#gildedcageif

[gildedcageif]

Demo Release!

The prologue is out everyone! You can check it out on itchio. Just click on the link below!

Gilded Cage by cookie_bun

A gilded cage is still a cage...

Thank you for all the support and I hope the prologue, though a small part of the wider story, was worth the wait!

[gildedcageif]

Is there... an option to be perfectly content as a servant of the harem, without any further ambitions? It seems like the majority of the routes you've described have the MC aiming higher than their current position. Is this the "life of peace" route? It almost feels like the game could just come to a very early end for an MC with no ambitions, though, and that's not really the route I'm looking for.

Hey, thank you for the ask!

An MC with no ambitions

The MC absolutely has the option to want to pursue a life of peace (completely understandable after the shit they have gone through).

There will be two different ways to express that desire:

I want a peaceful life in the harem.

I want a peaceful life outside the harem.

Both are difficult goals, but for different reasons.

If for example your MC simply wants to live a life of peace in the harem as a maid, their main struggle is being caught in a situation where they are not truly given the option of choosing for themselves what they want because they are being played like a piece of the chessboard.

In this route, your initial main rival per say is actually your only ally, Emil. Emil has decided he wants to get you involved into shit for his entertainment and so he will. You can struggle and resist, but he has more power than you and he also has his way of making stuff happen 'accidentally'. So your MC will still get involved in drama, just in a different way than they would have if they sought these situations out.

The MC may not have ambitions, but they probably have a survival instinct so if they are caught in an unwanted mess, they will still have to fight for survival.

If instead your MC dreams of a life of peace outside the harem, they are faced with a different hurdle. That being that well... they are a slave. And thus not allowed to do whatever they want. This leaves them with two options.

Run away. This is dangerous and you will be killed- or worse- if the plan goes wrong so it would be a long, very well-laid out plan with outside help that occurs near the end of the game.

The Sultan frees you. Something that has never happened in the history of the Zephyran Empire, but is achievable through certain romance routes. In that cause, you are man/woman/person and thus can do whatever the fuck you want. The only other way to be freed is to become the next Sultan's mother, which automatically frees you.

Keep in mind that ambitions are not necessary ones of greed or power. Wanting to be free is an ambition. Wanting to be safe is an ambition. Wanting to live in peace is an ambition. Your character can have any of those and strive towards them.

A 'Life of Peace' Ending

There are a few ways to achieve an ending like this. You can't really have a life of peace in the harem of the Jade Palace because it is very cutthroat in there, but here are some things you can do instead:

Transfer to another smaller palace where you can actually live a peaceful life cause smaller palace=less drama

Leave the Zephyran Empire as a whole. Especially if you are freed before you leave, life is fairly chill. You will have the option to become a farmer, a priest or pirate (long story). Keep in mind not all of these are achievable through some routes.

You can't really have a peaceful life in the harem since shit is kind of crazy there all the time so your best option if you just want to chill is to get the hell out of there.

Again, thanks for the ask! If you have any more questions, don't hesitate to ask me!

[gildedcageif]

me - also a non-native english speaker - not noticing what's off with the language lol. I loved the demo!

We non-native English speakers need to band together, goddammit!

Jokes aside, I thank you! I am very glad you enjoyed! I enjoyed making it too and I hope Chapter 1 will be even better!

[gildedcageif]

On a scale of least to most slowburn, where do all of the ROs lie? Can you tag this question with #slowburn, please?

hmm, gimme a moment to think.

I believe it goes something like this:

Least

Helena

Meryem

Ahmad & Nazli

Emil

Selim

Most

[gildedcageif]

What????

So I logged in just to answer some asks and I saw we have reached 100 followers!!!

Like that's insane to me. I honestly was not expecting a third of that interest for my wip.

I want to say that I thank you all so much for following, it means the world to me, and I also wanted to announce that I feel I need to do something special for 100 followers goddammit!

I am still not sure what that is going to be. Perhaps I will write a scene with an RO of your choosing. I just want to repay you back somehow for the support.

If you have any other suggestions for how I can thank you all, do not hesitate to suggest. I am very excited 😊

[gildedcageif]

Hellos!

What's the Ros opinions on marriage and do they want kids ?

Ahmad

Alright so for Ahmad, I am going to have tp do a deepdive on the Zephyran Empire lmao.

So basically Sultans don't get married. Period. It is not a written law, but it is the equivalent of a cultural one.

Sultans are generally kept separate from the Zephyran nobility. One way in which that is achieved is by the Sultan not marrying into them. And since they are also not allowed to marry outsiders, they just don't get married. That's why the harem exists cause they need heirs somehow.

So for Ahmad, that possibility has never existed. It is not so much that he does not want to be married, but he was never presented with it as an option so it never crossed his mind.

I think Ahmad believes marriage is very important, partly because it also ties into his religion, which values it. But he does not believe he is allowed to want it because that would require he go against his duty as Sultan.

(Also yes it is an option to marry Ahmad in game and yes, it will be the scandal of the century)

Selim

Selim sees marriage as an economic proposition. Its purpose is to advance one's political career and to produce heirs. That's it.

Because he perceives it in such a way, I don't think he truly wants to be married. He just sees it as another aspect of his job basically.

The companionship aspect presents some interest to him but ultimately he does not trust anyone so the potential spouse would just be another tool or another threat.

He does want children. In his mind, having children is the only way he can make sure he has someone to depend on. But he also fears he won't be a good father so he is holding off on it as long as he can.

Nazli

Nazli was married (not to Ahmad's father, that's a long story) and she does have a child. As far as she is concerned, it is a been there, done that, kind of situation.

When she was young, she dreamed of having babies, a large family, a loving husband. But time has hardened her.

In a way, she is done with that part of her life. She can't go through it again. She does not want to go through it again.

Meryem

Meryem is somewhat similiar to young Nazli in a way. She dreamed of romance, a big wedding, a bunch of children running around. The most consistent problem of her relationship with Ahmad was that he could not give her that. Or rather he could technically, he is the Sultan after all, but he did not find it a risk worth taking.

Meryem also has a son and she is very close to her son. She wishes she could have more children, but the rules of the harem allow only one son per woman so she can't.

Overall, Meryem has a very idealized version of marriage and motherhood in her head, which she longs for, probably partly because she knows she cannot have it.

Emil De Angelis

Emil has a hopeless romantic hidden very deep inside his chest. He definitely dreams of eventually getting married and having children, but he does want it at the moment.

His reasoning for waiting is that he wants to stabilize his economical situation as much as possible because he starved as a kid and he wants to make sure his children will never go through that.

I think he also partly just wants to live his life for a bit longer. Travel around to faraway destinations, all that.

Emil will only marry and have kids with someone he truly loves. He may be all fun and games, but his parents drilled the importance of true love in his head and he is too attached to it to let go.

Helena

Helena is not the type to settle down. She likes traveling, flirting, playing the field. I think she would prefer to adopt rather than have kids of her own.

I do think she would make an exception for someone she truly loves. But left to her own accord, she would just prefer she and her partner love each other without need for oaths and ceremonies.

I do not think she would like the idea of childbirth. Maybe when she is a bit older but for now she wants to be fully able to move, jump and dance around. She is the less likely to settle down in one place after all.

[gildedcageif]

Plans for Chapter 1!

Hello, everyone! As you probably know, a few days ago I released the first version of the demo. While there were a few bugs and things I wish to improve on, I am overall glad with the progress I have made so far in my coding.

The demo functioned as a prototype of sorts for me to get used to the basics of twine. Now that I have a good enough understanding of the basics, I will move on to more complex stuff. In the next major update, which will be Chapter 1, aside from new game material, the game will also have the following:

•A save system

•Two stats screens

•A generally more pleasant lay out and sidebar

•Improved descriptions of scenes in the Prologue

•Possibly a few more scenes added to said Prologue.

Truth is the deadline I had imposed upon myself of getting the first version out within a couple of days proved to be doable, but left room for finessing. I will take my time between the Prologue and Chapter 1 to fine-tune things as much as I can.

Now regarding Chapter 1, this is where the story will truly kick off. You will go to the Jade Palace and meet all the ROs as well as have the main plot threads set up. This means Chapter 1 will be very meaty. So it will take more time to prepare properly than the Prologue. I am expecting to have it out by sometime next month, but I can't be sure if that will be near the middle or end of the month since I also need to make the above mentioned changes to the overall appearance of the game.

In the meantime, continue sending me asks, critiques, suggestions whatever you want! I have one ask in particular which I have been trying to write for some time, but my progress got deleted like 3 times and I had a mental breakdown. Anyway, it should be getting to you soon and it was fun to write so sorry to the person who sent it for it taking so long.

Again I thank you for all the support!

[gildedcageif]

I love what you've written so far! I especially liked having a sibling dynamic with Helena! Will players still be able to rekindle their friendship with her even when they're not on her romance route? Either way, I'm really curious to see how things will play out!

I am so happy you like it! And yes, regardless of whether you are in Helena's romance route or not, her and the MC always have a special bond that comes from growing up together. So you will always have the option of being close friends!

Thanks for the ask!