VN Ren'Py Heartsworn Abyss: NighTmaRes [v0.41b] [sky blue aster]

[Eye-switcher]

Whats the time between updates for this game? 3 Months? half a year?

 

[skyblueaster]

Whats the time between updates for this game? 3 Months? half a year?

1-2 months ideally. First I have to do some research, spend some time thinking and writing up 15-20k words. I like to keep tabs on current trends and survey what my readers want. It’s easy to write a lot of words, but not so easy arranging them into a passage worth reading.
If I’m not amused myself writing it then it’s simply not good enough to pass to others.

After I’m satisfied with what I’ve written, I break up my passage into lines and insert them into the VN, adding music, backgrounds, character movement/animations, SFX, and making the text and transitions line up. This can almost take as long as the writing itself, depending on your perfectionist level and level of interaction within the VN.

Once everything is synched up and smooth, I do a few playthroughs to make sure there aren't glaring errors.

Usually, I will need to edit the text some more after this, to ensure there's a healthy amount of dialog and narration without one overwhelming the other. I love walls of text on forums, but hate walls of text in game. Cadence is always key to maintaining suspense.

After that, I count the words and mark which lines have to be voiced. I send these to the translator with a few annotations. When I receive the translated lines back, I do a quick check of the translation to make sure there’s no missing parts, then send it to the VA along with a detailed summary and voice directions.

After waiting for the voice lines to come back, I usually receive it as a single file that's 30 mins to an hour long. I have to manually splice this gigafile into hundreds of smaller lines, making sure everything is properly voiced and leveled. I then attach these voice files to the character lines spoken in game. These will have to go through playtest as well, to ensure we don't have missing spoken lines or wrongly attributed ones.

It’s a lot of work, definitely more like a job, but I don’t mind doing this if my readers love it. My worst fear is that no one reads it or they hate it, so it pleases me a lot to see that people enjoy reading about Akari’s adventures. I’m not saying my work is a masterpiece, but if it can make someone’s day, give them a bit of entertainment, then I’m glad.

Marketing, however, is something I really don't like. I would much rather work on my VN then spend time marketing. But it's a necesary evil, it doesn’t matter how good my VN is if people don’t know it exists, or we don’t have new members coming. You will see that I'm a little aggressive when it comes to pitching the Patreon, but that’s because I hate being curtailed by budget, dislike being constrained from providing you guys the best possible experience each release.

I actually hate, hate, hate retroactively adding in content (even though you'll see me do it a lot). I would rather include this content in release so you guys can enjoy everything at once, but budget concerns mean that I have to shelf some scenes for later, when I have actually have money to pay for art and voice assets.

Sorry for the wall of text, XD. Anyway, we have two promotions going on,

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where I’m streaming Ch.1, and our

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where Patrons get Steam keys as thanks for supporting me early. Please check these out if you have the time.

 

[G. Joe]

I hope you make the right choices in-game, and don't immediately try to turn her into some fat pig’s c×cksleeve lmao. Her moral code is quite different from Rei’s, and the ways they address annoying ugly bastards is quite… interesting, to say the least. Let’s just say neither of them will sit there and take it willingly (unless one is really, really stupid with their choices).

meanwhile, v0.35 update notes
-new chapter 1 scene with 10k+ words worth of the heroine immediately getting turned into a fat pig's cocksleeve after making really, really stupid choices
-this isn't a bad end and instead skips the rest of the nonsexual portions of the set-up


Did I miss an announcement about a change in plans? Or am I simply 100 years too early to understand a true Netorare Visionary?

 

[skyblueaster]

meanwhile, v0.35 update notes
-new chapter 1 scene with 10k+ words worth of the heroine immediately getting turned into a fat pig's cocksleeve after making really, really stupid choices
-this isn't a bad end and instead skips the rest of the nonsexual portions of the set-up


Did I miss an announcement about a change in plans? Or am I simply 100 years too early to understand a true Netorare Visionary?

No, I mean exactly what I mean. :3

It's a 15k word scene; I think the heroine “falling immediately” are the last words one should use here.

Akari tries all her damn might to fight, resist, and escape for much of those 15k words. It's only in the last few thousand words that cracks begin to show from the intense sensory overload, and even then, she hasn't fallen to the dark side yet. Not even close.
This scene is also optional, the scene will resolve a different way if she chose a different, smarter set of options earlier.

None of the H-scenes are willing so far, since this is a slow-corruption game.

Actually, all of the H-scenes have a lot of set up, probably too much, which is why the next H-scene won’t be as long (but still long-ish). Next H-scene is a BJ, so I will amaze myself if I can make a BJ scene 20k words LMAO. Will likely be 5-8k words for the scene itself, with a lot more dramatic action beforehand.

 

[小雪]

When will 0.35 be released to the public?

 

[smokyscorpion]

It's been a while since I've come across a game of this kind with such pleasant visuals. It seems the illustrator is earning their keep for a reason) And story-wise, everything seems quite good so far. I have a few questions:
When approximately will the game be released on Steam, and what will the price be?
Why does the game have version 0.33 if only one scene is available? Doesn't this value imply that a third of the project has already been implemented?

 

[skyblueaster]

It's been a while since I've come across a game of this kind with such pleasant visuals. It seems the illustrator is earning their keep for a reason) And story-wise, everything seems quite good so far. I have a few questions:
When approximately will the game be released on Steam, and what will the price be?
Why does the game have version 0.33 if only one scene is available? Doesn't this value imply that a third of the project has already been implemented?

Heya! I’m glad you like the art! Yes, we love Ryuu-san too!
… That being said, how about some love for the voice actress too? Heh, heh… I kid.

The game will be released on Steam, but we are waiting for more wishlists atm. We heard that if it’s under X wishlists, it won’t do very well at launch, so we want to collect more before releasing.
(If anyone has time, please consider wishlisting the game and helping our algorithm.)
I am estimating launch price to be $30 USD, and I would consider this fair for its quality and features (current and future).
Not many H-VNs have full voice acting for the heroines, and I want to add L2D animation too!

Ah, please do not pay any special attention to the versioning. It basically corresponds to X = one chapter. So v0.9 would not imply near completion, just means we are on Chapter 9 at the moment lol. I do think we'll finish before v2.0 though. xD

I mean, a finished NTR game having only 3 H-scenes!? Preposterous!
(We are actually on v0.36 not v0.33 btw, so there are two full H-scenes at the moment.)

This is a slow-burn NTR, so early game won’t have a plethora of H-scenes.
That being said, we do have several H-scenes planned for upcoming chapters.

There will be three H-scenes in the next three chapters, meaning v0.6 will have a total of five fully-voiced, long-as-hell H-scenes. Budget willing, I hope to have well over a dozen fully-voiced, animated H-scenes in this VN when it’s truly finished. (Future chapters will ramp up the H-scenes once she gets more and more corrupted.)



Anyway, here is a sneak peek of a vanilla scene, before people say I’m not nice to vanilla peeps.
But ya, please consider subbing if you could ❤ .
I would really like to hit the 200 patreon breakpoint, it’s an important one that would let me implement two full romantic scenes per release. And of course, get us closer to that vaunted L2D animation.

If someone does end up contributing more than $30, feel free to DM me, and I’ll gladly throw you a Steam key so you don’t feel the need to be forever subbed.

 

[smokyscorpion]

Heya! I’m glad you like the art! Yes, we love Ryuu-san too!
… That being said, how about some love for the voice actress too? Heh, heh… I kid.

The game will be released on Steam, but we are waiting for more wishlists atm. We heard that if it’s under X wishlists, it won’t do very well at launch, so we want to collect more before releasing.
(If anyone has time, please consider wishlisting the game and helping our algorithm.)
I am estimating launch price to be $30 USD, and I would consider this fair for its quality and features (current and future).
Not many H-VNs have full voice acting for the heroines, and I want to add L2D animation too!

Ah, please do not pay any special attention to the versioning. It basically corresponds to X = one chapter. So v0.9 would not imply near completion, just means we are on Chapter 9 at the moment lol. I do think we'll finish before v2.0 though. xD

I mean, a finished NTR game having only 3 H-scenes!? Preposterous!
(We are actually on v0.36 not v0.33 btw, so there are two full H-scenes at the moment.)

This is a slow-burn NTR, so early game won’t have a plethora of H-scenes.
That being said, we do have several H-scenes planned for upcoming chapters.

There will be three H-scenes in the next three chapters, meaning v0.6 will have a total of five fully-voiced, long-as-hell H-scenes. Budget willing, I hope to have well over a dozen fully-voiced, animated H-scenes in this VN when it’s truly finished. (Future chapters will ramp up the H-scenes once she gets more and more corrupted.)

View attachment 4659709

Anyway, here is a sneak peek of a vanilla scene, before people say I’m not nice to vanilla peeps.
But ya, please consider subbing if you could ❤ .
I would really like to hit the 200 patreon breakpoint, it’s an important one that would let me implement two full romantic scenes per release. And of course, get us closer to that vaunted L2D animation.

If someone does end up contributing more than $30, feel free to DM me, and I’ll gladly throw you a Steam key so you don’t feel the need to be forever subbed.

Haha, the voice actress job also looks pretty good! It’s just that the visual style stands out more compared to the competitors.
Got it, in that case, I can only wish you luck with reaching the necessary quota + I’ve already added it to my wishlist.
$30 USD, huh?.. I’m not sure about the price tag, but usually, it should be based on the total project expenses + expected net profit (within reasonable limits). But if it eventually turns into a full-fledged, high-quality product with good content, then why not? I wonder how this price might change considering Steam regional pricing for my country...
I understand the logic behind the game’s version numbering. Interesting. So, what’s the approximate number of chapters going to be? If, as you say, the version will be less than 2.0, does that mean fewer than 20? Although the concept of a chapter is quite relative—like, a prologue is usually short, while the main game is often divided into, say, 3 chapters, each of which could be as long as 10 prologues.
Glad to hear that! I’ll be eagerly waiting for the update release =)
Vanilla should definitely be included, as it not only expands the potential audience and increases sales but also allows the story to be more varied and complex. However, in my opinion, it’s better not to focus too much on this particular storyline, since the emphasis is still on the NTR aspect.
I’d be happy to support with a subscription, but unfortunately, it’s not available in my country( On the other hand, I could buy it on Steam in the future, which is much easier for me. But I hope people from other countries won’t pass by and will support the project =)
I’d like to give a piece of advice: I’d love to see some scenes in a blurred version/hidden behind a screen, etc. This is a pretty common technique in games of this genre, and in my humble opinion, it really enhances the perception of the scene and the game as a whole. Ideally, the player could have a choice—for example, they could catch a certain angle/moment, etc., and see the scene in full, or miss the moment and see a partially hidden scene instead. But this is just my personal suggestion.
I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with this wall of text =)
In any case, thank you for the response—it’s really nice to see a developer staying in touch. Wishing you success in your work ^^

 

[skyblueaster]

Haha, the voice actress job also looks pretty good! It’s just that the visual style stands out more compared to the competitors.
Got it, in that case, I can only wish you luck with reaching the necessary quota + I’ve already added it to my wishlist.
$30 USD, huh?.. I’m not sure about the price tag, but usually, it should be based on the total project expenses + expected net profit (within reasonable limits). But if it eventually turns into a full-fledged, high-quality product with good content, then why not? I wonder how this price might change considering Steam regional pricing for my country...
I understand the logic behind the game’s version numbering. Interesting. So, what’s the approximate number of chapters going to be? If, as you say, the version will be less than 2.0, does that mean fewer than 20? Although the concept of a chapter is quite relative—like, a prologue is usually short, while the main game is often divided into, say, 3 chapters, each of which could be as long as 10 prologues.
Glad to hear that! I’ll be eagerly waiting for the update release =)
Vanilla should definitely be included, as it not only expands the potential audience and increases sales but also allows the story to be more varied and complex. However, in my opinion, it’s better not to focus too much on this particular storyline, since the emphasis is still on the NTR aspect.
I’d be happy to support with a subscription, but unfortunately, it’s not available in my country( On the other hand, I could buy it on Steam in the future, which is much easier for me. But I hope people from other countries won’t pass by and will support the project =)
I’d like to give a piece of advice: I’d love to see some scenes in a blurred version/hidden behind a screen, etc. This is a pretty common technique in games of this genre, and in my humble opinion, it really enhances the perception of the scene and the game as a whole. Ideally, the player could have a choice—for example, they could catch a certain angle/moment, etc., and see the scene in full, or miss the moment and see a partially hidden scene instead. But this is just my personal suggestion.
I hope I didn’t overwhelm you with this wall of text =)
In any case, thank you for the response—it’s really nice to see a developer staying in touch. Wishing you success in your work ^^

Ah, it’s $30 USD only for those in the USA and similar countries. I will enable regional pricing since I’m not Blizzard/Ubisoft. I don’t want to take a week’s salary from people in poorer countries. xD

That does mean, for some regions, the game can cost as little as $15. That makes it cheaper than games which are sold at a flat $20 everywhere without regional pricing.

I don’t feel good selling it for less because of how much work and money I put into it. I think I’m asking for an honest amount, suitable for a game that will eventually have voice acting, hand-drawn art, and animation. If you’re from a semi-developed region, I believe the game’s retail price will be closer to $15-20 for you, which I hope is affordable. (I also have a $5 tier on Patreon for a quick, cheap way to play the game without outright buying it.)

I do have SubscribeStar if you’re looking to support me monthly! However, it’s perfectly fine to wait until the game releases if that’s your jam. ❤

The only reason I ask for money now is because I can literally use it to develop the game immediately. And to provide a superior experience on your first playthrough. It’s somewhat pointless for me to improve the experience after people have played the content (I don't like asking people to re-read for new content, since the tension is all gone.)

Also, I don’t mind your wall. Given that I construct tons of walls myself xD. It just may take me a little while to respond since I'm a bit busy with the game these days. :3

BTW, I am personally aiming for a long game, but it is hard to predict the future. My plans are actually quite ambitious, so I will work without whatever funding I can scrap together haha. And yes, chapter lengths vary, some can be short while others are massive. I believe Chapter 3 is an example of a "big" chapter. So me saying sixteen chapters is probably meaningless, but just know that I plan for it to be “long long” xD (praying that funding holds up).

At the moment, I just want to hit 200 Patrons so I can include more goodass ART in every chapter, hehe. Chapter 4 is delayed a little because there’s a really, really cute artwork I want to include, and I’ve recently scrounged enough to pay for it. :3

 

[cyan101]

Hi everyone,

Steam Fest 2025 is happening right now. That means lots of game demos (and streaming) going on!
I’m currently streaming the all-ages version of

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Feel free to come watch the first chapter and chat with me!

As always, you can find the NSFW version on the

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:3

Why SFW on Steam?

 

[skyblueaster]

Why SFW on Steam?

Steam things. The

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is R18 if you want to support me. ❤

 

[cleanfeel]

Sounds exciting. I'll be happy to play it once there's h-scenes and development.

Personally, I find some AI-Art games to be tremendously well polished. Instead of developers fixating on renderings, they spend more time on creating choices, routes, and writing.

Some of the phone ntr games that's come out in the past 2 years are decent. Many of course, are garbage due to shallow writing and linear development

 

[NozToh]

Is the NTR a singular focused character or multiple? I personally don’t like seeing multiple people having their way with female love interests, it kind of cheapens the impact.

 

[hiddenultima]

Hopefully, the early access will be out soon. Set my budget and ready to buy as soon as it is available.

 

[Dave 237]

wait so is it ntr and vanilla is there nts?

 

[skyblueaster]

Sounds exciting. I'll be happy to play it once there's h-scenes and development.

Personally, I find some AI-Art games to be tremendously well polished. Instead of developers fixating on renderings, they spend more time on creating choices, routes, and writing.

Some of the phone ntr games that's come out in the past 2 years are decent. Many of course, are garbage due to shallow writing and linear development

Thank you!

I would like to clarify that all art is hand-drawn by a profesional Japanese artist. (Just in case there was any confusion, haha.)
We currently have two fully-voiced H-scenes, and I just released v0.4! Yes, we don't have many scenes in terms of quantity, but the quality IMO is very high. Yui Hibari (our JP VA) voiced every single sentence and thought so you can feel Akari's despair. Even the moans are separately voiced for less repetition.

More H-scenes will always be added once I get the budget for them. Next chapter will have a "lovey-dovey" one before we get right to business again (hardcore NTR ahaha).

Is the NTR a singular focused character or multiple? I personally don’t like seeing multiple people having their way with female love interests, it kind of cheapens the impact.

Singular, two characters will attempt to corrupt her (handsome bastard & UB). I like the NTR gradual and slow, with the antagonist worming his way into her heart. Group sex ignores those dynamics, making it only suitable for fully corrupted scenes.

wait so is it ntr and vanilla is there nts?

Only netorare and vanilla. I don’t like netorase. The only "netorase" here is the player intentionally choosing bad choices for Akari to see her royally screwed. But Rei himself is not a cuck.



Anyway, Chapter 4 was just released, please give it a try guys. Rei is introduced in this chapter, and it’s a very cute chapter IMO! When I get enough money, this chapter will also be fully voice-acted like the rest; it’s just that Rei and Akari have a LOT of lines lol. (pls halp)
The chapter also sets up the upcoming H-scene for Chapter 5. I have included the draft here so you guys can see. ❤

Akari is so cute, I cry making bad scenarios for her.

 

[janedoe256]

Anyway, Chapter 4 was just released, please give it a try guys. Rei is introduced in this chapter, and it’s a very cute chapter IMO! When I get enough money, this chapter will also be fully voice-acted like the rest; it’s just that Rei and Akari have a LOT of lines lol. (pls halp)
The chapter also sets up the upcoming H-scene for Chapter 5. I have included the draft here so you guys can see. ❤

Akari is so cute, I cry making bad scenarios for her.

The link here has not updated since v0.33. How do we get Chapter 4?

 

[skyblueaster]

The link here has not updated since v0.33. How do we get Chapter 4?

By subscribing to the Patreon. ❤
I need money to make the game, unfortunately.

 

[SauceSage]

Will the game have a scene gallery?

 

[skyblueaster]

Will the game have a scene gallery?

It already does.

Two voiced H-scenes so far, with a third to be added next update.