Development blog for the interactive fiction game, Trails Lead Home. Sporadic updates and frequent rambling. If you'd like to check out my other randomly updated game, Metanoia, please click the link: Metanoia!
Feel free to drop an ask if you have any questions, comments, or concerns!
Links: Demo || Asks
Trails Lead Home is an (overly ambitious) fantasy game set in the realm of Okaana, a place now rife with odd paranormal turmoil. The aim of the game is to make the player’s choices matter in some way and to explore the complex relationships between those that you choose as family and those who are born as family. The end goal is to attempt to create a story that tells the tale of new beginnings and starting over.
-- Choose between platonic and romantic relationships between characters; be adopted by a couple seeking to start their own family, romance a knight who’s become a legend, become best friends with a cunning thief or share a tender moment with a rich, business savvy merchant.
-- Play as a child seeking to return to their family, a young adult exploring the intricate wonders of adulthood, or an adult who’s world-wise and wary. Set your pronouns, choose between three ages, select a height, and customize your personality!
-- Grasp the beginnings of wielding magic, develop skills to help you survive this odd world, and form lasting bonds with five main companion characters and several side characters! Choose to romance three ‘monogamous’ ros or join an already established couple!
-- The current demo includes both the child and adult(s) prologues and the first part of chapter one (1) which brings the word count to 25,935 words without code!
-- The next update will include a revised chapter one (1), an edited child prologue, and all (or most) of chapter two (2).
-- The current word count for the unplayable beta is 32k words and counting! I still have quite a bit to finish so stay tuned for updates!
Greta [f] -- Born in the dark, coiling roots of the vast tree city, Greta has never aspired to do anything other than keep her family and friends alive. For years she honed her skills in the Undercity, stalking and stealing from the wealthy who make the mistake of entering her 'hunting' grounds. With the encouragement of her grandfather, she has since decided to branch out, maybe ply her trade for coin... or join her family in their crime deals.
Lesilfae [m] -- Self-proclaimed master of persuasion and a merchant with an iron grasp on various markets in the realm, Lesilfae is a man not to be trifled with. He is, perhaps, one of the more dangerous people to encounter in the city, what with his various connections, and uncanny ability to get information from even the most unknown people. He is the proud owner of his family’s shop (it’s pretty much an heirloom at this point) and a close friend of Galeon Hughes.
Finlay [nb/f] -- A living legend and myth, Finlay is a loyal knight of the Church of Atamentis who is prone to picking up odd pieces of petrified wood and shiny rocks. They were abandoned at birth in the church, one could say that it was only fitting that they became so devoted to the Goddess and her most pious. They are known by many names and titles, but only one has the ability to shake even the most hardened of criminals... “The Right Hand of the Goddess, Her Fury and Justice”.
Galeon [m] & Hollond [nb] -- A couple just trying to live their life. Galeon is a kind-hearted healer who works in illegal healing. His group deals out free magical healing to those who cannot afford the more ‘official’ healers of the church while Hollond works as an apprentice-aid to their step-father, Ortayn Tulair, often using their connections to keep the church away from their partner. The two aren’t sure how long they’ve been together but their guess is over two decades and counting!
? ? ? [f] -- Who is she? Why is she...?
Hey! It’s been a while, when will the next update be available?
Sadly, I cannot say. TLH is a hobby that I do in my spare time, as of 2022, I’ve had more time and motivation to work on it and have been making good progress, though I’m still unsure of a release date. I’m hoping to have the next one out soon but how soon is unknown.
Where can I find more information on the characters?
There currently isn’t a finished character database, but if you search the tag: chara: [insert character name] something should pop up for you! I’m attempting to make a character profile, but right now it’s low priority. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
What kind of asks are allowed? Is there anything that’d make you uncomfortable?
I will answer NSFW if it’s asked for and it will be tagged as TLHNSFW, headcanons, “what if”s, clarifications, lore questions, etc.
I will NOT, however, answer pregnancy asks, murder asks, asks about changing characters, or asks asking about what’s in the NB companion’s pants because... trust me, you’d be horrified imo (partially joking).
Will this be a Twine or COG game?
For now, it’s a COG game but it will not be fully published and, because I don’t vibe with the practices of COG, it will be ported to Twine after the next update. The full game (if I manage to complete it) will be free.
Hey dear, i know you havent been active in a minute, no worries, but I was poking ariund to find your demo (I havent played it yet, sorry! Im working on amassing a library >:)
but, anyways, just wanted to let you know the demo link in your bio still leads to dashingdon! the one in the pinned post does go to cogdemos, though.
Links... The bane of my existence... I'll update the bio link so there isn't any confusion!! Thank you for letting me know!!
(No rush to play! I'm working on a 2.0 demo, and it's taking longer than expected anyways asdadsasda)
If authors need to start writing their stories first and then uploading them or writing a big chunk like 3 chapters then releasing. Especially for itch io. The amount of twine stories that will never finished seems to grow as the platorm becomes more popular. Like a few weeks they release an episode but everything was already written. The process of writing as they go along isn't working for a lot of authors as there are such big gaps in release times, hiatues and people just leaving. We need to change how we upload our stories or else were gonna keep seeing the same patterns. Just because one method is popular doesn't mean you're not allowed to branch out and see what works for you. Releasing chapters as they write only proves to be a horrible idea as they are so few itch io stories that are never completed. Whatever it is, the community needs to start coming up with some new methods.
Someone lend me their strength because I don't have it.
And y'all wonder why the IF community is dying. It's because of people like you that devs get burnt out on making their games. Complaining about the lack of releases while simultaneously putting down devs who can't devote 100% of their time to putting out chapters in a 'timely manner' is wild. Be for real anon. *Y'all are single-handedly destroying the community and then wondering why Devs are dropping their games or slowing down development. This crap drains the life out of you. So, yeah, some games don't finish, and others have extremely slow updates. That sucks, but it's a penniless hobby for many of us.
I really don't see the benefit in forcing myself to write large chunks at a time when most of my energy has to go to a job that pays my bills and taking care of a chronically ill family member and *when the only thing to look forward to when I update is sub-par or minimal feedback on my story (not including bugs, thank you to the folks that catch bugs for me) if any. Half the time, I feel like my writing is so garbage and my characters/world so bland that I spend most of my writing time rewriting it over and over again because, as you put it, anon, "Sometimes it feels like basic fanfiction but in a different medium," which is literally my greatest fear as someone passionate about writing. To be told that my writing is so bad that it equates to (mid-range) *fanfiction and nothing more. Do you know why most IFs read like bad fanfiction? Because no one wants to give us any meaningful feedback to improve from.
*insert various depictions of anons openly harassing devs to the point that they're forced to leave the community for the sake of their own mental health.
*Literally, I've posted updates and gotten zilch in feedback despite openly requesting it. Not a damn word from anyone telling me if the story flows well, if things read awkwardly, if characters bloop into or out of existence in a scene, nothing. So I read back on it and, oh, what's this? Something janky that would have been nice to have known about so I could fix it asap!
*Also, fyi, a lot of IF devs have a background in fanfiction writing. Don't piss in the water you drink from, anon, and put some damn respect on fanfic authors' names, dude. Don't drag them down because you wouldn't have many IF games without them lbr.
This isn't Greta Thunberg’s fault, she couldn’t have been a better ally, but it’s so disheartening how her kidnapping and mistreatment for five days have rallied so many people, when what she went through is only a fraction of a fraction of what thousands of Palestinian men, women, girls, and boys, who have been routinely kidnapped, tortured, and raped to unimaginably evil lengths for months or even years, often to the point of death, have endured and are still enduring as we speak.
And I know that’s the whole point of why she did what she did. She knew that, as a young high-profile white European girl, her mistreatment would result in more uproar, and she intended to use that privilege to raise awareness of what is happening to Palestinians. That’s why the first thing she did after her release, when the press asked her to speak in detail about her own mistreatment, was to shift the conversation instead to how Israel continues to escalate its genocide against Palestinians.
I just wish people understood her message and gave the same energy toward helping Palestinians without waiting for a White Westerner to risk their life first.
Find a protest near you here (UPDATED): X, X, X, X, X, X, X,
Donate or join Palestine action here: PALESTINE ACTION
A collections of GoFundMe links: https://gazafunds.com/all
Work continues and I'm that much closer to releasing the updated demo including part of Chapter Two. So here's what's mostly finished and what I'm moving onto next!
Got all the way up to the end of Lesilfae's interrogation. There's spots to fill out still and I have to finish the adult prologue and some of the flavor text that goes with it in Chapter One.
I've already got a good start on Chapter Two, I just need to migrate it to Twine and then finish up some of the traveling bits before springing into filling out the rest of the Chapter.
Got some gaps to rewrite and I have to finish Greta's route -- though I have some updated bits and pieces that I can mash together with the older stuff that should improve what was already there.
At worst, Chapter One and the prologues alone should be updated and released this month at the earliest with Chapter Two following next(?) month hopefully. But uhhhh you know how it is with me, so take that with a big heaping scoop of salt!
Work continues and I'm that much closer to releasing the updated demo including part of Chapter Two. So here's what's mostly finished and what I'm moving onto next!
Got all the way up to the end of Lesilfae's interrogation. There's spots to fill out still and I have to finish the adult prologue and some of the flavor text that goes with it in Chapter One.
I've already got a good start on Chapter Two, I just need to migrate it to Twine and then finish up some of the traveling bits before springing into filling out the rest of the Chapter.
Got some gaps to rewrite and I have to finish Greta's route -- though I have some updated bits and pieces that I can mash together with the older stuff that should improve what was already there.
At worst, Chapter One and the prologues alone should be updated and released this month at the earliest with Chapter Two following next(?) month hopefully. But uhhhh you know how it is with me, so take that with a big heaping scoop of salt!
hello sorry, I was wondering if you could link the cog demo? the current link in the masterpost/prof are the dashingdon ones that dont load, love your work and excited to read!
I was going to unfortunately tell you that I lost the files to the choicescript version of TLH BUT GUESS WHO REALIZED THEY HAD ONEDRIVE LINKED TO THIER BROKEN LAPTOP!!
I'll try to upload it somewhere, maybe Neocities until I get it all ported to twine. Omg, what a great day!! I was so upset that I'd lost it a few months back but here it is!! Ahh!!!
I will reblog this post when I get it up and running!!
hello sorry, I was wondering if you could link the cog demo? the current link in the masterpost/prof are the dashingdon ones that dont load, love your work and excited to read!
I was going to unfortunately tell you that I lost the files to the choicescript version of TLH BUT GUESS WHO REALIZED THEY HAD ONEDRIVE LINKED TO THIER BROKEN LAPTOP!!
I'll try to upload it somewhere, maybe Neocities until I get it all ported to twine. Omg, what a great day!! I was so upset that I'd lost it a few months back but here it is!! Ahh!!!
I will reblog this post when I get it up and running!!
Due to my mental health, my writing time dwindled over the last few months to the point where I was only writing a couple hundred words and then scrapping them immediately -- nevertheless, they persist. I have since been feeling better, so here's hoping I can keep this momentum going. Here's what I've done this month: it isn't a lot, sorry, but I'm making steady progress.
- 2k words of the child prologue (contains unwritten gaps, so it'll probably be closer to 3k minimum)
- Chapter one introduction is only 1500+ words but also contains a new option for establishing if your mc is scared of, skeptical of, or in awe of monsters.
- appearance customization, though limited and spread not too well across the prologue.
- Made the "monster's" description vaguer so you can fill in the blanks yourself.
- Scrapped the entire house section in favor of something that makes more sense. Hello, welcome to camp scene with Finlay and a better introduction to the world.
Unrelated but related notes:
- Increased Hollond's height to 5'0" (or 1.52 meters), which is the average range for their species now.
- Greta is more birdy in appearance, you'll see later.
- Lesilfae is no longer a romance option (unless there's backlash lmao), but you can still help him enter a poly with Gale and Holly.
- Gale and Finlay remain unchanged; except Finlay has more notable scars.
Mastercard and visa have reported to a couple news outlets that they are currently being swamped with calls and complaints. Keep up the pressure and try to (politely) insist that you leave a complaint via phone instead of letting the rep direct you to emails. It's way easier to be overwhelmed by a much smaller number of calls so each one counts for a bit more!
If you have the means, consider donating to the Khartoum Aid Kitchen which feeds around 20,000 people a day in Sudan, who are suffering from extreme starvation.
The War in Sudan has created the World’s largest Humanitarian cris… Mustafa Ibrahim needs your support for Fight Hunger in Sudan: The Khart
Some recent posts of theirs with information about what they do:
28/6:
2/7:
7/7:
Trails Lead Home @trailshome - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
