"Living with yourself is hard. Living without yourself is even harder."
Demo (release date: when the time is right)
Part One: Memories of the Phoenix
Intro:
In this world, magic is split in two, no longer something one individual could wield all on their own. Instead, the art is now divided and shared between those who write spells on enchanted talismans and those who unleash the power. From this discovery, the roles of Casters and Enchanters were born.
This brings us to Nanta, the ever-bustling port city near the shores of Fen – known as the sea of stars – that is home to many who seek knowledge rather than fish. Some claim that it's the epicentre not only of trade but also magic across the continent of Yulan, and they're right. Stationed on its hills is the proud Academy of Dives, which houses thousands of children and young adults of all upbringings and social standing, teaching them the art of either enchanting or casting.
You are one of those lucky students - a caster with the highest magical strength across the entire Academy paired with an equally impressive enchanter to write talismans for you. Life handed you the easiest path to glory on a silver platter.
So, what was preventing you from dominating the world at the tender age of fourteen?
Merely the fact that you want none of it.
Features:
Play as a depressed kid in a fantasy world filled with magic. It's not the best place to have mental issues. Either you or the world will have to adapt.
Try to change your bad habits - wake up on time and attend classes like everyone else. You could even show up to write the midterm exam! Or succumb to the endless cycle of running away from your problems. There's no shame in that, only consequences.
Meddle with the life of another student and help them decide their fate. You could even stop an ancient ritual from happening if you're lucky.
Mend or worsen the relationship between you and the enchanter assigned to you. Just how deep does his patience run?
Characters:
Nadir - Enchanter
Nadir is your enchanter and the first-ever friend you made after arriving in the Academy, though you doubt he shares your opinion. He is everything a student should be and everything you are not. Even though you both share a rare gift, only one of you appreciates it, which often leads to arguments between you.
Shuli - Enchanter
Shuli is your beloved roommate. She agreed to stay behind with you in the abandoned dorms, which has made your life easier. Her kindness and patience towards you knows no bounds, and when you squint, you can almost see a shining halo on top of her head. If you hadn't seen her beat up a bunch of thieves with her bare hands, you, too, would be fooled into thinking of her as someone on the weaker side.
Eris - Caster
Eris is called ‘The Darling of the Academy’ due to being everyone's favorite despite being quite the troublemaker. You even heard that so far they never lost in a single popularity contest due to their beautiful doll-like face, but that is pretty much all you know about them. That is, until - all of a sudden - they start randomly approaching you all the time.
Other Characters:
Sol & Leto
Leto and Sol - the inseparable duo with completely opposing personalities. Sol glares at people like she never had a peaceful day in her life - while Leto is a walking cloud full of smiles. People wonder how these two get along so well. You may find the answer to that soon enough.
Kara
Kara is the spirit you bonded with when you were seven. He is the closest thing you have to a family.
Gias
A carefree soul that also happens to be a teacher. Gias is a mysterious person, and you suspect they know more than they let on.
Not recommended for people that don't like:
Slice of life, age progression - or who want to play a touch-averse or a completely blank mc
The past week has been filled with more coding than writing. I figured that, in order to get into a creative mindset again and gain some inspiration, I'd write a short story about one of the characters featured in the intro post. If you have any opinion on who you'd like featured in the short, please consider voting in this poll :)
It would be a short-short story, maybe 500 words or so and wouldn't take much time to do. It'll be written from the POV of whoever gets the most votes.
Thank you in advance!
The short story should be written from the POV of...
On a dark winter’s night, a child signs a contract with a man dead to the world.
Promised an upbringing filled with forbidden knowledge, the two enter a strange and isolated existence together.
After nineteen years, the sanctuary and prison you have come to know as your home is discovered, and the land finally learns that the villain they believed to have perished a century prior has merely been in hiding…and that he isn’t alone.
Separated and forced to flee, you’re once again released into the world without your master’s hand to guide you. Only now, he is no longer the only one adept at the unsanctioned arcane arts.
“Unsanctioned” is an upcoming 18+ interactive Twine game where you play as the apprentice of an ostracized sorcerer. It’s set in a dark fantasy world where magic is simultaneously a symbol of status and strictly supervised.
Play the demo here!
(Please note that this version of the demo is not 100% finished; certain things still need to be added/edited/worked on but you can read the story from the prologue to the start of chapter 2.)
Progress Status:
Total Wordcount: Around 170k (as of start of December 2024)
Words Edited/Coded in Twine: Around 170k (as of end of December 2024)
Written Chapters: Prologue + Chapter 1 + Start of Chapter 2.
✢ Three backgrounds to choose from which will shape your MC and their relationship with the world, impact their pool of knowledge, their countenance, and how others might react to them.
✢ Three races to choose from: elf, human or the shunned cryn.
✢ A complicated parental relationship at the heart of the narrative.
✢ A cast of potential – and not entirely lawful – companions who you can forge various relationships with.
✢ Around five full-fledged romances, along with casual flings you may try to pursue along the way.
✢ Choices that shape your MC’s personality as well as the world around them to a lesser or bigger degree and narrative branching based on certain choices.
✢ A game of truth and deceit with you as one of the main players. You've been taught to keep your identity and abilities a secret from others, but is secrecy what you truly want?
✢ A magic system of both legal and illegal spells at your disposal. Use wisely, or you might attract unwanted attention...
Characters
✢ Elven, He/Him
If the stories are to be trusted, he is the last surviving member of the group of sorcerers unceremoniously named the “Pentagon order”. He is your master and your caretaker, your mentor and your jailor.
Knowledgeable and lonesome, he often seems to be pondering the world which he has now become a reclused observer of.
Whether you consider him family or a brute who took you away from the life you were meant to live, it can’t be argued that the nineteen years the two of you have spent together has shaped you into the person you are today.
How your presence has affected him, you cannot confidently say. His mind remains as closed off to you now as it did on that snowy winter’s night so long ago.
Perhaps leaving his side is what will finally allow you to learn the truth about him.
✢ ?, He/Him
As a being born from the very essence of sorcery, Muir’s existence threads a thin line between mortality and something wholly other. All mages rely on the energy of their Magiramús to cast their spells; you rely on this hoary eyed young man to do the same. Aside from his direct and stubborn disposition, he possesses both a palpable kindness and a sense of unmotivated ruthlessness.
You don’t know what he is, yet you know him better than anyone. You left your home together; now you must learn to navigate the world together.
Something that’s much easier said than done when your very existence marks you as outlaws.
✢ Elven, They/Them
One need only look at Wren to know that they’re one of the Institute’s agents. If the robes didn’t give it away, their demeanour certainly would.
Arrogance lies deeply embedded in their eyes, and they seem convinced that anyone who looks their way does so with envy.
When you encounter them in the troubled village of Kelmerth during their Practice of Passing, you get to witness firsthand what a student of the most distinguished academy on the continent can do, and what being a product of its teachings really means.
✢ Human, She/Her
Hailing from the southern land of Ciralor, Azora is less attuned to the laws of the arcane than a native of Aíos would be. Instead, she tends to rely on the inventions her homeland is both renowned and feared for.
Eloquent and straight-forward, her occasionally tactless phrasing might give the impression that she’s somewhat spoiled.
Spoiled though she may be, she can't as easily be described as naive. Blood stains the crown that was once destined to sit upon her head, and she is set on securing any means necessary to one day return home and claim what’s rightfully hers.
✢ Vampiric, She/Her
Astra's gaze always appears to wander, searching for something in the crowds she often surrounds herself with, occasionally locking on to someone who just so happens to catch her interest.
Although her muscular stature points to a life of strife, the poise she displays is more befitting of a high born than that of a common thug.
As a vampire, she has little choice but to shun the light of day and seek the comfort that lies in the shadows. Representing the part of her people that refuse to conform to the rules set in place by the less potent, she operates outside of the law, following instead the self-made rules of her Coven.
✢ Cryn, He/Him
The order of The Aelesh is enveloped in mystery. Worshipping the world of the unknown, they have chosen to cast aside the Faith in favour of the Truth – and in their eyes, the truth lies beyond that which mortals can comprehend and perceive with their senses.
With the simple mask he insists on wearing, your only clue as to Kirin’s true character lies in his voice and body language. Each sparse movement has a purpose, every phrase a veiled meaning.
He’s vowed to express his beliefs by following in the footsteps of the “Unsanctioned” and to serve them in any way he can.
In his opinion, this is currently best done by aiding you.
Magic System
You will be able to access a “book of spells” (codex) from the game's menu whenever you wish. The spells that your MC has learned, or learned about, will be displayed there along with some information regarding what each spell does.
There are key points during the story where using magic might attract attention or be more risky than other times. Know that there are no bad endings in this game, but that choices do have consequences, and that includes your use of magic.
There are spells which are considered “lawful” and spells which are labelled as “forbidden”. You will have access to both, though due to the nature of the MC's upbringing, they will have a wide range of forbidden spells at their disposal.
Even when using a “lawful” spell, this is still considered a crime unless you have a permit to do so.
There are moments in the game where you will be able to go to the spell menu and select the spell you want to cast (if any). Not all spells will always be available at all times simply because of branching reasons, but I’m striving to make it as free-choice as possible and add flavour-text in most cases at the very least.
Character portrait credit: @holyantenna (upper portraits + Cirern portrait) and @mooreaux (lower portraits + Kirin and Azora portraits)
The demo is out! Or rather, the initial version of the demo. As stated in the intro post I still have things I need to fix and edit both writing and coding wise + the planned spellbook, codex and profile are not there yet.
Some information that might be good to know:
Stats were never something I thought about much when writing this, and it's only recently through a conversation with a friend of mine that I started rethinking the statsystem I had implemented and what I wanted to do with it. What was originally designed as "pick your strengths and you get the options to use them now and then" is being reworked with more focus on magic usage and revealing certain content to the player depending on background and studies/areas of interest. For ex. persuasion you will have to (in the future) pick the "right" kind of option for that particular character to try and convince them rather than choosing a persuasion skill.
There are currently a few hidden dice rolls at certain points of the story. This is to make up for the success/failure system I had before, but they will most likely not come up more apart from these instances and might get reworked as well (most of them are very inconsequential).
The profile, codex and spellbook sections are currently not in this version of the demo because I encountered a very stubborn coding issue only yesterday that I haven't been able to solve yet. It will take some time to finish them but they will be added to the demo ASAP.
If you notice any errors or anything else or simply want to share your thoughts I'd be really grateful if you could send me an ask and let me know!
Hello everyone! I'd like to formally welcome you to the devblog of my very first ChoiceScript IF project, Blood Boils Without Water!
SYNOPSIS
In Blood Boils Without Water, you’re a freshly turned vampire trying to survive undead life, navigating complicated relationships, underhanded political schemes, and the inherent bloodlust that comes with your new existence. But unfortunately for you, the circumstances of your turning have swept you into the center of a conflict between 3 noble houses which threatens to unravel the very fabric of vampire society.
Be inducted into the house of your choice, hone the skills that best suit your interest, and guide the tide of change in whatever ways you can— Will you uncover the long-buried secrets of the vampire realm?
A refined woman with a sharp mind, this unflappable diplomat of the Rosales Clan is not one to be trifled with. Many have been ruined by her cold rebuttals. But what may lie beneath the prestige and distant persona of this generation’s most successful matriarch?
Sir Basilio Silva (M)
The honorbound commander of the Royal Militia, loyal to his principles and a powerhouse on the battlefield. He’s known as a just man to even those on the opposite side. But who is he when he’s out of armor, and his greatest fights are on his home turf?
Carmen Espinosa (NB)
The Spymaster of the Espinosa Clan, living under the guise of a hedonistic clown partying their days away— The charming and mischievous type. But if they’re always wearing the perfect mask for the occasion, what could they possibly be like off the clock?
[REDACTED] (?)
You see them out of the corner of your eye sometimes, but no matter who you ask, no one seems to know who you’re talking about…
There’s dozens of ways to play (BW)², and my design philosophy is that players should be allowed to play however they want. There are 16 Skills to specialize in, 5 (visible) dimensions to your MC’s personality, many flavors of both platonic and romantic relationships, and 3 individual routes available to choose from at the start of the game.
There's lots of hidden variables and secret routes on top of that, so every playthrough will feel unique and special!
(BW)² is a dark story with mature themes, sexual content, and various other disturbing ideas. Though this list is not exhaustive, please be advised that the following themes may be present in the demo and final product:
Sexual Assault
Various Forms of Abuse
Graphic Violence
Pregnancy
Child Death
If you believe experiencing these themes (or those in a similar vein) will be detrimental to you, I don’t suggest playing this game.
Hey, I was just wondering if there were any updates since the last one a few months ago? I think you said before that the prologue + chapter 1 was mostly written? I can't wait to play the demo when it's ready! :)
Helloo, thanks for dropping by! Things are mainly the same, I haven't had much motivation to write these months and was busy with other things. That being said, I've been working on the art side of things whenever I can! Definitely should've mentioned that I'm incredibly slow when it comes to progress on anything, so please don't expect anything significant to happen this year, I'm mostly looking towards really working properly on this next year 🙏
Still, I'm grateful to those who stick by despite it all and who check in 🤚
Skirts and shorts, though I think that might be a more unpopular design lmao
*sneaks out*
Gosh, I'm sorry for taking so long to answer! First of all, thank you for taking your time, I adore these sketches, and the idea is very nice, i'm not gonna lie 👀
Shuli definitely adores it, as for others hmmm🤔 I'll have to keep thinking, but I'm definitely going to implement those cape thingies, I heavily vibe with them🫡
It's been exactly one year now since I posted my first writing update on here. Circumstances have changed since in both good and bad ways, and the first part of "Unsanctioned" is slowly but surely coming together.
I'm currently on vacation, but will get back to working on the game around the 27th. The prologue/backgrounds are almost fully done, and I'm moving onto editing and coding Chapter 1 more thoroughly in August.
In the meantime, have these adorable commissions of Azora made by @whiteirisif <3
I've also added a progress status report to the intro post. The plan is to update it every month, but I might do so more frequently depending.
The summary of the backgrounds will be posted mid-August; sorry for having to postpone that part a bit.
Thank you for sticking with me until now and have a great rest of the summer!
Despite the plot brewing in my mind for quite a long while now, I struggle a lot trying to design a proper uniform for the school. One might say it's not that important since the game is purely text - but what I personally love about magic school settings are the uniforms that come along with them, that's what comes to my mind in the first place. If anyone read 'witch hat atelier', they know what I'm talking about. The outfits there are extremely pretty and whimsical 😩
Anyway, Gias in a maid outfit.
And some more random stuff.
Next up, I'm going to talk more about the magic system and the overall lore of the world as soon as I finish the sketches for it.
This will be a brief update. I don't really have anything new to report when it comes to writing. This month has been busy as I've been moving places, which has taken priority. I'm still editing/coding the backgrounds; since I'll have more time during the first half of July, my hope is to have that done by then.
In July I'll post a snippet of the treasure hoarder background, reveal another portrait and (hopefully) post those background summaries I've been meaning to post for a while now.
In the meantime, I'd like to recommend this other IF (Visual novel, actually) for those interested: It's called "Seven Kingdoms: The Princess Problem", has been in development for around a decade and will release in 1 day on itch.io.
Here's the page for anyone who'd like to have a look: https://azalynestudios.itch.io/seven-kingdoms-the-princess-problem
It's an incredibly ambitious probject that's close to my heart; reading the demo years ago helped me get back to writing after giving it up for a long time.
Thank you all for the patience and support and have a great rest of the month!
Hi! Right now, it's going slower than I'd wish for it to go. The writing block hit me hard these couple of months, but I did manage to mostly finish prologue+chapter 1. Some of it still needs to be coded in, and it's a bit messy atm, but I'm still working on it.
Theres also a couple of snippets I'll be sharing sooner or later (alongside with more art) 🫡
For keeping me motivated, I'll have to thank @/uroboros-if and @/unsanctioned-if ><
Fun fact, Nadir cannot stand Eris, and the latter loves using that to irk him whenever there's a chance. Scientists have yet to find whether Nadir's hate stems from the insecurity of being the smallest in the group or whether it's his biological trait to be easily riled up. Further investigation is needed.
