The Cursed Cloak
Get ready to slip on your red cloak and step into a world of dark magic, sharp teeth, and unexpected alliances. We’re here with the book team to celebrate and learn more about our upcoming launch of The Cursed Cloak. Let’s get started!
Can you describe the kind of world readers will be stepping into? What makes this forest so unique (and dangerous)?
Emi: For as long as you can remember, you’ve lived in a small village with your grandmother, forbidden from venturing outside without your special red cloak. But that all changes when someone tears it off you and unleashes a deadly curse. This is a world of magic and curses, of small villages and massive capitals, of loyal friends and unusual alliances. If that sounds a little familiar to fans of The Cursed Heart, that’s because it should. The Cursed Cloak takes place in the same world, albeit in a very different place than the woods that the Sun and Moon Courts call home. In this kingdom, humans have had magic for centuries, and we get to see just what they’ve done with it.
What were some of your favorite moments or challenges in building the lore for this story?
Emi: I love fairytale adaptations and retellings, and there have been some absolutely amazing ones of Red Riding Hood. Red from Once Upon A Time is one of my personal favorites. The fun and the challenge of them is to keep enough familiar that players recognize the story being told, but change enough to make it new and exciting, and I hope that both your curse and the wolf’s wind up feeling that way.
Tom: Figuring out how to show the cloak without covering the beautiful outfits was definitely a challenge. I was trying to shoulder areas clear of any outfit features so that the cloak laid smoothly. We had to try a bunch of different styles to figure out what worked.
Emi: But the cloak does look good with your underwear!
Jay: Yeah, technically speaking that was a bit of a puzzle too. Making sure we account for all of the outfits and tracking the continuity of the cloak properly. My test functions are painfully complex. Sorry QA!
Erin: Honestly, complexity is something I enjoy testing because it's challenging and interesting. So, nothing to apologize for! But I can thank you for making it a lot easier by providing such comprehensive test functions!
Emi: One of the challenges of writing lore is that you have to honor it even when it makes things difficult. Our wolf transforms whenever they’re around more than 2 people, and boy did that complicate scenes that take place in crowded areas. But I do have to say, pretending that the wolf is your pet dog might be one of the funniest things to come out of that.
Jay: Great planning, Emi 😂.
Let’s talk about our leads–how would you describe each of the main characters in three words?
Emi: I’d describe MC as “compassionate, brash, and determined.”
Tom: Valko/Valka, our wolf, is “jaded, haughty, and clever.”
Emi: Not to mention the most stylish of our main crew.
Jay: Wynn, our hunter, is “loyal, gruff, and dutiful.”
If you could spend a day with one of the characters in the story, who would it be and why?
Emi: While Valko/Valka is definitely the kind of LI I always go for in games, I think I’d have way more fun spending the day with their pet crow Ebony. She’s so happy-go-lucky, I think it’d be infectious. On the flip side, I’d love for MC’s grandma to take care of me for a day.
Tom: I’d just take Valko/Valka to ComicCon and let the mayhem ensue.
Jay: Even a normal person can’t handle those crowds lol.
Emi: The question is, would they think they’re a real wolf or a really elaborate puppet…
Jay: Or a fursuit.
If this book were to be a movie, what do you imagine the opening song would be?
Emi: Big Bad Wolf by Roses & Revolutions is pretty fitting, but maybe a little too on the nose. Rises the Moon by Liana Flores might capture the overall vibe a little better.
Jay: I never know what to do with these song questions, I’m too scared people are going to judge my music tastes!
Tom: Mayonnaise by Smashing Pumpkins. It has nothing to do with this story, it’s just my favorite song.
On the visual side of things, were there any moodboards or aesthetics that inspired the art direction or writing?
Emi: From a writing perspective, I found myself referencing Lord of the Rings and oddly enough, The Emperor’s New Groove, a lot during brainstorms.
Tom: I already had the moodboard from The Cursed Heart to work from, but I was also looking at a lot of gothic dark fairy tale inspo on Pinterest, wanting everything to have a little tint of darkness and danger to it.
Okay, time for a fun one: Which enchanted forest creature would you want as your familiar?
Emi: I think the obvious answer to this would be Leaf, King of Birds, though she would never stoop so low as to being someone’s familiar. I’m sure someone will choose Ebony, but honestly, I think I’d like to have a gryphon as a familiar. It’d be a hell of a lot easier to get around the city when you can fly rather than drive.
Jay: Not exactly a familiar, but there is a bunny that lives in a bush outside my window and sometimes I feel like I’m in a fairytale when I see it munching on the leaves.
Tom: I’ll choose my pug, Peach, because she would just keep me laughing all the time.
Emi: Okay if we’re just picking our animals now, I have to give a shoutout to my yorkie, Bobby, who some of you may have spotted in The Ghost of Us.
Jay: I can’t believe you snuck him in there!
Tom: I snuck some of my son’s drawings into the punk rock warehouse venue background from The Freshman wayyyyy back.
Jay: None of us can talk, we all put ourselves into The Cursed Heart hehe.
And to close us out, if you were cursed to turn into something ridiculous at sunset, what would it be and why?
Emi: I would turn into a pumpkin. (Obvious joke is obvious. I go to bed notoriously early.) But in all seriousness, I’d probably turn into a frog wearing a cowboy hat (frogs and cowboys are both my brand) and I would be sad because I don’t think frogs can play videogames.
Tom: I would choose some sort of trinket or tchotchke up high on a shelf to get away from responsibilities.
Jay: I don’t know what I would be…
Tom: You’d be a werewolf.
Jay: Why???
Tom: I don’t know! Just cause.
Emi: You’d turn into a spreadsheet and become one with all of your beautiful code.
Jay: Then I would finally be able to fix all of the frustrating errors that plague my life.
LOL! #TeamWork These books would not exist without you all. And without the support of all of our players. Thank you for your time today, and to all the players who read this interview until the end. From cursed cloaks to complex companions, this storybook tale is filled with surprises and twists waiting for you to experience. Set your alarms for The Cursed Cloak out tomorrow May 16th!
<3 The Community Team