SHRIKIE

hi i'm shrike | he/him currently working on a game - see pinned post for more !

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The Curtain Never Falls - A 1920's Detective Story WIP

DEMO (13k words) || working on: CH.1 ||

FEEDBACK FORM

Fresh back from the great war, you now find yourself scrambling to figure out how to continue with life. Like those who exist, not live, and like those who find themselves lost, you turn to big brother – the police department. Being a detective seems like a good idea, right? Push some papers, ogle at the pretty assistants, catch a few robbers, and maybe acquire a pension.

Yeah, no, what detective story is accurate to actual detective work? Come on we need drama, intrigue, high stakes!

A new opera production is coming to New York after an astounding success in France, it’s the talk of the city, the papers, the radio! It’s the most anticipated event of the year! However, nobody could anticipate one star found overdosed in their penthouse turning into three more showing up at the morgue. Illegal activities happen all the time, but can the show still go on? Well one might conclude it can go on when a deceased victim stumbles up the steps of the station alive.

Who’s lying on the mortician’s table? The traits match, the prints match, so did the murder even happen? With many questions to unravel, can you uncover who's behind these disappearances?

Explore 1925 New York through a customizable MC who can solve cases through various means, and establish relationships with coworkers, witnesses, suspects, and socialites.

Customizable appearance, gender (male, female, or trans/nonbinary), and orientation (straight, gay, bisexual, asexual and/or aromantic, or go without labels) – NOTE: female player characters and queer player characters will have different experiences due to period-typical discrimination

Have a background as a soldier, medic, or mechanic, and have more chances to build your skills in different areas of expertise (strength, intelligence, charisma, luck, medicine, and intuition)

Build your detective’s personality and reputation: are they a good cop? Bad cop? Do they solve problems through working with others or going solo? Personalities will also impact interrogation and witness questioning outcomes.

Solve mysterious cases through crime scene investigation, managing interviews, following leads, and working through puzzles on your evidence board (with a complimentary red string!)

Romance seven characters (3 male/3 female/1 gender-selectable) your arrogant crime solving partner, a kindhearted informant, an aloof dramaturge, a charming jazz musician, an awkward mortician, and a crazy old friend who’s ended up a likely suspect.

These will be updated and included before a chapter starts.

Since this will be a dark detective story that features homicide cases, the following content will be relevant in order to solve cases; blood, death, violence, evidence of sexual assault, alcohol use, and drug use

Descriptions won't be prolonged or explicit, so a 16+ audience is recommended

Link to character portraits/refs — soon

Clyde McAllistaire (M - 23 - M!mc only) ⚜ A real swanky saphead - or a proper jerk if you will - who is unfortunately assigned as your partner if the player character is male. Clyde is an officer of the NYPD and a WWI veteran. Itching for action still, he decided to sign up as a patrolman, then rose to the position of detective quickly. Clyde was discharged from the military for medical reasons, but he didn't tell his fellow officers that. Instead, he likes to embellish the amount of soldiers he took down (which was actually a big fat zero). He and his sister Kathy hang out at the office when possible, and share a small apartment in Manhattan.

|| facetious, disillusioned, teasing, lazy

Kathy McAllistaire (F - 25 - F!mc only) ⚜ Kathy is the backbone of the department, and is assigned as a fellow assistant if the player character is female. Kathy works at the local police station along with her brother, albeit she doesn’t work on patrols, instead dealing with office paperwork and files. She volunteered as a nurse during WWI, but shuts down any conversation surrounding the great war, and refuses to continue working at a hospital, or even set foot in one. This is far from her dream job, and she makes it known.

|| hard working, intelligent, humorous, altruistic

Irene Banillas (F - 20) ⚜ Irene is a retail worker at a luxury clothing store, while also working part time at a speakeasy. But who says kind people can’t have non-respectable jobs? Her welcoming and warm demeanor works well for interacting with others, and Irene often finds herself knowing the gritty details of her patrons' lives. Irene doesn’t use the information for anything nefarious, but if someone were to come by for an investigation well…who knows.

|| welcoming, sweet, evasive, cunning

Adeline Parker (F - 24) ⚜ Adeline is a dramaturge (story editor) for opera productions in the city. She loves the lavish style of opera houses, fashion, and the art surrounding it, but dislikes the drama behind the scenes. Maybe she should choose a different occupation, but her natural talent and enjoyment of creative writing keeps her there. Adeline attempts to live a peaceful life, but everything around her is hell bent on making sure it’s not. Some may call her rude, cold, or standoffish, but really she just wants to protect her peace.

|| apathetic, judgmental, creative, observant

Thomas Withers (M - 22) ⚜ In a city of greed and corruption, Thomas is one of the few who retains an untainted soul despite always being handed the short end of the stick. Tom commits himself to a jazz band and plays the saxophone, using music as an outlet for the strife he’s experienced. He’s an inspiration in the jazz scene, and combined with his friendly attitude and loyal attributes, many adore Thomas, with them even forming a sizable fan group. So when people involved with the production start to disappear, his fan group grows worried over Thomas’s well-being.

|| humble, charming, flirtatious, dedicated

Henry Blanchard (M - 28) ⚜ The resident mortician for the police department, who also often dabbles in researching chemical methods for evidence analysis. Henry often struggles with interacting with people, considering the people he deals with for his job can’t communicate back. He has manners, he isn’t creepy, but he avoids work functions like the plague and cannot initiate conversation even if everything was at stake. Some take pity, some take the opportunity to heavily tease him, but if it has nothing to do with work or research Henry doesn’t particularly care what others think.

|| knowledgeable, shy, strong, passionate

Laurent/Laura (M/F - 24) ⚜ An old friend from high school, and someone you enlisted with, yet later lost contact with during the war (you can choose if you were platonic or had romantic tension at the time). You had no idea if they lived or died until you saw them in the news for a busted gambling operation as well as sporadic brawls reported locally. You two haven't come face to face yet, but with this case and their involvement in the criminal world, you likely will now.

|| unhinged, bold, dramatic, stupid

This is the first game I’m creating a game outside of silly computer science class projects lol, so expect some trial and error! I’m a university student too, so this project will serve as a creative break, but it might mean I'll be kind of slow to update. Also, I would really love feedback, if there’s anything that isn’t historically accurate, or if coding or grammar errors slip through the cracks please let me know! I’d also love to hear impressions, or things that I could improve on in general!

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yeah i don't think i can keep myself to deadlines considering how busy life is, so expect random drops from now on :,)

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Holiday Shorts

Some shorts have been posted, you can play them HERE

Currently only four are available (Clyde, Kathy, Irene, Adeline) and the other three (Thomas, Henry, L) will be added later closer New Years. Partially because the scenarios are about new years not xmas, and also partially because Steam sales resulted in me getting distracted by games

Anyways hope you guys like it c:

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Progress Update

finals are finally freaking done and I'm back home now phew, so I now have time to actually work on this project (as I keep telling myself, but I swear this time I'll hold myself to it)

I have an outline done for the chapter, all that's left now is to write it...but it's a pretty hefty chapter so my nov/dec goal is now going to move to january. I'll spend december writing it, along with holiday snippets for each RO which WILL be published this month, and if it doesn't end up being published you guys have permission to jump me.

I'm looking forward to writing the first case, and I hope you guys will find it interesting too!

(credit to almarts27 on insta for the hampster pics)

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Hi Shrike! Just played your demo, and I’m loving it! The mystery, the setting, it’s perfect👌🏻(and that cliffhanger at the end; I love me some good cliffhangers😼)

Though, to keep it a buck, there’s some error in writing and phrasing, and a one or two coding typos, but all in all, it is super interesting, and I can’t wait to read more!🙌🏻 Also, I think it will look magnificent, once you make it as a VN, because from what I’ve seen, you’re an incredible artists, but also, you can just generally do much more than you can do in CSide. Best of luck with it!😁

Thank you !!! 💙

Also your ask reminded me I needed to add a feedback form for the errors, so I included a link to it in my pinned post. I'd appreciate it if you could tell me where the errors happened 😄

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👻🎃 HAPPY HALLOWEEN 🎃👻

What will the cast be for All Hallow’s Eve ?

Clyde: Clown/Pierrot

Kathy: Clown/Pierrot

Irene: Fairy

Adeline: Witch

Henry: Frankenstein’s Creature

Thomas: Dracula

Laurent/Laura: Mob Boss (bad idea 😭)

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Irene (2/6) —

I said I’d post doodles/drawings but these are turning out more like official portraits 😭😭 so I’ll probably compile them for the intro post

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Clyde (1/6) —

gotta dust off my drawing skills it’s a little rusty 😖

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Progress Update

Hi guys!! I'm finally well adjusted into my fall quarter at college, but that came at the cost of me becoming behind on updates and posts 😞

(also we reached 200 followers?! dang that's crazy I appreciate it sm)

GOOD NEWS -- I'm planning - and wanting - to be more active with this project! I will be posting drawings for the ROs (not official portraits yet though), and will start drafting the next chapter

This will probably be coming in the next few weeks, and I'm aiming for the chapter one update to release in either November or December. And on that note, maybe holiday bonuses too??? If time and exams allow that might happen!

[lthestoryteller-deactivated2026]

My IF and WIP recommendations

Special thanks to @rinon100461, aka Shark, for requesting this thing. I will be sure to go over many, many works, and I will categorise them accordingly😁

First, I will put works that are finished, or that have finished parts, like, 2 books out of three, that type of thing. With that being said, let's start with those then:

A Kiss from Death - an amazing IF, fully released, that I had so much time with, mainly because of how it is made. This concept influenced me as well, so credit where credit is due. What I mean by that, is how it really makes you replay the game, by actually awarding you for it. Not finish it and then restart, but deliberately choose not to finish it, so you'd experience all the paths, and everything that this game actually has in store. Overall, an amazing IF.

A Mage Reborn - my good God! This one has a finished first book, and a second book is in the works, but my God, does that one hits right in the feels. Amazingly written, even though it is fast paced, with a really interesting and deep story, this one is simply fantastic, and I can't wait for the second one to be fully completed!

Fallen Hero series - first two books are done, and a third one is on the way. Fourth book is expected as well, but this is definitely one of the best hero IF games out there, hands down. The story, the characters, the dynamics and many paths that you can take, it is truly one for the books.

Shadow, Tooth and Claw saga - for all my werewolf lovers, this series is a fucking BANGER. Three out of four books are written, and if you ever wanted to read something that is going to portray you as a powerful werewolf capable of doing many, many great feats, along with a general, great story, then this one should be on the list to check out.

Werewolf the Apocalypse, the book of hungry names - another one for the werewolf lovers, this one is absolutely phenomenal. Many routes, many paths you can take, and customisation on what you want your werewolf to be; too much to say about that behemoth of a work, but the gist of it is, that it is AWESOME.

Jolly Good games, by @gowerhardcastle - the first book is fully released, but the next series, Jolly Good Cakes and Ale, is a first books of three I believe, and trust me, these books are insanely good. If you want to read some slice of life comedy, then these ones are definitely for you. Me personally, I liked the Cakes and Ale better, but both books are really good, and the first books should also be played, for it welcomes you into the whole Jolly Good universe.

Now that we got those out of the way, we can go to WIP's, that are being worked on; after that it will be the hiatus ones:

Suevi, by @suevi-if - off the top of my head, I'll start with Suevi. Now, it's not that I'm biased here; it's simply that this work deserves the respect and the compliments that I'm giving it. It is very well written, and for all of you who like history and historical stuff, this one is for you. Amazing characters, emotional story, it is something that you should definitely check out.

We Wretched Creatures, by my darling @darkfictionjude - honestly, all of her works are just plain amazing, but I put the one that is being worked on primarily; wwc is an amazing horror IF, for all the horror lovers out there, exploring psychological, along with real world, topics, with a supernatural element. Cast is made of characters who are flawed, just the way people are flawed in real life, without the fake perfection, showing the struggles of people, and how they deal with them. Truly, a one of a kind story, that deserves its rightful place with one of the best written pieces out there.

Infamous, by @infamous-if - for all of you, who wanted to feel what it's like to feel to be a rockstar on the rise, this one is for you. Absolutely phenomenal, I love this IF so much, for it is giving me a chance to relive my childhood fantasy of being this giant artist/star. It is exceptionally written, and is focused on both the on stage and behind the scenes aspects of fame. Amazing work, simple as that.

The Ballad of the Young Gods, by @childrenofcain-if - aesthetically one of the best dark academia works that I've read, hands down. Complex, intriguing, eloquently written, with characters that you can't help but fall for, Children of Cain is truly a masterpiece.

Time Fall, by @timefall-if - common now; I was missing Arcane, and someone appears who makes an Arcane inspired story. Of course that will have my attention! It is a very good work, written with care, and done in such detail, the creators of Arcane themselves would be proud. For anyone who liked the show, trust me, this IF is for you.

Drink your Villain juice, by @drinkyourvillainjuice - this is another interesting take, on the superhero IF's, but in this one, you are the villain, which buys me every single time xD. What can I say? I love to be a villain, and this story provides just that. Really nicely written, it is an interesting story, with truly unique powers, you should definitely check this one out.

Blink, by @bubblegumrabbitwriting - another one with some really cool powers, this IF is amazing; the characters, the story, the writing, everything is just on point. The author of this one describes your redemption perfectly, giving you many options for how you want to go about it, and honestly, it is done perfectly.

Thousand of Us, by @ivanwm-05 - when it comes to powers, and insane branching, this one takes the cake (aside from my magnum opus; common, I have to be a bit biased here xD). But even my magnum opus can't come close to the number of powers you can choose from, this IF is really interesting, and truly a one of a kind, period. And the God Mode? I like to feel powerful in these types of IF's, and this one is truly the one to make me feel exactly like that.

Apartment 502, by @apt502-if - another slice of life, this one is honestly very chill, with its focus being on the regular relationships with others, which I just love. I like psychology, and when you have to juggle things as you have to do in Apartment 502, I'm all for it. This is for the ones who want to read something relaxing, that's also good and will leave an emotional impact on them, that they'll remember, and want to keep coming back to.

Echoes of Olympus, by @fableforger - a really interesting one, especially for the people who like mythology, this one explores the Greek Gods, giving you a chance to even BE one! Choosing a God from an array of Gods with some of the most interesting powers I've seen, this one is really good, so be sure to check it out, if these topics interest you.

Oh, there will also, as a last segment, be a TBA demo ones; the honourable mentions, let's call them, but, before them, the hiatus ones:

Vendetta, by @vendetta-if - I don't know the whole story; there has been some things going on behind the scenes, from what I gathered from the forum, so I don't know what's to happen with this one, but I loved this story, so much. Mafia and super powers? What more could a lad want? It is really well written, and you can choose if you want to be a hero, a villain, or basically neither; a grey jedi, let's call it xD. All in all, a great story, but aside from that, there's not much info I can give.

Demon Fireforged - honestly, I don't know. This one may not be on hiatus, especially with the fact that it was updated on Cog Demos in may, but, so far, I haven't seen any updates, nor have I seen anything anywhere about it. Nowhere to follow on the progression, and it has been sitting the way it is now for almost a year? Maybe more? I don't know, but what I do know, is that I've played it a looong time ago, and that I loved the story, since I was able to be a God like being, but, unfortunately, I don't know of its status, hence why I'm putting it here. Amazing story, with both complex story and characters, I hope it continues to be updated.

And now, probably the biggest list, for there is so much I want to read, but I just don't have the time currently😭, the honourable mentions! With WIP's that are yet to drop, or the ones that have the demos, but I just haven't read them yet:

Party of Four. by @partyof4game - I have scoped this one a long time ago now, and it is still sitting with the other WIP's that I'm yet to find the time for😭 An amazing story, an amazing concept, very interesting characters, from which I can't decide who to pick to romance (thanks zo xD). So yeah, fantasy, adventure IF, a must in the genre, if you ask me.

Grey Swan, by @reinekes-fox - dark academia will forever have my heart, what can I say xD. I am yet to read this one, but it looks interesting as hell, so yeah, this has to be recommended.

Stillwater, though, by my boy, @cosmic-writes-if - seems very interesting, and I've been getting into the mystery horror IF's lately, so I wanted to mention that this one is also sitting in the ones that I am yet to read, but will read. Very interesting, so do check his blog out.

The Shadow Society, by @carawenfiction - this one is very, very interesting looking, in my opinion. The story looks really good, and I can't wait to read it!

1966, by @1966-if - super interested in this one, so it's another one from the pile of must reads.

Project Calamity, by @altaiirif - this one looks soooooo good, and honestly, the more I write this honourable mentions list, the more I want to cry😭 So many good IF's, that I just don't have the time to read tat he moment; but, I recommend you all to go check this one out, for it is amazing.

The Curtain Never Falls, by @curtain-fall-if - this one falls under the topics that you all know I adore by this point, so is there anything that I even have to say? xD This one is very good, and very interesting, so yeah, go check it out!

Blood and Iron, by my dear friend @bloodandiron-if - from the time that she puts into not only the IF, but the asks as well, the eloquence, the general perfection? This IF is looking extremely promising, and very good, so I do recommend for all to go and check it out!

I can't write this one on my keyboard😂, but I can tag @aelvsbyn-if - again, not to be biased, but by bestie here also ventured into the horror genre, and it is looking really goooood! Interesting concept, playing with the folklore, I can't wait for this one to drop.

This list is already long, and I know that I am forgetting many other IF's, but, after a while, I'll make another one of these lists, as an update to it basically, where I'll cover the rest that I didn't do now. But, hopefully, this will be enough for a time, to satisfy people's curiosity😁

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I noticed your note about turning this into a visual novel using renpy, and I'm curious if you've ever played Roadwarden? It's a text RPG that makes great use of visuals and gameplay in a way that might be useful inspiration for you (unless you've already played it). It's one of the games that personally inspired me to use Renpy for my IF alongside Scarlet Hollow so I highly recommend it!

I haven’t played Roadwarden yet but I have seen it on Steam!! Thanks for bringing my attention back to it, since it’s definitely an example for what I want the gameplay to look like ☺️☺️

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The lighter engaving options have me spiraling. Surname, Shine on, Remember me, ... fart.

I've been doing that silent laughter that shakes the entire bed for 5 minutes now. 😭 I went with fart.

lmao I'm glad someone can appreciate the deep, philosophical, introspective, and insightful option

the other three options are there too ig, but they're too surface level and childish imo...

FART JOKES NEVER DIE !!! 🤑🤑

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UPDATE - Prologue Complete

DEMO - 13k total words w/o code (woo!)

It's finally no longer the tiny snippet from when I first posted 🎉

The story now introduces Adeline instead of just Clyde/Kathy, lets you choose your detective's ww1 role as well as interrogation style, and progresses the story to cover what's mentioned in the overview. (opera star missing, found dead, but is alive?)

What's next? -> Chapter One !

Chapter 1 will cover new events, and will actually start the mystery solving for the first case. Find out what exactly happened to Helen, meet Irene, Henry, and Laurent/Laura, question people, and start to get the detective juices flowing.

|| @interact-if

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ROs heights?

Clyde: 5'9" / 175 cm

Kathy: 5'5" / 165 cm

Irene: 5'3" / 160 cm

Adeline: 5'8" / 172 cm (5'4" / 162 cm without heels)

Thomas: 6'1" / 185 cm

Henry: 5'6" / 167 cm

L: Laurent is 5'11" / 180 cm || Laura is 5'9" / 175 cm

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Poster design 😋😋

also, the completion of the prologue update is on track for aug 30th!

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If I remember is correctly that women weren’t allowed to join the war as soldiers so some of them had to disguise themselves as men to get in so I’m guessing that the afab MCs did the same thing?

correct, and I’ll include mentions of that when the time comes in the story ☺️☺️

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looking at clyde's description and IMMEDIATELY knowing thats the man im gonna go for will be HORRID (/pos)

i did notice that since clyde has.... embellished the amount of soliders he's taken down, would that be a possible sorta sub-conflict if the mc is a solider and, ya know, obviously had to kill in the war?

mwahaha my Clyde agenda is working 😈😈 you're right and sorry in advance LOL

and I like the way you think anon! there's definitely a reason for why mc hates him (like how he acts post-war, you hit the nail on the head there) but i can't say more since it'll probably be spoilers for the route :,)