forgetmenightshadevn

[forgetmenightshadevn]

DEVLOG TIME

So sorry about the late devlog this time around: If you live in the New England area, you'll have heard about (or experienced) the severe ice storm that just blew through. That left us with a long several days without power, including the Saturday I usually post.

Because of that, I also had to cram a bunch of my work into a shorter timeframe, and therefore, I'm a bit behind where I'd like to be.

We've decided to go with the simpler B&W backgrounds for now (with pops of color), partly because I like the stark aesthetic, and partly to save my sanity as I try to teach myself Tyranobuilder.

We've also decided to aim for releasing two demos: a very short introductory one, and a longer demo that will give an introduction to both routes as well as multiple endings.

The shorter demo gives us a more realistic goal, plus something for people to play while they wait, and it also allows me to get used to working out bugs in a manageable sized section.

Right now the biggest uncertainty is whether we want to buy music or buy partial voice acting. Making music ourselves is feasible, but it may not be particularly inspiring stuff... but isn't voice acting what people remember more? Then again, voice acting can make or break a game, and it can clash with the voice expectations people may have for a character. We shall see!

Thanks for reading!

[forgetmenightshadevn]

DEVLOG TIME

So, this one is just another wall of text, but these early ones are about accountability and keeping track of progress, as well as letting new followers know that the account isn't dead, since making a game can seem very static from the outside!

Currently still chugging away at the demo script. Since the game is two separate, equally detailed routes, the demo is pretty hefty, despite covering only a tiny beginning point of each route.

I've actually been speculating about the idea of releasing a kind of pre-demo Demo that would only cover the prologue where you meet as kids, and end with you reconnecting with adult Arthur in one of the routes. It would be EXTREMELY short, only perhaps ten minutes or so, but it will give people a glimpse of what to expect, and also give ourselves a slightly more attainable starting goal.

Right now Denimizu and I are working on hashing out basic top-down maps of key locations. Specifically inside settings like the General Store or MC's house, so that I don't write myself into a corner with the script.

Programming has stalled a bit, because with script rewrites and revisions, I haven't been able to do much with painting backgrounds, but we're making some progress, little by little!

Denimizu has started work on the adult Arthur sprites, and can I just say...🤤

Thanks for sticking with us so far!!

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Haven't forgotten the devlog, but with Denimizu and I both sick this week, and some medical chaos IRL on my end, it hasn't been the most productive two weeks.

Denimizu has finished some GORGEOUS sprites of our prologue Arthur, though! So enjoy those while I get my ass back in the saddle!

Just some previews! You'll have to see the full-size, HD ones when you play the demo :)

Look at your childhood friend! Isn't he adorable??

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Devlog #2!!

Not too much to report this week, most of the work has been on scripting and continuing to paint backgrounds.

We are working on possibly having clickable in the background, that will turn full-color when you mouse over them, for easy spotting. Whether than makes it into the finished version, will depend on how quickly I can hone my skills.

But we DO have one very exciting little sneak peek for you!

Prologue sprites!!!

The prologue takes place when the MC is 10 and Arthur is 12.

You first meet Arthur when you stumble unknowingly into his literal neck of the woods.

And, uh...

...He takes some time to warm up... :')

But eventually he'll come around.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Speaking of figures from your past...

Arthur doesn't like conflict. But he really doesn't like it when you're scared.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

THE LONG AWAITED DEVLOGS BEGIN.

Abyss here! Sorry for the delay!

Since we're in early days, I don't have overly much to put here, but I wanted to get into the habit of writing these. I want there to be transparency on what exactly is taking so long as we work, and help you to feel as if you're going along on this journey!

That does mean that there may be things mentioned here that end up not making it into the finished product. If you have questions on the status of anything, always feel free to ask!

As it stands: I'm slowly teaching myself Tyranobuilder, and so far things are going smoothly. I'm already itching to add animations and jumpscares and all sorts of stuff! I'm trying to move slowly and not get too ambitious for the demo.

Scripting is coming along nicely, I have a full outline for both routes in the demo, each of which have three basic endings. There is some 18+ horror content in the demo but no adult themes. The full game WILL have both though!

The backgrounds are all being hand-painted, which, as you can imagine, can be labor-intensive. We're discussing ways to streamline this for the demo without cutting corners or losing the quality of the work. Currently, backgrounds are full-color, like so:

But we may decide to go with a stylized way of minimizing the amount of color, such as making the backgrounds and CGs mostly greyscale with a few pops of colors for accent. Like so:

If you have an opinion on one or the other, let me know! One of course is more colorful, but one will mean a faster demo! Neither one is finished, of course, but it at least gives some idea of how they would look.

The sprites will be full color no matter what. We should have some previews of those to share soon!

Music and voice acting are both undecided: we have to decide about budgeting, but it's too early to think about that yet!

Thank you everyone for the support and questions! I'm sorry for the delays in updates and responses: my day job is as a gallery artist, so I also need to allot time for refilling inventory.

Happy belated New Year!

Abyss/Fern

[forgetmenightshadevn]

What would they want from mc? Like certain stuff they collect?

I'm not sure who you mean by "they" can you expand?

If you mean Arthur, he definitely wants you, and not anything you happen to own.

If you mean the figures from MC's past, well... they have their own motives that will be revealed in time...

:)

[forgetmenightshadevn]

So is there like actual magic attached to these rituals or is it like more of a cult thing?

I'm SO SORRY for the belated reply.

There is actually both witch work and cultists in the game. However, magic will be handled in a fairly sedate manner, as close to reality as we can manage. There will be rituals and spells with results, but nobody is throwing fireballs around.

So as far as Word of God goes, Arthur's rituals and spells DO work, they are real. But we are doing our best to write the occurrences in such a way that if you (or your MC) want to believe that it's coincidence or the result of an unreliable narrator, that interpretation wouldn't be impossible.

The rest is under a cut for (possible) spoilers

For example, if you were to attempt to flee from Arthur in one route, you might find yourself feeling sick or unable to breathe when you get too far away from him. This WOULD be the result of a spell, but it would be written in such a way that you can believe the MC just had a very poorly timed panic attack.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Gotta say I love your oc meme. Where exactly did you get it because I've been looking for one like that?

Do you mean the MurderOC meme? It's by slashesotron here on tumblr!

Here's a blank one for you! Hopefully the quality is ok off of mobile 😬

[forgetmenightshadevn]

[[Key:

Sweet Arthur: Green is when you love him back, red is when you reject him!

Bitter Arthur: Red is betrayed, but still in love, Black is rejection!]]

Just something fun to prove we aren't dead, and tide everyone over while we develop more substantial content!

Starting after the holiday season, we will be uploading short character bios every other week, with the inbetween weeks being devlogs!

We have decided to document our journey with developing the demo, so that you can see the progress that is being made! Each devlog will show sprites and/or background art, some sneak peeks, any funny glitches we encounter, and any other notes or updates that seem relevant. We hope you'll enjoy going on this learning experience with us!

Thanks for being patient with us. 😭

And YES! The ask box IS OPEN!

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Your first childhood friend! :D

Absolutely nothing bad is going to happen to him, ever.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Visual representation of us while working on the game

[forgetmenightshadevn]

[forgetmenightshadevn]

Uh oh.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

This man needs an intervention.

[forgetmenightshadevn]

THIS MEDIA AND BLOG IS 18+.

A tale of rituals, death, and obsession in the New England pines…

You met Arthur Fitzroy in the woods, seeking a respite from a fractious home; two isolated children unprotected from the harshness of life. After one miraculous day of joy together circumstances rip you apart, and the happiness of both of your futures depends on one choice made by a damaged child. You can be sure that regardless of how far you've moved on, Arthur has never forgotten you.

When an unexpected death pulls you back to the point of your childhood connection, what man will be waiting for you there: the one that's made you into his symbol of the perfect future, or the one that's clung to life only for revenge?

–

INFO:

Forget-Me-Nightshade is an upcoming 18+ yandere-sim visual novel that follows the main character's relationship with Arthur Fitzroy, the heir to a history steeped in the occult, and last descendant to a line of powerful witchcraft.

After meeting as children, Arthur becomes powerfully obsessed with you, the first and only person to show him affection and sympathy in his isolated, unhappy upbringing. Whether that obsession is able to bloom into something like true love, or rot into darkness and hate, is entirely up to the player. But the player themselves will have their own painful demons to fight and even darker figures from their past than Arthur, who simply refuse to stay gone.

FMN will offer a unique playing experience in that there will be two routes the player can experience, based on their preferences. One will suit players seeking a more traditional yandere-romance experience, and one is for fans of the classic murder simulator.

It is possible to kill, die, escape, or pair up romantically in both routes, so you won't miss out regardless of which flavor you prefer. Do you want to save Arthur from himself, confronting your own trauma in the process, and move forward together into a new beginning? Do you want to sink into your own bitterness, and follow him down the path of rituals and corrupted power? Both are more than encouraged.

The demo is currently in production and will feature a shared prologue for both routes as well as the first day of each route, so that you can sample both and see which is to your taste!

CREW:

Creator and artist: @denimizu

Writer and programmer: @abyssleaves

This game will feature content warnings for the following:

Violence and death

Sexual content

Blood

Gore

Torture

Mentions of past domestic abuse

Possible mentions of animal death

Child abuse

Manipulation and gaslighting

Stalking

All content WILL be tagged appropriately, and anything too severe will be placed under a cut. So even if you don't want to play the game for these reasons, you can still engage with the content knowing everything will be curated clearly.

Thank you and enjoy the rituals!