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No Ads, no Corporate Masters

September 5, 2022

art, capitalism, home for fiction, knowledge, society

The phrase of the title, “No Ads, no Corporate Masters”, is of course a wordplay on “No Gods, no Masters”. It’s also a phrase I use on Home for Fiction, for example whenever you try to access any of the apps (we’ll talk about this more in a moment) .

It’s a way for me to remind you that Home for Fiction displays no ads, and it’s controlled by nobody.

But why all this? Why do I refuse to put ads on Home for Fiction? The short answer is, for the same reason I’ve refused corporate masters (and as you’ll discover in this post, I’ve had many such… suitors): Because I can’t compromise on what Home for Fiction is – in terms of content as well as aesthetics.

The longer answer is something I decided to write this post about.

no ads no corporate masters — “No ads, no corporate masters” can be both lonely and liberating. There are no shortcuts – you can be either free or content; being both is impossible

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Gothic Meter: Computer Analysis of Gothic, Horror, Science Fiction, and Dark Fantasy

March 1, 2021

Home For Fiction, Programming

ambiguity, Gothic, home for fiction, patreon, programming

If all this sounds familiar, you’re right! I’ve talked about this before, but there’s a crucial difference now. I’m giving you a chance to try it for yourself! Introducing Gothic Meter, a program that takes a text and not only tells you whether it falls within the wider Gothic sphere (Gothic, horror, dark fantasy, or science fiction), but also how and why.

This is an invaluable tool for an author, for reasons that will become evident in this post.

In a nutshell, Gothic Meter is a result of my academic-level familiarity with and knowledge of the Gothic. Everything I know about the Gothic, from the role of the supernatural to ambiguity, and from the sublime to the role of time, has found its use in this program.

Let’s see how; and let’s see why you should care.

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A Modern Text Adventure Game: Mansion Escape v2, in Your Browser!

February 8, 2021

Home For Fiction, Programming

javascript, patreon, programming, video games

Yes, I’ve got some really important news! As a name, Mansion Escape might be familiar to you, if you’ve played its first iteration on Android. But I decided to take this to a whole new level. Mansion Escape is dead, long live Mansion Escape! A modern text adventure game, in the style of the early computer-game era, but updated for modern audiences, with attractive visuals, immersing sounds, and enhanced playability.

More importantly, this is no longer just an Android app. This is a game you can play in any modern browser, be it on mobile, desktop, PC, Mac, or Linux. You can save on your mobile and continue from your PC. Is that cool or what?

But what does a modern text adventure videogame include? What is it about? And where can you try it?

Read on to find out!

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