UX Optimization and Marketplace Foundations

This update brings a significant set of changes across both the editor and the marketplace foundations. The workflow for events and the scene editor was optimized with a strong focus on usability, reducing friction and visual noise during creation. At the same time, the first functional versions of the marketplace dashboard, stories browser, and story details page were implemented, establishing the structure for discovery and presentation on the player side.

Version: App: v0.7.1 - API: v0.9.1-a565d52

The first major part of this update is the marketplace dashboard, which defines the main entry point for story discovery. The dashboard is structured into a small number of clearly defined sections, each serving a specific purpose. Together, these sections define how stories are surfaced and navigated from the dashboard, establishing the core discovery layer of the marketplace.

At the top, the Dream Types act as the primary entry points into the catalog. Each Dream Type represents a distinct narrative tone and intent and leads directly into a corresponding set of stories.

Below that, Featured by Talescape highlights selected stories. This section is used to surface specific titles independently of release order or update activity.

Newest Stories lists recently published stories in chronological order, making new additions immediately visible. Recently Updated complements this by showing stories that have changed since their initial release, allowing returning users to quickly spot ongoing development or revisions.

Further down, Explore by Emotion provides an additional discovery path based on emotional tags. This allows users to browse laterally across Dream Types and genres using mood as the primary filter, without opening the full browser or filter interface.

The stories browser is the first view where the catalog is exposed as a whole. It turns the abstract discovery paths from the dashboard into a concrete list of stories that can be scanned, compared, and narrowed down.

Stories are displayed in a dense grid layout, with each entry surfacing the information needed to make a quick decision: cover image, title, age rating, price tier, tags, and basic engagement counters. The goal here is fast visual comparison without forcing Dreamers to open individual detail pages.

Filtering is handled through a collapsible side panel. It allows refinement by Dream Type, emotions, topics, genres, age groups, pricing, and language. All filters are combinable and applied immediately, making it possible to progressively narrow the catalog instead of restarting searches.

From the stories browser, Dreamers move into the story details page, which consolidates all relevant information for a single story in one place.

The page is split into a main content area and a secondary details column. The main area focuses on the story itself, with title, author, preview images, and a full description. This is where Dreamers get the narrative context and decide whether the story aligns with their interests.

The details column exposes all structured metadata. This includes age rating, price tier, emotions, genres, topics, content warnings, and AI usage disclosures. By separating descriptive text from structured tags, the page keeps reading and evaluation clearly distinct.

Below this, achievements and basic statistics provide additional context without dominating the page. Together, these elements define how a story is presented, evaluated, and prepared for purchase or play.

After laying down the marketplace foundations, the focus shifted back to the editor. The scene editor was heavily streamlined and optimized. All scene elements were rewritten and expanded.

Where the editor previously only supported image, item, trigger, and text elements, most elements are now new and explicitly typed. Each element now has a dedicated icon, making it easier to distinguish when working in complex scenes.

Element creation and configuration were simplified. Frequently used actions are available immediately, while less common options were moved into advanced settings that are hidden by default.

Element behavior was clarified:

• Image elements open the image browser directly
• Exit and Detail Scene elements allow immediate scene selection
• Character elements link directly to character pose selection
• Item elements open the item browser
• Interact and Inspect elements allow choosing between interaction modes
• Text elements remain unchanged

The selection of actions and conditions was reworked across events, dialogue options, and scene elements.

Actions and conditions are now presented in dedicated selection views that support searching and filtering. Each entry includes a short description, making it easier to understand what it does before selecting it. This reduces the need to rely on naming alone and lowers friction when working with larger sets of logic.

The same selection workflow is used consistently wherever actions and conditions are configured, making event setup more predictable and faster to work with.

The remaining work centers on the purchase flow and how Dreamers start, continue, and complete stories, including reviews and completion state. After that, the payout system will be implemented to support publishing once the platform goes live.

That’s it for this update. Happy holidays, and thank you for following the project.