Author Archives: Woodsy_Studio

Support us on Patreon!

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As we forge ahead with our next project, Crimson Spires, we’re looking for new ways to fund development, so we’ve started a Patreon! Any funds we collect will not only help to feed and house us as we work, but will also support costly features like voice acting.

As a patron, you’ll get to see screenshots and artwork from our next game before they’re publicly released. You’ll also get weekly posts about our behind-the-scenes development process. And finally, we’ll create custom content such as bonus CGs and short stories every month for patrons! Below is a sneak peak at our first bonus content, an image of Michael and Lucifer doing… I wonder what exactly? 😉

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The Last Sacrament Releases July 10

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The road to release Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament has been a long and winding one, but at last the end is in sight. We’re almost ready to give you a story packed with more romance, mystery, and action than anything we’ve released yet. We release for PC on July 10, 2018!

Add it to your Steam wishlist

At Woodsy Studio, we’re tired of seeing most games (even AAA titles) treat story and writing as an afterthought. Our primary goal is to deliver a good story with rich, complex characters in a world you can fully immerse yourself. With Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament, we’ve taken what players enjoyed about Echoes the Fey: The Fox’s Trail and developed it even further.

More Mystery

In The Last Sacrament, you actually have TWO mysteries to solve. A desperate politician named Nikolai Melinkov blackmails Sofya into a dangerous job: stealing the Sacrament of Tears from the Krovakyn Church. But in the meantime, Sofya’s childhood love, Katerina Lapidus, needs her protection from a dangerous assassin. Can you steal the Sacrament and hunt down Katerina’s enemy in time to prevent disaster?

 

More Romance

Despite her hardships, Sofya gets many chances to find love amidst her adventures. This episode offers the first opportunity to romance Sofya’s partner, Heremon ir-Caldy. She can also forge a romantic bond with Nikolai, Katerina, or Arkady as she tries to escape the dangers of her predicament.

 

 

More Action

Large segments of The Last Sacrament will play as a point and click adventure game with dialogue in the traditional style of a visual novel. But unlike our previous games, The Last Sacrament also features an in-world tabletop RPG called RiftRealms. Inspired by story-focused pen and paper games, Sofya will play RiftRealms games with various supporting characters as dungeon master. Players will both build a character in RiftRealms to fight increasingly more powerful foes, and learn about the key players in Sofya’s life through how they choose to tell a RiftRealms story.

While the characters of Echoes of the Fey play RiftRealms with Sofya, they reveal their own prejudices and beliefs through their strategies. They serve as “dungeon masters” who try to create a gaming experience for Sofya (and thus the player) that is both entertaining and challenging. Kind and compassionate characters like Heremon might slip up by making the game too easy, while ruthless characters like Arkady transform the game into a harrowing experience.

To get a reminder on the day it releases, go to Steam now and add us to your wishlist! Doing this also helps out indie developers like us by informing the Steam store algorithms that there is real community interest in the game. We can’t wait to share the final result with you!

Add it to your Steam wishlist

Big miraclr Update Coming on Valentine’s Day!

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We’re excited to announce that a big update to miraclr – Divine Dating Sim is coming to Google Play, the App Store for iPhone and iPad, and the Amazon AppStore for Android on Valentine’s Day 2018!

It will also release for desktop computers on Steam and itch.io!

New Avatar Options

An important new feature coming with the Valentine’s update includes new avatar options for the player. Currently, there are only 3 base options for male, female, and non-binary. We’ll be adding at least 3 new options for each gender, so 9 new options overall.

Valentine's miraclr Avatar OptionsGallery Addition

The update will also enable a Gallery system browse-able from the Main Menu screen. From here, you can view all the images you’ve unlocked so far while playing the game.

New CGs

Keep a look out for new CGs appearing in the Valentine’s update, as well!

Raphael Uriel new CG

     Raphael helps Uriel exercise (or so he claims)

Reply Improvements and Halo System

Whenever you reply punctually to a message in the game, you’ll receive Halos. You can use Halos to reply to missed messages or unlock special images.

Secret Story Branch

We’re also added a whole new secret story branch to the game of about 20,000 words. But it wouldn’t be secret if I told you more than that!

How to Make a Visual Novel in Unreal Engine 4

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A little over a year ago, I set out to complete a strange task: I wanted to build a visual novel in Unreal Engine 4. To some people this seemed like using a rifle to shoot a fly. I was even prepared to admit they were right. But once I got deeper into the UE4 engine, I didn’t regret a single thing.

Why UE4?

The short answer to why I love using Unreal Engine 4 is this: the engine can accomplish just about anything I imagine, and it can do so quickly. It’s a wonderful engine to work with and it’s capable of so much.

That said, Ren’Py is still a wonderful tool to create traditional visual novels. If you don’t plan on adding 3D elements or complex mini-games to your narrative, then there’s probably no reason for you to switch to UE4. BUT if you want to expand the boundaries of a traditional visual novel and set yourself apart from the other VNs out there, I can assure you that UE4 might be a great tool to accomplish that.

Screenshot from our UE4 visual novel, Echoes of the Fey: The Last Sacrament

How to Get Started?

When I started my first VN project in UE4, I struggled to find helpful resources. Not many people had tried to create a traditional VN system within UE4. I found a VN marketplace plugin, but it only functioned for very small-scale projects, and was completely unwieldy in terms of handling a large script or rewrites. So after a lot of searching and banging my head against the computer screen, I set about building my own system from scratch.

Now, one game and many months later, I want to share what I’ve learned with the game dev community at large. I’ve started a video tutorial series that will help you build the foundation of a VN system within UE4. This system is designed to handle large-scale projects and gameplay elements beyond just dialogue. You can begin by writing your script in a typical Open Office or Word document, then convert it into a spreadsheet and import it into UE4.

Watch the Video Tutorials Online

Part 1: https://youtu.be/qj_6dfzqaO0

  1. Create your text scene in a spreadsheet (4:05 )
  2. Create a structure in UE4 (8:45 )
  3. Import your first scene as a datatable (13:02 )

Part 2: https://youtu.be/KuHardkG37M

  1. Create a Scene Template Blueprint (1:09)
  2. Create an NPC character actor to launch the scene (2:56)
  3. Enabe click events (6:30)
  4. Spawn Scene Template when NPC is clicked (9:15)
  5. Feed the datatable rows into the Scene Template (13:57)

Part 3: https://youtu.be/ljaf1PHGq1Y

  1. Track the scene array with a Row variable (1:36)
  2. Create a widget to display the dialogue (4:08)
  3. Set text variables within the widget (9:18)
  4. Create widget from Scene Template and track as variable (11:14)
  5. Set widget variables from the Scene Template Blueprint (13:18)

Part 4: https://youtu.be/w7LxY8fZzdc

  1. Add dialogue widget to viewport (0:44)
  2. Track whether the row is finished displaying (2:11)
  3. Add an input to advance the text (4:26)
  4. Increase row number for next line (5:23)
  5. Enable input on the Scene Template (7:00)
  6. End scene and destroy actors when scene is finished (7:58)

In the tutorial series created so far, I don’t yet get to branching dialogue or character sprites. But if people find this first series useful, I may go on to create tutorials about that later. You can also find my posts about the VN system on the UE4 Forums.

Meanwhile, we’re running a Kickstarter for our current visual novel project, Echoes of the Fey – Fantasy Visual Novel Series! If you enjoy my work or find my resources helpful, please support us!

Kickstarter Campaign for Echoes of the Fey!

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Woodsy Studio has launched its first Kickstarter campaign!

Support us on Kickstarter!

You can read all about the campaign via the link, but here are some highlights.

Our mission

Malcolm and I (Jenny) began our careers as devoted storytellers, which is why we both went to college for screenwriting, and have each published several novels. Whenever we make a game, our goal is to create a unique, compelling narrative experience. With Echoes of the Fey, we set out to create a high fantasy setting with a dash of steampunk flavor and a full dose of detective noir.

The Last Sacrament will be bigger in scope than anything we’ve made yet. We’re building the game using Unreal Engine 4. This might seem like an unusual choice for a visual novel. But UE4 allows us to create complex 3D environments and multiple camera angles for each scene, resulting in a more cinematic experience.

We’re also adding a unique gameplay element in the form of a mini-game called RiftRealms. This is a tabletop game that exists in the world of Echoes of the Fey, and as Sofya you can play with other characters. We thought this would be an interesting way to showcase each character’s personality based on how they treat you as a Dungeon master. It also explores the question: what do people fantasize about in a fantasy world?

Story

Meanwhile, Sofya has a lot of work to do as a private investigator. Sofya’s childhood love and the Emperor’s daughter, Katerina, seeks her protection from threats near the border. Katerina’s rival, Nikolai, needs a dangerous drug stolen from the powerful Krovakyn Church and uses blackmails to force Sofya’s assistance.

Nikolai wants a dose of the Sacrament, a mysterious substance from the Krovakyn Church that can cure illnesses and extend lifespans. But repeated use of the Sacrament causes strange side effects, such as hallucinations and physical deformities. Nikolai wants to give the Sacrament to his grandmother, who has already received the maximum dosage allowed.

It’s up to you, the player, to solve each case and determine its outcome. Can you track down Katerina’s enemy? And if you manage to steal the Sacrament, what will you choose to do with it?

You also have several romance options in The Last Sacrament. If you proceed carefully, you can develop a romantic relationship with Katerina, Arkady, Nikolai, or Heremon.

We’re really excited to share this story with you. But we need your help to make it happen. About 75% of the game has already been developed, but your support will enable us to push to the finish line and add all the features we envision.

Our heartfelt thanks goes to anyone who chooses to support us in this endeavor. Let’s make our dreams for The Last Sacrament come true!

 
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Making a Miracle with “miraclr”

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Jenny Gibbons here, gearing up to tell you an honest and not-so-glamorous tale about the world of indie game development.

Going full-time indie

About nine months ago, my full-time job told me that I had to choose between keeping my job or “ceasing activity” with Woodsy Studio, my own company. It was an impossible decision. I had already poured years of my heart and soul into my work at Woodsy Studio, and furthermore, my husband–Malcolm Pierce–had recently joined me as a creative partner. All our dreams lay with Woodsy Studio. I could not give that up. But the studio was not yet making enough money to sustain itself, either.

Malcolm and I were lucky in that we had a decent amount of savings stored up from previous years of caution and frugality. We tried to look at the misfortune of my lay-off as an opportunity to focus all our energy into Woodsy Studio and make it our bread and butter. Although Woodsy Studio was not yet self-sustainable, at least we had three commercially published games occasionally bringing in money.

Illustration from Serafina's Crown

Illustration from Serafina’s Crown

Floundering in a sea of games

Alas, as any other game developer knows, the gaming market is brutal. Try as we might, we were unable to make a big marketing splash with any of our titles, whether old releases or new ones. Even now, I struggle to figure out where we went wrong. By a large percentage, people who play our games enjoy them and offer high praise: both critics and customers. The challenge lies in getting anyone to play our games at all. And of course, I know I’m not alone in this. The sea of released games continues to grow and flood stores every day. Only so many can survive by floating on the surface. We were drowning, but we refused to give up.

By July, we had been pure indie game devs for seven months. We were living the dream–but we were also broke.

Our seven months of focusing on Woodsy Studio confirmed for us that this is what we both wanted to do. We wanted to keep making games together, and we knew we had the potential to succeed. We just needed to create something that could excite people more than anything we’d yet produced.

Drastic times = drastic measures

In a moment of desperation, we put our heads together and tried to think of something we could do to save our studio in the little time our dwindling savings still provided. It all happened in about ten minutes. Malcolm blurted something about romancing angels, I suggested making it unfold in real time on phones, and everything clicked. We knew we had a fun idea that we could produce relatively fast and use to branch out to a new audience: the mobile market.

The two months since that moment have been a non-stop storm of writing, programming, and drawing so that “miraclr” could become a reality. Malcolm and I are both extremely creative people and very prolific writers. But we pushed ourselves harder than we’ve ever pushed ourselves before to make this project happen. We reached the point we normally would have called “burn out”–and we kept going, knowing that it was dangerous, but also convinced it was crucial to our long-term survival.

I programmed a complex story system based on real-time to handle channels, direct messages, and plot branches. Together, Malcolm and I wrote over 76,000 words of story content (but Malcolm wrote most of it). I drew 19 CG illustrations, a dozen character icons, and five visual novel portraits with multiple expressions. Malcolm figured out how to incorporate ads and notifications into both Android and iOS ports. All in two months.

Gabriel from miraclr

Burnt out, but proud

We’re exhausted. We’re burnt out. But we also know that we did everything in our power to create a fun, unique game that might be the key to saving our studio. Whatever happens next, I can say with full confidence that we took our best shot.

We sincerely hope that you enjoy “miraclr,” and that it enables us to keep providing quality interactive stories in the future!

miraclr Main Page

Seeking Voice Actors for “The Last Sacrament”

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****AUDITIONS NOW CLOSED****
Thanks to everyone who auditioned! Here is the resulting cast:
Nikolai – Christopher Vitemb
Katerina – Sara Secora
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About the Echoes of the Fey

Echoes of the Fey is an English-language visual novel series that combines the magic of high fantasy with the mystery of the classic detective novel. You play as Sofya Rykov, a private investigator operating in a town on the contentious border between the Humans and Leshin (Elves). While her job is to uncover secrets, Sofya has a dangerous secret of her own: unlike other Humans, she can use magic. It’s a handy trick for solving cases – in the rare instances she can control it.

About Episode 2: The Last Sacrament

The Last Sacrament will be the next installment of the ongoing series. Sofya’s loyalty grows divided when politics clash over the town’s water system. Her childhood love, who also happens to be the Emperor’s daughter, seeks Sofya’s protection from mysterious threats. But a ruthless politician seeks a fourth drop of Eszther’s Sacrament — the consumption of which is the greatest heresy against the Krovakyn Church — and he will go to any lengths to ensure that Sofya delivers it to him.

Released episodes:

Episode 0: The Immolation
Episode 1: The Fox’s Trail

Expected Work

The amount of recording needed is not yet set in stone. Shortly after choosing the cast, we will request a recording of expression lines (30-60 short lines of expressive dialogue). After that, we will request some scene dialogue over the next few months as our budget allows.

Rating/Maturity

This game will contain some adult language and sexual themes. However, we expect to remain in the Teen / PG-13 rating category.

Audition Process

Please record the included audition lines for the role that interests you and send them in either .wav or .mp3 format to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Multiple takes and styles are highly encouraged so I have a good sense of your range. Auditions will remain open until March 12, 2017.

Katerina Konstantinova Lapidus

  • Female
  • American accent
  • Appears both as an adult (20s) and teenager (about 13 years)

Katerina has a kind and empathetic nature, but she also grew up as the daughter of the Emperor during a time of warfare. Her kind nature is frequently in conflict with her need to firmly represent her father’s interests and crush her opponents. She rejoices in any opportunity she finds to kick back and behave like an ordinary young woman. She hates being called “princess” or any other unnecessary flattery. This is why she enjoys Sofya’s company so much. Sofya has never cared for politics, and always knows how to forget about all problems and have fun.

Katerina will mostly appear as an adult in the story, but there will also be flashbacks to her as a young teenager meeting Sofya for the first time. Therefore there are audition lines for both adult and teenaged Katerina (around 13 years old).

Please send lines for both adult and teenage Katerina, as she will appear as both in different parts of the story. Teenage Katerina should sound younger/higher-pitched.

Adult Katerina Audition Lines
KATERINA (angry): All of this was about a photograph?
SOFYA: I don’t know. But, Kat, take a deep breath. You’re okay.
KATERINA: I’m sorry, Sofyuska. I just… I had no idea that this might actually happen. When I hired you… I didn’t really think…
SOFYA: You didn’t think you were really in danger?
KATERINA: Not real danger! Not like this! I thought they’d throw vegetables at me or tag my carriage.

Teenage Katerina Audition Lines
SOFYA: Thank you, Kater– Uh, Lady Lapidus.
YOUNG KATERINA: PLEASE don’t call me that. I’m so sick of everyone sucking up to me.
YOUNG KATERINA: Just call me Kat.
SOFYA: Okay… Kat.
YOUNG KATERINA: Now, if you’re going to be stuck in the castle for the winter, maybe we can at least have some fun.

 

Nikolai Fyodorovich Melinkov

  • Male
  • American Accent
  • Late 20s/early 30s

Nikolai Fyodorovich Melinkov is the eldest heir of House Melinkov. House Melinkov is one of the wealthiest families of the west and one of the staunchest opponents to Imperial control of the borderlands. They are led by Nikolai’s grandmother, Alma Melinkov. Nikolai is the heir because his father (Alma’s son) died during the war and Alma’s daughter is a church matriarch.

Nikolai never wanted the responsibility of leadership. He is a man who enjoys fine dining and classy entertainment. If he had his way, he would run a theater or prestigious tavern rather than control his family’s domain. He also believes that his dying grandmother, Alma Melinkov, is much better suited to protect the family than he is. For this reason, he will use whatever tools he possesses to extend Alma’s life and protect the family’s interests in the meantime–even if that means breaking the most sacred law of the Krovakyn Church and blackmailing Sofya to help him.

Audition Line 1:
NIKOLAI (firm, threatening): You will do as I say, Lady Rykov. My sister has ten copies of this photograph. If I do not wire back to Volgrad with other instructions within the hour, she will send it to Patriarch Arkady here in Vodotsk. However, if you deliver the Sacrament to me, I will destroy every single copy of the picture and the glass impression.
Audition Line 2:
NIKOLAI (determined): We are GOING to build a dam, and we’ll make the Leshin pay for it!

Audition Part 3:  Please include a singing clip!

I’ve also posted auditions to the following sites:
Newgrounds
Casting Call
Voice Acting Club

Send all audition clips and any questions you might have to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Thank you and good luck!

Echoes of the Fey: The Fox’s Trail Out NOW On Steam

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The day is here, friends! You can now get Echoes of the Fey: The Fox’s Trail on everyone’s favorite PC gaming platform, the launcher we all know and love, Steam.

We’ve got achievements! We’ve got trading cards! At some point in the near future, we’ll have a demo and soundtrack DLC! Go check it out!

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Echoes of the Fey – Episode 1: The Fox’s Trail

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Get game on Steam

Coming to PS4 July 11

For the first time in almost thirty years, the land of Oraz is at peace. For three decades, the Humans and Leshin of Oraz waged a brutal war over the right of Humans to power their cities and machines with magic. But the Leshin people have overthrown their theocratic leaders who pushed to extend the war and ushered in a new era of reconciliation and reconstruction.

This peace, however, is fragile and strained under the shared history of the two peoples. This is true nowhere more than the city of Vodotsk, a historically Human city that was occupied and ruled by the Leshin for years. Old grudges among the Humans have re-emerged. Leshin who lived there for years as rulers must decide whether to return beyond the Great Forest or stay as second-class citizens. And the wounds of the war threaten to re-open whenever the two peoples come into contact.

foxstrail

fox

Echoes of the Fey is a series of detective stories set in the high fantasy world of Oraz starring Sofya Rykov, a Human private investigator with a dangerous secret: following a near-death experience in the war, she spontaneously developed the ability to use magic. She is joined by her Leshin partner, Heremon ir-Caldy, a doctor fascinated by Sofya’s magic but fearful it will soon come at the cost of her life. Together, Sofya and Heremon navigate the mysteries and tensions of Vodotsk, the city they intend to make both their hiding place and their home.

Get Echoes of the Fey on itch.io

gameplay“The Fox’s Trail” is an English-language visual novel with multiple story variations. Will you uncover the truth behind the mystery on your own? And once you do, what will you do with that information? Your investigation will change the future of the city and its people. Over 100 individual choice points exist throughout “The Fox’s Trail.” Some will improve your relationship with the characters. Others will provide you critical information. And some will change the fate of the people you will come to know. Explore Vodotsk in side-scrolling segments and assist other characters in minor side-quests to uncover more about the history and lore of the realm.

You can find a full, detailed walk-through in the Steam community (may contain spoilers!)

Credits

Written by Malcolm Pierce and Jenny Gibbons
Art by Jenny Gibbons and Wendy Gram
Music by Jenny Gibbons
Programming by Jenny Gibbons with use of VN Edge Engine by ThinkBoxly
Sound design by Jenny Gibbons
Sound effects by: Drew Becker, Adobe Audition Library, Free SFX

“The Fox’s Trail” also features voice acting–fully performed critical scenes and expression lines throughout–by the following awesome voice actors:

SOFYA RYKOV – Amber Leigh

HEREMON IR-CALDY – David Dixon

ARKADY VANZIN – CJ Aulenbach

EDUARD GALKIN – Dillon Taylor

EMILIA OSBORN – Michelle Michaels

LUKA TETERIV – J.P. Daman

TIATHA IR-ADECH – Kristyn Mass

ANYA SAITOV – Helen Edgeworth

VIOLA ARISTOV – Olivia Steele

SIMION IR-SHEAF – Jacob Anderson

PRISONER: Isaac Lawson

Press Kit

Serafina’s Crown Out Now on Steam! 15% Off for Release Week!

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Serafina's Crown released

 

 

 

 

 

Hello visual novel fans! I’m happy to announce that Serafina’s Crown is out TODAY on Steam, with a full set of achievements and trading cards that are all new to this version. And for the week of release, it’s 15% off. I’m excited to finally bring the world of Darzia to Steam.  Go check it out here and enjoy! http://store.steampowered.com/app/449340/