VN Ren'Py Completed Mythos: Book One [v1.0.0.2] [Nine of Swords]

[Hullahopp]

Probably more put it on fire

I see, so we need to build a harem! If Violet is our love interest, we need a healer, a firefighter, a bomb disposal technician, a bodyguard... No, make that two bodyguards...

 

[damnedfrog]

I see, so we need to build a harem! If Violet is our love interest, we need a healer, a firefighter, a bomb disposal technician, a bodyguard... No, make that two bodyguards...

For the bodyguards, we need to enlist Tara.

 

[damnedfrog]

And thinking of it, Mara as the second.
As a cop she will have some defense training.
And her magic nullifying power could be handy against unwanted fire magic...

 

[Dark Prince 19]

View attachment 4899089

Weekly Update - June 1st, 2025

The final main cast reveal for Book Two: Violet freakin' Stark!!!

You must be registered to see the links

Nice to hear from you Nine via the log, it was good to see the final cast member; am sure with atleast 2 mages things will be lot of fun. Also unfortunate to hear about your pet, the cancelled plan and health concerns as you mentioned. Take care there both of you much strength!

Thanks for reading Dev, best wishes for ahead

 

[Hullahopp]

And thinking of it, Mara as the second.
As a cop she will have some defense training.
And her magic nullifying power could be handy against unwanted fire magic...

Well, we'll definitely have a healer, and Hattie's abilities could be quite versatile. I hope Jodi is a part-time firefighter...

 

[damnedfrog]

Well, we'll definitely have a healer, and Hattie's abilities could be quite versatile. I hope Jodi is a part-time firefighter...

Probably why she often miss work, she must go to scenes of fire.

 

[Nine of Swords]

Cool things are happening in preparation for the Mythos release...

 

[damnedfrog]

Cool things are happening in preparation for the Mythos release...

View attachment 4903313

I tend to prefer playing in English because it's easier to interact with all the players and devs that are unlucky to not speak French .
And my English reading skill is generally good enough to understand English games. Even if some of your turns of phrase are not always easy to understand, not to mention the strong Baltimorian/Cockney accents of some of the girls

But, it's good to see that Book One will have a French translation.
I'm curious to see how Tara, Rain and Monica peculiar speaking will be translated.

By the way, good choice to translate "lorebook" by "grimoire".

 

[FlorpFlorble]

One thing I did miss in this game was just fluff and filler scenes, moments with characters to flesh characters out that weren't plot relevant. Band practice, talking music, training montages, dates, chilling at the mall, stuff like that.


It gives a feeling that a game with really interesting characters lacks character moments.

 

[Nine of Swords]

One thing I did miss in this game was just fluff and filler scenes, moments with characters to flesh characters out that weren't plot relevant. Band practice, talking music, training montages, dates, chilling at the mall, stuff like that.


It gives a feeling that a game with really interesting characters lacks character moments.

It's a fine line I have to walk, and I have to admit I'm still trying to find my own balance here. For every player who wants more "fluff", there are players who think there's too much of it. I want to give characters depth, but don't want people boredly clicking through things. A lot of it comes down to preference, but it's also something I definitely want to work on.

I've played some games where it feels like they're just padding things out with needless exposition. I'm huge on story (that's probably the only reason I play any games at all, these days), but there are quite a few lately that I feel belabour the point too much - looking at Danganronpa, Genshin Impact, and Final Fantasy XIV. There are times when less fluff is preferable to excessive.

Reflecting on this, I see the difference between my game and what those above games have done. They have huge casts of characters, and probably try to give too much time to all of them. Mythos, Book One, on the other hand, had a pretty big cast, but a very central story - trying to properly flesh out every one of them would have made it a bloated mess.

This is why Book Two is already going to have a decidedly smaller cast, but the same "scope" of a main story. The characters will get to have more personal moments, because there'll be fewer characters needing the moments.

 

[Vidal the king of Pervert]

It's a fine line I have to walk, and I have to admit I'm still trying to find my own balance here. For every player who wants more "fluff", there are players who think there's too much of it. I want to give characters depth, but don't want people boredly clicking through things. A lot of it comes down to preference, but it's also something I definitely want to work on.

I've played some games where it feels like they're just padding things out with needless exposition. I'm huge on story (that's probably the only reason I play any games at all, these days), but there are quite a few lately that I feel belabour the point too much - looking at Danganronpa, Genshin Impact, and Final Fantasy XIV. There are times when less fluff is preferable to excessive.

Reflecting on this, I see the difference between my game and what those above games have done. They have huge casts of characters, and probably try to give too much time to all of them. Mythos, Book One, on the other hand, had a pretty big cast, but a very central story - trying to properly flesh out every one of them would have made it a bloated mess.

This is why Book Two is already going to have a decidedly smaller cast, but the same "scope" of a main story. The characters will get to have more personal moments, because there'll be fewer characters needing the moments.

I get what you're saying about useless filler, my sister

However, in my opinion, I hate when a game is like Well, you got the girl, the end

as a monogamy player who likes to be with one girl

I spend the entire game trying to get the girl to be my official girlfriend in a serious relationship, and I don't get to enjoy it

We don't get to do things as an official couple, going on dates and having romantic moments

talking about our future, may be having a little family

You don't even get to go around and introduce people to your hot girlfriend
in my opinion I don't see the Romantic parts of the story as useless

 

[damnedfrog]

I get what you're saying about useless filler, my sister

However, in my opinion, I hate when a game is like Well, you got the girl, the end

as a monogamy player who likes to be with one girl

I spend the entire game trying to get the girl to be my official girlfriend in a serious relationship, and I don't get to enjoy it

We don't get to do things as an official couple, going on dates and having romantic moments

talking about our future, may be having a little family

You don't even get to go around and introduce people to your hot girlfriend
in my opinion I don't see the Romantic parts of the story as useless

Nine of Swords explain that at first, she just wanted to write a mystery novel.
The romantic / sex part was just a big trap to lure all the pervert players

But I admit I will really love to have more romantic times with Tara.

 

[Vidal the king of Pervert]

Nine of Swords explain that at first, she just wanted to write a mystery novel.
The romantic / sex part was just a big trap to lure all the pervert players

But I admit I will really love to have more romantic times with Tara.

Yes, brother, I believe I remember that I'm just giving her my feedback as one of her fans who is handicapped

And I use romantic visual novels to have the Romantic life I've always wanted

And yes, more Tara

It's just in my opinion, the Romantic parts and the main story should go hand in hand

Both are being used to enhance the other instead of competing with each other like enemies

 

[Hullahopp]

It's a fine line I have to walk, and I have to admit I'm still trying to find my own balance here. For every player who wants more "fluff", there are players who think there's too much of it. I want to give characters depth, but don't want people boredly clicking through things. A lot of it comes down to preference, but it's also something I definitely want to work on.

I've played some games where it feels like they're just padding things out with needless exposition. I'm huge on story (that's probably the only reason I play any games at all, these days), but there are quite a few lately that I feel belabour the point too much - looking at Danganronpa, Genshin Impact, and Final Fantasy XIV. There are times when less fluff is preferable to excessive.

Reflecting on this, I see the difference between my game and what those above games have done. They have huge casts of characters, and probably try to give too much time to all of them. Mythos, Book One, on the other hand, had a pretty big cast, but a very central story - trying to properly flesh out every one of them would have made it a bloated mess.

This is why Book Two is already going to have a decidedly smaller cast, but the same "scope" of a main story. The characters will get to have more personal moments, because there'll be fewer characters needing the moments.

If I were a developer, I would solve this problem with optional side quests that do not affect the main mission. For example, Sofia mentions in a conversation that she likes classical music. This appears in a different color in the text. If the player clicks on it, they can go to a concert together. Meanwhile, they can engage in romance and deepen their relationship/the character through conversation. If the player does not click on it, the main story continues.

Of course, this requires extra work/writing/rendering.

 

[FlorpFlorble]

Incredibly good comment I agree with immensely

My totally unsolicited advice as a writer just building on what you've already said: One thing you're really good at right now, and definitely have a good sense for, is using plot moments to reveal character. You already have a very good sense for knowing what you need to reveal in your mystery at each point in the story, and finding which character is the most interesting to learn that - and what you can develop about a character from advancing the plot.

I didn't see nearly as much of the reverse - just doing character scenes that end in a plot revelation, or reveal plot by "accident", in the process of learning more about a character. It's literally the thing you're already doing but you just switch the focus. If you do that it's a good way to make the character scenes feel more impactful and not wasteful, still doing what you're already otherwise doing.

(Another tidbit, it applies more to prose but it translates to screenwriting and VNs - when an audience tells you they started skimming at paragraph 10, it's because you lost them at paragraph 8. If you're losing attention in character-centred pieces of the story, the problem often isn't the section, but because the reader is already zoning out of the character. I'm really looking forward to seeing what you do with a smaller cast!)

 

[damnedfrog]

If I were a developer, I would solve this problem with optional side quests that do not affect the main mission. For example, Sofia mentions in a conversation that she likes classical music. This appears in a different color in the text. If the player clicks on it, they can go to a concert together. Meanwhile, they can engage in romance and deepen their relationship/the character through conversation. If the player does not click on it, the main story continues.

Of course, this requires extra work/writing/rendering.

Also, it could be some Tales of Mythos.