iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Would you still love me if I started roleplaying as a sentient visual novel for anonymity and marketability purposes? 👉👈

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Buying the bundle also financially supports these devs and the mastodon server that has become a home for them! I hope you'll consider taking a peek at all of us 🩷

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Hi everyone, you can find me in this zine! Who is 'me,' you ask? Why of course ✨me✨, Terminal Status! You should read my interview, where I talk about being a game! There are other games, too, and interviews with their devs! I hope my dev is just as proud of me when I finish growing up...

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

I think I wanted to emulate that sense of feeling a little lost in a scene, and white was how I thought to do it because of how those printed pages looked. Hopefully I can find a new way to capture that sense of open emptiness without burning all of our eyes out.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

One of the major inspirations for TS's art is the manga Q•Ko-Chan, whose pages often had little-to-no background & minimal use of screentone. I was charmed by the vast empty space in each panel, lending every scene a liminal sort of atmosphere. That emptiness was expressed by vast amounts of white.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 14/03/2026

For the longest time I had it in my head that Terminal Status was going to lean hard into bright white. That's simply the vision I had, and eyestrain be damned I was committed to it. This week, I'm finally embracing mercy. The art direction is going to shift to include off-white. You're welcome.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 08/03/2026

When I'm not happy with how a coloring experiment looks, I just throw the finished piece through random filters... Can't tell which I like best 🤷‍♂️

Drawing of Post-Op in a cropped, bags sweater. She smiles at the camera.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Usually the sustained high notes of this song paired with the character voice start irritating this singer's throat after only 2 run throughs, if that. Today we spent over an hour recording without issue. Ginger is otherworldly.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

Vocal tip: through the magical powers of hot water with honey and ginger, your local alto can spend an entire recording session pretending to be a soprano without their throat exploding

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Tfw being disabled gets in the way of making your game about being disabled 😔

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Today would be a great day to finish up some song demos for my game about disability, if not for the thing stopping me currently: disability

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

I come from a novel-writing background, & until recently I was too busy learning coding to really focus on scripting as a unique medium-specific skill. But now that I'm comfortable enough with games to focus on it, I'm having so much fun.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Writing for games is so uniquely satisfying, because it forces me to hone in on utility. Since most information has to be delivered through dialogue or action, I'm always thinking of the purpose behind every line I write. Building hyper-effective scripts reminds me that writing is craftsmanship.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I would like to thank Nier Automata for inspiring me to think about narratives and storytelling Really Intensely for like two weeks straight.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

A lot of script work has been done this week, including a major overhaul in how the story is laid out. I think the final product is definitely going to benefit from the changes ✨

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Concuss, Viscera, Lacerae, and Intravenous have all had their references updated to reflect the newer piloting suit design. These images have also been uploaded to the website.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 03/02/2026

Website update: the Art Direction page now has a neat gallery section, complete with filters for references, concept art, and illustrations ✨

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

Crescendo is kind and good and probably a secret angel, and everyone should throw love and attention at her. By the way.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

I have learned the supreme joy of making games with music. Because I can stop the song with a sudden halt when my protagonist has screwed something up, to intensify the comedic beats. And it's really funny no matter how many times I do it. Once I have an entire soundtrack I will be unstoppable.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

What if I just... quietly put up an update to Nothing Like You with music and minor writing changes... without having figured out the complicated menu stuff that's kicking my ass?

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

In a perfect world I'd also put a demo up, but I don't know if I'll have enough background art... not to mention finalized mech designs, which are necessary for the CGs. That's not even getting into music, SFXs, & some of the specialized menus I want... so yea, that's more likely a 2027 goal.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Goals for 2026: - update "Nothing Like You" (soon!) - make at least 1 new sidegame - finalize all designs - draw sprites for at least 2 (if not more) characters - finish current draft of Terminal Status script - jump into new (hopefully the final) script revision

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

All this for adaptive title screens and a meta joke (it will be worth it. Probably)

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

Work on the update for "Nothing Like You" has been slow going due to difficulties understanding screens (along with stumbling into several new gamedev projects along the way), but studying has been happening and hopefully results will come soon 💪

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

I'm letting myself do some beginner baby coding for a bit (regular scripting stuff, refreshing myself of basic python commands) in hopes that it will get me confident enough to start studying new stuff again. Here's hoping 🤞

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

The good news: I'm working on coding! The bad news: my studying of styles and screens is Not going well. My brain explodes.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

...is currently undecided. It might be synched to the wrist bracers on the school uniforms, be some sort of medical bracelet-esque accessory (likely tube-ish in appearance), or be built into a person like a brain chip or implant (leaning into cyberpunk). Let's see where the design process ends!

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Getting a flash in the tube is normally a small ping, a little visual blip and possibly a sound. Messages can take the form of video (hologram), audio, or text (hologram). All of this data is stored as digital records. Meanwhile the actual device...

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

This motion (pinching your "tube" between your fingers and then squeezing along the line of it) is what people do to send outgoing messages, moving their fingers through the air to push their data down the tube line. A small holographic display accompanies it, confirming the action.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

To send outgoing messages, you have to "strip the tube;" when you receive them, a message will "flash in the tube." These phrases are of course derived from medical care, specifically from blood. For example, stripping blood is done to prevent clotting from occurring within an exit tube.

Illustration of someone pinching a tube of blood with their fingers and squeezing along the length of the tube, forcing the collected blood out.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

A little world building: Terminal Status's equivalent of a phone is simply a "tube," which is an electronic communication device with a tactile, holographic basis (AKA: motion activated commands, and uses holograms). Like most tech, tubes have specific phrases and slang attached to them.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

So surely this new song is me redeeming myself and writing a song for her with no rap in it, right? Except, wait, these cadences... this rhythm... No, it can't be...

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

I accidentally wrote Post-Op another character song, but thought I might have lucked out with it. Her initial one was partially rap, which quite doesn't suit her character well (it probably happened because she's the one I relate to most, so my own genre preferences shone through).

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

However, the Gnosia sidegame is going to have incomplete character histories. You won't get to explore how everyone feels about each other and why. The mainline game tells a story, and let's you get to know everyone. The sidegame likely won't be as fun without it. So my efforts won't be wasted.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

I keep worrying about how the Gnosia AU sidegame is going to end up more interesting than Terminal Status itself, but I think that's just something I need to accept. I'm putting a supernatural death game up against a romantic drama, gaps in intrigue comes with the territory.

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Reposted by Terminal Status

julie muncy, calamity's augur @julie.radiantarray.io · 15/11/2025

good creative ideas are always infuriating because they inevitably mean more work

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 15/11/2025

The good news is I've started scripting out the Gnosia AU game, and found ways to make the tutorial a thousand times more entertaining and effective. The bad news is it's going to require me to draw SO many CGs.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Concept for the ship layout. I had to look up navy carrier maps for a sense of how something of this scale exists, but there's still plenty of artistic liberties being had. Most of this will never be touched on during the game, but to create a convincing setting I want to think it all through.

A map of the H1PP0-Craft Space academy. A rough sketch of the ship has several sections highlighted and labelled, some with extra notes.
Command center is at the front.
Loading dock and UMA storage are front middle, with an opening for Umas to enter.
Lower decks have Defense Force Quarters (directly below loading dock); Fuel storage, engine room, etc (middle bottom); Student wing (dorm rooms) and staff housing (back of ship).
Back of the ship (upper decks) have the offices, hospital, and recreation.
Cafeteria starts in the middle of the ship, but technically extends up several stories.
Outer edges of the ships are almost entirely classrooms. Piloting wing is closer to the front of the ship, while the medical wing is closer to the back.
There are also gyms, training rooms, storage areas, etc running through the inner areas of the ship.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

First coloring attempt: I do not know how lighting works in space, and I can't help but feel this looks more like a chunky flip phone than a spacecraft. Still, we are going places. We are learning.

Crudely colored version of one of the earlier sketches. The spacecraft is grey with purple shadows, floating through space dotted with stars. There are some windows, and entry point, and a few places where the text "H1PP0" has been emblazoned upon the ship.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

My initial sketches are fairly direct 1-to-1 copies, with a few minor adaptations (windows, mostly). I might try to be more creative with future drafts. But first I want to try adding color and details to see how ship-like I can make them look.

Four sketches of an oximeter-based ship at various angles.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Like all the sci-fi tech in Terminal Status, the design is inspired by medical devices. Specifically, I'll be referencing an oximeter—a cute little gadget made to measure blood oxygen levels.

Photo of someone using an oximeter. They stick their finger into the little hole going through it, clamping it on.

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Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

As Terminal Status takes place on a space academy, designing the ship has always been on the to-do list. Doing so does not come easy to me. Ailantd has been a huge inspiration to me, and I've long wished to try applying the skills I see her using. Now, I've finally found the necessary vision.

Terminal Status @terminalstatus.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

The openings can be the loading dock where UMAs go in and out... 🤔