sunlabyrinth

[sunlabyrinth]

Quick update for Patreon subscribers, including an excerpt from the next section of the Empress of Aeser.

This also answers the question I think some of you have been asking. Namely, will Tetrine ever confront Markaius?

The answer is... well, that depends on your choices.

My Games

Asher (Free) - A good introduction to the world, same MC as Empress of Aeser.

Goblet of Mercy (Free) - Come face to face with a egomaniacal vampire queen and try to survive the experience. A dark visual novel also set in the same universe as the Empress of Aeser and Asher.

Tell a Demon ($7.99) - Have you ever wanted to outsmart a demon?Well, you can in Tell a Demon. Choose love, confront loss, or wreak vengeance. Or some combination of each. Alter each of the three protagonist's personalities and ultimate fates. Same universe as Asher and Empress of Aeser.

#patreon #visual novel #sun labyrinth #visual novel development #the empress of aeser #interactivefiction #interactive fiction #narrative game

[sunlabyrinth]

Goblet of Mercy

So this year I participated in the Spooktober VN Jam, which is a game jam/contest. My entry, Goblet of Mercy, received an honorable mention, which given the bar set by the jam is pretty darn cool.

Goblet of Mercy is a short interactive dark fantasy story in which you must try to survive an encounter with a vampire queen. It's now available on Steam.

Spooktober Jam Highlights

I didn't get a chance to play as many as I would like. I've basically been living in a construction zone for the past two years so I am doing gamedev (and any game playing I can squeeze in) on the floor at the moment with the lead dust and asbestos for company ha ha ha just kidding Anyway! I did play some and there are just too many amazing entries, but here's a few if you're looking for some more short games appropriate to the spooky season:

Burdock, an atmospheric fairy tale, has this gorgeous and richly descriptive writing style, compelling story, beautiful artwork and enigmatic characters. I am currently pacing out my re-reads of it because I loved it so much - the riddles are a treat as well. Check it out here.

Living With Ghosts is a short story about loss and final goodbyes. It really stood out with its poignant atmosphere and heart-wrenching story. (TBH, this one made me cry.) You can get it here.

Eldritch Idol, for an entirely different mood, is a stat raiser featuring Cthulu as an adorable teenage girl, and it is absolutely funny. I'm the kind of player who likes lots of amusing/off the wall bad endings and man, does it deliver. Destroy the world you can download it here.

… that's just a few out of many entries this year; I still have more downloaded I haven't had a chance to play yet. So if you're looking for some Halloween games, you can check out more on Spooktober's page here!

#Spooktober #happy halloween #visual novel #gamedevelopment #spooky season #interactive fiction games #story games #visual novel development #oelvn #gamedev

[sunlabyrinth]

Goblet of Mercy now on Steam!

“It is said that her ego has its own country...”

Get it on Steam.

Story

Goblet of Mercy is a short interactive dark fantasy story in which you meet an egomaniacal vampire queen and must try to survive the encounter through the choices you make.

It began with Halloween, a time when the veil between worlds is thin. Your friend Judy invited you out to a themed party at the local library. A Halloween event, a good friend, a lot of weird books for sale. Judy might have been in a shifty mood, but there was no need to worry.

Really. What could go wrong?

Features

Short (30-45 min, average reading speed)

Vampires

Visual Novel format

Certain... details... change in second and third playthroughs

4 Endings

Ending variations based on player choices

Choices matter

Animated 2D characters

More off the wall at times than scary, with elements of psychological horror

Goblet of Mercy on Steam

#visual novel #sun labyrinth #game development #gamedev #oelvn #interactive fiction games #dark fantasy #vampire

[sunlabyrinth]

Empress of Aeser, Act I

....is now playable on Steam.

Download here.

#sun labyrinth #visual novel #otome #oelvn #gamedev #indiedev #pointandclick #game development #visual novel development #steam next fest

[sunlabyrinth]

And it's up - download the demo here:

Download

The Empress of Aeser: Act I will be available to play during #SteamNextFest!

About the Empress of Aeser

The Empress of Aeser is a visual novel with light point 'n click puzzles and lots of choices. You start out with the option between four personalities, which will influence how Tetrine grows as a person later in the game.

Lie, show restraint, be diplomatic or audacious. There are many dialogue options.

Solve light inventory object puzzles and explore a library of strange books.

Interact with newspaper articles and uncover the secrets of the city, once the capital of an old and dark Empire.

Tetrine begins in an existing relationship. It is already fraught. Will you repair the damage or start anew?

Other scenes are told from the perspective of other characters. Meet Sabina, a sheltered artist, Tell, a farm girl who has already encountered the dark secrets of the city and Kalevel, Tetrine's employer and an ancient demon.

Wishlist on Steam here.

#steam next fest #steamnextfest #pointandclick #visual novel #romance game #adventure games #game development #sun labyrinth

[sunlabyrinth]

The Empress of Aeser: Act I will be available to play during #SteamNextFest!

About the Empress of Aeser

The Empress of Aeser is a visual novel with light point 'n click puzzles and lots of choices. You start out with the option between four personalities, which will influence how Tetrine grows as a person later in the game.

Lie, show restraint, be diplomatic or audacious. There are many dialogue options.

Solve light inventory object puzzles and explore a library of strange books.

Interact with newspaper articles and uncover the secrets of the city, once the capital of an old and dark Empire.

Tetrine begins in an existing relationship. It is already fraught. Will you repair the damage or start anew?

Other scenes are told from the perspective of other characters. Meet Sabina, a sheltered artist, Tell, a farm girl who has already encountered the dark secrets of the city and Kalevel, Tetrine's employer and an ancient demon.

Wishlist on Steam here.

#visual novel #pointandclick #point and click #otome #visual novel development #game development #sun labyrinth #gamedevelopment

[sunlabyrinth]

I've always wanted to do a Halloween special set in the world of Aeser...

Available on itch.io

Goblet of Mercy

Goblet of Mercy is a short light(?) psychological horror visual novel about your encounter with a woman whose ego is so big she made her own perfect world to contain it.

It began with Halloween, a time when the veil between worlds is thin. Your friend Judy invited you out to a themed party at the local library. A Halloween event, a good friend, a lot of weird books for sale. Judy might have been in a shifty mood, but there was no need to worry. Really. What could go wrong?

Download Goblet of Mercy on Itch

Features

Vampires.

Choices matter, leading to 4 different endings.

Choose between a male and female main character (name changeable) each with a slightly different personality.

#visual novel #sun labyrinth #visual novel development #game development #indiedev #gamedev #dark comedy #psychological horror

[sunlabyrinth]

Empress of Aeser, Version .79

Quick update, we're up to scene 16 (out of 21 scenes) of Act I and you can play it early by supporting our Patreon.

Screenshots & Features

In our puzzle-adventure visual novel, the Empress of Aeser, make decisions, learn magic and lift the villain’s curse instead of destroying her.

Solve puzzles and learn magic in the quest to lift the curse

Choices have lasting consequences and can lead to one of several endings

Other choices affect Tetrine’s character arc over time

Develop relationships, both friendships and romantic, and make Tetrine to grow as a person

Or play to Tetrine’s flaws and see what happens

3 Romantic options (one GxG two GxB)

Partial Voicing

#gamedev #visual novel #visual novel development #pointandclick #tell a demon #otome #oelvn #game development #sun labyrinth #indiedev

[sunlabyrinth]

The Empress of Aeser, Act I, version .74

Patreon supporters can now play the Empress of Aeser. Scenes 1-11 out 25 are playable at the moment. It's still missing some UI and things of that nature, but it's playable.

The Empress of Aeser (Act I - Download)

The Empress of Aeser

The Empress of Aeser is a visual novel with light puzzle point 'n click sequences set in a 1920s style fantasy world.

Play a reluctant heroine as she uncovers the secret of the once immortal, now long-dead empress of Aeser.

#indiedev #pointandclick #gamedev #visual novel development #visual novel #sun labyrinth

[sunlabyrinth]

Some daily studies and sketches for the demo... mostly Kialee, the Empress is there, and a couple of paintings-within-paintings (e.g., images that show up in background art, like paintings on a wall).

Close ups on instagram here.

Although images are completed digitally as usual, I decided to do some more traditional sketches because I can post something on a daily or near-daily basis without risk of spoilers. I tend to skip over the sketching stage when I’m painting digitally anyway, so I thought it would be nice to try something a little different.

These studies are all for the Empress of Aeser, an in-progress visual novel with point-n-click sequences that I’m working on. You can wishlist it on Steam here.

#dailysketch #drawing #gamdevelopment #gamedev #indiedev #pointandclick #sketch

[sunlabyrinth]

Happy New Year! Here’s a free Tell a Demon-related short interactive visual novel. It was supposed to have 3 endings and ended up having 4-5 depending on how you count ‘em.

It’s... more of a horror story.

Story & About

Tell was involved in the death of an old friend. Now his lover is hunting her down. Will she find peace in the gentle North? Will she break the cycle of horror that threatens to consume her?

Download here on Itch.io

It’s part romance, part horror story. My favorite combination.

We visit a city-state that isn’t Asher for once in the world of Aeser.

I’ve wanted to continue from some of the bad or obscure endings in Tell a Demon. You don’t have to have read Tell a Demon to play this story though. 

I literally finished it in a couple of weeks for Winter VN Jam, at 6AM this morning, so there are probably still a few bugs.

#tell a demon #game development #otome #oelvn #interactive fiction

[sunlabyrinth]

In our puzzle-adventure visual novel, Empress of Aeser, there are exploration sequences where you can interact with the world. The various buttons on the exploration UI keep track of Tetrine’s personality (which changes with dialogue choices), inventory objects, documents and the calendar (the hourglass on the right).

As for the globe of red liquid? Well, you can probably guess if you’ve played Asher or Tell a Demon.

You can read more about the Empress of Aeser here:

Website

Wishlist on Steam

Also...

This blog was terminated a few days ago by mistake by tumblr’s automated system. I don’t know how much a problem this will be, but if you’d like to follow us on other social media accounts, please check them out below:

Twitter

Itch.io

Mailing List

#screenshotsaturday #game development #gamedev #otome #otome game #visualnovel #evn #interactive fiction

[sunlabyrinth]

Tumblr Terminated this blog...

So I was going to post the trailer and these screenshots the other day when I suddenly couldn’t log on.

Your account has been terminated! it said.

While I generally like tumblr, lately it seems like its auto-delete function is kind of overly... enthusiastic?

...it might be a good idea to follow me on other socials or through our newsletter if you want to keep in touch. Social media sites have problems (or disappear) all the time so I’ve learned not to rely on them (as I was reminded again the other day).

Here are some other places to follow updates on our games:

Website

Newsletter

Itch.io

Twitter

Please share & reblog. I don’t know how often I’m going to use tumblr if these problems turn out to be ongoing.

Screenshots & Features

In our puzzle-adventure visual novel, the Empress of Aeser, make decisions, learn magic and lift the villain's curse instead of destroying her.

Solve puzzles and learn magic in the quest to lift the curse

Choices have lasting consequences and can lead to one of several endings

Other choices affect Tetrine's personality over time

Develop relationships, both friendships and romantic, and make Tetrine to grow as a person

Or play to Tetrine's flaws and see what happens

3 Romantic options (one GxG two GxB)

Partial Voicing

View the Trailer

Wishlist on Steam

#indiegame #puzzle-adventure #update #Sun Labyrinth #otome #game development

[sunlabyrinth]

Newsletter & Steam Page

Sign up to our newsletter or learn more here.

Steam page is up, too. Please wishlist here if you’re interested in this game. :)

About

Make decisions, learn magic and lift the villain's curse instead of destroying her in our puzzle-adventure visual novel, the Empress of Aeser.

#Sun Labyrinth #otome #visualnovel #gamedevelopment #indiedev

[sunlabyrinth]

Announcement trailer for the Empress of Aeser (and Steam page) is upcoming.

For now, Patreon subscribers get the first look here.

#visual novel #the Empress of Aeser #Tell a Demon #game development #gamedev #otome #interactive fiction

[sunlabyrinth]

Art from my visual novel. Asher.

I ended up making a lot of art for the remake, intending it to be a visual novel with music and sound effects and so on, but had a major life... uh, let’s call it an interruption... at the time...

... so I cut it down and made it a twine game instead.

Still makes me sad, because I put a lot of time into art you can’t always see (unless you’re playing with a large-ish monitor).

Well, maybe when the Empress of Aeser is done I’ll come back to it and do a proper version.

Asher is available for free on my website here.

#painting #black and white #oelvn #otome #visual novel #game development

[sunlabyrinth]

reblogging because this is true again.

Hi all! :) You can get Winter’s Trumpet for free for the next 24 hours.

It’s available for download on itchio:  https://sunlabyrinth.itch.io/winterstrumpet

#pointandclick