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Hi, I'd like to introduce myself, I'm Sam Landstrom, owner and founder of Delight Games and I make interactive fiction for mobile (Google Play and Apple's App Store). There's a lot of people on here who are passionate about storygames and so I wanted to invite you all to check out the gamebooks we've made in the genres of Medieval Fantasy, Horror, Detective Noir, and more. These are stat-driven, so if you're familiar with "Choice of Games", I'd say we're in that ballpark.

My games are not for everyone and so I'll say a few things about them to perhaps save you some time:

- I'm just on mobile phones and tablets. 
- These are farther on the story side of the story/game gradient, which means a lot of railroading and NO customization of the character you play. Think of a typical novel with a set protagonist who has their own gender, sexuality, personality, goals, etc. You play this person and make choices in the best interest of him/her with the hope of survival and to get the highest score you can. These are super stripped-down gamebooks.
- I would not classify these as "free". On Google Play, with patience and a willingness to play rewarded videos, you can play all the content for free. On iOS, the first chapter of each series is free (no ads), but you have a paywall for subsequent chapters. I can get into the "why" of this in this thread if anyone asks.

Anyway, interactive fiction readers/creators like you are a rare breed and one that's close to my heart. Here are a few promo codes which will get you Premium ($29.99 normally) on Google Play for free. If you snag one, please comment with "Got 1", "Got 2", etc. because they can only be used once and there's no point in others trying to input a code that's expended.

1) QS6VCGJU6BP9HRH84C06D7R
2) GMFPS65A4R1CJX42LYJ9E3M
3) M56R46V88BEEAJDS3K2GDS4
4) Q97U768SY6T28JYMKTJ0HZE
5) SDN1F6HTC8HXPM8QBDVUG11
6) 8ALGFRTD533DLQ7PW1UCG8J?
7) THNTDN8WDZQCA65BBDWVD77
8) dibs --M
9) YCCX7RSW7MBT7U76K3NNCSK
10) VDJ3CJNXTS2JC3UXK3G1BS7

(SCROLL DOWN FOR IOS KEYS IF YOU HAVE BEEN CUCKED BY THE GHOST OF STEVE JOBS -- M)

Here's instructions from Google on how to use it: Open Play Store app. Swipe to right at the left side of the screen. Tap on Redeem. Enter your code and tap on REDEEM.

I'm not offering iOS promo codes at the moment because promo codes on iOS are a pain and they expire quickly. If people really want them, I might be able to dig some up.

If you miss out on a code, you can still try it out for free.

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.delightgames.delightgames
iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/delight-games-premium-library/id928739349

Finally, if you have feedback or questions, I'll try to respond here. Like many of you, I find the art and business of IF fascinating!

Sam

Got #1.

Thank you for the codes and for being upfront about the cost and what it is.  I have played and enjoyed a few of the games in the past, but they may not be someone who is used to this site would expect.  Still, they are fun.

Nice. Yeah, I feared being accused of "bait and switch" or otherwise pissing people off.  I'm sure folks on here are accustomed to a different style of game.

so if you're familiar with "Choice of Games"

lol

I've played Deep Space Huntress just recently actually, it was a lot of fun and had some decent writing. You had a lot in the library that looked interesting that I haven't gotten around to yet, but it's hard to go wrong with sci-fi and fantasy adventure around here.

Set protagonists are also something you don't have to worry about, that's generally the preference with CYS authors too. Anyhow, welcome to the site and it was pretty cool of you to bring the keys along. I'll refrain from grabbing one so it stays free for the kiddos.

Deep Space Huntress is the only sci-fi in the library, actually. It didn't do that well commercially so I didn't green-light any more. Medieval Fantasy is our strongest genre right now and that's where I'm focusing this year.

Glad to hear you like set protagonists. I feel that brings the most immersive storytelling and it certainly makes it easier on me as a writer.

Oh, also, I prefer writing Medieval Fantasy.

I noticed it was mostly fantasy when I skimmed, I think that's why DSH originally jumped out at me. Too bad it didn't do well, I love pulpy sci-fi. Fantasy overall is the most popular thing here (and probably everywhere) though.

Quick question, do you have any idea whether these are accessible to the blind?

Yes, they are, or so my blind testers have said. I'm sure of this for Google Play and I'm pretty sure for iOS.

Caveat is that these are ad-supported through Google's AdMob network and I can't vouch for ads not blowing up the accessibility. Blind users usually pay to get rid of ads, I think. BTW, according to a pretty good sized pole I did in partnership with a literacy researcher from the University of South Carolina, about 3% of my users are blind.

Awesome, well in that case I've got dibs on #8 for Mayana.

Nice. If she finds any issues, I'd like to hear about it. I have done a lot of updates since my accessibility tests and you never know what might creep in.

Owning an Amazon tablet, most promising apps don't usually come my way. However, you would not believe the delight I felt when I saw your app on the Amazon app store.

Btw, many people here (myself included) love to read this sort of thing. Cheers!

Awesome! I presume you're talking about the "Actually Free" version of the library on Amazon? That's a lot of free content and it is pretty full-featured; however, I've run into some technical difficulties with updates on Amazon and so it hasn't been updated in several months and I'm not sure when I'll be able to update it, particularly since Amazon is such a small part of my business now.

Make sure to say which one if you grabbed a key.

I've been using the Kindle Fire for years though, I'm pretty sure they're compatible with anything in the GooglePlay store. Although I can't say I've tested it much, King of Dragon Pass works fine anyway.

The Fire is an Android, but Google services have been replaced with Amazon brand apps, including the appstore. Problem is, Amazon app store is very limited.

I didn't grab a key, so the other 8 should still be available.

Oh wow, hadn't realized they'd done that. That really sucks.

I took #5. Thank you.

Oh, I know these games! Keep doin what you're doin!

Thanks! I hope to for years to come. :)

Looks like a promotional message - which would make sense, considering a lot of the site's users are within his product's demographics.

Promoting and answering questions right now. I have worked with a bunch of contractors over the years, but I have more content on the backlog than I can handle at the moment. A few months down the road I might start sniffing around for a writer again--probably a medieval fantasy specialist. This seems like a really good place for me to post something like that.

Hi, big fan of your games and ‘wizard’s choice’ was the very first CYOA styled story I read (and probably is the reason for me getting addicted to CYOA stories). Paladins was pretty good too. Currently waiting for chapter 10 of rogues, really excited about it! 

Thanks for the promo code I took #10.

Thanks for the props!

Yeah, I was working on Rogue's Choice chapter 10 today. At the moment, the chapter is taking a sexual detour. It will be interesting to see how much of this remains after the edit and how readers react. Having Premium, you'll be among the first to see it.

Also, Ranger's Choice 1 is almost out of edit. That's going to be a change of pace too. That will go live before Rogue's 10.

I grabbed 9, thanks. I played a couple games a while ago, and actually had some coins saved up on my old phone, but lost them when I switched to a new one, so this is pretty awesome.

Good timing. I hope you enjoy Premium.

Your games sound pretty in line with what I would like based on what you described. It would be great if you could give out a few iOS promo codes since I don’t own an Android device.

Victim IRL.

You got it, see below.

Oh, and here are the iOS codes for Premium. It wasn't as big a pain as it used to be.

1) N3RTKW6PK3MT
2) PKJJ6PETP46N
3) NEYJ7H7JMFAT
4) FY6KFJAYJ3NL
5) WTFAJ7AP33E4
6) 3YHLHFX94X97
7) FT6KPEK6RYTR
8) LHRPXJHYHNAR
9) 9MJ7J96JH4AL
10) MEJNFEJRP4XF

(Sorry, I'm told these have all been taken by people who didn't bother to post anything about it. RIP. Apple users continue to be ungrateful dicks. --M)

You are way too nice, 20 keys is way more than anyone here deserves.

Especially @TheWriterInTheDark

Screw that guy, worst poster on the site. Everyone thinks so.

ouch.

Hell yes I made you talk.

But only briefly.

In my experience, most writers are too nice. Anyway, no one was going to read it, anyway. Now maybe 20 will.

Does anyone know where I should actually put that code, because I'm a luddite with no knowledge of tech?

https://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/973350

If you're using a mobile device like I assume most people are, enter the app store, tap the little head icon at the top right and then "redeem gift card or code".

Got 10. Thanks!

Got 4, thanks a lot!

I've got #7. Much appreciated.

Got 1 of the IOS. Cheers, man. Looks great!

I've played a game with an exactly identical format to this (it's called "Paladins: Choices Game"), and the one issue I have is with the scoring system. Scores work well for storygames with clear objectives, but when almost every choice either adds to your score or doesn't it suggests that there's always a right choice and a wrong choice rather than letting the player explore whichever pathway he pleases. I'm not sure if the chapter format of your games allow for significant branching, but if it does, the score system also suggests one true path rather than multiple equal pathways, and in fact I believe that it probably influences the author to write out unequal outcomes for their option when that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. Now, of course the player can ignore the score and just play as if it doesn't exist, but I think we can all agree that that's pretty difficult. Of course, I'm sure there are those who enjoy the "game" aspect of having a score, and it's probably easier for the author and publisher (you) to work within the existing format.

The scoring system not withstanding, the writing is of great quality and length for a mobile storygame app so far as I can tell so far. I hope you keep it up!

Paladins is very similar to my other games because I developed Paladins too and in fact that story is included in the full library on Google Play. Paladins is actually a traditional novel by David Dalglish which I took wholesale and "gamified" using the scoring system you mention (with David's permission). I added about 50% of the original content (~40k words of what had been 80k) in order to create little branches. It was an experiment. I wanted to see if I could take a normal novel, almost any novel, and make it into a game. I'm pretty happy with the result and the ratings were amazing, but it came at the cost of severe "railroading". The story always had to come back to the main "trunk" and it had to do it quickly because of the traditional novel format. Because of this railroading, the only significant effect I could make for the reader making one choice over another was to give them a short branch of different story and use the stat and so in my mind, I basically made "good", "ok", and "bad" outcomes. I wanted these outcomes to be non-obvious while logical to the reader, at least in hindsight. Anyway, that's the goal, but it's more an art than a science, and so I miss sometimes.

You're right, if you play it without regard to what you think will be best for the character, you'll die or at least get a low score for the chapter. I get a good amount of feedback that this isn't great, particularly if they don't agree with the outcomes. :) I even started adding achievements like "Should have worked" since there are plenty of times when a choice seems pretty logical, but just doesn't turn out for some subtle reason that most readers wouldn't expect.

I got the "Should have worked" achievement last night. That was awesome & hilarious, I loved it!

Glad you dug it. I always wonder how the achievement system goes over with readers.

I think the way it's set-up makes the achievement system pretty fun.  

Originally I was just having a very very brief look at Deep Space Huntress and weirdly what got me paying attention was acquiring +1 Cool early on. This was for identifying and just straight up noping out of a situation that would get any extra in a Star Trek episode killed.

I don't know, sometimes it really is just the small things. It amused me, and honestly a lot of games here (mine included) instead of rewarding you would've just found some BS reason to end the game if you refused to do a dumb thing for the sake of the plot.

I'm glad the mechanic was intriguing. I really try not to make the reader "metagame" where they feel they need to do what the author wants them to do rather than what best for the situation. I remember running into this with CYOA books as a kid. "Do you want to go into the creepy house" or "Go home?" I knew to go into the house otherwise it would either end (lamely) or force me into the house anyway.

Deep Space Huntress was one of the early Delight Games so I don't remember it well. I tweaked some of the choices, branches, and consequences, but most of the game design and writing was Robert Kroese (indie traditional novelist).

I grabbed #3 for Android. Thanks!

Definitely need to take a closer look at this at some point. This looks like it could be a very nice little side-project. ^_^

Hi, you were really helpful when I contacted you a while back when I lost all my saved data. Just wanted to drop in and say thanks for that and that I'm really enjoying reading Witch Saga and Detective's choice in particular at the moment :)

Thanks! I try to stay on top of mail, although it's sometimes tough as a one-man show. I'm glad I could help. 

I finally got the chance to check this out, and it's delightful, the name's quite fitting! I'm playing Ranger's Choice right now, which has a rather generic title, but is interesting so far. I've already gotten one achievement, and I think they're a great idea, good motivation for people to replay the story. I love that I can read these offline, they'll be a great way to pass time wherever I am. I feel a bit guilty for using this promo code instead of paying, but I might buy it for someone else once I get some money.

As far as accessibility goes, I found no major problems so far. On the first page of the story I could for some reason only read 2 paragraphs before it moved me to the choices, so I had to go back and find the third one. But there's no such issue on the pages after that, so I'm not sure what's causing it. A big picture, perhaps?

While they're very different, the ranger's confident, professional nature and inability to understand most humor reminds me of the protagonist of Eternal (one of the best stories here on CYS) on the struggle path. The scene at the start where he teaches the guards a lesson by tricking them into walking into the traps is awesome, very amusing. The only thing I find unusual so far is that the protagonist's morale didn't lower after becoming enslaved. If that doesn't lower his spirit, he must be one damn strong character. :)

Thank you for the detailed feedback! It's particularly useful because I shipped Ranger's Choice only a few days ago and I suspected that there will be some kinks to smooth out. For example, I have gotten about 30 typo fixes from customers already despite that title going through an edit.

Your suspicion was correct, there is a large image on the first page after the second paragraph, so that is what you ran into. I thought those images were accessible, but maybe not. I'll have to check to make sure the "alt" text is working correctly. I don't currently use a lot of interior art, so I suppose there's a silver lining to that.

Yeah, I used to have the morale going down in that scene, but since it was something everyone ran into, regardless of choice, I removed it. Maybe I'll revisit that.

I do generic titles for the sake of search and better click-through-rates on the mobile stores. For instance, D&D fans will immediately know what a "Ranger" is and the "Choice" might help clue them in that they will be able to make choices that character. I use pragmatic titles instead of literary ones. :)

Don't feel bad about grabbing the promo. That's what it's for and I'm just happy you're using it.

Just as a reminder that this still exists, and you should still try it even if there's no codes left, here's another review. Warning, spoilers!

I've just read the entire Demon's Choice series. And damn, that was fun! Sure sure, in real life I am a nice and moral person (or am I?), but in fiction it's sometimes just more interesting to read about people being insulted, tricked, betrayed, beaten up and killed. And in this story, there was plenty of that.

I think this was the first time I read a story with a succubus as a protagonist, cool concept! In my opinion you managed to write her very well. Even though she's definitely not one of the good guys, I was still able to relate to her and understand her choices. She usually had at least a somewhat understandable reason for her evil actions, and even had a few surprising good moments mixed in, such as saving a child from being sacrificed. And even though she was a bad ass character that was damn good at charming people, possessing them or beating them up, you gave her enough flaws that she didn't feel annoyingly overpowered.

This's definitely not a children's fairytale, but it's still 7/8 by CYS standards. I think there's just one sex scene, in chapter 4 or so, and even that one's not all that detailed and can be easily avoided ... which is probably what I should've done, but shut up! :) This is one very well behaved succubus. It seems that your version of succubi don't need to feed on lust or whatever it is they usually do.

The humor in this story was just amazing. I think my favorite moment was when the protagonist possesses a knight and humiliates him by forcing him to attempt a sexual assault. Huh, when written like this, it sounds much less fun than it actually is. Trust me, he totally deserved it, and it was hilarious. And there's nothing more delightful than convincing someone to drink water that will erase their memory just by telling them not to do it. There's plenty more of examples, but I've already spoiled too much.

Because I'm so damn awesome, I managed to get the highest rank on the first playthrough for most of the chapters. Well ... perhaps I'm not so awesome. At the start it truly was just good luck, but soon I found out just how tempting that back button is ... but I'll play the next book without using it, honest!

The only major complaint I have is the title. Come on, did you really have to make it so offensive? You knew succubi don't like to be called demons, and yet you did it anyway. Rude! :) It would've also been even more wonderful if it was less linear and I didn't have to press continue so often. But since the story is split into chapters that aren't connected to each other, it'd probably be much harder for it to have multiple longer paths, so I can understand why it's linear.

The stats at the start of each chapter are kind of random. They seemed to be calculated based on how much of them you'd need for that chapter, completely ignoring how much you might've had in the previous ones. So I could end with a pretty nice amount of life, for example 18, but have just 4 in the next chapter. I guess there's not really a way to avoid this though, since just copying the stats from the previous chapter might make the game harder, and some (unusual) people won't play them one after another anyway.

Alright, enough rambling. So far, this story has been, you guessed it, delightful. You couldn't have chosen a better name for your app. I hope you submit more chapters soon! Meanwhile, I'll play through Wizard's Choice, since I should've played that one first anyway to not spoil things.

Wow, this is great feedback and so detailed, thank you!

I love Azizella and can't wait to put up another chapter from her perspective. Right now, I'm focused on "Rogue's Choice" which overlaps with Azizella's story.

No, Azizella doesn't like to identify as a demon. Somehow the irony of the title never struck me until you mentioned it.

Ha, I chuckled a few times as I wrote the kinght revenge scene. I hoped most readers would choose that option.

It pleases me that you got pretty high scores. I presume you're an experienced interactive fiction reader/player and so the fact that you were able to guess choices well enough to survive/thrive extends hope to me that the outcomes are relatively logical. Hopefully you died on occasion, though. I don't want it to be too easy.

Yeah, I want to fix the stat thing at some point. You're right that they are designed so that the player doesn't have it too easy/hard for the chapter. It also provides a good "reset point" for when people restart a chapter. I never persisted stats because I figured it would be a testing nightmare...On the other hand, when I first designed these games, I didn't have the "boosting" feature for stats and so maybe I could just push stats through from chapter-to-chapter. I see a possible A/B test for some day in the future.

The linear thing is hard to fix for the reason you mention, not to mention the sheer amount of writing, testing, etc required. Mizal told me my games are "gauntlet" style, which I think is a perfect term and I don't see that changing. But who knows? Maybe I could try this with one of my most popular chapters and measure the restarts and other engagement. It might be worth it.

Excuses do not make your racism any more acceptable. Change your title immediately. Bad things will happen if you don't! :)

Experienced? Me? Hah, not even slightly. But yes, the better choices were usually logical if you thought about them for a bit. And when they weren't ... well, that's what that "Should've worked" achievement is for. And yes, I did die a few times. Perhaps the most frustrating one is when I just blindly trusted that "man" on the stairway searching for his sister. That was very foolish of me, fuck if I know what I was thinking.

You'd probably have to modify the books quite a lot if the stats persisted through chapters. Perhaps they'd have to start higher, but you'd still have to be careful that that doesn't make the first chapters too easy. Maybe sleeping (or the Dark, in this particular case) could give higher boosts? Now that I think of it, that does sound like a lot of trouble to calculate, so I perfectly understand why you didn't bother. It would be a cool feature, but you'd have to balance it well so that people wouldn't become pissed off at having to spend so many more coins for boosting.

Everyone has their own preferences on how many branches they want their story to have. I can certainly understand that you're not the type that would write huge branching stories, like say EndMaster is. It would be an interesting change from the usual, but you've found a format you do really well with, so feel ree to stick to it. Your stories are well written, so people'll enjoy them either way. Thank you for replying, you're awesome!

Well, I'm glad you died a few times. There was way too much material there for me to feel good about you just sailing through it!

Yeah, the rival succubus was supposed to be tricky and reasonably clever (succubi are never stupid). That might not have been fair...I should add a "Life ain't fair" achievement, although that would be a little like the "should have worked".

If you play any more series, I'd love to hear your feedback.

I'm not the author, but I think it's fine. The protagonist from Demon's Choice is mentioned only briefly and there's no major info you'll miss.

Rogue’s choice was released before the Succubus one, if I remember correctly. So it’s fine. I haven’t read the succubus one yet and I’m on the tenth chapter of rogues

Correct. You can read any of the series in any order, although it might be slightly better to read Wizard's Choice first since the other series take place later. Rogue's now has 11 chapters (just released 11 a few days ago) and has a bit more of a sense of completion, although neither Demon's or Rogue's is yet complete.

Now I'm writing both Demon's and Rogue's at the same time, releasing chapters in one series or the other and having their paths cross. 

Thanks for checking it out!

Sam