#gamesindie

The "list" should be the planned arrangement (first to last) for the year. Unless I get bored and change my mind. Because, let's be honest, that's what my brain does best...

I won't give any timeline, because I can't keep it and I can't seem to be able to predict how much time all this work will take me. Maybe I'll be quick, maybe I won't. But I'll announce the release/updates about a week or two in advance.

P-Rix - Space Trucker

What I had been working on during the End-of-Year Holidays was editing the missing content and code it. This will include opening the world to the player and introducing new mechanics (technically already coded but missing the flavour text).

Since the UI is currently static, playing it on mobile is not advised. It will be a headache, but that needs to be done. Also needed: more QoL settings (animation toggle, timer/typewriter amount etc...).

On this blog, expect an actual shareable Intro Post with all relevant links/features sometimes... *shrugs*

La Petite Mort

Because of the 4h time constraint of the EctoComp, I wasn't able to include all rooms I wanted to include. You were supposed to explore the whole house/garden and not the current available rooms/space, and interact more with other NPCs. A proper/more-than-one-line ending was drafted too. The journal would get crossed off then a task was completed, and you'd get some codex/diary when finding some stuff about the Grandma.

So that's the plan on the addition (with some quick UI edits for the Dialog boxes). And the English translation to go along (because you should all be able to experience this fun puzzle/quest bit.

Oh! and an actual Intro Post as well.

Goncharov Escapes!

Made quickly and not edited before posting, Gonchy needs a bit of TLC. I also want it to fit the whole vibe I'm going for with all my projects (the logo/manonamora presents/etc...).

And a French translation (because I can/want to share my games in different languages). Since there are like 4k words total, it might not take me too long. When I get to it.

Exquisite Cadaver

Planned already for the last semester, but didn't get to it (yay writer's block!). Well not completely. I did open my file during the autumn, but didn't write more than a handful of words. The main issue with this project is that all rounds have an ending (distinct from the other endings) which have not yet been written or drafted (unlike the actual rounds). So I am left with 15-20 workable/potentially playable rounds but no endings. And, stubborn as I am, I don't want to upload a round without its linked ending.

So writing, editing, coding, writing, editing, coding, etc...

Maybe a complete release this year? Big Question Mark on it.

ALSO: that is when the whole game is done, I would want to try and port it into French. There are some HUGE challenges (gendered languages/adjectives going before OR after the noun/etc...), but it's something I'd want to take a crack at. BUT, that's like super future. Next year or year after that timeline-wise.

The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt

Chapter 3 coming when the edits are done. The ball is in MelS's court, but we are in the final round of editing (after more back and forth than the other chapters, we kept bickering about some sentences).

Any further update is dependent on MelS and the free time he has. Chapter 3 may be the only update this year, or maybe we'll have a couple more after it. We will seeeee...

The Thick Table Tavern

Now we are really going into the maybe territory. This would be dependent on the time/energy because there are a lot of things in there that either need fixing, re-coding, adding. Because this was always a large project, it won't be something easy to get off my desk (unlike the ones above).

BUT, if the stars align and ladida...

Addition to the story would come only in form of storylets (like the ones currently in the game) and other events (like the Brom shenanigan). Ideally, I would want to add the recurrent NPCs, but the 14-day story would need some/a lot of re-organising.

Opening the possibility of playing the full 14 days or creating a way to spend the coins earned.

Achievements!

Fixing/Balancing the mixing elements

More stuff that is written on a paper at home somewhere in a drawer...

I know some of you would want this to be ported for mobile, but I don't think it would be realistic considering the Bar Gameplay/UI. I might take a crack at it, but don't hold your breath for that one.

Crimson Rose & White Lily

The I really want to update this but words are not coming out project. The I definitely went over my head with this one project. But also the I promise this is not abandoned project. After updating the story 3 times last year (with the last one getting a long edit/re-write), I've had a hard time continuing/going back to the story itself.

If I can't get Scene 5 out this year (which is probable, it looks to be chunky), I would like to try to get one small variation out at least (the Scene 2 secret forking or the Harbour afternoon). Even that, I can't promise it happening. All dependent on the above projects.

Honestly, my only hope is being able to start writing more than 10 words on the document at this point... Maybe even if it is just a prompt.

SugarCube Template

Obviously this is coming back! Creating weird templates is really fun. And I want to create more shapes (like maybe a circle/oval?) with the page.

There's that promised Space/Sci-Fi one that are still not here (my SeedComp! entry will probably become that, but in a more simple form, and mobile accessible).

Since I've been working on adding more accessibility in my projects (hopefully it actually works for people), I've been wondering if having a basic Settings/Accessibility Macro Template could be useful to people. Like a Copy-Paste for the JavaScrip/CSS for Font Change, Toggle for Animation/Notification, Theme Change, KeyBinding. I might even try to get through the Audio macros once and for all and create a volume slider/mute button. If there are other options I should take into consideration, let me know!

SPS Iron Hammer

That's a super long reach. I would actually be amazed if I make some progress on this project honestly. Especially if I finish the ones above. The only reason I would start the re-writes of SPS IH without having completed the projects above would be because I threw the whole schedule out the window. I am trying not to do that.

Long story short on what is planned:

Puzzles!

More day-to-day job stuff (with more interactivity for each)

A nicer Codex page and functioning stats bars.

Mysteries :o

A brawl.

And more :P

Other

Didn't I just say I'd try not to be involved in Jams/Comps this year? Welp I lied.

There's the @seedcomp-if that I am involved with. Round 2 which is starting soon and last until March 1st. Since I released a seed for the first round, I do want to make a small 5-10min entry for the second one (think Gonchy size/style).

Having done that, I am kind of interested in organising smaller Jams (à-la Fortnight Fiction during the height of Covid or the Sci-Fi Twine one last month). I'll wait until the SeedComp is further ongoing, maybe somewhere in March to plop something. Probably with a word count/time limit.

Also, the @if-confessions's box is still open. Feel free to drop something! It's all anonymous :) It's been fun to get stuff and add to The Discourse TM. Would be nice to get more positive/happy ones tho...

And finally, #coding support is still a thing. Still ongoing. Still down to make tutorials, even for small/basic stuff. Just drop an ask with your question!

I missed answering coding questions...

That should be it? A lot planned, a lot of things I hope to achieve, a lot I will prob not do because I decided to just do jams this year :P Who knows!

2023 is going to be fun!

2021 Projects

Status: Complete for realsies

On top of the UI update in late January (which was re-coded again after), Meeting the Parents was re-edited, re-translated and fixed, got some QOL updates (accessibility) and CSS addition in December. It took me about 2 months to get through this second update but I wanted to polish the game one last time. A few thousands words were added for both the English and the French versions.

I know I said I had shelved it last February, but this time is the truth, really (until someone tells me there's a bug/typo).

Onto some stats...

While the graph only shows the whole 2022, the stats below includes the past few days, because I forgot to do this on the 1st...

3,711 total plays (+1.5k ish)

25 ratings (+7), with an average of 4.3/5 (+0.1)

Inside 208 collections (+86)

Still about 2.2 views/play

MtP is still not my most popular project, it being short and completed. But I still get bursts once in a while. It got most traction by the end of January (when I updated the UI) and Nov/Dec when I uploaded the edits (also made one Interact-If list late November).

MtP has also now 2 ratings and 1 review on IFDB, averaging at 4.5.

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing/Hiatus-ish

CRWL did not get one, two, or three updates this year. It got four. Two story and one UI updates at the start of the year, and a huge one late June (story re-writes + additional content). The total word count passed 100k with that last update (excluding Codex). QoL settings have been added (though this is not yet completed), which includes a Quest Tracker, Codex Pages, and MC Editor.

An extra update was planned for the last quarter of the year, but it did not happen. I've been struggling to write anything substantial for that next scene ever since the end of the IFComp. I really want to continue writing it, but honestly, I've been staring more at then page than writing. Hopefully, this year will be easier...

Onto some stats...

28,121 total plays (+20k compared to January,only stat not in June)

69 ratings (+22), with an average of 4.7/5 (=)

Inside 1,766 collections (+654)

Still 1.9 view/play

Through and through, CRWL is my most popular game. I only passed 10k plays last March, and now it's already doubled! I'm just... flabbergasted.... It's honestly insane how many people kept playing even after the lack of new content since this summer... Honestly, completely speechless here. Boost of traction in February and March for the releases of Scene 2 and 3, mega boost in June/July for the release of Scene 4.

On the IFDB side, CRWL has now 3 ratings (+2).

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing/Hiatus-ish

I had mentioned this in that mid-year check in June how unhappy I had been with the state of EC and how I had been working on drafts for a story re-writes. The following month, I released an update which included a Prologue and 9/30 planned rounds, a new Endless Mode, QoL settings, and some semblance of Achievements. The UI was also updated then (which had become a template too!).

After this, I continued to write more rounds (or draft more than a line). This worked for about 2/3rd of them. But, having planned an ending or two for each round kind of became what blocked the progress. I wanted to have distinct endings, but, unlike the rounds, I didn't really know what would be in them. So progress for the re-write write stopped and the project was halted like CRWL was.

Onto some stats...

1,443 total plays (+1k-ish)

11 ratings (+7), with an average of 4.2/5 (-0.1)

Inside 88 collections (+50)

Went to 2.7 view/play (-0.2)

Still not surprised to the little attention EC gets overall. As much as I find the gameplay interesting, it requires a bit more from players than just clicking on a link. It's a bit polarising (and that lowered the rating average). But most players still seem to like it, and that's why it slowly keeps getting views and plays. The game got a bit of traction after I announced the update or posted about my progress (especially in the UI). At the end of September, someone just downloaded the old version 70 times on itch. That was wild.

On IFDB, EC received 2 ratings for an average of 3 1/2 stars, as well as a long review (rating pending completion).

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

2022 Projects

Status: Completed/Hiatus

Released at the end of January for the Interact-IF comp, where I ranked 6th, I have not touched the game file since it was released. I have a whole plan for expansion, but still did not have time to get to it. The new version included some ship exploration, an inventory, and a mystery. And yes, the Robot had a part in it.

So nothing new on the front, or what not.

Onto the stats...

2,417 total plays (+ > 1k)

15 ratings (+4), with an average of 4.3/5 (=)

Inside 203 collections (+85)

Went to 2.1 view/play (+0.2 approx)

Still the same as what I wrote back in June: SPS IH got a peak when it released but the subsequent ones are never as strong. I'm lucky if I get 10 plays on a single day. Honestly, while I had fun making it, it was never going to be my best work. I think the numbers reflect that.

SPS Iron Hammer has no rating or review on the IFDB.

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Now... onto the completely new releases.

Status: Completed(-ish)

Welp, it's out there. Past-me wasn't sure whether I could manage an 2022IFComp release or have to delay it until the SpringThing2023. I did upload it for the IFComp, for better or for worse (reached the 37th spot). It was a lot, sometimes even too much. I made a whole Post-Mortem/feeling post about it in November.

I had a plan on giving it an After-Comp Update, but what I want to include is a lot more than I thought when I first submitted it. And that requires time and effort that I did not have. That is not to say I won't update it, because I will. There are many more stories I want to add. I'm still glad I managed to add some Accessibility and QoL settings for that version rather than an update... and this project is the first one that included keybindings!

But the stats are a bit... weird. While it was available on the IFComp website on the 1st of October, there were no analytics available until I uploaded the game on itch. Which was only 1.5 month later.

673 total plays

10 ratings, with an average of 4.2/5

Inside 44 collections

At about 2.1 view/play

With how the first announcement post was shared (with the game only on the IFComp website for the first month), I'm pretty sure I'm missing a lot of plays for my stats (my mom, by herself played dozens of times...). Otherwise, strong start, as always, and dwindle in interest pretty shortly (within a week or so). I really wish we could have access to analytics for the IFComp.... If I take part in the IFComp this year, I think I'll just upload it on itch directly...

On IFDB, TTTT is the most rated/reviews work I have. This is due to it being part of the IF Comp, where a lot of player leave review on the Forum (before transferring them on the IFDB). We are standing at 15 ratings for an average of 3 1/2 stars, and 7 reviews.

PLAY | INTRO POST (still don't have a proper one) | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

This was a project I teased already last year (under the name Project M) but didn't see proper progress until essentially this spring. It's a neat tandem projects with MelS, who wrote everything. I just do some editing and the coding. It's been pretty fun to have something completely different and to collaborate with someone else. MelS has a really good horror voice and a clear view of what his story should look like (really envious of him in that sense). And he's just... do whatever with the coding/visual. I think we have a good balance between the two of us.

Just before Halloween (and for the EctoComp), TTATEH was released with a Prologue and 2 chapters. I It managed to reached 3rd place for the competition too. And we got some really nice feedback to help us finish the project (Chapter 3 is still in editing). The pace is when MelS has time...

Onto the stats...

2,996 total plays (so close...)

28 ratings, with an average of 4.8/5

Inside 339 collections

At about 1.8 view/play

There's an obvious peak at the start, when the was released, then around the 20th, just before the EctoComp voting's period ended (most reviewers on the Forum kept the largest game, like TTATEH, for last).

I think TATTEH is on its way to become the popular project. Aside from CRWL, no other projects has reached these numbers this quickly. Not yet in terms of daily numbers, but I wouldn't be shocked to see it happen in a few updates. And I am not too surprised by the amount of interest looking at the notes on the intro post and other teasing posts. And the Lovecraft/Mystery is pretty popular too... But I am really excited about seeing those numbers, because I really think MelS's writing and project is awesome and should get all the views.

Over on the IFDB, TTATEH got 6 ratings for an average of 4, and 2 reviews (thank you EctoComp)!

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed(-ish)

Created in less than 4h (total, spread over a week), La Petite Mort was a short entry to the French EctoComp. It reached 1st place :D

This was a fun project, that not only helped me get back into writing in French (ahead of translating the re-writes of Meeting the Parents), I got to put into action another template I had created and try out a more "standard"/old school form of IF with more of a room/puzzle base. And writing a younger PC was something new too! I had planned on having more room/puzzles and have and English translation ready, but time got the best of me (there was a 4h limit).

Onto some small stats...

71 total plays

1 rating with 5 stars

Inside 4 collections

At about 5.6 view/play

I am not surprised at all with those numbers, as LPM is a French-only project. While there is a French presence on the Internet/Itch/in the IF world, most people will play in English. Until I include an English translation, I can't imagine this project taking off at all. And it's not like I've promoted it much... A shame... since it's a fun game!

Since it was part of the EctoComp, LPM snatched a rating of 3 stars with a review on the IFDB (and the French IF Community streamed it on Twitch!).

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed (-ish)

Like LPM, Goncharov Escapes! was a short created game (in 4 days!), of which the premise was created for the Goncharov Game Jam and the gameplay for the One-Button Jam. I really wanted to participate once in a meme, so when Autumn created the Jam, I just went for it. On the other hand, one member of the French IF is the organiser of the yearly One-Button Jam, which is a bit of a casse-tête for IF games (you are so limited with just one link!).

So two birds, one stone. Goncharov Escapes! was born... I got to test some mechanics I had been thinking of including in other projects (the QTE/labyrinth-like path). I was really happy it not only worked, but people enjoyed it as much as I did creating it!

Onto some stats...

333 total plays (lucky number!)

7 ratings, with an average of 4.7/5

Inside 14 collections

At about 3.1 view/play

I didn't have much expectations in terms of stats. This was a meme game with no intention of being serious or anything. Just made for fun. When the meme dies, so does the interest in the art made around it. Still it was fun to see how people enjoyed it or found the gameplay fun. But I don't think I'll keep a close eye on the analytics for this one... I know Goncharov Escapes! was not the most popular entry of the Gonchie Jam, and I'd love to see how my entry compared to the others... But then if I do get my answer, I don't think that'd make me happier... Ignorance is bliss and all...

The game still received 3 ratings on IFDB for an average of 4, and one lovely review!

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

My latest baby, another sci-fi project created last minute for the Twine Sci-Fi Jam and the Two-Button Jam (same organiser as the One-Button one). After reading some more sci-fi this year (both in long and short form) and watching some fun sci-fi series, I'd been wanting to create a slice-of-life set in space just for the lolz. Something as serious as Goncharov Escapes! but pushed a bit further in terms of content.

This game was still limited to 2 buttons/links (from the Two-Button Jam), which created some challenge (though less than with Goncharov Escapes!). This was more or less created in a week (with 85% of what is currently online having been done during that timeframe, the rest being a small added updated). There was still more that I had partly coded/written but not playable enough to be open to the player (it is coming tho!). A bit miffed I was the only one who actually rated all entries of the Twine Sci-Fi Jam, making my entry unranked...

Onto some stats...

Only been out for less than a month...

167 total plays

0 rating

Inside 11 collections

At about 2.5 view/play

Little promotion, still not introductory post, and very short demo. This is a great mix for not much to say about numbers. Good start considering everything, with a few days of interest. With the creation of an Intro Post here and an actual Dev Log on itch, this should help bump the interest/reach of the game. But that will probably be in the next update! One person already manage to find the little Easter Egg tho... Pretty stocked about this!

No IFDB stat, because I haven't created an entry yet.

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Assets and Other Stats

Since last summer, I've been messing around with CSS/HTML. This little side thing turned into a more serious project: the 100% Good Twine SugarCube Templates. On top of two templates (the Simple Book and One-Page), I have also introduced a Ready-to-Use Tweego Folder and Guide (so people wouldn't struggle as much as I did with it) and the ChoiceScript to SugarCube Transition Guide (as more CScript creators looked into transitioning to Sugarcube that summer.

The Simple Book Template was released at the end of June, the Ready-to-Use Tweego was late August, the CScript to Sugarcube Guide was early September, and the One-Page Template was mid-October. Both templates were released in both a ZIP folder and HTML-only file.

Onto the stats... (in 2 graphs)

Templates and Tweego Folder:

559 total downloads (3.6 views/download)

10 ratings, at 5 stars

Inside 101 collections

All these can be found here.

More in depth:

Ready-to-Use Tweego : 118 downloads

Simple Book Template : 214 (HTML) + 117 (ZIP)

One-Page Template : 77 (HTML) + 32 (ZIP)

CScript to SugarCube:

37 downloads (6.2 view/download)

1 rating at 5 stars

inside 17 collections

Can be found here.

One last Itch Stat: as of today, I am at 811 followers there!

As for Tumblr, it is a bit more complicated, Tumblr doesn't let you see your analytics further than one month. But here's what I can share:

@manonamora-if is at 855 followers

@crimsonroseandwhitelily is at 1,042 (I should do a little celebration...)

@sps-iron-hammer is at 18

I am sure there are dozens of bots in that count (I try to block/report them but I still miss my fair share). Can't really compare much from older numbers since I didn't really track for this until now. I'll be able to see how it progresses in June!

I've found a website to check like notes? But I don't know how good it is. So here are more stats!

@manonamora-if

Total: 9,494 notes on 669 original posts (no reblogs)

Average of 14.1 notes/post

2022: 8,303 notes on 590 posts

Top 5 posts of 2022: TTATEH Intro Post, the Twine Resource Masterlist, How to Support IF Creators, the Leak rant (nooo, reblog my games instead pls), the Simple Book Template. They are also current Top 5 all.

@crimsonroseandwhitelily

Total: 5,721 notes on 399 original posts

Average of 14.3 notes/post

2022: 3,615 notes on 301 posts

Top 5 posts of 2022: Scene 4 Release, Scene 3 Release, Scene 2 Release, Beta Request, Scene 2 Teaser Posters. These are not the overall Top 5 (the Intro Post reigning supreme).

I am not bothering with @sps-iron-hammer because I haven't posted in months, or any other sideblog because I don't think of them as relevant.

2022 Goals

Last year I only had a few goals: publish Scene 2 of CRWL, submit TTTT to the IF Comp, publish the demo of TTATEH and making Tweego my b*tch.

I am happy to say I've completed all these goals... and then some!

CRWL was updated not just once, but 3 times (with the last one including a bunch of re-writes.

I managed to submit TTTT to the IF Comp (for better for worse).

TTATEH's demo was up for Halloween (with 2 full chapters no less!)

Tweego is not a scary thing that I never managed to make work anymore (I even made an asset pack and guide to make it easy for everyone else)

So what's the extra?

I went from having essentially 3 working projects to 9-ish published ones, with the addition of: SPS Iron Hammer, The Thick Table Tavern, La Petite Mort (FR), The Trials and Tribulations of Edward Harcourt, Goncharov Escapes!, P-Rix - Space Trucker (and Le Jeu de la Dévotion - FR). All links are here.

I started getting my hands dirty with JavaScript (I know, the horror) and more customisation with CSS, and working on adding more accessibility in my projects (visual and gameplay wise).

Got more active in the community (here with Interact-IF, and on discord, and on the Forum... oh, as a note support your authors)

I've started sharing my little silly knowledge of Twine, by creating templates, and guides, and tutorials, and sharing resources.

Also organising my first Comp! (@seedcomp-if) with other peeps from the IF Forum. And we did that in 14 days! (kinda want to create more fun jams too now...)

Got into some trends, with one that resulted in the creation of the really bad idea that is @if-confessions.

And probably more that I forgot about...

Even then...

Part of me feels like it's not been enough, like I haven't been enough, like what I put out wasn't good enough. I've been struggling with insecurity and imposter syndrome for a long time, so this is not new, but it's still there, spiking once in a while, when I really don't need it to.

The slow but consistent increase of negative anons in my inbox (bound to happen with more people following/sharing my content) have made some days very hard to deal with (still, it could be much worse... even the hate from the leaks hasn't been too bad). It's hard not to feel emotional when something you are passionate about or something you do is getting egged on for not good reason. And it's not just the content of the messages (most are not even original...), but the amount of them. Honestly, it is infuriating and tiring (thank gosh for blocking...). It's also a bit hard when there is more negative than positive interactions in my inbox/replies...

Another thing that got me was the little to no progress I've made on both EC or CRWL. I had planned on releasing updates for both this semester, but I've been stuck in front of a blank page for both, or writing and re-writing the same sentence over an over again. Hadn't I distracted myself with other small projects, I would have done the same thing as last year and peaced out for months again...

And then I wrote it all down. I went through all my projects, all the posts I made and put it together that infographic, created and nice timeline... and I realised I was a bit dramatic about feeling like I haven't done enough.

At the end, there were only two months (April and May) which didn't have any publication of games, assets, guides, or update, and that was because CRWL was in re-write/beta. Even if I didn't focus my time on one project throughout the year like I maybe should have, there was on average something out there every month (almost 2x a month by the end).

Yay for unrelenting insecurities! (also, don't try to do as much as I did, I'm struggling with juggling all these projects, it's not sustainable)

2022 Achievements and Milestones

Not only did I reach last year's goals, I achieved a bunch of other stuff!

I published 6(-ish) new games/demos this year! And updated the other 3! I lost track of the count, but it wouldn't surprise me if I wrote somewhere around 100-200k words this year (maybe even more than 300k considering all I cut/re-wrote)...

I started experimenting with custom visual and macros (and editing other people's macro). Working on TTTT (and the update of EC) taught me so much about design and coding, and going much further with Twine!

With this newfound knowledge, I made my first template!

Got to learn how to use a bunch new Twine macros and tested a handful of different gameplay to incorporate in bigger projects.

Tweego. That's it.

I've seen my follower count essentially doubled this past year on both itch and Tumblr (getting close to 1k!).

All my games reached some sort of play milestone (from thousands to couple of thousands). More on that in the stats post, there's a lot.

I haven gotten more reviews and feedback on my projects than last year (the jams and comps have helped!) and in general more interactions with my posts. It's been so useful to grow as a creator and improve myself in general!

I reached 1st and 3rd place on a competition!

And participating in the IFComp was an achievement in and of itself!

And I'll add it here too: I helped organised a comp in 14 days! A proper one, not a spur of the moment jam, with an actual website and rules and stuff! (Now, I want to organise more!)

Honestly, I wouldn't have imagined at the start of the year how much I would end up doing this year, how much I would learn and grow, how much I would experience through it all. I got to climb that steep learning curve in coding, finding more about my voice in writing, designing some cool stuff, and share my love for the creative medium. Had someone shown me all I did this year back at the start of 2022, I wouldn't have believed them...

I feel very blessed to have been able to work on all these projects throughout the year and have gotten such positive reaction for each of them (and such help, to find wonderful people in this community and calling them my friends, and to interact with very passionate and helpful veterans in the genre and learn so much from them.