Fortuna Favet Fortibus

Hello! I'm Tayr (or Tailu~). This is my devblog where I talk about my multiple horror/dark fantasy games projects! Currently I'm working on The Ash Black Cat and the Pumpkin Knight. 12/15/23 I published my first complete game, Every thought flies, a light horror about a ritual game and a lot of candles~ Thank you so much for the visit! Itch.io Other useful links: IG | Ko-Fi [I'm working with RPG Maker MZ now~]

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Every Thought Flies is out!

Download on Itch.io

One stormy afternoon, Gioele decides to play a ritual japanese game, The Gathering of 100 Supernatural Tales. It's a relatively simple game to play, after all; it requires 100 candles, a lot of matches, and willing storytellers with a fervid imagination - telling 100 weird stories in a row is not an easy task! At the end of the last tale, something strange is bound to happen... And what better storytellers than Felix, Noelia and Abele? So, the game show you the last four tales. Strange, weird, supernatural stories... also, somewhat painful memories. They claim their stories are all true; will you believe them? Maybe, inside this tales there is something more worrying than the possible ghost apparition at the end of the game...

Every thought flies it's an anthology of creepy tales using as a frame the japanese game Hyaku Monogatari Kaidankai.

It's not a really scary game, it's more like a cozy horror.

Features:

🕯️ 4 different cozy horror tales

🕯️ Atmospheric sound design (No RTP!)

🕯️ Sardinian folklore in the first tale

🕯️ Queer characters!  

🕯️ Multiple endings for each story AND for the game

🕯️ For now, 3 CGs (planning to add more). 

🕯️ 1h/1h30 of playtime

My first complete project! So happy right now-

This is the "chapter 0" of The Ash Black Cat series, but it works fine as a standalone game. Have fun!

(PS: Reblogs are really appreciated!)

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Sooo... I'm alive! And still working on The ash black cat! But the title changed. And various other things, like the RPG Maker (I upgraded to MZ now). I'll post a proper devlog pretty soon!

[eveningrelics]

This pride month, here is a reminder to the younger queer people out there or anyone who apparently needs the refresher:

Games that depict transphobia and homophobia realistically are not bad.

Games that refuse to pull punches when dealing with triggering material are not inherently bad.

My name is Robin. I am nonbinary, 32, game dev sensitivity reader and script editor for multiple titles, but today we're talking about one dear to my heart:

Mare by Zmakesgames

What is it I can't remember?

Mare is an RPGMaker Horror game about trauma.

It is covered in trigger warnings and tells you each of them extensively. On the game page, when you start. And in the read me.

Horror games about trauma will depict trauma. Feels self explanatory, no?

Well, last night, someone went across my sister's social media pages, telling her to die, because she depicted transphobia in the game.

Some major spoilers, but they'll be brief.

At the climax of the game, the Pov shifts to show that the events of the game transpired due to a suicide attempt by a transwoman named Chiyo.

In this brief gameplay segment, you have the option to interact with her PC where you can see online hate she has received, one of which is "a tranny is still a tranny".

This segment was co-written by myself and fully vetted and approved unanimously by all of us, a team composing of multiple queer and trans individuals. We are all horror fans and the realistic depiction of our struggles and the abuse we face was cathartic, but as a result, we also made it clear to not interact with the game if you could not handle heavy subject matter.

This was, ironically, the tamest version of the scene I suggested but the best one, I believe.

I should note, this scene is five hours in. After multiple child deaths, suicides, abuse, etc.

But someone came to my sister, @zmakesgames and told her she should die for including a Trans main character and portraying that they deal with transphobia.

This is not okay.

If you don’t find this type of media cathartic, that's okay, but you don't have the right to police those of use who do, especially when it's coming from an ally inspired in part by listening to the struggles of her older sibling and friends and trying to help give them a voice.

If you can not handle triggering content in your media, do not engage with media that contains those triggers, but it is never, ever acceptable to stalk or tell a dev to kill themselves because you willingly engaged with media you knew would be harmful to yourself.

If you got through this, hi, @zmakesgames is the kindest person I know and all her games are a flavor of rainbow because she is also a lesbian. Please support your queer game devs this June and all year.

Thanks.

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I'm really sad this happened to @zmakesgames

Never talked to her personally, but she seems a genuinely sweet person, and I always liked her games. (Here, have a look! )

Please, try to remind that often artists use horror as an outlet for their struggles (or maybe painful experiences of loved ones). An artist shouldn't "justify" their stories, as long as trigger contents are properly listed (just like Mare).

We need stories with a realistical depiction of real life problems. We can't just ignore their existence.

I hope everyone can continue to work on their artistic projects and express their emotions without feeling the need to hold back, just "because someone might misunderstand."

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HELLO EVERYONE

HAPPY NEW YEAR (late as ever)

I'm finally back home! Guess what we're bringing back from the dead? Exactly! The ash black cat and the happy ogre! I'd say it's looking good. <3

(Yeah, I'm officialy back on my main project.)

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Hello! I'm visiting my family for Christmas, so I can't make anything fancy, but I made a little sketch! Happy holidays, everyone 🍀

(It's the first time I drew all of them together 🤩

To the next time~

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"POV: you are playing a dangerous ritual game with your friends, laughing and all. At a certain point something weird happens for real…"

[Every Thought Flies on Itch.io]

Hello! Finally OBS is cooperating, so I can make this post: the first 5 minutes of Every Thought Flies! I tried my best to make the intro as atmospheric as possible, but also kinda… realistic… (I'm not a serious person.) Each chapter have a different atmosphere, colors and mood! The classroom ambient/part was meant to be reminiscent of all those stories about urban legends and creepypastas.

Hyaku Monogatari Kaidankai, the game I used as a narrative frame, has a very fascinating history, it was one of the old methods of passing down horror stories and it survived from 1600 till now! Maybe I'll do a little post about it in the future, it's pretty interesting.

To the next time!

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Hello!

Today I wanted to share some screens from my last game, Every Thought Flies (here! Here! It's complete!).

All the screens are from Noelia's chapter: a vacation, a beautiful (and somewhat eerie) lake, the tale of two friends... and a little bit of lovecraftian horror! ♥ In this chapter you'll met another character, Rosaura, Noelia's childhood friend. Totally unplanned, but I think she'll come back in The ash black cat and the happy ogre...

Also, this chapter it's vaguely Goosebumps inspired; I tried to give a similar vibe. Lately I was on a nostalgic mood and I re-read some of my favs (like Haunted School and Headless Ghost).

In the next days I'll be sharing some other things about Every Thought Flies!

[time-lapse-games]

Every Thought Flies is out!

Download on Itch.io

One stormy afternoon, Gioele decides to play a ritual japanese game, The Gathering of 100 Supernatural Tales. It's a relatively simple game to play, after all; it requires 100 candles, a lot of matches, and willing storytellers with a fervid imagination - telling 100 weird stories in a row is not an easy task! At the end of the last tale, something strange is bound to happen... And what better storytellers than Felix, Noelia and Abele? So, the game show you the last four tales. Strange, weird, supernatural stories... also, somewhat painful memories. They claim their stories are all true; will you believe them? Maybe, inside this tales there is something more worrying than the possible ghost apparition at the end of the game...

Every thought flies it's an anthology of creepy tales using as a frame the japanese game Hyaku Monogatari Kaidankai.

It's not a really scary game, it's more like a cozy horror.

Features:

🕯️ 4 different cozy horror tales

🕯️ Atmospheric sound design (No RTP!)

🕯️ Sardinian folklore in the first tale

🕯️ Queer characters!  

🕯️ Multiple endings for each story AND for the game

🕯️ For now, 3 CGs (planning to add more). 

🕯️ 1h/1h30 of playtime

My first complete project! So happy right now-

This is the "chapter 0" of The Ash Black Cat series, but it works fine as a standalone game. Have fun!

(PS: Reblogs are really appreciated!)

[time-lapse-games]

Hello everyone!

Yes, I'm alive - sorry for the lack of updates, but the last two weeks were a wild ride (let's say our landlady made us a really unpleasant surprise). Now that everything it's quiet again, I'm happy to say that Every thought flies it's officially finished, translation included.

I need a couple more days to make the Itch.io page and some finishing touches, but... we're almost here! My first complete game, I could cry-

Little reminder that Every thought flies it's a prequel to The ash black cat and the happy ogre, BUT it works as a standalone game. You'll meet the same characters in both games (even if Abele and Gioele get the spotlight in ETF, and The ash black cat is more focused on Felix and Noelia).

Once I published ETF, I plan to take a little break (I mean, my anxiety fueled brain needs a break). After that, I'll be back to revamping The ash black cat. Custom menu, revamped maps, a couple of new characters, more puzzles (and more horror). I'm pretty excited.

Thanks everyone for sticking around and welcome to the new followers! I'll give you something new to play soon!

Bye!

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Hello!

I'm slowly preparing a lot of updates about both Every Thought Flies and The Ash Black Cat; in the meanwhile, one of my favourites map from ETF. The idea, here, was to recreate the vibe of a little country city in a eerie November morning. Do you like it?

There a lot of animation actually - flowers, clouds, water, I should make a gif...

(If you're wondering, in this chapter you play as Gioele).

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[Happy Halloween!]

A little clip from the intro sequence of Every Thought Flies (alas Chapter 0 of The Ash Black Cat). I'm still working on the translation, don't worry; it will be both in italian and english.

Just a little sneak peek of the new talksprites (I tried a different style and I love how they turned out, especially Noelia. And finally you can see Abele properly).

The background noise, actually, is the sound of the rain (in game it's better, don't worry).

But... what is this all about?

One stormy afternoon Gioele, Abele, Felix and Noelia decided to play a japanese game, The Gathering of 100 Supernatural Stories...

... and I'll tell you more in the official announcement!

Have fun today!

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Hello!

Today, 26/10, is Felix's birthday - a pretty important date, in the game's lore! (A lot of things will change, during that fateful night...)

So, a little drawing to celebrate! Please consider this post-game though, right now Feli would be too embarassed to wear a Halloween costume (even a simple one).

(Actually I'm a little late, in Italy it's already the 27th... shh)

So... happy birthday, Feli! One day, you'll be able to celebrate your birthday properly, I promise!

I wish you all a fun, spooky, marvelous Halloween!

(Stay tuned, Chapter 0 is coooming...)

[time-lapse-games]

Hello!

Today, 26/10, is Felix's birthday - a pretty important date, in the game's lore! (A lot of things will change, during that fateful night...)

So, a little drawing to celebrate! Please consider this post-game though, right now Feli would be too embarassed to wear a Halloween costume (even a simple one).

(Actually I'm a little late, in Italy it's already the 27th... shh)

So... happy birthday, Feli! One day, you'll be able to celebrate your birthday properly, I promise!

I wish you all a fun, spooky, marvelous Halloween!

(Stay tuned, Chapter 0 is coooming...)

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Where everything started... (this time, with shadows!)

Hello everyone! I think it's time to tell you what's going on behind the scenes… first of all, don't worry! The game IT'S NOT on hiatus! I'm sorry for my absence from socal medias, but I kept working. Between August, September and October I did a lot of things (for example, a little vacation to see my family, and helping my friend @wisteriasakana with her beautiful Three Yellow Quartzes. I did the sound design!).

But I indeed changed my plans. Sooo, without further ado: I decided to divide the game (The ash black cat and the happy ogre) in chapters. It's simply too long and I'm working on it alone. So, sadly, I won't be able to publish it for this Halloween. The main reason behind this is that I wasn't fully satisfied with it; I wanted to add a LOT of things (revamp all the old art, make a graphical overhaul, adding a custom menu, making a better and solid gameplay on the first floor) but I didn't have the time to work on "extra" things. Only to barely finish it. So, I decided to love myself and the game more, and take my time.

… that said, I made another game (Every thought flies) in the meanwhile. With the same characters, some months prior the main story. It will act as a prologue for the other game, a sort of Chapter 0. Actually I finished it, and now it's in the betatesting/translation phase! This should be ready for the first half of November, so please, stay tuned for the release! So, Chapter 0 is coming, but what about the first? Maaaybe January. If everything works out. Thank you for the patience. (Just to be clear, I'm not starting from zero. I'm just reworking, expanding and adding things…) In my next post I'll talk a little about Every thought flies, I think we need an official presentation… To the next time!

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Every Thought Flies alas The Ash Black Cat and the Happy Ogre, Chapter 0

On your screens very soon: "Yeah, I'm alive" and "Oh God, my game was too long and I needed to divide it in chapters, an essay".

The good news is that I'll probably publish it for Halloween.

(Deeply sorry for the disappearance. But I have a lot to show you. Stay tuned. And thanks for sticking around).

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Before / After!

Hello everyone! I should probably write an actual devlog (and I will, someday soon) to tell you all my future plans, but for now I'm just having too much fun with the drawing part, so... a little teasing: I recolored both Feli and Noelia's busts, and now they really reflect my art style! Plus, I finally made them a lot more expressions (for fear, embarassament...) and Feli now has something like 10 or 11 busts (before, he had only 4). Noelia has 9, if I remember correctly.

Gioele and Abele are still in the working, even if lately I drew Abele a lot...

Just to be clear: Felix is supposed to have light brown hair, almost blond, and I always describe them as such. With my coloring style they look... pink? But that's not a problem, I love characters with pink hair! (More male characters with pink hair, please!) So, if you're like a fanartist or something and plan to draw him, feel free to color his hair as you prefer (light brown, blond, pink...). Have fun!

To the next time!

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Have a great summer

Sincerely, from The Ash Black Cat and the Happy Ogre cast

(Even horror protagonists need a break from time to time, right? But fear not, I'm still working! News are coming!)