Hey, all. It’s been a while. I blame it all on school getting the best of me. If the wait for new content was killing you, then you should follow me on Twitter so you’ll know when posts are done the moment they’re up. Or, you can use it to recommend games to me, to get in touch, or anything else that you may want.
We’re over halfway through March, which means we’re over halfway through NaNoRenO. Don’t try to guess what the name stands for. Its name is a cutesy take on the abbrievation for National Novel Wrting Month – NaNoWriMo. Game creators are challenged to create and finish a project during the month of March. To quote Lemmasoft Forums, “[it] ends when April begins.”
There aren’t any hardset rules, which is what makes NaNoReNo so fun. People are allowed to revise their projects after they’re released, if they wish. You’re even allowed to release the project later on if you don’t finish on time (it’s just not a NaNoReNo project anymore). The only prize that people can “win” is the joy of finishing their project. Even if you don’t make it across the finish line in time, you’ve still won for trying, and making progress on whatever you set out to do.
You’re in charge of your own victory conditions. Think about that. Anyone can join. Even you, who’s reading this right now. April’s right around the corner, but, hey.
This year, there are at least 40 NaNoReNo contenders, not including the ones that haven’t been announced. Will they all make it to completion? Maybe, maybe not. I’ll play however many of them that do make it in time. Since I’m a crazy person, I’ve decided to write a short blurb on every game that we *might* expect to see at the end of the month. If you manage to read this entire post, you deserve a cookie!
Again, if any of these projects don’t make it, it doesn’t mean anything bad about the creators themselves. Like I mentioned before, when it comes to NaNoReNo, they’re the ones who are ultimately in control of their own victory conditions. This post is going to be huge. I apologize in advance for only naming the poster of the thread him or herself, rather than the entire team (save for three studios) – proper credits will be given upon the games’ releases if/when they’re reviewed.
Without further ado, the 40 that have been officially announced with their own threads here on LSF…
Esc. is a visual novel by Ginger, about a freelance programmer who returns – horribly unwelcomed – to her traditional hometown after her childhood friend kills herself.
Unusefull Bystanders is a departure from your usual anime-inspired visual novel by gas, and is full ofzany artwork that’s guaranteed to make you laugh or cry.
mugenjohncel is making a short visual novel on educating people about the positive aspects of marijuana and why it doesn’t deserve its bad reputation called MARIJUANA – The Truth.
Kuroko no Basuke is a Kuroko’s Basket fangame being made by v3-kei, which will be a yaoi (BxB) game with one straight (BxG) pairing that revolves around basketball in a highschool setting.
Tell Her a Story! is a visual novel by kaleidofish about a guy who has to distract his girlfriend with his meager art skills, to keep her from leaving a restaurant before his friend brings him the ring he needs in order to propose to her.
SusanTheCat is creating a stat-raising game with a Pokemon-inspired battle system, called Kitten Crusade, where your goal is to control all of the kitty territories in your neighborhood.
The Forgetful Kiwi will be a collection of short visual novel stories by Cidz, about a kiwi appropriately named Kiwi whose forgetfulness sometimes gets him in trouble, his playful best friend Pingu, and the rest of Kiwi’s friends and family.
Shadow on the Bridge is a slice of life tale by Maelstrom-Fenrir, about the chance meeting between a guy and a girl on a bridge.
Pyonkotchi is making a fantasy-themed visual novel called Black Feathers about Cassandra Winlan, the princess of Aeronia, who unexpectedly grows black wings, revealing that she’s part demon and turning her into a hated target because of her demon blood.
Night Line is a visual novel by sorani, about a shapeshifer sent to Earth to ensure that the connection between Earth and the Night Line – a city of monsters and other mythical creatures – won’t be severed.
Twin Faces is a project by Lumen_Astrum, about a former Sergeant’s struggle to not only face the past she’s tried so hard to walk away from, but also having to face the split personality claiming to be her sister within her.
My Angsty Classmates Can’t Be This Tsun is a comedic visual novel by Shadow, about a girl and her class full of angsty badass boys, and the possibility that she’ll date one of them before she graduates at the end of the year.
Awakened with a Crimson Kiss is a yuri (GxG) visual novel by vociferocity about a human girl caught up in the middle of a stand-off between a tall, protective vampire hunter, and two beautiful vampires of the non-sparkly variety – one sweet, and the other wicked.
KomiTsuku is working on Pet Tails, a collection of comedic short stories revolving around Mark and the three unruly animals (an absent-minded koi fish, a destructive hawk, and a clumsy cat) he has to watch for his uncle.
Chronicles of a Timetraveler’s Wars: The Beginning is the the first part to a science fiction story by SvenTheViking, about a soldier who uses her time traveling power to take part in a war against extra-dimensional abominations.
Curse of the Caribbean is a super natural GxB visual novel by Morishita, about a girl named Desirea who wants to uncover the rumors that say that her grandmother’s village’s festival isn’t just about fun and games – it’s meant to distract everyone from thinking about the village’s mysterious curse.
Freezing is a visual novel by GeneDNC, with its first chapter planned for NaNoReNo, and is about a man whose normally ordinary decision on what to drink causes him to be dragged down an unexpected path that flips his world upside down.
Operation Magic Hero is a visual novel by Kokoro Hane about a plain girl named Chiharu who discovers Operation Magic Hero, an organization that gives her the ability to transform herself into a magical girl to take down bad guys at night.
sake-bento (of sakevisual) is creating a demo for Swan’s Melody, a story that’s supposedly about a group of four adorable friends (I’m expecting to be trolled somehow).
Toribi: Prelude is a visual novel by Capsy about Hum and Maria, two friends that have been together since birth who will be seperated in seven days when Hum packs up to go to a rural boarding school, away from the city that they grew up in.
Cheerful!Polymorph is a comedic fantasy visual novel by Mink, about a girl who’s cursed by a bitch to become a weremongoose, and goes to collect on her witch’s curse insurance policy only to be told that there’s nothing to pay her with.
Out of the Darkness is a science fiction visual novel by DarkSpartan, about a man who picks up a strange message – “Houston, we’ve had a problem” – on his comm unit, and decides to investigate the mystery behind those words.
Hidden in Spring is a yuri (GxG) visual novel by silenteve about a group of friends over spring break, and all of their secrets that threaten their friendships.
HigurashiKira is making Automaton: Memories of a Broken Girl, a GxB visual novel about an amnesiac girl recently released from a mental hospital, and her decision on whether to seek out her forgotten memories, or to just move forward with her life.
Shadowborn is a super natural horror visual novel by MiSi, about a normal guy with a relatively normal life, until he and his girlfriend’s quiet son becomes strange, sending him off on an occult adventure to unravel the truth behind his son’s behavior and his girlfriend’s obsessions.
azureXtwilight is working on the second episode of her ReSet series, ReSet Ep 2: Under the Golden Sun, about a pair of supernatural detectives who track down and capture demons – in this episode, they take shelter from a storm in a manor, where it becomes obvious that there’s something more to the mansion and its inhabitants than it seems.
Letters for You is a visual novel by Patty, about a mailman and a girl who stubbornly doesn’t wantto accept any of his deliveries.
…Wait, What Did I Just Read? is an experiment by Funnyguts, where anyone (yes, you can do it) can illustrate six 800×600 pictures for her short tale, based on your interpretation, to clear up its vagueness.
Nanolife is a visual novel by Anna about an AI stuck in his MMORPG without a player to control him.
Onigami is a mystery otome (GxB) game by Kitten the Cat, about a girl investigating her father’s disappearance from the Onigami House.
Anago Love! is a GxB visual novel by Aurehan, about a girl attending a fashion school in Japan, her obsession with anagos (eels), and the three boys that she can potentially date.
Sleepless Night is a short horror visual novel by NoJoker, about a person trapped in their room – full volume recommended for the ultimate scare.
Troubleshooter Tales – Lemming Check is a science fiction visual novel by DarkSpartan, and is part of a series; it’s about an investigation into a politician’s mysterious suicide.
CheeryMoya is making My Beautiful AI, a science fiction visual novel where you’re Zachary Wright, a lead researcher studying Artifical Intelligence, and with help from an AI you created, your choices will determine where your study leads.
The Knife of the Traitor is a comedy visual novel by clua, about Lady Os, who awakens after a four year sleep with a knife in her throat that keeps her from speaking – with help from her servant Corvus, she will explore the tower she’s trapped in and figure out who stabbed her.
Nellie is creating Spiral Destiny, a visual novel about a group of people trying to survive after an earthquake and a tsunami hit Thailand.
Ah! Peku is an adventure-style visual novel by NickelBuckle9, about an egg that falls from the moon and hatches – you’ll have to help it become strong enough to fly back to its home.
Ristorante Amore is a visual novel by Cyanide Tea, about a recent college graduate who starts working at her uncle’s restaurant – could she find love or something else?
Virus is a sci-fi/romance visual novel by Chushiki Maho, about a girl who has to deal with boyfriend drama, her beloved computer crashing, and her childhood friend confessing his feelings for her.
And, finally… we have Juniper’s Knot, a visual novel by dischan, a story told from two perspectives, “that of a demon and a boy.”
So! We’ll see how many of those projects make it by the end of the month. I wish everyone – announced or not (the unannounced ones might be killers) – the best of luck in finishing their projects. There’s a strong showing of visual novels this year, and it would be great to see at least half of them finished and posted.