Demo Update Chapter 2 Part 3

Welcome to The Rosebush

Welcome! We’re very happy to announce the preliminary launch of The Rosebush, a new online magazine for interactive fiction theory and criticism. The purpose of this preliminary launch is to let the interactive fiction community know that we exist, and to invite submissions. We hope to begin publishing early this summer, perhaps in June.

Learn more below, or you can also read this post on our website.

What is The Rosebush?

The Rosebush will be a free online magazine dedicated to publishing longer form articles about interactive fiction. The interactive fiction community already has well-established channels for reviews of individual games, and several people have well-read blogs, but we’ve been lacking a good platform for in-depth analyses, theory articles, discussions of craft, interviews, historical pieces, and so on. The Rosebush aims to be this platform. It will publish substantial articles that increase our understanding of interactive fiction, from individual works to design patterns, community structures and historical trends. The intended audience consists of both players and authors of IF.

What is the scope of the magazine?

Interactive fiction is a term with many uses. The focus of The Rosebush lies on digital works in which a player interacts with a pre-written story where text is the main medium. In particular, The Rosebush will publish about both parser-based and choice-based interactive fiction. While tabletop role playing games, computer role playing games, visual novels, and choose-your-own-adventure books are also interactive fictions in a sense of that term, they are not our primary topic.

Most of the organisers of The Rosebush come from the communities around the Interactive Fiction Competition, the Spring Thing, the IFDB, and so on; but we explicitly also intend to publish about the works of adjacent communities, such as the ChoiceScript community and the retro text adventure community.

What is the magazine looking for?

Articles! See the submissions page for the detailed call for articles. It is possible to either submit a pitch, which we will check to see whether the topic is suitable for The Rosebush, or an article. Links to submission forms can also be found on the submissions page.

What does The Rosebush offer authors?

Most importantly, a place for disseminating your articles. The Rosebush will maintain its website and ensure that all articles are also stored on the IF Archive, the best guarantee for perpetual availability in the current world of interactive fiction. In addition, the editorial team will work with you on your article, which can range from simple spelling/grammar editing to more substantial ideas and feedback on improving your piece.

The Rosebush is an entirely volunteer effort. There are no plans to offer a monetary compensation to authors of articles.

Who are we?

The editorial team currently consists of:

Aster Fialla (se/er)

Benjamin Slade (he/they)

Daniel Stelzer (they/them)

Drew Cook (he/him)

Josh Grams (he/him)

Kiana Lee (she/her)

Lisa Fox (she/her)

Mike Preston (he/him)

Mike Russo (he/him)

Victor Gijsbers (he/him)

Zee (they/them)

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!)

GONCHAROV (1973) Dir. Martin Scorsese.

Hello everyone! I've been made aware that the personality calc isn't currently working in the demo. I'll fix it when I can in the next day or so, but until then, I'll repost this disclaimer from the forum!

I almost feel bad asking, but as a reader, this is something I’ve forgotten to do on occasion, so I’m hoping this post reads as a reminder and not a demand.

But, if you enjoyed the Rose, it would really mean the world if you could leave a review. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate, flowery piece (although, of course, I would never deny one of those), I only ask that the words are true. That it is what you truly think.

Leaving a review is such an easy, free and quick way to support a creator or a piece of art that you believe holds any value. And it does feel disingenuous to be asking this of you, but my appreciation and gratitude would be far away from dishonest. ♡

I was walking through the toy aisle at Target when I found this thing and had a VIOLENT AND IMMEDIATE FLASHBACK to when JP first came out and they had a bunch of REALLY COOL T Rex toys that I would have sold one of my scrawny small-child limbs for but my mother wouldn’t get me one because they were “too violent and also ate people” :(

planetarium presenters trying to explain to a busload of 4th graders how incomprehensibly vast space is

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