Culture Consumption: July 2022

Hi, lovelies. Here’s my month in books, movies, television, and games.

Books

If you’re not into horror, or specifically slashers, then this book is not for you. Stephen Graham Jones’ My Heart Is a Chainsaw is a love song to slasher films, with its main character Jude being entirely enamored with them. Slasher films, for her, were an escape from her sh*thole of a life, and there is a part of her that longs for a slasher event to occur, so that the people of her community can get their comeuppance.

When a young woman moves to town — beautiful, smart, and charming — Jude thinks that this young woman is the type who would be become a Final Girl. After Jude start seeing a number of signs that a series of killing is soon to occur (according to the rules of the movies she watches), she tries to convince the new girl of her destiny.

Jude is angry and acidic and all sharp edges — and I love her so much, because she is also vulnerable, lonely, and (deep down) caring. Her passion for slasher films swims off the page, as does her underlying desire for companionship. Her journey in this book is brutal and terrifying and somehow, in the end, manages to find a sense of hope. And it’s beautiful.

Odessa by Jonathan Hill is a graphic novel about an apocalyptic future following an earthquake that tore apart most of civilization. The Crane family scratches by through scavenging and other odd tasks, which the barter for their food and needs. When Virginia Crane suddenly receives a letter and gift from her mother (whom the family has long assumed was dead), she begins a journey traveling across the Western U.S. looking for her — along with her two younger brothers. The siblings face violence, but also find support and kindness — and they face the dangers of the world together. It’s a beautiful story with gorgeous two-tone artwork. I’m definitely going to be continuing the series.

Continue reading “Culture Consumption: July 2022”

On Making Two Games at Once and Other Creativities

Game covers. The one on the left reads "Bluebeard: An Interactive Tale" in a red band overtop an old illustration of an intense man handing a woman a set of keys. The one on the right features green and brown pixel art of a creepy cabin in the woods, with the worlds "What Lies Underneath" in the sky above.

Sometimes you need to move at a slow and steady pace towards progress, dipping your toes in the pool and inching in little by little until you’re used to the chilly water — and sometimes you need to just launch yourself off a rock, plunging straight into the center of the lake with the hope that you’ll make it back to shore.

Guess which one I’ve been doing over the last month or so.

I’ve realized for a couple of years now that I wanted to write and build narratives for games. And so, I’ve been learning about the art of game narratives, which is beautifully varied and complex — ranging from heavily scripted games like The Last of Us to completely wordless experiences like Journey, with a vast number of other variants along the outskirts and in between.

While I’ve been exploring game narratives, I have also been toying around with making interactive narratives myself. Or rather, I have been noodling on a single interactive text, a Twine* adaptation of the classic French folk tale, “Bluebeard.” Having written a retelling of the story, in which I explored a number of alternative endings, I figured it would be a relatively straightforward process to add gameplay choices that branch off to each of those endings.

Spoiler: It was not that easy.

After a period of struggling — not only over the process, but also due to the frustrations of trying to maintain a creative life amidst daily obligations — I realized I needed an extra push to help me get to done. Fortunately, I stumbled across The “Finish It” Narrative Game Jam** in May. The focus of the jam was to complete an in-progress narrative game or interactive fiction project between May 12-31. This seemed like a perfect way to push myself toward finishing my current project, and I immediately signed up.

A day or so after signing up for the Finish It Jam, I was told about the Greenlight Jam by a game writing friend. The Greenlight Jam featured a unique format, having multiple deadlines over the course of about a month (May 16th to June 19th), focused on the various stages of game design, from ideation to prototyping, production, and final release of the game. Drawn in by this concept, I had an Ah, what the hell moment and signed up before even considering the fact that the two jams overlapped or the incredible amount of work that would be involved.

And I’m so glad I did.

Continue reading on The Narrative Thread.

Culture Consumption: May & June 2022

Hi, lovelies. Once again, I’ve let the task slip by me (mostly because of the amount of creative work I’ve been doing), so I’m blending once again two months together. This time, I’m keeping everything in one place, regardless of the length. So…, this is going to be a long post.

Without further adieu, here are my two months in books, movies, television, and games.

Books

The City We Became is another masterpiece from N.K. Jemisin. I love the concept, in which the city of New York changes a group of ordinary humans into avatars for its various boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and Staten Island) in order to combat a great and ancient enemy that would destroy it.

I’ve never been to New York, but I could feel the love Jemisin has for the city in every line and description. I’ve never longed to live in New York more than after reading this book. I cannot freaking wait for the sequel.

Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher is a gorgeous dark fantasy about Marra, a shy princess turned nun, who begins a quest to save her sister from her abusive husband, a man protected from retribution by his status as a prince. The story begins with Marra in a desolate region attempting an impossible task, which she accomplishes through sheer perseverance. This done, she begins gathering companions to accomplish the final impossible task — murdering a prince.

I’m in love with this book and its assemblage of wonderfully quirky characters, from grave witches to former soldiers to bone dogs to fairy godmothers. Somehow they bring a light to what otherwise would be a grimly dark tale — which is really a testament to Kingfisher’s phenomenal skill as a writer.

Gwendolyn Kiste is a fantastic horror writer and her latest book, Reluctant Immortals, is another fantastic entry. The book a beautifully creepy sequel to Dracula and Jane Eyre, telling the stories of two forgotten women. Set in the ’60s, Lucy Westenra (turned vampire) and Bertha Mason (turned immortal by Rochester via some other arcane means). Facing eternity while fighting off the men who changed them, the two women band together in sisterhood to take a stand for themselves against the dark. A great read.

Continue reading “Culture Consumption: May & June 2022”

Making Games: Bluebeard Goes Live

Over the past month, I’ve been working on a couple of game projects — an interactive tale based on a classic folk tale and a narrative adventure. The first of these has been completed and launched and the second is currently in development.

Bluebeard: An Interactive Tale

After oodles of work, I finally completed my first Twine interactive tale. Bluebeard: An Interactive Tale is based on the French folk tale, “Bluebeard,” relating the story of a young woman who weds a wealthy man harboring deadly secrets.

The interactive tale features a branching narrative with a total of seven possible endings.

It’s been an interesting process adapting a linear tale into a text game with multiple endings (which I plan to write more on later). Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about crafting branching narratives, and I’m so proud of this project.

Play the Tale.

What Lies Underneath – Development Process

What Lies Underneath. What Lies Underneath is a small narrative game built using the Bitsy game maker (created by Adam Le Doux), an open source tool designed to be simple enough for just about anyone to make their own games.

I’m sure I would have sat on the idea and pondered it for a much longer time, if not for the Greenlight Jam. The jam is designed to have participants work through each stage of the game development process — from ideation to prototyping, production, and release of the final product.

Thus far, I’ve worked through the first two stages, ideation and prototyping, for the game, which I shared a little bit about on Itch.io, where you can also play the prototype of the game.