Play nail-biting singles and doubles matches (both home and away) throughout the fall and spring seasons - that is, if you make the cut.

Romance the gruff, hot-headed no. 1 seed, an enigmatic, broody international student on your floor, the warm, unflappable team captain, or your nerdy and spirited high-school best friend.

Build (or neglect) your relationships with your teammates, hallmates, coaches, family and friends back home.

Rayyan Afiq | Gender of your team* | 20

No. 1 seed, vice captain of the tennis team

Nationality: Egyptian-American

*Follows your gender/gender of your team

Description: 5′7 (f) or 5′10 (m). Muscular, athletic build. Dark, wavy curls, and thick sweeping eyebrows over piercing dark-olive eyes. Tawny, honey-brown skin.

Surly, intense, proud, and intensely focused. One of the most talented players in the American college system currently, and will stop at nothing to win. Will you ever get past their stony exterior, and get to know more than just the machine that they are on-court? 

Tobin Harris | Gender of your team* | 21

Captain of the tennis team

Nationality: American

*Follows your gender/gender of your team

Description: 5′10 (f) or 6′1 (m). Tall, lean build. Short black hair, warm, brown eyes and a calm, assured demeanour. Dark bronze skin.

Kind, laid-back, selfless, sociable and gentle to a fault. They go out of their way to make everyone feel welcome, and light up every room they’re in. But they also have a bad habit of putting other people’s emotions in front of their own, and stuffing down their own feelings until it’s too late. 

Sam O’Connelly | M or F | 18

Nationality: American

Childhood best friend, plays for the UCLA Bruins

Description: 5′5 (f) or 5′8 (m). Trim build, with a small frame. Slightly curly russet hair. Mischievous light blue eyes.

Adaptable, excitable, scattered, and fun-loving. A competent tennis player, but has too many other interests to concentrate on any one of them. Has a vague fear of commitment, but secretly wants to find something worth holding on to. Will they finally admit their feelings for you, or will they eventually fade with time and distance? 

Guillaume/Geneviève Lavigne | M or F | 20

Nationality: French

Third-year exchange student, hallmate.

Description: 5′6 (f) or 5′10 (m). Toned, supple build. Dark, tousled hair with fair skin. Smoky grey eyes, with a smattering of freckles.

Quiet, with a rich and intensely private inner world. Never lets on what they’re actually thinking or feeling. You know almost nothing about them despite living on the same floor. The sheer number of times you bump into them will start to get ridiculous. Coincidence? Perhaps. Fate? Possibly. On purpose?? Most certainly not?

First Update (15/11/21): 

Prologue - USTA U18 championships match semi-final 

The summer before college 

Move-in day

Second Update (15/12/21): 

Team introductions

First day of training - strength and conditioning test, 5-mile run 

Training snippets, team lunch 

Third update (25/03/22):

Singles challenge match against last season’s No. 5 seed

Hall party before freshman orientation begins

Rooftop scene with G

Fourth update (28/08/22): 

Freshman orientation (icebreakers, amazing race, laser tag) 

Head to the library with Tobin/go on a run with Rayyan/skype with Sam

Sign up for a club at the club and activities fair, pick a major

Fifth update (16/10/22) is here!

Attend your first week of classes, and find out if you’ve done enough preparation not to make a fool of yourself (go through your first surprise test)

More training (get the chance to show off your finesse chops!)

Challenge match with Jacks or Max (This decides if MC will be within the Top 6 in the singles rankings!)

Demo Update Chapter 2 Part 3

Chapter 2 Part 3 is now Live!

Demo

Have at it!

Shenanigans aside, as previously stated this update includes just over 170,000 words, which covers Peyton, Peidyn, Abelyn, and Anadora’s Romance, Platonic, and Friendship Routes (where you can still see their scenes without being on their specific path).

The update will have Broken your save files so make sure to start a fresh game.

Update Notes and Details Below:

There are now four accessibility settings, some old, a few new.

The Unicode Hints, and Panic Switch you should all be familiar with by now. The Script Display and Weights and Measures Switches, not so much.

There is a full explanation in the demo, but in brief:

The Scripts Display switch gives you the ability to swap between using Old English letters like the wynn Ƿ, and using the standard Roman Alphabet. It also changes the display of certain words to match their pronunciation with a British English accent. Since I'm well aware that only a minority of my readership have such an accent I've also included a rough transcript of each word using the IPA on each of the word's journal page.

The Weights and Measures switch allows you to switch between the in story measurements system and the metric system.

All the accessibility switches can be accessed at any point during the game from the Stats Screen Menu.

There are gaps present in the Stats Screen Journal Pages. I ran out of time and brain power before the release deadline -_-

I'll try and get a mini patch out by the end of the week to fix this.

I hope you all enjoy reading the new update, and as always feedback and bug reports are much appreciated.

Now, unless any major bugs emerge in the next 30 minutes or so, I'm off to collapse in a heap.

Have fun everyone!

Crown of Exile - Chapter 5 Update

Chapter 5 is now available for the public!

Play the game here. Please RESTART your game. Old saves will not work.

The chapter includes:

The entirety of chapter 5;

Dealing with the Nomad Tribe prisoners;

Arriving in Ishari;

Learning more about the other Temple of Ehulla;

Convincing the Ishari people to help Prince Irus;

Freeing prisoners from the Blood Guard prison;

Uncovering major revelations about a certain prisoner;

Dealing with the aftermath of these revelations;

Spend time with your chosen RO;

Introducing a new RO - Anu;

Deepen your bond with Prince Irus;

The first (optional) NSFW scene of the game with Prince Irus.

Word Count: 78 368 words. Total game word count: 324 810 words.

Things to note:

As always, this is a first draft so expect scenes to be lacking some choices;

I wanted to include a lot more interactivity as well as more romance scenes, but I ultimately ran out of time;

Please report bugs to me via Tumblr, the game page or through this form;

The issue with the return button should be fixed and you should no longer get stuck in a loop;

For exclusive side stories posted monthly and weekly devlogs, sneak-peeks and general rambling, consider supporting me on Patreon.

I hope you enjoy the chapter and have fun!

hey! it may not be a halloween update you’re looking for, but i’m excited to announce that chapter eight of When Twilight Strikes will (finally, finally!!) go live on november 4th at 12pm EST. the password is already up for those of you in the midnight tier on patreon, and will be released for the twilight tier this sunday.

in this chapter…

ro povs? rov povs.

experience the consequences angst of being injured (or one of the ros being injured)

develop some theories (while K loses all their brain cells)

find out what Rylan named your group chat

have a little chitchat with Sebastian (someone send him some help for real)

oh, and did i mention angst?

i know i’ve made and broken several promises on when this is coming out, but i assure you, it’s real this time. it’s the biggest chapter i’ve ever written and one that i struggled through immensely, though one i am also very proud of. i sincerely hope you enjoy <3