This game hit a little too hard what with the quarantine, but this game was still a delight! Did it leave me wanting to scrabble at the walls? Yes. But I adored all of the characters so much!! Valerian was surprisingly sweet once you got to know him, Abeni had me swooning, and Gnarl is delightful of course!! I love all of the main characters with a passion and have a save for all of the routes! All of the games you have up are stunning, to be honest, and they've made my day! Thank you so much for making this!
Oh god I didn't even think of that 😂😂😂 a whole new layer of interactivity. Imagine quarantine but you're not in your house or the house of anyone you know, with strangers. God. I'm glad you like my games and hope you're still okay after playing them all 😂 they're a LOT
This was soo good wtf?!?! I fell in love instantly with both Valerian andGnarl (I'm swooning so hard haha). Can't wait for more, your writing is amazing!! 💖💖
If you check my page, there are two other romance games. BR has the most content, Hybrid was a quick proof of concept promotional post that's not currently in development but still something 🧡👀
love the little “evidently bulletproof glass” detail, i laughed
the sense of frustration is so well built up throughout
ooohh i love Noor’s snark, “guard your face better in the future” they say with half of their face literally physically guarded
“a date and a job interview all at once” OOOF
lovely touch about how most of the members have something colourful about their looks
aahh i love Ruth and Ai and Max !! and everyone very clearly enjoying watching mc and Valerian dance around each other
as always, loooving all the choices you give, especially with what happens after Valerian storms out and the implication that he was waiting in their room and went looking when they didn't show up? i love this earnest man
very very excited to find out about his surprise and WORRIED about this Naomi
AHH I'm so glad I was so worried that The Gang (tm) was kind of overkill ☠ ☠ ☠ but I'm glad you liked them !!! Honestly I saw in my inbox you commented I was like YES ENDORPHINS FINALLY lmao and GOOD I hope everyone is a little worried about Naomi because that's a knife I am breathlessly waiting to twist.
Val sure is spicy. Man, I got sucked into this story and I haven't even touched the other two characters yet, Looking forward to experiencing them! I eagerly await the full release. I'm actually suffering withdrawls... ^__^
Glad you like my crime boy !! Hope you like the other two just as much. In the meantime, if you're interested, I do have another game. Different genre but ideally a similar spice 😅 thanks for leaving a comment !!
I am in love with how you've written each of these characters - I so naturally grew fond of them, and I feel invested. I look forward to more of the story, can't wait!
well your writing is fricking amazing o.O really i do love how you descibre the scenes and such, its pretty! im looking forward for the next chapter! Btw idk if just me but this font plus the black background if i read for too much time(like 10min?) its make my vision blur(i use glasses) , so i stop for some time, and start to read again... i really need some colorful background or something (could be like a random mannor background?) . like i said idk if im the only one
Ultimately it's the format. It's less to do with the black background/white text combo and more to do with larger text blocks and less visual movement than traditional VNs (using your example, the background that's an actual scene: in full VNs those change, which create a kind of visual movement that alleviates the whole burning text in your eyes, in addition to there usually being less text per screen with larger text blocks interspersed only occasionally). It's the same reason a lot of people can't do ebooks that don't mimic paper and ink: it's just good old fashioned eye strain.
I don't think changing the background would do much but burn a different image into your eyes 😅 it's probably got something to do with the glasses in the sense that it affects you more strongly, but I think the best thing to do is what you're already doing and take breaks. It's a lot of words so it's kind of surprising no one's brought it up before.
I'm glad you like it though !!! Even with the visual attack 😅😂 💕💕💕💕💕
Glad you're liking it !! If you'll indulge me in a bit of shameless self-promo, the way I update things alternates between LI's and between games, so you may be interested in checking out my other game (not on itchio, which is why I mention it) Bad Ritual ?? IT updates next, since Valeri just got his update 💖💖💖 thanks for commenting !!!!
Hello! I love love love your writing and the vibrant characters and worlds you've created. Your stories are so immersive and I can't wait to read more. BTW I absolutely stan your inclusion of POC and queer characters.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 thank-you !!! And I'm glad you're liking my inclusion of people; I'm always sort of worried I'm doing it wrong, even when it's stuff that applies to me 😂
I haven't smiled and giggled this much in monthes ! Oh Valerian *swooning shamelessly* The scenes of the race and the food stall are the cutest thing ever! I love the way you describe his movements, his eyes, and the very subtle beautiful details of him.
It's also amazing how his personality feels so authentic and endearing. If there was a Valerian in any universe, I believe he would be exactly as you described him if that makes any sense x) (?). I also loved the way I can make many meaningful choices without having a major impact on the overall story while in the same time shaping my character's personality.
Abeni and Gnarl are the next routes in line for me to read next :)) Can't wait for the next update! Best of luck!
PS: I played the game in an android phone and it works perfectly.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 ahh thank you so much I'm glad you liked it !!! I hope Abeni and Gnarl live up to Valeri's hype 😂 let me know how Abeni looks on Android because she seems to be the one with the issue 😅😅
I'm glad you like her and thanks for the heads up 😅 I knew Abeni's passages tended to be longer but I hate doing development work on my phone. Phones are so stupidly delicate and debugging on them is nightmarish— at the time I didn't have a spare, but I do now !! I'll get it fixed as soon as I get a minute...
Sorry for the double reply but it occurred to me that I didn't ask what sort of device you're using !! Let me know if you can so I'm a little bit better prepared to fix Abeni up before next release :)
I just finished the demo for Gnarl's route and I am dying for more. Every time there was a screen break I was like "please don't be over yet". Do you have any ideas when we'll see a full route released?
I'd also like to offer help for free if you need any. I don't know a ton of coding, but I can draw a little and I'm great with editing and grammar. Even if you don't need any help in the actual development, I'm donating through Ko-Fi. I'm just so desperate for more Gnarl.
You're awesome. Now off to fall in love with Valerian.
The full route will be about seven chapters (for each character). This is being developed in tandem with another game I'm making (Bad Ritual, by necessity so I don't burn out on one story) and while I try to finish another diploma and get a job;; So unfortunately I'm not going to promise any specific date for release, but know that it's a fully planned game with all the assets it currently needs.
And thank-you so much for offering! As I mentioned MH has all its planned assets (although people on Tumblr would probably love it if you drew something) but if you notice any typos or mixed up words during your playthrough let me know! And thank you so much for the donation !! <3<3<3
Have fun playing the other routes and have a great day !!
i played every possible route and im so,,, emotionally attached to the characters?? how did you do that pls explain my heart is full of love for this game. THANK YOU
It's mostly the foul witchcraft I used as part of my pact with the devil to write Manor Hill !! I'm glad you like it and hope it keeps filling your heart with love !! Thank you for leaving a comment !!
Finally got around to playing Gnarl's route and I'm LIVING FOR IT. I love the comfortably flirty atmosphere and oh? Gnarl's been away and out of contact for three months? And is evasive about it? Love this mystery! And I love the balance between being mad at Gnarl and worried about them.
"Jerk," you snap, laying perfectly still to let your body just absorb the humiliation. Fave line
The over-broccoli confrontation was sooo suspenseful and convincing that I felt jittery and still do tbh.
"What a thing to say to someone who knows every spot that you're ticklish." Love how this shows they've definitely knowing each other for years.
At first I thought the player could only lose the card game, but then I played through again bc I'd forgotten to save and accidentally won. I loove the various ways the game, and every other conversation, can turn out and all the options you give.
Same goes for Valerian's route, so many choices! The chase down the hall was fun and adorable, Valerian is definitely Too Smooth. "You're sitting on him, and...now what." I'm dyING.
And the description of his eyes is beautiful!
Everything feels so well-developed and I'm so damn excited to see where this goes!
I looooooove yooooooouuuuuuuu. I'm also happy to know that both winning and losing the card game was an option because my god I could only test it so many times before jesus has to take the wheel and whatever happens happens. And !! I'm glad the choices seem plentiful I was kind of waffling about if I had enough or not. Think the next round is gunna let yall flesh out the character a bit more !!
Phew, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me just (calmly) say how much I enjoyed your work. All of the characters are well-defined and interesting, the mystery is intriguing, and the romance is really well written. I like to play romance/otome games — lol, it's my secret shame — and while I've played quite a few, the list of how many that have actually made me feel invested in the romance is fairly short. However, I can already tell that your game belongs on that list! You are really good at paying attention to all of the small details — the little looks, touches, expressions, frustrations, exchanges, ect. — that go into building a relationship. (I usually have a favorite but I really can't choose between Valerian and Gnarl. I love them both!) Also, choices! I love the fact that the game actually feels interactive rather than static like many VNs, although I can imagine that that makes it a huge pain to code!
Out of curiosity, do you have other works that are available to read? I saw something on your tumblr about a fic called ad coleum, and while I now feel like a weird stalker for knowing that, I'd love to read more of your work. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed the game, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story goes!
This was SUCH a nice message to get this early in the morning (honestly how do hours before 10am exist?) and it gives me the energy to slog my way through. And honestly, no shame in romance/otome. Some of them are ridiculous but that's what we love about them; we're not here to fake like we don't love it x)
I'm super glad you like Valerian and Gnarl, and I hope Abeni lives up to their routes !! Plus you made me feel better about my writing and the amount of choice I give; I'm of the very firm belief that not every choice has the alter the course of the story, and sometimes it feels nice to just choose how to react in any given situation. And I'm in a coding class right now (as we speak actually...) so I'm not unfamiliar with stuff being annoying to code.
As far as other games go, I don't have anything up and coded yet (I used to, but then I re-purposed the game for class and got paranoid and set it to hidden so that no one I worked with could find the original version I wrote which definitely involved kissing, since we're using itchio for assets) but my Tumblr HeartForge has information on games in development (mostly just character junk under the "character" link). The fic in question is from my AO3 account, which has... a lot of stuff, lol. I can PM you if you're interested in that, but otherwise I'm gunna keep that one on the DL (just from embarrassment, there's nothing particularly scandalous up there).
Thank you for leaving a comment, it brought me to LIFE !!
I can't express completely how much I love this game, and Abeni, Gnarl, and Valerian, but I'll try. Everything's so suspenseful, especially the trek to the front doors, and all three of them are so smooth I'm grinning the whole time. Just played Valerian's prologue again and I loove all the witty comebacks, my cheeks hurt from smiling
What a coincidence every time you comment on my stuff MY face starts hurting from smiling. Sometimes I just comb my old fics for ur comments tbh <3<3<3<3<3<3
So sorry, I didn't write this sooner. New version of the game is so great. The sound adds new tones to the mystery of the place where the story holds us. And the art is so beautiful, that I just can't describe. And I love the texts, and characters, and the story... Owerflowed with the work as I am now I sincerely cant't wait to see Gnarl and Albeni <3
lemme have a look at it because the beauty of ren'py is that is takes the files and does everything for me so it's not out of my way, I would just need to test it. your screen resolution will obviously be bigger than that of a phone so there shouldn't be issues with overlap. I think it'll work, if you're willing to guinea pig with me a little x). Let me play with it a little and I'll have a version up that I THINK will work.
EDIT: Okay I have the apk file up. I tested it with a testing program thing and the sound was bad and the transitions sort of jerky, HOWEVER I was testing through a special program for which my system is unsupported? So I'd love to hear how it runs on your chromebook, because if it doesn't work Great I will return to the drawing board to see what the hell is up. Worse comes I'll make a version sans-sound which will help a LOT I think.
hm see I'm not sure how exactly to finagle it on a chromebook but I followed this guide to test it out! Like I said it was a little chunky when it ran but my machine isn't supported: ideally, yours will be and you won't notice a difference. If it does end up being a little slow I, I recommended shutting the sounds off. They're just aesthetic and they run the worst.
I wasn't expecting to like Abeni as much as I did, but she's fantastic! Really enjoyed her route. You've created such a lovely cast of characters. They're all interesting and memorable. There's so much I like about your game, but I don't want to ramble.
I'd leave a heart here, but Albeni took it away. Third route and it's unlike other two. And *spoiler* was wonderful. And *spoiler* story is wonderful. I'm stuck on "wonderful", sorry. Thank you for your game. I love it so much.
Hello! I just want to say that your writing is awesome. I read Manor Hill a while ago, and have been quietly following since then. The characters are unique and delightful, and the story is interesting. I was really happy to see more of Gnarl with this recent update! I enjoy the dialogue between the player character and them. It's very fun and warm.
GNARL IS HERE!!! i love them so much already! i really enjoyed the closeness you cultivated between the reader and gnarl, it felt so natural ;____; im so excited to see where the story goes with them (and valerian, i didnt get to comment when the last update came out but i loved it too). cant wait for abeni next!!! i know she'll steal my heart away like the other two did <3
This is so beautiful. I loved Valerian route and now we have Gnarl and I can't say which one is better. They both are unique and decent. Love them, love the game. And sincerely waiting for commander. =)
i created an account just to tell u how much i loved this and how excited i am to see the rest, also as soon as valerian was introduced i was like "oh no hes my type" and i was instantly drawn in. im really excited to see the whole thing tho!!! abeni and gnarl are super cute and id love to see where the story goes with them!!!
This is super cool and fun?? I'm excited for this. My twin showed me this with such enthusiasm and I have to say, well warranted. I love how you characterized your people, how different they are, and it's just really immersive. I was surprised that I got dragged into it so fast that I was almost startled when it ended. Keep up the hella good work dude, I'll be watching for this!!
I'm super excited you took the time to comment !! I wish I could update faster without real life bugging me constantly, all the time, but it really makes me happy that people are still looking at it regardless of my snail pace !! Thank-you !!
Hey, the more time you spend on it, the more you get to think of fun ideas! And I'm glad, because this is just so vivid and detailed. I can't commend your writing enough, especially for the amount of work and effort it takes to do a multi path story. It's consistently good and I hope you continue, even if life is bugging you. (We all get bothered by it. Don't worry, people will flock to quality no matter the time it takes.)
Unfortunately you can't choose her because I am only one man and can only do so much writing at once. She's next in line but I had to rework production to do one route at a time because I'm operating around working on a visual novel and a 30+ hour a week job. I'm glad you liked her though !! She's super fun to write.
Finally got around to playing this, and I've got to say, I'm in love with Valerian. The game is great and I can't wait until you continue it! I hope you enjoy the holidays!
This game rocks! I mean it hooked me from "hmm, let's see what this is" to "GOD. MY. OH. WHAT'S NEXT?!!" in a few minutes from the start. And on my way from sheer interest to countinuation hunger I laughted, counted my pulse, cried through laughing and found myself forgetting to breathe at times some gang bosses hanging over my lady...
Also, found my new line for life till the end of the year. Onward towards the drinks! xD
← Return to game
Comments
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.
This game hit a little too hard what with the quarantine, but this game was still a delight! Did it leave me wanting to scrabble at the walls? Yes. But I adored all of the characters so much!! Valerian was surprisingly sweet once you got to know him, Abeni had me swooning, and Gnarl is delightful of course!! I love all of the main characters with a passion and have a save for all of the routes! All of the games you have up are stunning, to be honest, and they've made my day! Thank you so much for making this!
Oh god I didn't even think of that 😂😂😂 a whole new layer of interactivity. Imagine quarantine but you're not in your house or the house of anyone you know, with strangers. God. I'm glad you like my games and hope you're still okay after playing them all 😂 they're a LOT
Just played this game (Valerian's route) and I am very excited for more!
I'm glad you like him !!!!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
This was soo good wtf?!?! I fell in love instantly with both Valerian and Gnarl (I'm swooning so hard haha). Can't wait for more, your writing is amazing!! 💖💖
I'm so glad you like them !!! Gnarl's up next for updates once I finish up some finicking with my other game 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 thanks for commenting !!
Other game you say?? 👀👀
If you check my page, there are two other romance games. BR has the most content, Hybrid was a quick proof of concept promotional post that's not currently in development but still something 🧡👀
Ah wow, published 6 minutes ago, that was fast ahhaha thank youu!!
I JUST moved it over like right now so we've all got fantastic timing 😂😂
fiiinally playing Valeri’s third chapter
love the little “evidently bulletproof glass” detail, i laughed
the sense of frustration is so well built up throughout
ooohh i love Noor’s snark, “guard your face better in the future” they say with half of their face literally physically guarded
“a date and a job interview all at once” OOOF
lovely touch about how most of the members have something colourful about their looks
aahh i love Ruth and Ai and Max !! and everyone very clearly enjoying watching mc and Valerian dance around each other
as always, loooving all the choices you give, especially with what happens after Valerian storms out and the implication that he was waiting in their room and went looking when they didn't show up? i love this earnest man
very very excited to find out about his surprise and WORRIED about this Naomi
AHH I'm so glad I was so worried that The Gang (tm) was kind of overkill ☠ ☠ ☠ but I'm glad you liked them !!! Honestly I saw in my inbox you commented I was like YES ENDORPHINS FINALLY lmao and GOOD I hope everyone is a little worried about Naomi because that's a knife I am breathlessly waiting to twist.
Val sure is spicy. Man, I got sucked into this story and I haven't even touched the other two characters yet, Looking forward to experiencing them! I eagerly await the full release. I'm actually suffering withdrawls... ^__^
Glad you like my crime boy !! Hope you like the other two just as much. In the meantime, if you're interested, I do have another game. Different genre but ideally a similar spice 😅 thanks for leaving a comment !!
I am in love with how you've written each of these characters - I so naturally grew fond of them, and I feel invested. I look forward to more of the story, can't wait!
I'm so glad you like them !! Thanks for reading and commenting !!! 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
well your writing is fricking amazing o.O really i do love how you descibre the scenes and such, its pretty! im looking forward for the next chapter! Btw idk if just me but this font plus the black background if i read for too much time(like 10min?) its make my vision blur(i use glasses) , so i stop for some time, and start to read again... i really need some colorful background or something (could be like a random mannor background?) . like i said idk if im the only one
Ultimately it's the format. It's less to do with the black background/white text combo and more to do with larger text blocks and less visual movement than traditional VNs (using your example, the background that's an actual scene: in full VNs those change, which create a kind of visual movement that alleviates the whole burning text in your eyes, in addition to there usually being less text per screen with larger text blocks interspersed only occasionally). It's the same reason a lot of people can't do ebooks that don't mimic paper and ink: it's just good old fashioned eye strain.
I don't think changing the background would do much but burn a different image into your eyes 😅 it's probably got something to do with the glasses in the sense that it affects you more strongly, but I think the best thing to do is what you're already doing and take breaks. It's a lot of words so it's kind of surprising no one's brought it up before.
I'm glad you like it though !!! Even with the visual attack 😅😂 💕💕💕💕💕
I see! it's make sense, thanks for you time to anwser me! its really kind ;)
haha ikr!i saw you made another game too, bad ritual right? when i have time i will play it too ;)
Hope you like it as well !! Thanks for commenting 😊
Wow - the writing in this game is UNBELIEVABLE. Valerian's route is absolutely amazing, keep up the good work! So excited for the next chapter.
Glad you're liking it !! If you'll indulge me in a bit of shameless self-promo, the way I update things alternates between LI's and between games, so you may be interested in checking out my other game (not on itchio, which is why I mention it) Bad Ritual ?? IT updates next, since Valeri just got his update 💖💖💖 thanks for commenting !!!!
Self-promote away! Would love to read - thanks for letting me know!!
Ok, so I need more of this. Like a lot more and I'm not sure I'll be satisfied then....keep up the good work.
Glad you like it 💕💕 Valerian's in the process of getting more if I could find twenty spare minutes to write 😅😅
When I make more money, I will buy you SO much coffee <3
The satire is flawless, I could not stop laughing, and was undeniably charmed by each character. Such good work.
I'm glad you like it !!!! 💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕
Hello! I love love love your writing and the vibrant characters and worlds you've created. Your stories are so immersive and I can't wait to read more. BTW I absolutely stan your inclusion of POC and queer characters.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 thank-you !!! And I'm glad you're liking my inclusion of people; I'm always sort of worried I'm doing it wrong, even when it's stuff that applies to me 😂
I haven't smiled and giggled this much in monthes ! Oh Valerian *swooning shamelessly* The scenes of the race and the food stall are the cutest thing ever! I love the way you describe his movements, his eyes, and the very subtle beautiful details of him.
It's also amazing how his personality feels so authentic and endearing. If there was a Valerian in any universe, I believe he would be exactly as you described him if that makes any sense x) (?). I also loved the way I can make many meaningful choices without having a major impact on the overall story while in the same time shaping my character's personality.
Abeni and Gnarl are the next routes in line for me to read next :)) Can't wait for the next update! Best of luck!
PS: I played the game in an android phone and it works perfectly.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡 ahh thank you so much I'm glad you liked it !!! I hope Abeni and Gnarl live up to Valeri's hype 😂 let me know how Abeni looks on Android because she seems to be the one with the issue 😅😅
Hello! I'm stupid in love with Abeni and I cant wait to play more of her route.
I did play on an Android, and a lot of her text got cut off on the bottom. Just a heads up.
Also thank you so much for having options for nonbinary and having an enby character. Very pleasant surprise <3
I'm glad you like her and thanks for the heads up 😅 I knew Abeni's passages tended to be longer but I hate doing development work on my phone. Phones are so stupidly delicate and debugging on them is nightmarish— at the time I didn't have a spare, but I do now !! I'll get it fixed as soon as I get a minute...
Sorry for the double reply but it occurred to me that I didn't ask what sort of device you're using !! Let me know if you can so I'm a little bit better prepared to fix Abeni up before next release :)
Oh no worries. I was using an Android, a Samsung Galaxy J7 Perx.
I just finished the demo for Gnarl's route and I am dying for more. Every time there was a screen break I was like "please don't be over yet". Do you have any ideas when we'll see a full route released?
I'd also like to offer help for free if you need any. I don't know a ton of coding, but I can draw a little and I'm great with editing and grammar. Even if you don't need any help in the actual development, I'm donating through Ko-Fi. I'm just so desperate for more Gnarl.
You're awesome. Now off to fall in love with Valerian.
The full route will be about seven chapters (for each character). This is being developed in tandem with another game I'm making (Bad Ritual, by necessity so I don't burn out on one story) and while I try to finish another diploma and get a job;; So unfortunately I'm not going to promise any specific date for release, but know that it's a fully planned game with all the assets it currently needs.
And thank-you so much for offering! As I mentioned MH has all its planned assets (although people on Tumblr would probably love it if you drew something) but if you notice any typos or mixed up words during your playthrough let me know! And thank you so much for the donation !! <3<3<3
Have fun playing the other routes and have a great day !!
EDIT: There's also a Discord Channel started by misakikaito
I am totally and completely in love with Gnarl, I need more, I need to know what they're hidden O-O
Oh, and the cellphone version works just fine for me
What ISN'T Gnarl hiding, and I'm glad the cellphone version works okay !! Gnarl had some pretty long passages so I'm glad they all fit.
*injects gnarl's route intravenously thru my arm* gotta get m'fix.
Hey, thanks for my entire life/daydream fuel HeartForge u funky lil gamedev
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3 Glad you like it !!!! Hope you read the disclaimers and ingredient list of Gnarl before inserting them into your bloodstream !!
i played every possible route and im so,,, emotionally attached to the characters?? how did you do that pls explain my heart is full of love for this game. THANK YOU
It's mostly the foul witchcraft I used as part of my pact with the devil to write Manor Hill !! I'm glad you like it and hope it keeps filling your heart with love !! Thank you for leaving a comment !!
Finally got around to playing Gnarl's route and I'm LIVING FOR IT. I love the comfortably flirty atmosphere and oh? Gnarl's been away and out of contact for three months? And is evasive about it? Love this mystery! And I love the balance between being mad at Gnarl and worried about them.
"Jerk," you snap, laying perfectly still to let your body just absorb the humiliation. Fave line
The over-broccoli confrontation was sooo suspenseful and convincing that I felt jittery and still do tbh.
"What a thing to say to someone who knows every spot that you're ticklish." Love how this shows they've definitely knowing each other for years.
At first I thought the player could only lose the card game, but then I played through again bc I'd forgotten to save and accidentally won. I loove the various ways the game, and every other conversation, can turn out and all the options you give.
Same goes for Valerian's route, so many choices! The chase down the hall was fun and adorable, Valerian is definitely Too Smooth. "You're sitting on him, and...now what." I'm dyING.
And the description of his eyes is beautiful!
Everything feels so well-developed and I'm so damn excited to see where this goes!
I looooooove yooooooouuuuuuuu. I'm also happy to know that both winning and losing the card game was an option because my god I could only test it so many times before jesus has to take the wheel and whatever happens happens. And !! I'm glad the choices seem plentiful I was kind of waffling about if I had enough or not. Think the next round is gunna let yall flesh out the character a bit more !!
ARGH, YOUR GAME IS AWESOME!!!
Phew, now that we've gotten that out of the way, let me just (calmly) say how much I enjoyed your work. All of the characters are well-defined and interesting, the mystery is intriguing, and the romance is really well written. I like to play romance/otome games — lol, it's my secret shame — and while I've played quite a few, the list of how many that have actually made me feel invested in the romance is fairly short. However, I can already tell that your game belongs on that list! You are really good at paying attention to all of the small details — the little looks, touches, expressions, frustrations, exchanges, ect. — that go into building a relationship. (I usually have a favorite but I really can't choose between Valerian and Gnarl. I love them both!) Also, choices! I love the fact that the game actually feels interactive rather than static like many VNs, although I can imagine that that makes it a huge pain to code!
Out of curiosity, do you have other works that are available to read? I saw something on your tumblr about a fic called ad coleum, and while I now feel like a weird stalker for knowing that, I'd love to read more of your work. Anyway, if you couldn't tell, I really enjoyed the game, and I can't wait to see how the rest of the story goes!
This was SUCH a nice message to get this early in the morning (honestly how do hours before 10am exist?) and it gives me the energy to slog my way through. And honestly, no shame in romance/otome. Some of them are ridiculous but that's what we love about them; we're not here to fake like we don't love it x)
I'm super glad you like Valerian and Gnarl, and I hope Abeni lives up to their routes !! Plus you made me feel better about my writing and the amount of choice I give; I'm of the very firm belief that not every choice has the alter the course of the story, and sometimes it feels nice to just choose how to react in any given situation. And I'm in a coding class right now (as we speak actually...) so I'm not unfamiliar with stuff being annoying to code.
As far as other games go, I don't have anything up and coded yet (I used to, but then I re-purposed the game for class and got paranoid and set it to hidden so that no one I worked with could find the original version I wrote which definitely involved kissing, since we're using itchio for assets) but my Tumblr HeartForge has information on games in development (mostly just character junk under the "character" link). The fic in question is from my AO3 account, which has... a lot of stuff, lol. I can PM you if you're interested in that, but otherwise I'm gunna keep that one on the DL (just from embarrassment, there's nothing particularly scandalous up there).
Thank you for leaving a comment, it brought me to LIFE !!
I can't express completely how much I love this game, and Abeni, Gnarl, and Valerian, but I'll try. Everything's so suspenseful, especially the trek to the front doors, and all three of them are so smooth I'm grinning the whole time. Just played Valerian's prologue again and I loove all the witty comebacks, my cheeks hurt from smiling
What a coincidence every time you comment on my stuff MY face starts hurting from smiling. Sometimes I just comb my old fics for ur comments tbh <3<3<3<3<3<3
So sorry, I didn't write this sooner. New version of the game is so great. The sound adds new tones to the mystery of the place where the story holds us. And the art is so beautiful, that I just can't describe. And I love the texts, and characters, and the story... Owerflowed with the work as I am now I sincerely cant't wait to see Gnarl and Albeni <3
I've seen Gnarl at this point and they're gunna knock your socks off :) Thank-you so much for still liking and donating !!!!! <3<3<3<3
will there be a full game browser version? i have a chromebook so it would suck if i couldn't keep playing past the demo ;-;
I... really don't know how to do that? The full thing is built in Ren'py, and with your chromebook uhm... would an android app work?
yeah! but if it was out of your way, i wouldn't want to bother you.
lemme have a look at it because the beauty of ren'py is that is takes the files and does everything for me so it's not out of my way, I would just need to test it. your screen resolution will obviously be bigger than that of a phone so there shouldn't be issues with overlap. I think it'll work, if you're willing to guinea pig with me a little x). Let me play with it a little and I'll have a version up that I THINK will work.
EDIT: Okay I have the apk file up. I tested it with a testing program thing and the sound was bad and the transitions sort of jerky, HOWEVER I was testing through a special program for which my system is unsupported? So I'd love to hear how it runs on your chromebook, because if it doesn't work Great I will return to the drawing board to see what the hell is up. Worse comes I'll make a version sans-sound which will help a LOT I think.
i wasn't able to get it to work myself, but that's probs because i have no idea how apks work.
if you could, i'd appreciate the help on learning how to get it together?
hm see I'm not sure how exactly to finagle it on a chromebook but I followed this guide to test it out! Like I said it was a little chunky when it ran but my machine isn't supported: ideally, yours will be and you won't notice a difference. If it does end up being a little slow I, I recommended shutting the sounds off. They're just aesthetic and they run the worst.
I wasn't expecting to like Abeni as much as I did, but she's fantastic! Really enjoyed her route. You've created such a lovely cast of characters. They're all interesting and memorable. There's so much I like about your game, but I don't want to ramble.
My page is a pro-ramble zone so no worries either way !! Thank-you so much for taking the time to comment, and I'm glad you liked everyone !!
I'd leave a heart here, but Albeni took it away. Third route and it's unlike other two. And *spoiler* was wonderful. And *spoiler* story is wonderful. I'm stuck on "wonderful", sorry. Thank you for your game. I love it so much.
<3 <3 <3 I'm relieved that you like her tbh, her route was the hardest to get through writing-wise !!
I think you meant "lapse".
No I meant laspe.
Hello! I just want to say that your writing is awesome. I read Manor Hill a while ago, and have been quietly following since then. The characters are unique and delightful, and the story is interesting. I was really happy to see more of Gnarl with this recent update! I enjoy the dialogue between the player character and them. It's very fun and warm.
<3 I'm glad you liked the dialogue !! And that you've been enjoying the game <3 !!
GNARL IS HERE!!! i love them so much already! i really enjoyed the closeness you cultivated between the reader and gnarl, it felt so natural ;____; im so excited to see where the story goes with them (and valerian, i didnt get to comment when the last update came out but i loved it too). cant wait for abeni next!!! i know she'll steal my heart away like the other two did <3
Ah this cheered me up a lot :') I'm glad you liked both of them (and really glad that Gnarl didn't come on too strong).
This is so beautiful. I loved Valerian route and now we have Gnarl and I can't say which one is better. They both are unique and decent. Love them, love the game. And sincerely waiting for commander. =)
I'm so happy you said so :') I was kind of self-conscious, worried that people wouldn't like Gnarl as much as Valerian. Thank-you !!
i created an account so i could find and save this game oml
i cannot wait for the update!!! im so excited! (p.s valerian is the love of my life thanks okay bye)
That's so sweet !! Thank-you !! I'm glad you're liking it, and Valerian !!!
This was such a wonderful gem to find! You have such a strength for writing character interactions. Will definitely be looking forward to updates <3
I'm so psyched you like it !! The positivity gave me the willpower to make it through the rest of my day !!
Aw, I'm happy to hear that! I'm cheering for you!! \o/
i created an account just to tell u how much i loved this and how excited i am to see the rest, also as soon as valerian was introduced i was like "oh no hes my type" and i was instantly drawn in. im really excited to see the whole thing tho!!! abeni and gnarl are super cute and id love to see where the story goes with them!!!
Yay !!! I'm glad you like it and super flattered you made the account to tell me so !!! Thank-you !!!!
This is super cool and fun?? I'm excited for this. My twin showed me this with such enthusiasm and I have to say, well warranted. I love how you characterized your people, how different they are, and it's just really immersive. I was surprised that I got dragged into it so fast that I was almost startled when it ended. Keep up the hella good work dude, I'll be watching for this!!
I'm super excited you took the time to comment !! I wish I could update faster without real life bugging me constantly, all the time, but it really makes me happy that people are still looking at it regardless of my snail pace !! Thank-you !!
Hey, the more time you spend on it, the more you get to think of fun ideas! And I'm glad, because this is just so vivid and detailed. I can't commend your writing enough, especially for the amount of work and effort it takes to do a multi path story. It's consistently good and I hope you continue, even if life is bugging you. (We all get bothered by it. Don't worry, people will flock to quality no matter the time it takes.)
Why can't I choose Commander Abeni as my favorite? I fell in love with her instantly.
Unfortunately you can't choose her because I am only one man and can only do so much writing at once. She's next in line but I had to rework production to do one route at a time because I'm operating around working on a visual novel and a 30+ hour a week job. I'm glad you liked her though !! She's super fun to write.
Okay! I understand that it can be hard to make games do certain things.
It's a long process but she's definitely coming!
Finally got around to playing this, and I've got to say, I'm in love with Valerian. The game is great and I can't wait until you continue it! I hope you enjoy the holidays!
I'm glad you like him !! Christmas retail is kicking my ass but I'm working away !! Happy holidays to you too !!
This game rocks! I mean it hooked me from "hmm, let's see what this is" to "GOD. MY. OH. WHAT'S NEXT?!!" in a few minutes from the start. And on my way from sheer interest to countinuation hunger I laughted, counted my pulse, cried through laughing and found myself forgetting to breathe at times some gang bosses hanging over my lady...
Also, found my new line for life till the end of the year. Onward towards the drinks! xD
AH I can't believe I missed this I need to check my email preferences. Thank you so much !!
hey, just wanted to say that i'm super loving this so far!
<3 I'm glad !!