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Ask the Sky

Stories for exploring other worlds

The ashcan log

What changed in the book, and when. An edition that circulates in order to be played moves under its readers' feet.

This book is not finished, and makes no secret of it: it is an ashcan edition, it circulates in order to be played, and it changes. If you read it three weeks ago, something has moved since — here is what.

Nothing here is rewritten for the occasion: these are the notes I take while working, as they are. They say something the home page cannot — the book is alive, and the games you make of it are part of why.

This page is the list: what moved, and when. When a change is worth explaining, it gets an entry in the devlog, which says why.

  1. part 0la loi de l'écrit entre en partie 0
  2. devlogles huit devlogs d'itch arrivent sur le site, en deux langues
  3. the sitedownloads go through itch: the button and the embed both lead there
  4. the bookseven plates, one for each gesture that had none
  5. part 4court cards call up someone, and the lexicon gains an entry
  6. part 5an action is settled with the coin, the cards say how
  7. i18nthe coin settles in English too: fate's mark enters the canon
  8. part 6fate is no longer played with cards: the coin settles it
  9. part 10the world pushes, and the world holds
  10. the bookthe coin shows itself, both poles stretched before the toss
  11. the bookcross-references that pointed astray, and two words thought dead
  12. part 0the first played scene tightens, and shows its draws
  13. chapitresparts 0 and 11 tighten, and the English follows
  14. the bookthe colophon gives the forum address
  15. the site“Your first scene” and “The table” are withdrawn
  16. the bookseven covers, and two templates that could not render them
  17. part 10le souffle parle au joueur, et la graine quitte le livre
  18. part 7le monde autour se joue au lieu de s'énumérer
  19. part 6la mise se nomme précise, et le contrecoup quitte le livre
  20. part 5la gravière regarde coudre, et le mot prend son sens
  21. part 5l'action se joue sous le feu, et les tirets redescendent
  22. part 4les quatre couleurs prennent chacune leur section
  23. part 4le quotidien se vit au lieu de s'annoncer
  24. part 3la scène a quatre temps, et sa cover montre Edgar
  25. part 2le tarot se montre au lieu de s'expliquer
  26. part 1la pièce va droit au but — fr et en
  27. the bookl'ouverture s'annonce au lieu de s'expliquer
  28. the sitela première scène ouvre sur le livre, et l'accueil aiguille
  29. the bookdeux ambiances d'ouverture qui débordaient de leur page
  30. i18nl'anglais suit, et le style fait sa place à la planche
  31. the bookla coupe descend jusqu'à la partie 11
  32. i18nl'édition anglaise reçoit la même coupe
  33. the bookla passe de coupe descend sur les sept premières parties
  34. the English editionl'édition anglaise cesse de gloser
  35. the bookla prose lâche l'incise en tirets
  36. itchla vitrine a déménagé, les liens suivent
  37. i18nl'édition anglaise s'appelle Ask the Sky
  38. cheminla boucle du jeu se voit enfin boucler
  39. p15ble livre cesse d'envoyer son lecteur dehors
  40. the sitele lien ne partait que dans un sens
  41. the siteshowing before asking — a pass for impact
  42. the sitethe trimming pass on the four pages outside the book
  43. the sitethe table — the standing page that rewrites itself, and nothing more
  44. the sitethe ashcan log
  45. the sitefeedback that knows where it comes from
  46. the booktwo A5 sheets to set beside the notebook
  47. the sitea page where you play before you have read
  48. part 12the ellipsis passes the time; it does not defuse
  49. part 12the future we promised ourselves never happened
  50. the bookthe feedback channel opens — an address to write to
  51. appendix Cthe play aid returns to the contents
  52. part 12“Draw, or decide?” splits, and the part loses its last scene
  53. part 12the part lightens, and the play aid moves to an appendix
  54. the bookthe Ways leave the book
  55. part 9the world scene stops being a permission
  56. the bookthe game is in the proposing
  57. part 11the tavern entrance goes — it restated the split
  58. part 6wanting decides — but it decides beforehand
  59. part 16the lexicon follows, last as it should
  60. part 13the play aid holds both forms

Played a Scenethe unit of play: you open it, you play it, you close it.part 3 and something resisted? Tell me — that is what moves this list faster than I can on my own.