If you’ve been wondering what mammoth project I’ve been working on next, let me tell you. I’ve got a full-length interactive visual novel on the way, from the world of Sensus Supra!
Dorm Till Dawn is a fully illustrated adventure spanning one night in a new home, where people might shrink, people might grow, and you’re going to have to work hard to make it out alive…
It’s nearing completion now, at last, so I thought it high time I put out a full post exploring what it’s all about. First up, how about a promo collage?
What is Dorm Till Dawn?
This is a game where you choose your own adventure, following a story with a lot of multiple choice options. It’s a bit like an interactive comic, also known as a visual novel. But given the amount of options available, it has a ton more images, and the added joy of putting you as the central character.
You’re just arriving at St Fiacre’s College for Women of Unreliable Size, a refuge for women afflicted by a disease that could make you shrink or grow at any moment. Worse, when people change size, others around them may react… strangely.
If you’re familiar with my writing at all, you’ll have an idea for the dangers that might lie ahead. Shrinking around here could easily make you prey.
The premise is simple. You’ve been placed in one of St Fiacre’s new dorms, where up to four women live, and you’re about to meet your new roommates. If you can make it through the night, you might have a chance at surviving here… but it’s going to be a tough night.
Who are these giantesses and shrinking women?
There are four main characters you’re likely to encounter in this adventure: Miss Collins, your liaison who’s supposed to take care of you; Paige, a seemingly friendly, somewhat alternative girl; Bayley, an aggressive sporty girl; and Cass, who seems currently to be absent…
Depending on the paths you choose, there’s a possibility to face all of these women huge. And there’s a chance any one of them could kill you… Fans of Sensus Supra may recognise some details: Bayley, indeed, is a familiar face, although the timing and events of this game aren’t necessarily canon, given that it could play out any number of ways!
How big is this game?
Depending on how lucky you are making your way through this, the night might move fairly swiftly. Or you might die again and again… Fingers crossed, either way, there’s quite a bit of replayability for you to explore all the different possibilities!
It is what I’d describe as a literary maze: there are a couple of ways through to safety, but you might have to make a lot of wrong turns to find them…
The game is supported by some 40,000 words of text, and some 90 choices to be made, which amounts to a little under half of how long Under the Table is, to give a sense of the scale. Though that book has a lot more description, where this has images – and there are over 500 images in this.
As well as the four main characters, the game features three main environments within the contained apartment: the living area, Paige’s room and Bayley’s room, each with their own colour scheme and possibilities for misadventure.
What can you do in this game?
Your main goal here is to make it through the night alive, through whatever means you can. You’ve got this disease that’s easily triggered by stress, and you’re in a stressful environment, so you’re not likely to reach the morning without shrinking.
Once you’ve shrunk, anyone could be out to get you. You might get grabbed, you might get stomped on. You might be squished by accident.
This is a survival/horror scenario, mind, so though these may be some beautiful girls, impressive and even alluring in their massive scale, don’t imagine you’ll be able to woo them. There might be a chance for some minor seduction, but more likely you’ll be running for your life.
When’s it out?
At the time of writing this, I’m getting close to finishing the first iteration of the game, with just a heap more images left to complete. Then it’s going to take a lot of testing to ensure the best experience. Depending on my other commitments, I hope to have a beta version out by the end of October.
As with all my work, it will be available first on Patreon and SubscribeStar, with the full game up for the higher tiers and long-term patrons and smaller samples for the lower tiers. You can join as a free member for the latest news there, or you can join my newsletter here. If you’re not already familiar with St Fiacre’s and the world of Sensus Supra, I’m currently running a special offer where you can get a free eBook of the first book in the series, The New Girl, when you join my mailing list.
This one has been a lot of work, but if I can pull it off I’m hoping it’ll be a precursor to more, even better projects. I hope you’ll look forward to its release as much as me, and I’ll be back soon with some updates!
