The Crimson Diamond Gazette #57
Welcome to the latest issue! News and fun facts inside!
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Find game bugs? feedback@thecrimsondiamond.com
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MEDIA
FireFlower Games interview article
Hello Playdate Podcast interview
FMM Live: Discussion with Julia Minamata Dev of The Crimson Diamond
2D Game Art Tips for Solo or Small Teams -- Pre-recorded panel
Scene World Podcast #160 - The Crimson Diamond with Julia Minamata
vicek83's "Plans for Adventure Game Developers for 2023" (guest spot)
Exposing Decades-old Secrets of The Colonel's Bequest (guest spot)
Adventure Game Hotspot Streaming Event Guest Spot #1
Adventure Game Hotspot Streaming Event Guest Spot #2
Current "The Crimson Diamond Demo" Speedrun World Records
The Crimson Diamond on Speedruns.com
Disaster SquadCast episode
"Talking To Women About Videogames" podcast episode part 2 of 2
"Talking To Women About Videogames" podcast episode part 1 of 2
Joystick interview (in English)
Joystick interview (in Greek)
Plans of Adventure Game Devs in 2022 (timestamped link)
IGDA Twin Cities Talk: "The Practical Magic of Pixel Art"
Steam Next Fest (Oct 2021) Developer's Let's Play of The Crimson Diamond Demo
Interviews from the Multiverse: Julia Minamata
Lockdown Con II "The Indie Games Revolution" Panel (first panel of the day)
WIRED.com's Geek's Guide to the Galaxy
Pixelles BIPOC Creator Program grant recipient
usesthis interview (interview about my hardware and software set-up)
8-bit Ninja interview about The Crimson Diamond (in German)
CAAD52 magazine article about The Crimson Diamond (in Spanish)
Cabel Sasser's Photoshop Revelation clip
HomeTeam GameDev Podcast -- Guest Julia Minamata
CityNews - Canada Showcased Through Video Games
CBC Thunder Bay - Superior Morning Radio Interview
PAX East 2020 "What's Next for Adventure Games" Panel
Adventure Games Podcast episode
Classic Adventurer, Issue 07 -- Featured
Adventure Gamers AdventureX Round-up, part II
Adventure Gamers Announcement Article
Adventure Corner Article (German)
The CGG Podcast: # 44 Third appearance, updates since April 2019!
The CGG Podcast: #20 The Crimson Diamond updates & The Colonel's Bequest
The CGG Podcast: #1 Episode featuring me discussing The Crimson Diamond
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CLASSIC GAMER? JOIN CLASSIC GAMERS!
I part of a thriving classic gaming community called the Classic Gamers Guild on Facebook. We host plenty of events during the week, as well as contests and a bunch of other great stuff. We even have a podcast and I was the first guest!
To view this issue in browser, click here
Click here for the entire DevBlog
Editor: Julia Minamata - julia@thecrimsondiamond.com
June 2023
Hello, dear readers! Happy June! The first Oriental poppy of the season bloomed this month! These are some of my favourite flowers. Possibly because of their association with Princess Ozma and her gorgeous Art Nouveau crown, but definitely because of their lush colour and improbable size. I also love that it's an annual plant. It blooms gloriously and briefly, but it will return. I love persistence.
Developer update: The second new room of chapter 6 is now complete! I'm now well into developing the LAST gameplay room of The Crimson Diamond. While there is still plenty of work to do, it does feel like a milestone. I'll be starting on the assets for this last room next week. I'm still aiming to launch this game this year, but I've certainly said that before!
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Narrascope happened! It's an event that celebrates and supports interactive narrative, adventure games, and interactive fiction! There was an in-person event and an online component. Workshops and talks could be attended via their Discord. It was my first time (online) attending Narrascope, and I think it's a wonderful event.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that The Crimson Diamond was mentioned during Edmundo Ruiz Ghanem's presentation on the history of Adventure Game Studio (Edmundo is also beta testing TCD!) Unfortunately I wasn't able to catch the talk live, but Narrascope promises to have the videos available on their site at a later date. I'll keep you posted!
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I was interviewed by FireFlower Games about the development of The Crimson Diamond! FireFlower Games is an online store that specializes in story-rich games, DRM-free, for Windows, Linux, and Mac. It's a fairly short written article, check it out here! You can also download The Crimson Diamond demo on FireFlower Games.
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Ryan Claytor graciously hosted me on his Hello Playdate Podcast! We had a lovely conversation about Recommendation Dog!! (the Playdate game I art directed and did art for, you can find it here) as well as The Crimson Diamond and our shared passion for cross-stitching! I go into more detail about the production process of Recommendation Dog!!, and my approach to the artwork. You can listen to the episode here.
I attended a couple Toronto Games Week events! There was a kick-off event at See-scape that featured a talk by Crypt of the Necrodancer's Ryan Clark. CotN is a game I've actually played AND finished, even though I'm pretty rhythm-deficient! I very much recommend it!
I also attended a presentation at Fort York Library about video game preservation and conservation, hosted by Derek Quenneville and Chris Young. They even brought some really awesome toys, including this Game Boy sewing machine and a Nintendo Famicom with keyboard!
Their message about video game conservation is this: The best way to contribute is to reach out to family and friends who have a history of working in the games industry, and to document their stories while they're still around. Cartridges and CDs will persist, but the human side to the industry won't be around forever.
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My Fourthwall merch arrived! Hooray! I was super excited to receive it. It came faster than I was expecting, considering all of it is print on demand. The embroidery is gorgeous, the colour on the stickers is nice and saturated (though each individual sticker will need to be cut out by hand),and the bucket print on the t-shirt is big (relative to the shirt, which is small)! To check out my Fourthwall store, click here!
When I set up my Fourthwall store, I got $50 credit to order these samples! If you' re interested in setting up a Fourthwall store of your own, here's my referral link (I'd get $15 credit :D).
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A reminder that my Patreon tiers have changed! Now, all current patrons will have their names in the credits of The Crimson Diamond when it launches. The default is to have names included, and the name used will be the Patreon profile name. If you'd like to opt-out or use a different name, please message me on Patreon! Here's a link to my Patreon page.
I've also retired my $1 tier, but patrons on that tier will still get their name in the credits, and nothing changes for them! Retiring a tier just means no new patrons can join it.
A heartfelt thank you to all my Patreon supporters. <3
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I celebrated my Twitch Affiliate Anniversary on June 13! I never thought I'd enjoy streaming so much. That's thanks in large part to everyone who comes to Crimson C'Tuesdays. You folks are lovely and friendly and make the evening a cozy comfort. Thanks for hanging out with me!
I did some giveways and designed a custom celebration emote, finished Bio Meneace, and made some progress on my Legend of the Sword Let's Play! Best of all, I finally added a cat to my game. He's a tribute to the famously deadly kitty in King's Quest 3.
May 16th art stream, May 23 art stream , June 6 art stream, and June 13 art stream!
Crimson C'Tuesday happens every Tuesday at 8pm Eastern on Twitch!
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I'm continuing to work my way through Legend of the Sword (1988, Silicon Software). This game is making my brain tired. Part of the reason is that I leave this to the last part of the night, so I'm starting to run out of gas as it is. Another part of the reason is the way the walkthrough is written; step-by-step directions in all caps, separated by hyphens in long paragraphs. If you miss a step, it's very easy to lose your place in the game. There have been times when the walkthrough instructs me to move in a direction that isn't available to me, or a certain action isn't included. The further I get into the game, the more these inconsistencies are cropping up. Eek! I've been able to bumble my way to 70% of the puzzles achieved, though! Hopefully I can finish it soon! I have my eye on my next EGA adventure game to Let's Play: Loom (EGA!).
If you're interested in playing Legend of the Sword, it's sold on GOG and Steam.The text parser is surprisingly robust for the era!
Personal Nightmare (Horrorsoft 1989)
Last Half of Darkness (Softlab Software Laboratories 1989)
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (LucasArts 1989)
Rise of the Dragon Let's Play (Dynamix, 1990)
The Sorceror's Appraisal (Yahtzee Croshaw, 2002)
Mortville Manor (Lankhor, 1987)
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CRAFT CORNER
At long last, the parlour scene cross-stitch is completed! I started it in mid-October. It's 24,610 cross-stitches (214x115 pixels). Success! This was my most ambitious cross-stitching project to date. Just as with game dev, the prospect of the immense amount of work required can be daunting... But if you just do a bit at a time, it will get done. Eventually.
Here are the DMC embroidery floss colours I used for my EGA palette:
The light magenta was the hardest colour to choose. I tried a lot of different pinks before I settled on this one. It was important to me that the tone of light pink would match the light grey, so that if you squint your eyes they blend together. The difference between the light and dark magenta is a little drastic though... Nothing is perfect!
And here's my next project: The death graphics in Legend of the Sword! This game uses dither combinations that I don't tend to use, and uses them to great effect; light red with dark green and light red with white. I love the contrast between the graceful "The End" with the roses versus the comical "Tough Luck!" tombstone!
Here's the beginning:
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MINERAL TRIVIA SECTION
DID YOU KNOW: If you love geology and mineralogy, Ontario is a wonderful place to be a rockhound! You can even book guided tours and borrow gear AND keep specimens that you find (upon completion of the appropriate permits)! I found this cool site that hosts tours . I'm considering making a trip this summer. I'll let you know if it pans out! Maybe there are similar tours in your area (or a road trip away) -- You might be surprised by what you find!
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INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE CRIMSON DIAMOND?
Check the sidebar for links to my Patreon and PayPal! Or visit The Crimson Diamond's Steam page follow the game, and add it to your wishlist! There's a FREE playable demo too, for Windows PC and Mac! <3
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Thanks for reading! Happy June!
-- JM