The time is here to experience Serafina’s story unlike you ever have before! Now animated, voiced, and developed with lush 3D environments in UE4, Serafina’s Saga: Awakened is now available for PC.
This project has been several years in the making, and I have faced a lot of challenges on the way. Thanks to all of you who have supported me on the journey, and I hope you enjoy this epic adventure!
Greetings everyone! Development on Serafina’s Saga: Awakened is still going strong. However, prior to digging into the latest progress I would like to remind you that the demo is currently available on both Steam and itch.io. Additionally, to whet your appetite, clips are now debuting every Thursday. The first four clips can be found on Woodsy Studio’s YouTube channel. Be on the lookout for a new clip this week!
A lot has happened since the last development update. Jezu Grandil’s path joins Reuben Jeridar’s as fully complete. Nikolaos Perin’s path is fully scripted as well. That just leaves Valerie’s path as far as writing goes and creator Jenny Gibbons is excited that Malcolm Pierce (co-writer of Crimson Spires) will be contributing to the script!
While big milestones have been crossed in the development of Serafina’s Saga: Awakened, it has been a lot of work to get there. Completing Jezu’s path involved not just a lot of blocking, but blocking action-heavy scenes. He is the General of the Royal Guard, after all. Many of these scenes have full voice acting, not just from Jezu, but fan-favorite Xavier Wolven as well. New music has also been composed for these action scenes.
As for Nikolaos’ path, the post-scripting work is well underway. The script has been converted into data tables and imported into the game. From there, a full scene list has been created and integrated with those data tables. This is the behind the scenes coding action that let’s the game know what to do based on the choices you make.
Speaking of choices, there have been tweaks to the game that allow you to customize your character when you play new character paths. You can change Serafina’s hair color and specify your current relationships with Arken and Belatrix. Serafina has a lot of fun hair color options!
From there it’s blocking, blocking, blocking to make Nikolaos’ scenes come to life. Nikolaos may not be as ready for action as Jezu, but he is quick to be sneaky. And I’m not going to spoil how he deals with these new fire effects… Anyway, as all of the script for Nikolaos’ path has been sent to the voice actors, the voiced lines are being edited into the blocked scenes as they arrive. Jenny is also looking for a new voice actress to give life to the leader of House Perin.
Arken’s voice actor, David Dixon, was recently interviewed by Woodsy Studio. The interview can be found with both text and audio options at the following links. Part 1 discusses David’s various roles at Woodsy Studios over the years, while Part 2 digs into other voice acting work in both video games and various animated series.
It’s all these parts coming together that bring Woodsy Studio’s latest game to you. Until next time, be on the lookout for new clips from Serafina’s Saga: Awakened every Thursday!
Greetings everyone! Welcome to the next development update for Serafina’s Saga: Awakened. However, prior to digging into the latest progress I would like to remind you that the demo is currently available on both Steam and itch.io The demo is a meaty morsel that offers about an hour of playtime taking your all the way through both the Prologue and Chapter One.
While the demo concludes at the end of Chapter One, the game is complete through the next few chapters leading to the point where your choice of paths will diverge into four choices. The status of each of those four paths is as follows: Reuben “Jeridar’s” path is complete. Jezu Grandil’s path is scripted and being converted into a playable story. Nikolaos Perin’s path is in the scripting stage while Valerie Sparkov’s path is in the planning stages.
While Reuben gets to kick back, relax, and focus his charms on anyone who calls him a bastard, Jezu has been going through some things since the last update. His path includes a Wolven on the prowl: Xavier, an assassin not unfamiliar to Castle Krondolee. This descendant of the god Belazar (more about the gods, or at least some of what I can reveal, to come in a future update!), is being brought to life in part by some excellent voice acting by Chris Heim which is currently being edited for Jezu’s path. Jezu is voiced by Jarvis Bailey, who has also sent a lot of great voiced dialogue for the scenes ahead.
As always, there are many parts to bringing a scene to life for you. In addition to editing the voice acting, a new room has been set up for this sequence to take place. While character portraits could simply appear on the screen, Serafina’s Saga: Awakened brings Darzia and Castle Krondolee to life as you guide Serafina through many different settings. Not only was a new room created for this particular Xavier scene this week, but the Perin hallway was set up for an upcoming scene. I wonder what Nikolaos’ family is up to on Jezu’s path?
Finally, last time I mentioned that if you are lucky we may just include a portion of a new Jezu and Serafina romance CG in this update. While we don’t want to show you the whole thing right now, it’s so much better to experience it as it happens in the story, here is a portion of what you will be able to discover as you play through Jezu’s path:
Until next time, I recommend trying out Reuben’s sleeveless look while it is still warm enough outside!
Greetings everyone! In the last few updates we’ve been talking about preparations for the SLICE expo and Woodsy Studio was proud to present there this past Saturday.
Before we get into that adventure though, work has also been continuing on Serafina’s Saga: Awakened!
Creating a game such as Serafina’s Saga: Awakened means dicing the various aspects into scrumptious bits and then figuring out the perfect combination to make a tasty stew, or moreso an exciting, intriguing adventure when you load up the game on your computer or elsewhere next year.
Jezu’s path is currently simmering on the stove as the spices are blended and sprinkled in to enhance just the right moments. I hope you like it spicy because the past couple of weeks have seen not just the drawing of a new Jezu CG, but also work on a new Jezu and Serafina romance CG! If your lucky we may just include a portion of that in the next Dev Update.
Nikolaos’ path has ingredients in various mixing bowls at the moment. This is where the planning and outlining of the path takes place. As parts of the recipe come together more and more pages of Nikolaos’ path are written each week. This will also provide direction for the visual and audio aspects so as to feed your senses in every way.
In other development, a long interview scene involving Kaifu has been blocked out. You might be asking, who is Kaifu? We haven’t revealed much about them just yet, but they are an angsty librarian descended from both the god of sorrow and the god of joy, eternally torn between the two. They are also voiced by a previous writer of Woodsy Studio, Malcolm Pierce!
Additionally, the process to submit Serafina’s Saga: Awakened to various publishers for consideration has begun.
Last but not least, Woodsy Studio had a great time at SLICE expo! We’d like to thank everyone who stopped by the Woodsy Studio booth to talk about the Studio’s games, check out the video montage of Serafina’s Saga: Awakened gameplay, and who took home new artwork for their walls. For those who could not make it to SLICE, this is the latest print debuted by Woodsy Studio:
The picture doesn’t do the iridescent foil of the print justice, but I know I cannot wait to get it into a frame! If you missed out on this print you can still see some of these characters in action by checking out the Serafina’s Saga: Awakened demo on Steam or itch.io Think of it as an appetizer for your full Serafina’s Saga: Awakened meal next year!
Greetings everyone! It has been a busy couple of weeks at Woodsy Studio as work continues on Serafina’s Saga: Awakened and preparations are made for SLICE expo.
Progress continues on writing pages of Nikolaos Perin’s story path. He is enthusiastic to have his story told, but is he someone who can truly live up to his promises?
Jezu Grandil’s story path is also coming together. With the writing of the path complete and voice acting received, scene blocking is the latest step in the process. The current focus is on interactions between Jezu and his older sister Belatrix Grandil. Belatrix is Commander of the Royal Guard at Castle Krondolee. Someone of Belatrix’ stature deserves an awesome pose and that is what we have to present this week, with assistance from Gene Kelly of Volcano Bean, a friend of Woodsy Studio:
Now that this new Belatrix art has been created, new expressions are being made to fit the pose. This latest Belatrix art is also being imported into Creature to be animated. The style of animated art seen in Serafina’s Saga: Awakened is new to Woodsy Studio’s games. If you haven’t already, I highly encourage you to check out the demo on Steam or itch.io so you can experience for yourself how cool the animated characters look!
The Jezu and Belatrix interactions are not the only scene currently being blocked out on Jezu’s path. Another voiced scene featuring Jezu has also been blocked out featuring an action-packed training sequence! I wonder who wins the most when Jezu and Serafina spar together? Speaking of action, code has been tweaked to fix attack animations for characters further from the camera. There are so many layers that go into creating the desired look and feel you’ll experience when playing through this story. Additionally, sound is just as important and a new song has been composed.
As mentioned above, time has also been spent getting ready for SLICE and I’m excited to show you the brand new postcards you can pick up at the Woodsy Studio’s booth:
The postcards feature a selection of favorite characters from Woodsy Studio’s biggest releases. I know I cannot wait to hold one in my hands! SLICE is just a week and a half away. As a reminder, SLICE will be held on Saturday October 14th from 10 am to 5 pm at The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108. We are excited to talk to you in person then!
Greetings everyone! Development continues for Serafina’s Saga: Awakened. If you are interested in romancing the General of the Royal Guard you will be eager to know that scripting of Jezu Grandil’s path was recently completed. This means it is time for more voice acting. Scripts for additional scene dialogue have been sent to the voice talent for Jezu, Kallias Jeridar, Xavier Wolven, Belatrix Grandil, and Arken. While awaiting the dialogue to come in, scripting has begun on the path of a character you’ve met in the demo, the playful–and perhaps deceiving–Nikolaos Perin.
In the Jezu romance path, you must help Jezu face the life choice he has made to serve King Kallias as a faithful General, never questioning orders. Should an oath be unconditional? What does it mean to be honorable? Help Jezu confront these difficult questions when you partner with him, and all while civil war erupts in Castle Krondolee.
Meanwhile, as mentioned in last week’s blog post, the Serafina’s Saga: Awakened Demo is available not only on Steam, but also itch.io. Itch focuses on independent digital creators and independent video games. In other words, developers such as Woodsy Studio! itch.io gives more control to game developers over how their content is sold, and more revenue from those sales generally goes back to the developers. Most Woodsy Studio games are available on itch.io.
Woodsy Studio occasionally steps outside the digital realm and next month we will be exhibiting at SLICE! Formerly the St. Louis Small Press Expo, SLICE stimulates the independent literary, small press, and indie publishing communities. We are excited to be showcasing Woodsy Studio’s latest visual novel, Serafina’s Saga: Awakened. You will have the chance to meet the creator, see choice sections of the demo, and take home some shiny art for your walls. Please join us for SLICE 2023 on October 14 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at The Sheldon, 3648 Washington Ave, St. Louis, MO 63108. While you are there you can also check out some of the other best independent literary talents from St. Louis and around the country. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Greetings everyone! A few weeks back, Woodsy Studio launched the Serafina’s Saga: Awakened Demo on Steam, and now it’s also available on itch.io. If you missed it earlier, now’s a good time to check it out!
The demo allows you to play through not only the Prologue, but also Chapter One. If you have already checked it out, and wish-listed or followed Serafina’s Saga: Awakened on Steam, thank you! If not, today’s post is a chance to go deeper into the content of the demo.
Versions of Serafina over the years
If you’ve seen the trailer and previous posts here you know that Serafina’s Saga: Awakened is a complete remake of the original Serafina’s Saga into a full otome-style visual novel. Everything is new from the writing, to the character designs and animation, voice acting, backgrounds and music. The demo is your first chance to see it all come together. Between the Prologue and Chapter One you can experience over an hour of all new gameplay. This includes enough choices to give you a feel for how your actions change your bonds with the characters.
The prologue introduces Serafina’s circumstances, a seemingly quiet life with her father (Arken), the forest she knows how to navigate like the back of her hand, and an elusive capybara. Leap through the foliage with Serafina, see what home life is like, and meet another human for the first time! You also have the chance to make the game’s first choice in this segment as you weigh how much to trust your father.
After the prologue, Chapter One takes Serafina out of the forest into a land where she only has her own intuition, and you, to guide her. Over 10 choices await you in this Chapter, including changes to Serafina’s hair color! While you will meet Belatrix Grandil, and you may catch some references to characters to come, the Chapter mainly serves as your introductions to Nikolaos Perin and Valerie Sparkov, representing two of your potential paths as the Serafina’s Saga awakens.
Can you determine which responses are the best for building your bonds with Nikolaos and Valerie? Will you choose caution, or throw caution to the wind? Should Serafina pursue either of them? Depending on how you respond to the choices in Chapter One you can find hints regarding alternate paths that may open up to you as the game progresses. If you make the right choices you can even be rewarded with one of the CGs included in the demo. Of course, that depends on who you think Serafina should trust.
Thank you for checking out the demo, and it would be greatly appreciated if you would wishlist and follow Serafina’s Saga: Awakened on Steam or itch.io. The full game is scheduled to be ready for you in March 2024. Until then keep an eye here and on social media for further updates on the game’s development and a deeper dive into the main cast.
Thank you so much to everyone who auditioned! It was a very hard decision because there were so many great auditions! The roles have been cast as follows:
Serafina’s Saga: Awakened is a complete remake of the original Serafina’s Saga, released first in 2013 then remastered in 2014. The new version is an otome-style visual novel made in UE4. The script will be mostly rewritten, the art entirely redrawn, and the music remixed. Intrigue, romance, and drama combine in a rich fantasy world with animated character sprites and lush 3D environments.
Young Serafina has spent her entire life alone in the jungle with only her guardian, a mysterious man named Arken, as company. When Arken is captured by a group of soldiers and carried away, Serafina must venture outside the forest to save him. On her journey to the heart of the kingdom, Serafina discovers a whole new world beyond the shadows of the jungle.
As Serafina, you will mingle with noble warriors and salacious nobles to infiltrate the royalty of Castle Krondolee and save Arken. But in the process, you will become entangled in a wide web of relationships, schemes, and beliefs that may set you on a different path than the one you began. Learn the dark truth of Arken’s past and thus Serafina’s. Decide whom to trust, fight, or love. Your choice will change the fate of the entire kingdom.
Serafina as she appears in Serafina’s Saga: Awakened
Expected Work and Payment
Payment will be $0.10 per scripted word, with a minimum of $0.25 per line (for instance, a very short line or sound instead of a word).
*Side Note This project is early in development. Please be aware that batches of scene dialogue might be requested in gradual stages, such as once every few months over the course of a year or longer as the game nears completion.
Rating/Maturity
This game will contain mild adult language, violence, and sexual themes. Romance lines might get a little racy. I expect it to get rated somewhere in the Teen category (but I can’t officially say yet for sure).
Audition Process
Please record the included audition lines for the roles that interest you and send them in either .wav or .mp3 format to jenny (at) woodsy-studio (dot) com. Please include your name and the character name in the files, such as “YourName_CharacterName.mp3”. Multiple takes and styles are highly encouraged so I have a good sense of your range. The last day to audition will be Sunday, April 3, 2022.
WHAT I LOOK FOR WHEN CASTING: When I cast voice actors, what I care about most is acting ability and emotional expression. This is more important to me than vocal range, accent, or other secondary details. Although I generally don’t judge your audition on a resume or past roles, I *am* impressed when voice actors to have theater experience, so feel free to mention that if you have it.
As for demonstrating your ability to act, try to fully embody the character your voicing and let their personality shine through every line. Major bonus points if you can somehow help me see the character in a new way I never even thought of before. Err on the side of feeding an audition line too much emotion rather than too little; I always know I can ask you to tone it down, but I don’t always know whether you can kick it up a notch (and do it well).
SIDE NOTE ABOUT ACCENTS: Due to this game’s setting of a diverse fantasy world, the accent of some characters can be whatever sounds best. Those characters will have the note “Accent: Optional.” You could do normal American, British, Australian… or whatever strikes your fancy as feeling good for that character. That said, please don’t be too sloppy or or extreme with using accents to the point it distracts; the focus should still be on the emotion of the character.
Some characters have had previous voice actors from the original animation. If so, it might be helpful for you to listen to the previous voice actors as a starting point. But don’t feel obligated to copy them exactly. I’m open to new interpretations of the characters if they’re good ones!
CHARACTERS!
Nikolaos Perin
Nikolaos Perin
(Male, Love Interest) Nikolaos is a playful spirit trapped in the harsh role of a Royal Scout in King Kallias’s army. He descends from the noble House Perin, so he’s obligated to some involvement in the royal complications of Castle Krondolee. But if he could, he’d actually spend his life as a theater actor, performing dramatic roles on stage! He’s compassionate and light-hearted by nature, but he has a slight dark side: in a conflict, he’ll take the easy way out to avoid more trouble, whether it’s running away or deceiving the people around him.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Playful, enthusiastic, but annoyed when people make his life more difficult AGE: 20s ACCENT: British or American (you can hear the original voice actor for Nikolaos here: https://youtu.be/ZMVwmMJrCbQ?t=706 but don’t feel like you have to copy it, just use it for inspiration)
***********Audition Lines************ Line 1: (playful, flirty) “Seems to me like you need to relax. Let’s get out of here. How about I give you a private tour of the castle?” Line 2: (flustered, angry)“Hey! Any more of that and I will break this thing, got it?” Line 3: (nervous, dodging) “Oh, that’s just servants’ gossip. I bet the story got passed around and exaggerated. You know how it is! *nervous laugh*”
Jezu Grandil
Jezu Grandil
(Male, Love Interest) Jezu Grandil is the General of the Royal Guard and he takes this role very seriously. His father died on duty when Jezu was very young. Jezu now wants to continue his family’s military tradition, but he wants to win and survive. This can lead to Jezu being cold, ruthless, and unforgiving on the outside. But underneath his harsh demeanor, he has a fragile heart that never wants to see his loved ones suffer.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Dignified, Proud, Often cold, but occasionally that cracks and he shows his soft/caring side AGE: Late 20s ACCENT: Optional
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (cold, haughty) “Becoming a member of the Royal Guard is no simple matter. But you’re free to try, as freely as you might fail.” Line 2: (angry, threatening) “You are not ready for this, fool. Make a single misstep and I’ll smear you through the dirt.” Line 3: (guilty, upset) “I made a mistake. I never should have put you in that position. I deserve… to be punished.”
Kallias Jeridar
Kallias Jeridar
(Male/Gender-Fluid) Made King of Darzia at a young age, Kallias always intended to do what was best for the kingdom. But his idea of “what’s best” is flooding the kingdom with gold at the expense of everything else: including food, shelter, and all the things one would usually spend gold to obtain. Kallias descends from Mallion, the god of greed, and his personal greed for gold is insatiable. So he remains blind to his country’s starvation while he tirelessly works to acquire more gold.
Beyond his greed and kingly pride, Kallias still possesses a child-like personality that never quite grew up. He’s quick to throw a tantrum or chase after a promising prize. He can be playful, friendly, and humorous–when he’s not busy starving the country.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Spoiled, Playful, Greedy AGE: 20s ACCENT: British (you can hear the original voice actor for Kallias here: https://youtu.be/ZMVwmMJrCbQ?t=884 but don’t feel like you have to copy it, just use it for inspiration)
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (flustered) “No, no, no! I’ve counted each one of them several times now. And every time, I come up with a different number!” Line 2: (joyful, excited) “Well well well! Isn’t this a surprise! Show me what you can do! How about one of those Wolven dance… thingies.” Line 3: (flippant sadness, disdain) “Too bad for the Elborns, divine magic was not enough to save their lives.”
Xavier Wolven
Xavier Wolven
(Male) Descended from Belazar, god of anger and death, Xavier is a devoted Wolven assassin. His passion is to kill and he’s very damn good at it. He’s not exactly the type of person you invite to a party–unless you want someone dead.
Xavier is not always just a hired hand, of course. He has his own needs, desires, and grievances. Right now, his desire is to kill Arken Jeridar. He thinks Arken destroyed the best chance of love he ever had with a woman named Vivian Trell. That was 18 years ago… but Xavier’s not the type to let go of a grudge.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Dangerous, discerning, Cold and callous until sparked to anger AGE: Unknown, appears to be in 40s/50s ACCENT: Optional
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (Cold, threatening) “Do you know who I am? I could slit your throat right now and no one would challenge me.” Line 2: (annoyed, then uncertain/interested) “I don’t want tea. I want you to leave me alone until–… is that ginseng?” Line 3: (angry, hurt, passionate) “It has to do with EVERYTHING! You miserable pondscum. You seduced her. You won her affection. You made her believe you cared about more than the key. You LIED.”
Belatrix Grandil
Belatrix Grandil
(Female, Possible Love Interest) Belatrix is the Commander of the Royal Guard and she’s good at her job. Like her younger brother Jezu, she takes her role seriously and works to maintain the noble military traditions of House Grandil. Unlike Jezu, however, she harbors some doubts about the current structure of Castle Krondolee. She is a personal friend of King Kallias, but as such, she also questions his ability to rule the country. Most of the time, she keeps her doubts silent, and leads the army ruthlessly under Kallias’s supervision. But if she sees a chance to change the world for the better, she might take it.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Strong, proud, ruthless AGE: Late 20s/early 30s ACCENT: Optional (you can hear the original voice actor for Belatrix here: https://youtu.be/ZMVwmMJrCbQ?t=945 but don’t feel like you have to copy it, just use it for inspiration)
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (cold, ruthless) “The Grand Traitor is the scum of this planet. He has no honor. No loyalty. No principles. He cannot be ‘talked’ to. The truth must be wrested out of him, but carefully, like pulling the heart from an animal before it stops beating.” Line 2: (Uncertain, In Denial) “That can’t be true. The queen’s daughter did not survive. I only took up this search to prove that.” Line 3: (angry, taunting) “COWARD! You would spy on us from the shadows, then flee when you fail to hide yourself?”
Valerie Sparkov
Valerie Sparkov
(Female, Romance Interest) Valerie is a farmer living on the outskirts of Darzia–in more ways than one. She is a free spirit who has never “fit in” anywhere, so she often keeps to herself and dances to her own tune. After meeting Serafina, she’s drawn to follow her to Castle Krondolee and embark upon a new adventure with her. But Valerie has no set agenda of her own. If anything, she just likes to throw chaos upon the rigid nobility and see what happens next.
OVERALL PERSONALITY: Mischievous, Cheerful, Playful, maybe a little crazy AGE: 20s ACCENT: Optional
***********Audition Lines************
Line 1: (happy, flirty) “I’m happy I met you, jungle princess. I like a little danger in my life.” Line 2:(uncertain, whimsical) “And what will I get in return? Can you give me joy? Can you give me sustenance, for my body or soul?” Line 3: (annoyed, mischievous) “This castle is a hornet’s nest. But I’ve dealt with those before. I think it’s time you and I did some swatting.”
Instructions (Refrain)
Once again, 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. The last day to audition will be Sunday, April 3, 2022.
You can now pursue romance, mystery, and vampires in the cursed town of Bataille on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch! Thanks to EastAsiaSoft, today we release on all major consoles with a new story branch (also available on PC).
The new and final story branch of Crimson Spires unlocks as New Game + after all four major romance paths are completed. It allows you to explore a new version of events in which Bradley Jones survives the Contingency and becomes the town Sheriff. Combine all the clues you have gathered thus far and embrace all the relationships you have nurtured along the way to make a final decision about the town of Bataille.
I wrote the last path of the story while processing my own strong emotions regarding love, heartache, and pandemic stress. I am proud to release it now as the final chapter of the Bataille journey.
Many thanks to everyone who has made today’s release possible: to Joshua French, Nils NGai, and all the folks at EastAsiaSoft for believing in this game and porting it to consoles. Thanks to Christian Allen at UE4 for moral support and initiating UE4 updates that greatly helped our development process. Thanks to every single one of the voice actors in this game; you all helped inspire me to keep going; you are all incredible and I am so honored to have worked with you. Thanks to my wonderful partners, friends, and family members who have supported this creation every step of the way. And finally, thanks to all of you wonderful fans who enjoy my work and enable its creation with your support!
The time has come to drop our big Crimson Spires announcement! We’ve teamed up with EastAsiaSoft to release Crimson Spires on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Xbox One–coming soon!
The new release of the game will feature a whole new fifth story path that unlocks after completing the four main romances, called New Game Plus. This content will also become available on PC at the same time it releases for consoles.
In the New Game Plus, you can experience an alternative version of events in which Erika saves Bradley Jones from death and he becomes the town Sheriff.
Obviously, I don’t want to tell you too much about the new content, so it can be a surprise! But I will say that involves a romance with Jones, polyamory, new revelations about Bataille, and what we feel is a solid ending for the game based on player choice.
