The demo for Amygdala is now live and ready for review! I AM planning to update this demo/make updates available for the public, but the prologue section is now complete and ready to play. Next full update will likely be chapter 1.
It sits at about 35,000 words without code, has a completed character creator, and introduces 5/6 love interests.
The forum link is here: https://forum.choiceofgames.com/t/amygdala-encode-new-demo-wip-updated-7-15-2020/64887
The dashingdon link is here: https://dashingdon.com/play/squidink/amygdala-encode/mygame/
Enjoy, and if you’re so inclined, please tell me what you thought, either on the forums, here, or in the discord!! Reblogs also super appreciated <3
Hello all! The new updated demo is now available for play here: https://dashingdon.com/play/squidink/amygdala-encode/mygame/
It’s not yet completely where the old one was, but most of it is there, and there are now save options so you may play through the revamp and save your progress. It currently is sitting at about 25,000 words, not including commands.
There are also certain paths that are incomplete. These are marked as “incomplete” or “partial” and will be updated once I have the time/lose momentum on actual story progress. There are also now additional options for trans characters in game, but the statistics pages have not yet been updated to include this information (the stats page will undergo a revamp in a future update).
It’s not yet in the forums--I’d like to polish it a bit more prior to doing so, so if you have any comments or suggestions feel free to send me a message here!
“Touch me.” When the words leave my lips they’re equal parts command and prayer, answered and obeyed in an instant. His hands are uncallused, the fingers bone thin, and he traces patterns on my skin with something akin to worship.
I cup his face, surprised by how smooth it is. He must have just shaved. As he leans into my touch, his eyes slide closed to hide the brilliant blue behind dark lashes. My hand moves from his cheek to his chin and I selfishly brush my finger against his lips.
The sigh that follows is warm against my skin.
“Must have taken a while, that. The ink. Was it worth it?”
The laugh that leaves my throat is too breathy. “You tell me. You’re the one who paid for it.”
His touch stills for a moment before continuing, firmer this time. “Cheeky.”
“You like that about me.”
“Not the only thing I like.” His eyes are assessing. Challenging.
“Want to see the rest?” The implication is not lost on either of us, and I feel more than see the rush of blood to his face.
He swallows against my hand, palms grasping the sleeves of my shirt. Both of us are breathing harder than we should be. When had my hand moved to grip his hips? When had I pulled him in, leaving us with only fractions of inches between us?
When had his eyes left mine, now fixed on my lips?
I rub my thumb along his mouth again before moving my hand to grasp the nape of his neck, tangling my fingers in his hair. He waits for me to move. For me to move him. For something, anything. I imagine he could wait forever, watching me.
I don’t have his self-control, I guess.
I tug, pulling him down, pulling him to me, and he bends easily. He bends and I lift myself up onto my toes and my lips press against his.
His lips are soft, as is his breath against my cheek—all sharp exhales and intakes. His hands move to cradle my face, far more gently than I would have thought. I can sense the desperation from the tremble of his touch as he holds me.
As I pull away, his lips try to follow mine. I kiss him again, tugging his bottom lip with my teeth. Not enough to hurt, but he groans low in his throat anyway.
“${name}…” He gasps my name more than he says it.
“I should have done that sooner,” I say.
“If you had waited any longer, I would have kissed you myself.” That’s probably true.
“You still can.” I lean into him as I say it.
He throws his head back, a laugh rumbling in his chest. The way he runs a hand through his hair makes my heart skip a beat, but the way he presses our foreheads together after nearly stops it altogether. “God, you drive me crazy, ${name}.”
Putting this under a readmore in case people want to entirely avoid spoilers. As always, this is not the final version and has pre-selected branching options, but here is a draft of the official Cain meeting scene. Enjoy!
A grunt from the hall startles me out of my thoughts. I walk over to the door and open it, stepping out into the off-white light. There's a neighbor in front of me, struggling with… something. Something big.
I watch for a moment—he hasn't noticed me yet—but am spurred into action when I see him fumble and drop his keys.
"Here, let me hold that for you," I say, reaching out to carry the bags. My fingers close around the bag, pulling and lifting. It's heavy, but not unbearable. I can understand why he struggled with it though.
"Hey, wha—" He startles. "Where the hell did you come from," he asks, clearly taken aback.
"Sorry," I say. "Just figured you could use the help."
"Shit." He bends to pick up the keys, much stiffer than someone his age should be. Maybe mid-thirties? Older? It's hard to tell—his hair is light enough that it won't ever turn gray. "You scared me." He looks at me, assessing, and I get the sense he's considering resisting the help. It passes though.
"Don't drop that, it's delicate."
"Yes, sir."
The door swings open and I carry the bag inside, following him in.
"Put it over there, on the counter. Please." The last word is tacked on awkwardly. He seems unsure of what to do with himself when I'm finished laying the bag down, and the air hangs heavy in the apartment. Sour.
I'll try to lift the awkwardness. He's clearly not going to say anything. "So, uh, have you lived here lo-"
"You want something to drink?" He's already heading to the fridge.
"Uh." I'm trying to resist checking my watch, but even so I'm hyper aware that it's barely ten in the morning.
"Not booze. I meant water. Juice." I hear the sound of glass clinking as he digs around. "Pop."
"Sure. Why not."
"…Well?"
"Well what."
"What do you want."
Oh. Right. "Just water is fine, really. Thanks."
He pulls a jug of water out and pulls out two glasses, setting them gently on the counter. It's quiet between the two of us again, him pouring water and me… watching him pour water.
I'd better salvage this while I still can.
"So-"
"I don't drink booze. Not anymore."
My jaw snaps shut with a clack as he pushes one of the glasses to me. He takes a long drink from the other and I'm unsure whether I'm meant to be asking him to continue or to let the topic hang heavily between the two of us.
My eyes move from his face to the glass in his hand, flicking back and forth. Searching. Settling. There's a dark tattoo on his arm, twisting from his bicep to his wrist. It probably goes further, but the fabric of his shirt is obscuring the rest of his arm. Asking about that would probably be safer than his habitual alcohol consumption—or lack of—but… God, he's hard for me to read.
It'll be easier to just stay quiet, to follow his lead. I look around more, taking in the room. His apartment is more decorated than, but that isn't saying much. The furniture he does have is second hand outdated--shades of beige and off-green.
"So you live down the hall." Not a question.
"Yeah. Moved in a few weeks ago."
His glass makes a harsh clink against the counter top when he sets it down. "Didn't hear anybody moving in. You must have been pretty quiet."
I can picture the scratched hardwood floor of my apartment. No couch, no rug. Empty bookcase. "I didn't have much stuff."
"Well, if you're ever looking for cheap shit that'll fill a space, there's a store downtown. I can give you the address."
"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind."
I down the rest of the glass and move to put it in the sink. I can feel his eyes following me as I cross the kitchen, watching. "Uh," I say, "I was actually heading out, but it was nice to actually meet a neighbor. Things are always quiet around here."
He hums. "Folk pretty much keep to themselves here."
I walk to the door and he follows me, the creak of his steps against the floor a beat uneven. As my hand closes around the doorknob, he clears is throat.
"Never introduced yourself." His hand is outstretched, open. Waiting.
I place my hand in his firmly, giving it a shake before releasing it. It's still damp and wet from the glass. "${name}. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Cain."
"I guess I'll see you around?" We are neighbors, after all.
I don't really expect a response, so I'm surprised when he nods. "Yeah. See you." The door closes behind me and as I cross the hall I can hear the latch slide into place.
Hello! After many (many) delays I’ve finally posted the update to the demo! I’m still waiting on COG forum to approve the post so there’s no where to comment for now, but the askbox is open for any fatal errors or typos/any comments you MUST leave. edit wow the mods at the COG forum aren’t playing around here’s the forum link lads
There are still a few updates that need to be finished (one branch scene and the final scene i have planned for the demo; the last character (RO) introduction) but as of now there are
-40k words of code and text
-RO scenes for every available character
-stat-building choices
-save/load options (hurray!)
so there’s plenty to play around with! I suspect I will be updating these last few scenes over the next few weeks but dont want to rush it, so i’m yeeting this demo out a bit early
figure since i have the url i might as well use the blog.
How do we feel about me posting (potentially spoilery) scenes from the story? The caveat is they’re all naturally subject to change/not final and I probably wont be able to post anything super long, but it could be fun to have short snippets, no?
If most people would rather not be spoiled I’ll keep my snippets to myself, but otherwise I think I might start posting short bits of things I’m working on.
Small update for y’all since I took a bit of a break this summer! There are only a few more scenes that I need to finish before the demo will be ready to be published! Currently the demo is about 25k words, so it’s looking like the full demo will be about 30k to 35k words.
I’m hoping to finish it and publish it within the next 2 weeks or so, so I’ll hold off on updating the link. As soon as I’m live I’ll be posting another update!
