You’ve tried it all—apps, setups, chance encounters—but nothing’s stuck. So what’s one more bad idea? In a moment of desperation (or brilliance), you say yes to reality TV.
Welcome to Warm Me Up, Snap Studio’s very first dating experiment.
You were expecting sunshine and swimsuits. Instead? You’re stranded in a luxury chalet with eleven strangers and one rule: pair up or freeze out. Fail to make a connection, and you’re headed straight to the Cold Zone.
Warm Me Up is an interactive fiction rated 18+ for explicit language, explicit sexual themes, alcohol use, and moral ambiguity.
Customize your MC. From appearance, personality, to motivations. Your character is yours to make.
Rich relationship dynamics. With eleven other contestants and the cameras always rolling, things are bound to get messy. It's up to you whether you want to keep it platonic, find your person, or hook up in the pantry. Nobody's judging...except the audience.
Multiple endings. Your time in the mountains can leave quite an impression. How will your story end?
Polished, poised, and unapologetically high-maintenance, Anjali doesn’t suffer fools or wrinkles. Her sharp tongue and cold exterior might scare some off, but if you make her crack, she just might surprise you. [FULL BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Outwardly, Dmitry comes off as too perfect. But he’s more than just good manners and a strong jawline. Quietly protective and endlessly thoughtful, he’ll always strive to put you first. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Jong-woo Kim | He/Him, 23, Fitness Influencer
Bubbly, bright, and built like a Greek statue, Jong-woo brings the sunshine wherever he goes. He’s a little awkward, endlessly enthusiastic, and surprisingly wise for someone who still calls his mom every day. Whether he’s working out or working the room, you can’t help but smile when he’s around. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Kailee Blake | She/Her, 26, Interior Designer
Kailee's all smiles and sweet touches, but it's clear she knows how to play the game. While her affection might feel genuine at times, her true motives stay tucked behind that charming facade. If you’re not careful, you’ll think she’s on your side right up until she twists the knife with a smile. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Kalea Mahelona | She/Her, 22, Student
Kalea is candy personified: sweet, soft, and easy to break if you’re not careful. She’s clumsy, shy, and easily flustered, but once she warms up to you, she’s all in. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Linden Craft | They/Them, 31, Café Owner
Grounded and honest, Linden is the breath of fresh air you didn’t know you needed. A little quiet and unreadable, they offer comfort by simply being. With their steady presence and emotional maturity, they make it easy to be exactly who you are. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Luca/Lucia Gigliotti | He/Him OR She/Her, 28, Luxury Art Curator
Cunning, cultured, seductive: Lu thrives on tension and desire. With them, love—if it exists at all—is a just game. Whether you join in is your choice. Either way, you’re in for one hell of a ride. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD - Lucia / Luca]
Makai Jones | He/Him, 27, High School History Teacher
Aloof, unreadable, and hard to impress, Makai keeps his guard sky-high. He’s cautious and most people don’t get past the walls he’s built. But if you do manage to earn his trust, you’ll find someone loyal, grounded, and quietly ride-or-die in a way that never asks for recognition. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Marcel Toussaint | They/He, 29, Mixologist
Flamboyant, passionate, and just a touch unhinged, Marcel refuses to be ignored. They flirt for sport and love watching people fall for them, whether or not they plan to catch them. But sometimes, even a wildcard wants something real…it just might take a while. A very long while. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Misty Delgado | She/Her, 26, Park Ranger
Misty is the epitome of cool and always in control. She takes life one day at a time and is definitely not one to rise to the drama. Sometimes, she’s so laid-back it makes you wonder if she’s here to make a real connection…or just enjoy the view. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD]
Santiago/Santina Reyes | He/Him OR She/Her, 28, Tattoo Artist/Small Business Owner
Smooth, unflappable, and devastatingly charismatic, Santi is hard to resist. They’ve got a magnetic presence and always seem to know the perfect moment to tease, to comfort, or to challenge you. And their heart? It’s big. So big, you start to wonder if there might be room in there for you, too. [BIO] | [PINTEREST BOARD - Santina / Santiago]
Not sure who to romance? Try this compatibility quiz!
Summer's heeere!! It's hot as balls! But I'm doing great, hope you all are too! This month was super fun!
We learned who the top WMU RO is (Dmitry cleared by 27. 4%, but I think it was inevitable 😅) You can check out the rankings here!
I also finished the SFW/NSFW ABCs of WMU – if you want to learn more about each RO, you can find all of them linked here.
I made a compatibility quiz for the romantically indecisive!! I'm very surprised to see how many people got Lu 👀 Interesting…veeeeeeeery interesting. You can take the quiz here if you want 😊
AAAND we reached 10K browser plays 🎉
Thank you so much for the support and for joining in the madness with me. Interacting with you all is one of my favorite parts of this whole experience 💗
Alrighty, update time!
HIGHS: One of my favorite things in chapter 2 so far is the beginning of the platonic routes. Of course, a large part of this story is experiencing the romantic side of the ROs, but I want getting to know them platonically to feel just as fulfilling.
You'll become fast friends with some, while others take a little longer to cook. Either way, it'll be nice to have someone on your side when things inevitably get dramatic.
Another thing I finally figured out is how I'm going to track all your sins choices!
WMU is a big game with a lot of ROs, so obviously intimacy is going to play a huge role in that. Is it your first kiss? Your first time having sex? Who was it with? Was that person your partner?! Does anyone else know about it???
And not just physical intimacy either. Emotional cheating is a thing too...you know, in case you forgot...
If you think you're getting away with it...
...Or maybe you've got a bestie who knows when to keep their mouth shut.
LOWS: Maybe this isn't a super low, though it might be for all of you 👀
I often get asked when Santi, Linden, Lu, and Jong-woo are going to show up. I usually avoid answering because I want it to be a surprise 😅
Originally, I was going to have two of them show up in chapter 2, then the other two in chapter 3. But I also imagine people don't want to wait that long to meet their beloveds...so now I'm trying to decide if I should keep my original plan, but extend the next update up to the point where everyone is finally together in chapter 3.
Just so you can have a little taste lol
That would obviously mean the update would take way longer to publish, so I can't make up my mind!!!
At any rate, I'm going to keep plugging away at chapter 2!! Fingers crossed I can reach my deadline 🤞😬
BYYYYYYEEEEE~
Current Word Count: 205K (approx. +83.5K for ch. 2)
Happy end of May! I can’t believe spring is nearly over 🫨 Time flies when you’re making an IF. I’d love to release Chapter 2 this summer. Truly, it’s all I want in life right now 😭 The good news is that summer tends to be a little quieter at work, which means I can sometimes get away with writing when no one’s looking 👀
Speaking of writing, I’ve been doing a lot of it lately!
Let me tell you about it!
HIGHS: I really started digging into the Lodge route this month, which has been a blast! It’s actually kind of funny how different the Cold Zone and Lodge routes feel. When I was writing the CZ route, everything felt slower, more contained, and more introspective. Which, I suppose, is the whole point. You’re literally isolated with nothing but your thoughts lol
The Lodge route is much livelier. No one’s miserable yet, everyone has an actual bed to sleep in, and there are more people around to stir the pot. Though honestly, a lot of that might come down to introducing Misty and Marcel. They’re fun! The first four ROs you meet all exist somewhere in the same general plane of reserved and/or shy, with Kailee as the main exception. Then you add these two little firecrackers, and suddenly it’s a whole new ball game.
I love how the group dynamics change depending on who’s around. It gives you a chance to see different sides of the ROs, and it makes me really excited for future chapters when everyone is present and accounted for.
LOWS: Adding to the group is fun, for sure, but...THERE ARE SO MANY BRANCHES HOLY SHIT! Lol I'm not kidding! In the Lodge route, there are four main branches, and within three of those, there are nine variations. On top of that, there are also smaller scenario-specific details that only apply in certain situations, and all of those need to be accounted for too.
I keep trying to think of ways to stop it from exploding into all these wild variations, but cutting too much would also dull the story. You wouldn’t get to experience those shifting group dynamics, and that’s kind of the fun of this chapter. It’s definitely a lot to handle, but honestly? It might just be this chapter because of the whole advantage situation. We’ll see if it gets this chaotic again with what I have planned in the future. (It probably will! I don’t think I’ll be able to resist 😭)
Something else I’ve been struggling with this month is MC personality. I don’t want to overwhelm people with a million choices every time there’s a personality bump. But I also don’t want to force myself to come up with options for every single stat if they don’t naturally fit the context of the scene.
Sometimes choices give multiple bumps across multiple stats. Sometimes they only bump one. But I do worry that I’m leaning on certain stats too often and neglecting others. I dunno--I imagine most of you would prefer more variety in the choice sets, so it’s definitely something I’m thinking about as I keep writing.
And that's about it for this month. It was pretty productive, and I'm hoping June will be even more so. Until next time lovelies!
BYYYYYYEEEEE~
Current Word Count: 190K (approx. +66K words for ch.2)
Wait! Before you leave, I have a question!
When you're reading a choice set, which do you prefer?
Action + dialogue (e.g. You frown. "That's not what I meant.")
Hello, hello! Welcome to the April 2026 WMU progress update! Much like March, this month practically didn’t exist. It’s all a bit of a blur lol I don’t have much to say this time around, so I’ll focus on what you came here for: the update!!
HIGHS: Guess who finished the Cold Zone route? It was me. I did.
Well, mostly. There are still spots I need to edit and a few things I’m considering adding in, but it’s essentially wrapped!
I think my favorite thing about this chapter so far is that this is the first real opportunity for MC’s conflict type to shine depending on your choices! Not to mention the amount of layers. There’s the whole Makai mess, the revamped advantages, and now Marcel and Misty are disrupting the balance 🫣
I was playtesting Makai’s route earlier today and there are quite a few ways that can go 👀 Getting through this route was rough at first, and then it all started coming together, and now I love it. I hope you all will too!!
Now I can properly move onto the lodge routes. I’ll probably start with Dmitry first. I already drafted your first night sharing a bed and it’s…ya know?
And! In addition to having Misty and Marcel in the mix, you'll meet two more characters this chapter as well, one of whom has one of my favorite routes 🙂↕️ Can you guess who??? 👀
I also added more visual signals to the choices. Originally, I was planning to keep MC’s malice/helpful/messy choices hidden and have the consequences emerge later. But then I thought it might be jarring if you haven’t been paying attention and your MC suddenly says they don’t care about someone or refuses to apologize for a very intentional choice.
SO while you won’t be able to see the totals, you’ll be able to see which choices will earn you those points 😊
LOWS: Writing the Cold Zone route was a slog. I’m not even going to pretend it wasn’t.
I think a lot of it came down to stress in my real life and not feeling motivated or inspired to write the way I usually do by the time I get home. But also, this chapter, as I mentioned, has a lot of opportunities for conflict. The struggle this time was trying to address that when, like, half the cast is extremely conflict avoidant lol
It was a good opportunity to define the characters’ voices without having them fly off the handle, but man, it wasn’t easy getting there 😭
I think my biggest problem for this chapter has been deciding when to let MC’s locked-in choices come through versus letting YOU make choices in the moment. So far, I’ve been leaning into those application choices. And when I read it back, I’m pretty satisfied!
Still, the perfectionist in me thinks there’s more I can do, and that’s where things get tough. Because then I’ll hyper-fixate on a passage instead of making the progress I want to make.
I also think I'll need beta testers soon…
Anyways...
Last month I asked your opinions about chapter releases, and it seems like most of you prefer getting the full chapter when it’s ready.
Okay, heard. I’m aiming to release it this summer. What? No? Who said that? 👀
BYYYYYYEEEEE~
Current Total Word Count: 125K (approx. +45K words for ch.2)
This past month has been a time for celebration 🥳 Yall really showed up for the demo and I'm still sitting here like??? Thank you so much for all the love!! It genuinely means more than I can put into words. Knowing you had fun and that you want MORE? It’s motivating in the best way 💗
Alright, TO THE UPDATE.
HIGHS: Okay, so remember when I said I wasn’t going to do any major edits because I wanted to focus on finishing the story…? I technically lieddddddd
Taking some constructive feedback + a few things that were personally bugging me, I went back into ch. 1 and made some updates. I just kept re-reading it thinking, “what’s missing?” and eventually accepted that I needed to do this.
SO! First, I addressed the situation where MC is friends with certain ROs and promised to pick who their friend wanted. Based on feedback and after re-reading it again, it felt weird not to acknowledge it. So now, MC can mention it, and the friend should react accordingly.
Second, there are obviously MCs who haven’t built romantic connections, which makes the Cold Zone pretty much inevitable. I actually already have mechanics that can support that route...it's even briefly mentioned right before the ceremony if your MC hits that threshold! I just kind of forgot it existed in my excitement to publish the demo 😅 Anyways, there will be some extra text in place post-ceremony to make that path feel more intentional.
And lastly, because I am who I am…I CRAVED MORE DRAMAAAA
So I reworked the advantages; the upgraded versions are much spicier imo 😈 But you’ll have to wait to see exactly what I mean though~
I have a few other small tweaks I want to make in ch. 1, so these updates won't go live just yet; my top priority is still ch. 2!
LOWS: Expectation is both my biggest motivator and my worst enemy.
I’ve got my own standards for the quality of my work, and then there are the expectations I think everyone else has. You all have been so kind and excited and enthusiastic; I want to give you the same level of fun you had playing ch. 1. and I’d hate to let you all down, let alone myself 😭
There have been moments where I write thousands of words, reread it, and immediately think, “Ah this is shit, I hate this. They, too, will hate this” And then I scrap it, then rewrite it. And then I still wonder if it’s good enough!
For example, some characters’ scenes come so easily, and then there are ones I sit with for days and days and days…right now, that character is Makai lol HE’S PMO LIKE HE’S PISSED YOU OFF AND I’M TIREEEEDDD 😩 I’ve been on his first solo scene for a WEEK AND A HALF! I've lost count how many things I've cut and rewritten for him!
I want to build his arc carefully, and that means I can’t reveal everything too soon. At this point in the story, everyone’s only known each other for a day. So what level of emotional intimacy makes sense? How deep is too deep? Is it believable for him to say this? Does that line push things too far too fast? If he holds back, will it feel unsatisfying? How do I create something that feels meaningful without rushing him? How do I leave players curious, and even better, wanting to stick around with him? That’s the puzzle I’m currently sitting with.
*sigh* I just need to lock tf in
With that…MAKAI GET YOUR BITCH ASS OVER HERE! We are finishing this SCENE 😤
Catch you guys in the next update!
BYYYYYYEEEEE~
Current Total Word Count: 109.9K (approx. +18K words for ch.2)
Where tf did the month go? Hello? March is supposed to be the longest month ever. Does time not exist anymore???
This month was sooooooooooo busy! Work has been kicking my ass (for context, I lead a team of two...and now I'm flying solo until August…so…double the workload. Yaaay...) It’s also conference season this time of year for my line of work which means stresssssssss until the end of May 🙃 Still, writing every day is non-negotiable for me, even if it's just a little. If I don't, the day feels wasted. Don’t worry, though! I’m taking care of myself and making sure not to push myself too hard 🫡
Anyways, let’s catch you up!
HIGHS: I’ve been thinking about relationship statuses for a while now. For transparency, there are 8 of them: lover, anchor, platonic, wary, warming, rival, stranger, and dismissed. As I’ve been writing this chapter, there are certain…things that can happen where if you were platonic it might be kind of jarring in context. So I introduced something that lets me officially account for previous statuses. I'd been tracking them locally before, but this makes it so much easier to call whenever I want! It also opens the door for more flavor. If things were purely friendly and suddenly there's flirting, now the ROs and MC can actually acknowledge that shift. I already tried it in one scene, and it's just the subtlest little phrasing but I love it and it makes me smile~
Aside from all that, I've got a lot of scenes drafted and have a full road map for chapter 2! I just need to finish writing it all...which brings me to...
LOWS: I won’t lie; I haven’t gotten as far as I would’ve liked to in this chapter 🥲 I was hoping to have the Cold Zone route completely done by now, but I still have quite a bit to write. I haven't even officially touched the other routes yet 😭 Some days I write a ton; some days it’s only a couple hundred of words. Life has been life-ing. I did find something that allows me to block certain apps and websites so I can just write without distractions for a few hours. I'm trying to use it more often, but I think my mind's too noisy lately so it's admittedly been hard to focus.
The other thing I've been wrestling with is deciding which variables should exist and which shouldn't. I worry about bloating (and my own sanity 🫠) I want the game to be as customizable as possible, but I don't want to add variables just for the sake of having them. If I include a custom choice, it needs to mean something and get referenced enough to justify its existence (I'm looking at you multi-lingual choice set 👀)
So that's all for this month! I'm gonna keep trucking along, but I do have a release date in mind~ wish me luck 💗
BYYYYYYEEEEE~
Current Total Word Count: 115.35K (approx. +25K words for ch.2)
Actually wait! I have a question for you lovely people! When I read IFs, I find that I like when the full chapter is out (unless I'm absolutely hooked and can't wait 🤭) Still, I'm curious what you all think.
No promises on a schedule or anything! This is purely for research 😗
When it comes to chapter releases, which do you prefer?
I'm peckish. Release the chapter in multiple parts!
I want it fully cooked. Release the full chapter when it's done!
My hunger cannot be sated. Release multiple chapters at once!
I wanted to properly introduce myself and share some WMU progress with you before demo day!
So, you can call me Echo. It’s been my name ever since I started writing my first LITG fan fiction. I’m an adult person with a full-time job in communications, I love video games, traveling, and I’ve been working on WMU for almost ten months now. This is a passion project built from love and a desire to make something messy and fun. I’m so hyped (and a little nervous) to be sharing it with you all. There are already so many of you here before release, and I can’t say enough how grateful I am for your interest and support. Thank you!!
Now onto the update!
Highs first: When I started WMU, I had zero twine/sugarcube experience and only basic CSS/JS knowledge. There was a lot of fumbling and swearing and tears…I’m definitely still learning, but I finally feel like I’ve got a decent grasp on things. A huge portion of early development was just getting comfortable with the code, and writing, of course. That said, WMU is in a pretty good place! I’m so close to wrapping up the first chapter for the demo.
Today, I finished the first group game which felt like the first real test. At first, I thought I’d just track the points, easy-peasy. Then I remembered that I’m trying to avoid making new passages for every single choice, which meant I needed to adjust the code to account for the wrong answers, the right answer, and the default response if you get the question wrong so I can put them all in one place. I also had Kalea DOMINATE the game, with her swooping in to get the right answer whenever you fail, and realized the win threshold against her would’ve been way too high. The whole thing had me spiraling into coding HELL! But it’s done now, and I learned a lot for the next series of group games.
For writing, all that’s left for this first update are the results of the game, individual RO time, and the first Warm-Up Ceremony (pairing with your chosen RO)! Of course, I still have to edit, code, and playtest, but knowing that this is all that’s left until demo day is weirdly comforting.
Now for the lows: How many variables are too many variables? Does the limit exist? There are a lot of variables in this game (and counting!) I even built two separate trackers to make sure I don’t lose anything, and I still get overwhelmed sometimes. There are the big story-beat variables, and then there are tiny ones I sprinkle in just to make the experience feel personal. But balancing all that with MC personality options is tricky.
For example: Anjali is one of the ROs with an optional contentious/flirty dynamic determined by friend/flirt points. Right now, it reads bold so I’d either need to account for shy MCs or generalize it so it works across the board. Part of me wants to stick with the point system; another part thinks I should introduce a new variable specifically for those dynamics. I don’t know…it makes my head hurt sometimes lol
Anywayyyy, that’s about all I’ve got. Thank you again for all the follows and love 💗 If you're curious about anything, feel free to ask; I'm happy to answer!
Hi all! Happy New Year!! December feels like it flew by and so many things happened. I’ve had a lot of friends and family visiting over the past couple of weeks which definitely slowed my work progress on WMU, so I had to make up for it with a couple of all-nighters to catch up. My introverted sensibilities simply cannot handle my new hosting responsibilities! But now, my apartment is blissfully silent, and I’m determined to reach my publishing deadline. Alright, let’s get into the update, shall we?
Highs: You’ll be pleased to know that the demo is essentially done! I've still got some editing and playtesting to do, though to make sure I didn't miss anything. I wanted to avoid putting an official release date in case I couldn’t honor it, but of course I have my own deadline in mind that I’ve been working toward. It happens to be the exact date that Warm Me Up starts filming. I’m still not telling you when that is though lol patience my friends! Just know that it is muuuuuch sooner than you think 😉 I shared a test file with one of my friends who's an interactive fiction newbie and always gives it to me straight, and she really liked it! She gave me some great feedback too, so I was able to edit a couple of things based on that.
This past month, I was finally able to fix the mobile version! When I tell you it was driving me INSANE! The back button wasn’t showing up, then it was peeking out from behind the passage, unclickable and taunting me 😒 then the setting buttons were overlapping and too small. It was a headache, but if I did everything correctly, you should be able to comfortably play on mobile (I hope) I also introduced a TON of new widgets that’ll help me update things easily as the story grows. They do increase the outcomes/branching by a lot, but ultimately, it'll give you more personalized story beats based on your stats and choices!
And the lows: You know, I mentioned last time that this is a variable-heavy game and that I have two trackers to stay organized. I think what’s most concerning is my own human error? My process is this: simultaneously write and code, and then, after I’ve finished a chapter, log all the variables, choices, and stat changes in my trackers and use the totals to determine/review stat thresholds. But I make mistakes! So when I’m trying to account for conditional statements and their thresholds, I find that at that point in the story, you might not see the flavor text because you haven’t hit those stat thresholds. Then I realize, oh wait, maybe you actually did, I just accidentally typed in a 1 instead of 2 or something in my tracker. Then I gotta go back and review it to make sure I’ve got it right. I either need to take my time and pay better attention or stop working into the wee hours of the morning…or both. Both is good lol
And that’s it! As always, if you’ve got questions, I’m happy to answer 💗
