Tiny Bytes for 2/13/23
An LGBTQIA+ visual novel filled with magic, Quaint Part One: The Society, releases this Thursday!
Quaint Part One: The Society is a queer story filled with magic which will be releasing on February 16th. The game focuses on Q, an IT specialist who lives in the quiet town of Millbrook. However, he learns that there's more to this town than meets the eye. Turns out there's a secret society called Snake and Saber, a 200-year-old mage association which Q is invited to join. But will he be able to become a full-fledged mage when his troubled past comes back to haunt him?
You can try out the demo for Quaint on itch.io. If you would like to follow the development for the game and be notified when part one goes live, we recommend following the developer, Hiro, on Twitter.
Debate for your life in Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher when it re-releases March 28!
If you love comedy, witty dialogue, and debating, then you should keep your eyes on Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher. The updated version of this classic Flash game is set to launch on March 28!
Despite his name, Socrates Jones does not care for philosophy in the slightest. He would prefer to work his job as an accountant and take care of finances rather than spend time pondering about philosophical questions and debating. But when he's put into a situation where he has to do exactly that in order to live, Socrates Jones has no choice but to embrace it, whether he wants to or not!
You can wishlist Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher on Steam to get notified when it releases. If you want to see snippets of the game before its release, you can follow the game on Twitter.
Missing Gem
Content Warning: Mentions/Imagery of murder and death, slight gore, and cursing.
In Missing Gem, the protagonist goes looking for their lost gem, which they find fairly quickly. However, after retrieving their lost item and falling asleep, they wake up and realize that they're not on the same train as before, and now a stranger is sitting across from them. They're told they're in a world called Corrosion and that the reason for it is because they stole the stranger's gem, although the protagonist believes it's theirs. Will you give the stranger back his gem and return to your boring life, or will you explore the strange world of Corrosion instead?
You can download Missing Gem for free on itch.io. The game is available in English and Spanish.
What's Wrong with the Girls' Staircase?
What's Wrong with the Girls' Staircase? is an incredibly sweet story that focuses on a group of wizards and witches who are trying to go back to the girls' dorm. However, the school has enchanted the staircase to protect the girls' dorm from being entered by boys; when it detects a boy, it transforms into a slide. When the group climbs the stairs, the staircase transforms into a slide, making them all slide back down to the lobby. They talk to each other trying to figure out who the boy is. When the boy is revealed, he is welcomed with open arms by his friends.
You can purchase What's Wrong with the Girls' Staircase? on itch.io for US $2.99. The game will be a part of a bundle called Trans Witches are Witches, a game bundle where all funds will go to LGBTQIA+ creators!
Blackout Hospital
Content Warning: Flashing lights, loud noises, strong language, medical malpractice, violence, blood, death, mentions of child death, mild gore, body horror, suicide, and optional gambling with in-game currency
In Blackout Hospital, you play as Vasilis, a janitor at Altobuck Hospital. While working, the power goes out on them, and when the emergency lights turn on, strange occurrences start to happen throughout the hospital. Vasilis wants nothing to do with these strange happenings, so they get to searching for an exit pronto. With enemies and interesting characters inhabiting the halls, will Vasilis be able to escape?
You can download Blackout Hospital on itch.io for free.
Changeling Charade
In this 450,000-word supernatural romance game, you play as a female fairy who lives in the city of New Victoria, where magic is illegal. But that doesn't stop people from trading spells and potions in secret. You are one of the individuals participating in the illegal magic trade in hopes of getting enough money for a better life. To make your dream a reality, you transform into Lady Constance Weatherby, a noblewoman who has everything the protagonist ever wanted: a good house, nice clothes, and more. As you begin to live amongst those in high society, you come to realize they're also using magic in secret, but how and for what purpose?
With all these new secrets being revealed to you and the fairies uprising to change the laws on magic, what will you do?
You can purchase Changeling Charade for US $4.99 on Steam, Google Play, and the App Store through the Heart's Choice app. You can play the first three chapters for free on the Heart's Choice website if you want to give the game a try before purchasing, and the mobile version can be played for free with ads.
Heart on Your Sleeve
What was supposed to be an ordinary date with Taylor turns into one filled with anxiety. Though this is only your second date with them, you can't help but feel nervous, especially when picking the right outfit. No matter what you wear, nothing seems right. However, you can't keep Taylor waiting. How will your date with Taylor go, and what will you learn during it?
You can download Heart on Your Sleeve for free on itch.io.
Tales of Misteria
When returning to Misteria, it doesn't take Ame and Kira long to realize that something happened: someone got murdered. Kira, rightfully, doesn't want to get involved in the case and wishes to let things be. But when they find out the circumstances around the murder are reminiscent of a book they read as kids, well, they can't help but get curious, and of course, eventually get involved! Will Ame and Kira be able to solve the murder?
You can download Tales of Misteria on itch.io for free.
Global Game Jam 2023
Global Game Jam ran from January 30 to February 5 with the theme "Roots." Let's take a look at some of the visual novels that were submitted to the jam this year!
Uprooted
After a semester of college, Dylan returns to their home for the break and realizes that the place they called "home" has changed.
You can download Uprooted for free on itch.io.
Root of the Problem
Help Merle, a therapist, with his clients by gathering key information to get to the root of their problems!
You can download Root of the Problem on itch.io for free.
Yandere Game Jam 2023
Yandere Game Jam 2023 started on January 23, and while we still have a couple of weeks until the jam ends on February 28th, there already have been some great visual novels submitted! Here are some of the entries that caught our eye so far from the Yandere Game Jam!
10:16
Content Warning: Death, religion/religious trauma, and themes of possessiveness.
After dying in an accident, you're sent to Hell, where if you want to ascend, you need to travel through the Nine Circles and plead your case to Satan. However, when the Keeper of Heresy acts incredibly kind to you...maybe, just maybe...you don't want to leave.
You can download 10:16 on itch.io for free.
PRETERNATURAL (R18)
Content Warning: Obsession, stalking, description of gore, and implied murder
When you have trouble sleeping, you learn that it's because there is a ghost residing in your home. And they just so happen to be madly in love with you!
You can download PRETERNATURAL for free on itch.io.
The Science of Staying Awake
Content Warning: Cartoon-stylized blood and gore, violence, flashing images, sudden loud noises, and strong language.
After returning home from college, you find a complete stranger in your bed! Although you really don't want to deal with this, it seems that the stranger has already become fond of you...
You can download The Science of Staying Awake for free on itch.io.
Last week, we interviewed CatTrigger, the developer behind Melissa💗, Morris💗, and Long Time No Life. If you haven't checked out our interview with them, you can read it here!
Next week, we will be interviewing Sam from Delphinium Interactive! She's developed Reflection, Whispers Through the Wall, and Graveyard Girls. Learn more about her career as a game developer, her advice on cancelling a project, and more. We also have a special, exclusive announcement in store, so stay tuned for that!
Content Warning Generator for itch.io by npckc
If your game has any content or images that could be harmful to players, it's your job as a developer to make a content warning to properly inform them of the story ahead. npckc's content warning generator is a fantastic resource, as they show you how to add two forms of content warnings to your game page: a pop-up window that shows up when the player gets to the page and an embedded version that can be placed in the description. The latter is similar to a bullet list, but if the user clicks on one of the bullet points, a small description will pop up below it. You can utilize this code to give more details about what happens in the game while the bullet point is the content warning itself.
The only thing you will need to do in order to utilize the code that npckc has here is to enable custom CSS on your account. To have custom CSS access, you'll have to email itch.io.
Naninovel Scene Assistant by idaocracy
Naninovel is a powerful visual novel plugin that Unity developers can use. The only struggle is that, by default, you don't have an easy way to edit a scene to your liking without making small adjustments until you get exactly what you want. Thankfully, there is a tool that makes animating in Naninovel much easier: Naninovel Scene Assistant. For those who use Action Editor for Ren'Py, it is essentially that. You'll be able to easily modify objects, such as sprites or the in-game camera, in real time and then copy the code right into your script thanks to the "copy command" button. This is incredibly useful and will definitely make programming in Naninovel a lot easier.
Ren'Py Save/Load Screen Overhaul, Seen Text Color, and Choices Code by Knickknack PJ
There are a ton of amazing codes that people have created for Ren'Py. One that we want to highlight today is Knickknack PJ's code that overhauls the Ren'Py save/load screens, changes seen text to a different color, and shows the player what choices they've made before! If you want any or all of these features in your game, make sure you check out this code!
Thank you to our wonderful Byters for all of their support!
Without them, Tiny Bytes wouldn't exist. Please consider becoming a patron to help keep our newsletter alive and get exclusive benefits such as monthly postcards!