fun fact, this was a super trendy ingredient in korea a handful of years ago! I was seeing it on pastries at every hip cafe

Ahh thank you! @orcmouse.bsky.social has been delivering amazingly 💕

Lesbian witches >>>

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Wren. Age: 35. She/Her. 5'8" / 172 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Grabs a coffee and takes it back to bed; [afternoon] Scours the cargo hold for obscure spell ingredients; [evening] Pores over esoteric texts in the library; [night] Stops by Anahita's cabin... The image of her on the left shows a pale woman with cropped brown hair in a black turtleneck and a caped jacket. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

The last LI of The Bitter End would be quite annoyed to know I'm posting her on April Fools. ⛵🌹

Wren comes from an alternate 1960s Greenwich Village, one where witches hid with the homophiles and the beatniks. But magic takes as much as it gives... and Wren had a lot to lose.

#vndev #visualnovel

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Neruda. Age: 32. They/Them. 5'11" / 180 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Reads a guilty pleasure in the library in secret; [afternoon] Experiments with a new supplement in the medbay; [evening] Seeks out Wren for their weekly dinner appointment; [night] Tucks themselves neatly into bed. Early. The image of them on the left shows a curly-haired mixed race Chilean person in a high-collared, futuristic outfit. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

Time for the fifth of six LIs in The Bitter End! ⛵🌹

Neruda comes from Chile in a futuristic Earth where biological enhancement and genetic optimization are the defining markers of the elite. Neruda is best of them all, but perfection is a cage with diamond bars.

#vndev #visualnovel #datingsim

Awww ty!! I love the crooked smile and the character @orcmouse.bsky.social puts into facial features especially noses!!

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Kit. Age: 30. She/Her. 5'4" / 162 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Pours another coffee, she's hardly slept; [afternoon] Watches Neruda in the medbay, quietly; [evening] Tinkers in the engine room, her mind a stormy sea; [night] Sits in the observation deck, but her heart is in the stars. The image of her on the left shows a woman with short, dirty blonde hair and a practical working outfit with gold-and-blue headphones around her neck. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

The fourth LI of The Bitter End is the first person you will meet! ⚓🌹

Kit may come from a spacefaring civilization, but those of her homeworld travel the seas as much as the stars. She's the ship's natural leader, always doing her best to help. Maybe one day she'll have done enough to be forgiven.

I had to think about it for a moment, do you mean the dynamic trope? Unfortunately not that if so!! Just a regular old fancy-named supersoldier!

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Jiye. Age: 25. She/Her. 6'1" / 185 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Talks Eshe's ear off in the crow's nest; [afternoon] Grabs snacks in the galley: sweet, savory, sweet again...; [evening] Laughs as she eliminates water wraiths on the deck; [night] Looks for a nightcap and some company to go with it. The image of her on the left shows a Korean woman in a nice sports suit. Wing motifs decorate her clothes and her ears. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

The third LI of The Bitter End is the youngest and tallest~ ⚓🌹

Jiye comes from Korea, in an alternate Earth where powerful Sentinels keep the world free of malevolent spirits. She lived a joyous life: battling, traveling, charming older women. But on the ship, she's grounded. In more ways than one.

yum!!

laby approval... 🥺 tysm!!

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Eshe. Age: 45. She/Her. 5'61 / 155 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Takes breakfast on deck, imagining the call of birds; [afternoon] Stocks the library with new books from the hold; [evening] Finds a quiet moment in the crow's nest; [night] Assists Kit in the engine room, a steady, grounding presence. The image of her on the left shows an East African woman with gold-and-purple clothing, locs in a protective style that are graying at the root, and distinct golden eyes. A crown of grass and little red flowers is wrapped around her head. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

Introducing a second love interest in The Bitter End~ ⛵🌹

Eshe hails from an East African-inspired fantasy world where clans bonded to spiritual entities make up a complex web of societies. Eshe was exiled over twenty years ago, but she still carries the weight of her sisters' love.

#vndev

Aww haha! Thank you!!

A character sheet for a love interest in the upcoming sapphic dating sim, The Bitter End. Name: Anahita. Age: 28. She/Her. 5'6" / 167 cm. Daily schedule: [morning] Takes a long, sweet bath; [afternoon] Watches Jiye do drills on the deck; [evening] "Works" in the lounge; [night] Returns to her cabin and counts out her belongings. The image of her on the left shows a Persian woman in ornate jewelry and colorful clothing, with a red head covering and henna on her hand. At the bottom the game's logo is displayed and a banner saying "Wishlist on Steam".

Let's get to know the love interests of The Bitter End! ⛵🌹

Anahita comes from a Safavid Persia-inspired fantasy world, where great social mobility is possible for the clever. Yet it is also a world where a woman's transgressions may demand blood.

#vndev #sapphic #visualnovel

replace cat with dog and every other day at least!

a white puppy is laying on the ground with the words `` thank you thank you thank you thank you '' written above it . Alt: a white puppy is laying on the ground with the words `` thank you thank you thank you thank you '' written above it .

Ahhh thank you so much :)))

Same - can't go wrong with ships for both romance and mystery :) thank you!!

The Bitter End on Steam A sapphic visual novel & dating sim. Manage your days aboard a liminal ship, navigating relationships both tense and tender. Fall in love, or bring your companions together. Join the crew, investi...

⚓ ANNOUNCING The Bitter End, a sapphic dating sim aboard a liminal ship! ⚓

👩‍❤️‍👩 six love interests (5f, 1nb) of ages 25-45
📆 affinity meters, needs management and time block scheduling
💘 the ability to set up certain love interests together...

Wishlist now! store.steampowered.com/app/4431540/...

-> People who hurt each other but love each other anyway, and have to learn the limits of their own forgiveness, and see how willing they are to grow

-> Unrequited love. Turn up the YEARNING !!!

Indie game dev is when you, through sheer force of will and massive commitment of time and energy, create an incredible never before seen interactive experience from nothing..... so you can have like five people play it and be like "yeah that was pretty good"

You're damn right it was

A 3x3 block of games: Stardew Valley, Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age Inquisition, The Banner Saga, Arknights, Neverwinter Nights, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Solstice, Overwatch

These are the games that I think had the greatest impact on what I think of gaming as a whole and how I approach games... let's just wrap ME and DA into their whole series though... and yes that's 4/9 Bioware, NWN was my childhood!

this is awesome!!

a woman salutes in lesbian with her finger on her forehead . Alt: a blonde woman salutes in different directions with the caption reading "salutes in lesbian"

one of my story consultant's notes included the phrase "something something narratively significant hand around the waist" and i got to finish that scene today and it was as fun as you might imagine

oh no :( i was really looking forward to that one too!

a cropped section of a character illustration from about waist to mid-chest, showcasing a painterly style art piece of a person with faded tattoos and practical clothing (a green vest, pouches, belt with a gold ring buckle, thick work gloves) holding a knife.

@orcmouse.bsky.social has been hard at work on finalizing the sprites for my game and getting the updates on them is bringing joy to me every day! here's some lovely details on one character, as a tease ~ #vndev #vnlink

REAL!!!

and now time for #vnlink update! received the assets to put together the ship map, and coded up the first version of it!! #vndev

Marinist Studio: Ship's Log Sapphic narrative games. Rich NPC dynamics. Mechanics with meaning. Coming soon: The Bitter End.

never introduced myself, so hi, i'm marinist!

writer, builder, linguist, data scientist. i'm embarking on this journey to make narrative games with a sapphic focus.

sign up for my mailing list here if you want to keep up with news for my upcoming game~ newsletter.mariniststudio.com

wait...... this sounds like something i need

A history screen in a Ren'Py visual novel. Some images are still placeholders. The history screen takes a paint-splotch look in amber with teal text. The text on screen shows from mid-conversation: Wren: What a charming performance. Rue: It feels like there's something she's not saying. Wren: I'm sure that's the case for all of us. Wren: But for some reason, that one likes to pretend otherwise. Wren: ... Wren: Hey, when you next talk to the captain, tell her the coffee stains on her ass still haven't come out.

#vndev #vnlink everything's moving, can't wait til i can share more!

but in the meantime, i've been really focusing on building dynamics between the characters and implementing more methods of observing those dynamics.

the bioware fan in me is delighted... i get to write party banter!