#game developer

[mutatedleemon]

Hello, everyone! For the past few months I've been working on my own visual novel! I poured my heart and soul in it and the demo is out NOW!

You can download it from itch.io and GameJolt

I will be very thankful for any download, donation, share and comment!

[interact-if]

Our second edition of the Black History Month Author Spotlight series features beloved author, C.C. Hill (@when-life-gives-you-lemons-if)!

(CC is an absolute institution. What better way to celebrate Valentine’s than by doing a feature of the slice-of-life romance queen herself? CC is one the most inspiring, supportive IF writers out there, and it was a great honor to pick her brain! Read on for pandemic-setting feel good stories and Creole-based spells!)

Author: C.C. Hill

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Games: When Life Gives You Lemons (Slice-of-Life)

Synopsis: You play as an MC starting a new life in a small town called Lemon. It’s a story about self-discovery, love, and parenthood—a comfort story where the love interests want to sweep you off your feet.

Games: The Midnight Saga (Horror)

Synopsis: After finding yourself trapped in another dimension, you and your friends must fight for survival and defeat the monsters that lurk in the shadows. Make sure to grab a weapon as your quiet Halloween night turns into an out-of-this-world adventure!

Quote from the interview:

What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

Read on for the full interview!

Tell me more about yourself! What are some things new readers or long-time readers might not know about you?

I'm from Haiti, born and raised. I love red wine, ice cream, and I'm obsessed with true crime podcasts.

Can you tell me a bit about what you’re working on right now and your journey into interactive fiction? What inspired the game/story you’re currently writing?

I'm working on so many things it should be illegal for my brain to operate this way. But mainly, When Life Gives You Lemons. My plan is to focus on the final part in March, do some beta testing, and submit it to Hosted Games in April for my birthday month.

I'm also under contract with Heart’s Choice, writing Spices of the Heart, with hopes of completing it this year. On top of that, I’m working on publishing my first visual novel, The Wedding. It’s close to completion, and I have the third quarter of 2025 planned for publication.

I only started writing interactive fiction in 2020. When the pandemic hit, I needed something to keep my brain occupied, and five years later, I’ve published three games and still have a ton of projects in progress.What mostly inspired Lemon in particular was the need for a feel-good story—a story where the character just needs a break. No magic, no monsters, just going through life and having the romance options fall in love with them no matter what. It was just the need for comfort, for feel-good moments, for romance, and a little bit of drama.

How has your identity, heritage/background, upbringing, or personal experiences influenced your storytelling or writing process? OR How does your work feature aspects of your identity / experience?

My first game, The Midnight Saga, was heavily inspired by my background and where I'm from. The story itself is based on an old Haitian folklore about not staying outside after midnight—if you do, the Keeper of Midnight will eat you. I took that idea and built the characters around it.

I even managed to include some spells written in Haitian Creole. It was a lot of fun to write, and even though Book 2 is currently on hiatus, this story has a special place in my heart because it was my first game. The characters are a representation of my people and the struggles they’ve gone through. I’m really happy that it was my debut story.

What are some of the most rewarding or challenging aspects of writing Interactive Fiction for you?

For me, it’s branching and being able to write an MC and other characters in a way that readers can truly connect with. Lately, I’ve been writing a lot of feel-good romance and slice-of-life stories, and I’m starting to feel like this is my comfort zone—and I want to stay here forever.

I never want to create a romance option that is inherently bad or purposely deceitful. My biggest challenge is writing characters who are flawed and complex—where readers can love them or hate them—but making sure they aren’t just villains for the sake of it. They’re simply existing in the world they were created in.

What does your writing process look like? Any rituals or habits? Any tips, tricks, philosophies or approaches that have worked very well for you?

My writing process is a mess. My brain gets pulled in so many directions. When I get an idea, I have to code it, shape it, and give it life—otherwise, it’s going to bug me forever. That’s why I end up with so many WIPs. I need to see them through, at least to a short demo, to see if they make sense.

My desk is also full of notes, and I basically write on anything—pieces of napkins, tissue boxes, whatever is nearby. One weird habit I have is that some of the best changes I’ve made to my games, those "spark" moments, happen when I’m in the shower. It’s weird and strange, but it works.

What’re you excited to tackle/implement/work on next? Or anything you’re looking forward to in the year ahead?

Keep writing romance and feel-good slice-of-life stories. Get When Life Gives You Lemons published this year. Focus on doing this full-time. Publish my visual novel.

Overall, just stay busy and be productive.

If you were to say one thing to your readers, other authors, and/or the interactive fiction community: what would it be?

To the readers—us authors don’t have all the answers. Sometimes, we start writing a story and end up forgetting certain plots or characters, which is easy to do when writing interactive fiction. So yes, we often write ourselves into a corner and just put a period there so the story can progress.

To the authors—write stories you love, something you would want to read. It makes it easier to keep going because if it’s a story you love, you’ll want to see how it ends, and that will push you to persevere.

This-or-that segment: (red = CC's pick)

Coffee or tea?

Early mornings or late nights?

Angsty or Cozy romances?  

Steady progress or frenzied binge-writing followed by periods of calm?

Introvert or extrovert?

Plotter or pantser?

[bubbydarkstar]

SHOOTY SHOOTY ROBOT INVASION passed 9,000 sales today AND it's still on sale rn‼️‼️‼️

check it out if you wanna!!!

[yourdailyqueer]

Alanah Pearce

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Pansexual / Demisexual

DOB: 24 August 1993

Ethnicity: White - Australian

Occupation: Writer, video game writer, game developer, journalist, podcaster

Note: Has CFS, tendinitis and is autistic

[watersgym]

The Sims 2 magazine covers

[wizardpotions]

I’m up to something

More updates will be coming :)

[matiasman1]

Help me fix my PC so I can keep making art & tools 💻💔

Hey everyone — I’m Matias, a programmer and pixel artist from Argentina. The situation on my country is dire, and I am currently unemployed. I cannot graduate from college without profesionalizing training, I. E. managing a project in an internship or job

Lately my laptop has been falling apart: the screen turns off at random angles, the charger barely works, and even the suspend function drains the battery fast. It’s getting really hard to keep working on my pixel art and coding projects (like my voxel renderer tool, AseVoxel), and I will hardly get any quick or easy job for college internship without a working pc.

I need to fix my current pc, as it has everything I use, and couldn't afford a new one even with donations

I’m raising a small goal to repair my setup — $45 in total to replace the busted charger, battery connection, suspend state, fix the screen flex, and get my workstation stable again.

💡 You can support me directly through PayPal

(2.00 donation)

Fix my pc ($2.00)

You can also help me out by buying some of my products on itch.io (asevoxel currently on sale, just 1.47)

AseVoxel - Aseprite Voxel 3D model and preview by PixelMatt

Aseprite Extension for Voxelgraphics and 3D

Even a few dollars help a lot (USD 5 goes a long way here). Everything will go toward getting my computer back in shape so I can keep creating new art, tools and programs.

Some of my art. First and last made with my tool, AseVoxel

(I would set up a ko-fi but the conversion rates and transfer rates to ARS or using stablecoins are too high)

🫶 How you can help:

Donate if you can — minimum $2 on PayPal, or purchase and recommend AseVoxel if you are a pixelartist.

Reblog or share with anyone who loves indie devs or pixel art.

Signal boost this post so more people see it!

Thanks so much for reading, for sharing, and for helping me keep creating. You’re awesome.

-matiasman1

$0.0/$45.0