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EDFVGFDFG DON'T APOLOGISE CARROT DCVDFGDFCVFD I HOPE YOU MANAGED TO GET SOME GOOD REST!

And overall, I'm flabbergasted by your feedback, thank you so much 😭😭Truth be told, I haven't felt something like I did with this game since When The Wind Blew You Away, which is a bit strange because I've released a lot of games I love and that are very personal to me, but I don't know, I'll admit The Dragon Princess feels somehow very special to me (and it legit made me realise I want to make more fairy tale-themed games, I just ADORE finding a vibe for them!). I'm glad you appreciated the music chosen (especially the piano track indeed: I named it "Piano flame" in my files, for obvious reasons considering the ending of the game loool) and the art, I really wanted to go with a storybook feel! And I had a lot of fun with the GUI (for some reason, developing this game felt very much like developing High School Lolita to some extent, and I was as thrilled!).

*SPOILERS AND I DON'T KEEP IT VAGUE LOL*

That was the core idea of Azaiah and Amaia's relationship! Azaiah has never been violent with her (before the end of the game that is) but somehow still threateningly controlling, this aspect of the relationship finding its climax in Vasserelli's death. I thought it would portray more accurately how toxic partners take things away from you (social activities, friends, relatives): not by explcitly forbidding you to have these things, but instead by souring them, soiling them with bad evocations or memories. So I'm glad you appreciated Amaia's character arc, which was indeed to reclaim her love for the piano, but beyond that, to reclaim agency over herself, and to not succumb to Azaiah's domineering attitude.

Regarding Caleb, I won't lie, the outline went through a lot of modifications (for example, in the first version, Amaia just died when she threw herself out the window, so glad I didn't go with that lol), but one thing that had been there from the start is Caleb being murdered by Azaiah looool so he really never had a chance! But yes, with his character, I wanted to portray someone who isn't perfect, and still makes mistakes regarding his masculinity (obvious saviour complex , and of course, him thinking he's a fairy tale hero and confessing his love where Amaia's life is literally on the line), but I wanted him to recognise his mistakes and be a positive character! So I'm glad you were attached to him!

And for the finale, honestly, do you remember when I asked for opinions for the title in a previous devlog? I actually already prefered The Dragon Princess to Amaia and the Dragon at the time, but I was worried The Dragon Princess was spoilery loool, but in the end, I feel like it just makes the title very clever, so I was quite happy! But yes, after the original outline where Amaia just died, I had the idea of her turning into a dragon and carrying Happho's legacy, and I was most happy with it as I knew it was a much better idea! Although I indeed wanted her to bring her own thing, not to just be a Happho bis! But overall, yes, I'm VERY happy with the climax of the game!

But I'm rambling looool! Thank you so much for your kind feedback, Carrot, and I'm glad it's one of your favourite games of mine, because I think it has unexpectedly become a favourite of mine too!

Hi, thanks for the feedback! For the names, I agree with you, it would certainly have looked better if I could have found a more "textured" font (I think the font used looks medieval in its own right, but not handwritten enough indeed!). But beyond these font matters, I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts!

I loved spending a day with Beach Guy because there was so much beach and so much guy but also we made a sand castle together

masterful art i was so focused on beach guy i forgot to read the text oopsie daisy hihi ^__^

(SPOILERS)

For real though, I was genuinely surprised there was a secret ending bringing a more bittersweet ending! The switch to the regular art style also helped setting the emotional shift; and the revelation of who MC was has me really intrigued! I remember playing Flying JKT an eternity ago, but now I really need to play Fleeting! Thanks for the short game, Ari!

(SPOILERS)

Oh yes, an ending fitting for a tragedy, but I think tragedies work best when characters bring themselves to their own demise; instead, Amaia does everything to improve her situation, so it was better indeed! And I agree, I do remember playing a VN tackling suicide in a metaphorical way, and letting the main character choose whether he wants to commit it or survive at the end, choice that kind of shocked me since I really don't think those two are equivalent dfvfdfg So yes, I'm also happy with the decision!

I played the alpha! It was short but quite intense! Truth be told, I think I did quite well, since I only had one death on the last day! So, I really appreciated how the music and the background helped set the vibe, and I think it has a lot of potential! Of course, as a game with an actual storyline, but I think a sort of "infinite" mode including a random set of events might also be a fun play mode, to see how long players can survive with random distributions of stats amongst the party (which I think would be more difficult to do in a story mode if the characters all have set personalities?).

So yes, I've had a lot of fun with it, and I think trying to have everyone survive already feels quite stressful (in a good way), so I can't help but imagine how much more it would be in a fuller game, when it is ready someday!

(SPOILERS)

The very first idea of the game was quite similar, but ended on Amaia's death after she throws herself out the window; so she didn't murder Azaiah but still escaped her grasp. In the end, I thought it wasn't a satisfying ending considering Amaia's whole character arc is to become someone Azaiah can't break, not just to withdraw herself from his influence (otherwise, she would already have done it thanks to the kidnapping).

So then, when I decided Amaia would turn into a dragon with all the symbolism attached to it, my concept for the introduction scene was to have Azaiah go back to the tower with Horacio and an army to slay Amaia's dragon form, somehow to force her to give up, since he expects her not to spit fire at her own father; but instead, Amaia had already left, following her mission (similar to the one she has at the end of the game). In the end, I thought it made the introduction a bit confusion, since it forced the game to be a flashback, and I'm not sure it really was a "full circle" moment that brought anything meaningful; in the end, I thought Azaiah's death was stronger, especially considering it mirrors Amaia's first scene (the braid burning mirrors Azaiah's hand burnt, and the tower's collapse mirrors the temple's at the start of the game), and how she went from the "victim of circumstances" to a person able to fight her abuser.

So to answer to your question, Azaiah would certainly have tried to pursue her, but she would certainly have managed to escape!

I played the whole game, got all the endings and wanted to leave a comment to say how much I appreciated it! The art was gorgeous, and Ten looked particularly handsome. But I also appreciated the story and how it was approached!

(SPOILERS)

The idea of meeting an urban legend is quite interesting, and I think the game managed to create rather interesting horror with it, especially when the routes are played in the suggested order: my first playthrough surprised me the moment I became food for Ten loool, but expected it on the other playthroughs, which all extended the lore, of which I'm very curious about, especially regarding Ten's back story! Who was this mysterious person he's been waiting for? And the fact Ten wants his meal's consent is the ending 3 of route B is quite interesting, considering he didn't bother asking for it in route A, so there's definitely something highly interesting too there I think. Hana herself was interesting: her existence feels monotonous, and seeing how far she was ready to go to have some thrills added to the horror for me!

Overall, great game, especially for a game made under a month, congrats!

Hey! I played the game and wanted to say I appreciated a lot!

First of all, I really enjoy the art: the sprites are very well-drawn, and the characters look like they're from a kids TV show, and it is high-praise, especially considering the numerous variations the sprites have helped making it all feel like "animated", if it makes sense? For the rest of the art, I found the background BEAUTIFUL and the final CG really amazing! Finally, the GUI looked particularly great.

The programming was also very smooth: the introduction of the background truly enchanted me, and the sprite implementation was also extremely good.

Now, for the writing, it was such a cute and needed story! Truth to be told, I was at first annoyed at Fred, as he only came to Goobu to speak ill of others, without considering his need for peace, and I was worriedthe story would be about showing how Goobu could enjoy the company. So I was most happy when the story instead focused on Fred's loneliness, and it all made sense: even him constantly speaking about others, is somehow a way to not feel alone; and him badmouthing them is a way to blame his own solitude on them, rather than on himself. So I appreciated how Goobu, with a little empathy, managed to help Fred see things a bit more clearly, and how the game made sure to show that wanting peace, calm, and possibly loneliness isn't the same thing as being selfish and dismissing others when they are vulnerable.

So congrats on the game! It was a very wholesome experience, and I find it very well-crafted! Looking forward to more games from the studio!

For a fun fact, he didn't even die in the original outline, but I got back to my senses 🙏

Thanks Altila, I'm glad you enjoyed this one too! I had a lot of fun with the GUI, and especially with the tweaks with it! And yes, may we all have a Happho in our lives!!

Hey! Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback! I'm glad you appreciated what you played of the game so far; I hope you appreciate the ending!

And I have to agree with you, the voice actors all performed amazingly, and I couldn't have been luckier!

subversive masterpiece was more subversive and more masterpiece but the protagonist wasn't as small

also link to court of bell and pepper, i need the smu- the lore ofc the lore

Hey Kaye, thank you so much for your feedback! I'm glad you thought it was well-crafted, and this couldn't have been a possibility without all the people who worked with me on this!! Thanks a lot!!

Hey Chatter, thank you so much for everything you've done for this game!!

I'm glad you enjoyed the VAs performance, they really all nailed their parts in a way that makes me so happy, and which brought so much life to the game! And thank you for the assets, I think I've never put so much original art in a game, it might be my most ambitious in that regard so far, but I'm very happy with the result too as a whole (I guess even the restraints of NaNoRenO can't stop me at this point)!

----- SPOILERS ------

Once again, analysis on point, and you touched on a lot of things! Somehow, I really consider this story as a more "metaphorical" one that most of my work (especially compared with other NaNoRenO entries). Not that the story is written in a way that makes the scenes disconnected or "experimental" (for lack of a better word), but still in a way where I think the meaning is more important than the actual events, although I of course cared about those (the development of Happho and Amaia's friendship, the nuanced takes on the different men surrounding Amaia, Caleb being the hardest one in that regard!). But yes, your analysis of the main thesis of "A Room of One's Own" is very relevant (of course), and the idea of the game was to illustrate that through Amaia! And of course, I had fun playing with fairy tale tropes regarding the "evil" dragon!

Thank you again for your detailed feedback, and for being so supportive during development! You rock!!!!!!!!!

"Stardust. The remains of a broken wish washed away with the wind."

Taumi, not you randomly releasing an absolute BANGER, and also a very memorable experience!! I remember enjoying the prequel a whole lot, and now I'm happy I get to discover the sequel!

And of course, it was very cryptic: we do get a sense of the story, but clearly, this is a story meant to reach something in the player, deep in their heart, their wishes, their experience, rather than a story just to follow through. And every single time, it WORKS. Every single choice you made, from the music, the art, to the words and the effects on the text always seem to be the strongest ones to convey emotion. The solitude, the despair, the self-loathing, the confusion, the conflict between being appreciated by others and yet wanting solitude and to be away from the world... Truly, this is an emotional rollercoaster, as you touched on topics we all have experienced, although not necessarily in the same way of course, and yet, you still managed to detail a very specific experience, rather than a generic soulless one. Soul, soul, the game is filled with soul, and maybe that's why I have such a hard time dissecting it, finding points to underline and analyse, because in the end, I just felt the game deeply.

Also, more than feeling, I was also enchanted by the game, as if progressively won over by a spell, as if somehow Lilith was doing something right with me, I won't lie! I did catch up on some things I am curious about in terms of lore (Lily/Lilith, and Lily and Bell's discussion reminded me of an internal monologue, as if Bell was to reflect the "change" Lily is longing for in their seearch for freedom). The art participated in this enchantment: after all, it was GORGEOUS. The artistic direction of your games is always flawless, and here, I was just in awe: the animations looked amazing, the colour palette, the numerous illustrations... It literally felt like an animated storybook, the pages of which swing from the warmth of a childhood memory to the dark compressing feeling of something terrible is going to happen, but you don't know why. And yet, there is the emptiness of having made something major (escape from the tower), and yet, not having found the answers; of having escaped from the heat of the trauma, and yet, it still lingers, stings, and you blame yourself for not moving on.

The music choices too were amazing, and they really participated in making your game feel truly atmospheric. It really is a masterclass in setting atmospheres for a metaphorical story.

I'm sorry this comment is all over the place! Admittedly, my thoughts are confused, but I adored what you created. It was well crafted, well thought out, and so authentic, touching and raw. Thank you for creating it, it was inspiring!!

Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your experience, they really mean a lot! To be honest, I've never seen the conflict between love and God, as an internal conflict rather than something "social", explored in any media, and I hoped this game would help people feel understood, so I'm very happy you thought all the endings were respectful! Thank you so much for trying the game! (Also, off-topic, but the Professor Layton games are what got me into writing... and Clive happens to be my favourite antagonist from the saga haha)

Thank you for your service 🙏

FVFRFDCVF THAT WOULD BE AN EXPLANATION INDEED, but hey, good you found out!

DFGBHGFDFGBFV let's say I do have something similar for a future game.....

Oooh, honestly, I don't think a second LI would have fit the game (especially considering the MC looool), and I'll admit I don't know if I would make jokes about scarification, but satanic human sacrifice might be indeed very fun....................

HORRIBLE-LOOKING PACKAGE DFVBGFDFGVBGF OKAY NOW MY HEART IS DEFINITELY BROKEN I'LL NEVER TOUCH A PEN AGAIN /j; but yes, overall, in terms of design, Yancie's concept is to be a parody of the "muscular stud" you see in dark romance stories and some... absurd proportions we sometimes have in manhwa (more than in yandere media tbh).

And yes, the fact it's a parody is mentioned here loool

(+ I guess the "so much shitpost this game should be called a dogpile" in the game features is also a clue loool)

HORRID ART DFVBFVB I AM SPEECHLESS I HAVE A HEART YOU KNOW (more seriously, yes, Yancie is designed to have stereotypical proportions and an edgy design looool). Now, for this game in particular, it is really parodic, so it's more shitpost than anything loool, the only constant is that the heroine never dies in any ending, and the game is more shitpost if anything lol; so if you're looking for a more serious/romantic approach of the trope, this isn't the game you should play; if you'd have fun with a parody (parody going as for as, spoilers, having the male lead turn into a giant slide of pizza turning the heroine into a pineapple in one ending), it might be worth trying it!

I DO SHIP HAJIME AND NAGITO TOO BUT THE PSEUDO IS TAKING IT TOO FAR!!!!!!! (not my players collectively crashing into trees after this game)

FVFVFVCFDJNIFGB well the trees in the bg are here for a reason /j

LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO THIS DILEMMA IS ABSOLUTELY KILLING ME I LOVE HOW SERIAL KILLER IS OKAY BUT YOU DRAW THE LINE AT BLOND HAIR

Hi! Thank you so much for this thoughtful and kind comment! I'm not sure I have the words to reply in a way that would show all my gratitude! Overall, I'm glad the narrative choices made here (no clear good ending, the struggle being between Romaine and herself and not being with something exterior) felt authentic to your experience. In th end, it's something to navigate, with no clear answer, and we can just respect people for the choices they make. Thank you so much for sharing your experience, your thoughts and for all the kind words, you really made my day, you have no idea!!

Thanks a lot of the feedback, I'm glad you could connect with the story!

honestly i did pick even worse at first but i thought it would distract from the other qualities of the writing................ 10/10 comment, did read it with glasses

Hey! Thanks for the feedback!! And yes, I'm French too looool, so it was too tempting to also shitpost in French!!

I HAVE NO IDEA I THOUGHT I RELEASED LESS GAMES THAN THIS BUT APPARENTLY NOT DFCDFVBGC (and well, in the second half, I guess I released 3 games...... I did take it easier!!!!!!!)... AND PHANTOM BL IS MY OBSESSION, IT IS GIVING ME LIFE, IT IS THE REASON FOR WHICH I BREATHE

Hi, thank you so much for all these nice words!! And indeed, Arcturus and Araceli's relationship is really ideal, although I do hope the respect of boundaries is a bare minimum for everyone haha! But I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thank you so much for sharing your feedback!!

I had the honour of proofreading this game, and what can I say but that another banger was added to The Under The False Sky universe...

For the story per se, per usual, it is a striking tragedy, highlighting the fragility and the vanity of human existence, and how so many deaths meaningless in conflicts are actually meaningful to someone. An inner fight in the concept of humanity itself: what will triumph? Our empathy ("humanity") or what we deem the great good is (for "humanity")?

This game in particular, more than any other previous written for the series, is rather slice-of-life, focusing on the rebels' daily life, especially when facing the ruthlessness of winter... This games serves both as an amazing introduction to some of the characters we get to see in other games (Micah, Mariam, Ester...) for new players, and as an excellent exploration of some well-known characters for players already familiar with the UTFS universe. The characters we get to discover are also very touching (Cain my baby)!

For the art, it is absolutely lovely! The sprites look gorgeous, and I love the addition of colours in hair, to either mirror the eyes of the characters... or mirror other things! It felt like an amazing addition, making the characters pop! And also, I ADORED their character designs, they were so good! The outifts were detailed, the haircut so good, and for the characters we've already seen, it was so great to compare them with how they look now and how they look in the future!

The backgrounds too, as usual in these games, are very well edited, and completely immersive. But here, in particular, I really appreciated how desaturated they were, how grey the sky was... It felt cold, just like winter. The GUI too is absoluely gorgeous, perfectly implemented, absolutely immersive - long story short, perfect!

Finally, the sounds in these games were so good: the music slapped, and how many indie VNs have custom SFX????? This is absolutely insane, and the audio engineer/composer did such an amazing job!! The voice actors, per usual in this series of games, knocked it out of the park, the performances were amazing, and the more dramatic lines were truly heartbreaking!

Long story short: this game, and this series in general, is a gem, and I encourage everyone to play it!! Thanks for involving me in this!

I'm glad you loved it, thanks for sharing your game, and congrats on the release!!

Looool, less about you being critical than the game presenting religious celibacy as a possibility loooool, but I'm glad it was fine (that was the point I was really anxious about with the game, I was worried it could get misconstrued about me promoting some nasty homophobic things religious people do dxcvcxcvdc)

Hey L, thanks for your feedback and for sharing your thoughts!! I won't lie, I was really anxious about what you would think of this game, so I'm glad it is this positive loool; and yes, that is a complicated situation, and I think that, in the end, people try their best, follow their paths, and that's enough looool

And yes, it was a conscious choice: in the end, Romaine and Juliet's environment is rather accepting, the conflict is really internal, between faith and attraction (I just felt like the conflict being with a third-party was something that was represented more frequently in general loool); and I'm glad you could overall overcome the paranoia and the guilt you were feeling!

Hey! Thank you so much for this detailed feedback and for sharing your experience! I'm ENTHUSED you found it relatable, because I did notice media would tackle it in general as "queer religious but not so religious kid wants to be queer but the environment doesn't let them" which is a valid experience that we should shed light on, but at the same time, it neglects the one experience I wanted to tackle, without indeed shaming Romaine, no matter what choice she makes because... it's just hard dfvgfdfg

And interesting thoughts on the concept of love! It's an interesting perspective to oppose love in the common sense to a possible more theological meaning!

Thanks again for all these kinds words, and for sharing your thoughts. Best of luck on your journey too!

My pleasure!

Hey! Thanks for sharing your thoughts! And yes, admittedly, the only way I could think of making it more heart-breaking would be to have Romaine and Juliette rejected by your parents or something, but ultimately, I really wanted the conflict to be only between Romaine's orientation and her faith, without anything exterior, to paint an inner conflict. But I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the compliment on the art! I went wild on the colours, but I had fun drawing Juliette!

Haha, I'm French, and Thanksgiving isn't really something we celebrate, but thank you! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Oh, realised I forgot to reply, I'm so sorry!! I'm happy you enjoyed Sandra's route! (Forest is an amazing name by the way, I should definitely use it someday...)

And LMAOOO, that's part of the Doug charm ✨