1000+ DOWNLOADS IN 3 DAYS AFTER PUBLISHING THE GAME??????

WHAT IS HAPPENING ASKBFKSJDBGKSJGB

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!! 😭😭😭 💘💘💘

I'm honestly dumbfounded about the amount of downloads, comments and overall support I've received (and in such a short time)!!! I wasn't expecting this to blow up sjbgskbg, I'm more used to things being gradual, so when I checked my page and saw the amount of downloads I was like: 

Writing, especially writing scripts for video games, is something I'm very passionate about to the point where I want to make this for a living one day. I've been writing for a few years, but it was in 2022 that my writing started to get noticed, after I became a part of the indie group Fable Novel. It made me really happy to see that people liked what I did!!

Fast forward to a few months, and Winter VN Jam was just around the corner! Initially, I wasn't really planning to do anything. With Fable Novel we had only recently finished our game for Spooktober, so most of us wanted to take the rest of the year easy. 

I planned to take it easy too... at first. 

But, then, I began to get an itch to write more!! I wanted to write, I needed to write. Maybe I could join another team? I tried looking for one, but it seemed most of them at the time already had the writing slot occupied. So I thought: "Hmmm, should I give solo dev another go?" 

Before I joined Fable Novel, I tried my hand at being a solo dev, but it didn't go well at the time. I was too inexperienced. However, it was different now, right? Nothing was stopping me from giving solo dev another go, just myself, right? So, in the end, I decided to join! But what would be a good story to tell for this winter themed game jam?

Yandere characters are something I've always been intrigued by from the moment I learned about them, especially the ones in video games. I played a bunch of games that had yanderes and have been curious to know how I would approach the creation of one if I ever decided to include them in one of my stories. I'm not a very good artist, though, so I searched for a bunch of cool looking assets to use, and these also contributed to me getting inspired (a lot!!!). 

Of course, it's always amazing to have original art and such for games, but when you don't have much of a budget, you need to work with what you've got. Not to mention, there are a lot of amazing asset creators out there. This game was created with a bunch of them!! The only thing I did was put them all together in a game accompanied by my writing and programming (which I also haven't done in ages, but it was a really good way to practice).

So, with the assets, a vague outline and determination, I started to write. I wrote and wrote, deleted, wrote some more... and began to share a few screenshots on my twitter! It was around that time that Reece, the voice actor for Crowe, reached out to me. I panicked a little cause my budget is very limited, but Reece was really kind and gave me a very accessible price. I'm really thankful to him, he gave a lot of life to Crowe and it makes me happy that a lot of people liked his voice!! Of course, I'm super thankful to all my beta testers as well, who played the game, gave me really nice tips, helped me find typos and overall motivated me to keep the project going 😊

I was really nervous about how the story was going to be perceived, if people were going to like it, if it was worth putting so much effort... and I have to say that it was worth it. Reading so many nice comments about how you liked the story and characters I created, about how you're looking forward to seeing what happens next... it all feels me with immense joy and warms my heart. Thank you so much for all your support, it means a whole lot, more than you might think 🥹🥹🥹💘💘💘

What's next for the project?

Well, seeing how well received this story was, it makes me super motivated to keep it going! There's going to be a Yandere VN Jam in 2023, so I'm hoping I can finish it by then, or at least release a bigger update! I just ask that you be patient with me since I write during my free time, as I have a full-time job 🙏

Something I do plan to add is a CG! I think it would be a really nice addition to the game and, honestly, I also kind of want to see what Crowe would look like 😂 I could add more CGs, but unfortunately I don't have a budget that can afford that many 💦

I do have a Ko-Fi, though! And I've recently created a non-specific goal for general funding donations for CGs, voice acting and maybe even original logos and GUI! Cause, honestly speaking, making this game has motivated me to make more solo games in the future (apart from the ones I write for Fable Novel). Of course, don't feel pressured to donate if you can't or even don't want to, but if you ever want to support me even with just a dollar, know that it's greatly appreciated and helps me more than you think 😊 (I'm sorry about the shameless self-promotion aksjbfakbfksjbd 💦)

Thank you all so much for playing this game and looking forward to the next update! I hope you can keep playing the games I make and that you have a good time with them ❤️

PS: If you want to see faster updates, you can follow me on Twitter (or Tumblr, though I don't update there as much)! Be warned that there are times I spam with retweets of art or random shit, though 😂, but this is the place where I mostly post screenshots, videos, polls and overall general updates that have to do with my games 🌸 Thank you!!