#mireille amarantus

[reanimatestar]

amarantus is a game by @ub4q <3 (second one is based on this tweet)

[image description: pencil drawings of arik, the protagonist of the game amarantus. arik is a man with wavy hair tied in a ponytail. he is wearing a turtleneck vest, long sleeved shirt, pants, a scarf, and bracers. the first image shows him holding a sword, a side profile of him, and a simple drawing of him sleeping. the second set of images is a comic featuring arik and mireille. mireille is a black woman with curly hair just above the shoulder. she is wearing a coat over a sweetheart neckline dress, with a choker. arik says, "Maybe you should let your brother make his own mistakes and learn from them." mireille angrily shouts, "You will fucking DIE ALONE." /end description]

[rpgchoices]

YES A WIN FOR WLW!!

[ub4q]

1 million shades of ari....i love my bruised and battered son

[ub4q]

For most of development I didn't have any sort of mental image of Ari, so when time came he needed a character design I was like "IDK Syd you're a good character designer just do something".

And lo, Syd said "oh yeah I think I have a mental image after playing" sat down and created the perfect boy.

A couple of tiny Amarantus concept sketches!

1. Since we designed Arik last, I made this sketch to feel out how he would look interacting with others (although it's just the back of his head here lol).

2. It was also comparatively late in the dev cycle overall, so I was playing earlier builds of the game and trying to channel The Vibes Of The Lad. I suppose his look would've been pretty influenced by the types of choices I initially gravitated towards, huh... 🤔

[talientravere]

Amarantus has taken up the entirety of my brain, so here’s what I think the gang were like as kids!

Arik: A menace. Stubborn, opinionated, and too clever for his own good. “Listens” to the adults but does things his own way anyway because he thinks he knows better. He gets it from his mom

Mireille: Prim little princess. Outwardly a good, obedient child, but she occasionally delights in secretly breaking the rules. She's so cute and so good at looking innocent that she almost never gets in trouble

Marius: So stinking adorable, super clingy and cuddly. I bet he was the kind of child who was always eager to help out adults with their Serious Adult Things, like a dog who’s excited to be given a job

Raeann: I… kinda feel like she was exactly the same lol. I’m guessing she had a rough life from a very young age, and had to learn how to be scrappy and fend for herself

Major: Honestly, I have no idea. I feel like the Major is so traumatized that it’s hard to tell what she was originally like. Was she always quiet and serious? Was she ever innocent and vibrant and energetic? Idk, it makes me sad to think about

Reckon: It’s also hard to say with him, because I feel like the Reckon we know is so shaped by his sister’s death and his time in the forest. I feel like he was a really sweet, sensitive kiddo though

Bonus

Marian: This is a tricky one… From what we’ve heard, she was very headstrong and independent, but was she like that as a child, growing up with other kids who were always a step ahead of her? I imagine she struggled socially as a child, and always felt like she had to prove herself

[chuthulhu-plays]

Nothing like reconnecting with someone you haven't seen in 10+ years and finding out that they're making cool visual novels these days! Really enjoyed the Amarantus demo; it slam-dunks you right into being a wee guy whose parents get violently arrested and decides he needs to fight the ruling lord about it. The answer to the question in the image is "because someone needs to do something, and we're someone", which is one of my favourite character motivations. The writing is really good, full of character, and I LOVE the character designs--it's hard to see but Mireille, on the far right, uses a cane, and you can actually hear it in her footsteps when she moves! As someone who uses a crutch sometimes, I LOVE the world put into integrating that in her design, and as someone whose hearing is shit garbage, the accessibility options to control the speed of text and add subtitles for sound effects are :chefs_kiss:. There's no voice acting but the sound effects and animation to the character portraits are GREAT.

No release date at the moment but the demo on steam is a good time, and there's already a few different routes to explore just for the first wee bit of the game--I think all four people in the image (The Major, a stoic mercenary; Reann, a feral street rat with a knife with whom I am in love; Márius, chaotic but loyal rich boy; and Mireille, Márius' sister who is very much in charge here) are romanceable, but the flavour text also mentions wingmanning, so presumably you can help them romance each other if you don't want to do it yourself! (I'm already shipping Mireille and the Major tbh)

[reanimatestar]

been playing a lot of amarantus recently <3

[rpgchoices]

oh no... she has a crush on the Major

[ub4q]

my actual best writing is contained within amarantus modern christmas BBQ AU drabbles

[rpgchoices]

Sometimes I really want to read a short summary of what to expect from a game with a very particular description that CATER to my OWN SPECIFIC interests, so here we go.

(click here for other videogames)

what to expect from AMARANTUS

Visual novel, not voiced, fixed main character

You play as Arik a young man on the run after his parents are arrested by the king. He decides to stop the war and to do so he needs to stop the king

Gorgeous art, in particular the game has beautiful character designs and extra art for specific cut scenes

Medieval fantasy. While there is no magic there is some stuff similar to it

You will need at least two playthrough to understand the story as the new game plus add a new character

The purpose of the game is mainly dealing with the group of friends and strangers who are helping Arik in his quest

Not all companions will approve of your choices and they will react different and have different outcomes based on them

I found the plot a bit confusing at first, and some choices a bit unrealistic and having strange outcomes. In particular the game allows you three plot routes (regarding the mission): pacifist, aggressive and a mid-way. I did find the pacifist the hardest to believe even if the outcomes were my favorites

Also the idea that Arik and a bunch of people could out of nowhere stop the king didn't make much sense to me

In total you will have 6 companions with Arik: Mireille (the best friend), Marius (Mireille's step brother), Raeann (Marius' friend), The Major (Mireille's hired soldier) and two other spoiler characters

Each character has a preferred way to solve things, but some won't be explicit about their preferences

Arik can romance Mireille, Raeann, The Major or Marius. There is also a polyamorous romance with Arik/Marius/Raeann which has two different cut scenes based on your choices (pacifist vs pacifist + mixed aggressive)

Arik can also play matchmaker and help The Major and Mireille to end up together

The game is mainly set during the journey from Arik's hometown to the castle of the king

There is some sexual content in the cut scenes

At the end the game offers some extra cut scenes that show you what happened to all the characters

plot? When the king captures Arik's parents and send people to look for him, Arik runs away and decides to confront or stop the king once for all. gameplay? visual novel, dialogue choices characters? Multiple characters who are accompanying Arik. Also new game plus adds another character sadness level? medium based on your choices death? (under cut, spoilers for ending)

I haven't managed to get any of the companions killed but there is an ending where Arik dies.

[rpgchoices]

AMARANTUS GUIDE: MARIUS ROMANCE (PLUS MATCHMAKING)

This is a guide for "Amarantus"! I will make a few of them for different outcomes. This one specifically is the guide to romance Marius only, no polyamory, and to matchmaker the Major and Mireille.

To romance Marius the most peaceful you are the better! In this playthrough you also end up hugging Reckon if you want.

Also keep in mind that part of this playthrough overlap with the polyamory option, so you can save at the training (I am going to identify the option in bold and pink).

GUIDE

While some options are not necessary, this is the playthrough that I checked to make sure it worked. The important thing is being gentle and as pacifist as possible.

play amarantus (like a spart)

How are you doing?

I need to get to Mireille

… Mal and Tari knew this was coming?

I’m sared for us all

What sort of stuff does she need to sort out?

How do you feel about… the mission?

… have you noticed how much you’re fading?

We have to surrender

Do you need to?

I’m not sorry

You can hold on to me

Let him make his own mistakes

Sure. Hit me up.

I have something to say

I’m here too

Yes

It takes all of us

Why am I so jumpy?

Kiss him

We’re going to confront Lord Caudat

You sound quite fond of him

I'm going with Reckon (avoid going with Marius and Reanne)

Marius

But I still feel… I don't know

This all started when someone went missing

I'll take Marius

So. You and Reanne, huh?

Nah

I'll look for Mireille

Take the Major, for protection

I'm going to join those two

I'm going to travel

... get going

Once there was a boy

He travelled very far

There was something he needed to do

One day, he could see his goals in the distance

You and me against the world

Sure

Why can't you just let me love you?

Little spoon - Big spoon (you can choose whatever you want here!)

… what happened to them after they left?

Let’s keep them in mind

We’re doing this my way

What are you doing HERE?

I see value in you

Exile the lord (choose this to get Reckon's hug)

… long-lost family history coming to light (all is fine here)

Take a step forward

[talientravere]

Amarantus-brain, Halloween party edition. Is this a modern AU? Are there other people at this party? When is this in the timeline? Idk, don't sweat the details

Arik: Helps Mireille organize the party, and goes around making sure everyone's having fun and not trying to kill each other. I feel like his costume would be something creative but low-effort, maybe based on some kind of wordplay or inside joke

Mireille: Hosts the party at her house. Goes all out on the decorations and cute Halloween-themed snacks (not that she does much of the work). For her costume, she commissions an elaborate cosplay, and spends hours putting on all the pieces and doing her hair and makeup

Marius: His one and only goal is to look cute for Raeann and/or Arik. He dresses as a sexy pirate - nothing too scandalous because he's self-conscious, but he has to at least show a bit of open chest or something

Raeann: Puts blood (fake??) on her clothes, grabs an axe (real), tells everyone she's dressed as a serial killer. She spends the evening chasing people around yelling that she's going to axe-murder them, even especially if they're super annoyed at this

Major: Has zero interest in parties or Halloween, but allows Mireille to cajole her into dressing up. She ends up having a surprisingly good time, but eventually gets tired and joins Reckon in his corner

Reckon: Spends most of the night sitting quietly in a corner, blending into the shadows so well that he scares the shit out of people who forget he's there. No matter what he wears, he's probably the spookiest thing at that party

[rpgchoices]

AMARANTUS GUIDE: POLYAMOROUS ARIK/MARIUS/RAEANN

This is a guide for the polyamory option of Arik/Marius/Raeann in "Amarantus". In this option you will start the romance directly with them (no initial Marius/Arik romance, the guide for that is here), which means you will have different cut scenes and extra art. This is also a guide for the second playthrough (new game plus), so I am not 100% sure it works for a first playthrough!

GUIDE

So for this you still want to be a pacifist to be able to romance Marius, but not too much given that you want to avoid the initial Marius romance scene. To do so I choose the non pacifist option right at the start (the "I need to see what is going on" and a few others). The trouble with that is that Major will end up proposing and you won't be able to matchmake her with Mirielle. You can try following a full pacifist game and then I highlighted here in bold pink the option that should allow you to not romance Marius immediately.

play amarantus (like a spart)

How are you doing?

I need to see what is going on

There's no way

... Mal and Tari want me to go after them?

I'm sared for us all

You sure about that one, mate?

How do you feel about... the mission?

... have you noticed how much you're fading?

We have to surrender

Do you need to?

I'm sorry

For doing it

Let him make his own mistakes

Sure. Hit me up.

I have something to say

Can you spare me a glance? (don't worry, he will reject you here)

It takes all of us

Why am I so jumpy?

We’re going to confront Lord Caudat

You sound quite fond of him

I’ll go with Raeann and Marius

Impress me

Marius (I think here any name should be fine)

What were you going to ask? (if you get this scene you are on the good path to the polyamorous romance!)

This all started when someone went missing

I’ll take Marius

Yeah, she asked me

I’ll go look for Mireille

Take the Major, for protection

I’m going to join those two

Suck it up

Was it hot?

...get going

Once there was a boy

He travelled very far

There was something he needed to do

One day, he could see his goals in the distance

You and me against the world

Sure

I won't

Sure

I like you both too much for this bullshit

Nah, that’s not what I am here for (ace option) - It’s hot as hell (if you want to keep having sex with them. I continued with the second option here)

I’ll kiss you Marius - Let him kiss you, Raeann (both are okay, slightly different scenes. Here I chose "Let him kiss you, Raeanne" so I could chose "Please" in the next line)

… what happened to them after they left?

Let’s keep them in mind

We're doing this my way

I like the cave

It’s very embarassing for him - I am way more embarassed��(any is fine, you get different scenes)

Surrender the lord (the other option is okay, but this one will allow you to hug Reckon)

… long-lost family history coming to light (all is fine here)

Take a step forward

[rpgchoices]

Amarantus Guide: Arik/Marius first -> Polyamorous Arik/Marius/Raeann (plus matchmaking)

This is a guide for "Amarantus"! I will make a few of them for different outcomes. This one specifically is the guide to romance Marius with Arik then jump in the Marius/Raeann/Arik polyamorous romance, plus it allows you to matchmake The Major and Mireille!

This also will allow you to get a hug from Reckon!

Keep in mind that this guide will overlap with the other polyamorous versions, but I will post them all! These are the other guides I want to add: Marius/Arik romance // Raeann/Arik romance // Marius/Arik/Raeann romance if you do not get with Marius first // Mireille/Arik romance

GUIDE

While some options are not necessary, this is the playthrough that I checked to make sure it worked. The important thing is being gentle and as pacifist as possible.

play amarantus (like a spart)

How are you doing?

I need to get to Mireille

... Mal and Tari knew this was coming?

I'm sared for us all

What sort of stuff does she need to sort out?

How do you feel about... the mission?

... have you noticed how much you're fading?

We have to surrender

Do you need to?

I'm not sorry

You can hold on to me

Let him make his own mistakes

Sure. Hit me up.

I have something to say

I'm here too

Yes

It takes all of us

Why am I so jumpy?

Kiss him

We're going to confront Lord Caudat

You sound quite fond of him

I'll go with Raeann and Marius

Impress me

Marius

Why not?

This all started when someone went missing

I'll take Marius

Yeah, she asked me

Let him

I'll go look for Mireille

Take the Major, for protection

I'm going to join those two

I'm going to travel

… yeah?

… get going

Once there was a boy

He travelled very far

There was something he needed to do

One day, he could see his goals in the distance

You and me against the world

Sure

I like you both too much for this bullshit

Nah, that's not what I am here for (ace option) - It's hot as hell (if you want to keep having sex with them. I continued with the second option here)

I'll kiss you Marius - Let him kiss you, Raeann (both are okay, slightly different scenes)

… what happened to them after they left?

Let's keep them in mind

We're doing this my way

What are you doing HERE?

It's very embarassing for him - I am way more embarassed (any is fine, you get different scenes)

Exile the lord (choose this to get Reckon's hug)

… long-lost family history coming to light (all is fine here)

Take a step forward

[imperialarchon]

just popping in as the resident amarantus editor to say that this game is amazing and beautiful and I've never once in my life delved so deep into a visual novel's branching and had it not feel like work to explore. even though it is literally my work, lol.

also i would die for mireille

anyways it's good and i will ply you with much love if you go play the demo and wishlist 💕

Psst… an indie game I had the pleasure of creating character art for over the past few years is currently available as a free demo during the Steam NEXT fest.

If you’re into narrative games, absolutely check it out!! It’s a visual novel that pushes the limits of the genre and I haven’t seen anything quite like it, so treat yourself:

✨👉Play the Amarantus demo!