Monsoon games

Games in development: College Tennis: Origin Story and Merry Crisis

[allieebobo]

Monsoon Games

Monsoon Games is a small indie game studio that creates cozy, narrative-driven games where choices matter. We are passionate about making games that feature diverse characters and forefront underrepresented stories & perspectives.

Website | Patreon | Ko-fi | Discord

Whether it’s about pursuing glory and forging lasting relationships in the coming-of-age sports game (College Tennis: Origin Story), or the bittersweet struggle to figure out where 'home’ is, when torn between two worlds (Merry Crisis), or quietly carving out a new life running a space diner on a distant moon (Space Diner-WIP), our games are united by a deep focus on character-driven storytelling.

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College Tennis: Origin Story

Sports x Slice-of-life x Romance x Coming-of-age x Found-family x College x Modern

Step onto the court and into the whirlwind life of a freshman at Cargill University, where tennis isn't just a game—it's everything.

College Tennis: Origin Story is a thrilling, character-driven interactive fiction game that plunges you into the heart of a journey to reclaim the NCAA Div I championship title. Compete in fast-paced singles and doubles matches alongside your teammates, all while navigating the pressures of college life. 

Forge lasting friendships, pursue budding romances, face fierce rivals, and experience the emotional highs and lows of pursuing greatness both on and off the court. 

Will you make a name for yourself as one of the most promising college tennis players in history? Or will the pressure prove too much for you to handle?

Demo | Dedicated blog | Main Post | Characters | Dev log | COG forum | Crowdsourced playlists

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Merry Crisis

Non-Euro-centric x Romance-focused x Slice-of-life x Queer x Coming-of-age

Merry crisis is an intimate, contemplative visual novel about figuring out whether home is what you’ve left behind, or where you’re headed. 

Your carefully-constructed life in New York has just fallen apart. Your 4-year relationship has unraveled, you need to find a new apartment to rent, and career-wise, you teeter on the edge of burnout.

Now, you’re flying back to Singapore for Christmas, and your family will most certainly ask when you’re returning home for good. 

Between family dinners that turn into interrogations, a tense reunion with your first-love, unexpected sparks with a charming neighbor, and late-night walks through a city both familiar and foreign, the week back home throws up more questions than answers. 

As the days tick down to the New Year, you'll need to decide: will you hold onto the life you've built in America, or circle back to the one you left behind in Singapore? Second chances or fresh starts?

Steam Page | Steam Demo | Official Press Kit for VN

Text-based demo | Dedicated blog | Features | Cast of characters | Dev log | COG forum | Crowdsourced playlists

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Author corner

About me

Allie, 28, she/her. Useless dumb-jock who lives for good coffee, sunshine, hikes/bikes, and slow sunday mornings. Urban planner by day, writer by night.

Send in asks, and messages to: @allieebobo (main), or at the dedicated blog handles @collegetennisoriginstory and @merrycrisis-if.

What I'm currently:

Writing: Chapter Six for Merry Crisis

Reading: The Kamogawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai

Listening to: Buffalo replaced by Mitski

Watching: Better Call Saul

Other WIP ideas

[allieebobo]

In your intro post, the picture of f!G has male G’s name. Both Gs have male G’s name.

Oops. Fixed, thank you!

[interact-if]

Fantasy Winner 🏆 God-Cursed

It was a great joy to interview @wings-of-ink, author of one of the winning games in the fantasy category - God Cursed! An IF with gripping action, and twangs of emotion that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat! We hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as we enjoyed making it!

See the full list of winners in this category here.

About the author

I’m not great at knowing what to share about myself.

I'm a certified cat-lady.

My blood type is coffee.

I can predict rain based on which of my joints hurt.

About the game

You're marked, god-cursed, fated to die unless you can reshape your destiny in a world where your divine curse makes you hunted, feared, and entangled by relationships that may prove as damning as the curse itself.

Tell us about your current focus in IF and more about your journey into interactive fiction.

Right now, I’m working on Chapter 8 of God-Cursed and am building a foundation for my next project, a sci-fi IF called Lab Rat.

My journey into the IF world started with my very best friend (of 26 years) showing me the door into this niche. I was already familiar with VNs, but didn’t know the full scope of interactive fiction until she guided me here. IFs resonated deeply with me in a way other literature and games didn’t, so I read everything I could find. I think every IF I have touched has added fuel to my desire to write and create as well.

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

God-Cursed had no single source of inspiration, but it was carried forth by a long history of my love and experience with the fantasy genre. All my life, I have resonated with the fantastical in literature and games. Once upon a time, it was all that I would read/play/watch —nothing else kept my interest as much as fantasy. It wasn’t really a shock, given my history, that the idea for God-Cursed was the one that stuck with me, kept coming back to mind, and filled my notebook with ideas.

Are there any specific themes or messages you hope players take away from your work?

There are probably several themes, if I really think about it, but I can sum most of them up into one very broad thing—humanity. What I hope comes across is how beautiful people really are, how everyone has struggled or is struggling with something, how cruel people can be, but also how wonderful. I want readers to feel an authentic connection with this, and maybe even discover something about themselves or others. We are all works of art, bruises and bumps and all.

What does your writing process look like?

My writing process is a combination of lawlessness and hyperfocus. I’ve refined it further from what it once was after learning my organizational weaknesses for such a massive project. Generally, I start with the crux of the plot around the MC—the spark or inciting problem/incident and work out from there in a sort of spiral. This helps me keep the MC at the center of the story and place characters around them who make sense (I never want to place a character for no reason; they need a purpose). I shape the world as I go, making sure the setting flows with the problems they will all encounter and shows the reader why things are the way they are. Sometimes the setting helps create the plot as well, so at least for me, I try to develop everything together in small pieces. This also caters to my attention span, as I struggle to stay on just one thing for long stretches without getting bored and frustrated.

I don’t have any rituals or habits, but I would recommend that if you want to get into writing interactive fiction, you put thought into how you work best. This could be a time of the day or even a specific room. Do you need background noise or silence? Set yourself up for success intentionally because your brain might work against you. Sometimes I need background noise—a fan or strictly instrumental music (even lyrics distract me). I also often need to be in a separate room away from distractions like my spouse playing a game or watching a show. You’d be surprised what just going to another room can do for your focus and creativity.

Do you have favourite interactive fiction games, characters, scenes or authors that you'd like to recommend?

Yes, probably too many! I could just keep listing, but I'll stop at 6 recommendations that stick with me day in and day out (some of them for years).

Paved in Ashes by Sai

Everything written by C.C. Hill

The Second Sight by SpoiledSweet

Wolf Set Free

Viatica and Cantata by fir-fireweed

Concurrent by Daisy

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

Thank you. Thank you, and I’m so very glad you’re all here. This little corner of the world genuinely helped me recover a part of my soul that I thought I had lost, a fire I thought was out for good. It’s difficult to do this at times, but I have never stopped loving it. Everyone here, be they writer or reader, adds something special and irreplaceable to this space.

Fun section for the fantasy genre

Personal fave fantasy race: I'm fond of gnomes and fae creatures.

Personal fave fantasy setting: Second-world or high fantasy–magic and mayhem.

If you were transported into the setting above, as the race you selected, what job would you have and what would your life look like: I think I'd live pretty quietly on the hunt for little curios to restore and sell.

[interact-if]

Best Fantasy IFs

Announcing the top-voted IFs in the fantasy genre! Congrats to all the winning games. Definitely check them out if you're in the mood for some fantastical feels, excellent character work, and great pacing.

Completed

The Wayhaven Chronicles by @seraphinitegames

Ongoing

A Tale of Crowns by @ataleofcrowns (overall winner)

God-Cursed by @wings-of-ink

Shepherds of Haven by @shepherds-of-haven

Play all the games in the fantasy genre here.

[interact-if]

Action/Adventure Winner 🏆 Cantata

It was such an honor to interview @fir-fireweed, author of the winning game in the action/adventure genre. It touches on human connection, hope, and jotting down ideas whenever they come up, and so much more!

See the full list of winners in this category here.

About the author

As one of my characters might say, I’m an elder but not old, haha. I’m probably the same age as the parents of most of my readership.

I’m a Marketing Manager in my other life, and I balance my time between my writing, my career, my husband, my 2.5 kids (counting the dog), and my white picket fence. Viatica was my first foray into fiction after a 20+ year dry spell.

About the game

Cantata is a low fantasy IF about human connection, self-expression, persecution, culture and the loss of it, and ultimately, the indomitable human spirit.

Tell me more about your journey into interactive fiction

I discovered interactive fiction almost 4 years ago, at a critical low point for myself and my family. The aftermath of Covid hit my family hard, particularly my son, and all of us were dealing with levels of depression, apathy and isolation.

I desperately needed something to cheer myself up. When I realized these amazing stories were being written by people just like me, it flipped a switch in my brain. And that’s what I love writing about—that human connection. That’s what I seek to explore in all of my works.

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

Cantata blends my love of words and music and my Italian heritage. The original inspiration was the video game “Jade Empire”, but it evolved into its own unique tale.

Cantata may have been voted in the Action Genre (thank you, all!) but ultimately it’s a story about humanity. It’s about personal tragedies, of persecution, of the loss of heritage and self—all deeply troubling themes that are being played out in very real time right now.

But more than that, it’s about overcoming those tragedies and persevering. That’s something I personally needed to write about and explore.

Are there any specific themes or messages you hope players take away from your work?

All my works revolve around hope, heart, and human connection. I do write about tragedy and strife, because they are important aspects of our journey and moments we all relate to. But I try not to dwell on them. I’d rather focus on the bright side, the silver lining, the light at the end of the tunnel.

Nowadays especially, I think we all need a reminder that there is a light after the long dark, and it’s worth fighting for.

What does your writing process look like? Any habits, tips, tricks, routines or approaches that have worked well for you?

My writing process is very sporadic. I don’t write daily. Personally, I find that if I commit to writing daily, it becomes more of a chore or a job, and I don’t want it to feel forced. However, I do write snippets often. These aren’t long drawn out scenes, usually just lines of dialogue with brief descriptions. These snippets help me flesh out my characters and define their attitude toward one another.

If I had one piece of advice to give, it’d be that the minute you get an idea in your head, jot it down, no matter how bare bones it is, no matter if you think you’ll never use it. You never know what may come of it!

Any books, music, movies etc. you’re obsessed with at the moment, or would like to recommend?

Oh gosh, how limited on space am I here?? Currently, I’m obsessed with Andy Weir. I know everyone is loving “Project Hail Mary” (and rightly so), but “The Martian” was my first introduction to his excellent writing and will always be my favorite.

Going back further, Amy Tan is my favorite author of all time; she probably had the most profound impact on my own writing. She’s a Chinese American author who writes about immigrant families, mother/daughter relationships, culture and the loss of it—and she does it all with heart and poignancy. You might be familiar with “The Joy Luck Club”, which is a phenomenal book, but my personal favorite is “The Kitchen God’s Wife.”

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

You’re never too old to start! If you haven’t written in months, years, or even decades, don’t let that stop you from trying again. Write!

Fun section for the action/adventure genre

Personal fave action/adventure protagonist archetype: The reluctant hero, that dude in the wrong place at the right time.

Personal fave action/adventure setting: Post-apocalypse

If you were transported into the setting above, as the protagonist archetype you selected, what quest/adventure would you be on?

Oh gosh, I’d love to tell you I’d be like my own character Lion, fighting for the oppressed, but Bilbo Baggins is probably more accurate. I’d be giving the heroic speeches and encouraging everyone to do what’s right, while simultaneously complaining that they’re eating all my food, sleeping in my bed, and lamenting all the apocalyptic dirt and dust everywhere.

[allieebobo]

Cantata is an awesome game, alongside Viataca by the same author - which really scratches the post apocalyptic itch for me AND is complete! Check them out for sure!

[interact-if]

Interact-IF Genre Lists (May 2026): Voting

🎉 The submissions for the Interact-IF genre lists (May 2026) are in — and now it’s time to vote! 🎉

Over the past week, we've received submissions for an incredible range of games across 5 genres.

We move into the next stage of the Interact-IF Genre List Event: COMMUNITY VOTING!

Vote for your favorite submitted games in each genre category HERE! Whether you’re cheering on longtime classics, hidden gems, or newer projects that deserve more eyes, this is your chance to help spotlight the games that made an impression on you.

Voting will run from now till May 21. Once again, here's the link to the form for voting.

*Note: For the sake of voting fairness, IFs that have been submitted to more than one category have been included in only ONE category. However, in the rec lists, the IF will be included in any/all categories that it appears in. If you think a game should be in a different main category from what it's listed as, you can DM us or leave a comment at the end of this form to let us know. 

If you missed out submitting a game to the rec lists, you can use this google form to submit the game, but do note that these would not be eligible for the voting round. This will be open until May 21 as well.

GENRES:

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Action/Adventure

Modern/Slice-of-life

Historical Drama

[interact-if]

Last day to cast your votes!

Results and full rec lists will be out May 24!

[soulsisterif]

Now I'm curious about what other ifs you play. I know you've played love island and thth but I mean more the small creator community. Any recs?

Ooooh, buckle up because this is gonna be a long trip. I've got so many, though you probably know most, if not all. (I really should start reblogging other authors if they have a Tumblr).

Let's stick to text-based stories. I haven't had as much time to play lately so I may be missing newer, cool stories. I'm going to have to leave some out; otherwise this post will be never-ending and it's already half a bible.

Might do another with more stories. How lucky are we that people write so many marvellous stories? And for free!

Number one is my first love and the main reason I started reading text based IF when I used to focus on visual novels:

• Scout: An Apocalypse Story by @anya-dev. Five years later I still think about the Orange Plains. We miss you, Anya. Hoping you're okay and thank you so much for this story. Your legacy carries through time like the cough of the Rover through your desert world. E, you were destined to be my soulmate but Sabine doesn't give a f*ck about destiny. The image of a guy using his very limited electricity supply to iron his clothes in the apocalypse still lives in my mind rent-free.

• Since I already mentioned it College Tennis: Origin Story by @allieebobo. Very slice of life, great dynamics among characters that go beyond their interactions with MC. You'll come to this story for the romance and you'll stay for the community feel and the engaging tennis descriptions. I love playing the matches so much I don't even unleash the kraken anymore. There are lots of customization for you to enjoy and countless little things that get acknowledged by the story (including race and gender). Y'all know I'm a sucker for that kind of flavour text. Same author of Merry Crisis which is being adapted as a visual novel (you go, author!) and is also a very enjoyable read. Coming-of-age vibes.

• The Golden Rose by @anathemafiction. Can't wait for the second book. Welcome to a new version of Tarragona! Explore the city; fight with your horse; get your face Halloween-ed; feel like a rich bastard after meeting a street rat and remember how dirt poor you actually are after meeting actual rich folks; enjoy the flavour text you'll get (including differences depending on your MC's sex). Alessa, I will make a simp out of you. Or not. I'll love you anyway because I'm a soft-hearted fool. Never had I ever raced an old woman who pushed her steed to its limit. She also pushed my buttons. In a darker playthrough the memory of this hag might just be the last straw for a corrupt and likely insane Romanus.

• Love After Death by @loveafterdeath-if. The kind of story I enjoy immensely and that I know I will never be able to write because I'm no good at writing confrontation. Won't leave you indifferent, will make you feel. May be rage, may be hope, may be hurt but it will definitely make you feel. You'll get your heart broken, though it can be mended by a grumpy cat with a liberal idea of what a litter box looks like. Then again, your heart is the least of your concerns if you let your sanity suffer blow after blow. Be damned, Juliet. Heaps of customization, flavour text and reactions to choose from. Solid 10.

• The Wayhaven Chronicles, by @seraphinitegames. Need I say more? Insane branching across books, good and varied romances great plot and dynamics. You can have mommy issues! Honestly, what else could you possibly ask for? In Book Two a little girl may be told that all she has to do to achieve her goal is to work hard and she may answer 'oh, I don't want to do that'. If you can't relate... Have bought all three books. Will defo buy the fourth when it's out.

• The Cruel Palace by @tispyyyyy. Every single character the author introduced feels real. Gorgeous writing, flows like a calm river going downhill; it's solemn and poetic but also fun and witty when the story allows for it, and the writer sure knows when the story allows for it because the tone is always on point. The missives are top notch. MC's mother and older sister are severe but still managed to worm their way into my poor little heart. The fact that they are so similar and yet don't get along didn't escape my notice.

• Blood Moon by @barbwritesstuff. A lot of branching and different paths for such a "short" story. Very straightforward and not the tiniest bit less interesting for it. It's refreshing to read something that doesn't need to be incredibly convoluted to earn the 'good plot' badge. I might be biased because it's very rare that I don't lose interest in complicated games, even worse if they rely heavily on stats. I'm so incredibly envious of writers that can tell a story without losing sight of the big picture. This is it. I adore werewolves, I adore this story and I sure adore the fact that whoever wrote it also knew about ducks' corkscrew dicks.

• When Life Gives You Lemons by @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if. This one is strange for me because I remember playing the demo when it first came out and I didn't like it that much. Maybe because I'm not a messy player and I wasn't interested in any of the ROs. BUT. It has a very distinct style, there's humour galore, a soft comfy vibe all throughout and it updated recently. Boy, I was hooked. It's like those open-world games that let you explore and before you know it you've got 100 hours played and you never did a single main mission. You can skip romance (or devote yourself to Fiffer and Fiffer only, like moi) and it's still such a wholesome game. Slice of life is rare in the IF community. I saw a post the author made and I was shocked to learn she only gets 25% of the revenue. It may be fair for shorter games since HG gives you the program to actually make the game but man, for a story that has almost a million words? It seems a bit unjust. Still will buy it. 25 is more than 0.

• A Taste of Heat (formerly Spices of the Heart) by @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if. Again, very distinct style. If you read a story by this author you know it's hers. Slice of life, lots of smut but you're good to play without it and still feels like a very special game. Fun and funny, the MC feels like an actual person with their flaws and their virtues. We'll save your pizzeria, Alexis! Screw the Michelin Restaurant! Descriptions are great and the writing really makes you feel like the food is important. Lots of content and many ROs to choose from, all of them quite different from the other. I also like that stats are present but not the be-all and end-all of the story.

• Cantata by @fir-fireweed. Unique story, great worldbuilding, marvellous cast even outside of the ROs, lots of flavour text (I can only take a guess at how draining it must be keeping track of all those variables in Twine so my utter respect). It's very wholesome but bittersweet in certain parts. Super original premise and very imaginative. Calliope's gadgets are incredibly interesting and I've played several times and changed my MC's attunement just to see what her daddy came up with. The kind of writing that tells a lot without being convoluted and still manages to tell it beautifully. The kind of story I read and think, 'man, I wish I could write like this'.

• Season of Shadows by Krisis. Sooooooo goddamn gooooooood. Funny as hell, awesome dialogue, perfect and mocking depiction of sensationalist press, sensible understanding of what being a social pariah looks like (applicable but not limited to MC's situation). Very different characters that all manage to be interesting, not a single page is boring to read. Quantity and quality because who said you can't have it all? I adore this story. Every word and punctuation mark. Jane Austen would be proud (and probably also very low in Lady Blackwood's list. She ended up a spinster, anyway). One of the few stories in which I genuinely don't know who I'm going to romance first. So probably whoever has the earliest lock-in.

• Such Happy Campers by @girlfromthecrypt. What a shame the author had to deal with certain comments that made them put the game on hold. If you read this, author, I love this game to bits. DashingDon is gone and so is the demo as far as I know but I still remember it and do so very fondly. Flo saying that people are drawn to him because he comes across as mysterious only to leave him behind once they realise that "under all that 'me' there's just more 'me'" still haunts me in a beautiful way.

• Mantle: Mask On by @jjdove. I am so hyped for this story. I love the banter and dialogue choices; they really make MC feel like their own person and it allows for a lot of freedom as a player. Tilly is already growing on me (and I'm befuddling her with Xtreme kindness) but I'm mostly dying to know more about my darling Bee and whatever happened to her. Ain't no bathtub high enough that she can't conquer it but I'll be nearby in case she ever wants help. Or two buff, strong arms to cradle her Not letting us hug her right there is a crime, by the by.

• Soulmates Inc by @soulmatesinc-if. Love the concept. Super original, lots of options on how to carry out a mission. MCs company is shady as fuck but Romero and I don't see eye to eye so here's to hoping I'm mistaken. Sam, dearest, I don't need a machine to tell me about you, I'll simply court you the traditional way. I like to think this is how Tinder actually operates, then the amount of weirdos that use the app would make sense. Those profiles belong to infiltrated soul-links, people. "Anne Nonimmus, 25. 'I have 3 kids and 4 baby daddies (we're still sorting out who fathered the youngest one). If you're less than 201cm and will make a fuss about paying for my and my kids' meals on a date don't even bother'."

• Apartment 502 by @apt502-if. Sitcom vibes? Immaculate. Option to ignore and/or be spiteful to the person who made you move to another city/country? You betcha. Calli, I'll wait for you (or get charmed by Lani) while your relationship crashes and burns. Either way, I'll support you, girl. I would tell Rainn to go eat glass but we're not on speaking terms and I blocked her number. Which is funny because I choose to act all high and mighty when we happen to meet face to face. Good news is, if you're not happy with this ex you can have another one! Yay!

• Étreinte by @etreinte-if. Criminally underrated. Criminally, I'm telling you. Even if it is fairly popular. The contrast between playing the innocent, proper girl like mommy dearest taught us while she narrows her eyes, 100% aware of the duping and yet her being completely unable to smell the bull if you go the humble way because she's completely unacquainted with the notion of humility will never not be funny. Lots of flavour text depending on your choices, nice plot, solid characters and a very clearly horrible person so that everyone can agree on whom to hate. Nothing creates communion like a common foe does! Also, the drastic way my poor Lena changed from a vibrant little girl to a subdued young woman kills me every time.

• This one may be a little of a hear me out but I f*cking stand by it. What Makes a Shinobi by heeheehaw. I must confess I didn't expect much of it. I thought it would be just another Naruto fanfic but in a different format and I guess in a certain way it is, but the writing sucked me into the author's world. There's a lot of insight in the way we're told about MC's progress. I still remember the instructor explaining the lower rank missions and saying something along the lines of 'most of you won't ever go beyond these. This is not failure, this is the job'. I will keep that sentence in my heart for as long as I live. It's hard to surprise a fan of the original when you're borrowing a very well-loved and popular manga. This one did it for me!

• The Abyssal by @theabyssal. No words for this one. Sooooo immersive. An unbelievable freedom to craft the way you feel about a proper betrayal. From indescribable sadness to insurmountable rage. From clinging to a past in which you were happy while struggling with the reality of what was done to you to cutting ties with everything and everyone and wanting nothing else but to make them pay back in full for what they put you through. Masterpiece!

[allieebobo]

Wow! Really honored to have CT:OS and Merry Crisis mentioned amongst such a stellar line-up of games! Thank you so much—it means so much.

[allieebobo]

Before I played CT:OS, I literally had no interest or knowledge about tennis.

Now after playing it like 5-6 times (and doing most of the RO’s route. I LOVE THEM.), I am so hooked into the damn sport now. Like I’m debating if I should try it out for funsies/as a new hobby, but I’m kind of scared to try it.

Either way, I LOVE how this game made me fall in love with its characters and story, as well as become interested with Tennis! <33

Thank you for your hard work and dedication for this game! It’s so beautifully done!

Woohoo so glad that you like the game and its characters! I love that you gave CT:OS a try!

As for trying out tennis (or any racket sport) definitely give it a go if you'd like, it's a lot of fun! If a normal ball feels like too much commitment, don't be shy with using a bouncier squishier ball, sometimes with friends who are completely new to tennis, I find that starting on those can be an enjoyable way to ease into the sport!

[collegetennisoriginstory]

Chapter 8 Early-Release

Chapter 8 is out for Ko-fi supporters and Patreon supporters!

Following the National Doubles tournament, this update is more slice-of-life focused, and takes us to the week right before Finals.  And yes, the big mom reveal is here.

Release dates 

Early release (less polished): TODAY! Early release (more polished): May 15 Public release: May 29 or earlier

Chapter 8 (58k words) features:

Returning to Cargill after the National Doubles tournament (including spending the night with G or having breakfast with Rayyan if you’ve unlocked those scenes) 

Freshman hang-out session with Max and Blake

Spending time with G preparing for the photography exhibition

Meet your mother 👀—not once but twice?? (If you so choose)

Thanksgiving break 🦃

Have dinner with Sam and his/her family (sleep over and possibly reveal that you’re together), play a friendly game with Sam at the neighborhood courts 🎾 where you’d grown to love the game, finally unlock the Samwise Gamgee nickname while playing a lord-of-the-rings board game with Sam and their sister 🧙‍♂️)

Call Rayyan, G, Tobin, or your mother over Thanksgiving, bond with your father

Face the consequences of your choices over thanksgiving break 🔥 (will you manage to submit all your papers in time? Will you get benched for the last match of the season…?) 

As always, starting a new play through will ensure variables are set properly.

@interact-if

[when-life-gives-you-lemons-if]

Submitted!

Hey… um… it's done.

I just submitted When Life Gives You Lemons to Hosted Games. Here are some FAQs:

1: When will the game come out? A: I don't know yet. Hosted Games will have someone read through the entire game, and they'll send me feedback on anything they want changed or removed. That process takes some time, so please hang in there. I'll share updates as soon as I know more.

2: How much will the game cost? A: I don't know. As the author, I don't decide the price. Hosted Games does, and we'll only find out once the game is released.

3: How many words is the game? A: Notepad says it's around 901,582 words (including code), but it could be a bit less. I was hoping to hit a million, but it is what it is.

4: How many chapters are there in total? A: 12 chapters.

5: Who are the ROs? A: There are 6 ROs in total: the teacher, the neighbor, the ex/childhood friend, the cop, the barista, and the boss/co-worker. All are gender-selectable.

6: So what now? A: I need to finalize The Wedding for release in June on Steam and Itch.io. After that, I'll focus on Patreon content, (I've been neglecting Patreon for a while. 😭) then on finishing A Taste of Heat (formerly Spices of the Heart).

Please consider buying the game when it comes out. As the author, I will mostly receive about 25% of the revenue, while Hosted Games takes 75%. It sucks, but that's how it works.

The public demo on COGDemos will be taken down on May 15.

This game started as side content for Patreon and officially went live in July 2022. It's crazy to think that four years later, it's become something people love, and hopefully it'll get released. Thank you again to everyone for the love and support. 💕

I can die now, and you'll have this to remember me.

[allieebobo]

WOWW!! Congrats @when-life-gives-you-lemons-if!! Such a big milestone :D Can't wait to read it in one breathless go and be super sleep-deprived and deranged after!

[allieebobo]

Apr Dev Log

Sorry for the slightly late dev log this month, my family was visiting me and I spent the past week taking them around. 

This is the second month of my sabbatical, and I gotta say—this month really flew by. I spent the first week of it traveling, but managed to settle down and get down to business (CT:OS chapter 8) after that. 

Read the full April dev log here (Patreon | Ko-fi)

[interact-if]

We're kicking off a month-long celebration of interactive fiction this May—and we want you to be part of it! 

Over the course of the month, we'll be building curated recommendation lists across a range of IF genres, highlighting standout games, and featuring interviews with the creators of these games.

Objectives: 

We hope that this will be a fun, community-driven way to:

Keep Interact-IF's recommendation lists up-to-date

Allow authors to share their work with a wider audience

Help everyone discover new, awesome interactive fiction games!

How to participate:

Now–May 8: Submit your own games or nominate others (multiple allowed) in each genre.

May 10–17: Community voting on submitted games by genre.

After voting: Winners get short feature interviews.

By May 22: Final showcase published with all submitted games + rolling interview features.

INTERACT-IF GENRE LISTS: CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

We're kicking off a month-long celebration of interactive fiction this May—and we want you to be part of it! Over the course of the month,

Genres for this round^:

Fantasy

Sci-Fi

Action/Adventure

Modern/Slice-of-life

Historical Drama

^We might do other genres in the future!

WIP and completed games, twine, choicescript etc. games are all welcome, so long as they are 'interactive fiction'! Do try to tag the game as (WIP), (COMPLETED) when submitting if you can, though!

Love, Interact-IF team

[allieebobo]

Jumping on the ask about the visual novel vs text versions of Merry Crisis: aside from the "visual" side, will there be differences between the two versions? Like in the text / content I mean

I think it'll be a bit like book vs movie adaptation! The book usually describes the scene and inner thoughts more, while the movie cuts a little more of these descriptions in favor or pacing!

[allieebobo]

Will there be an option for the reader to not have merry crisis as a visual novel?

Yes! I'll also be releasing Merry Crisis as a fully text-based game using Ink. More on this when I'm a little more ready with a demo!

[allieebobo]

Hi! Love your IFs; you really know how to breathe life into your worlds and characters. I'm happy to have found not just one but two slice of life IFs!

A random thing I noticed... I love your Monsoon Games profile picture, but was it intentional to not make "Monsoon" centered? I was looking at your dev log post and noticed it was off centered to the left and I can't stop thinking about it all day.

This is true... I've gotta fix this at some point. HAHAH. Clearly I am in sore need of some OCD bone in my body. Thanks for your kind words though!

[allieebobo]

Nooooooooo, Felix isn’t an ro?! My life has loft all meaning now. /k Was hoping he’d soften up like G, but oh well. I’m sticking with our G, then. 🫶

As always, ur writing is a work of art. It’s cozy, but also quite cinematic in the right moments. I enjoy all of your stories! You have such a way with interactions and dynamics between characters.

Thank you!!! Such a giant compliment oh my goodness. I do love a good character-focused story, so I'm glad you enjoy the character dynamics in CT:OS!

As for Felix not being a full RO, yeah... They've very clearly attained major side character status though, I think slightly above "fling" now.

[allieebobo]

i just want to pop in to say that i'm a bi girl in a homophobic, conservative environment and the whole dating qiu (f) experience in merry crisis was really cathartic I loved it, it just scratched an itch in my brain, it's such a comfort read for me

and I like the option to avoid kissing as I am also on the ace spectrum

(i wish I could be a bit more expressive but I'm a lil too tired atm)

thank you

AAAH this means so much to me thank you so much for the lovely message I'm so glad that Merry crisis struck a chord/resonated with your experience. I definitely feel you on a personal level!