James Shaw Games

A website for interactive novels written by James Shaw. Right now, that means the "Relics of the Lost Age" trilogy. Maybe someday there'll be more!

[jamesshawgames]

Hi there!

I’m James, and I write interactive novels.  I’m currently inactive, but I was most recently working on Shadowrun: Neon Fire, a free fan-project set in the amazing Shadowrun universe (cyberpunk with fantasy elements, basically), which incorporates RPG mechanics from the Shadowrun tabletop game. You can find Neon Fire’s demo on Cogdemos.ink, here. (Note: this game is no longer in development).

Before that, I completed the Relics of the Lost Age trilogy, a series of stories about a badass 1930s American archaeologist who fights Nazis, discovers ancient secrets and has amazing adventures all around the world. It’s inspired by Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, Uncharted and the like.

The first game’s already out. You can find it here. 

The second one is also out. You can find it here. 

The third one is freely available! You can find the Cogdemos version here, and the itch.io version here.

On this blog, I’ll be answering asks, reblogging stuff I find about Shadowrun and Relics, and occasionally putting up progress updates, dev diaries and character profiles. All questions, art and anything else welcome.

Have fun!

[jamesshawgames]

omg excited about your comeback!!! it's been a blast reading through the recent new neon fires update on the cogdemos rn. i admit it kinda feels like a little dream come true hahah. i remember reading through the first draft back then and that got me INSTANTLY hooked since i was an avid Shadowrun fan & just a TTRPG enthusiast in general but i was kinda sad that it was just the prologue at the time.

Yay, thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed Neon Fire! But just to clarify, and in case anyone else isn't clear about this, this isn't really a "comeback". Neon Fire is an abandoned project, so it won't be getting continued. Sorry about that!

[jamesshawgames]

Unexpected Shadowrun Saga continues!

So it looks like a bunch of files from Neon Fire had mysteriously disappeared from Cogdemos, including the one that rolls stat checks! Don't know why, but I reuploaded them (in fact, it may even be possible to get a little further in the game than was possible in the previous public release now....). I think it's all working again now: certainly the stat rolls are. But I won't have time for an extensive playtest, so if you run into problems, let me know!

(Many thanks to @geldar13 for figuring out what the problem was!)

[jamesshawgames]

Neon Fire issues

Hi everyone,

So apparently my Shadowrun game, Neon Fire, has stopped working on cogdemos. I don't know why, it worked fine when I first uploaded it, but now it no longer lets you make stat rolls for some reason. I'll try to fix it soon, but the problem is that Neon Fire was super complicated to code, and I haven't used Choicescript for so long now that I've forgotten how everything works and I don't know if I will be able to identify and fix the problem with my reduced skill level! I may end up having to take the game down, but I will try to fix it first.

Sorry about this: like I said, I have no idea why this has happened!

[jamesshawgames]

how do you get the "a workplace romance" achievement in relics 3??

Hi! It's been a while, but I think that that's the achievement that you can only get if Maria is dead in your playthrough (she can die a couple of ways in Relics 2). If that happens, you get teamed up with some random secret agent instead of her in Chapter 3 of Relics 3, and if you want you can end up romancing them, and that will get you the cheevo.

[jamesshawgames]

Playing through relics again and it's really funny to come across the passage about how Roman emperors used coins because I argued the exact same thing about Caesar in a paper where I argued he could be considered the first emperor

Haha, nice to see that moment struck a chord!

[jamesshawgames]

Maybe this has been asked before but did u study history or archaeology? And do you do something related with that? I'm curious as a graduating history student myself

Hi, thanks for the ask! Yes, I did: I studied ancient history and am currently a (very junior) academic in the field.

[jamesshawgames]

Since your game series if like inspired by Indiana Jones. I'd like to ask what other games would you like to try that you'd feel would have great movie inspiration like example a back to the future inspired game series of a star wars inspired one. Which one would you do and what movie or show would it be inspired by?

Hi, thanks for the ask!

I've been really getting into the Andor show recently, so maybe something like that, about trying to set up a resistance and take down a corrupt authoritarian state, that could be fun (and topical). Or maybe a cyberpunk detective game, in the style of Blade Runner (but playing a private detective rather than a cop, because, you know, ACAB).

[jamesshawgames]

Hello all! Been a while. I don't really come on Tumblr anymore, but I did just find a bunch of asks in my Inbox, so I'll answer them all now. Apologies if you asked a question and have been waiting a long time, I only just found them now!

[heleneplays]

so i may be back with the relics brainrot...

[jamesshawgames]

New amazing Relics art just dropped!

[cowperviolet]

Last Line Meme

Thank you, @theladyelizabeth for tagging me!

This is what I've written yesterday in a chapter of my upcoming fantasy WIP, To Topple a Throne. Context: my heroine is in the middle of an investigation in what she suspects to be a royalist conspiracy.

Was there a guarantee that such a quarry will turn up, however? It was entirely possible she was going to miss it, or fail to recognize it. Runes and blades, Sidonie thought, evoking, by habit, the fearsome deity paradoxically famous for both wielding an enchanted sword and gifting humanity its first writing. I might have missed him already. 

I am tagging @chrysanthemumgames and @jamesshawgames.

[jamesshawgames]

Thanks for tagging me, @cowperviolet!

Unfortunately, I'm not really writing stuff atm. I kinda got sucked too deeply into my Other Job (i.e. my actual job), so now the only things I write are for academic publications, and they're only interesting to about twelve people in the world who are into one particularly obscure corner of ancient literature, so I won't post any of that here!

But I'm very happy to see that Violet is still writing, I really enjoyed her old COG WIP, so best of luck on your writing journey and thanks again for the tag!

[jamesshawgames]

Public service announcement

If anyone who is following world events at the moment feels a sudden, inexplicable need to punch, shoot or otherwise physically mistreat Nazis, here's your friendly reminder that the Relics of the Lost Age trilogy is available on Steam and other outlets now, for all your fascist-slaughtering needs.

Relics of the Lost Age

The Nazis are scouring the globe for powerful occult artifacts. Can you beat them to the treasures and save the world from a thousand years

[nachohorse]

I have a lot to say here. Sorry, not sorry. I love this game series. Deal with it. I’m upset about my country, so I’m gonna vent or something?

If you’re an 80’s baby like me & stuck in that “Indy-ennui” of 🇺🇸 right now, having lost that feeling we had growing up when we were secure in a child’s belief that Nazis were only scary movie villains, thanks to the heroism & sacrifices of the Greatest Generation during WWII. In addition to Indy, I had the gripping stories of my grandpa fighting Nazis in France, as a tail-gunner in the Air Force. My grandpa & so many other troops from countries who are OUR FRIENDS & ALLIES fought & defeated the Nazis in WWII.

The Allied Forces won. The Axis of Evil lost. My history books in school told me so. My grandpa told me so. Hollywood told me so. Then, Charlottesville showed me something different.

Much of what I thought I knew, so much of what we were taught in school… Oops. Of course, US history class never covered the critical differences between Constitutional norms & standards & why that might matter since apparently we learned our lesson with Watergate & Nixon…

So, where is 🇺🇸 today? Not all will call this administration Nazis, but take a good look at what they say & what they do & read up on the concepts behind Project 2025 & brush up on your history. If you’re not down for history book reading, there’s plenty of true historical stuff in this game & if you have a hard time making decisions for yourself about politics or just right vs wrong, play this game for some perspective from the different characters that the MC encounters & the choices of the era & maybe they can help you through some feelings & you might gain some insight. Maybe not. Maybe you just want to punch a Nazi because you fucking want to. That’s cool, too.

🗿🗺️🤠🇺🇸🍑🗽💙✌️🌎🖖🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🌻

[jamesshawgames]

Reblogging because of the amazing comment by @nachohorse

[jamesshawgames]

Public service announcement

If anyone who is following world events at the moment feels a sudden, inexplicable need to punch, shoot or otherwise physically mistreat Nazis, here's your friendly reminder that the Relics of the Lost Age trilogy is available on Steam and other outlets now, for all your fascist-slaughtering needs.

Relics of the Lost Age

The Nazis are scouring the globe for powerful occult artifacts. Can you beat them to the treasures and save the world from a thousand years

[jamesshawgames]

Shadowrun: Neon Fire on cogdemos.ink

Hi there, fans of cybernetic elves and uzi-toting dwarf shamans!

Shadowrun: Neon Fire, my weird abandoned attempt to fuse a Choicescript game with a tabletop RPG, is now available on cogdemos.ink (it will also still be on Dashingdon until that site disappears later this month). You can find it here.

It won't ever get finished, but there's quite a large amount there, and you may enjoy it if you're into Cog games, TTRPGs, or the Shadowrun universe, so why not give it a go?!

[jamesshawgames]

Relics 3 now available on cogdemos.ink

Hi everyone!

Relics 3: Ashes for Gold is now available on cogdemos.ink, meaning that it should remain available after Dashingdon goes down this month.

The game can be found here: CoGDemos. I'll update the link in my profile too so that people can find it in the future.

I'll also be uploading Neon Fire, either later today or tomorrow: keep your eyes peeled!

I have not had time to do a full playtest, but it seems to be working. Please let me know if you encounter any problems!

[jamesshawgames]

Dashingdon removal imminent!

Hello all, long time no see!

I just got told that Dashingdon is being taken down. That obviously has big implications for Relics 3. (And also for my incomplete Shadowrun game, in case anyone still plays that).

Apparently, there's a new alternative hosting site out there. I'm going to try to get Relics 3 and Neon Fire uploaded onto that site in the next few days. This is likely to destroy any saves which you may have on Dashingdon, but it should at least ensure that the games stay available. I will keep you all posted on this as soon as I have managed to get it all set up! Thanks, and don't panic, I'll do everything I can to ensure that Relics 3 doesn't disappear forever!

[jamesshawgames]

Just reblogging in case anyone missed it!

[jamesshawgames]

Dashingdon removal imminent!

Hello all, long time no see!

I just got told that Dashingdon is being taken down. That obviously has big implications for Relics 3. (And also for my incomplete Shadowrun game, in case anyone still plays that).

Apparently, there's a new alternative hosting site out there. I'm going to try to get Relics 3 and Neon Fire uploaded onto that site in the next few days. This is likely to destroy any saves which you may have on Dashingdon, but it should at least ensure that the games stay available. I will keep you all posted on this as soon as I have managed to get it all set up! Thanks, and don't panic, I'll do everything I can to ensure that Relics 3 doesn't disappear forever!