[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_margin=”-24px|||||”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}” custom_padding=”8px|||||” custom_margin=”-33px|auto||auto||”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
My latest anthology,\u00a0Saltwater Sorrows<\/em> came out earlier this week. I’m going to celebrate that fact over the next couple weeks by sharing a series of blog posts by myself and some of my authoers.<\/p>\n So today, while I’m in Calgary at When Words Collide preparing to ‘officially’ launch this book, I’d like to invite you to spend some time with Natalie Cannon. Natalie wrote “Portrait of a Mermaid as a Young Woman” and today she is sharing her recommendations for a couple video games that might help get you in the mood, not just for her story, but all the stories in this anthology.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Interactive-Fictions.jpg” title_text=”Interactive Fictions” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n By Natalie Cannon<\/p>\n I want to start by thanking Rhonda Parrish and this blog for hosting this post. I\u2019m very excited for Saltwater Sorrows<\/em>: both to share my mermaid with the world and to read everyone else\u2019s shimmering work. To whet our shark-like appetites, I thought I\u2019d share five interactive fictions. These video games will help get you into the mood for Saltwater Sorrows<\/em>\u2026and may linger like blood in the water when they\u2019re over.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Bycatch-Gameplay.png” title_text=”Bycatch Gameplay” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Bycatch” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n https:\/\/vowtogether.itch.io\/bycatch<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou are the Fisher. Burdened by a curse to find things better left lost, you make the choices you can, and wonder if any of it will make a difference in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Bycatch<\/em> is a game to scream, wail, and gnash your teeth to. With a runtime under one hour, this game guts the heart and fully exercises the tear ducts. As a salt-soaked rumination on nostalgia, it fishes out questions with no clear answer and weaves nets of wonders. What should we bring home with us, and into our futures? The muted color palette and inky line work are creepy and beautiful and beautifully creepy. If you\u2019re a dating sim fan of yore, VOWTogether is the same writing team behind the now-defunct Lovestruck app, whose queer-positive stories spearheaded major changes in the USA video game industry. Lovestruck\u2019s queer merfolk love story, My Siren Crush<\/em>, is being painstakingly rebuilt by fans, if you want to check that out as well. https:\/\/beamycomet47.itch.io\/my-siren-crush-remix<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Choice-of-Broadsides-Cover-image-Battle-of-the-Basque-Roads-by-Thomas-Whitcombe-1817-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Choice of Broadsides Cover image – Battle of the Basque Roads by Thomas Whitcombe 1817″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Choice of Broadsides” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.choiceofgames.com\/broadsides\/<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA swashbuckling naval adventure, in the spirit of C. S. Forester’s Hornblower or Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey\/Maturin books, with a dash of Jane Austen.\u201d<\/p>\n As the description implies, Choice of Broadsides<\/em> will have you sailing the fictional\u2014yet quite familiar\u2014waters of definitely-not Atlantic Ocean during the definitely-not Napoleonic Wars. Without sound effects or graphics, this interactive fiction is pure choose-your-own-adventure, with choices throwing you like ocean froth from turbulent seas to dignified ballrooms. As the first Choice of Games I ever played, I wasn\u2019t sure which way the wind blew. Rest assured, I liked it so much that I wrote my own interactive fiction later (Moonrise<\/em>, about sapphic werewolves). Broadsides<\/em> will have you fretting over how to best capture a plum prize, solve a shipside murder, suppress a mutiny, and if you truly desire Mr. Darcy\u2019s twin. The results are hilarious and joyous. One of the first choices is if you\u2019d like to flip the patriarchy on its head. That is, women can be \u201cdominant\u201d gender, who must seek their fortunes in the ocean breeze, while men tend the hearth and dress in copious amounts of lace. If you want more high seas fun, Choice of Games published The Daring Mermaid Expedition<\/em> (wherein you must prove mermaids are real) https:\/\/www.choiceofgames.com\/daring-mermaid-expedition\/ and their sister company Heart\u2019s Choice published A Pirate\u2019s Pleasure<\/em> (wherein you smooch pirates) https:\/\/www.choiceofgames.com\/hearts-choice\/pirates-pleasure\/<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Boyfriend-Dungeon-Cover-2-1.jpg” title_text=”Boyfriend Dungeon Cover 2″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Boyfriend Dungeon” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/app\/674930\/Boyfriend_Dungeon\/<\/a> or here on itch.io https:\/\/kitfoxgames.itch.io\/boyfriend-dungeo<\/a>n<\/p>\n \u201cRomance your swords! Capture the hearts of weapons (m, f, enby) to level them up in this dating simulator and dungeon crawler mash up. The weapons you use turn into beautiful people\u2014take them on dates to level them up and become more powerful slaying monsters together. This is the “shack-and-slash” the world’s been waiting for!\u201d<\/p>\n Boyfriend Dungeon<\/i> perfectly captures Southern California\u2019s laid back beach vibes and is honestly the perfect game for summer. Bask in the visual novel segments and let the adrenal waves surge during dungeons literally crawling with your anthropomorphized fears. This game was my first dungeon crawler\u2014you could say I was wet behind the ears\u2014but Boyfriend Dungeon<\/i> is beginner friendly. To better sharpen my proverbial teeth, I made full use of the crafting system, which uses zines to amp powers and stylish outfits alike. Most of Boyfriend Dungeon<\/i> is sunnily light-hearted, but the core is a coming-of-age story for twenty-somethings trying to figure out how they want to be in an adult. There\u2019s no compass here, and following one\u2019s heart can lead off the edge of known maps. Kitfox Games took pains to make Boyfriend Dungeon<\/i> queer-friendly as well. From the mechanics to in writing, friendships are given equal value to romantic relationships. The nonbinary characters are adorable and lore-important. If humans exhaust you, you can focus on befriending a cat! Or be like me and form one huge polycule!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/It-gets-so-lonely-here-Gameplay-2.png” title_text=”It gets so lonely here Gameplay 2″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”It gets so lonely here” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n https:\/\/ebihime.itch.io\/lonely<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cYou are running through a forest. It is late at night and the sky is as black as pitch. The trees which surround you, jutting out of the earth like eerie monuments to a foreign god, are blotting out most of the moonlight. You do not know where you are going. You have no map; no route; no plan. You have no desire, as you run, save to escape. You cannot let yourself be caught. All you can do is run, on and on and on… But, despite all of your hard work, your best efforts will, invariably, be in vain. It\u2019s already too late for you. After all…<\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ll never be able to escape from me.\u201d<\/p>\n It gets so lonely here<\/i> is a lesbian fairy tale-esque visual novel made for Yandere Game Jam 2023. For those not happily drowning in East Asian media, \u201cyandere\u201d is a Japanese storytelling archetype used to describe a character who takes love, admiration, and devotion to extreme, violent levels. They\u2019re possessive, obsessive, unstable, insatiable, and stop at nothing to get what they want. Scuttling away from the more bloody aspects of the archetype, It gets so lonely here<\/i> buries itself with relish into the trope\u2019s psychological horror. The love interests\u2014one of whom is a mermaid\u2014are deeply traumatized by grief, guilt, death, and, yes, the loneliness of survival at all costs. The heroine isn\u2019t immune either, as insecurities and jealousies stick to her like barnacles, making me think that she<\/i> might lock these women up, given the power. Murder isn\u2019t the most healthy of love languages, but the twilit dreamy atmosphere, artful melancholy, and eerie soundtrack can lull you into thinking about it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”2_5,3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”2_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.rhondaparrish.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Romancelvania-Gameplay-1-1.jpg” title_text=”Romancelvania Gameplay 1″ align=”center” _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_5″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\nBycatch by VOWTogether<\/h3>\n
Choice of Broadsides by Adam Strong-Morse, Heather Albano, and Dan Fabulich at Choice of Games<\/h3>\n
Boyfriend Dungeon by Kitfox Games<\/span><\/h3>\n
It gets so lonely here by ebi-hime<\/h3>\n
Romancelvania by Deed End Games<\/h3>\n