Tag Archives: otome

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2021: Love, Loss, and Polyamory

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Greetings everyone! Now that a few months have passed since the release of Crimson Spires, I thought it was time to let you all know what was going on over at Woodsy Studio.

I still have some big news about Crimson Spires in store, but alas, I can’t share that just yet! All I can say is that some big developments on the game are coming, and I hope you will love them!

What I can offer is a somewhat more personal reflection of what has been going on at Woodsy Studio over the last year and what I have planned going forward.

First of all, you might notice that I’m saying “I” more often than “we.” This is because my co-creator, Malcolm Pierce, has decided to focus on other work outside of Woodsy Studio for the indefinite future. Without a doubt, he will continue to advise on the story and game design, because we are still life partners and love to collaborate. But he will probably not lead the writing of any more Woodsy Studio games as he did with the Echoes of the Fey series and miraclr: Divine Dating Sim. I will miss his brilliant flare for humor and world lore, but I am also excited to see what we each go on to make independently.

Meanwhile in the realm of non-business partnerships, the two of us have also embraced polyamory. It is something we were curious about for a long time, then made a reality over the last couple of years. Through that process, we’ve survived some of the most challenging but also most rewarding moments in our relationship yet. We experienced a harrowing breakup but also found a new partner we want to spend our lives with.

I feel this is important to mention as a writer of romance stories, because it wasn’t until I actually experienced polyamory that I realized how horribly that lifestyle is represented (if at all) across popular media. When my partners and I sit down to watch something together, we wince at the barrage of Hollywood romances that fall apart due to jealousy and cheating. We are constantly hammered by the idea that caring about more than one person romantically is bad. And frankly, it’s painful. It’s offensive. It’s sad.

As a storyteller, I want to continue to explore a wide range of dramatic possibilities, but I especially want to better represent ethical non-monogamy moving forward. My next project will revolve around a quad, a polyamorous relationship between four people. It will also have intrigue, spaceships, betrayal, heists, telepathic aliens… but I get ahead of myself. (The header art of this article is my first pass at the main character. What do you think?)

You may not hear a lot from me over the next few months, but I assure you I’m still working hard to get better at my craft and bring you top-notch romances. Between projects, I’ve been taking some art classes to continue honing my skills. Thanks to all of you for your support, feedback, and for sharing this journey with me. I hope you will love the next story I’m weaving!

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Crimson Spires Now Released!

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Just in time for Halloween week, Crimson Spires is now released on Steam and Itch with a launch discount of 10% off!

Get it on Steam

Get it on Itch

This otome-style visual novel blends eeriness and romance into an epic drama. A ring of deadly towers traps you in the small mining town of Bataille, Missouri with extreme conspiracy theorists, a serial killer, and wealthy vampires. Choose your partner wisely. 

Will you choose Julian: the older Bataille brother who aims to rule the town with mysterious powers? Maddy: a strong-willed woman eager to overthrow the oppressive authorities? Liam: the adopted, cheerful misfit of the rich Bataille family? Or August: a charming philosophy professor who might also be a serial killer? Each character branch reveals unique secrets about Bataille and a chance to find love.

Features:

  • Unlock four distinct romances and story paths in an epic script totalling 250,000+ words
  • Hear select scenes with a rich cast of English voice actors
  • Embrace your nostalgia for early horror games with an eerie, retro 3D environment
  • Explore select 3D interiors
  • Listen to a lengthy, dynamic soundtrack by developer and composer Jenny Gibbons
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Announcing Our Next Game — Crimson Spires

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The small town of Bataille, Missouri has been through a lot. First the lead mine closed. The owners of the mine moved their money elsewhere. Everything fell into sharp decline.

And then the towers rose.

Bataille had always been a bit isolated, but now… Now they are truly trapped. No way in. No way out. No idea what is happening on the other side. Planes don’t fly over Bataille any more. The radio is nothing but fuzz; the television is nothing but static. The Bataille family–the former owners of the mine and the namesakes of the town-say the towers are there to protect the people. They don’t say from what. And what on the other side could possibly be worse than the Bataille family themselves? 

Very little. Because the Bataille family are vampires.

We at Woodsy Studio are very excited to announce our next project, Crimson Spires, which we hope to release for PC in 2019. Crimson Spires is a mix between an otome-style visual novel and an adventure horror game, developed in a style intended to evoke the eerie simplicity of early 3D games. That’s a lot to try and reconcile, so it’s probably better to introduce the game through its story.

Six months after the rise of the Contingency Towers, the town of Bataille is broken. Dozens have died trying to escape and it is clear there is no way out. The town’s sheriff, Erika Wright, may be the most broken of them all. A former FBI agent from the city, she was trapped in Bataille after chasing a serial killer across its border moments before the rise of the towers. Now she spends her days patrolling the border, looking for any new corpses of townspeople who tried to cross.

When two people go missing–legitimately missing–from a town with no escape, Erika Wright will have to team up with one of four potential love interests to investigate, find the truth, and confront (or join) the vampire family that controls the town.  As for what happens along the way, well, one of the themes we’re looking to explore is the inevitability of mystery. Things have changed in Bataille. Maybe things have changed even more outside of Bataille. You won’t be able to solve every mystery of the strange new world, but maybe you can find a place in it.

Crimson Spires will play differently from our earlier visual novels. First off, after our good experience with miraclr: Divine Dating Sim, we’re structuring our story in a style similar to many Otome games. Rather than a single storyline with small-to-medium branches based on several choices, Crimson Spires will feature a separate storyline for each potential romance/investigation partners. Each story branch will cover (approximately) the final third of the game and will be entirely distinct from all the others.

Exploration will be different, too. Instead of a side-scrolling approximation of the environment, Crimson Spires will feature a fully-explorable 3d world. Small side quests and details about the entrapped town will be sprinkled around Bataille. There will also be a handful of interiors to explore, as well.

If you’re interested in checking out a (very early) demo of Crimson Spires, we plan on showing it off publicly for the first time at PixelPop here in St. Louis THIS WEEKEND. We’ll also have The Last Sacrament there as well, so if you’re in the area you should definitely check it out. If you’re not, make sure to follow us on twitter for updates about Crimson Spires.

PRESS KIT

 

 

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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

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miraclr: Divine Dating Sim Out NOW

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Available FREE for mobile devices!

Download from App Store  Download miraclr on Google Play  miraclr Available at Amazon

What is miraclr?

miraclr is a comedic workplace romance starring the biblical (and apocryphal) archangels, told  in a mobile office collaboration app.

Play as a human recruited to assist the archangels of heaven with the creation and implementation of the first true miracle in over 400 years. Because you can’t visit them in their office, you are  given access to miraclr, an app used by the Archangels for intra-office messaging. It looks a little like Slack, with similarly structured channels and PMs.

After you start miraclr, you can choose preferences for morning, midday, and evening meetings with the angels. From then on, miraclr will unfold (mostly) in real-time, whether or not you have the game open. Your co-workers (the Archangels) will talk among themselves, ask for your input, and private message you for both work and personal reasons. Your timely responses (or lack thereof) will affect how the story unfolds and romantic relationships.

Read the story behind miraclr‘s creation

Available FREE for mobile devices!

Download from App Store  Download miraclr on Google Play  miraclr Available at Amazon