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Fuuuuuuuuck. I don't even know what to say. For the past couple of days that I've been reading this visual novel, I could feel my heart scratching against my rib cage. No matter what I was doing, there was this growing sense of heaviness. Funnily enough, I felt the calmest while reading Loner_Dog.

I'm normally not into this sort of stuff. I was raised very religious, although I've long left that by now. I remember when I read your other novel: She was Swallowed by the Sun. It should have felt wrong, but it didn't. I should be revolted, disgusted that such a thing would even exist, but I wasn't. How could I even think that when the world these characters inhabited was so much more fucked up, when our world was so much more fucked up. 

Loner_Dog was on my list for a while. I felt an allure to get back into this genre (I've found out that yuri is either the most gutwrenching, despairing, what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-this-world or the sweetest, most heartwarming thing you've ever read). I felt captivated by all of these characters. I could relate to their feelings, their attempts to feel whole. I saw past exes or friends in others, and some things made more sense. I remember my journal entry after Haley killed herself. It was literally 10 straight pages as I sat there listening to Everywhere at the End of Time (the fifth album is literally Noise). I wrote something along the lines of, "If only everyone could read this. If only everyone could realize how fucked up we are as humans. Once we bring ourselves down to that level, then we can all be beautiful." And I think that's why I kept looking forward to reading this day after long day. 

I am not done with Loner_Dog. I am about to go on a night walk and then journal about it more before heading to sleep. Maybe have some fun thoughts while we're at it. I'm not even trans, although it has been crawling on the edges on my mind for a couple of months now. I want to be beautiful if that makes sense. Thank you for writing this. This is a masterpiece. 

Hell yeah 😎 (pun most definitely intended)

I love all the character designs (especially the angel)! I'm curious to know what happens next.

THIS IS SO HEARTWARMING. And just such a wild ride of emotions. I could feel the heaviness accumulating right before Calliope told Manon the truth and the freedom that came afterward. And the character designs are just so perfect. I love all the facial expressions. Thanks for this story!

I'm speechless. This game struck me to my core, and I don't even know how to articulate my feelings. The pacing was incredible. I wanted to learn more about what was happening. By the end, you could piece together most of the truth, but hearing it so directly was just so emotionally devastating. I also loved the formatting. It was a lot more visual novel than most rpgs which was definitely necessary to fully develop the story. But having to look through the character's childhood places really made the theme of remembrance and resurfacing stand out. 

The shadow is still creeping behind her when she wakes up. It can't leave her, and moving won't fix it, but it's a start. She's filled with despair, and yet there's hope because she acknowledged the shadow. There's so much more I could say but I think it's best if I just let the story settle. Just...wow this was really good

This game was absolutely beautiful. I love the dynamic between lillian and Mona. They've both been through a lot which has made them insecure, but they're trying their best. They give each other space and they talk about what they need. It takes a lot of strength to speak out about your needs when you've felt like a burden in the past. I find it so beautiful how they're helping each other overcome this. I read the dev diary and it was nice to hear your thoughts!

That’s really cool! Definitely will go for another playthrough now. I got 8 doppelgangers on mine so I guess about average 

I loved the game. I felt that getting to name the characters made it so much more personal. Like deciding who lived and who died actually mattered. And question, the game mentioned that the doppelgangers were randomized. Do they act different depending on whether they are doppelgangers or not? And if I played again, would they be randomized again? Just trying to see if I should do a second playthrough!

Reading this right before heading to sleep definitely hits different. I loved how you portrayed all the different trains of thought. It's like they're all bouncing around but only being voiced one at a time. Played this while listening to summary by daniel.mp3 and it fit the vibe so well.

This game is so beautiful. I love the change in the background. Like even with so little words, I could feel the numbness; I could feel the girl's hope. The music and the sounds really enhanced the experience. 

I did notice a small glitch, however (I played on mac). Whenever the background switched, the previous sentence flashed again briefly before the new one popped up. Not sure I'm explaining it well lol. But I really your story!

Edit: Also, I thought the tapping mechanism was really cool! It was a nice touch to make the story immersive.

I am absolutely enthralled by this game. The character design, the voice acting, the music are all so beautiful. I also found the concept of an incomplete god fascinating. They say they are desperate and that they heard you for your desperation, but when you choose desperation, they are revolted. No matter how much knowledge of the universe they hold, they are still (I think) revolted with themselves. It's almost as if this one wants to incorporate you into themselves to convince themselves that hope is futile. For how could they be a god, if a minuscule being can defy their judgement? 

The game builds such a perfect atmosphere. It would be so cool if the track got louder when the swamp sounds do in the story to build more suspense. But still, this is incredible.

This is beautiful. I love how it managed to capture this feeling of mystery and unease with so little words. The art was also incredible. 

THE ENDING WAS SO SAD. This is the first game of yours I've played and now I really want to try Cardinal Park.

This was such a nice game! I loved the character designs and all the different interactions. 

Well that ending was terrifying. No way you just left us with that. Loved the game!

Both the endings are so sad. They both involve a kid, giving up everything to wander into the forest. It's past his bedtime; the shadows creep closer. But he has to keep going, he has no choice. It's chilling, I guess. Especially the fact that so many people just walk past this shrine every day. Thank you for the experience!

Really cool art style! It was really creepy whenever the tree lost its face. It was short, but it definitely did its job at conjuring up a certain emotion. 

Honestly, incredible game. The tower level at the end took forever, but I kinda liked the dedication it required. It felt like solving a puzzle, trying to figure out who to reach higher and higher. And the music made me stay there. I'm excited to look at more of your games!

This is such a powerful interpretation of the myth. Often times, myths just put the god's crimes as a sort of satire, not really taking them seriously but this does. I really liked the mention of Arachne. Reminds of Ovid's version, where Arachne was punished simply because Athena felt like it, despite Arachne's weaving being better. The music and the leaf animations were my favorite part. This is the first game of yours I've played and I look forward to trying the rest!

NOOOOO I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. My interpretation is that something she did accidentally led to her parent's death. She repressed this, which is why she always seems so calm, despite the monster and everything else. It's the only way she can process this as a child. Since then, she's just been feeding this "monster" hoping for it to go away, rewarding herself for making it through the day without actually moving forward. Eventually, this monster threatens to take off its mask. She believes herself to be the monster. She isn't one, but she can't understand this. Honestly, great job on the story telling. Embry's design communicated so much. She was very non-chalant, just sort of existing. The only emotions were pangs of anxiety and guilt. So great job on the character design! Thank you for sharing your talent!

SPOILERS AHEAD

Evaness was definitely my favorite character. I was really surprised by the twist but it didn't feel unnatural, especially in the light of the "bad" ending. Yes she wasn't mentally well, but she was still human; she still did good. I really liked the balance of it. And I can't imagine living through her eyes. Seeing the darkness encompassing everything, shadows dancing through blurs of chaotic light. It would drive you to insanity; it would drive you to do anything to change it or at least have someone else understand. The transition from being a likable and funny character to her madness didn't feel unnatural in that sense. I felt like Westwood: yes surprised and betrayed, but not in denial. Maybe it's just me, but I preferred the "bad" ending a lot more. Evaness (cool name btw) seemed to be recovering. Maybe she and Westwood could have worked together to figure something out in the future. I think her character still has a lot of potential. 

Also, the music fit perfectly for this and so did the character drawings. I definitely got too emotionally attached to Evaness, Westwood, and Rogers. This and Beckoning are probably my favorite games of yours so far (I'm just missing the last two GANA ones). I can't wait to see the plot further develop!

Yeah of course! I hope the exams went well too lol

Glad I finally had some time to play the game! 

SPOILERS

Honestly, the build-up was incredible. The fact that we could only answer 'yes' to drilling the creature drove the necessity that Thomas felt. I will say that it would have been pretty cool to get some more hints earlier from interacting with certain objects to continue building up the dread, but it didn't take away from the experience! I liked the vagueness of this game. For me, it seemed that he just wasted away, hence the question mark for the day. He lost track of himself and died. Was it the guilt buried inside? The screams he tried to repress? Or was it the isolation? Vague endings like this really help drive the themes of the game and give more life to the characters. You really have to think about the information you were given to see how you expound upon it. I think you did a great job! This was nice to come to after a long day (two exams lol). Thanks for sharing your talent!

Sweet thanks for the reply! 

Nice game! Honestly I'm happy that I actually got a good story out of it, because so many games leave it way too broad that there's not enough to draw on. I like myself a good conclusion. Can't wait to see how this game ties in with Things Lost. I mean the setting definitely looks incredibly similar so yeah.

Congratulations you helped Karen find her lost sense of reality is brutal, poor Karen 😭. I read your lore of it in the comments and I'm so excited to continue with the series. Great job!

I absolutely loved how we also have to persist as a player, making the lesson learned by the protagonist so much more valuable. And question, I achieved all the 40 endings listed but also got two ?? endings that don't show up in the list. Are there any more of these I'm missing?

Ooo thanks! I'll try them out

Good news! I just got an emulator. Not sure how good it will be, but it should be able to run indie games. Ready for some recommendations now 😎

That’d be great. Just um I have a Mac which kinda limits the games I can play, but I’d love some recommendations! 

That’d be awesome. Honestly, games seem like a cool medium for so many things: storytelling, design, animation, music, etc. I’ve just started getting into indie games and it’s been fun so far

Thanks for the reply! I couldn’t tell it was second language if that’s what you’re referring too. Although English is my second language too so idk. Anyways, thanks for the experience! 

I liked the game! Question, is chapter 2 any of your other games or has it not come out yet? No pressure or anything! Like I understand if you feel more like working on other stuff or just taking time for yourself. Thank you for the experience!

Oh wow just tried typatone! I can see where you got the music from. It's pretty cool. Also just wanted to add, I really like your writing. It's deep but natural and very descriptive.

Hey great game! My favorite part was definitely the journal entries. It added to the mystery while adding a sense of humanity and beauty to the mansion. I like to think that Allan found resolution in all three main endings. He got to know his sister better and knows how to make her rest. Also question. I read a couple of the comments where yo talked about the country of GANA and whatnot. So are your games in the same like universe? I've only played Beckoning so far so I'm pretty new here. If so, what order should I play them in? Thanks!

So short and yet so deep. The music and the visuals match perfectly, letting you embrace the beauty of the song and ultimately be saddened by its corruption.