crimson diamond gazette

The Crimson Diamond Gazette #76

Welcome to the latest issue! News and fun facts inside!

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MEDIA

Forbes: "'The Crimson Diamond' Brings Back Cozy Retro Adventure Gaming Fun"

The Guardian: "The video games you may have missed in 2024"

Ars Technica: "Ars Technica's top 20 games of 2024"

Kotaku: "16 Great Indie Games That Flew Under The Radar In 2024"

Club du Aventuras AD #66

Adventure Game of the Year Awards 2024 (nominee)

Mobile Syrup: "Canadian developers made some of 2024's best games"

The GamingTrend Staff's "Top Games of 2024" list (honourable mention)

Showmetech: "The best games of 2024"

Diário de Pernambuco article about The Crimson Diamond (Brazilian Portuguese, English via Google Translate)

AdventureGameGeek's "My Games of the Year 2024"

vicek83's "plans of adventure games developers for 2025"

Noodle's video: "how does an indie game get made?"

Polygon: "The 50 Best Video Games of 2024"

IGN: "The AAA Bubble Has Burst (video)" -- TCD mention

IGN: "The AAA Bubble Has Burst (article)" -- TCD mention

TheGamer Game of the Year Editor's Pick 2024 (#8)

WayTooManyGames review

Ensemble interview

La Ciudad Olvidada review (Spanish language, Google Translate available)

The Games Machine review (Italian language, Google Translate available)

CBR 10 Best Indie Games of the Past Year

RageQuitGR's review

Player2's review

The GeeklyGrind's review

Edge magazine review (link to order issue)

Fusion magazine review (link to order issue)

Debug magazine review (link to order issue)

TanookiChickenAttack's interview

Cressup and Vicky Play The Crimson Diamond (playlist)

Dank Zine issue 72, featuring The Crimson Diamond

Hanselminutes Podcast

TanookChickenAttack Review

The Adventure Games Podcast

Thinky Games Article

Tanked Up Podcast

Indie Games Plus Interview

GameGrin Review

Ladies Gamers Review

Outcast.it Article (Italian language)

Bite-sized Review

Dark, lofi remix of The Crimson Diamond's music

snughly's The Crimson Diamond Video

Cozy_Eviix's The Crimson Diamond Video

Kotaku Review

Polygon Review

GameLuster Review

Danny O'Dwyer recommends The Crimson Diamond on the Noclip Crewcast

GamingTrend Article

Temple of Geek review

PCGamer round-up

DigitallyDownloaded.net round-up

Gamers With Jobs Conference Call mention

Get Played Podcast mention

IndieGames+ write-up

Indie Retro News mention

@MarshmallowSack on Cohost article

Retro Game Club Podcast interview

Matt Chat with Matt Barton & Mat Bradley-Tschirgi

Spectator Mode interview

60 Second Review by Jared Brock

New Adventure Games round-up by YakWaxLips

Matthew Bianchini interview

Limmy plays The Crimson Diamond

Upstairs Downstairs Game Talk Video

TurianShepard's "4 Adventure Games You Need To Play in August 2024" video

The Cozy Gaming Club video

Talking To Women About Videogames episode

OneShortEye interview

Dev Heads podcast episode

NAG magazine article

Das klappt so nicht. review

Adventure Gamers review

CBC Thunder Bay interview

GameSpew review

Ars Technica article about The Crimson Diamond

Kotaku article featuring The Crimson Diamond

Adventure Game Hotspot review

Rock Paper Shotgun review

"Indies In Depth" episode 2: Julia Minamata & Andrew Dickinson

Time Extension article: Meet The Devs Keeping EGA Alive In The Modern Day

"The Crimson Diamond: A Cozy mystery adventure beckons": Adventure Gamers

"Digging for Gems and Clues: The Crimson Diamond Launches on August 15": A Gaming Network

"A Gem Found In The Belly Of A Fish": Vulgar Knight article

IGN Live debut of The Crimson Diamond release date trailer

Pixel Pizza Podcast: Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond)

Indiepocalypse Radio - Episode 0143: Keenardo and Julia Minamata

Final Round -- "The Crimson Diamond: sedici colori, interfaccia testuale, è subito 1989" (Italian language)

8BITdigi -- GDC 2024 The Games We Played

Save Your Game Podcast with PushingUpRoses and Matt Aukamp

YakWaxLips video: Most Anticipated Adventure Games of 2024!

Adventure Game Hotspot's PIXEL ART Adventure Games you MUST PLAY in 2024

Adventure Game Geek's Upcoming Adventure Games 2024...And Beyond!

vicek83's "Plans for Adventure Game Developers for 2024" (guest spot)

Rock Paper Shotgun Screenshot Saturday Monday

Adventure Game Hotspot interview

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

The Genesis Temple Podcast #8 – Julia Minamata (The Crimson Diamond, Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator)

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

WIRED.com article

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

TVOntario article

Retro 'Rents Podcast episode

PAX East 2020 "What's Next for Adventure Games" Panel

Adventure Games Podcast episode

Big Boss Battle -- Featured

Escapist Magazine article

Classic Adventurer, Issue 07 -- Featured

Adventure Gamers AdventureX Round-up, part II

Scarborough Mirror Article

Digital Roadmap Article

Medium.com Article

IndieGames+ Article

PC GAMER Article

Adventure Gamers Announcement Article

Adventure Corner Article (German)

YouTube LP Playlist

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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GDoC laurels

Indie Cup Canada nominee

Most Anticipated Laurel

 

 

 

Wordplay showcase

 

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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!

 

 

 

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Editor: Julia Minamata - julia@thecrimsondiamond.com

WWW.THECRIMSONDIAMOND.COM

January 2025

2025 New Years Year of the Snake watercolour Dido card

Hello, dear readers -- Happy New Year! This is my first year of not actively developing The Crimson Diamond in many years, and it feels like uncharted territory. It's scary but also exciting. I have a few things on the go, and a few things planned, so we shall see what 2025 brings. I hope your 2025 brings you wonderful things.

January winter park photo

We've finally gotten some properly freezing cold Canadian winter days. Overall it hasn't been too bad here in Toronto, but I'm already looking forward to Spring.

Buy The Crimson Diamond on Steam (For PC and Mac).

It's also on itchio and GOG and FireFlower Games.

If you enjoy the game, please leave a review on Steam! It helps so much to increase its visibility on the Steam store. There are 412 reviews so far. Inching ever closer to the very retro-appropriate number of 486.

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Patreon card design, blurred out

Here's a (blurry) preview of my 2024 holiday card. As ever, the $5+ tier Patreon patrons will get the first look at the artwork. If you would like to receive a holiday card in 2025, you can join my Patreon by clicking this link.

Patreon cards mailed out

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The Crimson Diamond covered in print publications

Here are all the print publications that covered The Crimson Diamond last year. Seeing stuff in print is always super special <3 .

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The Crimson Diamond in Forbes

Joshua Dudley covered The Crimson Diamond for Forbes -- "'The Crimson Diamond' Brings Back Cozy Retro Adventure Gaming Fun". Really lovely article. Thanks so much, Joshua.

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The Crimson Diamond in The Guardian

A lot of media outlets included The Crimson Diamond in their year-end round-ups. Each was a wonderful Christmas gift <3.

This one's by The Guardian: "The video games you may have missed in 2024."

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The Crimson Diamond in Ars Technica

And here's Kyle Orland's, for Ars Technica: "Ars Technica's top 20 video games of 2024." Yay, Kyle!

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Kotaku

Kotaku's round-up by Ethan Gach includes The Crimson Diamond as Carolyn Petit's pick. Thanks so much to you both.

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The Crimson Diamond in CAAD

Club de Aventuras AD included The Crimson Diamond in issue #66. You can read a digital version here. Physical issues are also available in limited quantities. I ordered one :)

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AGOTY image

The Crimson Diamond was awarded third place by the Adventure Game of the Year's international jury! I'm very honoured. The whole ceremony is on the AGOTY Youtube channel, I recommend watching it. It's a lot of fun and gives me adventure game community warm fuzzies. :)

AGOT Nominee, The Crimson Diamond, for Best Character

Nancy Maple was also nominated for Best Character of 2024 by AGOTY! She didn't end up winning but I'm very proud of her. <3

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The Crimson Diamond in Mobile Syrup

Mobile Syrup included The Crimson Diamond in this round-up: "Canadian developers made some of 2024's best games". It's great to see such an incredible variety. Thanks, Bradly Shankar.

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The Crimson Diamond in GamingTrend

And here's The GamingTrend staff's "Top Games of 2024" list. The Crimson Diamond was an honourable mention <3.

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The Crimson Diamond in ShowMeTech

Showmetech included The Crimson Diamond in their "The best games of 2024" -- Coming in at #17 :D.

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The Crimson Diamond covered in Diario

A Brazilian news outlet called Diário de Pernambuco wrote an article about The Crimson Diamond, which I was able to read thanks to Google Translate. Obrigado, Antônio!

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AdventureGameGeek video

The Adventure Game Geek has released his video "Geek's Games of the Year 2024" and I'm happy to say I was able to contribute a tiny video clip for it. Thanks, so much for boosting indie adventure games, AGG :D.

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vicek83's yearly video

It's that time again -- vicek83 asked a bunch of adventure game devs what their plans are for 2025. This has become an annual tradition for me, I'm happy to participate. Watch it here.

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Noodle's video thumbnail

I've been very fortunate, during The Crimson Diamond's protracted development, to have worked on a number of game projects: Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Witch Strandings, and Recommendation Dog!!. Those ones launched. The last Strange Scaffold game that I worked on never saw the light of day, until now.

Amazing Youtuber Noodle made this video called "how does an indie game get made?" It's about the development of "Bass Reeves Can't Die" and it's a fascinating, entertaining, and compassionately told story about what goes on behind the game dev curtain. I heartily recommend that you check it out.

Noodle's puppets being held by me

Noodle even sent each of us our puppets! I got a bonus Xalavier puppet <3.

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Twitch folks!

More Twitch retro streamer hangouts! A few weeks back I was privileged to spend time with Tawejea, oldskooljay, and AnnK_ (not pictured, she was taking this epic photo).

I'm so happy to be meeting so many amazing people, thanks to streaming.

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Omnicron Conspiracy LP thumbnail

Just before the holidays I started streaming Omnicron Conspiracy (Epyx, 1989). It's not commercially available, but if you have a GOG account you can request it. Here's the link.

Omnicron Conspiracy screenshot

While Omnicron Conspiracy might not be a text parser game, it's the next best thing: a game designed without mouse control, with a funky interface, and of course EGA :D.

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fourthwall store

If you'd like some awesome The Crimson Diamond stickers, hats, t-shirts and more, I have some fun stuff on my Fourthwall store. I particularly like the embroidered items, and they all ship and arrive quite quickly, no matter where you are in the world.

And 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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January 14 VOD thumbnail

I got a PC new over the holidays, which has a built-in camera that's better than the Logitech webcam I bought for streaming!

Livestream VOD round-up. All the streams since last gazette are here:

December 17th holiday stream with Dan , January 14th art stream.

Crimson C'Tuesday happens every Tuesday at 8pm Eastern on Twitch. Come and hang out.

I hope to have Marnanel back on in the new year for more chatting and finishing Lord Avalot d'Argent!

You can follow her on Mastodon and Blue Sky. Here's Marnanel's website.

 

My completed Let's Plays:

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)

Cruise for a Corpse (Delphine Software International, 1991)

Mortville Manor (Lankhor, 1987)

Legend of the Sword (Silicon Software, 1988)

Loom (Lucasfilm Games, 1990)

Altered Destiny (Accolade, 1990)

The Dark Convergence (Jeffrey Kintz, 1993)

The Dark Convergence 2 (Jeffrey Kintz, 1994)

High Seas Homicide (Sherwood Forest Software, 1993)

Denarius Avaricius Sextus (Thorsoft of Letchworth,1992)

Earthrise (Interstel, 1990)

Lord Avalot d'Argent (Thorsoft of Letchworth, 1995)

Chamber of the Sci-Mutant Priestess (ERE Informatique, 1989)

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Maybe this is citrine!

MINERAL TRIVIA SECTION

DID YOU KNOW: Citrine is surprisingly rare! While it may be a yellow variation of quartz (which is a very common mineral), the actual mechanisms of how citrine's signature yellow colour naturally develops continues to stump mineralogists. Most commercially available citrine is amethyst or smoky quartz that's been heat-treated to 200-300C. It can be hard to suss this out without special equipment and techniques.

The sample pictured above is something from my collection, but I'm not sure what its true nature might be. I hope to find out soon.

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Cross-stitched Al and Nat

CRAFT CORNER

Cross-stitched Nathan is now complete! Next is Jack. You can see I've made a bit of progress already. There are still a few more characters to go before I have the complete cast crafted.

Cross-stitched characters

Here are the DMC embroidery floss colours I use for the EGA palette:

EGA DMC embroidery floss colours

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2023 holiday card design

INTERESTED IN SUPPORTING THE CRIMSON DIAMOND?

I have Patreon and PayPal. Or visit The Crimson Diamond's Steam page to purchase or follow the game. (Steam reviews are super helpful and appreciated!) It's also available on GOG, itchio and FireFlower Games.

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Thanks for reading. Happy January. Best wishes for your 2025 :)

-- JM