once upon a time...

@swansong-if / swansong-if.tumblr.com

dev blog for swan song, a short interactive story in the making. demo. author's pronouns are they/them. askbox: open. commissions: open. nav || faq || rules
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Taken away from your home, your family and your future right before your wedding, you spent years as a captive, victim of an inescapable curse. At every dawn, you are turned into a swan. Only at night, when the moonlight touches the shores of the magical lake that has become your prison, can you return to your true form. It is solely by defeating the one who first cast the spell that you can take back your freedom, but you cannot do it alone. Will you write your happily ever after, or will your story end in despair?

Swan Song is a short interactive story in the making loosely based on Tchaikovsky’s ballet.

  • Swan Lake, but gayer
  • Play as the White Swan and reshape the story
  • Customize the MC (gender, pronouns, appearance and more)
  • Choose from 4 possible personality types
  • Get abducted by an evil sorcerer on a quest for revenge
  • Turn into a swan and possibly develop a monster complex
  • Romance your childhood friend/rival who also happens to be your betrothed...
  • Or the only child of your greatest enemy...
  • ...or both of them!
  • Die in the arms of your beloved (but only if you want to)
#interactive fiction#twine#twine game#swan song if#>demo drop day!!
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interact-if
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lapinlunaire-games
Links...buttons...action!

Pellicule is a minimalist UI template for use with Twine's Sugarcube format, inspired by professional screenplay formatting and analog photography.

Use built-in widgets to format passage text like a script, classic snail mail letters, or take advantage of a crisp, clean layout to comfortably display dense prose. Showcase your writing with bold, sophisticated display themes or create your own with custom colors.

Features:
  • Crisp minimalist design
  • Light/dark display themes
  • Custom plug-and-play widgets to format screenplay and letter essentials
  • Pre-styled template options for choice links and buttons
  • Built-in keybinds to toggle menu & close dialogs
  • Responsive design for desktop, tablets, and mobile devices
  • Annotated passages, stylesheet, and JavaScript for plug-and-play convenience

This template is free to use! Comes with detailed instructions on how to use the built-in widgets and commented code, ready for your story!

Pellicule: A Twine Template by Lapin Lunaire Games
a minimalist sugarcube (twine) template. A browser template made in HTML5
itch.io
#resources
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uroboros-if
Content Warning Macro

DEMO | CODE

(Dedicated to my friends from the sister Ouroboros server β™₯️ A cute mini project I worked on for a few hours!)

A macro that allows readers to toggle for topics they find triggering/sensitive to hide them unless clicked/pressed. This simplifies the process by a lot, and comes with additional features!

For instructions, follow the link to the code above. Below, I will be explaining more in-depth about how it simplifies the process, and includes additional features. :)

#resources
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konoi-and-noir asked:

Oh in my previous post I was totally talking about a game labelling an ending as "true" despite the fact other endings exist and despite allowing players to go for them - nothing to do with what may be headcanon or not!

It's just sad to make a game and let the players chose stuff, THEN tell them "oopsie, sorry, the ending you achieved was not the "true" one". And yeah, it's also about the "favoritism" when it comes to ROs, sort of.

But I never implied it was or would be the case in your game just because you phrased it that way! It just directly made me think of this stuff. That's why I said not to take my post too seriously, but sorry if it came out wrong in any way!

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I did not take your previous ask as offensive or anything of the sort, don't worry! I wouldn't have bothered replying if that were the case.

Admittedly I don't think I 100% follow your logic but that might be because I personally never encountered any game where certain paths or endings were not 'true' unless it was stated so from the beginning. I guess I kind of struggle with this idea of 'real VS fake' endings because the way I see it, what happens in my playthrough is real, and what does not happen/happens in anyone else's playthrough is also just as real. And for whatever lies outside of those I greatly encourage headcanons.

In any case, no need to apologise. I just thought it was important to clarify a few things to avoid misunderstandings both about this specific story and about the role a reader has when it comes to interactive fiction, especially in relation to the author/game developer; it's something that people only recently started to finally talk about and it should be discussed even more imo!

#asks#konoi-and-noir
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konoi-and-noir asked:

Noo please don't say a route is the "real" route, that's always so heartbreaking for me as a player!

What I love in IF and VNs is the freedom of choice, and how it's the route the player picks which is the "true" one because they chose it... To have something labelled as the "true" ending is a VN trauma for me since it was a common thing at some point, but I never saw this in IF.

PS: don't take this too seriously though! I'm not mad nor actually complaining or anything! But it's true it genuinely makes me a bit sad

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Please note that I said the polymance is "in my heart" the "real" route, not narratively. Meaning that just as you experience the story as a reader, in a way I also do, and as a reader I simply think these characters are at their best when they're together. That doesn't have to be true for every other reader.

#asks#konoi-and-noir#long post
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re: ko-fi

Forgot to say this yesterday!

I posted a smol bit of (rivalmance) Leir and MC from ch.1 on Ko-fi that is available for whoever has supported! I picked something that isn't Too juicy this time, next time who knows... I'm not great at being consistent but ideally, I'd like to start using Ko-fi a bit more, posting snippets and previews etc

Really grateful to whoever has supported so far, sending much love! xx

#dev.txt
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elegantunknownphantom asked:

Since this is honestly the very first. And mean that the very first IF I ever read aswell as fell inlove with IFs with. I found it randomly on itchio and it made me curious about what other IFs were and I just didn't even know IFs were a thing till them. This IF holds a special place to me.

So had to add you to my random tour.

I am Continuing my tour of my fav IFs/authors. I'm giving yall some fictional love lives... πŸ‘€ If you HAD absolutely HAD to choose one of your ROs/ side characters to romance. I know we only have 2 ROs but still.

Who would it be and whyyyyyyyyy??

Also Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii β™₯️

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That's honestly wholesome to hear, I'm HONOURED!!! πŸ₯ΊπŸ™πŸ’– There are lots of incredible IF stories out there and I'm glad you get to experience them!!!

I designed Swan Song with very few characters on purpose because I really wanted the focus on the Leir-MC-Odile triad; and uhh as someone who often inevitably falls in love with the side characters, I avoided making any additional characters that would steal my focus lmao so there aren't really people to pick outside of them.

This feels like I'm cheating, but I've mentioned once or twice how in my heart the polymance is the 'real' route, so if I could pick who to romance personally I would simply pick both πŸ˜‚ I ain't gonna pick Rothbart that's for sure, now way I'd let a ginger do all that...

#asks#elegantunknownphantom#every other story i ever come up with has so many side characters and it's a struggle just thinking about how cool they are#couldn't let that happen
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Anonymous asked:

Angsty time!

How does Leir react, after having pushed MC away (many times), the MC, convinced that they can never have Leir by their side, decides to close in on themselves and treat Leir as a friend, nothing more or less?

Here's the thing here's the thing. Leir doesn't push away only MCs whom they share romantic feelings with; the same goes for MCs who are exclusively friends with them. So realistically, this wouldn't change much, since Leir keeps them at a distance regardless.

Now, does a Leir who has feelings for MC notice that MC is treating them differently? Most likely. They would assume that pushing MC away 'worked' and MC finally moved on from their feelings/is not in love with Leir anymore. And that would feel bittersweet for Leir, I guess-- part of them is happy and hopes this makes things easier on both them and MC. The part of them that still loves MC tho, couldn't help but feel the loss.

#asks#Anonymous#ss: ros#ty for the q! πŸ’Œ
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jollyinteractive

Itch.io Demo Recommendations

Exiled from Court- Author:@beeanca-writing. Short demo (3 chapters). MC has been exiled from court by their father. 3 years later, having only been in contact with your grandmother, you're surprised to find your sister visiting you one day, to ask for help. Story is a WIP.

A Knight's heart- Author: Mona. Very short demo, prologue only. MC is the only person in existence with zero magical ability to speak of. Pair this with the dreams you've always had-always of your own death- what will your story be? Story seems to be a WIP.

Swan Song- Author: @swansong-if Very short demo. MC was kidnapped on their wedding night, taken away to a distant placed, and cursed to change forms every sunrise. Story is a WIP.

Crown of the Exile- Author: @ramonag-if Long demo. MC is on the run with the bastard prince of a kingdom that wants you both dead. Very extensive world/relationship building. Story is a WIP.

A Cat's Life- Author: @acatslifeif MC is a cat-shapeshifter and a bar manager. Demo introduces some characters and customization. Story is a WIP

#πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’–πŸ’– Thank you for including me!!#recs
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Please know that if you have sent or ever send asks and I don't reply, in most cases it's because the only answer I can give you is "you'll see in-game" and not because I forgot or I didn't want to answer!

...Except for when Tumblr eats my asks, which. 🀬

So if you send something and you feel like it might have simply got eaten feel free to resend πŸ’•

#dev.txt#i don't think i ever had to delete anything rude before I've been real lucky with ppl in my inbox so far#so rlly if i dont reply it's probably because the answer wouldn't be satisfying

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