See you at AnimeFest 2014!

Hey gang, AnimeFest is next week, and we’re excited to see all of you! You can swing by to say hi to us any time at our table in the dealer’s room (hidden in the back, so think of it as a fun treasure hunt!). We’ll have all our Jisei games for sale along with free postcards and a demo of Backstage Pass on display. We’ve also got a panel on making visual novels, and we’d love to see you there!

Friday 8/15 - 5:00pm - Panel Room 6
Visual novels have long been a popular medium in Japan, and in the past few years they’ve been gaining popularity in the west. But did you know that you too can make your own visual novel? Join Ayu Sakata and sakevisual as we go over the process of making your own visual novel. We’ll talk everything from planning, to tools of the trade, and releasing your final masterpiece. There will be free stuff!

Conventions 2013

It's that time of the year, kids! Summer is drawing to a close, and sakevisual is about to make one last convention run. Here's our schedule for the rest of the year:

MatsuriCon - August 23-25, Columbus, OH
Head writer Ayu Sakata and voice actor Micah Solusod (voice of Naoki Mizutani and Adam Eaton) are both official guests of the con. The schedule isn't up yet, but look out for Q&A sessions with each of them as well as a "Making Visual Novels" panel run by Ayu. We will have a table in the dealer's room if you want to come by and buy cool stuff or get anything signed.


AnimeFest - August 30-September 2, Dallas, TX
We will have table in the dealer's room again this year, so please look for us. Several EVN creators will be hanging out at AnimeFest as well, so if you've wanted to meet someone, there's a good chance you'll see them at this con. Deji, the lead artist for Ripples and the Jisei games will be putting in a rare appearance (flying all the way in from Chile). If you have anything you've bought in the past that you want signed by her, be sure to bring it! Our "Making Visual Novels" panel will run on Sunday at 4:00pm. Check the program book for details. On top of that, PyTom (creator of Ren'py) will be leading a Ren'py workshop in the computer lab, so this is the perfect time for anyone who wants to make a VN to come by and get started!


M.A.I. - September 14-15, Oxford, MS
Hey, Mississippi! Looks like you've got a new con, and we're honored to be a part of it. Micah and Ayu will be guests here as well, with a table for you guys to stop by at to get sakevisual games or just chat. No panel information yet, but we'll keep you updated.

Con Report (x3) + Yousei Update

Hey, everyone! I'm still alive! (Surprise.) Just finished San Japan, MatsuriCon, and AnimeFest, and I am tired. Had a great time, but maaan, that's a lot of dancing. XD I didn't get to run a panel at San Japan this year (going was a sort of a last minute thing), but we sold out of Jisei and Kansei. : D It's my first time selling out of games at a convention. *_* Many thanks to those who came by to buy or just chat with me.

MatsuriCon was my first time selling in Ohio, so that was an adventure unto itself. It was also my first time as a guest at a con, and I just want to thank everyone at Matsuri for being so nice to such an unknown. ^_^;; Shared a table with Painapple Teriyaki, and sold comics alongside games. Thanks to everyone who donated to the charity squirrel (long story) at the table. We raised $130 for the World Food Program. ^o^

Also ran into the first Li Mei cosplayer I've seen at Matsuricon. Almost screamed like a little child when I saw her, which was bad, because I was sitting in someone else's panel when it happened. >_> I'm still really, really excited - especially since she did my favorite outfit from the Jisei series.

And just got back from the four-day con that is AnimeFest. Wound up hosting some extra VN panels with Sayuri Studios and Matt from L33t Str33t Boys, where we had a sort of round table discussion about how visual novels are developing in the west, the state of the market, and general differences between EVNs and JVNs. It was a lot of fun, and I'm considering adding a similar panel to our regular set if people are interested.

Aaaaand a Yousei update for all you brilliant, patient readers. I think I've been saying this for a while, but we ARE nearing the end. Yousei will be longer than Kansei and Jisei combined, so it's taken a lot longer for me to write it. We've also added some other neat things (like an in-game hint system and unlockable glasses for Li Mei and Gurski) and some updates to the exploration system, which was all new code I had to figure out. On top of that, Deji has been devoting a lot of time to create some excellent artwork for you guys (see above for details). I think the endings in this game are the most satisfying (and emotional) ones yet, and I hope that you all enjoy it.

I am hoping to release the game sometime in the summer (not much summer left...), but more than anything, I want to make sure it's good. We rushed Kansei last year, and a lot of bugs popped up. I don't want to make you guys have to deal with that again. I'm considering putting the game up for pre-order with all pre-orderers able to play the beta and give feedback.

For those wondering about the poll for free things, it's because I'm working on designing the game packaging right now, and I'd like to include a nice little bonus item. Still not sure what the bonus item will be, but feel free to leave your thoughts~

AnimeFest 2011 Report

And thus concludes our last convention of the year. Woooo! We staked out a couple tables in the dealer's room this year (not pictured: Sayuri Studios' table right next to us), met up with old friends, made new friends, and danced a whoooole lot. I'd like to extend a public apology to the dealer across from us who looked less than pleased to have listen to Girls' Generation, and Super Junior all weekend. At least it wasn't the Nyancat song?

In addition to our Making Visual Novels panel, I ran a panel called "sakevisual presents..." It was pretty rough, since it was my first time running it, so major thanks to everyone who came by to support us. I gave away some shirts, keychains, and a free copy of Jisei, plus everyone got to see the character designs for the Ripples sequel and the opening scene for hanami x 2.

Overall, it was a lovely con (even though the fire alarm went off every night), and I'm looking forward to returning next year. We don't have a set schedule for next year quite yet, but I'll let you know once we do. Remember that your best bet for getting to see us it to ask your local con to invite us as guests.

AFest VN Panel Part 02

More video from AFest. This one covers planning a VN, drawing story trees, the steps you go through to make art, and brief discussion of programming and music. Most of you VN creators probably already know this stuff. Please keep in mind that I giving advice to people who I expect to be working solo or in very small groups so there's a lot of emphasis on streamlining things, working small, and using free resources when possible.

AnimeFest 2010 Report

Aaand we're back from AnimeFest. Woooo! This four-day convention was filled with fun, free goodies, and lots and lots of dancing. Our wonderful friends at Sayuri Studios were also present to spread the visual novel love with games never before available in print, and Zero Zigen's doujin game, Koenchu. Our table in the dealer's room this time was a lot nicer than our table at A-KON a few months ago. Besides having more games to sell, we also sold some buttons, t-shirts, artbooks, and the ever-coveted RE: Alistair++ plushies. We also gave away a ton of stuff including free stickers, postcards, and mini-art prints. A lot of people came up to the table to say hi to us, and it was absolutely wonderful to meet so many fans of our work. You guys rock, and I'm incredibly grateful that you all came out to see us. Thanks for all the kind words, the great suggestions, and for just being so much fun to talk to.

We ran a visual novel panel twice - once on Friday and once on Sunday. Much love to everyone who came out to see us. I've got some edited video from the Sunday version up on YT for your enjoyment. Here's the first part; more will go up on YT as I edit it. Many thanks to Sayuri Studios for recording all of this for us.

Altogether, I'd say that AFest was loads of fun. Thanks to everyone who came to say hi to us, thanks to everyone who came out to the panels, and thanks to those of you who came to the table to dance with me. XD I'll be doing my best to attend more conventions in the future so that I can meet even more of you guys. Visual novels, rock rock on!

Ayu dressed as Kuu, just without the magic gradient hair. XD

AnimeFest Schedule Up!

To those of you in Dallas, or otherwise planning to attend AnimeFest next weekend, please drop by and say hi to us. We'll be running a panel on making visual novels and you have TWO shots at seeing us (yay). Both panels cover making VNs from the planning stages to releasing your game. If you can't come, tell any local friends to come instead. We love having people. ^-^

Friday 4:00pm
Sunday 9:00am

We'll also be in the dealer's room all weekend selling fun stuff and giving away whatever I feel like. See the above video for a preview of the plushies we'll be selling.

DEREEEEEEK!!!

I'm so happy~ This is one of the things I was super excited about yesterday. Eeee~ MAN, I get so excited about like...everything. Seriously. AHHHHH~ Man, I'm totally babbling right now. XD These were made by the lovely renealexa. She's very talented, so do stop by her dA (and fave this deviation) if you are so inclined.