Yousei is out and Jisei is cheap! Woohoo!

Buy Yousei Now ($15.00): Windows | Mac | Linux

Free demo available.

Hey gang! Yousei is out! Hurrah! Huzzah! Other cheerful exclamations! What took so long? Well, I guess it just took us a lot longer to tighten up the graphics than we thought. Also, Yousei's longer than Jisei and Kansei. And there are more characters. And images. And music. And everything, really. I also hear it's the best one yet. And there may be emotional bits, but don't quote me on that.

For those of you who haven't joined the Jisei clan yet, Jisei is currently 50% off for the entire month of February. Think of it as our Valentine's Day gift to you! Plus, the Jisei+Kansei bundle discount is still in effect, so if you buy Jisei and Kansei together, that's like...less than twenty bucks. Which is pretty cool.

Hello, 2013~

Yaaay! It's the time of the year where we all say it's the time of the year, and then talk about the previous year and the upcoming year and it's fun and stuff!

So, let's start with a summary of 2012. Thankfully, I didn't get into any horrific car accidents this year. So that's definitely a plus over 2011. Also, went to SakuraCon for the first time, which was all kinds of fun. Made a lot of friends, kept in touch with old ones, and in general had a great time. Sadly, didn't actually finish any VNs (although Yousei is close - so beta testers should keep an eye open for the voiced version going up today or tomorrow). We did make a lot of progress, though, so onward to 2013...

This year, my rule is start nothing new, and finish everything else. So let's go down the list and see what's up.

Every Sunrise - The long awaited sequel to Ripples. Yes, the story goes on. No, you don't get to find out why Kuu and our mascot Kurara have similar hair (although discerning readers have probably already figured it out). Every Sunrise will be another kinetic novel. It will also be our first try with (optional) voiced narration. With increasing requests to make VNs more accessible, we're going to release this with every word available to be heard. While doing the same for a VN with choices seems like a difficulty at the time, if the response to full narration in Every Sunrise is good, we'll look into solutions for games with different paths.

Swan's Melody - A free game that Deji and I have been working on on the side. It's been a sort of on and off project for years, and we used 2012's NaNoRenO to push ourselves to get a decent amount of the work done. We'll likely do the same this year. The game involves cute girls. And magic. Potentially at the same time. Will we finish it this year? Only time will tell! There's kind of a lot in it.

Oneiro - The game that won't stop revamping. orz We're currently on our third background artist, and our second revamp of sprites and CGs. I don't know why bits keep falling apart like this, but I really want to finish this game. I'm quite fond of it, and I'm really looking forward to sharing it with you all. The writing is basically done, and the OST is complete. Until we can finish the new art, please enjoy this lineart of Lance and Asami having a moment.

Backstage Pass - I've been hinting at this on and off last year, but with tooaya busy with school, we haven't been able to devote much time to working on this. This will be our first otome game in the Green Tea Line, and it will have everything some of the things you guys wished RE: A++ could have had. It'll also cover a year of time instead of a month. I hope you like showbiz, because it's got a singer/musician, an actor, a model, and a magician. >_>;;

Jisei Mark IV - Those with the beta of Yousei already have an idea of where the next game is going, but for the moment I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't played yet. This will probably come late in the year, as I'll be spending the early portion of the year promoting Yousei and working on the above mentioned VNs. Currently, the plan is to make it approximately the same length as Yousei. Also, someone will probably die in it.

--

Other stuff I will get around to eventually but probably not this year:
-Kangai's Big Little Adventures: I want to write some free side stories for Jisei that involve the group solving non-murder mysteries that aren't directly linked to the main story. I also want them to be illustrated with chibis.

-Jisei in Fairbrook: Started as a joke, but kind of isn't a joke anymore. So...maybe this will happen? Someday? I don't know.

-A big, multi-artist project: I've been toying with the idea of doing a VN in which the main character visits multiple worlds, and each world is illustrated by a different artist. I think it would be super cool, but I'll have to do more than just think about it before it really comes into fruition.

--

In summary, my goal remains the same as ever. Finish two free games and one Green Tea game. Considering how far along I am in two of the free games on the list, that looks like it might actually be a possibility this year. Whoa.

On Finishing things and Crossovers

Don't get too excited about the screencap. It's a mockup using an old Kansei sprite. BUT. If you've been following facebook or twitter, you'll know that we've been half joking/half serious about a Jisei/Fairbrook crossover. Talking about it has certainly garnered an enthusiastic response, so I've been drumming up ideas. Will we actually go through with it? I don't know. There's stuff to be done, like Yousei, Every Sunrise, Oneiro, and Swan Song. On top of that, Winter Wolves definitely has a full docket, too. And of course, there are the merging difficulties. Will it be a murder mystery? Probably not. No one in Fairbrook would kill someone. Will it be a dating sim? Probably not. The relationships in the Jisei series already have their own directions. Who would you play as? Kangai? Natalie? Steve? Susana? Some new character? It's going to take a while to solidify a good idea for a crossover game, but be assured that we are definitely thinking about it. Just don't expect it to be something that pops up terribly soon.

I definitely won't be working on it until Yousei has made it's gloriously late debut. There's a balance somewhere between making a game longer and getting it out faster. Most mobile apps swing in the "get it out soon!" direction, which leads to a lot of lifeless apps. AAA games try not to sacrifice either, but often sacrifice the workers instead. So where does that leave us? Players want a game long enough that it's worth the money they spent. They also don't want to wait forever to read the next chapter. Kansei was longer than Jisei, but it took longer to get out. Yousei is longer than Kansei. Actually, it's got more words than Flower Shop/Winter in Fairbrook. But as you may have noticed, it's taking even longer to release. I think at our current price point, the length of Yousei will be indicative of the length of further games in the series. As for when it's coming out, we really are at the tail end of it. Pre-orders with beta testing should be up super super soon, and I've already had a couple people come in to record voices for the final version. The cast is NOT complete as of yet, but I will announce it as soon as all the lines have been recorded. I've been keeping some of my choices under wraps just in case last minute changes have to be made.

Yousei Auditions

Please Note:
Everyone who auditions will be expected to have a Skype account and be available for live direction and recording over Skype. That is, you must be able to record on your own mic while Skype is running and I am listening and giving you direction. All payment will be handled via PayPal.

Summary:
Kangai and his friends are given a new assignment: pose as prospective college students and find some old research from a project long hidden away at a local university. There's a little bit of a dent in the assignment when one of the university's oldest professors shows up dead, and all clues point to murder. All of the characters listed below are college grad students, so think early 20's. This game is the sequel to Jisei and Kansei. Knowledge of the prior games is useful, but certainly not required. Extras and bit parts will be cast from auditions received.

Returning Cast:
Naoki Mizutani - Micah Solusod
Aki Mizutani - Apphia Yu
Li Mei - Cherami  Leigh
Mikolaj Gurski - Christopher Niosi
Chance Jackson - Kira  Buckland
Marissa Klein - Melissa Johnson

Guidelines:
1.) Record lines in .WAV or .MP3  format. 44100Hz 16-bit preferred.
2.) Name files as yourname_charactername_line#.wav
3.) Please use your real name or an approximation of such. No nicknames, web names, or handles.
4.) Please read this checklist and make sure your sound files don't exhibit any of these problems. I will assume that the quality of the audition I receive will be the same as the quality I will receive if I cast you.
5.) The deadline to submit auditions is Saturday, October 13th, 2012. That is the last day I will be accepting auditions.
6.) Email a .ZIP (or .RAR) containing all your audition files to soymilk.pudding@gmail.com (not my sakevisual address). Please name it yourname_yousei.zip Feel free to include a demo reel, resume, or website link, but it's not a requirement.

--

Aaron Vanich
A shutter-bug with an outgoing personality who makes friends easily. He was raised in Thailand, but he's been speaking English for a while, so any accent he has should be slight. Aaron was the first person to find the body, and it was something of a traumatic experience for him.

01: Introducing himself and his room. (Coo' = Cool)
"Coo', coo'. Aaron. Welcome to the Super Duper Fortress of Fortressness. Those are for you. You can unpack before we go to the lab."

02: Teasing a student after he expresses discomfort at being photographed.
"Well, I like it. You'll get used to it eventually. Everyone does."
 
03: Panicked. Speaking on the phone with emergency services after he finds the body.
"No...I don't...I don't know! No no no, you don't get it! It's Dr. Johansen!"

04: Frustrated and confused the day after the body is found. Trying to be okay, but failing. Kizaki and the main character show more control because they've solved murders before, and he doesn't understand why they're more calm about all these events.
"This is so stupid! Stupid! Super stupid! That was not a thing I wanted to see ever. How are you okay with this? You saw it. The blood. And other parts. I don't even want to be awake, but Kizaki just got up and left an hour ago."

--

David Sawicki
A Steel City boy with a fondness for soccer and slacking off. The other students generally consider him to be less reliable, but he's the favored TA among all the undergrads. Probably because he's the fun one. He jokes around with Nathan a lot. Pittsburgh slang occasionally shows up in his speech, but he doesn't have a very distinct accent.

01: Debating/joking with Nathan over whether guns or swords are better during a zombie apocalypse.
"Guns have a longer range, and they're deadlier. Plus you have to get within biting distance to even use a sword! Hello infection!"

02: Sharing a piece of juicy gossip with the main character.
"Well, you didn't hear it from us, but Auten and his partner, Shen Guan were part of some super hush hush project. The government was funding the whole thing, but something bad happened. And by "something bad" we mean someone died."

03: Repeating the "official" story of how the victim died.
"That's a terrible way to go, accidentally falling off the tower like that. Not like it makes any sense for him to be up there in the first place, but whatever."
 
04: Angry after being accused of being the murderer.
"Are you jaggin'? Who kills a guy over something like that? That's just stupid."

--

Nathan Holm
A young genius from the Pacific Northwest who spends his free time watching sci-fi and practicing with his light sword. He and David are considered the "class clowns," but he tends to be more meticulous about his work.

01: Holding the main character "prisoner" after they mistake him for a criminal.
"Don't talk. We're not going to consort with the likes of you."

02: Debating/joking with David over whether guns or swords are better during a zombie apocalypse.
"But swords don't run out of ammo, and they're quieter. And what are the odds you're going to hit the head a moving target with a gun, anyway?"

03: Bragging about solving a difficult problem when no one was looking.
"Don't blame me. It's not my fault! Nah, I'm being too modest. It really is my fault."

04: In response to being accused of having a disagreement with another student.
"Well, yeah, but we patched it over. That's what people do, you know.  They work things out."

--

Shawn Tasse
The student liaison at the University of Edgewater. Smart, friendly, and always upbeat: Shawn is basically the perfect guy. It also helps that his wealthy family regularly donates to charity. He works hard to maintain his perfect image, and it's rare to see him at a loss for words.

01: Welcoming prospective students to an overnight campus experience. Enthusiastic.
"These'll get you into the dorm building where you're staying. There are also three meals encoded onto the magnetic strip. Just swipe 'em at the cafeteria for a meal!"

02: Talking about the murder, but still trying to "sell" the school to the prospective students.
"It really is a tragedy, isn't it? You know, if you want to talk to a grief counselor..."

03: Apologizing to the main character after he was arrested for something he didn't do.
"Yikes, dude. If I had been there, I would have cleared everything up as quickly as I could. I just hope this doesn't reflect badly on the school."

04: Panicked and a little flustered. Doesn't like the idea of the main character going off to find the killer alone, but not interested in joining him.
"Well, if he's really the murderer, don't you think it's kind of a bad idea for you to confront him? Why take the risk? Maybe you should go get that cop to help you out."

--

Jupiter Celedon
A grad student from Latin America with a no-nonsense attitude. She's the head student in the lab while the professor's away, and she takes her duties very seriously. While she has no problem taking time to relax or have fun, it frustrates her that the other students don't always share her work ethic.

01: Interrogating the main character after she finds him wandering around a locked facility.
"The campus may be a public university, but this lab is off limits to anyone without clearance. I'd like to know how you came to be wandering around alone in our hallway."

02: Sarcastic, somewhat bitter response to "So you don't get along?"
"What makes you think we don't get along? She behaves like a child when things don't go her way, and she's manipulative. Dios mio, she can be so frustrating."

03: Chasing after a rabbit that escaped from its cage.
"Don't let it get away!"

04: Lecture mode on Dr. Johansen's theories.
"Dr. Johansen's hypothesis is this: That such people did exist, but their bloodlines eventually thinned out. But if we could find a sample of the genetic makeup of those extrahumans, we could recreate such abilities today."

Suspect Profile - Jupiter

Meet Jupiter - one of the six suspects in the upcoming murder mystery game, Yousei. She's a student from Latin America, currently attending the University of Edgewater. She's in charge of the biology lab, and it's her job to make sure all the other students stay in line and do their work.

The job is taxing, but she says she loves it. However, lately things have been difficult, and it seems like she might be unhappy with her current working conditions. Enough to kill someone? Find out in Yousei!

Pre-orders will be opening up this month. Although we haven't finished all the extras and the voice recording, anyone who pre-orders will have immediate access to the beta version of the game.

Suspect Profile - Nathan

Meet Nathan - one of the six suspects in our upcoming murder mystery game, Yousei. Nathan's a grad student at the University of Edgewater, and he's a big fan of the War Stars trilogy (Yes, War Stars).

Even though he likes to joke around a lot, he always seems to get his work done on time. According to his friends, he's a genius who can learn anything the first time around. Did he get bored of academics and take up murder as a new hobby? Find out in Yousei: Pre-orders coming soon!

Recruiting Beta Testers for Yousei

You know we're almost ready to release a game when I stop posting in the blog. It means I'm busy with other things. XD

In case the post title doesn't make it evident, I'm currently searching for people to beta test Yousei. I'm especially interested in people with Mac or Linux setups, but anyone who can find typos or look for ways to break a game is welcome. Knowing the first two games is probably helpful, but definitely not required. Please visit the sakevisual forums here for details. Beta testers for the full game will be selected from those who respond.

Happy Lunar New Year! The Dragon is Coming.

It's the Lunar New Year, and that means time for tasty food, fireworks, and hope for a great harvest. I'm making rice cakes for dinner tonight. ^o^ As it's the year of the dragon, I thought it would be cool to post a sketch of a relevant character from Jisei, but then I realized that that would be a massive spoiler. D: However! I did get this lovely dragon logo from Alisa, and it was just too perfect not to share with you guys.

But since we're on the topic of Jisei, I'm happy to announce the title for the third game will be Yousei. This was probably the hardest choice for me, since "yousei" tends to mean "fairy" these days. Originally, the word represented a spirit that wasn't of Japanese origin (versus the creatures of Japanese mythology referred to as youkai), and now it implies more of a European fairy type creature. Still, one of the fairy creatures referred to by the term "yousei," was a spirit that could raise the dead, and that's perfect for the Jisei story and our hero Kangai, so I decided to go with it anyway. Of course, knowing the more modern interpretation, I'm still open to fanart of characters with fairy wings. ^_-

Jisei/Kansei Fanart Contest!

And the entries are here! A huge thanks to everyone who entered. You guys are wonderful. *_* Voting is at the bottom of this post. You may pick up to THREE pieces that you like. Be sure not to vote for any more than three, or your vote won't count. Anyone can vote. There will be five winners total.

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Kansei Complete!

Yay, Kansei's out! ::keels over:: I think I need to go sleep now. XD But let's talk about the important stuff first.

You can get it here, should you so desire: http://sakevisual.com/kansei/buy.html 

And the demo is available on LemmaSoft and the official site.

If you're looking for discounts, details follow:

1.) Donation: If you donated to the Support Japan project, there's a discount code headed your way. Please check the email address that you used when you donated the money. If you don't see a code within 24 hours, email me from that account. You cannot email me from a different account. It's the only way I can verify that you're the same person who actually donated.

2.) Fanart: If you've been following me for any amount of time, you know that fanart makes my little heart melt. To that end, I'm holding a Jisei/Kansei fanart contest. Draw any character(s) from either Jisei or Kansei and email me the image or a link to your image by July 23rd. The winner(s) will receive a code for any sakevisual game free (works on future games as well). All entrants will receive a code for 15% off Kansei. Winners will be determined by vote. ayu@sakevisual.com

3.) Blog it: Write a blog post of 250 words or more containing your thoughts on the demo and which of the characters' powers you'd want the most (and why) before July 16th, and I'll give you a 15% off code.

4.) Social: Follow us on twitter and facebook. I'll be posting limited use codes this week and holding a RT raffle.

Shamelessly lifted from Deji's tumblr.

Calling to the One

Like the opening to Jisei? So do we! We are happy to provide a full version of the opening song, Calling to the One by Aural Wave, free for your enjoyment. If you like this song, please check out Jisei or follow Aural Wave on twitter.

>Download<

Lyrics:

Calling to the one
Can you hear me?
Relive my dying moment

Our voices call out to you
The one who unveils the truth
The one who senses our plight
Quells our unrest with insight

Our song glides the wind
The words echo, falling on deaf ears
The translation is lost
And a deep void remains
It's a mystery
The desperate lyrics are veiled
The whys and conflict build
Still, no resolution

Our voices call out to you
The one who unveils the truth
The one who senses our plight
Quells our unrest with insight

Our voices call out to you
The one who unveils the truth
The one who senses our plight
Quells our unrest with insight

Looking into the haze
The feeling is so strong
You hear our voice and transcribe
You relive our terrors play by play
You see our last moments
Feel our heavy hearts
Know the dreams we once had
Our wishes snuffed and lives short-lived

Our voices call to you
The one who knows the truth
The one who senses our plight
Quells our unrest with insight
We sense your troubles too
They certainly follow you
Despite attempts, your mind cannot shut out the horrors
Come and lament

Our voices call out to you
The one who unveils the truth
The one who senses our plight
Quells our unrest with insight

...

Kansei - We're Not Dead Yet!

"Everyone's going to think I'm dead if you don't update!"

Progress update ahoy! For those who have played Jisei (or even those of you who haven't), you probably know that it's the first chapter in a series. The question on everyone's lips is "When will the next chapter be out!?" The answer is "Not yet." But we ARE hard at work on it. We've gotten some wonderful feedback on the first chapter, and we're striving to incorporate your thoughts into the second chapter to make an even better game. A huge thanks to everyone for all the comments, constructive criticism, and amazing support. Here are a few tidbits about the second chapter for you to enjoy.

Tidbit #01: The name of the game will be "Kansei." (Spelled as 感性 for those of you who are curious.)

Tidbit #02: Kansei will be significantly longer than Jisei. A lot of people felt that Jisei was too short, so the next chapter will have a lot more meat to it. It will be longer on a single play through, and it will have more endings (that aren't terrible, bad, dying endings). Keep in mind that this also means it will take us significantly longer to complete. >.> But hey! More game!

Tidbit #03: We're getting the band back together! If you liked the art or the music in Jisei, then you'll be pleased to know that Kansei is bringing back the same artist and composer. Woooooo~!

More tidbits on the way, but that should hopefully whet your appetite.

Familiar Face

Woo, check it out! It's ??? sporting an attractive new shirt. The skull is gone, now replaced by a set of crosshairs aimed at his right lung. He seems to be a fan of the macabre. I can't really blame him, all things considered. Now, why would he be needing a new shirt? Probably because he has more cases to solve. Dun dun duuun.

A-KON 21 Report

And a week later, I'm finally getting around to posting this. Haaaa... Anyway, hey! For those of you who didn't know, sakevisual was at A-KON last weekend. Amidst the crowds of thousands of people, we shared a booth with the Japanese doujin circle, Zero Zigen. It was a pretty small affair for us. We had a demo computer where people could play the Jisei demo or RE: Alistair++, we sold Jisei, and we gave away lots of RE:A++ stickers. We also met a lot of cool people, and had a lot of fun.


We had a special Koenchu premiere panel where Zero Zigen and Sakevisual fielded questions about Zero Zigen's bilingual release of Koenchu Sora, what visual novels are, and how you (yes, you!) can make your own visual novels. Discussion ranged from comparing various engines (Zero Zigen uses Kirikiri and sakevisual uses Ren'py) to recording voices in person versus over the internet. In case you're wondering, I'm the one with the long black hair and striped glove, completely clueless to the fact that someone is taking my picture.

Lots of love to my booth girl, Tsayan, for holding down the fort while I went to the Zero Zigen panel and later galavanted off through artists alley in search of fresh blood to hire. And yes, she's dressed as FionaWings.

Fact: Real men play otome games.

Bonus shot: Ayu dressed as Mikoto from Zero Zigen's Koenchu Sora.

A video showing off the stuff that we sold and gave away at A-KON.

A huge thanks to everyone who came by the booth, bought a copy of Jisei, went to the panel, or just said hi. We had a great time, and if their latest blog post is any indication, so did Zero Zigen. I hope that we can make it to even more cons in the future so that we can meet all of you~