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Hi! It's been a long time coming but I'm excited to share the Chapter 5 alpha demo! Thank you for your patience and enthusiasm :) Please read until the end. Without fail I get questions that are answered in this post almost immediately after publishing it aha

I'm calling it an alpha demo because, and not to get all sad and lame, after the death of my family member I did not feel like adding more to my plate (aka beta testers). Writing took up much of my time already and it just hasn't been the right time to include other people into the process. Of course, that must change, and I will be getting beta testers soon now that the alpha is out. As always, the chapters are subject to change and improve as time goes on.

So with that said if there are errors im all ears! I will try to be as timely as possible.

What was the inspiration for this game, and why did you want to write a story in this genre?

Infamous was inspired by my love of music and reality TV. I was a big pop culture nerd when I was younger and was even an admin of a fanbase for an artist (that I won’t mention!). I met a few of my best friends through artists’ fandoms and learned a lot about the fan culture of pop stars and artists that way. As for the reality part, I grew up on trashy reality television. Admittedly, I was definitely too young for half the stuff I watched, but thankfully it worked out! My first IF being a contemporary band drama story felt right. Everything I write in Infamous comes from the knowledge I’ve picked up over the years consuming pop culture.

How has your identity, heritage/background, or personal experience influenced your storytelling?

A lot of the dynamics in Infamous are picked up from my real life. My social circle is so different in both identity and life experience that it only made sense the band in Infamous would look the same. My friends are always there to lend their experience and/or perspectives which has made the band in Infamous feel more ‘real’ to me. 

What’s the one thing you’re really proud of that you’ve written so far? Do you have a favorite character or scene that you’ve written? 

A lot of MC’s story is about the uncertainty of the future. There’s a constant theme of ‘making this work because there’s no backup.’ MC is taking (celebrity) life as it comes and that’s something I definitely relate to. Working a creative job, being unlabeled, dropping out of college with no backup plan…that kind of theme resonates with me! I’ve always been a “go-with-the-flow” kind of person. Not too worried about putting a label on myself or planning what’s next for my life. Of course, MC has a lot more at stake!

While I’ve said August is my favorite character, I am really proud to have created Seven. They’re still really hard to pin down sometimes, even years later, which I feel like is a good thing. I’ve never written a character that people are so attached to and invested in, both positively and negatively. It amazes me the things people latch to, even things about them that I didn’t even think about until readers point it out to me. I’ve been jokingly told Seven is probably my peak when it comes to character writing, and honestly, I wouldn’t mind it if that’s the case. 

I also really like G Reign. They’re another character whose complexity really puts my writing abilities to the test. I can write an entire separate story about them alone. 

For folks who enjoyed your IF, what other book/music/movie should they check out with the same ‘vibe’, (whatever that means to you)?

Coyote Ugly, Scott Pilgrim vs The World, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Daisy Jones & The Six (both the book and show—the book is better). I binged all of this in one weekend and that’s how I came up with the idea for Infamous. I’ve said this a million times but Infamous seriously wouldn’t exist without this list! 

What're you excited to implement or work on next?

The romance in Infamous! Ironically enough for a romance there hasn’t been much of it but we’re finally getting there and I’m super excited. I’m also super excited to work on another IF when this one is all said and done. It’s a long way out but the prospect of playing in a new sandbox is great motivation! 

Fun with the modern/slice-of-life genre

Personal fave profession: Artist! (Surprise.) 

Personal fave modern setting: A small town. 

What was the inspiration for RYWD and what made you want to write a story in the sci-fi genre?

I cite altered carbon and games like cyberpunk2077 or nobody wants to die as inspiration when asked. I’ve always been interested in the cyberpunk aesthetic and more gritty works where you can explore darker themes and a city as vibrant as Vapolis turned out to be. Funnily enough, sci-fi has never been a genre I gravitated towards when reading books except for a couple outliers but when I first got the idea for this IF it only made sense to me to go a sci-fi track with it due to it playing in future times and the tech aspect being a major theme.

What does your writing process look like?

I have a classic case of one vague scene, a setting and vibe whenever I start a new work and then I agonize about how to reach that specific scene and build an entire outline around it. Probably not the best process but characters come quickly to me then and a new routine that has allowed me to write a lot very quickly lately is to write in 20 minute sprints! I’ve been doing it for about a month and write more in a day now than I did some weeks. I’d really recommend the app Ellipsus for that since you can enable a focus mode that eliminates distractions in the interface and it has helped me massively. 

What's one thing you're really proud of that you have written so far? Do you have a favourite character or scene you've written?

My favorite character to write is the MC of RYWD. I am personally a big fan of mc’s with semi-set or set backstories because i feel like you can dive deeper into the psyche of them that way and mc is a trauma riddled individual that has always been one move away from snapping entirely and I always enjoy any scene where mc is in total focus. In my most recent chapter that is the case and it has really allowed me to go into their fears and thoughts and to double down on things I only mentioned in passing before.

For folks who enjoyed your IF, what other book/music/movie should they check out with the same 'vibe'?

Definitely altered carbon! It’s a book series and incredibly exciting. For people that don’t have the patience to dive deep with the books, there’s also a netflix adaptation and I really enjoy that as well for the action and the vibe of the city depicted in season 1.

What're you excited to work on next?

A romance route soft lock. I’ve always been a big fan of more established dynamics in relationships, especially romances, and this will allow me to go a lot deeper and focus more on the dynamic between mc and their chosen RO. 

Fun with the sci-fi genre

Personal fave sci-fi profession/race: Mercenary!

Personal fave sci-fi setting: Cities isolated from the rest of the world.