Right Place. Wrong Time.

Seeking aid after a wreck, you stumble upon the quaint, tightly knit community of Bright Oak– some 45 years outside of your intended travel plans, and struggling with their own troubles in the wake of a mysterious catastrophe. Finding a path back to your own timeline won’t be easy. Abandoning the townspeople to their fate might be even harder.

FEATURES:

• Nameable protagonist with choice of pronouns (she/he/they) and a mind of their own;
• Multiple branching routes in response to significant player choices (225,000 words, 12 ending variations, and upwards of 15 ways to get there); 
• An ensemble of five primary characters, providing a variety of perspectives and alternate story paths;
• Visual sensitivity and dyslexia-friendly gameplay options;
• Failure in the game is nearly impossible– but success is far from assured!

Bright Oak is a heavily character-driven visual novel with elements of science fiction. Discover the tragic secrets behind Bright Oak’s preternatural dilemma; find friendship, or possibly love (characters are not gender-locked to pronoun choice, romance and friendship paths given equal weight); save the town and make your way home– and if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again!

Halloween Short #5 - Jasper

For the final spooky short, I returned to Victoriana shenanigans for the classic best befitting Dr. Jasper Lee: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Somehow I never had actually read it before this, and I cannot put into words how awestruck I am by Shelley’s wonderful craft– it is immensely readable and profoundly human, and if you have likewise missed reading it or only know the story from the myriad imperfect film adaptations, I recommend picking it up whole-heartedly.

Also, I must thank both @herotome and @remnantation once more, from the bottom of my heart. Their assistance reading through and editing these mini-narratives, and Rem’s willingness to lend her phenomenal artistic talents to the effort, are a large part of what pushed me through this self-assigned project. For their ready kindness and generosity, as well as their aid, I am grateful beyond measure. 

I have enjoyed writing these shorts, and I hope they’ve offered enjoyment to some of you in turn. Content warning for this last: some violence

Nowhere on earth have I found where a single life is of less matter than here, among the vertiginous heights of the mountains. It is not that life becomes inherently less dear when held up against such magnificence, but rather that its substance is firmly assigned proper weight: the fly is not of a greater insignificance than is Man, nor are the fleet swallows that dip and trill across the open meadows of markedly greater permanence than the poppy bloom that shrivels within mere days of opening. The wind-blasted oak trees outlast the seasons; the impassive faces of granite that rise from the earth shall still stand when the oldest of trees fall; and when all below is gone and dust, the sky shall remain, as unmoved by our paroxysms and ultimate destruction as is a child which comes across a beetle’s emptied carapace, devoid of life, and which may now be ground to powder underfoot with a satisfying crunch as she passes. 

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Halloween Short #4 - Patti

Patti’s ghost story is a little different, as I used an urban legend scenario for the base, rather than a specific written work. So for fun, I framed this short as the episode transcript of a misfit ghost-hunting podcast– and in the process roped in the rest of the cast. Figures “Mayor” Patti would be the one to bring the town together. 

As ever, editing and art credit to the wonderful @remnantation​

Notes: some minor swearing, references to alcohol, terrible jokes, and rampant silliness. Proceed at your own risk. 

(theme music plays)

JOHN: Hello, and welcome to Nice to Meet Boo, the friendliest ghost-hunting podcast around! If you’re a first-time listener, the way it works here is that you submit your tales mysterious and strange, and then we trot off and attempt to answer the important question: is the source normal– or paranormal?

MARYBETH: Spoiler: it’s not ghosts.

JASPER: Apart from when it is ghosts, of course.

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hummingbird-games:

IT’S OUT!!

IT’S OUT!!!

ITSOUTITSOUTITSOUTITSOUTITS—

THE FULL GAME IS OUT NOW!!!

Click here to jump straight to the game link.

Dedicated to everyone starting a new nine-weeks in my county, to high school kid Gemini, and for you guys for deciding to stick around and watch a WIP turn into this 😋

steamberrystudio:

Quill’s route released on both Steam and Itch!

(Sorry for the delayed announcement here on tumblr. I kept forgetting.) 😳😳

On both sites you need to update the game. There is not a separate DLC download - it’s the main game that needs updating.

To unlock his route, when Morgan is being pursued in the rain during the common route, you need to choose to hide instead of flee (a confirmation screen will open up just like the other routes).

There shouldn’t be any issues with old saves but it’s probably better to start a new game, just in case.

The public walkthrough has been updated with Quill’s information, as well as the content guide.

For anyone wondering: Reubens’ route is next and is about 60% drafted so far.

Halloween Short #3 - Sparrow

There really was no option for Sparrow’s story but to dive into the Victorian literature he adores, with a heavy dose of the Gothic for good measure: Dracula, alongside works by the Brontë sisters, served as my models for this one. Thanks again to both the excellent @herotome and @remnantation for editing assists, and to the latter again for the glorious art!

A word of caution before proceeding: this one involves blood.

June 12

When first I began chronicling my travels in this diary, little did I think to one day find myself writing here– the ‘here’ in question being not a snug inn some day or two out from my intended destination, with a full belly and a warm bed awaiting me– but instead a golden, desolate field, surrounded by the vast beauty of nature upon all sides, a day and a half distant from my last proper meal. The afternoon is waxing hot, however, and I am seeking respite beneath a convergence of oaks in the form of a natural chapel, the ‘altar’ of which– a mighty, pocked granite boulder– serves as my present seat. It was my intent to wait until I was safely established before writing an account of my troubles, but with little else to do until the heat wanes, I shall put my pen to paper here and now, after all. 

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Halloween Short #2 - Marybeth Forster

Next up is a post-apocalyptic snapshot loosely modelled on Richard Matheson’s “I am Legend”. Art and editing credit goes to the stellar @remnantation​ once more. Note: some minor swearing involved. Stay safe out there!

Even at the height of summer, darkness falls quickly in the hills. And where darkness falls, the shadows multiply. 

I watched as the red disk of the sun slipped below the mountain line, anxiously eying the remote field as the silhouettes of trees and granite and scrub lengthened and distorted, the hush hush of dry grass underfoot growing louder as my steps quickened. I knew too well what could lurk in the shade beneath those silhouettes; knew with a high, singing fear the sense of being pursued as prey, knew to listen for not just the rattle of disturbed serpents or the coughing cry of lions, but for a peculiar groaning that spoke equally eloquently of warning, of hunger and violence.

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Halloween Short #1 - John Forster

To lead off, here’s a ghostly encounter with our esteemed Sheriff Forster, written in the style of O. Henry’s Western short stories. Extra special thanks to @remnantation​ and @herotome​ for being the quickest-draw editors around. Enjoy!

We’d been shambling along in the dusty purple twilight for several rounds of eternity when finally we crested the top of the hill, the moon peeking over the rise alongside us, fair and full. I was glad to see her, as it seemed likely our detour would be rather more tiresome than I’d hoped for in the optimistic light of day, and in turn she obligingly spread her blanket of silver light over the landscape before us, as if preparing a nocturnal picnic to which Estrella the horse and I were the only invitees in the wide world. 

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Spooky Season Shorts~

Just a quick notice that each weekend in October, I’ll be posting a Halloween-themed alternate-universe short story featuring one of the five main characters in Bright Oak, along with some delightful bonus art by @remnantation. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoy writing them!