What are eggs?
Eggs evolved out of my attempt to make bartering on the website fun. As eggs do, they took a life of their own, but I like fun things and keep them when I find them.
Pokemon for Books!
But instead of Pokemon, it's characters from books by your fellow writers. You can adopt "mystery eggs" and grow them using views and clicks. Once an egg reaches full maturity, it will reveal which book its character comes from. Think blind box + virtual pet site + book discovery.
The Basics
How to Get Eggs
Claim eggs from the Egg Farm page. The descriptions of these random eggs are displayed at a time. They are refreshed periodically.
Growing Eggs and Stages
Eggs "grow" when they receive views, clicks, and/or (in the future) are fed bread/butter. Views and clicks are currently counted once every 24 hours per unique IP address. Once eggs reach a certain amount, the eggs "evolve" and advance to the next stage. They'll get a new sprite and description.
Book Reveal
Once an egg reaches it's final stage, its page will reveal the character's true identity/name as well as the book it comes from. This information will include the book cover and blurb.
Submitting Your Books and Characters
Submit your own characters for others to collect. Currently, they will be available through all normal channels. Please email the following to me at juzi@bartertoast.com:
Your Book Information
- Cover
- Back cover matter/blurb
- Book links (WIP)
Your Character Information and Stages
Characters can be people, but they can also be animals, settings, objects, anything related to your book that you can represent visually.
Submitted characters must have at least 2 stages (egg and final stages). The following details are required for each:
- An image/sprite for each stage (max 100px x 100px)
- A description for each stage. Except for the final stage, the description should not reveal any information that can identify your specific book. Limit egg descriptions to 1-2 sentences.
Example
Stage 1 Description
This blue egg has a glowing red core and is wrapped with a golden dragon ornament.
Stage 2 Description
The firstborn son to the Emperor. He seems destined to to inherit the throne and with it, a heavy responsibility. The young prince is playful, but he takes his imperial duties quite seriously. Despite his best efforts, he is an unremarkable student. He also trains in cultivation and the martial arts, but he is far from ready.
Stage 3 Description
The prince's childhood bliss has ceded to a bleak reality. Too old for innocence but too young to have much experience, he leads his army through a gray wasteland to fight a stranger's war. Fading memories of his family, friends, and home are all that remain to sustain him.
Stage 4 Description
Dusk seeks the Land of Sea and Flame. The pages of history yellow and turn in the night wind which scatters the dust of castles. Lost are the names of the heroes and legends. But remember, Crown Prince, the sun will rise again.
<Redacted book quote>
Free Custom Character Sets
Under special cicumstances, I might offer to draw free character sets for writers:
- 1 character
- Up to 3 stages (including egg)
- 1 round of revisions
What I Need from You
- Description and general (visual) concept for each stage
- If desired: Physical descriptions of character, references, moodboards, etc.
- General idea of book's audience, genre, and tone. Cover + blurb or synopsis is fine.
- Please inform me if anything is specific to a certain stage.
Surprise Egg
To keep things fun, I design your egg for you and keep its designs/descriptions secret. ;)
Special Conditions for Free Sets
You may not license/upload free art I make for you to any other adoptable site or a direct competitor of Barter Toast. Otherwise, feel free to use your custom images as you wish!