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Masahiro Sakurai (creator of Super Smash Bros and Kirby) spent $600,000 to create a YouTube channel for emerging game designers.

He talks about everything, and I mean EVERYTHING.

Conceptualizing a game

Programing a game

Marketing a game

He has a 14 video series on audio in games, he has 20 videos on graphics in games, he even made almost FORTY videos on team management and work ethics for making games.

It is absolutely insane to me that this well renowned, influential genius of the industry did all of this and these videos have less than 10k views. How is that even possible? There is such a wealth of information here on how games are made and it seems that nobody even knows. I found out about it from a random Tik Tok that also had less than 10k views.

All of this information is just sitting there for free.

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Black Visual Novel Jam is live and back for round 2 y’all!!! 😛

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This comment made me spit out my coffee. SO true!

did they intend to give solas and rook three times the chemistry they gave solas and lavellan in the base inqusition game or am i witnessing the funniest possible thing bioware could've done

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spooky visual novel recs that just came out in the past month!!

now that the awards ceremony has happened, I can openly talk about the visual novels I liked from Spooktober VN Jam, an annual game jam for making Halloween-themed visual novels (which I happen to judge entries for)!

each of these spooky indie VNs came out at the end of September and were made in just 1 month. some are scary, some are cute, but they're all made with love so go give them some love 💜

Märchen Line

Embrace the indomitable human spirit by serving in the First Among Father's Voyager Armada- The Bravest of The Brave, who venture out to liberate the Milky Way from the True Enemy. Serving as a Soldier means embracing infinite potential. With the blessing of His Runes, you will grow stronger, smarter, faster and braver in a few weeks than you have in your entire life. All that growth comes with responsibility, and you will be expected to pay your civic dues- but luckily each Soldier is assigned a Valkyrie to help them manage their priorities. Train your stats, build your relationships, and be all you can be...or push past the galactic narrative and seek a deeper understanding of humanity's true ranking in the galactic hierarchy. 

Pippa and Your Phantasmal Problem

Ms Ester's beautiful and neat house has been mysteriously wrecked in the past few weeks and nobody knows why. Patches of dirt on the carpet, things gone missing, and all sorts of mess keeps happening around the house. The police was called to investigate, a priest was invited to bless the house, and a group of ghostbusters was hired (they were so expensive!) and none of them found anything. How useless! If this problem isn't solved by the time Ms Ester returns from her short trip, she'll kick you out. You have to find someone who can help: anyone will do, even this unreliable looking, self-proclaimed witch you just randomly met.

BAD MANORS

On Friday the 13th, your plans for a spooky Halloween night are dashed when you show up alone at the escape room reserved by your friend. You consider going home when a handsome stranger offers to accompany you. Maybe the night is saved after all… Or so you thought.

MAMA

One day, you’ll thank me. After all… mother knows best. Today’s the first day of HimeCon, a Yuri convention. You’re attending with your girlfriend who’s a vendor in the artist alley. At the convention, you receive a text that ends up changing… everything. You find yourself back in your childhood home, except this time, something’s amiss— and you’ve got to escape. She’s always w̶̨̠̟̳͚̮̫͒͒̏̏̌͑͊̒́̂̈̀̓̒͘͠ā̷̧̠͎̤͖̝̠̯͎̎̇͒̋͑̾͑̑͂̂̽͐͂̄͘��̕͠͠͝t̷̢̙̦͖͙̹̪̠̳̰͛̓̇̀̂̾́̉̍̈́͌̇̔̑͝ç̷̥̮͓͔̣̆̀̆̔̈́̈̀͋͛̓̈͐̕͝h̵̢̧̹̲͇̭̥̰͎͖͇̎̓͒̎̂͑̽͒͑̓͗͗̕̕͘͜͜͝͠͝͝ͅi̸̛̝̳̳̠͇͍̓͒̈́̑́̒̓̊͐͒̆͘͝ͅͅñ̶̢̡̨͓̥̞͉͓͚̞̞̞̲̤̹͙͍̙͛̋̏͗̍̽̇̒̅͊͜͠ͅg̸̪͇͋̓͋̍̈́̇̽̿̑̋̏̏̈́̋̾̋̃͘ͅ you, isn’t she?

Elfin National Park

Come on down and see the ever changing sights of our forest. We have places for the whole family. Just please remember for the safety of you and your family to stay within the designated zones.

MAD LAB PARTY

Being a serial killer is hard when some crow decides to tamper with your bodies. Solution? Kill another and meet your ‘fan’ in the act?! It’s October 31st, and you are dragged out to a haunted house attraction with your friends despite the mysterious ‘Jack-o-killer’ running around, murdering strangers in gruesome and eccentric ways. Bodies ranged from being found taking the place of a scarecrow to being carved and their guts replaced with pumpkin seeds. You, however, didn’t worry about getting killed. You knew exactly who the murderer was. Problem? You knew for sure you didn’t kill them like that.

CANIDAE

The moonlight illuminates the animal that lies within everyone. Will you embrace it; or fight back? On Halloween, a gang of teenagers in animal masks head out to set off fireworks and drink with their friends. Unfortunately, nothing ever goes right for you. As the night grows darker and pranks turn to violence, your friends start to change. Will you?

Killer Chat!

A reporter by day, an aspiring writer by night: you've been asking all the important questions on the dark web.  Like, how do you bury a body? How do you kill someone with a crowbar with the right angle to cause blunt-force trauma? What's the best way to hide from law enforcement? If you're to write a good crime book, this is how you'll do it. Suddenly, ERROR! UNKNOWN invites you to a server... with a warning. "don't be so obvious smh You're Gonna Get Caught". ... It's a serial killer chatroom. You may be slightly fucked.

Spirit Driver

From the everyday passenger to the horrors of Halloween, Spirit Driver is a short, casual conversation simulator where your choices can affect the fates of people and spirits alike. Remember, your choices have consequences. Good luck!

Let's Watch Steamboat Willie

Two film nerds sit down for a comfy evening watching old movies. Next up is Steamboat Willie, and they quickly take to bickering. By the time the cartoon is over, one of them will be dead.

Shut-in Vampire

Oh no! Mayu’s in a pinch! She’s woefully behind on paying the rent, and her scary landlady, Miss Himemiya, has issued an ultimatum. Mayu needs to earn ¥100,000 by the end of October, or she’ll be kicked out! Being evicted from her home would be bad enough, but Mayu has a secret: she’s actually a vampire. Mayu hasn’t been a vampire for a full year yet, and the church is keeping close tabs on her to ensure she’s been behaving herself. According to the stone-faced Sister Juriel, it’s the church’s standard policy to execute all vampires without a fixed address, lest they start roaming the streets causing chaos. If Mayu can’t pay the rent in time, she won’t just wind up homeless: she’ll be executed! What’s a fledgeling vampire to do?

Epimutation

Spencer, a former investigative journalist, lives in a small bunker with six other people who have also managed to stay alive after a viral outbreak brought the world to ruin. They're attempting to adjust to this new normal, until they stumble across some notebook pages written by a scientist documenting the infection. Make life or death decisions, form bonds with your fellow survivors, and attempt to unravel the mystery behind the outbreak.

Not My Body!

First you wake up in somebody else's ugly house in somebody else's ugly body, and then you find another person tied up in the closet? This isn't fair at all! Why do you have to deal with this?! It's not like you put him there! And what's going on in your own body right now, anyway…?

that's all of my recommendations for now, but with over 270 entries there's plenty more indie Halloween-themed visual novels for you to try!

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Hi! Do you want to play yuri horror visual novels this Yuriween? I have some great recommendations for you.

I’m sure it will cover all you need I have a lot of visual novels ranging from vampire lesbians to vtubers. 

I’m sure you will enjoy some of this titles. It’s also free to play. I hope you enjoy some of this games and make sure to support the creators by rating their game. 

Welcome to the Execution Hour!

The River Bride

"The River Bride" is a visual novel based on the events of the bridal sacrifices in Ancient China. Players play as Fu Suyu, the current year's bridal sacrifice. Experience how Fu Suyu deals with her fate through accepting her duty, fighting for her life, or even experiencing love for the last time.

Maple: I love historical yuri.

Mama

One day, you’ll thank me. After all… mother knows best.

Today’s the first day of HimeCon, a Yuri convention. You’re attending with your girlfriend who’s a vendor in the artist alley. At the convention, you receive a text that ends up changing… everything.

You find yourself back in your childhood home, except this time, something’s amiss— and you’ve got to escape.

She’s always w̶̨̠̟̳͚̮̫͒͒̏̏̌͑͊̒́̂̈̀̓̒͘͠ā̷̧̠͎̤͖̝̠̯͎̎̇͒̋͑̾͑̑͂̂̽͐͂̄͘̕̕͠͠͝t̷̢̙̦͖͙̹̪̠̳̰͛̓̇̀̂̾́̉̍̈́͌̇̔̑͝ç̷̥̮͓͔̣̆̀̆̔̈́̈̀͋͛̓̈͐̕͝h̵̢̧̹̲͇̭̥̰͎͖͇̎̓͒̎̂͑̽͒͑̓͗͗̕̕͘͜͜͝͠͝͝ͅi̸̛̝̳̳̠͇͍̓͒̈́̑́̒̓̊͐͒̆͘͝ͅͅñ̶̢̡̨͓̥̞͉͓͚̞̞̞̲̤̹͙͍̙͛̋̏͗̍̽̇̒̅͊͜͠ͅg̸̪͇͋̓͋̍̈́̇̽̿̑̋̏̏̈́̋̾̋̃͘ͅ you, isn’t she?

Maple: Everyone should be allowed to have one kill count in their life. 

Oto-hime

Shimako, a socially anxious office worker, escapes the pressures of her company's beach retreat by fishing alone, only to stumble upon a trapped turtle by the shore. When she rescues it, Shimako is mysteriously whisked away to a hidden underwater palace, where she meets Oto-hime, a breathtakingly beautiful but enigmatic princess. Drawn in by Oto-hime's charm and her lavish hospitality, Shimako soon realizes there is something unsettling beneath the princess's kind façade.

Maple: I want to be in a toxic relationship. I totally didn’t sneak my own game here. I want someone to gaslight me.

Underholo

A group of girls are hoping to run a successful VTuber agency so that they can chill out together for the rest of their lives but, unfortunately, the VTuber industry is secretly rigged by an underground syndicate called UnderHolo.

With your expert managerial skills, bring your very own VTuber Agency to the top of the leaderboard!

Maple: I still want to be a gay vtuber playing gay games everyday with my gay vtuber friends.

Shut-in Vampire

Oh no! Mayu’s in a pinch! She’s woefully behind on paying the rent, and her scary landlady, Miss Himemiya, has issued an ultimatum. Mayu needs to earn ¥100,000 by the end of October, or she’ll be kicked out!

Being evicted from her home would be bad enough, but Mayu has a secret: she’s actually a vampire. Mayu hasn’t been a vampire for a full year yet, and the church is keeping close tabs on her to ensure she’s been behaving herself. According to the stone-faced Sister Juriel, it’s the church’s standard policy to execute all vampires without a fixed address, lest they start roaming the streets causing chaos.

Maple: Where can I send her all my money? 

End of the World

~The year 6666, October 31st , The Demon of Wishes was awoken underneath a monster extermination company~

You are Remoryn, the Demon of Wishes who's been sealed away for 4000 years.

After being released, the legend of the 3 heroes, the holy weapons, the Halloween party surrounding you, and the disappearance of... her... made everything feel overwhelmingly strange and unfamiliar.

On top of that, you're being held captive by a person named Jeok-Ah.

Who wishes for... 

the end of the world

Maple: I will end the world for you.

Dead End

Closing Notes:

Watch Girls Band Cry

Maple: I'm not asking.

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Part 1 of Shae and Maeve's routes is just two short weeks away! 🌿🐦‍⬛ Are you excited?

🍃 Wishlist on Steam 🍂 Follow on Itch

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Have you played Memoirs of an Angel (2010) yet?

With its 14th anniversary this month, I wanted to thank everyone who has played my little fantasy otome visual novel, Memoirs of an Angel (2010). I really appreciate all the love it's gotten over the years. ❤

If you haven't played it yet, you can download the latest version, v1.3.3, for free from itch.io and Steam.

And if you have played it, thank you! If you enjoyed it, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review so other players can find the game. (If you didn't enjoy it, well... I suppose you can post that, too. 😂)

Thanks for your support!

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🍬 The Queer Halloween Stories Bundle 2024 is LIVE! 🍬

Get the decorations ready and the costumes out of the closet, 'cuz the Queer Halloween Stories Bundle is back for 2024! This year we're treating you to 140+ projects from over 100 creators and teams located all over the world, who are sharing their spooky and spoopy stories with you! In this bundle, you will find...

🕸 92 Digital Games 🎃 19 Physical Games 👻 16 Books 🧛‍ 12 Comics 😈 4 Zines ⚰️ 1 DLC

The Queer Halloween Stories Bundle directly benefits queer indie creators and teams, with all sales split evenly among participants who have opted in to receive funds for their work. For the price of one AAA title, you can help fund the future of queer art by supporting these creators and discovering titles you won't find anywhere else.

Pick up the $60 Fright Edition here!

Tight on cash? Pick up the $10+ Treat Edition here!

Learn more about the bundle on our press kit website~

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Are you looking for:

BL Horror

Yandere x Demon

A match made in hell (basically a toxic couple)

Then may I recommend you Fearbonding?

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HYDRANGEA: My psychological horror/romance Visual Novel that delves into the cycle of abuse and the impacts of gaslighting, is now out on Steam for FREE!

Immerse yourself in a romance with a sweetheart you can customize. But beware, as affection turns to obsession, the petals of love may suffocate.

Features:

- Choose your name, as well as your sweetheart's name, pronouns, and appearence - masculine or feminine yandere love interest.

- Contains four endings. Aim to see the first three to unlock the true end.

- Original soundtrack, backgrounds, portraits, and CGs!

- Story length: 20k words.

Reblogs are greatly appreciated!

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✨ new article ✨

making an entire visual novel is hard, so is it even possible to make one solo, entirely by yourself?? I surveyed over 30 solo visual novel developers to get their advice!

read it here:

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So you want to play an indie otome or dating sim but don't know where to start...

Like the title says, I wanted to make a rec list for those who are more interested in indie otomes but don’t necessarily know where to start! So for those who saw the latest Nintendo Direct or maybe those who’ve just always wanted to try something new, this list is for y’all. I’ve immensely enjoyed every single title (and hope y’all do too). Without further ado... here's the short list!

Changeling by @steamberrystudio (and their sci-fi spiritual successor, Gilded Shadows): Liked "Buffy," but thought it needed more Faes? Changeling is exactly the type of contemporary otome you want and needed in your life yesterday. With several wonderful young men to romance, and an intriguing plotline that references fae mythology, you'll be set!

The Rose of Segunda: Liked Bridgerton? Thought it needed an even longer gala than canon? Then RoS (and its amazing sequel, "Thorns of War") by @blackcross-taylor is the game to play! I've been impressed with how this studio weaves political intrigue into the very plot, and how it commits to the stories it creates.

Band Camp Boyfriend: Somehow, this game is both a 00's sitcom and a thriller all in one (with all the drama of a gripping telenovela in some routes). If you missed summer camp, marching band, and/or just want to know what that's like, check out this delightful title by @lovebirdgames

3 Seasons: We love a woman with melanin!! But in all seriousness, the concept of a young woman applying for a job, only to find out she's the next Spring Spirit is delightful. Note: this is a free title (but the developer @hamiltonhour accepts payment on their itch).

Magical Warrior Diamond Heart: Precure meets Sailor Moon meets the sweetest otome!! In this house we love Valerie and her zany crew. @magicalwarriordiamondheart has truly outdone themselves with each update; the common route is free, but the developer has a Patreon you can support!

Herotome: I would be amiss if I didn't mention my current favorite superhero-themed otome, where your lovely protagonist will face pivotal choices in their quest to become a hero! While only the demo is out so far (just so y'all aren't expecting the full product), developer @herotome is a delight to follow with all their updates!!

Honorable mentions: Twisted Carnival, Titan Arum (warning: both titles contain more horror than the average otome), and Arcardia Fallen

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So, Women of Xal II has been enjoying some debates on the merits of doing a Kickstarter. Because we need... A lot. One of the points discussed was potential backers. SO!

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Rather than responding with anger and harassment towards people asking for male or non-binary MCs in otome games, we should respond with information like this. The whole "I want games like otome games but with MCs and LIs of varied genders" conundrum is exactly what the "amare" label was created for, so let's spread the word and help educate people on the difference!

No dev should feel obligated to add a male MC to a game clearly marketed as "otome". That label has a distinct meaning and is used to help the game's target audience find it and know it's for them.

That said... I've definitely played plenty of games where I thought to myself, "Gee, I wish I could play this as a female character." Didn't mean I didn't like the game or had something against it. Quite the opposite! And I don't think there's anything wrong with expressing that desire as long as there's no demand or expectation attached. This kind of feedback can help developers better understand their actual audience - which may differ drastically from their intended audience - and could influence decisions regarding how to approach future projects.

We've definitely seen the above happen with popular game franchises like Harvest Moon (Story of Seasons) and Pokémon. Both started out with exclusively male protagonists, but have slowly become more inclusive over time as they realized how much these games appealed to players outside of their original intended audience.

But, you know, there also has to be enough of a ROI (return on investment) to make it worth it. The more advanced you make the character customization, the more money, time, and resources you'll need to make it happen. The extra cost just won't be worth it for every game, especially indie games. It might seem simple on the surface, but a properly integrated character customization system will change everything about a game. Some examples:

Character design

is the player limited to a selection of presets? or can they create their own character "from scratch"?

if the player can create their own character, how do you decide which hair, hair color, skin color, eye color, eye shapes, nose shapes, ear shapes, face shapes, body shapes, mouth shapes, expressions, shirts, pants, shoes, underwear, earrings, hats, glasses, tattoos, scars, etc. options to include? how will you make them look cohesive no matter what combination the player chooses?

will the MC be animated? if so, how will you make sure all the different pieces in all the different possible combinations fit and don't clip into each other?

if a character is meant to be romanceable, what makes them attractive? are they too old/too young for the MC or otherwise problematic? do they have enough depth as a character to create a compelling romance?

Gameplay design

how does the player's appearance or gender factor into the game?

do characters react differently to different genders or races?

how would that play into the story's themes?

should characters be able to change their appearance? if so, how and under what conditions?

should characters be able to change their gender? if so, what problems will that cause from a system limitation standpoint?

if some romance options are locked down by gender, what happens if you change your gender?

is there pregnancy? if so, how does that affect battle, farming, etc.?

UX design

is the MC shown in-game?

does the MC's portrait/sprite/model reflect the player's choices? what about cutscenes or CGs?

look and feel for new screens for initial character customization and possibly another once the game is in-progress, etc.

System architecture (if you do this wrong, your code will be a mess and your game will run like crap)

how will you keep track of the player's pronouns and other customization options?

how will you make sure your 1000+ assets representing all the possible options for your customized character will be optimized and loaded efficiently without the player having to download a 1TB game?

do you need to keep track of different pronouns, pet names, etc. across different languages?

how do you make sure the correct MC portrait/sprite/model is displayed?

if there are interactions specific to gender, race, etc., how do you keep these organized and determine which one to use?

(see also all the other things under Game Design that have programming implications)

it's interesting how every month or so (usually on twitter) there will be male-centric discourse on otomes, typically "why won't more otomes let me play as a man" or "why do I have to date men in otomes", in much more volume than there was years ago. I can only imagine that these sentiments typically stem from general anime fans trying to get into otomes with the misconception that dating sim = otome and vice versa.

for those unaware, not every dating sim is an otome and not every otome is a dating sim (though quite a few are). otome, as we define it in English-speaking fandoms, is a game with a female protagonist and male love interests. the kind of MC (faceless; customizable look & gender; fully fleshed out background), the length of the game, and the amount & gender of the love interests have varied over the years, but the constant is that otome has the choice to play as a female MC with at least some male LIs. most otomes are a type of visual novel, while dating sims are a subset of the visual novel medium focused on stat raising. dating sims can be any kind of romance orientation and not all romance visual novels are dating sims.

so because there's this misconception some have of what an otome actually is, we get repeating discourse every few weeks/months where someone comes to the ice cream shop asking for chicken tenders. that's not what we serve here. a lot of times these people mean well- they just want a certain kind of game but don't know the right terminology for it. sometimes they don't mean well and the conversations devolve into misogyny, but we're not here to discuss that aspect of it.

as more people become aware of visual novels and dating sims as a whole, these are the kind of growing pains the audience is going to face sadly. aside from telling people to Google terminology, I will leave you with this- if you see someone or you're interested in playing otome-like games that aren't just female MCs or male LIs, mess around with tags on itchio and you'll find a plethora of indie romance visual novels.

gay visual novels - boys love visual novels - yuri visual novels - dating sims - lgbt visual novels - romance visual novels

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Questions from Beta Readers are Rhetorical

You know when people leave you questions on your work during the feedback process like, “why is she doing this?” or “who is this again?” or “how does this relate to what was just said?” You’re not meant to reply back and answer those.

They aren’t asking because they want you to explain it to them—or at least, that’s not very helpful to the actual work. They’re asking because something in the manuscript is unclear. Most readers won’t have the benefit of having you next to them to answer questions as they go—the work has to hold up on its own. If something is unclear, it should be addressed in the text, it’s pretty useless if it’s addressed only in your answer back to your beta reader.

So actually, when people ask me questions about my manuscript, I don’t answer them at all. I go back into the work and try to clarify, and then I have them read it again. If they have the same question, it means I need to try again until the confusion is cleared up.

Sometimes the people I edit for reply back with paragraphs of explanation, and I tell them that it’s great that they understand it, but I don’t need or want them to explain it to me afterward. I was asking the question so they knew what exactly was unclear to me (a bit more helpful than saying “this is confusing”). I want the understanding to come from just reading the piece.

That being said, some beta readers might want you to chat about it further with them—it’s up to you guys! But if you don’t also address the question in the work, you’re not doing yourself or your piece any favours.

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Are you a gaming streamer (or know one)? Do you enjoy visual novels and lore-rich fantasy stories? Moirai Myths would love to share our game with you! If you have either streamed our old demo (2022) or plan to stream our newly revised demo (2024) before October 1st, we will give you a Steam key for our early access release/Shae and Maeve's upcoming routes! The demo is available to download (PC/Mac) on Steam or Itch.io.

For more details and to apply, refer to this Google Form: https://forms.gle/WRpahd8JnubbhGhy9

(Note: We have no subscriber, follower, or average view count requirements! Small streamers are welcome to apply!)