Paintings From The ‘Peripety’ Series By Jen Mazza

will there be more updates about the doll house in your patreon?

yes! that project has taken a bit of a back seat to flowers of evil at the moment but darling dollhouse is still in the works and there will be content about it on my patreon as well as some other projects in the future once my plate is a little less full!

If the hypnosis is too effective, like sometimes Mc will be in public like at the store or during bed will they depend on lowell?

Yes :) his hope is that you'll be dependent on him for even small tasks and parts of your day. Ideally you wouldn't be at the store at all, he'd like to keep you at home essentially a little stupid and helpless 24/7

RANDOM QUESTION but what is Lowell's favourite animal

it is frogs 💕

Do you think people would like a slow burn murdersim?

idk if I'm the best person to ask abt what people like because to be honest my platform is fairly tiny as compared to a lot of bigger name indie devs even within the relatively small yan vn sphere and my interests and the things I make are a little abnormal just like, in general.

I know that the murdersim community is always happy to see more content and that I always like seeing fresh takes on things, and if it's something you're thinking about a lot and want to try your hand at or think would be a rewarding project to bring to fruition, go for it. that being said your project gaining a lot of exposure is never a guarantee and what works/ is likeable is always kinda hard to pin down exactly. the best advice I could give is that if you want to invest the time and energy into making something the best reasons you can have are that you like doing it. I hope that helps? I know I would be interested in playing a slow burn murdersim at the very least and if it's something that makes you happy then I hope you have the time and energy to create it :3

What if, when Lowell kidnapped the MC they just went along with everything a little too enthusiastically? And if Lowell were to ask why they weren't freaked out by the situation they'd say something like "Well, my life before wasn't exactly that great, but now I get a loving boyfriend and a life where I can just lounge around all I want! I mean, who wouldn't want to be swept away and taken to someplace nice- with no responsibilities- by their Prince Charming?"

Oh he'd be thrilled, probably to the point of naivety. At the time of kidnapping, Lowell isn't exactly sure *why* he wants to have you so much, he just knows that he *does*. A realization of friendly or romantic attraction, ESPECIALLY if it was either seemingly or actually reciprocated, would make everything click for him. He didn't really consider himself capable of loving other people before you, and the one-two punch of 'oh shit, I love this person, and they love me BACK???' would kind of break his brain a little bit. Overjoyed, extremely affectionate and doting, even happier that for some reason, you also care about him????????? Much,,,, much more protective and possessive though.

the frog boots are non-negotiable tho he's got these in his closet no matter what u cannot change my mind

pending the completion of Flowers of Evil, Lowell is gonna be getting a little design change to freshen up for you all :3 if there's any clothes you'd love to see him in, feel free to kick a few pictures my way! I'm going to be running a poll below to see how you all feel about a couple different aesthetics I'm kicking around. vote below !

*screams*

OKAY I KNOW I ASKED THIS ALREADY BUT- Lowell’s punishment towards a bratty mc in bed? All w/ consent ofc

I’m asking for research I promise-

He likes paddles :3 especially ones that leave cute patterns/impressions. He's not above tying you up and edging you either!

Voice hc for Lowell?

I think of his voice as kinda similar to Hayden Ezzy's, who played Fern/Grass Finn on Adventure Time, but a little raspier. Kinda nerdy and awkward with a creepy edge to it, and a little higher register than average.

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.

POSITIVITY RAID! This is your invitation to RAID other blogs you love and let them know they're loved and supported!

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