#fantasy opera

So lo and behold :

“Un amour mythologique”

A fantasy Solavellan opera in 3 acts

(from a Spotify playlist by GalacticSparkles)

I’m sorry to keep on rambling, but I was SO thrilled by this project, here are a few highlights I’m particularly excited about :

Although I used pieces from a wide range of musical eras, there is a great deal of baroque arias and duets, and most parts I chose for Solas are sung by countertenors, which I feel suit him perfectly because this particular voice range has kind of an otherworldly quality, and its tessitura is roughly the same as that of a contralto or a mezzo soprano;

I had immense fun selecting instrumental music for Halamshiral… (I am aware that the first few pieces are from Italian composers, but I made up for it later with excerpts form “Les Indes galantes” by Jean-Philippe Rameau, so it more faithfully represents what you would hear in fantasy France Orlais);

An interesting thing is that pretty much all the religious/sacred music is found near the end, and is used to describe Solas’ redemption arc or aspects of his relationship with Mythal… I didn’t necessarily plan it this way but it struck me when I was working on the companion piece;

There are also many different languages in this patchwork fantasy opera… you’ll find Latin, German, Italian, English and French. It’s something you would likely not find in a real opera, but I really love the idea of Solas being a talented polyglot...

If you listen to only one thing, let it be their wedding duet at the end (Monteverdi's Pur ti miro), I saved it for last and it has to be my favourite love duet of all time... 💙😭

And to anyone else who has read this far, if you love Dragon Age AND early music like I do, I say this : PLEASE BE MY FRIEND, I beg of you…! <3

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

This is my second post showcasing the character portraits that appear in my upcoming game Fantasy Opera: The Theater of Memory, which is planned for release next month.

I illustrated these portraits in watercolor and pen (with a touch of gouache) to provide the player with a colorful sense of atmosphere as they interact with this cast of fantasy characters in the game's 17th century-inspired setting.

Today I released my debut interactive fiction games: The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens, The Path of Totality, and Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade!

All three games are available to play for free in your web browser on itch.io or LampPostProjects.com, and through the Interactive Fiction Competition.

I'm very excited to finally be able to share these projects with the public! I hope you enjoy them ☺️

Seeking Playtesters!

Do you like choice-based interactive fiction? Cozy fantasy fiction? Short games with immersive storytelling? Solving mysteries?

Or maybe you just want to take a romantic gondola ride with a bugbear? Or learn about Baroque music from a tiefling?

If this is you, I would love your feedback on the beta of my new game, Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade! (Screenshots above.) Testers will be credited in the finished game. I’m also offering testers an opportunity to enter a raffle to win a watercolor painting commission.

This short game should take between 90 minutes and 2 hours to play. After playing, you'll be asked to complete a short feedback form (preview the form here). I'm asking testers to complete the game and submit feedback by June 30 July 13, 2025.

If you're interested, please send me an email at [email protected] and I'll send you the playtesting instructions with a private link to the beta!

* * *

Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade

Teatro della Fantasia is the premier opera house in the fantastical city of Lyra. The artists are hard at work preparing for opening night of the season. This annual event marks the beginning of Carnival, a time of masquerades — and, invariably, mischief.

You're a private investigator who has been hired to ensure the show goes off without a hitch. Will you uncover the devious plot that threatens opening night? You must, or you won't get the chance to dance with someone special at the masquerade ball!

This humorous, character-driven roleplaying game illustrated with pastel drawings evokes the atmosphere of 17th century Venice in an original cozy fantasy setting populated by elves, tieflings, bugbears, and gnomes.

The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens - 6th Place Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade - 7th Place The Path of Totality - 11th Place

The results of 2025 Interactive Fiction Competition have been announced – and all three of my games landed in the top 20, with two snagging spots in the top 10!

This makes me the first author in the 31-year history of IFComp to have three games place in the top 20 in the same year; and only the second author to have two games in the top 10.

I also set a couple new records for games authored in ink, with the highest-ranking ink game in IFComp history (The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens) and the two highest-scoring ink games ever (Sylvan Gardens & Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade).

I am stunned, thrilled, and honored by the response to my work from IFComp judges. This was an especially surprising result for me given the crowded field of 85 entries (the second-largest competition ever), which represented a ton of incredible work and many worthy contenders for top spots.

Thanks once again to the playtesters who helped me improve these games prior to public release: @unaarista, @rpgchoices, @max-tothe-imum, @crypt-glitch, @oryndoll, John Ayliff, Burt, Deborah, Peter M.J. Gross, Amanda Offord, and John R.!

For anyone who has played my games and wants to learn more about them, my competition postmortem on intfiction.org details many of the ideas that led me to create these games, my creative process, some fun player analytics, and what I've learned from participating in IFComp.

And if you haven't played my games already, I'd love for you to check them out. Please leave ratings or comments on their itch.io pages and/or IFDB!

The Secrets of Sylvan Gardens - When you find yourself sleepwalking in the lush ornamental gardens of the Sylvan Villa, you must discover how to break the thrall of a mysterious trance. Fantasy, mystery, romance. / ~2-4 hours to play.

Play on itch.io or LampPostProjects.com Rate on IFDB and itch.io

Fantasy Opera: Mischief at the Masquerade - You're a private investigator who has been hired to ensure the show goes off without a hitch. Will you uncover the devious plot that threatens opening night? Fantasy, mystery, RPG, romance. / ~1 hour to play.

Play on itch.io or LampPostProjects.com Rate on IFDB and itch.io

The Path of Totality - Journey through forest glen and over windswept moor to an ancient stone circle, where a goddess will grant blessings during the total solar eclipse. Fantasy, romance, adventure. / ~1-2 hours to play.

Official portraits of Leo (he/him), theorbo player of the Teatro della Fantasia orchestra.