triptych

It has been a while since I’ve written much. I’ve been using AI to guide stories and that’s interesting and fun, but more of a diversion than really writing. It’s like having a team of folks that listen to your ideas and create worlds around it. I think it’s a great way for a writer to get out of a slump, and begin to feel creative again. But at the end of the day, writers write. I have a story in mind for this year, and I have a goal to get it written by the end of the year. It’s time to start figuring out what I want to say in this story, and begin to craft that in a way that others would like to read. I also need to start blogging every day – if you want a muscle to get stronger – even a writing muscle – you have to exercise it. So, here I go.

The Tea Dragon's Apothecary

In a sleepy village nestled between enchanted forests and misty mountains, a disgraced alchemist named Elara stumbles upon a wounded tea dragon. Tea dragons are rare creatures whose leaves brew magical teas that can heal, inspire, or even reveal hidden truths. Elara, who lost her license for a potion gone wrong, reluctantly takes the dragon in and begins to care for it. Along the way, she’s joined by a grumpy ex-knight with a cursed sword, a runaway noblewoman who can talk to plants, and a mischievous street urchin with a knack for stealing hearts. Together, they turn Elara’s crumbling apothecary into a haven for misfits and outcasts. But when a mysterious illness threatens the village, Elara must confront her past mistakes and learn to trust her newfound family. A slow-burn romance blossoms between Elara and the ex-knight as they brew teas, share secrets, and heal each other’s wounds.

-—

The Clockwork Catacombs

Beneath the cobblestone streets of a steampunk city lies the Clockwork Catacombs, a labyrinth of gears, traps, and forgotten treasures. Lila, a thief with a mechanical arm she can’t fully control, accidentally awakens an ancient clockwork cat who claims to be the guardian of the catacombs. The cat leads her to a hidden sanctuary where a group of eccentric inventors, each with their own flaws and failures, have built a cozy underground home. Among them is Finn, a charming but reckless engineer who’s haunted by the death of his former partner. As Lila grows closer to the group, she discovers that the catacombs are under threat from a greedy industrialist who wants to exploit their secrets. With the help of her found family, Lila must outwit the industrialist and protect the catacombs—all while learning to embrace her own imperfections and the possibility of love.

-—

The Baker of Broken Things

In a whimsical village where pastries can mend broken hearts and bread can bring forgotten memories, a reclusive baker named Sorrel is known for her ability to fix things—except her own life. Sorrel’s past is a mystery, even to herself, and she’s haunted by nightmares of a magical disaster she can’t quite remember. When a group of strangers arrives in town—a bard with a broken lute, a cursed librarian who turns into a cat at night, and a wandering blacksmith with a shattered sword—Sorrel reluctantly takes them in. Together, they discover that Sorrel’s baking magic is tied to a forgotten kingdom and a prophecy that could save or destroy the world. As Sorrel pieces together her past, she finds herself drawn to the blacksmith, whose quiet strength and vulnerability mirror her own. In the warmth of her bakery, surrounded by the smell of cinnamon and the laughter of her found family, Sorrel begins to heal.

-—

The Lantern Keeper’s Guild

In a world where lanterns hold the light of people’s souls, the Lantern Keeper’s Guild is responsible for protecting these fragile lights from the shadow creatures that lurk in the dark. Nia, a former guild member who was exiled for accidentally extinguishing a lantern, lives alone in a crumbling tower on the edge of the wilderness. When a group of misfits—a lantern thief with a heart of gold, a scholar who’s lost their own light, and a rogue lantern spirit—seeks refuge in her tower, Nia is forced to confront her guilt and rejoin the fight against the shadows. As they work together to relight the lanterns and restore hope to the land, Nia finds herself falling for the lantern thief, whose optimism and resilience challenge her to believe in second chances. Together, they rebuild the guild into a found family of outcasts, proving that even the darkest nights can be illuminated by love and friendship.

-—

The Starry-Eared Inn

Perched on the edge of a cliff overlooking a starlit sea, the Starry-Eared Inn is a haven for travelers, adventurers, and those running from their past. The innkeeper, a half-elf named Calla, has a secret: she can hear the whispers of the stars, which guide her to those in need of shelter. When a storm brings a group of strangers to her door—a pirate captain with a cursed compass, a runaway prince with a knack for storytelling, and a shy astronomer who’s lost their telescope—Calla’s quiet life is turned upside down. As the stars warn of an approaching danger, Calla and her guests must work together to protect the inn and the magical ley lines that converge beneath it. Along the way, Calla finds herself drawn to the astronomer, whose quiet wisdom and starlit eyes remind her of the constellations she loves. In the warmth of the inn’s hearth, surrounded by laughter and the glow of the stars, Calla discovers that home isn’t a place—it’s the people you choose to share it with.

Wondering if I might start blogging again…

I was going to do some work on my Denweaver site this weekend, but ended up doing other things with family as well as resting on Sunday. However, I did do some work. I was writing down some ideas for the site, and I also played a few other web based games.

One game in particular – which is meant to be a sort of learning game for kids – really inspired me as they have a really smooth and clean way to introduce players into the game. The site is https://www.prodigygame.com/ and I started looking at how they onboard new players. They do some clever things with cut scenes, and show you your little home and how to interact with NPC’s as well as a few battles to help you learn the ropes. I really like this kind of “learning by doing” and they also add a bit of storyline and motivation for you to play.

Originally I was going to just tell the player they have a house, and a dungeon and how the mechanics work and let them just start out. But I really like this idea of just putting them in the world, have a short cut scene that introduces the first level of mechanics and get them immersed right away. It’s so much better than the expositional style I was going to go with.

Here’s an example screen

And here’s one with the upsell

They do such a great job with color, design, and everything. I’m super impress with this supposedly kids learning game.

Another example

This is helping me rethink how I am organizing my own game.

Instead of endless menus, and walls of text. I want to put them into the game right away and let them explore.

So, while I didn’t do any coding this weekend, I did learn a lot, and this will have a dramatic impact on the course of my own Denweaver game.

I seem to have survived a major hurdle in my life. I had a minor heart attack in April, and immediately got 2 ‘stints’ in my heart to prevent major damage. But during that time, it seems they determined that I was in an urgent need of a heart bypass surgery. Just thinking about what has happened to me since then is kinda beyond imagining.

However, I’m now almost fully recovered from this surgery and I’ll be going back to work next week. It is with much trepidation as I’ve been super weak and doing my best to recover day to day.

One of the things that has kept me going has been hanging out on Mastodon, and working on my little web game Denweaver. Every day I have been doing a little bit more on the coding side and it’s been helping me to have something to focus on a bit.

Also, to be honest, it has helped me remember why I even started coding in the first place. It was originally because web development is FUN. I just can’t get enough of HTML, CSS, and JS. And having the browser bend to my ideas is just super empowering. I’ve been doing this for a long time, but over the years I’ve kinda lost sight of the fun aspect of things. I’m now spending more time on that – and also I want to blog more. I feel like it will help me process all this stuff I’m going through, and maybe some knowledge or experience I have will interest someone else.

This title is level 54 because I just had a birthday 2 days ago. I’ve survived a major surgery and “levelled up” . Time to put away doubts and procrastination and just DO STUFF.

Denweaver is a game that will have many things to do. Primarily you’ll be creating a home for yourself as well as a dungeon that others can visit and play in. Beyond just the home you create, as you level up you can add more places in your “den” that will be visitable by other folks. This will be sorta like websites in that the place is a permanent link you can point to that others can visit.

You could create a library where folks could check out books. Or a tavern where you might sell drinks. And in the dungeon below you might come up with fun places like a mad scientist lab, or a pool full of man-eating fish. The idea is to take a cozy building sim and combine it with a sort of dungeon crawler.