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speakergame · 16 days

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#speaker vibes #okay I gotta reblog this for #azalea mirin #this is such an az joke she's definitely made it before

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speakergame · 2 months

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Progress Update - 3/4/24

Hello and happy March!

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? 😅 Well, I finally have some good news for you this time: I have some actual news!

I'm happy to be able to announce at last that an update is on its way! I’ve still got some assets to make and code cleanup and testing to finish, but I should finally have something to show you soon.

I’ll put a cut at the end of this and go into more detail about the what and why of what I’ve been working on during this long and unintended hiatus, but the tl;dr is that I hope to have an update out by the end of the month, and that said update will break any saves made in Chapter 4. Unfortunate, but unavoidable, since Chapter 4 had to be recoded from the beginning 😞

I just want to thank all of you once again for sticking with me through my extended silence! Especially to my patrons who’ve put up with me putting everything on pause month after month while I dealt with my real life shit, and to everyone who’s sent me kind and supportive messages to let me know Speaker hasn’t been forgotten. It really means a lot to me.

Okay, enough of that sappy shit! I’m gonna get back to work finishing this up 😁 I’ll put out another update later this month once I have a more definite release date.

Thank you all for reading! I hope you’re having a fantastic 2024 so far, and that the rest of the week treats you kindly. See y’all soon! 💙💙💙

(For those who want a more detailed breakdown on what’s been happening and what to expect, hit the readmore)

I won’t go into the personal life stuff I’ve been dealing with this past year that has slowed down my work, but as far as the actual game goes:

To put it simply, I just wasn’t happy with it. Some of it could be because of how many times I had to reread the same section while I was coding the scenes that would’ve taken place after the last update, but no matter how much I edited or rearranged it, I didn’t like how that scene turned out. There was something… formulaic that had been happening with the way I always laid out scenes, and a bit of stagnation in the story, character, and relationship development that bothered me.

So I rewrote it. And when I still didn’t like it, I rewrote it again. And I still didn’t like it. I thought about scrapping the whole thing on more than one occasion as I struggled to get out of the corner I’d written myself into.

Inspiration finally struck at the beginning of this year, thanks in part to another interactive novel I follow, and I really like the direction I’ve taken it now.

Instead of the RO split scenes happening where the last one left off, Speaker, Seer, and Gavin are gonna have a chat about Things™ to move the next story arc forward. Then Speaker will get some downtime, by themself at first and then in an extended scene split with the RO of their choosing.

All the Big Plot Things that were going to happen in Chapter 4 will be moved to Chapter 5 instead, and 4 will be a bit more of a filler episode. A deep breath before the plunge, as it were.

This split won’t just be a quick conversation/reaction from the RO, but a full on different direction for the rest of the chapter based on who you choose. Most of them will involve leaving the house; all of them will involve actual one-on-one time (or one-on-two time, as the case may be) away from the others. And though romance isn’t required, all of them will have the potential to really move the romance forward if you so choose. One or two might even have a lock-in choice (maybe. I’m not 100 percent on that, so don’t hold me to it)

These scenes won’t be in the next update, because they’re all very complex, but the update will definitely have the Seer chat and at least some of the by-yourself stuff. The update after will have the rest of the alone time stuff (including the clothes/body CC you’ve all been waiting for), and then the one after will start the RO scenes. I think.

I may actually split the RO scenes into separate updates, and let my darlings over at Patreon vote for the order they’re released. That way I can focus on one at a time instead of trying to split my attention six ways at once.

Okay, that’s enough rambling for me today. Time to get back to work! Still got a lot to get done before this is ready, but it’s so close now.

#speaker game #progress update #so happy to finally have some progress to update about XD #maybe I can finally start answering some asks again too and fully resurrect this poor blog

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speakergame · 4 months

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Sorry, do you know if there is something wrong with the Speaker's itch page? I'm getting "There was an error with your request" every time I try to see it.

there seems to be an issue with itch.io in general, actually! I've seen a lot of other games having the same problem, and I'm having issues logging into the site at all

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speakergame · 4 months

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I am apparently going to be ending 2023 with a vicious migraine, which I think summarizes the year pretty well 😣 I've spent most of this year at war with my own brain.

But I think I've finally got the right weapons to fight it. The improvement the last couple of weeks has been noticeable, and encouraging.

2024 is going to be better. I'm not giving it a choice to be anything else. If it wants to cause problems, it'll have to go through me first.

If next year tries to give you trouble, let me know and I'll teach it a lesson

thank you to everyone reading this, for helping me through the year. especially those of you (you know who you are) who carried me--or at least dragged me along--when I couldn't carry myself

I love you all 💖 Happy New Year

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speakergame · 5 months

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YOU'RE STILL AROUND???? I THOUGHT THIS BLOG HAD BEEN ABANDONED

I'm still here, neither Speaker or this blog have been abandoned

but bro, I am Going Through It™

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speakergame · 5 months

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I just love tall strong/buff and mean women.

I know this is a copy/paste that a lot of other writers got too, but A)

and B) this made me realize I don't have any characters (yet) that fit all those criteria. I have buff ladies, tall ladies, and mean (or at least rude) ladies, but none that are all 3. I'll make sure to fix that in the future 😉

#speaker game #maybe f!sun from partially stars she's tall buff and mean #but none in the speaker-verse (yet) hmmmm

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speakergame · 7 months

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For possible fanfic reasons, is Li nearsighted or farsighted?

I was so sure I'd answered this before, but I couldn't find it on the blog or the discord 🤔

Li is nearsighted! without their glasses, things have to be within arms' reach to be in focus, and for reading they have to hold things really close to their face

#speaker game #li cowles #I am genuinely amazed that no one's asked this before lol

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speakergame · 8 months

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SUPER IMPORTANT ITCH NEWS

Itch is changing hosting domain soon.

This change will affect any game saving as localStorage (cookies/cache). Your old saves won't be available after the change of server occurs!

This is especially important for Twine games, saving in the localStorage of your browser (when you use the autosave/save function). Saves in localStorage are URL dependent (so server dependant). If you play the same game in different URLs different saves will appear for each URL.

Export your saves now!

EDIT: a neat helpful tool to mass download/mass load your local saves

#not speaker related #oh shit #good to know

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speakergame · 10 months

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Progress Update - 7/12/23

hello and happy Wednesday! 💙

things continue to happen So Much, but lucky for me one of those things is progress! A change in outlook on everything has done wonders for me when it comes to my creativity and also my productivity. instead of "soon things will slow down and get back to normal", I've finally accepted the fact that 2023 is the year of Things Happening All The Time Constantly, and that I can't keep waiting for normal.

the horrors persist, but so do I, and I'm not gonna let them slow me down anymore

that particular epiphany has done a lot for me. I think we're finally approaching the last leg of this endless code race! I miss writing so much, and I am really looking forward to getting back to that soon 💙

on a not quite Speaker-related note, my daughter (who is 7 1/2 and also reading this over my shoulder) has decided that I am going to write a story called "The Legend of the Wolf Men" and has also insisted I tell you all about it. it's a high fantasy story in which the player is a werewolf knight and fights zombies. there's a princess involved who is also a werewolf. that's all I know so far, but she wanted y'all to know about it 😂

werewolf princesses will have to wait until I finish this damn update though lmao

I think that's all I've got for this time! I hope you all are staying cool in this terrible heat (or staying warm, for my southern hemisphere friends), and I'll see you all next time 💙💙💙

#speaker game #weekly update #yes she said I HAD to tell you about the wolf men RIGHT NOW #she's naming all the characters and is giving me the plot and everything #all I have to do is the writing lol

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speakergame · 10 months

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fuck it, Toshiro Mifune fancam set to Kate Bush

#fun fact! toshiro mifune was the original inspiration for sebastian :3 #he's obviously evolved a lot as a character since then (and is of hong kong descent not japanese)#but my first impression of him started because I saw a picture of mifune and went 😳#sebastian wynric #toshiro mifune

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speakergame · 10 months

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writing an IF culture is writing an ungodly amount of content that's unlockable only via the most out-there and lowkey choice ever that no sane person would pick.

talking about self-indulgence.

#speaker game #just if writer things #ain't that the truth #don't get me wrong I LOVE variables #but sometimes I write variables that are 'if the mc is X and has chosen both Y and Z then this ONE SENTENCE changes slightly'#and I have to ask myself 'is this too obscure? will anyone actually see this?'#(and then someone does and says THANK YOU FOR THAT ONE SENTENCE IT MADE MY DAY and everything is worth it)

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speakergame · 10 months

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I was browsing through my photos and saw my lil drawing of the Cowles siblings from @speakergame using the draw squad template. It was like 2 years ago and I was so happy after I was done but at the same time so shy to post it because Speaker have a lot of great fan arts from really great artists during that time... annnd I'm not an artist as you can see 😅 but still I wanted to give it a try. I think it looks cute? lol

#speaker game #the cowles family #fanart #OH MY GOD THEY'RE SO CUTE!!! 😍😍😍😍#I love how much you can see their personalities!#and poor gavin lmao 😂#thank you so much for sharing this 💙 it made my day!

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speakergame · 10 months

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Progress Update - 6/27/23

hello, my darlings! long time no see

thank you all for your patience and supportive messages during my long and unannounced radio silence. I've been a bit under the weather the last couple of months. nothing life-threatening, but severe enough to knock me on my ass for a while.

I'm getting my balance again, slowly. I've had a lot of time to write and brainstorm while I've been out, so there's that! still no ETA on the update, beyond the ever-unsatisfactory Soon™ but progress is being made! I've paused Patreon for July, but hopefully it'll be the last month I need to do that and I'll have something concrete to show by this time next month 🤞

I'd also like to get back in the habit of regular progress updates, but we'll have to see how my continued recovery goes.

thank you for reading and for waiting, I hope you all have a fantastic week, and I'll see you next time 💙💙💙

#speaker game #weekly update #well seasonal update at this point 😅#I do *not* recommend getting laryngitis and pneumonia at the same time #it uh... sucks. a lot

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speakergame · 10 months

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black shepherd at night | source

#speaker aesthetics #the good boy #it's him!!! what a good pup

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speakergame · 11 months

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Happy Pride !! ❤️ I hope everyone is happy, healthy, and surrounded by love :,)

#❤️🧡💛💚💙💜#be proud of who you are and know you are loved #(yes I am still alive and there's an update coming soon about where I disappeared to once I can make it)#(and thank you for all the supportive and worried asks my loves)

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speakergame · 1 year

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Hi Rhi! Hope life's been going smoothly for you!! There's always the "what D&D class would everyone be" question that goes around but I wanted to know what kind of player you think everyone would be? (i.e. who's the min maxer? Who gets super into RP? Who refuses to play, etc.)

ooooh this'll be fun

I've already done "what DnD class everyone would be" here, and "what kind of class would they play" here, but as for what kind of player they are:

Sebastian and Rory are nerds and have definitely played before, and would be up for playing again. Kana and Azalea haven't, but are willing to try.

Li and Seer it would depend on if Speaker had played before; if Speaker has, then Seer has, and so has Li if bff/crush background. Aquaintaince!Li hasn't either way. Seer would go along with it if it's what everyone else wants to do, but if she hasn't played before she'd be a little timid at first.

Bff/crush!Li likewise would go along with it, but I think it would take a lot of convincing for aquaintance!Li to play as an adult. They just don't know any of you well enough for that yet (unless you let them DM)

But assuming you can convince them to play, Li is the kind of player that thinks outside the box. They read all the rules so they know the best way to bend them. They're the type of player to make an axe machine gun character. or ask if an enemy counts as a "location" for spells like Conjure Water or Heat Wave.

Seer loves! to play! support classes! If you ever need a cleric, or a bard, or a support wizard or tank, she's your girl. Terrible at dealing damage, but can heal from hell to breakfast. Uses spells and items in ways not necessarily intended, but for good rather than for evil like Li.

Azalea loves to RP and is fantastic at it. Her characters are always interesting and poignant and she puts a lot of effort into tying them into the world. Makes everyone cry. Takes forever on her turn in combat because there's too many damn spells and she panics a little under pressure.

Kana, on the other hand, is a bit of a murderhobo. They do enough performing in their everyday life, so in DnD they just want a big sword and something to hit with it. Except for the occasional unexpectedly heartrending RP moment.

Rory's just here for a good time. They're good at fitting into whatever kind of story the party and DM want to tell, be that hack-and-slash or theatrical-improv-plus-math. Brings a silly character to a serious campaign and a serious character to a silly campaign; somehow makes it work.

Sebastian is a Forever DM. He doesn't get to be a player very often, because he's a really good storyteller and absolutely magnetic behind the DM screen. As a player, he always tries to make characters that challenge him in some way, be that in a roleplay or tactical way. Tries to be the "lone wolf, doesn't play well in a group" guy and keeps ending up the party leader anyway.

#speaker game #the seer #all ros #li cowles #azalea mirin #kana #rory kane #sebastian wynric #anyway I love dungeons and dragons #in case y'all didn't already know that about me 💙

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speakergame · 1 year

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How would you rate the singing voices of the ROs and Speaker? Also, how would you describe their voices? (You don't really need to include Kana in the response, but I am curious about how their voice sounds.)

I wanna sing a lullaby for my twin or serenade my lover ;-;

I don't think this has been asked before, but I'm sorry for being repetitive if it has. Anyway, you're awesome! Have a good day <3

Seer's voice is pretty good, a bit on the breathy side because she doesn't have much practice projecting it, but she has good pitch. Hums to herself a lot when she's sewing, and sings along with the car radio on road trips. I personally imagine her sounding a bit like Kina Grannis, but your mileage may vary.

Kana obviously has a great singing voice, partially due to being a siren but mostly because they work for it. I imagine their music sounding a lot like When Rivers Meet, especially the lead singer's voice but also blues-rock is very much Kana's favorite genre to play/sing

youtube

(When Rivers Meet's new single also feels very lyrically-appropriate :3)

Azalea has a nice singing voice, soft and soothing and mostly used for singing to her garden. One of the few things she's not shy about. Speaker has probably heard it before. Most likely of all the ROs to sing you a lullaby. A bit Florence Welch-like.

Sebastian's voice is a bit on the rough side, but intentionally so. Gravelly, I guess you could call it. It suits the kind of music he likes to listen to. If I had to compare it to someone, the closest would probably be like... David Draiman?

Rory doesn't really care what they sound like. Their voice is for singing along with the radio and in the shower and that's good enough for them. Sometimes a little off-pitch, sometimes completely tone-deaf, sometimes pretty good, always enthusiastic.

No one can prove Li's singing voice exists. No one's ever heard it before.

I do have a few things in my notes about Speaker getting a choice to sing to (or with) Kana if you're on their route 👀 as for the others, I'm not sure yet, but I'll write it down and revisit the idea in the future 😉

#speaker game #the seer #all ros #kana #azalea mirin #sebastian wynric #rory kane #li cowles #I could've sworn I had an ask about this before but maybe I'm thinking about the one about speaking voiceclaims #or something in discord? I dunno maybe I imagined it lol

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