Hi guys! If I've written a lot of devlogs on itch (especially for WOTF), I think I've never truly tried to talk with the people following me on itch. There are many reasons to that, but to put it shortly: itch doesn't feel like a social platform (at least to me), and I mostly see it as a platform to post games. Therefore, I mostly use my twitter for communication regarding my games and my dev activity. However, most of my players follow me on itch, rather than twitter (and I do have more followers on itch than I have on twitter - and much more players too!). So it was a strange in-between for me. For example, I tend to celebrate my twitter account reaching a certain amount of followers by making games for it (Kawaii-Chan and Bacon Monster, Katekyo's First Date and River of Rebirth for those who are released) to eventually present them to my itch followers, as if the overlap between these two communities was natural. And you know... maybe it isn't. Lol.

So, while I was waiting for Morpheus to reach me last night, I had a realisation: I never did something for my itch followers. And even from a marketing/business standpoint, I never truly wondered what the people following me here wanted from me as a dev. Well, that's because my situation is a bit strange: I write in a lot of genres, with different tones, and my games individually appeal to a lot of different demographics. For example, the players who followed me for He tasted like poison are certainly expecting a new NSFW BL game (if so, read further, I have good news for you); those who followed me for High School Lolita are certainly looking forward to Waterlily on the Froth and more realistically grounded psychological stories (if so, I also have good news for you, so read further); the players who followed me for When The Wind Blew You Away or Rendez-Doug certainly want dating sims with a male love interest (then know I just released an otome kinetic novel for otome jam, check it out!) ; some of you followed me for the more theatrical games like The Daughters of the Sun trilogy (I also have good news for you); others might have followed for my shitpost games like My Dream Date with a Yandere Serial Killer or swamp opera. And finally, I did get a handful of followers from Comaetho and Melanippus' game (in which case I have EXCELLENT news for you, but not for now hehe, we'll talk about it when I release the full game).

I won't pursue the accumulation, I think you got my point: I am working with a lot of genres (which I love doing), so I do expect my itch audience to have various tastes. Yet, in my bed, yesterday, I was thinking these words: I never did something for them. Which sucks because I am very grateful to have you all, I do recognise the players who regularly rate my games, and I appreciate it a lot.

So, I wanted to know... what are you guys expecting from me as a developer? What I mean is: what kind of games would you like to see me making? What is your ideal chim game? To put it shortly: what would you like to see me release?

I know this isn't an easy question to answer. But if it can help, you can think of the following things and see what your opinions are on the following:

• Any genre? (Slice-of-life, horror, fantasy, psychological... remember those can overlap!)
• A romance game? Otome? Boys' Love? Kinetic? One ending? Several? A dating sim?
• Should the protagonist be a defined character (like it's the case in most my games)? Or should they be a self-insert? What kind of customisation of the protagonist would you expect in this case (pronouns, appearance, personality etc.)?
• Any "theme" you'd like? Fairy tale, vampire, coming of age, woes of adulthood, high school drama...

I'd really appreciate if you could answer, as I'd like to understand my active audience better! I'm really worried nobody will since, as I said, itch isn't much of a social platform, but worst case scenario: no feedback and I just get to do what I want lol

I'd like to precise the following too: I don't intend to betray myself or my writing. It's just that, well, if I can understand your expectations, then I'd be more than happy to prioritise projects over others (I have a myriad of ideas, you guys have no idea) or to even think of a story for the occasion. So thanks in advance to those who will answer (and of course, if you follow me both on itch and twitter, you're more than welcomed to answer!). But even if no one answers, I think I'll keep having these Chim Issues, as I still want to communicate with you guys more!

Now, what can you expect from me this summer?

The Priestess, the Shepherd and the doom of Patras

For those who missed it, I released for Otome Jam and Mythology VN Jam a game entitled The Priestess, the Shepherd and the doom of Patras, inspired by the myth of Melanippus and Comaetho, narrating how a priestess (Comaetho) and her lover (Melanippus) had to be sacrificed because they had sex in the temple Comaetho was a priestess of after their parents refused to let them marry each other, their sacrilege leading the city to suffer from famine and plague. Yes, quite the wild myth, and the game is meant to be wilder: however it is 13+, so don't expect anything too explicit when it comes to sexuality.

Honestly, this project isn't really like any of mine: it's mythological like The Daughters of the Sun and an otome game like When The Wind Blew You Away. However, Comaetho is a very unique protagonist for me. She isn't my first morally-grey protagonist. I mentioned The Daughters of the Sun, and those who played the whole trilogy how we went from "Phaedra commits suicide after having confessed her incestuous feelings for her stepson, feelings inspired by Aphrodite's wrath and vengeance" to "Phaedra, animated by a passion stronger than her, symbolically rapes her teenage stepson after he refused to kill her." But Phaedra, as a protagonist, knows she is guilty; or, as she puts it herself in the game:

Do not think that, while I love, innocent in my eyes, I approve of myself! Do not think that my feeble complacency has fed the poison of my wild love! Unfortunate object of celestial vengeance, I abhor myself more than you detest me!

Or, in the Racine's verses from which these lines are almost a literal translation, for the pleasure of my French-speaking players:

Ne crois pas qu'au moment que je t'aime,
Innocente à mes yeux, je m'approuve moi-même ;
Ni que du fol amour qui trouble ma raison
Ma lâche complaisance a nourri le poison ;
Objet infortuné des vengeances célestes,
Je m'abhorre encor plus que tu ne me détestes.

Comaetho, however, doesn't realise that: instead, she feels justified in her actions, because she considers unfair that her love for Melanippus is taken away from her. As she puts herself in a scene which doesn't appear in the demo:

You need me, Artemis! But now, I won't serve you! Now, I won't teach Cassiopeia anything anymore! You've closed the only mouth celebrating you!

And my Racine-knowing French players (do you exist) would have recognised the last line is inspired from Racine's Esther, in her famous prayer to God:

Non, non, ne souffre pas que ces peuples farouches,
Ivres de notre sang, ferment les seules bouches
Qui dans tout l'univers célèbrent tes bienfaits ;
Et confonds tous ces dieux qui ne furent jamais.

(quick English translation by yours truly:

No, no, do not suffer that these fierce people,
Drunken with blood, close the only mouths
Which, in the whole universe, celebrate your beneficence;
And thwart all those gods that have never been.)

So, the story is quite out of my comfort zone: in general, my stories can be tragic, but they have a point. This game is a tragedy for its own sake, and I actually love writing tragedies! So I hope you guys will give it a chance if you haven't, and that you'll enjoy it! And to those who did enjoy it, I hope the extended demo won't disappoint you! As it is the announce: you can for sure expect the extended demo for this summer, and certainly the full game, but we'll see.

The Fragmented Butterfly

Another game, planned for Yaoi Jam, is The Fragmented Butterfly. This story is very dear to me, and I hope you'll enjoy it. Here is a summary:

Zephyr managed to escape from the neonazi pedocriminal group he was raised in years ago, finally getting the freedom he never suspected he was longing for. However, his tormentors left a mark on him: victim of  ritual abuse and programming, Zephyr has suffered from dissociative identity disorder and trauma he can’t even explore without fearing fatal consequences.
This is the only secret he keeps from the love of his life, Giovanni, an empathetic and joyful elementary school teacher. And Zephyr starts feeling guilty of falsely pretending to offer Giovanni the happy and healthy life he thinks he will never be able to experience because of his trauma. But can Zephyr’s love for Giovanni be the key he needs to leave his cocoon of pain and fly to a happier life?

So, quite an emotional game, and be cautious, because it's even worse than it sounds. I won't delve too much into the gruesome details of ritual abuse as I've fortunately never been a victim of it, but this game is from the nakige genre: these are called "crying game", and if I don't know if you guys will cry, but these games are overall sad games with a happy ending (to be honest, it's rather bittersweet, but in the way life is).

I had the idea for this game when I discovered several months ago what ritual abuse and programming was. I was horrified that it existed, and I cried a lot. I knew I had to turn it into a game, because I really hope I can bring more visibility to this issue. Then, I did research and thought of a plot. It was overall fine, but I felt like something was missing to complete the protagonist's journey: then I had the one idea I needed to have, the kind of ideas that is game-changing. And I cried a lot. So well, if I ever made you cry with my games, prepare your tissues!

If you guys are curious, here is a concept art I drew a few months ago of the protagonist (Zephyr, or the titual "fragmented butterfly"):

And an older one including both Zephyr and his love interest/boyfriend, Giovanni (yes, you already date the love interest, as the game isn't a dating simulator):

(yes, for once, the hunk is the protagonist-)

You guys have no idea how much I love them, and I hope you're looking forward to more. If you enjoyed games like High School Lolita, The Day Being Ace Made Him Stronger or The Life I Lost from me, I think you're going to love this one a lot!

I hope I manage to release the full game for yaoi jam: if not, I'll release a demo and update it!

The Ghosts of Troy

So, next on this list: The Ghosts of Troy, my O2A2 project!

Similarly to The Daughters of the Sun, this game is the monologue of a tragic woman from one of Racine's plays: my second favourite this time, Andromache!

Let me give context for some who don't know this episode of the Trojan War: Hector was a Trojan man, murdered by Achilles during the war, leaving his wife, Andromache, a widow, and his son, Astyanax, fatherless (in the Illiad, he is actually dead, murdered by Ulysses: Racine made him live longer for the stakes of his play). The Trojans lost the war and Andromache was made the slave of Achilles' son, Pyrrhus. The Greeks ask for Hector's son, worried that, if not killed, he would try to avenge his kin. Pyrrhus refuses for one good reason: he is in love with Andromache. But he's growing frustrated at her rejection: after all, how could Hector's widow marry the son of his murderer? Pyrrhus decides to issue an ultimatum: if she won't marry him, then he'll give her son to the Greeks, letting the last traces of Hector's blood die. Andromache is torn between the fidelity she owes her dead husband and the sword hanging over her son's head. Who will she betray between the two?

As you can already tell, Andromache is way more dignified than Phaedra, and confronted to a very heartrending dilemma. I'm really excited to start working on it! I've hosted a casting call and I will work with a very talented VA again, and I'm excited for you guys to hear her! So far, accordingly to O2A2 rules, I have nothing to present but the concept art for Andromache below:

I'm just a text away

I think I don't need to draw a picture (although I jsut did... mm...), it's the NSFW game I mentioned before, and this guy is your love interest, Isai! I'm making this game for Josei After Dark!

For the summary, it's quite quick: you're alone, in the night, and you need some physical affection. So you send Isai a text... but let's say your relationship is quite strained, and that you guys have unresolved issues lol.

This game will have a self-insert protagonist. I don't think I'll need to include pronoun options, as the narrator uses "you" (the same way I did in He tasted like poison or The Day Being Ace Made Him Stronger), but it might include... erm... genital selection options for some variations in the narration (so giving you the choice between vagina/penis/other). If you don't want to answer the question, feel free to pick the "other" option (I originally picked it with intersex players in mind). For example, a line in game is the following, if you pick the "vagina" option:

In the end, you were leftovers of the relationship you hoped you'd had. A fleshlight and a dildo, letting out meaningless moans, trying to find humanity in each other.

Whereas this line, if you picked "penis" or "other" option, will replace "fleshlight" with "fleshjack." I hope it helps with the self-insert (if it is a terribly wrong idea tell me though loool).

As you can tell from the line I shared, the game is quite angsty, and Isai is far, far from being my usual "green flag"-types of LI like Doug, Melanippus, Arcturus or our evergreen flag, Peter Byrne. In spirit, it overall has three outcomes: terrible relationship with Isai with no communication, attempts to communicate but failure, and finally, you solve your issues. And the adult scenes will reflect your relationship with Isai, especially in the way he handles you (more or less roughly for example). There isn't a bad ending per se, but one does involve having a bad relationship with Isai (now, is it truly a bad ending... I'll let you decide!).

Just little precision for those who played He tasted like poison: this time, I think I'll spare myself the trouble of drawing dingalings lol, I hope it isn't too disappointing, but you can't ask too much from an ace guy loool

Conclusion

And that's it for now! I hope these projects got you excited! And if I might remind you, please don't forget to tell me what kind of games you'd like! Toodles!