itch.io

(quick disclaimer that i received a free copy and that aaron and i are friends, for i am a man of honor)

anyway! i am a terrible friend because it took me a full six months to read this page-turner, which is a double shame because it's great. this is a book written with a deep understanding of disillusionment in faith and also, perhaps only glaringly obvious to a spreadsheet pervert like me, bureaucracy and how fragile and easily-manipulated it is when human beings get involved.

the characters in this novel are great. the tragedy of julia, our protagonist, is binding faith to the helpful work she felt compelled to do for her community. saeryth is our dashing, knowledgeable spy. francis is the newly-minted, theory-first young activist itching for action. paul is charming, reliable, and earnest. i loved spending time with these people, even through tragedy. 

one of my favorite things about this novel is how straightforward it is about revealing tragedy. it feels just as it should: shocking, relentless, and completely discombobulating in the moment that it happens, with shockwaves sent out afterwards. my other favorite thing about it is the depressed bisexuals but that's a borderline obligatory compliment from me, a depressed bisexual. 

trouble is, now i want a cigarette.

ahhh i love this palette and the characters are so cute!!

[day 04 update]

i didn't get to work yesterday because something came up, but today i revised the intro to my game and am now set up to get through the main body of it writing-wise!! the exciting news is that, with the help of my friend, i got some rotating variables to work in my flavor text!! i'm excited to find places to sneak these in just to add a little bit of interactivity to a pretty linear story. 

i'm gonna try to finish writing and coding by sunday, monday at the latest, so i can spend tues styling and the rest of the time allotment making some quick assets!!! ill probably spend lunch tomorrow sketching some sprites so that i can have some visual updates to offer in the evening.

thank you and ME TOO!! all of them seem so fun!!

hi hi !! yeah i saw your tweet and something in my brain yelled that this was the year so here i am, for better or for worse!! here’s to us, sneaking in some games after working. i’m so excited to watch your game come to life!! 

[day 02 update]

i spent my lunch break today fully outlining the story and it's a nice, short, manageable thing to implement. i'm gonna try writing some of the intro dialogue before i go to sleep and work on just writing and troubleshooting through the end of the week. i also need to make some time this weekend to design some default outfits for the ladies. i'm hoping to finish by friday so that i have all of next week to focus on doing something interesting with the look of the game.

not the most thrilling update but while doing some cursory research today i found out that the incas used to treat athsma with cocaine, so you know.

TIS THE SNEEZY SEASON. the sneason? anyway THANK U i am ... hoping i finish it before it finishes me

hello !! 

i have been staring at this jam for two years, but in this the year of our lord 2019 i am trying to actually make time to do things i actually want to do. so, better late than never.

love & pollen will (ideally) be a short-and-sweet twine game centered around a princess with severe allergies and a long to-do list, and her family's long-besotted court magician trying to find her some non-drowsy remedies. is this based on the fact that i am currently pumping claritin into my flesh vessel every 24 hours on the dot? who's to say. 

given my quickly accelerating work schedule i am using characters i've already developed in a world i already know, leaving me to just write a quick plot/dialogue, code, and throw in some visuals. at minimum i'd like to have at least a couple of quick sprites for the two main ladies and at least one for a few of the side characters that might make appearances. my goal for tomorrow/tuesday is to outline the story and then make a list of priority and secondary assets to make. my goal is to write and code during my lunch breaks at work and produce assets after i make dinner in the evening, so here's hoping that i can get something done before the deadline!

here's a quick doodle of the ladies! it's the court magician, tea (tay-uh) on the left and the princess, del, on the right. 

i've been sneakily perusing everyone else's pitches and i'm very excited to see what'll come of this jam!!