This update improved both stability and presentation. The Checks System was expanded to include all story elements, not just core structures. It now verifies dialogues, conditions, actions, and event links, ensuring that missing or invalid references are detected before publishing. This makes the validation process more complete and reduces errors that could occur during story playback.

At the same time, I standardized the visual layout of the editor. Typography, colors, and spacing are now consistent across all views. Buttons, panels, and inputs follow the same structure, which improves readability and navigation. The goal was not to redesign but to make everything feel unified and predictable.

It is a small but necessary step toward long-term stability and usability. These changes do not add new features, but they make the existing ones clearer and more reliable.

I introduced a new way to categorize stories. Instead of starting with genres like adventure or romance, Talescape now organizes stories by tone and emotion. Each story belongs to one of four Dream Types: Daydream, Nightmare, Vision, or Echo.

Daydream covers stories that feel light or hopeful. Nightmare describes darker, heavier stories. Vision is used for abstract or experimental works, and Echo for stories driven by memory or reflection. These categories give readers a sense of what emotional experience to expect before they even start reading.

This system also helps authors describe their stories more precisely. Genre alone often says too little about how a story feels. By focusing on mood first and theme second, Talescape can present stories in a way that better matches player expectations. Dream Types also give the platform a consistent language that connects both creators and players.

The Dream Type is defined in the story settings and shown wherever a story appears, including search results, story pages, and contests. It will later influence recommendations and visibility filters once the marketplace is live.

I am curious to see if this shift away from traditional categories resonates with both Bards and Dreamers once more stories are released.

After several months of internal development, the project received its official name: Talescape. The name combines “Tale” for storytelling and “Scape” for the sense of a world to explore. It fits both sides of the platform, a place where stories are created and a space where players can experience them. The decision followed a short internal naming process in which options like Narrascape or Scriptoria were considered but felt too technical. Talescape was short, distinct, and described exactly what the project was meant to become.

The name also introduced a clear identity for the community. Authors will be known as Bards and players as Dreamers. These terms fit the thematic structure of the platform better than generic labels such as creators and players. They describe a world where stories are performed and experienced, not just published and consumed.

Around the same time, I created the first visual elements of the brand. This included the Talescape logo and the first drafts of the mascots, Ben and Anna. They represent the two halves of the platform: Ben stands for creation, Anna for exploration. The names come from one of the first books I ever read, Ben loves Anna by Peter Härtling. I liked how familiar and human they sounded, and how naturally they fit the idea of a storyteller and a dreamer.

The first drafts of Ben and Anna were generated with AI. For now, I plan to keep using AI-generated illustrations until I can fund a professional artist to redraw them in a consistent style. Both will later appear in the editor and the app to help explain features and guide new users.