Himawari High is a stealth game with social elements in which you must eliminate 8 rivals over the course of 8 weeks in order to win over your love interest using the tools around you in an adapting, ever-changing school environment.
...Wait, that sounds a lot like Yandere Simulator, doesn't it? Yes, but it will be different in some ways and even improves in some ways, such as no upskirt photos of or oversexualized underage girls, more complex characters, optimized code and models, better and less hand-holding hint system, improved elimination methods, and more!
That sounds cool, when can I expect to play it? Well, with how early into being worked on the game is, it is impossible to say. However, here's the current plan, which is very much subject to change, assuming best-case scenario:
April - June: Planning Period. (Outlining needs for the game, hiring a team, writing and planning everything so it can just be programmed into the game later and development will go faster. The game's soundtrack will also be written during this time
June - August: Receiving Period. (With a team hired on, this period of time will be used to create and receive all the assets for the game, as well as create prototype environments to test different things.)
August - March 2026 : Development Period. (Focused development and some playtesting and debugging.)
March 2026 - April 2026: Playtesting Period. (Playtesting the heck out of the whole game to ensure fun and minimal bugs.)
April 2026 - June 2026: Promo Period. (Demo of the first week, trailers, pre-order, etc.)
June 2026: Full game releases
So, how complete is the game? As of April 19th, 2025, which is about 3 weeks into development, the game is about 36% of the way through the planning period. This number will be updated every Saturday when applicable or sooner if there's something I really wanna show off!
Here is the pre-production Trello board: Pre-Production For Himawari High | Trello
How can someone apply to join the team? Read this post:
https://itch.io/blog/929150/joining-brighter-days-studios
And that's all for this post! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you come along on this journey with us and love the game once it's complete!
-Brighter Days Studios
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Hi! I'm interested in applying, though I see you have no other social media I can take a look at. Is this a relatively new small studio? I'd like to know your stance on AI "art" as well, as it's something I'm strongly against in the industry. Thanks! 鈽猴笍馃檹
Hi, yes, we are a new and very small studio of just a couple people! So sorry that we don't have more of a reputation built around yet. We just formed a few weeks ago! And don't worry, we have a strong stance against AI "art," and we are more than willing to criticize anyone who uses it. We do have a Reddit account that we unfortunately cannot post very much on because most places do not allow rev sharing posts (u/brighterdaysstudios) and a subreddit for the game (r/himawarihigh), I just have yet to link them. We do have an Instagram account as well (@brighterdaysstudios), but we likely won't be posting there until time comes to promote the game. We also do have a Youtube channel, but again, we likely won't post there unless we want to show something off or to promote the game
Edit: I linked the socials