Tiny Bytes Issue #4
JAST BLUE localizing BL title Sorcerer's Choice: Angel or Demon?
Coming off the release of Slow Damage, JAST BLUE has announced that they're bringing over Varenyett's Sorcerer's Choice: Angel or Demon?. In this game, you play as Lucil, whose home gets attacked by a mob. Thankfully, he gets teleported out of harm's way by his grandfather to a mysterious place where two men are standing above him: an angel of light and a demon of darkness.
JAST BLUE revealed in the announcement tweet that the title is still a few months out from being released, so it looks like readers will get more details about Sorcerer's Choice: Angel or Demon? and its release in 2023.
Follow Barbak the Orc and discover the world and his past. Support Eyes of Iyre on Kickstarter!
In this RPG/visual novel hybrid, you play as Barbak, an orc who was raised by a wolf pack after being abandoned as a young child. When he grew up, Barbak discovered there was more to the world than just the wolves, and so he sought out to learn more about it.
In this title, you explore Iyre, plan for expeditions, and interact with citizens. One thing you need to keep in mind is Barbak's rage. This is where your skills come into play, so you need to use them wisely in order to keep his temper under control. If you play your cards right, you'll be able to keep the orc calm and have choices to pick from during situations.
You can support Eyes of Iyre on Kickstarter here. If you would like to try out the game's demo, you can download it on Steam.
Help a young trans man navigate social media after coming out on the internet in Marcus Comes Out Online
In Marcus Comes Out Online, you play as the titular character Marcus, who comes out as a trans man online; you see how his day unfolds after he makes his coming out post. While Marcus has a ton of tasks he would like to check off his list, like starting his paperwork to change his legal name and researching top and bottom surgery, he's constantly getting messages from people in his life. Through these messages, you get to see how everyone reacts to Marcus coming out as a trans man. Some are supportive, while others think they are, but in reality are being extremely rude and hurtful.
You can download Marcus Comes Out Online for free on itch.io. If you donate $3, you'll get a PDF version of the art collection which contains art from the game, sketches, and notes from littlerat, the game's creator.
Determine whether humankind will rise or fall in Mindworks: The Great Division
In this sci-fi visual novel, humanity is ruled by science and art, with the different disciplines living in partial unity. Everything is fine until a new discipline appears, challenging the others to see if they can truly stick together under grave circumstances. Will the disciplines come together, or will this test further drive a wedge between them all that will result in humankind's downfall? That all depends on the player's choices throughout the game.
You can get Mindworks: The Great Division on Steam or itch.io for free.
Take a stroll and think about serious topics like climate change in BREA🌱HE
In BREA🌱HE, you explore a serene forest filled with life. Your objective is to collect two-leaf clovers. As you try to find them, you get to learn more about the player character and their feelings on the world and current real-world issues such as climate change, animals being taken away from habitats, and more. They remark that nature is a place for them to calm down and reconnect to their inner child. However, as they walk around and the liquor bottles clink against their feet, they realize that their happy place is slowly being taken away from them. Will the forest still be there in ten years? Who knows.
You can play for BREA🌱HE free on itch.io through your browser.
Everdine - A Lost Girl's Tale
Everdine - A Lost Girl's Tale is a short RPG Maker horror game where Everdine awakens in a forest where twilight is the only time of day. As she walks around looking for a way out, she realizes she's not alone. In the forest is a monster who's looking to make Everdine their next meal. If Everdine wants to avoid a grim fate, she's going to have to find a way to escape...
You can purchase Everdine - A Lost Girl's Tale on Steam for US $4.99.
Azazel's Christmas Fable
With the holidays coming up, why not get into the spirit of things with an 8-bit point-and-click adventure game featuring demons? In this strange game inspired by games from the 90s, you play as Azazel, an imp who has been sent on a quest to destroy the "source of joy" located in the North Pole. However, he can't just simply go in there! To avoid any suspicion, he's going to have to go undercover and infiltrate the elvish community and become one of them. As the game's Steam page puts it: "What can go wrong?" Well, it's a point-and-click adventure, a genre of games where hijinks always ensue. So, a lot!
You can buy Azazel's Christmas Fable on Steam for US $8.99.
Can Pea admit their feelings to their crush before it's too late in Sweet Pea: Blossoms After Summer?
In this cute game, Pea has deep feelings for their best friend Quenton, whom they've known since childhood. However, Quenton is leaving for college tomorrow. Will Pea be able to confess before the day is over, or will they keep their feelings a secret?
You can download Sweet Pea: Blossoms After Summer for free on itch.io.
Can you help Aiya survive high school (literally) in Eye Can See You?
In Eye Can See You, you play as Aiya, who has the ability to see spirits. When she enrolls at Kyosei High, not only does she meet her human classmates, but she also gets introduced to some ghosts. Some of them are friendly—others want to hurt Aiya, even going as far as wanting to kill her. Will Aiya be able to get along with her new schoolmates and survive her time at Kyosei High?
The game received a massive overhaul to its visuals and sound on November 14th, so if you checked out the game when the prologue first released back in June for Otome Jam 2022, we highly suggest revisiting this gem of a game to see the beautiful new graphics.
You can download Eye Can See You for free on itch.io.
- Bird Jam (ended December 1st)
In this jam, the theme was to feature a bird in a significant way! Earlier, we highlighted the relaxing walking simulator BREA🌱HE by PRINCESS INTERNET CAFé, Cat Wizard, and KentuckyFriedDreams. Now we'd like to list off some of the visual novel entries that were submitted to the jam!
my_world{died}: Artificial Ecosystem (Demo)
Can two people who are separated by two time periods—2022 and 2082—work together to prevent the apocalypse from happening?
You can download the demo of my_world{died}: Artificial Ecosystem for free on itch.io.
We Were Forever
After meeting someone who has the same wings as them, will Ember be able to find them again in their next life?
You can download We Were Forever for free on itch.io!
- Vampire: The Masquerade Jam 2022 (ended December 2nd)
That's not the only jam that concluded in December! Another game jam that ended recently was Vampire: The Masquerade Jam, hosted by Paradox Interactive, whose World of Darkness Unbound program allows users to create and monetize games based on Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition. Here are some of the visual novels that were made for this particular jam!
Rat Rhapsody
After being betrayed by his young lover, a Nosferatu must navigate the court and carefully choose his allies and possibly his next romantic partner.
You can download Rat Rhapsody for free on itch.io.
Vampire: the Regicide
The beloved Prince of Krakow has been murdered, and you need to find out who killed him. Will you be able to bring his murderer to justice?
You can download Vampire: the Regicide for free on itch.io.
This week, we interviewed Naryu and Xolf from NoBread Studio! They're two of the brains behind the amazing mystery games SoulSet and Blankspace, plus the upcoming horror mystery visual novel The Elevator Game with Catgirls, which is releasing tomorrow on Steam and itch.io. If you're interested in knowing more about them, how to craft good mystery and horror stories, as well as who from their games they'd play the Elevator Game with (if you could play it with multiple people), then check out our fun-filled interview here!
You can have stellar visuals and an amazing story, but if people can't read the text in your visual novel, then they're not going to play your game. Readability is incredibly important, especially for a visual novel. Developer eishelindev wrote up a fantastic and detailed post on Tumblr talking about text and contrast. They even link a helpful tool called WebAIM, a contrast checker which determines if the text and background meet accessibility guidelines for text contrast. This tool is really helpful when you're in the early stages of planning out your GUI and need to figure out what colors work with each other.
eishelindev also talks about outlines, which can work depending on the font you're using! This developer has other helpful tidbits on their blog, so we recommend following them on Tumblr if you have an account on there!
Steam is one of, if not the, biggest gaming storefront currently available. For indie developers that are able to afford the US $100 fee to get a game on the platform, it's a definite must, since your game will be pushed to so many different customers. However, there is a lot to Steam, and every bit of knowledge you can pick up along the way helps not only better your understanding of the sometimes-confusing platform, but it can help you market your game better.
Tom Francis, who worked on Gunpoint, Heat Signature, and Tactical Breach Wizards, wrote a good article rounding up information about Steam like wishlists, how user review % doesn't affect visibility (though how it affects purchases is a different matter), and Steam's visibility algorithms. In each section, he briefly describes each tidbit and gives his advice based on his experiences as a game developer whose team has published multiple titles on Steam.
StimuWrite is a writing application for neurodivergent writers or anyone who wants extra feedback and stimulation while they're typing. As you're typing, the program shows you a progress bar that updates as you write. Emojis will also show up on screen to reward you as you write and meet your goals. There are a ton of customization options for users to choose from, including the ability to change the font to OpenDyslexic.
If you would like to download StimuWrites, you can download it from itch.io. You can also sign up to receive email updates about the program from Eve here! Eve is currently working on StimuWrite2, so we strongly recommend signing up for the email updates if you want to stay up to date on her amazing product!
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