Hello again, happy summer!
I thought I’d do an update on everything I’ve done so far this year, because half of it has gone by already, huh?
January was the release of Winter Knight’s Steam page, followed by the public demo in February. The Last Winter Knight is a project I started in July of 2023 and have been working on and off on.
Alas, it’s been more challenging than my other VNs because of how point and click is integrated into the story. It means a lot more coding, planning, design, art assets and flavour text…
As a first commercial project attempt, it’s definitely been an insightful one. VNs are a niche in games already, and the more niche within your niche, the more difficult it is to find your audience, to say the least.
Winter Knight isn’t a romance like my other games (it is about bonds, but familial ones) and it doesn’t have enough spooky content to really count as horror. Fantasy games are a dime a dozen, but how many fantasy VNs have you played that don’t also include horror or romance?
Though it is a story I really want to tell, going forward I plan to hone in on my gothic/horror/romance niche I’ve carved so far…
Like with It Paints Me, which I released a complete edition for in April!
I was approached one day by Very Berry Studios, who offered to help bring the project to life with voice acting!
I’d thought about doing a more polished version of the game (which was made in one week for a jam), and thought that this would be the perfect excuse to finally do so.
There was definitely a lot for me to learn! Formatting a script, choosing which lines to include, giving (written) directions, implementing the files into Ren’py…
Though it was a bit overwhelming (and nerve-wracking to hear things I’d written spoken aloud, not to mention the fact that we got around 200 auditions! AAAA) I’m so proud of the final result and I owe so much to the amazing work of the cast, Phebe (the casting director) and Mark (audio editor)!
Finally, I launched the extended demo for Snow White Ashes in June.
I’ve been pretty much floored by the response to it, and all the messages you’ve sent me about how much you enjoyed the story so far! This project is my baby, with characters and a world I’ve been building for years, so I really can’t express how much it means to me.
Over the summer, I’ve had the honour of taking part in an indie otome cross promotion with eleven other games! You may have seen them on Snow White Ashes’ store page. BlerdyOtome also made an article with all the links and blurbs. I really recommend checking out the titles if you’re looking for another magic or mystery themed VN!
I wanted to shout out two devs in particular: Firstly, Best Laid Plans Productions, who have an ongoing kickstarter for their upcoming dark comedy isekai game, Save the Villainess!
In this romantic dark-comedy murder-mystery game, you guide a villainess who cannot remember what story she is trapped in... or who is trying to kill her. Can you find clues, seduce potential enemies, fight off fiends, and calm angry furniture while solving the mystery of this world?
Can you save the villainess?
You can check out their demo now and support them on kickstarter to help them fund all sorts of cool features!
Secondly, Moirai Myths just launched a new demo for The Good People:
The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe) is a lore-rich, choice-driven visual novel inspired by Irish myths. Venture into Tír na nÓg, the Celtic Otherworld, in order to retrieve your family's stolen valuables... and get swept up in deadly fairy politics and a whirlwind romance along the way.
You can check them out on Steam or Itch!
The rest of the year I’ll be focused on Winter Knight. Depending on how crowded the end of the year is, I might not be able to release it before 2024 ends, but my goal is to at least have it finished by then!
I’ll also be attending festivals for the first time this year, and I’ll hopefully report about how they go!
Once Winter Knight is wrapped up, I’ll start fully working on Snow White Ashes. There won’t be any story updates for the demo, but I may update it over time as I tweak the visuals. (There were things that I didn’t get to experiment with in the demo, like more sprite changes and animations, that I would like to add in the future!)
That’s it for this time, thank you for reading this update and I hope you have a good weekend!
-Eli
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I definitely relate to the added difficulty/complexity of integrating point-and-click into a story. What you did in the demo was fantastic and fantastically effective, but it is indeed a ton of work!
It's really admirable how much you've managed to do between all of these projects and how your work is consistently extremely solid across them. It's been fun to see all of these projects slowly evolve, and I am so excited to see what The Last Winter Knight will be in its finished form. I've loved everything I've played from you, but that one has a special place in my heart. Something about it really really appeals to and resonates with me.
Congratulations on the halfway mark!
Thank you!! I'm glad Winter Knight has its fans tbh, since it's pretty experimental compared to what I typically make! Not that it would stop me from making it (because *I* want to write an atmospheric VN where you're a ghost knight) but it means a lot to know it resonates with you!