Indie Otome!

Hi-ho, Wudge here. Idk if devlogs are back in an official capacity just yet, but I have some stuff I can talk about.

I finished plugging in approval and disapproval points for Warden and Griffin.

They each have short special scenes which can unlock if you have at least 50% affection (medium) or 70% (high).

The scoring should be pretty generous because it's 50%-70% of the points you could've gotten on day one; you can collect even more points on day two, which means you could technically get over 100% affection.

I've been debating how I wanted to set up the point system for a while now - and I think I'm happiest with this. I want you guys to have the ability to fail and get organic game overs, but it also shouldn't be too difficult to succeed.

Speaking of the ability to fail, I also plugged in some "bad points" for doing things like... telling Griffin he doesn't actually love his mom, and full body tackling a teen hooligan.

I've fixed several typos/syntax errors related to the pronoun code.

Special thanks to @cauldroncatgames for helping me catch the brunt of them!!

I alsoooo wrote some code to put "characters who like you" into a list, but <_< After doing all the work to write it, I don't think I actually have any use for it.. it was good code practice tho I guess.

Life update; kitties have largely recovered! One ended up having an unrelated issue and still has to wear a cone, but he's okay.

As for me... I'm not sure what's going on with me, but I've had a lot more trouble getting out of bed recently. Idk. It should pass.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Welcome to the Amare Games Festival Bulletin! 🎉

This special edition of the Amare Bulletin is dedicated to Amare Games Festival, highlighting all the incredible games submitted during the event!

With 68 total entries, this year’s festival showcases a vibrant and diverse range of Amare experiences, including:

✨ Fully released games – complete experiences across fantasy, slice-of-life and more ✨ On-going & episodic projects – including visual novels and interactive fiction still unfolding ✨ Updates & expansions – new content for existing favourites ✨ Demos & prototypes – early looks at upcoming indie titles

This bulletin is a free download, so take your time exploring! Be sure to check out the games, support developers by playing and rating their work, and dive into everything the Amare community has created this festival. 💖

~ The Amare Bulletin Team

Our yandere dark fantasy game is out now! From the team that brought you Criminally Yours: You are a monster hunter with one goal—to save the world. An ancient evil has reawakened, and it’s up to you to prevent the world from being consumed by its darkness. But you can’t do it alone. Your three companions are by your side in this perilous journey, each a monster in their own right. Arden, a harpy who has not left your side since you first met them. Katya, an apprentice witch who holds a fascination for you. And Cassius, a dangerous vampire lord that you have ensnared. With their help, and with the aid of a dangerous gambit involving the blood of the dead goddess of the sun, you might just have a chance. But their eyes watch you in the dark, and you cannot help but wonder if they are only by your side from a sense of duty alone. 

Bloom

Release dates (Windows, Mac OS, Linux, Steam, Android) Original English release: April 24th, 2026 English (Steam): May 3rd, 2026

New responsibilities, budding romance! Astra Vale has been asked to take charge in making improvements to Café Bloom. Problem is, she can't quite decide who to ask for help. Her ice-cold coworker, the charming local artist, her best friend, or the mysterious new regular~

Each of the proposed plans for Café Bloom is associated with one of the love interests. Pick your favorite, or replay to experience them all!"

Tumblr Devlog 23/05

So last time I posted, Thornewood was around 432000 words I think and the current word count is 457000 words so I've made a bit of progress. Right now I'm on Everett, Chapter 9, writing wise and I'm nearly first. He has 5 more chapters planned.

I suspect he will end up around 125,000 for his rough draft which is around where Callis ended as well.

I might be verging on the end of his route by my next post here but I don't think I'll be quite finished yet by then. We shall see.

The UI is fully coded for Thornewood now. I still have a couple of tweaks and one game-crashing bug to fix but that's pretty much all done. I'll post a few sneak peeks of that because I can't really remember what all features I talked about last time. If any.

I've gotten a few new BGs but those are just going to take a while - there's not much else to say about it.

Beyond writing I've been working on sprite variations - Valerian (MC) requires a lot of variations and and recolours so I've been getting those squared away. I have all the main sprites done and coded for the common route but there's one major supporting character who still needs a sprite.

And I've been writing up glossary articles and the like as well.

Next Couple of Weeks:

For the next couple of weeks my focus will be on writing - I've increased my daily word count goals again because I am trying to increase the speed of output since I have so much to write. I'll also keep working on any sprite additions as well as things like glossaries and flowcharts.

The flowcharts in Thornewood are SO much simpler than WSC. The WSC flowcharts were an absolute beast but Thornewood has much simpler branching because it's reverting back to a writing style that puts emphasis on long duration branches rather than many smaller branches. 

WSC, each chapter, was essentially taking 6 routes and forcing them all into a single flowchart, which made each flowchart HUGE. But in Thornewood the routes are separate, so again, you get a simpler overall structure.

Anyway I'll be working on that stuff. We're still a ways away from a demo release because there are like 11 backgrounds still needed. There's no real need for me to rush on sprite expressions or the like because I'm still missing so much of the environment art.

Instead I'm focusing on getting drafting done for the routes and just picking at the remaining UI and expression stuff for the common route.

Welcome to the Amare Games Festival Bulletin! 🎉

This special edition of the Amare Bulletin is dedicated to Amare Games Festival, highlighting all the incredible games submitted during the event!

With 68 total entries, this year’s festival showcases a vibrant and diverse range of Amare experiences, including:

✨ Fully released games – complete experiences across fantasy, slice-of-life and more ✨ On-going & episodic projects – including visual novels and interactive fiction still unfolding ✨ Updates & expansions – new content for existing favourites ✨ Demos & prototypes – early looks at upcoming indie titles

This bulletin is a free download, so take your time exploring! Be sure to check out the games, support developers by playing and rating their work, and dive into everything the Amare community has created this festival. 💖

~ The Amare Bulletin Team

Please remember to rest.

Hello and happy November! Our new update cycle starts now - every other month you'll be hearing from us!

UPDATE OVERVIEW

Programming: Brooklyn's route is in progress. Once his is done, we'll only have two more routes to script - Alexei and Rory's.

Voice Acting: We've begun sending out scripts for Milo's route, and we'll soon be compiling the lines for the characters on Brooklyn's.

Background Variations: Some of the few art pieces left are the variations of backgrounds, such as weather/time of day changes. We've gotten started on these!

Promotional Material: With the voice acting lines coming in, we're thinking about promotional material for when the full game is released. We've got some fun phone call audio as well as promo illustrations on the way.

MEET GRIFFIN

For this update, we're introducing Griffin Ellis, a supporting character who appears on Leo's route. Please look forward to our standoffish DnD specialist and harp maestro.

Thanks for reading ❤️

🌦️ For weekly updates and extra content, join our Patreon!

I've been working on a list of Indie Visual Novels with dark themes that I thought might be suitable for the Halloween season. These games on the list are all games I have played on stream and enjoyed.

Lets start with the first one called Touchstarved.

Touchstarved is a Visual Novel created by Red Spring Studio set for a release in 2026. At the moment this game is still only available as a demo, and is one of the games I'm really quite excited for.

In this game you play as a person who was born with cursed hands that drive anyone to madness whom they touch. In this game you have been traveling the lands looking for a cure and you now find yourself traveling to the city of Eridia.

After an unfortunate event you find yourself inside the city and one by one you begin your fated encounters with the 5 love interests.

In this demo you will meet Kuras the Angelic looking Doctor, Ais the intimidating and incredibly attractive demon (he's my fav), Mhin the moody hunter, Vere the beautiful fox spirit, and Leander the rebellious mage.

This game is aimed at an older audience due to drug reference suggestive language, violence and a few others.

If you enjoy darker themes in your dating sim then this one might be worth a go.

Next up is a game called Dicentra by saffeine

Dicentra is a Gothic Horror visual novel about a boy named Basil who takes shelter from the weather in a seemingly abandoned mansion. Obviously you can guess that isn't the case.

The story in this one was SO good and the art style impressive and hauntingly beautiful. I had so much fun making theories and fitting all the pieces together as I played through the story.

This one would certainly is a suitable game for the Halloween Season.

Next up is Death is a Guest by Hunny Bunny

This one actually takes place at a Halloween party so naturally it had to be on the list. In this game you are invited to a Halloween party where everything is fun and games until someone ends up dead, now you must solve the mystery but with no idea who the killer is you don't know who you can trust. This game IS also an otome game so you have a selection of love interests to choose from as you try to solve the mystery of the murder.

I've yet to get to the last part of the story that was released so I plan to just replay it but I do remember enjoying what I had played the first time around.

My next selection for the list is a game called Twisted Carnival by Terra.Essence.Dreams which was originally made for one of the Spooktober Jams.

While there is no particular Halloween theme it does have a horror element that hides among the colors and lights of the Carnival.

In this game there is a carnival that is said to mysteriously appear every 5 years (not sus at all). Our character Catalina has always wanted to check out this mysterious carnival and one day is given the opportunity to do so. During the time Catalina is exploring the carnival she attracts the attention of four of the performers, for better or worse.

My favorite character in this game is a ... questionable choice seeing as he both scared me yet also intrigued me. Don't underestimate this game just because of all the fun carnival visuals.

Next on the list is a game called Karamu by Chattercap

Karamu is a story about a girl named Nelli who recently broke up with her boyfriend and is now avoiding him. Raku, the ex, has questions for her and isn't ready to let go.

  Let me tell you this story will give you a surprise. I remember playing this and spouting out theories and thinking my stupid little web of random ridiculous theories would never lead anywhere until they actually did except I wasn't prepared for how right yet wrong I actually was.

Karamu is actually the first in a trilogy of related games and the second indie game I ever streamed on Twitch. When it comes to games made by this creator I always know I'm gonna have a good experience.

Last up on the list I have a game called Duskbound by nefferinthia

In this game you are a girl living in a city cursed by an endless night. Feeling like there is no life within the city she lives searching for a hint of life. One day she finds that hint of light she has been looking for in a mysterious man and she falls in love at first sight, except she failed to notice the mysterious mans fangs.

This was originally a game created for the Otome/Josei Jams and while it holds this genre title this one also has a gothic horror type of feel to it. Not too spooky but it still holds the necessary feeling to qualify for the list.

There are many more games I've played with story elements on the darker side but I had to minimize the list to a few or else I'd be here for another couple of days.

A few honorable mentions:

-A Spooktober 2023 submission I played a while back called Foul Repercussion by Chaiya

(Foul Repercussion centered around kids staying overnight at school only to find themselves in a horror movie scenario.)

-Help I Tried to Summon the Perfect Boyfriend and Messed Up so I summoned a demon instead!? by junekazoo

(In this conversation style VN just as the title says you accidently summon a demon instead of a boyfriend, now you choose how to proceed)

-It Paints Me by Endysis (The storyline and Art style made this short VN game a high contender for the list.)

Honestly If I had more time I'd add these 3 to the official list.

Anyway I hope that through this blog post you will find a new indie VN to enjoy and rave about. Go give these game titles a try, I think that if you do you will be pleasantly surprised with what you discover.

I'm brand new to writing blog posts so I hope this list and format was acceptable and comprehensive especially since I was on a time crunch.

Hello everyone ! The demo is out of my little otome medieval game

Hello everyone!

Issue #47 of the Amare Bulletin is out now! 🎉

As the seasons shift—autumn in the north and spring in the south—the Amare world is buzzing with fresh releases, hauntingly romantic demos, and creative energy from all corners of the indie scene. This fortnight brings a mix of the spooky, the sweet, and the sincerely heartfelt—perfect for cozy nights (or bright mornings) spent discovering something new.

Inside, you’ll find:

Full game releases and demos across gothic, fantasy, and sci-fi worlds

New chapters and updates for interactive fiction titles filled with mystery and magic

Crowdfunding highlights featuring everything from solarpunk yuri to tragic love stories

Recent game jam roundups, including entries from Josei After Dark, Omegaverse Jam, and Spooktober

So grab your favorite drink, settle in, and let’s explore what’s new in the world of Amare!

~ The Amare Bulletin Team

Eastwynne Demo V2.0 Launch!

A group of university students are tasked with solving a ✨magical mishap ✨ before things become worse—much worse...

Eastwynne is an upcoming modern fantasy CRPG with visual novel elements. Play the demo on Steam / Itch.io !

A global crisis that only continues to escalate. A dangerous run-in with a shadowy stranger. And a mysterious word that won't stop gnawing at you. How does everything tie together? And what role could you possibly play in all of this? 

Enter a world of magic—of Fae and Dragon.

✨ Play on Itch.io

✨ Play on Steam

The Enchanting Prodigy | He/They

"Hmmm... Now there's an interesting question. Maybe if you beg?"

An accomplished Drake with a colorful reputation. Many know his name, but few know his heart. Do you have what it takes to break past their flirty exterior?

The Selfless Martyr | He/Him

"Very funny.... But you shouldn't start something you can't finish."

Strong, protective, and reliable. If you asked the town to describe Druk, these are the three words you'd get.  But everyone, no matter how strong, has a weakness. What's his?

The Shunned Scholar | He/Him

"That's not—It's not for you, it's my job."

The classic librarian: grumpy. And you know what else is classic. Underneath all that grumpiness lies someone a little... less grumpy.

The Burdened Seraph | They/Them

"My arm is here for you should you need it."

The head Wyvern, and a fellow healer just like you. When you meet, there's an instant connection. And yet, for someone who's supposed to be your "partner," Etza seems awfully intent on doing everything themself...

The Shadowed Soldier | He/They

"I do dream of this... Don't you?"

This man seems intent on having you to himself. They lurk in the shadows, haunting the corners of your mind. What could be the reason behind their obsession?

The Haunted Protector | Any/All

"..."

Shrouded in mystery, they seem to want nothing to do with you. And yet, no matter how hard either of you might try to prevent it, you keep running into each other. Why?

The Early Access features FOUR ROUTES (FUCK YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) to play, specifically Kayn, Druk, Fenir, and Etza. In this build's release you can enjoy:

CONTENT, CONTENT, CONTENT: ~250k words of content (~20-30 hours of content) spanning over four routes and eight endings

38 CGs: Unlock 38 CGs in the current build, which the LIs will gift to you if you are Worthy

CHOICES: Some that matter, and some that DON'T. Over 650 choices in this game---some of which will lead you to a good or bad ending, and many of which you can just choose to live your best life!

A Customizable Protagonist: Choose your name, pronouns, and personality

Personality: Shape your personality with four different traits (Bravery, Kindness, Wisdom, Charisma) and watch how the world interacts with it.

Communicator System: Text the LIs and reap chaos in group chats, one-on-one messages, and more

Free Time: Choose from four locations and go on a date of your choosing with any of our love interests.

Energy Vision: Tap into one of the MC's special abilities to see the different auras of the cast.

Memories: Revisit free time dates and let our love interests woo you as many times as you'd like.

Controller Support: Play using a wireless controller or Steamdeck for the gamer who hate sitting up at their desk for too long!

Wanna thirst over the characters with other gamers? Join our Discord here!