We Have Our First Official VA Everyone! Playing Mustard The Cat, Please Welcome Ms. Maera Withywindle

How would Lowell feel about an MC that's also a doll collector, as well as customizing Monster High dolls? :D (I'm curious since I have a LOT of sharp objects lying around for this hobby haha)

Oh he'd be thrilled that you shared a hobby like that, he could talk to you about it for hours, and he'd make sure to gather up your collection and your tools and bring them to you in the attic. He'd build custom display shelves for you, buy you limited or rare editions (with very little regard on cost- he may not be swimming in money but he values collecting so much that he's willing to pay quite a bit to indulge both himself and you), and get you everything you needed for your projects! He'd like to help make custom clothing and accessories for you, and would probably insist on making you matching outfits.

As for sharp objects... well. You might have to earn a LITTLE trust from him to get those privileges, and it may be supervised at first, but he also isn't opposed to you, say.... 'customizing' him a little :0)

Not self projecting at all but Lowell with an MC who craves validation and will push themselves to the max just to get it-

He's pouring out the love and validation before you even have the time to ask- honestly, Lowell is a nonstop praise machine. Brush your teeth? He's cheering on your incredible powers of executive function. Wear a cute outfit? Hell, wear ANYTHING or NOTHING at all?? You're getting complimented on how gorgeous you are as long as you'll let him. It's damn near impossible to get him to shut up about how amazing you are just for existing, and if he notices you pushing yourself too hard to get love and validation from him, he'll crank it up to 1000 and specifically begin praising you for NOT trying to hard and just letting him shower you in affection.

ay ay

I meant valentine 💝

ooo valentine pinup ur gonna be eaten like a little petit four

I appreciate him being transmasc (I am too) but hooooly shit I am both terrified and intrigued by him!! can't wait for a demo/more info

First of all, hell yeah, same here 🤝🏳️‍⚧️🤝

Secondly, I'm really glad it seems like some of his scarier aspects are coming through well! I'm working pretty hard to walk the line between 'this guy is a freak but I like freaks so I'm into it' and 'this guy is an actual terrifying monster'.

Hopefully I'll have the demo out in the next 6 months or so! I'll have more accurate updates once I start actually coding, right now I'm working on script writing and building up art!

Since he taller than me, he has to give me piggy back rides, it was in the contract when he met me >:(

Hop on if u want he'll never let you touch the ground again 😎

NOVIA AND H MY FIJWHEHR LOWELL MOVE I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HER

I'm happy to give more info on Novia!

She's classically trained in ballet, but her dance major right now is focusing on lyrical dance- she likes the freedom of movement in lyrical a lot better than her ballet background.

Her grandparents are from Cuba, and she's very close with her Abuelita! She visits her whenever she finds time between her busy schedule of work, school, and dance rehearsals, and calls her most weekends to check in.

Novia is incredibly kind-hearted, and she worries a lot about the wellbeing of her friends and family. She's definitely the 'drink water, here take a sip from my nalgene' type of friend.

She's an early to bed, early to rise type- gets up most mornings between 4 and 5 am.

She's pretty short, sitting at about 5'1".

She puts stickers on e v e r y t h i n g. Absolutely everything she owns is covered in them, and it's not uncommon when working with her to find a new one on work stations, small ones dotted across her cheeks, or for her to walk up and just pop one on your shirt.

Let's go to the Halloween store so I can pick which outfits I wanna fuck you in.

May I have perhaps just a little goodnight kiss Lowell?

"Aww, just a little one?~"

SO, YOU WANNA MAKE AN INDIE HORROR VISUAL NOVEL ON TUMBLR

Have you been seeing some cool blogs for hot, murderous men who are attached to indie projects? Have you ever wanted to try and make your own, especially as someone who doesn't come from a game design background? Not sure where to start, whether with your Tumblr blog to promote it or with the game itself?

Hi, I'm Kat. I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Game Design. I've been making games for 4 years and visual novels for 2. You may know me for Art Without Blood, 10:16, or Limerence. I'm here to help you make your first visual novel.

Though this is specifically geared for a Tumblr crowd making horror games, horror/yandere dating sims, murdersims, etc, I think anyone will find this useful! All of my advice is under the cut.

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE STARTING

You should be wanting to make a game because you want to make a game. I'm sure there's someone out there who is only making a visual novel because they saw that dev's OCs and artwork get their own fandom. Do you want to make a game, or do you just want the attention that comes from making a game?

You cannot be a perfectionist, especially with a demo.

YOUR FIRST PROJECT WILL NOT BE GOOD. THAT'S OKAY. No one's first anything is good.

Some of this advice may sound rude. It's not meant to me. It's just meant to be realistic. Making games isn't fun 24/7. It'll be stressful. And that'll be okay.

OKAY, SO, LIKE, HOW DO I START?

"I've never done programming in my life! I'm so fucking scared right now!" You may be telling yourself this, shaking in your boots with tears running down your face. You're going to have to learn a little programming. It's not going to be all that bad, I promise.

ENGINES

Ren'py is the number one engine you will be recommended. It is very beginner-friendly, with lots of tutorials, assets on itch.io to use and download, and support. The engine comes with a few tutorials in the form of games, whose code you can freely browse. This is the engine I use most often.

Twine is a text-based engine that most people use for interactive fiction. You can add images and audio, though, if you don't mind messing with HTML. I use Twine for text games and for outlining for my larger games.

RPG Maker has multiple versions and has been used for exclusively VNs if you don't mind fucking around with plugins. It can definitely give your game a super unique feel. I recommend RPG Maker MV, since it has the most resources. This line of engines usually costs money, but it often goes on sale for under $5-$15.

People will recommend TyranoBuilder, but as a user and player, the lack of options and the format the games often come in is just...not fun to navigate. It advertises itself as little to no code, but it's often evident in the final results. Some good games have been made in it, though, so if you want to use it for prototyping/practice, you can. I'm not a fan, but that doesn't mean that fans don't exist! This engine costs money.

There are tons of Youtube tutorials for each of these engines. Promise. It's okay to be scared of code, but you're not going to stop fearing it until you learn how to combat it.

YOUR FIRST GAME

This is probably the most important piece of advice I will ever give: DO NOT MAKE YOUR FIRST GAME A LARGE PROJECT.

Your first game will not be good. And that's okay. What I recommend is doing "one week prototypes", where you make games in a short amount of time to learn skills. It doesn't matter how bad they are, just try to make them polished, and try to learn a skill along the way.

Eventually, start working your way up until you feel that the load for your dream project is going to be manageable.

ON MAKING YOUR DEMO

Your demo does not have to be perfect. That's why it's a demo! You are free to (and often will do) change things in it for the final game.

The purpose of the demo is to showcase the features, the general theme, etc. It doesn't mean it has to be the start of your game, but with a visual novel or other narrative game, it's easier to start from the beginning. One demo I really like is Dead Space 2's for E3 because although it's 2 hours into the game, it gives you a full feel for how the real thing will be.

I would say make your demo only 5-15% of your game. If your game is going to be less than 30 minutes of playtime, there isn't really a reason to make a demo.

OUTLINE AND PLAN YOUR STUFF, especially if you aren't used to writing. Keep a list of tasks on a website such as Trello, Notion, or Jira.

Do not spend more than 3-4 months on your demo for a visual novel. You can update it later. You can add things. You can do whatever. But if you are spending more than 3 months on a demo build, then you are never going to get the full project done. Unless your project is going to be super, duper big (as in you have a longer than 2 year plan on creating it), I'd be wary of your time. You also have people who are waiting for your game. Let them know of your speed, your scope, and your own expectations.

ON MAKING YOUR BLOG

Your Tumblr blog should enhance your game. Your game should not enhance your blog.

Make your blog, I'd say, when you have 75%-ish of your demo done. There's a lot of times I've seen people make blogs when they have ideas, those blogs sit for a year, and a demo never manifests.

One thing we do in game development is the devlog, where we basically talk about what we've done with our game. Set how often you want to write a devlog. Weekly? Every two weeks? Monthly? In it, list everything you've done, some challenges, and what's to come. It keeps it real, it keeps you working, and it keeps your followers consistently excited for your game.

If people send you hate, anon or not, do not engage. I know how tempting it will be to clap back or to be upset by it, but any sort of response from you is ammunition and fulfillment to the person who sent it. The best thing to do is to delete it. Feel free to joke about it in a private group chat or something, but being public will only make you a target.

In the same breath, do not be immune or rude about genuine criticism.

It's good to be joking and casual, but keep a sense of professionalism.

People on this website are horny. You are not obligated to indulge in horny asks, even if your game is NSFW.

In fact, you are not obligated to indulge in any asks that you don't want to.

People often make tags for asks per character (I have #dorian ask, #aeron ask, etc). Make a pinned post that has your demo's link and any other important social medias for your game.

ON MAKING YOUR GAME PAST THE DEMO

Try not to overscope! Try to give yourself a deadline. "I want to finish this game in a year." Try to stick to that. It is very tempting to want to continue adding things to it, but please make sure you get the important stuff done first. Core features and core gameplay. You can add extras in later updates, helping to prolong your game.

Practice writing and art in other places. Do short writing exercises. Talk about your game and its plot with other writers to help you tweak bits.

Plan your assets. Try to set a weekly goal for yourself ("I'm going to write 5k words and do 1 background this week").

Most of us aren't musicians. That's okay. Make sure the music you get for your game is allowed to be used. You can use anything non-commercial if your game will not cost money or donations. I try to do songs in the public domain or free to use overall with credit if I don't have a musician. Consult the Creative Commons website if you're unsure how you're supposed to use a certain piece of music. If you don't use the right stuff, not only can it put you in legal trouble, but it can put streamers in hot water if they play your game and they can't upload the video because music is copyrighted.

For the love of God, have fun.

How does Lowell feel about biting, giving or receiving?

He'll do both! Prefers to give because he likes marking you up, but he's a low grade masochist so he likes to be gnawed on from time to time.