#hg the wayhaven chronicles

[thisghosts-obsessions-again]

I DID NOT JUST WATCH A MOVIE TRAILER ONLY TO GO: "SHH THIS IS DU MORTAIN CODED FR" AKSNKZ SKSNSJANSJAK

Heroine from the film: "Are you leaving me?"

Her husband: "I already left."

#send help i need to decompress 😭😭😭 #personal rant #how long can i go on like this??? #urgently in need of a new hyperfixation!!! #hg the wayhaven chronicles #twc book 3 #the wayhaven chronicles #interactive fiction #those were good lines tho

[absolutepokemontrash]

The Wayhaven Chronicles becomes a comedy series if you’re romancing M and you imagine they’re slowly running out of innuendos and sexual jokes to point at the Detective by the end of each book

They may be constantly horny but they need to recharge their quips between books-

#the wayhaven chronicles #TWC #Hosted Games #HG Wayhaven Chronicles #wayhaven morgan #wayhaven mason #Wayhaven shitpost

[regencyofhell-if]

Hosted games is really not the greatest website. It’s convenient and it has some good stories (I’m a big Wayhaven chronicle fan and the new golden rose is insanely well written) but I hope more of writers move away from it to platforms that offer more creative freedom.

Exactly what I was getting at. The first IF I ever read was Wayhaven, and I absolutely adore the games on that platform, but it saddens me that HG would try to stifle creativity. I know a few that moved already and some that are eventually making the jump, but I still support those who want to stay with HG. It's just not a site I can support personally.

#hosted games

[chadniebuhr]

@seraphinitegames I am not okay

Adam deserves so much love

#the wayhaven chronicles #wayhaven memes #adam #nate #mason #felix #angst du mortain #hosted games #choice of games #ava du mortain #interactive fiction #hg #cog #memesdaily #angst #morgan #farah

[asteristories]

Hello!!!!! I love what you have so far and I’m excited to read more! In the meantime are there any other wips you would recommend? I’ve bought basically all of the cog and hg games so I’m looking for some interesting new stories to follow!

Oh wow! I’m honoured that you’re asking me this! There are a lot of really good WIPs out here on Tumblr (Whose progress I’m also following), and I’ve been trying to check them all out! 

I’m assuming that you’re already familiar with the likes of Wayhaven Chronicles and Fallen Hero, so I’ll just recommend you the WIPs that I am currently following/enjoying! There’s quite a lot so bear with me:

(Sorry in advance to anyone I might have accidentally missed. There’s a lot of you 😅)

____

*Until The Colours Bleed Gray by @until-the-colors-bleed-gray​

*Nothing Left (To Burn) by @clowdee-works​

*Smoke and Velvet by @smokeandvelvet-cog​

*AMYGDALA: Encode by @amygdalagame​

*Mind Blind by @mindblindbard​

*The Porthecrawl Witness by @porthecrawl-witness​

*The Rosy Ones by @rosykingdom​

*The Passenger by @the-passenger-if​

*Regrets of the Traitor by @regrets-of-the-traitor-game​

*Curious Cuisine by @cornucopiagazette​ 

*Path of Fire by @path-of-fire​

*Supernatural in New York by @llamagirl28​

*Triaina Academy by @leo-interactive-fiction​

*What A Brilliant Existence and Exiled From Court by @beeanca-writing​

*The Hunt: Demon Eyes by @tirankawrites​

*Greenwarden by @greenwarden-cog​

*Task of the Burdened One by @task-of-the-burdened-one

*Rise of Etrea: The Royal Spy by @jinxed-games

*Just West of Autumn Boulevard by @westofautumnboulevard 

*Seven’s Deadly by @sevensdeadly

*Lure of the Gallows by @lureofthegallowsgame

*The Golden Rose by @anathemafiction

*Mortal Hero: Patron of the Gods by @mortalheroseries

*SoS: The Mortal Coil by @sosthemortalcoil

*The God of Red Mountain by @friendlybowlofsoup

*Shepherds of Haven by @shepherds-of-haven 

*Spellbound: A Ghost Story by @/CorvusWitchcraft from the forums (I don’t know if they have a tumblr)

___

Every single WIP on this list are super amazing and worth checking out when you have the time!

Thank you for the ask, anon😊!

#asks #astericae speaks #recommended wips #cyoa #other writers

[shepherds-of-haven]

hi miss lena, do you have any cog wips or games to recomend?

Hi anon! And sure, I can give it a try, though it’s harder for me to recommend without knowing what games you already like! :) Also, I haven’t had much time to read many HG WIPs unfortunately, but I’ll attach another reading list at the bottom of this post that has a ton! 

On my list, ⭐ means I bet you’d like this if you like ShoH!

COG Recommendations:

Creme de la Creme (I have it downloaded but haven’t played yet--but I’m confident in the glowing reviews!)

The Fog Knows Your Name (really captures that IT/Stephen King/Stranger Things small-town vibe that I love)

Choice of Rebels: Uprising (fantastic world-building and complex fantasy, and lovely prose) ⭐

The Eagle’s Heir (loved the characters and the fantastical historical AU setting)

Saga of the North Wind (very epic, lots of choices! I always get a bad ending though lol 🙁)

Choice of the Deathless (and its sequel, Deathless: The City’s Thirst) (this is exactly the kind of fantasy world-building I enjoy and the author’s prose is a big inspiration to me)! ⭐

Choice of the Vampire (and its sequel: CoTV: Fall of Memphis)

Heart’s Choice Recommendations:

A Pirate’s Pleasure (I really enjoyed this one: beware, though, it’s female!MC-genderlocked with male ROs!)

Hosted Games Recommendations:

Unfortunately, I haven’t had the time to read many of these in the last year, so my recommendations are the old standbys that I’m sure everyone knows about, like The Wayhaven Chronicles (no spoilers for Book 2 please :’)), Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven, Community College Hero, or the Lost Heir. I read The War for the West when it was a WIP and really enjoyed it, and I’m excited to play Fallen Hero: Rebirth but need to be emotionally-ready for it lol!

Hosted Games WIP Recommendations:

The Seven Heirs of Ophaesia by @fantasyfawkes (fantasy/court intrigue)

Arcana of the Lost by @arcanaofthelost (dark fantasy)

A Thousand Miles of Sky by @athousandmilesofsky (space-frontier science fiction)

A Crack in the Spyglass by @ignifexgames (high fantasy)

Son of Satan: The Mortal Coil by @dae-kalina (urban modern fantasy/angels and religious mythology)

A Witch’s Curse by @rosemaryandsage (modern fantasy/witches)

God of the Red Mountain by @friendlybowlofsoup (Asian-inspired mythology/fantasy)

Ghost Simulator by Morton Newberry (modern cozy horror/fantasy)

If these aren’t enough for you to comb through, check out the master list of HG Tumblrs I assembled (that anyone can edit and add to of course) some time ago, and this amazing and detailed reading list made and written by the fantastic @feather-x-crown! 

Enjoy! :) 

#recommendations #list of recommendations #choice of games #hosted games #IF #heart's choice #WIPs #anon #Shepherds of Haven

[the-passenger-if]

How did the Passenger become so successful? I'm an indie IF writer and getting any attention is v hard.

Oohh, this one will be long.

These are my thoughts on the subject, so I might be onto something or I might be getting it all wrong.

Taking a look at COG's forums you can see which threads are the most popular ones.

Unsurprisingly, they are all HG WIPs (I think there's a misconception about COG games being more popular than HG games when in reality it's the other way around) What do all these WIPs have in common?

• they are character-driven instead of plot-centered.

• they aren't gender-locked (you can choose your MC's gender and sexual orientation)

• some of the concepts are pretty weird. 

• and what is, for me, the most important requirement for a WIP to catch the players' attention: they all have interesting ROs.

Players love their ROs (lately, I don't even try a demo if it doesn't have ROs, which might be pretty dumb of my part, but eh, I'm here to chew bubblegum and smooch characters and I'm all out of bubblegum)

Now that we have a general overview of what these WIPs share, I'll talk about The Passenger and my personal experience.

It's very hard for a first book WIP to be popular. HG has 2 top dogs in its line-up--there are a lot of amazing authors and stories, but these two are like 5 steps above the others in sales and fandom. One is The Wayhaven Chronicles by Mishka Jenkins, the other is Fallen Hero by Malin Rydén. Their first WIPs were somewhat popular, but I'm not sure if they got to be on the top 10 at some point (and we are talking about TWC and FH!). Their second books, on the other hand, are very high on the ranking (Mishka's is n.1).

So, what happened? Well, they already had a solidified fan base. If you like the first book you will want to know what happens next.

What does TP have to do with any of this? To be honest, I think I was very lucky. In part because the type of story I like to read and write is the type of story that happens to be very popular among forum players; in part, because TP sort of kind of got caught up in the Fallen Hero wind: FH fans read my game, and I think they low-key realized I'm a big FH nerd, so there's stuff there that feels very Fallen Hero-y. A main character that doesn't belong and has lots of secrets, the struggle between letting people in or shielding yourself, both stories are VERY trans (even though I didn't realize that was the case when I first started writing it because my subconscious is ok, but my conscious mind is really fucking slow)

So, yeah, FH's fans started to post about my game--word of mouth is quite an effective tool. People went to read it because people are always on the look for new WIPs, and they enjoyed what was there (because, again, I like/write the type of story that most people are into).

Other stuff that helps a lot:

• don't leave players in the dark. Always let them know how work's going because fan interest can only go so far and it's your story, so it's your job to keep players engaged.

• posting a demo and disappearing for months only works if you have a super successful WIP--two of my fave WIPs haven't been updated in years, but a lot of people (including myself) are still super pumped about them. That's the power of a strong demo.

• having a tumblr where you give a glimpse of the characters' minds does wonders to keep players interested.

• work on your demo. Writing isn't easy; sometimes your brain doesn't want to do its job, sometimes you feel like shit, sometimes a scene doesn't look right. You know what you do when that happens? You look at that scene in the face and tell it to go fuck itself. Then move on, write the next scene. You can come back later and fix it once you know what happens next. Like that writing advice says: "You can edit 200 words, but you can't edit 0 words."

• knowing this, be kind to yourself. You don't feel like writing? Do something else: watch a movie, play a game, work on your book's plot, listen to an analysis of a story you like. Use the downtime to unwind, and to learn about the craft. It'll make your stories a lot better.

• pace is key; you want your players to keep reading so try not to bore them with lengthy exposition; bring up questions every chapter and answer them as the story progresses.

• also, maybe don't compare your WIP's success to others? I know, funny after everything I've said, but hear me out: you don't know how successful the game will be once it's out. TWC and FH were less popular than they are today so who's to say yours isn't like those too.

There has to be a reason why you started to write your story. What was it? Mine was because I wanted to talk about a cosmic horror trying to "pass" as a human being (so basically an autobiography of sorts, ha!) And yeah, seeing TP hit that popularity line was awesome, but it wasn’t part of my plans. I honestly never thought people were going to look at my lacking world-building skills, and my underprivileged/gang-of-weird characters and think, "ah yes, finally the kind of story i've been wanting to read." I was very lucky and hopefully the popularity will help once the game is on sale because mama still needs to put a roof over her head.

That's all I can think of. Best of luck with your IF :3

#ask #rambling #Anonymous

[divineinterventiongame]

Hi I saw the ask about the platforms it’s going to be on. Umm what’s COG/HG? 😅

Oops, sorry I figured everyone finding this blog would already be part of the cog user-base haha..

Choice of Games (COG) is a company/platform that both publishes its own interactive fiction and other Independent authors interactive fiction (which is done through their Hosted Games label--HG). There's a pretty good chance you've seen one of the official games floating around the app store (choice of dragon comes to mind). Wayhaven chronicles, which I think is currently the most popular hosted game and you may have heard of, is also published through this company.

The company has a forum as well (linked here) where current authors, readers, and aspiring authors can post stories and do other forum things. That's where most people link their wips and where most people go to find new stories to follow (along with Tumblr).

#basically its just a publishing company for interarive fiction #but they keep it very open-source and open access #so anyone can dip their feet into making games

[heleneplays]

Into the Helene-Verse

aka the several iterations & games I named MC as my SI-OC Alt, Helene

Choices

Literally my go to at every game except RoD, HSS:CA, and OH

Favorite iteration/s: Bloodbound MC, Veil of Secrets MC, It Lives Beneath MC, Queen B MC

Lovestruck

All games prior to the release of QoT-- bc that's when I stopped playing

Favorite iteration/s: Astoria Fate's Kiss MC | Medusa Route, Love & Legends MC | Helena Klein Route, Villanous Nights MC | Lorelei Linden Route

HPHM

Current Local Lesbian Disaster | Helene Marie von Adler

HPMA

Future Functional Lesbian in an Alternate Verse | Helene Mae Adler

Choice of Games | Hosted Games

Literally my go to name for game

I've played nearly all releases so chances are there's a Helene living in one of them

Favorite iteration/s (CoG): Psy High, The Fog Knows Your Name, The Superlatives, Grand Academy, Metahuman Inc., Diabolical

Favorite iteration/s (HG): Relics series | Helene Spillane, Lost Heir series, Wayhaven Chronicles, Fallen Hero series, Zombie Exodus series

Pokémon

Professor Helene Almente | One of the researchers involved with Area Zero who becomes involved with Sada after Turo abandons her and Arven & builds a happy little paradise with them

#about the character #into the helene-verse #personal.txt #queue

[thisghosts-obsessions-again]

[high-res]

There's barely a gap between us, but it feels like my heart is hammering against his in that small space.

I finally finished colouring this sketch of Adam and Lusine because what is sleep anyway? The whole sketch (this is one of three hehe) is based on TWC book two by @seraphinitegames, because I still have to get around getting back that good ending again to move on to book three! Anyhow, the above sketch is based on THAT circus scene! If you know, you know. That's how their interaction played on my mind while reading, squealing and kicking my feet lol

#i know i have a screenshot of that on my files but uuuuuuuughhhhhh!!! #this ghost's fanart #hg the wayhaven chronicles #interactive fiction #i wanted to actually do the physical watercolour sketch but i couldn't be bothered rn so i kept it digital ┑(￣Д ￣)┍ #this was one of those rare times i thought i drew a decent A asdjhasjkdhaj #i still struggle with his hair aahdhjkhsdjhdkjsm #i do love how those lips came out tho not gonna lie <3 #edit: found that screenshot!!!

[olivershen]

Can someone PLEASE recommend COG/HG books with good romance? I may have played them all by now.

For ref, these are the ones I’ve already played:

The Wayhaven Chronicles

The Fog Knows Your Name

Choice of The Deathless

Breach: The Archangel Job

The Grim and I

Fatehaven

Evertree/Sordwin

Community College Hero

Psy High

Waywalkers University

Champion of the Gods

Creme dela Creme

The Hero Unmasked

Heart of the House

The Soul Stone War

The Lost Heir

Keeper of the Sun and Moon

Unnatural

Double/Cross

Creatures Such As We

#choice of games #hosted games #cog

[13leaguestories]

replayed superstition four times todaynsjdj can you please give me recommendations to wips/games id enjoy that are similar to your game ? because i am fucking in love w this game and the characters n yeah everything

Hahahaha, when is the last time I even read anything? Especially supernatural wise ... My biggest advice would be to go through Hosted Games or Choice of Games to see if you like anything there. Only HG I really read is Wayhaven Chronicles and so I do recommend that.

Sorry, I really don’t read much of anything anymore besides physical books.

#superstition ask

[pixelsandkink]

which cog or hg books you rec?

I would honestly rec all of the ones I’ve played, but if you’re looking for a particular flavor, I can help out, and I’ve put a * next to the ones I’ve played at least three times. 

COG: 

Choice of Romances Series * (this is less of romance and more about intrigue.)

Heroes Rise Trilogy ******** (No disrespect to Fallen Hero, I love it, but this series is the blueprint. it’s INCREDIBLE. honestly part of the reason why COG took off).

Hollywood Visionary *

NOLA is Burning *

Choice of Vampires Series (it’s been a really long time since I read this one and it used to be free, so a lot could have changed.)

Creme de la Creme *

(I’ve also started Welcome to Moreytown, Heart of the House and The Fog Knows Your Name, all of which I’m enjoying!) 

HG: 

Wayhaven Chronicles *

Zombie Exodus Series 

Fallen Hero*

Heart’s Choice (you didn’t ask but!)

Never Date Werewolves (free, if you don’t mind ads!)

A Player’s Heart (I’m in the middle of this one) 

(sorry this got long, but I really do rec these. I’ve been playing these damn games so long, like, some of these used to be legit free and were browser-based only lol)

#choice of games #asks

[anathemafiction]

I don't know if you've been asked this, but what's your favorite WIPs/demos or maybe released books of CoG/HG? I would love to see your recommendations! ❤🧡💛💚💙💜

Hello! Regarding WIPs, there was a masterpost made fairly recently that has pretty much all the WIPs that I love. I added some myself, but I would recommend a lot of the ones that had already mentioned before!

Here is the post! I haven’t had time to read any new WIPs lately, so I don’t really have more to add.

Regarding both official titles and published HG, I do have some that I love! But again, I haven’t been keeping up to date on the most recent releases so this list will probably not be very helpful 😄

COG:

Tally Ho: Witty, light-hearted and delightfully flippant. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and where your failures are as entertaining - if not more! - as your victories.

Choice of Rebels: Epic story, complex world, four-dimensional characters, superb writing. A world ruled by grey morality and tough choices, where characters remember what you have done - and said. Seriously, I would recommend Rebels to anyone. Especially if, like me, you like fantasy. Let yourself sink into this world.

Heart of the House: A gothic adventure with curious characters, a writing style I personally fell in love with, and a legitimate entrancing mystery. I would have liked more time to both get to know the main cast and explore the plot. I fell like the game is kinda rushed half-way through.

I’ll also be the first to admit that I wished the tone had been darker. So if you go in thinking it’s close to horror, you’ll be disappointed. But, overall, it’s a fun adventure. Your money won’t go to waste.

Sixth Grade Detective: Look, I don’t really like to play as a child, but this game convinced me to look past that. It’s fun, cute, light-hearted and well written. If my little cousins could understand English, I would be the first to buy this game for them.

Choice of Robots: My God, do I need to say anything about this one? The array of choices you have is crazy. I think, apart from Tin Star (which I’ll talk in the HG list), this one is the closest game to “sandbox” COG has. Is the writing style my favorite? No. Are the characters and plot as developed as I would like? They are not.

But no one can deny the genius of this game. Try the demo. You’ll end up buying it.

Psy High: I can only talk about the first since I haven’t played the second yet. But I liked the first one a lot, actually. It’s kinda short, and it is a high school setting, but the story is fun, the character interactions can be very well done. There’s the awkward teen dating drama, and a big bad guy to take down. Perfect for an afternoon reading.

Creatures Such as We: This game hit me hard. Beautiful writing, depressing, dark and reflective. It’s a game to make you look inside, even as your character gazes into the deep outside of space. It’s also free! So I recommend everyone to give it a go.

Mecha Ace: You are in a giant suit of armor, fighting other giant suits of armor. There’s space battles, betrayal, and sabers. Just go for it.

Choice of the Deathless: I didn’t like the sequel, but this first one? Love it. Love the MC, love the characters, love this odd, complex world we dive into. My only complaint is that I wish we had more time to simply work as a lawyer in this crazy setting.

Slammed!: Oh my god. I don’t like wresting, okay? Never did. This game, though, had me invested in it so hard I had to often pause before making decisions. It’s a great game, well deserving of its best-seller status.

Choice of the Dragon: The OG. The champion. You are a dragon. Have fun.

HG:

The Grim and I: ( ཀ ʖ̯ ཀ) Just… just read it.

Fallen Hero: No introduction needed. Great writing, plot, cast, deep and complex. Best character? The MC.

The Wayhaven Chronicles: Another giant. All I can say is: team Mason for life.

Evertree Inn: I love this game. I haven’t played the sequel (yet!) but the first one is so fun. I like the limited setting, the kind of detective play, the slowly unraveling mystery. The MC is fun, the characters are fun, and the plot is fun too. Really cool game.

Zombie Exodus and Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven: The best zombie apocalypse game I have played. The customization you get is crazy, the array of choices and freedom you get is also crazy. The missions are beautifully written, and the world is gloomy and dark but not without its joys too. Humans laugh even amongst the darkest of times, and this characters do too.

I also legitimate felt something akin to fear as I read some of the scenes. Seriously, the atmosphere at some points is crazy good. Try playing as a scientist in the boat mission. I was reading with bated breath.

So, You’re Possessed: Such a fun adventure. I love the cast and I can’t wait for the sequel to come out!

Tin Star: You’re a marshal in the Wild West, and the world is literally at your feet. Enormous game, where multiple playthroughs are required to truly get the scope of it.

Way Walkers: Unique world with unique characters and a fun magic system.

#oof this got big #can you tell I was tired by the end xD #but yes here are my recommendations #I may be foregetting some tho... #personal #asks #The Golden Rose #yeetyeetedyote123

[keeperofthesunandmoon]

which CoGs/HGs would be the ROs favorite?

Disclaimer: I haven’t read everything in the COG/HG library, so this is only based on ones I’ve read

Altair: Choice of Robots

Astrid: Wayhaven Chronicles

Cressida: Choice of the Vampire

Cyrus: Community College Hero

Katia: Way Walkers

Kol: The Hero Unmasked

Leon: Community College Hero

Seraphina: Way Walkers

Thalia: The Lost Heir

Yakov: Choice of the Vampire

#ROask

[thefallendivine]

Can we ask questions about you? If not, you don't have to answer. I'm just curious, what choice of games or hosted games are your favorites?

I have several favorites:

Evertree Inn, it’s my first cs game, that’s why it holds a special place in my heart since it introduced me to CoG and HG.

Slammed!, I was a big wrestling fan when I was little, and reading this for the first time blew me away.

Heroes Rise trilogy, especially the first and third installments.

Sabres and Guns of Infinity, as long as there is war in a story, I’ll be hooked.

The Lost Heir trilogy, I love this game, but the game hates me. I never got the “good” ending in the third one.

Wayhaven Chronicles, who wouldn’t love this one?

These are the ones that I can name on the top of my head and I also haven’t read any of the recently released ones.

#choice of games #hosted games #favorites