#I have already worked as cg artists in other vns but

[aiixen]

hi everyone, I've been dead silent for the past months, I've been taking a break from pretty much everything to heal and get back on track, we are in march now and I'm happy and excited to say that I'm participating NaNoReNo and will be working on a Visual Novel throughout the month of march as main artist (character design, sprites and CGs) coming out on March 31st !!

The game will be called Going Live!, you will be playing as the manager of an idol who has recently started streaming! You will manage a stan account to keep traction alive and going as well as infiltrate the fanbase to sway their opinions of him!

You can follow updates and watch streams from one of the directors ( Jenny Vi Pham) as the game is being developed!

You can find the rest of the team on the itch.io official page of the game here, please check them out!! <333

[moiraimyths]

Howdy, fateful friends! Are you an artist or illustrator with an interest in visual novels?

If so: Moirai Myths, creators of the visual novel The Good People (Na Daoine Maithe), are in need of guest artists! More specifically, we're looking for up to two artists to help us with the content graphics ("CGs") for Maeve and Shae's upcoming routes. All of the details will be listed on our application form (linked below), but here is the gist:

This is paid work with 20-30 business day deadlines per piece!

Complicated revisions in the post-sketch phase are compensated!

You will be prioritized for future guest artist opportunities!

You will be featured/credited on Moirai Myths' website and in the game itself!

Sound interesting? If so, apply here:

Click under the cut for some F&Q 👇

Who are you? (I'm new here!)

Hi! We're Moirai Myths: a small, newish visual novel company based out of Canada. We're making a game inspired by mostly Irish mythology, which was funded on Kickstarter in 2023! Our game's got fairy politics, a diverse cast, a Gaeilge-to-English translation tool, and routes that can be played either romantically or platonically! Also horses. An ungodly amount of horses, really.

If that odd pitch sounded intriguing, perhaps you'd like to play our demo! It's free on Steam & Itch.io.

Why are you looking for guest artists?

When we originally launched our Kickstarter, the plan was to have our three in-house artists collaborate on the CGs in the same way our header image was. However, we quickly realized that adding CGs, even if they're done collaboratively, onto the existing duties of our artists was a tall order. Add to that the departure of our original sprite artist (who has since been replaced by our graphic designer), and we determined that having our in-house team work on CGs was simply not possible if we still wanted our first release to happen in 2024. So, rather than omitting CGs or adding them in at a later time, we came up with the idea of hiring guest artists. Overall this means our CGs will be a bit more varied in terms of art style, but we like to think of this as a positive! NDM's development will take a number of years to complete in full, so we hope our CGs will allow us to feature a lot of artists either within the VN/indie dev community already, or artists who aspire to work in gaming and are looking for entry positions.

How long will applications remain open for?

This application will be open until Sunday, March 24 at midnight (EST)! If we intend to extend past that deadline, we'll make an announcement about it.

I can't apply right now. Will you look for more CG guest artists in the future?

Definitely! As mentioned, NDM will take a while to develop in full, so this is by no means your only opportunity to apply. That being said, we suspect we're going to end up shortlisting a number of artists over the course of this application period, and we intend to keep a list of all the runners-up. So, even if you won't be able to participate this time, it might be a good idea to apply anyway just to remain in our contacts! Either way, this will not be the last time we have apps.

Will you be looking for guest artists outside of CGs?

Maybe! We already have two guest artists (Nefukurou and Madi Funk) working on sprites and CGs respectively, so it's always possible that we'll have other artistic needs later down the line. Likewise, we may also reach out to past guest artists for future work with us, whether it's on this game or something else!

You say we need to sign an NDA. What does that entail?

The non-disclosure agreement essentially means you will be legally unable to publicly disclose any confidential information you become privy to as a result of working with us. This would include personal information about the developers, as well as spoilers from the game itself. In addition do this, you will be expected to sign over the IP and copyright of any artworks you produce for us.

Can I still use my artworks in portfolios, even if I don't own the copyright?

Yes! We'd only ask, if your portfolio is a website, that you wait to do so until after your art has been made public by us, either on our social media or via the publication of the game. Our first release is anticipated to happen later this year, most likely mid-autumn.

How do you guys feel about AI? Do you intend to use it, or would you ever train an AI off of the artworks whose copyright you own?

No.

Making a game is expensive and time-consuming, but AI is no replacement for human artistry. We fundamentally believe that any advancements in AI should be used for the purpose of giving people more time to make art, not take away opportunities for it. Moirai Myths will never, ever use AI or train an AI off your work.

***

If you've got any more questions for us that we didn't think to include here, feel free to send us an ask!

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

[xxmissarichanxx]

✨XMACX Monthly✨ | March 2024

It's March WOOHOO~ sobs thank you again for voting for this month's Cover Model, Kiki! Look how pretty she is!! sobs beautiful

you may read this month's update on PTRN for free or below the cut! you can also view the previous issue here.

Happy March! Hope you're all excited to welcome spring! Lowkey burned myself out last month from day job shenanigans and trying to do a lot of things, so my plan this month is to relax after releasing Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate's update. My birthday's this month anyway too, so I'm gonna take it easy haha.

Cover Model polls are up on social media now if you'd like to vote for next month. I'll drop the outfit/theme poll for patrons tomorrow to stagger posts a bit.

Schedule

March 1 - Cover Model Poll

March 2 - Cover Model Outfit/Theme Poll

March 8 - Art Process/BTS

March 15 - Froot Basket: Dark Chocolate voiced update releases, Kiki's Bday

March 20 - New Meet the Artist

March 22 - "Kaimanga" Updates

March 29 - Cover Story

March 31 - Sketch Dump

Cover Story Preview | Kiki's Sakura Date

Kiki meets up with a friend in Tokyo to see some sakura blossoms and have a nice picnic!

March OC Birthdays

Kiki's birthday is on March 15! But I'll be releasing FBDC that day and she's already the Cover Model, so we're already celebrating her this month.

VN Development Update | FBDC Voiced Update Releases this month!

Other than partial voice-acting, it'll have some new CGs for you to collect! I hope you'll enjoy it! On release day I'll also publish a changelog.

Other Goals this Month

Wrapping up a zine project and still working on commissions, but I'd like to relax. Chill. Catch up on some manga or tv shows or something. Maybe finally finish Baldur's Gate 3. 

I'll drop some "Kaimanga" stuff I've been working on. I'm considering developing Fleeting and drawing the Kaimana comic at the same time since both projects are related to each other... In any case, it'll be a fun space adventure!

Next Month

I'll pick up development on Froot Basket White next month. Froot Basket White is the third and final chapter in Momo's story. It takes place after Froot Basket Valentine and players will assume the role of Jordan once again. I had worked on some assets for it previously, but I'd like the script to be more solid before I start working on more assets again. Here's some of what I'd worked on before:

April 1st is Satoru's bday, but the Monthly will still drop on that date! We'll celebrate Satoru some time later.

Aloha nui, Ari

[maneki-mushi]

Saint Ceri- March devlog

Read it on itch.io | Play the demo | Wishlist on Steam Hi everyone! I did a lot of things this month, including some tedious things I'd been putting off :')

Art-wise, I finished a batch of CGs and only have two CGs left to draw! I've also already started these final two CGs, and plan to finish them next month. All the currently finished CGs were also exported in all the needed formats and configured for the gallery, added to Steam achievement icons, etc (I was sure I'd done this already for the solo ending CGs, but discovered I hadn't... I spent a while cursing past-me for the additional work haha). I wrote more content for the booklet (a bit of LI PoVs, and I also finished writing the walkthrough and achievements guide). The most tedious task this month was scripting all the endings! But the first pass is done (and that's also the most time-consuming pass where I script all the sprite changes; the next passes are focused on testing, tweaking things and adding music and other simpler things). It's a relief and makes the game feel so much closer to completion.

In April, I'll start the month with some art and try to finish the last two CGs, and also try to finish the PoV stories for the booklet. My goal is to have things mostly finished before May to dedicate some months to only testing the game and putting the booklet together (I have no clue how long testing will take since THJ was cut into chapters which made testing a bit easier, but I figure I'll need to give myself plenty of time to find all the silly mistakes I might have made). I'm aiming to release in the late summer; July or August, but no promises yet as I've heard Steam can take a super long time to approve builds which can cause delays. I'll likely only announce a date once my build has been approved there, just to be safe!

Lastly, you might want to check out a jam VN​ I did backgrounds for! The sprite artist is a good friend of mine so it's really lovely to see our art side by side.

Thanks as always for reading!

[farvn]

Interview with novajam of Studio NoGood

With the upcoming Visual Novel “Nekodeito” which is about a catgirl living with you, I am glad that novajam of NoGood has taken the time to answer some questions for both NoGood and Nekodeito!

1. When did you start Studio NoGood and what was your motivation to do so?  “ It was late 2018 when I started fronting publicly as NoGooD. I'd been writing scripts for VNs as early as September that year, a lot of which got trashed or shelved but it was December before I registered a domain or anything like that. The motivation was to keep my VN game development activity under a separate banner from my online handle, but I integrated my handle into the company name so I don't know how well that worked. Ahaha”

2.  As an indie studio, what are your top priorities for both your games and your fans? “ I think quality is the first priority for both. Fans want good games and good stories so straight away it's in my interest to set the bar high. The very close second is communication though. Independent projects will live or die by the goodwill they can cultivate with an audience and I feel I've been very blessed to have such good reception already. It's a sort of symbiotic relationship. Provide what the fans want, what they're looking for, and they'll support you in return.”

3. Is Nekodeito your first game? “Yes. No!! Oh god haha no actually! I made a very budget looking version of Geometry Wars in University with Gamemaker ahaha. That's probably everyone's first game project, some kind of twin stick shooter or platformer. Before that I'd played with mod tools for other games, The Elder Scrolls Construction Set and such if you'd count that.” Sure, that does help in devwork so why not. Any other games I should know about?  “I just remembered making this platforming engine in Gamemaker Studio 2. It might look okay here but it was very buggy and the project it was intended for quickly became overwhelming so that's abandoned now.” 

4.  Who came up with the look/ personality of Nekodeito's Machiko? “ I came up with the look, and most of the personality but other experts in the field of catgirl engineering were consulted though, mainly my friend TMMTO. Parts of the personality changed over time and little traits here and there have been crowdsourced here and there from fans.  I made this collage and sent it to my character artist, critterpunk, as a reference when she was doing character and outfit designs for me.

It think it stayed mostly intact. The sizes are off and I think I made her a more responsible big sister type character than a lazy one in the end.” I can see her big melons stayed intact! “Big tunas” Speaking of big tunas!  For Nekodeito, would there be any features like headpats, tail fluffing, tickling, etc? “Of course of course! Nekodeito has a sort of dating sim style system where you pick what order to progress through story segments, and in between segments her sprite is interactive. I hope people will enjoy booping her on the nose.”

6.  As Nekodeito is developing over time, what is the hardest obstacle you have encountered? “Distraction. It's very easy to get sidetracked on Youtube or Twitter which is very annoying, but games too have been a problem. My productivity improved a lot once I slowed playing mobile games so much.” 

7.  Did you have any inspirations that helped you make Nekodeito? “Ha, dumbly enough, mobile games. Well you know about this, but for people who don't really play them, when you log in to Girls Frontline or Azur Lane or something you have a secretary character that greets you. I set mine in Girls Frontline to Mk23 and the greeting pulled my heartstrings a little. I really like the idea of being able to come home to someone who's happy to see you no matter what, so that's what the game is about. That kind of romance is what I want for the game, one that's very cozy.”

8.  When did your love of catgirls start? “Oh jeez. I don't think I have an exact date. But who really is incapable of loving catgirls? Spice and Wolf probably played a formative role, even though that's not about a catgirl.” I don’t blame you, floofy girls all the way!

9.  As a developer what goes through your mind for when you release it? Do you have any concerns? “Will people like the game? Will people even find it and engage with it? Will it be able to recoup it's costs? Will I even be able to make another after this Will there be some kind of problem with the software I'm incapable of fixing? Will I be able to deliver all I've promised in the first place? There are many worries. On the other side of that there's a good fanbase already and a fair amount of risk is already mitigated but the worries are always there nonetheless.”

10. Which types of Nekodeito merch are planned?  “Hell yeah! Alright so, we have a voice actress for Machiko, and we're going to go to crowdfunding to try and get the game fully voice acted by them. Merch rewards will be sticker packs and keychains, we're trying to get some of those "ergonomic" mousepads made too. We're seeing if you can get your own TUNA shirt too, just like Machi wears in game. Digitally, you'll be able to get an art and commentary book and the original soundtrack for the game.”

All them goodies! Let’s say the crowdfund went too well, like ultra succeeded, would you consider a limited edition figure of Machiko?                                                 “If I did that I think it would probably be an extremely limited run, and probably like a trading figure or nendo sized thing rather than a 1/7 scale, but hell yeah I'd love a little Machi fig on my desk! More realistically if crowdfunding exceeded expectations then we just expand the game, offer a free DLC down the line of an after-story or add extra CGs and scenes to the base game.”                                  DA CATGIRL FAMILY!                                                                                            “Oh god I gave Machiko ten sisters. That's so many sprites to get done...” 

11. To your current fans and future ones, what would you like to say to them in prep for Nekodeito?                                                                                 “Thank you all for your support, for telling all your own friends and groups about it and spreading the word. Thank you for all the fan art and nice messages, and most of all thank you for your patience and thank you for appreciating cute Machiko! I hope to have a demo ready in June for the public to try, so please hold on a bit more.”

Would you like to add anything else? “Additional thanks to everyone who's worked with me to create Nekodeito, all the artists (chlorophill, Rialyn KV, critterpunk, ds sans, Cheschorv) my editor (Cipher), my composer (Igneus) voice director (Sandra MJ) and soon to be debuting voice actress, Wolf and Alch at Team Watercress for lots of help starting out, reps from Degica for assistance with the engine (andre and Archeia). So many people! NoGooD is officially just a one-man show, but without all these people I'd have nothing to put my game together with. This is turning into the credits section!” 

A big thank you to novajam for taking the time to answer my questions! I really appreciate the game’s progress and I hope to see more!

NoGood Twitter:  https://twitter.com/StudioNoGooD NoGood site:  https://www.nogood.games/games.html   Nekodeito itch.io:  https://studionogood.itch.io/nekodeito Nekodeito Steam Page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1072790/Nekodeito/

Novajam [NoGood, Nekodeito] Interview May 29, 2019                                                                                                          Far2close - Visual Novel Playthroughs https://www.youtube.com/c/Far2close https://twitter.com/xFar2closex https://www.facebook.com/Far2close/

[snowhavenstudios]

Meet Ema the Character and CG Artist for My Sweet Confession

Ema, known on Twitter as Spookymeal, was the character and CG artist for My Sweet Confession. Mixing her own design with descriptions of characters from author Ebi-hime, Ema planned and brought each character to life with her unique style! Not to mention the heartbreaking CG!

Read about her experience working on My Sweet Confession and see some of her sketches and preliminary designs for the visual novel.

What was your inspiration for the character designs and CGs in My Sweet Confession?

"I was actually given art references from the game's writer, ebihime, which were basically her ideas of how characters could look like. For Ichika, she was picturing Gudako (Fate Grand/Order), for Ayumi, she referenced Mai (Nichijou) and for Hana she just gave an illustration from an author I don't know, unfortunately.

Personally, I didn't think of any particular characters or artworks. Rather, I drew on a combination of my memories with Visual Novels I had played in the past, and my memories of high school. I wanted to give myself the freedom to just go with what felt right, without actively trying to resemble any particular style. If I had to point out to an artist that played an influence, though, that would be Takashi Takeuchi, whose work is still a big inspiration for me.

One fun dynamic that helped me design the characters was to picture Ichika as a deer, which is why I went with a red-brown-green color palette, long limbs and freckles, I felt it suited her personality. In contrast, I thought of Hana as a wolf; being more serious looking, smaller, and having dark and slightly messy hair. (If this was a different kind of game, maybe she would have ended with fangs too, haha).

Something I also find interesting is that prior to starting work on this VN, I was a little hesitant to lean into anime aesthetics for my art, as I still had some shadow of doubt in me that told me I would not be taken seriously because of them. However, allowing myself to dive into those shojo-like elements and adapting them was something very liberating, and from then on I have started to incorporate that more on my personal work. So in a way, the work I made here is what has inspired me, instead of the other way around."

When working on a project such as My Sweet Confession, is there a process that begins your illustrations?

"Yes. I tend to start by writing down ideas for the illustration, detailing what needs to be there, what the mood is, and how it should be portrayed. Among other details.

In this case, however, Dara, my (very lovely) art supervisor already had such descriptions ready for me.

Going from there, my first step starts with sketching very loosely on individual paper sheets. I like to get the first rough ideas out just going from my imagination without looking for any references.

Once I have a somewhat solid idea, I begin a back-and-forth process of working with the references I find, going back to the sketches and start reiterating them until I'm happy enough with something I can take to the computer.

I tend to work simultaneously on both mediums, going back to paper when necessary. That's why there are so many paper sketches, though these were only the ones I kept!"

When working on My Sweet Confession, did you have any favorite parts about the visual novel?

"I enjoyed fleshing out visually the characters' personalities and figuring out how to best represent them, while also contextualizing their writing in return.

In terms of the illustrations, the CG for the ~secret ending~ was a delight from start to end (I even took a couple of reference photos of myself doing the very extra posing, which I love). And I also quite enjoyed working on the Ichika rejection CG, which was a bit more dynamic (as painful as it may be for our poor heroine).

Also, this is a big secret, but just between us- Designing outfits (both the uniforms and the casual clothing) was an unexpectedly fun process and I can't wait to do more of it. <3"

Make sure to follow Ema on Twitter to see all her incredible work!

My Sweet Confession is currently available on both Steam and Itch.io! You can also follow the official Snowhaven Studios Twitter to stay informed on our upcoming releases.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[hothoovesgaming]

Developer Update #2

DISCLAIMER: Hot Hooves Gaming is an indie game developer with no ties to Hasbro or any of its properties. We don’t own any of the characters featured therein, save for the individual Original Character (OC) who has been created for this non-profit fan-made game project.

Welcome everyone to Hot Hooves Gaming’s second developer update for our My Little Pony Visual Novel Project. It’s been a crazy March for HHG, what with our “Spring Heat” event taking place during our Spring Break (probably not your Spring Break XD), and a lot of story to progress with alongside some more character portraits that have increased the cast of characters to nearly overwhelming numbers. No time for April Fool’s jokes here, so we’ll be diving straight into the update.

Let’s put a number on the project’s progress bar:  7%

Script

The main arcs that we worked on in March were the romance arcs for Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. As far as the story goes, our main character Dusk and Twilight have gathered the Mane 6 and traveled to Canterlot to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Their search for answers took the group to the Canterlot Library, but with no clues and no leads to clear up the mysteries of the Crystal Crisis, everypony returns to Ponyville to do their own thing.

Twilight’s side story has presented a unique problem that’s stumped our writers and for good reason: we don’t know how to rhyme. XD Hahaha, as silly as that is - it’s an excruciating issue when you are attempting to write for Zecora the Zebra and one finds that it is impossible to rhyme words like a pro. Her lines have been written as if she is speaking normally, but at some point, we will have to come back and address this issue.

Surprisingly enough, Pinkie Pie’s story worked like a charm from beginning to end with no hiccups. Character development for the Pie family is on full display in this romance arc, and we are very excited to continue the second half of her story later.

Fluttershy’s story underwent a couple of rewrites, beginning in the brainstorming phase. Not only is the final draft different from the original brainstorm, but we actually started writing a completely different story (according to our best synopsis), but it was way too convoluted and confusing! During a time when were already progressing very slowly, we made the hard decision to scrap the chapter altogether and start over. This gave us a chance to come up with a different story that took away a major element we were trying to push from the start: Flutterbat. I guess we’ll have to give that another shot later if we want to include them in the story at all. Sorry ya’ll. However, we feel that the final draft for Fluttershy’s romance arc will not disappoint, and it is actually super duper sweet. Wait till you see it. >_O

With April coming into full swing soon, we have been reviewing where the story is heading now that we are going to the Crystal Empire. When we return to Ponyville, Dusk will be able to engage with Rarity, Applejack and Rainbow Dash in the first half of their respective romance arcs.

Art

Some of our greatest efforts in the form of art has come in the form of a special set of pictures called “Spring Heat”. The challenge we had for our artist was to draw at least two pony fan art pieces every day during Spring Break. One picture would be a pony engaging in some SFW activity with a Spring theme attached to it. The second picture would be the same pony in a more unconventional NSFW situation O////O Oh my! The challenge was a success, with 12 pictures being produced over six days. Featured here are some of the SFW pics that are color sketched and ready to continue onto the coloring phase before completion.

These will be the first pieces of official fan art produced for public consumption by our artist at HHG, and if ya’ll could see what his first attempt at fan art was a few months ago… ~CRRRIIIIINNNNGGGEEE~  We try not to think of it.

This art pack will be posted once all of the pictures are completed with one set for the SFW pics and one set for the NSFW pics.

The cast of characters for the game has gone up by a few mares (and perhaps one or two stallions) thanks to the romance arcs that are being written along the way. Future additions may include Flim and Flam, Photo Finish, Vinyl Scratch, and Octavia. Featured below are a couple of new supporting characters who will be joining the story for the Mane Six’s romance arcs.

Programming

This is the area that has seen the least progress recently, and it’s thanks to the work that we have already completed up to this point. We already have a prototype menu for the pre-alpha version of the game, along with a message box, and in-game menus for the load game screen, the save game screen, the backlog, etc. HHG has other obligations that keep us from dedicating our time exclusively to the MLP VN project, so we do our best to progress a little bit in each field at a time. Preparing the script and assets for TyranoBuilder to use in the future takes priority over working on any builds of the game.

We’ll be doing our best to produce a proof of concept in the coming weeks in order to better showcase how the game is going to work and what features it will have such as the in-depth story, branching dialogue paths, and dramatic CG scenes.

We’re hoping to focus on one very important thing in particular this coming month and that is the SCRIPT. It is through the completion of the script that we will be able to identify all of the characters who need base character portraits; and with all of the major events and scenarios mapped out, we will be able to better plan for the CG scenes that will need to be drawn out.

Completing the script will also allow us to enter the Script Review/Editing Phase to examine dialogue and plot consistency through the entire main campaign. Allow us to emphasize this one more time in case our readers may be unaware: the My Little Pony Visual Novel Project is a narrative story centric dialogue-based character driven visual novel experience. Probably the most extensive of its kind, and we here at HHG are dedicated to bringing the fandom an experience that they will not soon forget.

Thank you everyone for coming to see our Developer Update for April. It is thanks to the inspiration of this series and its passionate fanbase that we are able to continue doing what we do best - creating deep stories and visual spectacles our audience can look back on with excitement and a thirst for more.

See ya’ll in the next post. And remember -

A crisis is coming…

[promiscuous-jalapeno]

☼ V Route Review ☼

I have had so many messages asking for my input on the route and the characters, so here it is!!! (p.s. I made that gif^^^^ I’m pretty impressed with myself ?? wow lmao) 

Heavy on spoilers so the text is under a cut! It’s also pretty lengthy so...you’ve been warned haha. 

This route had me feeling different ways as I moved through the days. I’ll try to touch on as many subjects as I can, and I am not sure how lengthy this will be getting. Some themes/aspects I both liked and disliked for different reasons. It is in my nature to debate myself and see both sides to things, so if you see me basically contradicting myself or arguing with a point I made previously, that is why. 

I am basing this on the Good End play-through alone, as that makes the most sense.

 I’d also like to state that, of course, these are all my personal opinion. If you disagree with anything in my review then that’s great! But on the contrary, you will not find me fighting you over opinions. If you come into my box to attack me over what I have to say about the route, I will simply ignore. I’m really sorry I have to say this, but as I have unfortunately already seen several...distasteful arguments over this route, I feel it needs to be said. I think everyones opinions are valid and this is by no means me trying to force my opinions or tell you that what you feel and think is wrong! It’s just my analysis^^ 

------------------

I’d like to preface this by saying that I did have fun and enjoyed the route for entertainment purposes. We got to see more of those minor characters we have been craving (i.e. Saeran, Rika, and even Vanderwood!)  

I think I am not alone in my wanting to see more of Mint Eye and the interactions between Saeran and Rika (as well as V, of course). I am so glad this route focused a lot on that aspect. Before the route was released, I thought it would make the most sense to approach it from MC being involved with Mint Eye more in order to get closer to V and/or Saeran, and after playing it I still believe they made a smart choice! 

The beginning of the route was everything I wanted. We had plenty of Saeran, we had our set-up. Game testers in an unknown place. I had stated this before but I honestly loved this premise so much more than “wow you’re now in some random apartment and btw you can’t leave.”  They kept it otome fanciful while making it a bit more believable, I was really happy with that. And when I first saw V in his Mint Eye garb my heart dropped! I especially love the CG where Saeran is behind him with the flowers! 

I’m kind of a sucker for story lines where you’re a captive and someone rescues you, so I was so so happy with the plot for this route. Not to mention being in the middle of not TWO people, but THREE. I was not expecting Rika to be so infatuated with MC as well. That threw me for a loop, and hats off to Cheritz for that because I was digging it lolol. 

I adored learning about V’s mother. That was something I hadn’t expected, and I am just so happy that we got to see what we did. The CG’s were so heartwarming, and the diary entries and thoughts were just beautiful. I loved seeing V progress in his relationship with his mother, and how her love for him helped him be who he truly was. For once, it was nice to see a parent in this game really nurture their kid and help them grow. 

Lastly, I would like to add that I was completely pleased with the timeline of this route, simply for Saeran. I was so curious what he was like during the formation of Mint Eye. I loved seeing this glimpse of ‘Ray’ since this takes place a mere 6 months ? after Rika’s “death” so it is still very fresh. Mint Eye is very new. The building isn’t even completed yet--

The basement....yikes. Yes, the last and most important detail to any good, well functioning cult hideout--the creepy dungeon-esque torture chambers complete with jail cells and the happy shrieks of pain excitement from loyal followers. 

MC is kinda joining this clusterfuck in its heyday. We are seeing these characters before they are too far gone. They’re figuring things out, Saeran is still mostly his kind and calm self, Rika is still questioning very much her relationship with V and the RFA, as well as her inner demon. I think it was an integral part of the story and a very smart placement for this route. 

Overall, there were plenty of things I enjoyed and also things that bugged me. I think Cheritz did a very good job, all things considered. But the Good Ending left me feeling...more dissatisfied than I had hoped. 

As I drew nearer to the ending, I got the overall feeling of a kid watching your parents argue. A lot of the interactions as the days rolled on were quite repetitive and honestly I found myself getting bored reading them. They filled up the days with an onslaught of chats and VN’s featuring Rika talking about loving her demons--we GET IT. YOU LIKE BEING EVIL-- V being a wet blanket and a masochist, and lots and LOTS AND LOTS of talking about the Sun. To the point that most of the language and poetic descriptions of love and suns just started to mesh together, seeming fake deep and overworked and mundane. 

 Instead of these repetitive chats, we should have had more interactions with V, where he actually relies on MC and they learn more about each other. Most of the time MC was with V he was either SICK or hurt or...asleep. Or weirdly sitting in Saeyoung’s car outside for no apparent reason. Why? It almost seems lazy. Like they couldn’t figure out a way for V and MC to interact and bond more (or it was just too difficult to squeeze it in) so they kept find reasons to keep them apart. I felt the text messages from V were the most he really tried to communicate with MC and really learn about her. Most of the texts were philosophical back and forth or him asking her how he should deal with feelings like apprehension in art when faced with criticism etc. 

I think we could have scrapped quite a few of the lovey-dovey VNs where Rika and V are proclaiming their undying dark love over and over again or like...in bed together (groan)...and replaced it with, I don’t know, maybe MC and V? Actually learning about each other????

It didn’t bother me so much during the route that V had a hard time confessing that he had feelings for MC. That part seemed very natural. What bothered me was just the complete lack of true interaction with V. If he was so obsessed with Rika, we would really need to see just why he fell for MC. I’m not satisfied with the answer that MC is naive, or that she’s so good and pure just because she didn’t form an evil cult. 

I felt more romance from Rika than I did from V. And in the other routes, we ALWAYS help the characters overcome their fears and learn to be better people. We help Zen get in touch with his family again, and we love him for his heart not his looks. We help Jumin overcome his issues with women and possession. We help Jaehee finally go for her dreams. We help Yoosung learn to work through grief and become mature. And Saeyoung of course, we help him accept love, and finally search for his brother. This didn’t happen with V. Well, it did a little bit. I liked that MC wasn’t pushy, and she encouraged him that he could find true love! I liked that part a lot. But for the majority, I just felt more like a passive observer in the route. Talking to V seemed like you were talking to a brick wall at times, and no matter what you say he still wants to sacrifice himself. So it felt like, while we said kind and encouraging words, V sort of did his own thing until he figured it out himself. 

 Not to mention the fact that they gave him an out in the end. Why was it Yoosung who makes Rika face what she has done? Don’t get me wrong, it was still wonderful to see Yoosung taking charge and using his familial love to push her to get the help she needs! I was so happy! But... It should have been V. Everything got tidied up for him, and apart from telling her it’s over, I didn’t see much development of his character towards the ending. I wanted to see him go from refusing medical treatment in order to protect Rika, to finally realizing what she is doing is wrong, she needs help, and having her face the authorities. 

And what about Saeran??? That was handled so oddly? It’s like everyone forgot he existed or didn’t care what happened to him? It was the weirdest from V. It left a sour taste in my mouth that they made it seem like Saeran died and yet V is off getting puka shell necklaces or whatever for 2 years and then comes back with the strength to love. Like, that’s all well and good but....did you forget about Saeran? And how are you going to tell Saeyoung his brother is dead now even though the only thing he asked of you was to keep Saeran safe. 

I TRULY HOPE they touch on this in the after ending, because I don’t think it was like V at all to just toss Saeran aside like that. -_-;; 

I loved the route for what it was. I’m playing it again, and I’ll continue to play for the different endings. I am so grateful to Cheritz for this content and for being gracious enough to give us a route for V! Some days had me on the edge of my seat, some parts had me laughing or made my heart ache completely. I probably sound really nitpicky with some of the above text lol but in all honesty I loved the route and had a ton of fun playing it. The music was brilliant! The CGs were beautiful, I really love whoever the artist(s) was that worked on these for the route. Playing this game again was a bit surreal, and I found myself filled with memories of when I first downloaded and played the game (obsessively). I think the route was worth the wait.

-ON SAERAN-

I think it goes without saying but I will say it anyway--I LOVED SEEING MORE SAERAN!!! Going into this route, I had the lowest of hopes for Saeran interaction. It’s better to have low expectations and then be thrilled instead of high expectations and disappointed, right? We got to learn so much about his character, just from the few interactions we had with him. His confirmation of loving ice cream, he enjoys being outdoors, he loves flowers and has even gone so far as to know the language of flowers (which is impressive), he has an intense need for validation and love, and finally, due to his extreme circumstances--he has compartmentalized his feelings and personalities in order to protect himself. 

Learning his softer side was a shock as well as a pleasant surprise. I felt my heart warming up as I chat with him.  

On top of that, I would also like to point out that since this takes place over a year (?) prior to the regular routes...it was heartbreaking and eye opening to see how often he was taking medicine/drugs. 

Saeran turned into unknown when he drank the elixir (as the majority of what he took “with each meal” was just painkillers). It was so sad to see just how loaded up with drugs he was. And it gives you a scary comparison between ‘Ray’ in this route and the Unknown we know from the original game. I can’t imagine just how many things he is taking during the original. Wow. I just kept clinging to the memory that we save him in Saeyoung’s route lol. 

-ON RIKA-

I loved learning about Rika’s backstory. We did learn a bit from the normal routes and secret endings, but I think it helped to get a glimpse into her own perspective of her life. I think it was also really important, this feeling that she hadn’t even disclosed this information (her school life/some of her childhood and feelings about her darkness) to even V himself. She really opened up to MC, apparently more than anyone else, EVER. This was strange to me at first...but I think it is a positive. I felt that she was just so desperate for someone to be close to her again, and she latched on to MC. 

Her character is so interesting and I know she’s a topic of such controversy in the fandom, but I liked hearing her thoughts on why she did what she did. It’s something I wanted since I finished the secret endings. I hope in this unreleased after ending we might see her making progress in treatment.

--------------

So those are my thoughts. I could probably keep going but I think I’ve said enough to convey the key points! Kudos if you read all of that haha! 

-Jalapeño