Posted August 09, 2022 by Anta
First of all, I'd like to thank everyone for the support this little game has received! I'm overwhelmed with all the comments flooding in- I've read all of them but I couldn't reply due to the sheer number ^^"
But of course, I am grateful for you all who took the effort to write down your thoughts ^_^
And of course, for those who recorded their playthroughs (I do enjoy watching reaction videos🤭)
Now, I originally wasn't planning to do this, but I'll do it anyway just like I did for Demon Lord last year-
Jester's Concept
I've been reading comments and a lot of people likened him to Grell, some to Laughing Jack(?); while yes, I do like Black Butler, Grell didn't actually come to mind when I was making this, and I don't know Laughing Jack.
Rather, Jester's design was based off my other waaay older Persona OC whose Persona was 'Hellequin', whose profile reads:
"an emissary of the devil, roaming the countryside with a group of demons chasing the damned souls of evil people to Hell. The physical appearance of Hellequin offers an explanation for the traditional colors of Harlequin's red-and-black mask."
So, yes- you could say that he was based off Hellequin. From the start, I've always planned to have red and black in his color palette.
Now, this OC is Jester's older brother in this universe, in a demon sense (don't think about that for now).
So, meet Jester's older brother! Yeah.
If Jester is the Demon of Betrayals and Nightmares... what could this one be a demon of...?
We'll keep his name for now, but he actually also appeared as a human NPC in Tales of Misteria as Eliam, so let's call him that. Eliam is much more human-like in Misteria since... he's human there; so don't take that as his demon version's personality. As you can see, Eliam is inspired by the Mad Hatter!
ANYWAY. TLDR; Jester's color palette, personality and design were based off OCs who were inspired by Hellequin and Mad Hatter respectively!
And his hair? It was inspired by Ryoma aka mr. Lobster Hair bro from Fire Emblem Fates.
The World of Jester
Okay, time for some lore! I'm not going to talk about everything, just a little background about their world that could help you better understand the story of the game.
Let's start with Ending 6: "You're Boring :(" - so what exactly happened in the end? Did Jester kill you? Weeell... yes, and no?
As you later learn in other routes, you've actually already died. Jester 'revived' you, through a provisional contract. In the end, he realizes that you're not worth it, so he nulls the contract and you just return to being dead.
If you also noticed, he mentions in this ending that you're a 'prissy noble'- you are actually wearing the outfit you had on when you were killed- one of an aristocrat's.
Ending 4&5: "Pet Endings"- you're prooooobably curious what happens after these... let's not go there. Or alternatively, I'll leave that to your imagination. That said, you may ask, 'how come you didn't die if Jester tossed aside the contract?'- the answer is, he didn't. He kept the provisional contract just to keep you alive. This temporary contract allowed you to keep living, but unlike a full contract, you don't get to have authority over the demon.
Ending 3: "Blasphemous Partnership"- let me talk about the religion in this world... that is, none. Or, not exactly. There is no existence of a temple or a saintess and all that; in this world, there is no governing body for their religion; however people in this world DO believe in gods. The belief in their world goes like this: gods exist- they give you blessings if you send them your wishes, offerings and prayers. People often prayed for bountiful harvests, rain and health. Shrines are built for gods, and each locality (village, city, town) has one shrine and their own god, with the exception of the capital city where the belief is that their god resides within the palace, making the royal castle the capital's 'shrine'. This is the form of worship for almost every kingdom on the continent.
However, by the time of 'Trapped with Jester', people's faith in gods have waned... many towns and villages have abandoned their shrines, and the people have forgotten to make their prayers to the royal palace... What does this have to do with this ending? HAHA. Eh, nothing, I guess?
Ending 1&2: "Vow & My Master"- now, we talk about the MC; the MC is from the royalty of the Qualian Monarchy, or Qualia for short. As you may have seen from these routes, yes, the MC was killed by someone they trusted, under the orders of a family member... or perhaps family members? Who's to say? Either way, you're a poor casualty to the fight for the throne. That said, after the deed was done, you were thrown into a sack, ready to be disposed of by the perpetrator's men.
In this world, there is such a thing as reincarnation, but you don't retain your memories of course- you simply return to the cycle of death and rebirth; this isn't true for those who die with a grudge, like you. You lingered, screaming hate and contempt which was when Jester answered your voice... and the rest is history.
Sequel?
This is probably what you've been waiting for, huh? Short answer: not yet.
This 'world' was originally an otome I was developing some years back which I scrapped because I couldn't handle the scope. In fact, I have about four (or more?) other stories set in this world. The very first story was about Jester's brother, 'Eliam', and a princess. It was set a few hundred years before 'Trapped with Jester'.
Collectively, this universe is what I'd like to call Heartless(verse). Why 'Heartless'? Because demons are heartless. They don't feel love nor emotions... or so what everyone believed. The truth is, very little is known about demons aside from being harbingers of calamities. As much as I'd like to talk more about this, let's leave it at that ;)
There are still some otome VNs I'm working on that I hope to finish first before moving into a new one, but I definitely am considering on making a continuation on Jester. Besides, I still have to think how to go about this; for one, if I do make a full game and still keep it voiced, I'd want to pay the VA (or VAs, as there will likely be more characters) this time, so I'd need funds. Anyway, I'm still figuring out options.
For now, have a possible synopsis of what could possibly be a sequel to Jester's story:
The throne was rightfully yours, yet you were betrayed and killed by the one you trusted the most.
Anger. Contempt. Vengeance. Your soul seethed with rage.
It should have been the end to your story, so when a demon offers his hand, you cannot find yourself to refuse.
Your tale cannot end here.
... But can you truly trust the Demon of Betrayals?
".............................................."
"Hey, hey, hey... (-insert puppy dog eyes here-) can you step on me again?"
... Oh gods. Is this revenge actually worth it?!
*COUGHS* Yeah. It would be a continuation from where the jam version left off- your quest to take revenge on those who wronged you, seize the throne that is rightfully yours... or maybe find love? OR idk, maybe go off rails and destroy the whole kingdom just for laughs?
Q&A!
Some of you had questions in the comments so...
- As I've posted above (in the smol chibi drawing), the diet of demons are dark desires... as well as negative emotions and darkness in people's hearts; it's basically a free buffet. Demons can hear the thoughts within them. Consuming these desires aren't harmful, normally. Like I mentioned above, souls with a grudge couldn't return to the cycle because these dark desires chain them down. The way Jester worded it "Guess I slurped in too much"- he wasn't sure either. So, whether it was really stress, or if it was Jester's oopsie, a combination of factors or something else entirely... that's all up to interpretation.
That said, the MC was indeed an innocent person; someone who easily trusted others but was unfortunate enough to end up being chosen for the crown which made them a target by those who coveted it. They were betrayed by the one they trusted the most (...and it's up to your interpretation to say whether MC actually had feelings for the one who betrayed them or not); this betrayal, you could say, had broken MC as they were dying- once a kind soul, suddenly filled with dark desires.
And yes, desires play a very important role in this world.
-Here ya go: https://twitter.com/Antares252/status/1555463628077182979
-Ring size? Yes.
Family? Babies?
That's a secret... or a spoiler? ;D
-Honestly, it's not that I'm against doing R18+, but I literally don't know how to write R18+😅
Final Message and Survey
Now that you've reached the end of this post, CONGRATULATIONS! And thank you for reading this far (or maybe you skipped?!)-
With that said, it would greatly help and I would greatly appreciate it if you can fill out this SURVEY FORM, like, if you REALLY wanna see a full game version, help me out here and fill it out, please?
*if the survey form doesn't work (aka if it's full-) please go here (ONLY IF the above link doesn't work ok? >:( )
LASTLY (for real, this time) thank you all once again for all the support! If you have questions, feel free to DM me on Twitter or post a comment here! I'm also open for art commissions, though I still hadn't made my normal commission sheet (only my chibi commission sheet) but you can also DM me for details if you're interested ^_^
Aaaaaand that's it! Well then, until next time!
-ANTA