#rpg horror

May’s Featured Game: TRÄUMEREI

DEVELOPER(S): Veynn
ENGINE: RPGMaker VX Ace  
GENRE: Horror, Exploration
WARNINGS:  Suicide
SUMMARY: One day, a young boy wanders into the woods with only the twisted, mangled remnants of dreary branches obscuring the bleak horizon. As the sun starts to set beneath ruby-red clouds, the boy, Noël, happens upon a desolate cross-bridge atop a river of blood. Upon crossing over it, he finds himself standing by a gate wrought from stone.
Confronted by the fantasies his beloved grandmother read to him as a child, the boy finds himself lost in a dark ‘Wonderland.’ However, all is not that it seems.
While exploring, Noël must gather the memories of those forsaken souls who roam lest their hearts shatter.

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! 
*Hiya everyone! I’m Veynn; the developer of Träumerei and Kinderszenen. I’ve been in the RPG Maker fandom for about two years now. I absolutely love the horror genre and wanted to try creating something immersive!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially?
*Veynn: Essentially, Träumerei is a horror game with dark fairytale elements that starts off with the protagonist, Noël, 'wandering’ off into the woods one dreary day. In-order to save himself, he must continues to explore the twisted world he stumbles upon….
I was inspired to create my game after my dreams and nightmares. I thought they were interesting so I felt like putting them to paper. Also, when I first started working on this game I wanted it to be much shorter and have a creepy, whimsical 'woodland’ atmosphere like that of Little Red Riding Hood. Though in the end it wound up much differently.

How long have you been working on your project?
*Veynn: I started working on this project around June 2015, but after the demo I ended up revamping everything. So, all-in-all I’ve been working on this for about a year and a half.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project?
*Veynn: Yes; I was influenced by Little Red Riding Hood, folklores, and myths in terms of atmosphere!

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them?  
*Veynn: Progress has been going quite swell but I’d say my biggest challenges occurred right when I first started working on this project. Since I was new to RPG Maker it took me a bit of time to figure out how to use it and exactly what style I should use. I kept switching between pixel-based art and alternative styles before settling on a 'painted’ 2D sidescroller.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept?
*Veynn: Minus the style change, not much has changed over time. Though, I’d say it was originally going to be slightly shorter and less detailed in terms of character backstory.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team?
*Veynn: I’ve always been the only developer of the game, but I recruited voice actors for the primary characters.

What was the best part of developing the game?
*Veynn: Could I say…everything? Hahahaha, it’s been such a fun experience. But if I had to choose I’d say I enjoy character and background designing the most!

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently?
*Veynn: I regret making the demo so short, but as it’s not actually 'canon’ I don’t find this to be too big a problem. If anything, I wish I had settled on a particular style much sooner–there are a lot of old maps that I did like but I can’t quite use them in the game anymore due to the conflicting art styles.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is?
*Veynn: As for this game and its characters, I most likely will not do anything with them as I feel there would be no necessity. However, I am working on a small side game that take place in the same universe.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release?
*Veynn: I look forward on hopefully bettering my other projects after garnering experience from working on this one!

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? 
*Veynn: Not really, no.

Question from last month’s featured dev: At what point in development do you start making the game? Do you write out the story/dialogue/events in its entirety before programming? Or do you just have general concepts planned and flesh things out as you go along?
*Veynn: I actually did write a very, very basic outline for a 90 chapter webcomic months before I decided to make Träumerei a game project. So, I’d say I started development a few months after drafting the first basic plot synopsis. After that, I started to work on both dialogue and eventing before saving programming for last.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs?
*Veynn: Make sure to plan ahead, but more importantly, have fun! If you want to make anything, go for it! Do whatever makes you happy. And, even if things may seem daunting at first it does get the easier as more time goes on. Don’t be afraid to ask for advice and help or to work alone or with a team–in the end just rely on your judgement and feelings.
It really does seem difficult at first, but it’s absolutely well worth it to try. All you need is patience and enthusiasm!

We mods would like to thank Veynn for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved! 

Remember to check out TRÄUMEREI if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum 

February’s Featured Game: Aria’s Story

DEVELOPER(S): Lydia
ENGINE: RPGMaker VX Ace  
GENRE: Horror, Puzzle, Exploration
WARNINGS:  Blood, minor jumpscares
SUMMARY: Aria is a bookworm who loves adventure stories and always spends her free time in the library. One day she falls asleep while reading a book and when she wakes up the library is closed. Believing that they forgot to wake her up, she tries to find a way out… In that moment she becomes the protagonist of her own story.

Our Interview With The Dev Team Below The Cut!

Introduce yourself! 
*Hi! I’m Lydia, the developer and artist of Aria’s Story. This is my first time developing a game but I’ve been in the RPG Maker fandom for almost 4 years!

What is your project about? What inspired you to create your game initially?
*Lydia: Aria’s Story is a horror game about the adventures of a girl trapped in a library. She will interact with many books while trying to find a way out! One of the main characteristics of the game is the contrast between cute and creepy.

How long have you been working on your project?
*Lydia: Almost 2 years, I started working on this game on March 2015.

Did any other games or media influence aspects of your project?
*Lydia: Basically other horror games like Ib, The Witch’s House and Dreaming Mary. Also, many tales and books influenced maps of the game. Madoka Magica and Harry Potter also influenced some aspects of the game!

Have you come across any challenges during development? How have you overcome or worked around them?  
*Lydia: I think the biggest challenge was the beginning. I didn’t know how to use RPG Maker so I spent a whole month trying to learn how to use it! Sometimes it was a bit frustrating because some events didn’t work how I wanted.

Have any aspects of your project changed over time? How does your current project differ from your initial concept?
*Lydia: It doesn’t differ much from the initial concept, I always wanted this to be a game about a girl trapped in a library. I think the biggest change was the true ending of the game, but this happened before the game was announced.

What was your team like at the beginning? How did people join the team?
*Lydia: It was just me and two friends (Kali and MerúM) that helped me with character designs and sprites. Before the release of the demo I recruited the voice actors (Rindre, HonorPress, Adox) and the composer (Adam). Rindre, Aria’s voice actress, also made the english translation of the demo!

What was the best part of developing the game?
*Lydia: Programming cutscenes and making maps! I love when I see what I had in mind turned into a part of the game and the characters interact with each other, I feel like all the effort was worth it. Also, another important part of developing a game is that it allowed me to meet wonderful people!

Looking back now, is there anything that regret/wish you had done differently?
*Lydia: When I was planning the game I decided that different actions and decisions would affect the ending the player would receive.

Once you finish your project, do you plan to explore game’s universe and characters further in subsequent projects, or leave it as-is?
*This game doesn’t need a sequel or a prequel. If I decide to make another game, it will be something new.

What do you look most forward to upon/after release?
*Lydia: I hope people who aren’t very interested in books will find them more appealing after playing the game!

Is there something you’re afraid of concerning the development or the release of your game? 
*Yes! I hope the game doesn’t have bugs when I release it, or at least not a bug that will crash the game or something like that.

Question from last month’s featured dev: Is there anything you’ve added to your game for no other reason than because you’re hoping fans will get a kick out of it?
*Lydia: Yes, the game has a lot of jokes and interesting dialogues related to books that I hope the players will enjoy! I thought about making references to other games when the player interacts with some bookshelves, but I decided to discard the idea.

Do you have any advice for upcoming devs?
*Lydia: Just do it, don’t be afraid!

We mods would like to thank Lydia for agreeing to our interview! We believe that featuring the developer and their creative process is just as important as featuring the final product. Hopefully this Q&A segment has been an entertaining and insightful experience for everyone involved! 

Remember to check out Aria’s Story if you haven’t already! See you next month! 

- Mods Gold & Platinum 

It’s been a while since my last update post! So here’s a screenshot of a wip map that I’ve been working on. It might seem familiar for those that follow me on twitter, since I tend to post there more frequently.

But for this map, there isn’t much to say other than this area has a character who I enjoy writing for >:D.
Well I find them neat….

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

✦SYNOPSIS✦

Chris Winter, find himself alone and lost in a black void filled with nothing but coldness. The only warmth you feel comes from your breath. In this void the young boy sees a door filled with light, trying to reach the door only leads to the boy to fall deep into a world filled with nothing but nonsense.

Only when you find the key, then you’ll be able to leave.

✦DOWNLOAD DEMO HERE✦
(Itch.io)|(RMN)|(GameJolt)

✦ADDITIONAL INFO✦

This is only the demo of Verloren, which takes place in the intro of the game. The full game is still in development, because of this the demo shouldn’t be viewed as the final product. Things such as graphics, music, and/or scenes change from now to the full release may change.

Special Thanks To:
@zmakesgames​
@meaka​
For testing the demo.

✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦

Museum selfie!! 

Aria with bunnies in her pockets!

A smol fanart for @ariastory-project^o^

The Shape of Water (2017) dir. Guillermo del Toro

Did a quick fanart of .flow lol