itch.io

Thank you so much for the encouragement! It's support from other game devs that keep me going.

I was busy last week but am now playing it! I'm in the desert right after Shihan Castle. Some stream-of-consciousness comments:

The graphics are really pretty! I really loved the green graveyard aesthetic in the beginning, when there were leaves/rain falling across the screen, almost sad that section was so short :'( Also the sound effects when the chars are talking reminds me of Animal Crossing.

Also really liked the set design in the castle. The broken mirrors and way everything is laid out.

During the battles, the indicator of who's turn is active isn't super clear. It took me a while to realize the bg of the active char is different, esp. because the text prompt says "what will YOU" do (where I expected it to say what will [char] do ;__;) 

Ohhh am I just imagining things or does the shopkeeper look kinda like the mom?

I love the UI, it looks very stylistic and fitting for a game which is charming, whimsical, and eerie at the same time.

Some additional thoughts on the game's genre: I wasn't expecting there to be so many shifts in tone? What I mean is, the graveyard/park/house interior scenes gave me the impression it was going to be a cozy game (I did read the content warnings but, moreso reacting to the peaceful tone of the first scenes), and then I thought it was going to be a darker psychological choose-your-own adventure with the option to take the meds, then it started emphasizing the RPG battling element with stats/HP/MP. This isn't a criticism cuz I personally really like genre shifts! I was moreso wondering your process of deciding on the genre(s), if you intended it to be more one or the other, or if the rest of the game will focus more on one genre.

That's all I have for now I think! Will try to finish later.

I'm stuck at the part after Ruby takes the meds. The screen starts wavering which eventually goes away but then my arrow keys are locked. I tried clicking around as well and nothing seemed to work. Maybe I'm missing something?

I tried closing the game and choosing the same options. The same thing happened the second time. I also noticed if I skip the intro video then my controls are locked and I can't move around the graveyard.

The graphics are really cute, I'll comment more on the rest of the game but I wanna beat the demo first!

So excited to see you released a demo! So far the screenshots and cover art look amazing. I can't wait to play it and report back!!

Hi! I'm glad you enjoyed it!!

Thank you so much for taking the time to play and for all your comments! <3

Hi! Thought I'd check out your other games as well after playing Victor's Aesthetics :> 

As always, I love how you draw the eyes and hair. Your style is delicate, yet modern and glossy. I thought it worked really well with the techno-dystopian themes and whatnot.

I feel like most media that tries to integrate the topic of AI into media either turns out (1) pedantic or (2) doing the whole "oooh sexy robots~" thing (*cough* Ex Machina). I think your idea to explore idoldom in tandem with AI was a clever choice that ended up working really well! It allowed the exploration of other issues such as the public persona/private life and parasocial relationships without like, infodumping (what I mean is, a lot of these issues come up naturally over the course of game so nothing felt forced or shoehorned in).

AI is threatening to be more invasive, and I think the real thing is that people are getting so acclimated to AI as a baseline that they don't stop to consider how they're going to affect human values. The part under the night sky with Shiyu (?) was a bit of a gut punch because that was a moment in which we could drop the corporate environment and... kinda slow down to think about how so much of our freedom as humans is taken for granted. Very pretty scene.

Also the part where it takes AI-dols less than one minute to learn new songs and choreography. However audiences will be able to resonate with them more if they seem like they're working "harder" and "longer." God the dystopiaaaaa D: Aren't we already seeing ChatGPT try to do that by occasionally inserting grammatical errors into an otherwise polished essay. Calculated incompetence. Or those rp accounts with corporate IP that try to be likeable. >>.>>> Horrifying...

One thing is that the music is kind of repetitive, though I understand it's not easy to find a variety of loops. But I'm excited to see what you come out with next!

Also ah! I saw on your profile that you're in quite a similar position to me (illustrator interested in gamedev and philosophical themes) so I was wondering if you'd like to chat? I don't think there's a messaging sys on here (I'm new and actually found this game via a server you were in). 

Loved this game! It was funny and heartfelt. Thank you for making it.

Really impressive game considering it was developed in a month! The sprite + bg cg were aesthetically congruent and although simple, everything was pretty to look at.  

Like the small touches like the music slowing down or pressing start to "continue" which wasn't very evident to me at first (I was like wait that's it? It ended? Oooh I'm supposed to continue!). Made the game feel meta.

I'm wondering if you're interested in the philosophy of personal identity. I study philosophy myself and the intersection of bioethics & beauty is something that is extremely intriguing to me - and I don't see a lot of devs exploring the subject so I def appreciate this experience, haha! One thing running through my mind while I was playing was Victor's complicity in perpetuating the cycle. He muses about how it's a shame that customers keep chasing beauty trends, yet he runs a clinic, develops potentially addictive techniques, and clearly has an interest in his business doing well. In a way I feel like a lot of individuals are being blamed for adhering to beauty standards when none of that exists in a vacuum. Anyway, thank you for sharing, gave me food for thought :)