Professor Gower

Massively Interactive, Comfortably Comic Games

[gowerhardcastle]

Professor Gower's Games

I’m Gower, and when I’m not being a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature, I’m writing long interactive storygames published by Choice of Games.

Meet some of my characters:

Do you enjoy games where you get involved in terrible scandals, lose your money in ill-conceived wagers, go on foxhunts, solve mysteries and have a torrid affair with your servant, in an alternate 1930s where all shall be quite well in the end?

My games are light-hearted, super-branchy narratives inspired by P.G. Wodehouse's worlds of well-to-do young folks with more money than sense. My games are designed to have the reader's back no matter what choice you make.

Right now, I'm almost 3 million words deep into my fourth game.

Here's my past games:

In Tally Ho (620,000 words) you play a servant charged with the welfare of your hapless employer who has managed to tangle themself up in terrible romantic, familial, and master-servant difficulties. Play some of it for free at the above link!

In Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale (1.2 million words) you play the employer! Now, with your own servant, you can create the terrible romantic, familial, and financial, and scandalous, etc., etc., situations and let someone else clean up the mess. Or make it much, much worse. This game was the Winner of three 2020 XYZZY Awards: (Best Writing, Best Setting, Best NPCs). Play some of it for free at the above link!

I've also written a Shakespearean comedy pastiche, called A Midsummer Night's Choice. This one is much shorter and less complex.

My current game is the sequel to Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale, and is called Jolly Good: Tea and Scones. Continue the story of your Jolly Good: Cakes and Ale character, visit your ancestral manor, and deal with both your present servant and the servant who quit your employ out of sheer disgust! (I am somewhat more than halfway through chapter seven of eight chapters, and this work-in-progress stands at slightly over three million words.)

If you like the sound of a very, very long piece of interactive fiction which is designed to be cozy, funny, and deeply responsive to your choices, check back here--and check out my Patreon for peeks at my work in progress, additional fiction, and musings on what it is like to write long-form, choice-heavy interactive fiction. Each month, you'll be able to see various lengthy tranches of my game. Swing by!

Get more from The Noble Gases Club on Patreon

The Noble Gases, est. DCIVMCD

You can play the entire chapter one as a free demo should you care to partake, and all of chapters one and two for patrons.

[gowerhardcastle]

A Few More Days With Haze

I'm just kicking off what will be a summer-long "after story" play-by-Patreon set between Tally Ho and Cakes and Ale called A Few More Days With Haze, designed for protagonists who ended the game romancing Haze and want some more content. And I am frankly surprised by the way the voting is going so far.

But there's still two days left. We'll see what happens.

This first part of the story is wholly free, by the way. Swing by the Noble Gases Club for an outrageous amount of content designed to be read while swinging lazily in a hammock with a tall glass of lemonade with a sprig of mint in it.

If you are not entirely satisfied with what you find therein, then I don't know what I shall do. Probably pace around and shake a fist at the sky. It won't be good. But it won't come to that. I'm sure of it.

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[gowerhardcastle]

*They* aren't going to be reading all thirty branches at once.

An important thing to remember when you are writing interactive fiction is that you, the author, have to sit there and write all million little responses, and shades of difference, and account for all of the nested *ifs and *elses--but the reader has no clue that those things are even there.

They're just reading a cool narrative with a beginning and a middle and an end, and then they go on to the next bit.

That's the most important thing to remember when you are waist deep in something really branchy, and you are so sick of it, and it feels like the chapter is bogging down, and that your writing is horrible and tedious and you have the feeling that you are writing and writing and making no progress at all.

I experienced this when I spent two weeks writing about carrying a table down a flight of stairs, and I had to explain to my family that, no, I am still writing about that table and the stairs.

If you would like to read all sorts of stuff about interactive fiction, you can do so here at the Noble Gases Club, where I talk about what it feels like to write something with like five million words+ at this point. You can, for starters, read this blessedly free article about forgetting things when writing IF and then read a bunch other free articles and the like. I'd love to see you there.

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[gowerhardcastle]

Hi Gower 👋

I want to ask in relation to the previous ask about Parsnip and Marmaduke (although I’m mostly focusing on Parsnip). Could a soothing, non-bold MC have a good relationship with Parsnip? I don’t know if it’s possible but I think it’s sweet and rlly funny that a gremlin like Parsnip ends up really liking the meek and soft spoken MC. And, I think it’d be really cute as well if the MC really likes Parsnip as well 🥹

Imagine a quiet, mild main character, charged with taking care of someone outrageously wild like Parsnip.

Think about their inability to say "no" to Parsnip. Think how much Parsnip would absolutely love that main character, because she would be able to ride completely roughshod over them.

That's why there's two stats that control Parsnip's personality--your relationship with them, and her "troublemaker" stat. You can absolutely have a wonderful relationship with Parsnip: but be prepared for the consequences.

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[gowerhardcastle]

Hello. As P. G. Wodehouse came up numerous times in your posts, I decided to educate myself on his work a bit, and started watching the 1990s Jeeves and Wooster series. It is quite fun in the sense that after playing Tally Ho and Jolly Good extensively, every episode or so I go "Oh, I know that guy! I know that plot point!"

Anyhow, Wodehouse addressing the rising fascism in the 1930s through the character of Spode, along with several other things, got me, thinking on the Tally Ho-Jolly Good universe. How different is that world from ours? I understand it's not an aspect that is important in the games, and realism or historical accuracy is in no way the goal, but did the tragedies of the first half of the 20th century happen in that universe?

Yes, if you watch that series, you will see quite a lot of familiar material--more from Tally Ho, and less from Jolly Good. For Jolly Good, you'll want to look at the Blandings novels and the Drones Club short stories, mostly.

So the world. You ask if the tragedies of the first half of the 20th century happened, and the answer is that in this world I'm choosing to create, while it is recognizably our world, the worst of the historical cruelty and stupidity is elided entirely. There is and has been war, but it is both offstage and it does not touch our characters. Similarly, there is economic depression, but it's only foggily referenced, and not present in the lives of our characters.

We know that a pastoral like this, set in the mid 1930s, is just a brief moment between two great wars, but the decade will never, ever change, and the horrors will never wholly arrive. I don't do this to turn a blind eye, but because I think there's something incredibly poignant about setting a comedy in that moment.

It's the reason I set Tally Ho in high autumn, at the peak of glorious color, just before the fading and the falling.

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[gowerhardcastle]

It would be sooooo easy to just crop your pfp so that Parsnip fits properly but everyday you just choose not to and that's so funny and annoying to me

If you aren't feeling a blend of "funny and annoying" when you are face to face with Parsnip, then I haven't done my job properly.

What you are experiencing is a very sophisticated, advanced writing method in which I get you in just the right mental state to respond to Parsnip appropriately.

Visit the Noble Gases Club and meet Parsnip, cropped or not.

"Oh, I have an important question," Parsnip says, leaning between you and Starling. "Did you two ever kiss each other? With your mouths?" She imitates what a kiss might look like with her lips against her balled-up fist. "Mwa-mwa-mwa, kissy, like that?" she says. "Did you?"

Well, did you?

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[gowerhardcastle]

https://www.tumblr.com/c-rowlesdraws/176039874532?source=share

Hello. Seeing this post inspired me to tell you that, though I wouldn't call them gremlins, this how I feel about Marmaduke and Parsnip in your games. As of now, I feel pretty lukewarm or conflicted about the Jolly Good ROs, but I like these two characters, I replay the game for them. Good job writing them.

I'll be really interested to see what you think about them in Tea and Scones. Marmaduke has a significantly bigger role in it--he's your companion through all of Chapter Two, and through one of the major paths through Chapter Five, and well as lots of other paths through other chapters.

And Parsnip's role gets a richer too. You can develop your relationship with her a lot.

Aside from maybe Uncle Chum, I don't think there's a character in this entire series that I like writing more than Parsnip. Parsnip is just my id unleashed.

Marmaduke stumbles into chaos; Parsnip actively seeks it out and embraces it.

I'm writing a chapter right now in which you spend a lot of time with Parsnip, and if you have the endurance to withstand what she throws at you and emerge still loving her, I think that deserves some serious recognition in the story.

"You aren't supposed to sleep in the hallway." She sits cross-legged, her hair a scraggly tangle. She is wearing what appears to be the costume of the Sugar Plum Fairy from The Nutcracker but sporting multiple tears and stains.

"Oh, Parsnip, I have slept in far worse places than this. This scarcely makes the top twenty list." "I thought as much," Parsnip says. "You are dissipated. That is what everyone says. Tell me one on the top twenty list." "Once I woke up in the alley behind a dance hall, behind some trash bins, under a rain spout, which was dousing me with ice-cold water. I was wearing my very best outfit, but, for some reason, wearing two different shoes, neither of them belonging to me," you say, thinking about it. "And for some reason I was in Gwaelod-y-Garth. Very confusing. I didn't even remember having decided to visit Wales, but there we are." Parsnip looks at you with admiration and a glimmer of envy comes into her eyes. "Someday I'm going to do that."

Influence wayward children and guide your perplexed cousin Marmaduke right here, at the Noble Gases Club!

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[gowerhardcastle]

Making the Scary Big Decision

I just want to point to something that I don't think readers of interactive fiction necessarily even realize is a thing unless they write interactive fiction, too.

Imagine: you, the writer, are setting up an interesting situation, and creating the choices and options. Let's say you are confronting an antagonist, the beautiful and seductive and dangerous Marquis de la Chincleft, who has destroyed your village or something.

And you have some options like "threaten him so that he departs at once" and "attack him with my rapier" and "beg for mercy" and so forth--and then you write

I nod at him, realizing that he is in the right 'Marquis,' I say, 'I will join you."

As the writer, it is *incredibly* tempting to make this not go anywhere. You'd have to write at a minimum, a completely new branch, or a whole new *game* if you let this happen.

It's quite intimidating to be looking that option in the face. But I have to tell you that there is no better feeling than to say yes to that scope creep, to look at that option and say, "yes, I'm going to go there" and make that a real choice. And to do that not just once or twice, but repeatedly, all game.

Readers sometimes talk about how difficult/intimidating choices are to make, but I don't think they necessarily know it's like that for the designer/writer, too. (But also the most fun.) Come swing by the Noble Gases Club and enjoy loads of writing about interactive fiction, this month with a focus on Tally Ho, which was born just about ten years ago!

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[traaaaash]

POV: You are not meeting Frankincense's high standards. Perhaps too much whimsy? Definitely not enough sober and nutritious snack cakes at tea time.

But for real, I actually do love Frankie from Tally Ho by @gowerhardcastle . I find them very sweet and lovely in their own silly prim way.

Had fun trying to be looser, sketchier, and generally less fretful about outcome. Maybe next time I do some characters from Jolly Good or Tally Ho, I'll do ✨ hats. ✨

[gowerhardcastle]

Proof that Times Have Changed

I published Tally Ho about nine years ago. As I was approaching the end of that game, I had an email exchange with my editor in which I wrote the following sentence:

"I'm plugging away at chapter 6 and am still on track to get that to you at the start of June. Right now, I have about 305k words, so this is going to be the longest CoG ever when it releases...I am weirded out by how long it is, but there we are. Maybe I should have conceived of it in two parts. I hope that it's ok that it's coming out quite so long." To which my editor replied, in part, "Holy cow! 305k!"

It's kind of amazing. I know that there a lot of issues with the ballooning word count we see in some interactive fiction, like seriously intimidating newcomers, and the rate of work to reward being measured in teeny fractions of pennies, but for my money, as a reader and creator of the form, I love it.

It takes forever, but the flexible, beautiful, adaptive results are like nothing else. I love this art form, and I am gladly spending seven years on my current game, even if it takes a few million words to get that same "Holy cow!" now.

It's Tally Ho month at the Noble Gases Club! Vote on next month's theme, read a long free snippet about how I created the character of Valentine, and read an entirely free (and long) article about how I created the character of Frankincense!

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[gowerhardcastle]

Frankincense: Musing on Developing an Under-romanced Romantic Path

I've written an article (available for free right here) on Frankincense Cygnet-Signet, one of the four romantic options in Tally Ho, who was, according to Steam, fully romanced by about 4% of players.

In this analysis and discussion, I talk about what I was going for with this character, and some of the themes the character helped me explore. And more importantly, why I love Frankincense.

This is the first in a series I'm going to do for all of the love interests in Tally Ho, which I'll be doing this month, in a sort of post-mortem-with-ten-years-of-hindsight about writing romantic paths.

Enjoy! And while you are there, comment on the post. I'm always really interested to hear what people have to say about writing romance.

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[gowerhardcastle]

Ten Years Ago, Tally Ho was conceived of

Ten Years Ago (give or take a day or two) I thought of Tally Ho, and I created a blurb for it, which I sent to Choice of Games to see if they were interested.

This was the blurb I sent:

------------------------

Tally-Ho!

As an immaculately trained lady’s maid or gentleman’s gentleman during the Regency, it is your duty to ensure life goes smoothly for your employer, the rich, young, and vivacious Mister or Miss Carlyle.

When your employer is invited to a grand soiree and fox hunt at the home of Lord and Lady Fogwest, including rich debutantes, crusty military figures, big game hunters, and an obviously-disguised police detective, you, of course, attend as well. 

Are you the sort of servant who becomes involved in upstairs-downstairs intrigue, or are you far too dignified?  Are you able to smoothly deceive to make your master’s life easier, or are you a stickler for keeping to the truth at all costs?

Will you cover for your employer when he or she is accused of stealing the Fogwests’ prize peacock?  Will you accidentally become engaged to the Fogwests’ con-artist nephew/niece?

Will you say something when your employer declares that he will wear the lime-green cravat to the opera, or will you simply clear your throat meaningfully?  Or have you already taken the liberty of discarding it with yesterday’s trash?  Will you become involved when your mistress’ impetuous sister announces that she intends to be a showgirl, or do you see that as undignified meddling?  What if today is the day you are being secretly evaluated for membership in the elite Cadbury Club for Those Who Serve?

A comedy of manners inspired by such sources as P.G. Wodehouse, Downton Abbey, and The Remains of the Day.

-------------------------------

The final version did not look a lot like this in terms of the specific plots, and it didn't keep the exclamation point in the title.

But the feeling of it survived fully. It is hard for me to believe that ten years ago, this world of Tally Ho (let alone Jolly Good) did not exist yet.

I'm doing Tally Ho month over at The Noble Gases Club, the Patreonic home of all things Tally and Jolly. You may wish to swing by for some fun and games. In any case, for those who have been in my world for a decade, thank you.

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[geraldofallon]

Favourite interactive fiction love interests:

Rory Wintermint

@gowerhardcastle

[gowerhardcastle]

Hello. I really like Tally Ho, and this is nothing against you or your work, but I want you to know, that for years I harbored personal beef with one of your characters.

On a summer's evening in 2022, approximately at 11 pm, I started playing Tally Ho to wind down before sleep, try to get some endings, romance some characters. All was well until Frankincense.

I had no idea how to romance them. The other characters were so easy, I tried to hit the same story beats with Frankincense, talk to them during the hunt, talk to them at dinner, go search for peacocks with them at the festival, but nothing worked, this one wouldn't bite. By 2 am I was scouring CoG forums and Reddit, finding vague instructions and catching something about a gazebo. So I used the instructions and tried again. Spent at least an hour and a half to find the good combination of choices that would get them to invite me to the gazebo.

By the time I finally got the gazebo scene, it was 4 am. I rarely stay awake past 2 am usually, but I was overjoyed, I had finally done it, I finally romanced Frankincense! Except I didn't! Because it turned out they weren't at the gazebo to profess their undying love to my MC, they were there to let out some birds.

So I helped them. And at the end it turned out they didn't like my MC enough to start a romance, so they just went off to bed.

That was probably the first and only time when I ragequit a CoG title.

A few days later I went back, and decided to just open the game's code and consult it every time I made a decision. I got Frankincense's ending, but I booed Frankincense every time they were on screen, throwing symoblic tomatoes. In the years since then, I replayed Tally Ho probably 100 times, but I didn't replay their ending.

Until a few weeks ago, when I got into the game again. I liked Frankincense's route much better this time around, now that I knew what to expect. Turns out Frankincense's not bad at all, they're even pretty cool in some aspects, like how they care about nature and animals, and human rights.

I put the beef behind me. And when I replay the game next, my MC will be allowed to marry the richest guy in the game, as she deserves.

Listen, I want to tell you that, in part, that was my fault.

There was a bug in Tally Ho for the longest time which made Frankincense incredibly difficult to romance, because there was a particular conversational path you could take with Frankincense that set the romance flag. But there were also other conversational paths--perfectly normal and even affectionate ones--in which the romance flag was not set.

And there the bug sat for a long time without me noticing it. Even when I became aware of the issue, it took so long to figure out what the problem was.

So do not blame Frankincense. Poor Frankincense had it hard enough being introduced latest of all the romance options in the game and also *being engaged already* to one of the more popular romance options, without my error sabotaging them even further.

I always felt like Frankincense could use more fans. I really like their role in Cakes and Ale and their upcoming role in Tea and Scones where they will serve as a sort of problem for a main character who wants to achieve things in an underhanded way.

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[gowerhardcastle]

Hello Gower 👋

Honestly sending this ask to congratulate you on Jolly Good’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! 🥳🎉🎉

I’ve been following your work from Tally Ho since I was in 8th grade 😭 your work is what led me to discover IFs and interactive games and I’m forever grateful that you and the Jolly Good universe was my first introduction to it 🙏

It’s been surreal to be on this journey tbh!!! I’ve discovered your works when I was 14 years old and now I’m about to graduate college with my degree in a creative field. Tbh, I don’t think I wouldn’t be in this field if I haven’t loved your works so much that I’d start drawing those scenes in Tally Ho 😭 This series genuinely means so much to me and once again I wanna say thank you Mr. Gower 😭

I can’t believe you have a tumblr now!! And Patreon !! So, I’m having a blast in trying to get as much lore about the world of Jolly Good. And, honestly what surprised me was how Starling wasn’t particularly meant to be a RO???? The fandom has just delulu’d ourselves into manifesting it into reality???? 😭 Honestly, Starling intrigues me so much as a character and as a RO. So, it’s great that we get to see more of them in this book (I am SOOO HYPED). And, honestly from the snippets I’ve seen as I’m not subscribed to your Patreon, Starling seems to be so ….. intriguing??? Like “Strong Tea : Please Forgive My Gaming Story, or Starling's Affection, Respect, and Concern”, driving with Starling, Starling being upstairs, “The In-Between Chapters Time: Dreaming Up Starling's Chapter”, “The Spring Break Sprint, or the Starling Default Chapter: Melting, Ashes, and Freezing”, Starling’s chapter reaching 15k (that’s so fast Waow 😮) and “Advanced Yearning: Starling Flashback Structure” (Starling’s a yearner?!?!). It feels like I was given a whiff of something delicious and all I could do is just sit and wait for the food to be ready because they food’s not yet done 😭 I’m so excited to see what would happen in Starling’s route now!!! (Excited to see how Starling and Fitzie would clash with each other ….. especially if there’s a love triangle involved 👀)

Also, I don’t think you have introduced Starling yet in tumblr (I know cause I’m desperate for Starling lore 🥲). But, I don’t know if that’s intentional on your part or not 🥲. Anyways, I hope I could meet Starling soon in-game 🙏🙏 it’s going to be interesting to see how all of this would shape up.

That’s all from me. And, I’m so sorry for the long ask 😅 I like to ramble and Jolly Good has been stuck on my mind for a long time like a sleeper agent! Hope you’ll always be in good health and we can enjoy more Jolly Good !!

WOW. So much to respond to here.

>I’ve been following your work from Tally Ho since I was in 8th grade

First of all, that is sort of nuts, but yes, I guess 2017 was almost ten years ago, and I guess we are at the mercy of time like that. Still, it kind of boggles the mind. It's like when I get, in one of my classes, one of the children of one of my former students.

>And, honestly what surprised me was how Starling wasn’t particularly meant to be a RO???? The fandom has just delulu’d ourselves into manifesting it into reality????

It's true. Starling wasn't originally an romantic option because I didn't know how I could do it just right, but then the challenge of it kept gnawing at me, and I *agreed* that the story seemed to be set up to have Starling as an RO. So I did it. It has been challenging. But I like when there's something tricky to figure out like that. It keeps the writing loose and fresh and fun.

>It feels like I was given a whiff of something delicious and all I could do is just sit and wait for the food to be ready because they food’s not yet done.

I believe it was Cervantes who wrote "Hunger is the best sauce."

>(Excited to see how Starling and Fitzie would clash with each other ….. especially if there’s a love triangle involved 👀)

There's going to be some kind of triangle, but possibly not the kind you are expecting.

>Also, I don’t think you have introduced Starling yet in tumblr (I know cause I’m desperate for Starling lore 🥲)

You know, that is a really good point! I did a post on the other four, but not Starling! I will have to correct that.

>That’s all from me. And, I’m so sorry for the long ask 😅 I like to ramble and Jolly Good has been stuck on my mind for a long time like a sleeper agent! Hope you’ll always be in good health and we can enjoy more Jolly Good !!

No, no, no, no "sorry"! I loved every single word. And you will be happy to hear that, as far as good health is concerned, I had my annual physical today, and aside from discovering that I have words just swarming my blood vessels, I am in tip-top shape. I write (a lot) every single day, and sooner rather than later, Tea and Scones will arrive!

(But until then, for anyone interested, there are at this point hundreds and hundreds of posts, stories, character studies, and design discussions right here at the Noble Gases Club. Stop by and chit-chat in the discussion forums which regularly have threads in the hundreds of responses!)

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[gowerhardcastle]

Once again, it is I, but not with an ask, but a little complimentary essay, on Cakes and Ale, since I just finished it.

And my oh my, I’ve literally finished it in two days, playing almost for hours on end, I’ve even paused the writing of my own IF for this, because I was so hooked, right from the very beginning.

Not only was the story completely amazing, it was also the most comedic IF experience I’ve ever had. The amount of happy hormones that my brain has released in these two days of playing will, probably, lengthen my life span quite a bit, and that is not just because of the fact that I found myself laughing on almost every page, since there were millions of witty, creative, funny remarks, but also, one very important thing, that made me feel like the mainest (I know this is not an actual word, but I find it a good fit) of main characters; cheats.

I bought the DLC’s as well, at the same time I bought the game, and I thought they were just for monies and some helping hand guide, but, when I entered stats to see what those DLC’s were, my eyes fell upon the cheats option, and I stopped looking at anything else, solely focused on that.

I clicked on them, and when I saw all of them, I have, quite literally, started to maniacally laugh with glee; because that way, I was certain that I’ll be able to create the most perfect character, one which I was set on making the first time I’ve read the description for the game, and that is a character, based on one of my favorite characters in literature ever, Lord Henry, from The Picture of Dorian Gray.

So, my character was a scandalous person, adorned and hated at the same time(mostly loved), his biggest strengths being his intellect, his very artistic way with words, and his ability to charm the pants off of anyone and anything, simply because of his eloquence and wittiness, and the fact that he could explain everything bad he does, as something good in his favor, giving speeches left and right, and having people eat from the palm of his hand.

Naturally, I’ve gotten very good outcomes, and was extremely pleased with everything, and will, most definitely, play it a good couple of times more, so I can see other paths, though, my MC will still be the life of the party, having the same vibe as the one I just mentioned.

Overall, amazing game, funny, even hilarious at times, and those times were plenty, very well written, which was to be expected, what with the first game being written in the same extraordinary way, but, honestly, between the two, this one is my personal favourite, because, and this is just my personal opinion, I found myself thinking, at one point while reading, that I could see the improvement, which is like any art, every new piece becomes better than the last, though, I should put a disclaimer here; this does not mean that I think the first one is bad in any way shape or form. Rather it is like choosing between two greek Gods, both extremely powerful in their own way, and it all comes down to slight details of this or that.

Basically, the first game was amazing, I had so much fun playing it, and with the second, I had even more fun, and I loved seeing the old characters again, especially my darling Haze, but Rory was just a comedic genious at times, along with the rest of the cast, like my God. Words can’t do justice at portraying how much fun I had playing this game. I will surely be playing it again and again, albeit while continuing with my own game, but yeah😂

Anyhow, insanely good, from all of the IF’s that I’ve played, and they are plenty, yours are, by far, the most memorable ones, best written and definitely top 3, at the very least. Good luck with the second part of the Jolly Good series, I honestly can’t wait for that to be finished, because it is so good and addicting, and I can’t blame the younger Noble Gases from asking my MC for the immediate continuation of his story😂

Amazing games; you are a truly talented writer, giving us gem after gem in the IF community. Thank you for your games, and thank you for making me laugh more than I have in a very long time😁

P. S. I apologise for the length of this, though I did call it an essay, as a way of foreshadowing😂

This is about the nicest thing ever. It completely made my evening. Thank you so, so, so much for all of these wonderful words. I'm writing, editing, revising, planning, every single day (when I'm not grading) just piling up words and adventures for your Jolly Good main character's delight.

I'm getting there! Just a few chapters to go.

(Also: I apologize for the unacceptable delay in getting back to you. This got utterly lost in my inbox. Whoops!)

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[gowerhardcastle]

Hello. I was just thinking about Tally Ho, and that I replayed it so many times that I can't even remember what the ending was that I got the very first time.

Anyhow, it got me wondering, have you ever played through your own games? Not for debugging reasons or playtesting, just for fun. And what sort of ending would your Tally Ho MC get?

By the way, how do you feel about tumblr asks? I've got some things I'd send asks about, but I don't want to if you feel like you don't have the time/energy for it. Which I would understand, I am honestly shocked at the breakneck speed you are working at.

First of all, I *love* tumblr asks.

You know, I have never played through my own games, just to play them. Playtesting, yes. Debugging, yes. Even running through them with a group of alpha testers. But never just to play! I can't even imagine what that would be like, although I'll tell you this: I have enough distance, time-wise, from a lot of it that I bet I don't remember things.

But as for endings--I'd probably try to go for the ending with Haze in Monte Carlo...try and fail, most likely. I seem to recall that is not the easiest ending to get.

You have a headache, but you are almost certain that you had a good time. Your pockets are filled with currency from various nations, a handkerchief full of loose diamonds, and a shiny black poker chip. You have a twelve-digit alphanumeric code written on your hand. When you look in the mirror, your hair is a lovely but surprising shade of green.

I just looked that up and I have essentially no memory of having written it. That's the fruit of having written so much: my games can surprise me. I think the various epilogues are my single favorite bits of writing in Tally Ho (and I wrote them long enough ago that I can say that without feeling like I'm here praising myself!)

I should probably play through some time...

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