Somewhere in the north west of a land you wake up in a room that is locked, from the outside. In a small town you did not fall asleep in, itâs simply known as the Market, an isolated area built around the magic of nature, ecosystems, and the checks and balances involved in that. Most residents have some sort of magic and thus a role in maintaining the environment.
Some say they knew you as a child but your memories of those times are not quite all there, can you trust those in the town that you have found yourself lured to in? What are you doing here? Why can't you leave?
Customize your name, nicknames, pronouns, gender, sexuality, physical appearance, personality, etc. some through interactive choices and some through selections
Meet the four gender-locked romanceable characters: The Metalsmith, The Second-in-Command, The Herbalist, and The Gardener - click keep reading to learn more about them!
The ROs have grown up together (and you for some of the beginning of it?) slowly learn more about the intricacies in their relationships
Get some of your childhood memories back?
With an ecosystem that almost seems alive, try to parse out its intentions and survive while doing so
Manage the new thing, (magic?) that unlocks within you for your time at the Market
While you wonât die, for some reason or another, you certainly can get injured throughout the story
Except at the end of it all youâll have a couple choices to make⊠which you might not survive
(They're all bi/pan/queer so you can't be locked out of someone's route because of your gender. Polyamorous routes TBA)
Nicola (they/them) - The Metalsmith
Magic: Sunlight
Height: 5 feet 8 inches / 1.73 meters
Traits: Charismatic, Responsible, Stressed
General Appearance: Appearing 24 they have wavy ginger hair that ends just above their shoulders and amber colored eyes. They are lean and toned with particularly strong arm and back muscles due to smithing and a more middling shade of golden brown skin. Due to an accident with their siblings when they were younger they have a natural slit in their right eyebrow.
Helena (she/her) - The Second-in-Command
Magic: Temperature Regulation
Height: 5 feet 3 inches / 1.60 meters
Traits: Kind, Polite, Distant
General Appearance: She has straight shoulder-length dark brown nearly black hair, typically styled into a wolf cut and appears 23. She has an average build leaning towards curvy and fair beige skin. She has a beauty mark on her left cheek and monolidded gray eyes.
Lynn (she/her) - The Herbalist
Magic: Air + Water
Height: 5 feet 5 inches / 1.65 meters
Traits: Genuine, Outgoing, Lost
General Appearance: With toned arms and a toned back she has an otherwise average build. She has coily dark brown nearly black hair in chest-length microlocs and warm dark brown skin. Her eyes are dark brown, she appears 24, and has a gap tooth smile.
Cedar (he/him) - The Gardener
Magic: Soil + Communicate with Plants
Height: 6 feet 2 inches / 1.88 meters
Traits: Strong, Gentle, Guarded
General Appearance: He has a functionally muscular build and wavy dark brown, nearly black hair that goes down to his mid-back, typically tied into a low ponytail. With a slightly cooler shade of dark brown skin he has light brown eyes. He appears to be 25, has a long straight nose, and dimples when he smiles.
Yvette (she/her) - The Head of the Market
Magic: ???
Height: 5 feet 10 inches / 1.78 meters
Traits: Well Liked, Refined, ???
General Appearance: She appears around 60 and has an angular build and stern looking features. She has cool pale skin and long white hair, due to age, that is typically tied into a low bun with a long blue ribbon. Her eyes are a dark shade of green.
Header image and word banners made with Canva by myself!
Profile picture I referenced a bluebell and cobblestone wall and drew it myself
Disclaimer: This is very much a work in progress and subject to change. This is also my first interactive fiction work and I haven't written anything creatively more seriously since I was much younger so I'm trying to get back into that rhythm. I am a university student entering my last year of school so please just keep that in mind in terms of expectations regarding updates and such. Thank you for your interest and understanding! :)
Hello everybody! I keep overthinking it so long story short this isnât completely abandoned and Iâll be back after I graduate so summer time. I do apologize for the long long wait and sparse communication.
It has been quite a while and I apologize for that! Let me be blunt, I think considering the rest of my final year as an undergraduate student I will only be able to work on ADAM during my longer holiday breaks. So that means upcoming winter break (after finals đŹ) starting mid to late December. My next and final semester will have a higher class workload than what I am currently working with now so... đ. However, after I graduate and enter the job search đ I will have more time to consistently work on ADAM.
I think I need to warn you guys do not expect frequent updates! So to clarify I will not be posting progress updates every other week. I unfortunately had to bring my friend to the ER again, I have quite a few big school projects due these next two weeks, and I feel like Iâm starting to get sick. Nothing beyond some bits of outlining have happened these past weeks.
I do want to say though I am not stopping work on A Day at the Market! I just want to be straightforward about what you all should expect for now.
Long story short I had to bring a friend to the hospital last week (they are fine ish now) and a roommate had friends visiting so we were all spending time together. I hate to say this again but there was no progress again bcs of it being so hectic. I also need to be looking at internship and general job stuff so Iâm only going to get busier đ. Realistically I can only work on the game one or two days out of the week and for only a few hours at a time.
To be straightforward progress will be incredibly slow but now that other life stuff will likely settle a bit I will still be moving forward. I appreciate the patience genuinely thank you guys :)
I will likely put the demo on both neocities and itch for now and will adapt what gets put on which platform as things unfold further with that situation.
how would the ros react to the mc having an admirer that just wonât give up? Someone that writes romantic poetry and just outright ignores or dismisses the ro?
ah someone uncomfortably persistent⊠thanks for the ask anon!! :) and apologies for taking so so long
I did some as if you and the RO are in a relationship and some as if both the RO and someone else is pursuing you
âŹïž answer below âŹïž
Nicola
Theyâre very secure in your relationship with each other. They will readily admit itâs grating though the little gifts and comments that cross the line of just friendly. Nicola knows they have far more social capital in the Market than them. They could easily rid them of their occupation but theyâll settle for a well placed rumor, nothing horribly damaging just⊠embarrassing perhaps.
Helena
When it comes to this, where someone won't take no for an answer, she's downright angry. You aren't in a relationship with each other so she feels perhaps that it is not her place but this is a basic thing people should listen to. Her patience will wear thin with the pursuer and if you allow her to? She will give them a stern talking to, one-on-one with a "coincidental" show off of what her magic can do.
Lynn
She is perhaps more subtle about her efforts than the others. Lynn will spend more time with you, offering to walk you to and from places. And when the pursuer is trying to get you alone? She'll be there to take away your attention either inserting herself into the situation or pulling you away needing you for something "urgent". If frustrated enough and if it please you she might even mark you up before you leave the house, leaving hickeys on you in particularly visible places.
Cedar
Heâs not typically one to intentionally display his strength nor his height but... he is very willing to make an exception for this. Hauling vegetables? He'll add a particularly impressive amount and bring it right through where the pursuer is trying to wax poetry to you, forcing them to step away from you lest one of the wheels of the wheelbarrow run over their foot. It especially irks him when they ignore him when he is right next to you. In those instances Cedar will up the public affection, if you're alright with that, the arm around your waist keeping you closer to his side or an extra kiss to your temple.
guys I am not posting an ask response tonight đ
Iâm sorry! furniture arrived today to help us organize the house and so my roommates and I spent basically the whole day cleaning and organizing the common spaces
I am so sleepy and I have classes tmr so I am going to bed
I will try to post one in the next couple days đ€
I'M BACK! I have traveled, gotten sick, gotten better, moved back in for school, and had my first week of classes. Admittedly nothing progressed game wise though because of all the hecticness. đ
More for myself but to let you guys know too; I should be able to (with my current schedule) work on the game three or four days out of the week for a couple hours each day.
Progress updates will be posted every other week now though.
Apologies for the asks sitting in my drafts, I know they've been there for a while now but I will be able to post one by the end of the night!
I will likely put the demo on both neocities and itch for now and will adapt what gets put on which platform as things unfold further with that situation.
A shorter update this week bcs not much progress has been made this past week due to helping my brother move and being on a short vacation elsewhere these next couple of days. I'm seeing family and friends as well as going to my first big convention! :D
So just continuing to learn and code when I can. Iâll be coding the prologue alongside learning how to code the user interface rather than doing one before the other!
I should have a more regular schedule once school starts next week for me that I will figure out where I will fit writing and coding into đȘ
I will likely put the demo on both neocities and itch for now and will adapt what gets put on which platform as things unfold further with that situation.
okay might or might not be able to properly sit down and answer an ask tmr we are #doing tourism in the city my brother moved to so⊠we will see but likely not đ
once school starts though in like two weeks I will have a much more regular schedule that I will fit writing and coding into though! đȘđ
The last half of chapter 2 is done and out! The update adds another 45.8k words to it so its the biggest update yet, but I have the feeling they're only going to get longer from here.
[Play it here]
Features:
Spend a little time with most of the ROs. (Sorry Morgan lover's, they're coming next I promise.)
Go to a bar.
Get caught up in a bar fight or run away.
Try not to die.
Start to get involved with something strange in town.
What's next?
So, obviously, I'm going to be starting development on chapter 3. For the people that have been asking me about when Morgan is coming into the story for real, keep an eye out for the next chapter because that's where they're going to be introduced!
As for when the next update will be out, I'm going to be aiming for around the start of November. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if it will be finished by that point because I'm going to be getting surgery a month out from this post, which will put me out of commission for a while.
Thank you all for playing and for being patient. :-)
The floors are warm, the tea tastes familiar, and the people smile like theyâve practiced it too many times. No one says the wrong thing. No one remembers the wrong thing. And when you start to notice the cracks, the world rearranges itself to keep you comfortable.
But comfort is a script. Repetition is a trap. And something in the walls is keeping score. The longer you stay, the more the town learns.
About your habits. About your mind. About who you used to be â and who youâre being rewritten to become.
⊠Meet the ones whoâll ruin you:
EMIL RASMUSSEN
26 years old. 5'11"
Heâs the kind of guy who looks like he hasnât slept properly in six years and isnât planning to. The sweaters are always stretched at the elbows and pulled over his hands like he's trying to hide in them, and heâs got that kind of hollow-eyed stare that makes you think heâs either deeply perceptive or seeing dead relatives out the corner of his eye. Couldâve been a professor. Couldâve been a cult survivor. Might be both. Doesnât say much, but when he does itâs with that low, slow voice that makes you shut the fuck up and listen. Smells like dust, cold coffee, and grief thatâs been repressed so hard it started doing laps in his bloodstream. Has never once started a fight. Has thought about finishing a few.
FLORENCE AMRANI
28 years old. 5'7"
She doesnât enter a roomâshe cuts through it. Youâll catch her leaning against a wall, arms folded, eyes locked on you like she already knows youâre gonna be a disappointment. Her whole vibe screams âdon't touch me unless you want to lose a hand,â and the sad part is, you'd still consider it. Wears a tailored coat, steel-sharp cheekbones, and that little sneer people mistake for disinterestâuntil she decides to open her mouth and slice you apart with three words and a sideways look. She doesn't do pity. She doesnât do softness. What she does is survive, and if you're lucky, she'll let you stand next to her while she does it.
VINCENT ROMANO
27 years old. 6'0"
Vincent looks like every guy your dad told you to stay away from and every mistake you knew youâd make twice anyway. Heâs got sun-streaked hair, cigarette callouses, and a permanent smirk that dares you to test him. Thereâs a snake tattoo on his ribs and something worse underneath it. Jokes too easily, flirts too fast, fights dirty. Probably owes someone money. Definitely owes someone an apology. Never gives either. Heâll call you sweetheart right before he ghosts you and youâll still watch the door, waiting for him to come back.
ORLA OâCONNELL
24 years old. 5'4"
Sheâs the smallest one in the room and still the biggest fucking threat. Laughs like she just dared the devil to try her, and honestly? Sheâd win. Nose ring, ginger curls, ripped jeans that havenât been washed since the Reagan administration. She carries herself like someone who learned to fight before she learned to walk, and if she likes you, sheâll shove you into traffic and call it flirting. Probably has a criminal record. Probably doesnât care. She's chaos with a pulse and teeth, and youâll follow her into the fire thinking it was your idea.
AUGUST PARK
30 years old. 5'9"
Looks like a hoodie, a warm meal, and a shoulder to lean onâbut youâd be a fool to think thatâs all there is. Heâs the guy carrying three lifetimes of unspoken shit under his sleeves, and heâll still offer you the bigger half of the sandwich. Kind eyes, soft voice, hands that know how to hold and hurt. He wonât say much when you first meet him. Wonât talk about the burn scar, or the tattoo, or why his jaw tightens when people raise their voices. But heâs watching. Taking it in. And when you crack, heâs the one whoâll stayâquiet, steady, maybe trembling, but still there. Just donât make the mistake of underestimating him. Youâll only do it once.
ELLIE
??? 5'5"
Thereâs something off about her from the jump. Too still. Too pale. Too quiet. She dresses like she walked out of a photo from fifteen years ago and didnât realize time kept going. Her eyes donât track right. Her smiles glitch at the corners. Youâll feel sorry for her at firstâuntil she says something that pries open a memory you didnât know you had. She touches the ribbon in her hair like it means something, hums songs no one else remembers, and talks about things she shouldnât know. Youâll think sheâs delicate. Youâll think sheâs breakable. Youâll figure out what she is right when itâs too late to run.
Afterimage is a murder-mistery/investigative interactive fiction. Possible warnings may include explicit language, graphic descriptions of crime scenes, skippable sexual content, and characters wrestling with grief and trauma.
The call comes in just past midnight.
A street you've never heard of; a victim you've never seen; a house broken into, yet nothing taken.
Three weeks later, the killer is still nothing but a moving shadow a trace of fear, cruelty, madness.
You are a detective, newly assigned to the Graybridge Police Department (GPD), tasked with solving puzzles missing half their pieces.
The thing is, this case has no pieces at all.
The details don't fit. The leads go nowhere. And your partner, running on bitterness and an unhealthy amount of coffee, seems more interested in tolerating your presence rather than working with you.
As the investigation deepens, more bodies turn up. A pattern begins to surface. Your senses tell you they're close, lurking in the shadows.
Soon, an unnerving question begins to arise:
Do you trust those around you?
Afterimage is a narrative-driven game that delves deep into character development, complex personalities and psychological layers through the player's choices.
You play as a detective in Graybridge, a bustling metropolis inspired by the fast-paced energy of New York. The plot is carried by a series of mysterious murders happening around the area, and it's your job to follow leads and uncover the truth behind it all â or not.
Inspired by Detroit: Become Human, Law & Order: SVU, Zodiac (2007), and Se7en (Seven).
đ Detective D. Jackson
Mid-30s | Male/Female | Dylan/Dina | RO
Your newly assigned partner at the 11th Precinct. Stubborn and relentless, Detective Jackson has a reputation for digging deeper than most. Their intense stare and cranky facade might keep people at arm's length, but once you've earned their trust, their loyalty is unwavering.
Route: Slow-burn - love after tragedy.
đ Officer Lilian Harris
Late-20s to early-30s | Female | RO (female MC's only)
The energetic beat cop that strives for more. Curious, clever, and highly skilled, Lilian has been dreaming of being a detective ever since she joined the precinct. Her friendly approach and contagious smile makes newcomers warm up quickly, but her eyes twitch slightly at the mention of how "better" she'd be if she followed in her brothers' footsteps.
The annoying downstairs neighbor who's always knocking at your front door. Hard-working and impatient, Thomas is training to become a surgeon at St. Brigid's Memorial Hospital. Petty complaints, delivered in a soft Brazilian accent, are often the first thing you hear after the pounding on your door, though you can't help but wonder if, deep down, he's just a lonely man looking for attention.
Route: Enemies-to-lovers - the insufferable but hot neighbor.
đŹ E. Lavigne
Early to mid-30s | Male/Female | Elliot/Evelyn | RO
The noisy journalist who flirts like it's a sport. Charming, bold and annoyingly good at getting into places they shouldn't. Lavigne's flattery may come off as playful and uncompromising, but behind the calculating eyes and cigarette-tinged breath lies a lifetime mission: to serve social justice and expose the dirty secrets of those who deserve it.
Route: FWB / One Night Thing - innocent flirting turns real.
Analytical, sharp and understanding, Dr. Wess is the precinct's assigned psychologist, tasked with assessing every officer and staff member at GPD. Knows more about you than you think she does.
You might meet and flirt with other characters, such as:
Thorin Andersen, Zain Rafiq, Iris Blake Gallagher, Adam Collins, and Wyatt Fernsby.
In this game, you will:
Choose your gender, sexuality, and appearance.
Customize your past: choose your former division, the reason for your transfer, and how it shaped your reputation and skills.
Build your personality with meaningful dialogue choices.Investigate crime scenes: solve a mysterious killing spree that's been hunting the department - and now you.
Interact with a cast of nuanced characters and build (or break) friendships, alliances, and romantic relationships.
Romance your partner, your neighbor, the flirty journalist who's way too nosy, or one of your cop colleagues (with two gender-selectable choices)!
Access confidential personnel files to glimpse the minds and motives - of those around you.
Have a sibling: choose their gender and how close you are after the tragedy that has shaped your past.
Keep your own secrets - what brought you here, and what you're running from.
đ Afterimage is still on its writing stage! I'm planning to post the demo after I finish chapter one (prologue's already done).
Sheâs you from eight years ago. Sheâs you from yesterday. Sheâs a version of you left to fend for yourself. Told to lay low. To stay out of trouble and heading straight for it anyway because you just canât bring yourself to listen.
chapter 006.
learn what it means to be alone for the first time in eight years
scratch the surface of past trauma
face someone that's been gunning for your head
go to a party! win a spar! or a race!
hook up with Royal or Jax or choose to have some no strings attached style fun with Blake
general info.
new headers have been added to every chapter
you can now hang out with 3/5 romance options and deepen your relationships with them on a friendly or romantic path
the merciful/ruthless stat changes a couple major scenes
if you find any errors, please send them to me via screenshot on tumblr or in DMs!
house is a mess, schedule is a mess, Iâm a mess but Iâve decided I want to do the polyam routes
now if thatâs going to look like routes you need to lock into, lowkey just pursue who you want, pursue who you want but specific sets will have special scenes, or something completely different from all of that then I donât know yet but I want to figure it out
