Hi all. Welcome back for another episode of Tooth & Nail. Today things are getting a bit more wacky, with WackyWoof!

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We're going to start by getting to know you better. This is to say, we want to start with everyone's favorite thing in every interview, which is for you to tell me about yourself.

Okay, so I'm Wacky Wolf, French, and in my 20s. So as you know, I'm a gay furry who made a visual novel. Besides the furry part, I love cooking, retro gaming, pixel art, and visiting castles and forests.

How often do you visit the castles and forests?

Once every 2 months

That's comparatively a lot, at least for castles. There's not that many castles in this part of the world. 

Anyway, I believe you are wearing your fursona in your PFP. It's a wolf. So what does having a fursona mean to you?

Oh, it's not that much. It's just my ideal me. Like, you know, tall, buff, goofy. Just a funny way to ditch reality for a moment. It's just a big gray wolf.

And you said ditch reality, like run away from it, I guess. I guess I'm wondering, do you not think, other than the fur that those other elements aren't as achievable? Well, I mean, I guess most people aren't getting height-altering surgery, but...

I guess I could wear an earring and try to work out, so I could look a bit more like my sona haha

That being said, what is your hear me out? This is only slightly a judgment zone haha.

In my opinion, it's Wolf Link. People don't find the appeal about him because he's feral, you know.. But I think he's my furry awakening, my first Zelda game, so that's why I like Wolf Link.

You don't think most people... because he's feral I feel like there's plenty of people that draw  him as non-feral, though.

Yeah, but that's the main issue I have when I talk about Wolf Link.. People just say, oh, he's feral and not untrue. But yeah I’m glad some draw him as non-feral though!

Fair enough. Fair enough. That is something that... that is a… extended conversation. I don't know if I'm ready to have it haha.

It's fine.

So would you say that you're an active member of the furry community?

I guess I'm kind of active because besides making visual novels, I used to post some random art on Reddit or Twitter. And I spend a lot of time on social media like Discord.

So you said that you engage by largely creating or speaking with them online. What do you get from your engagement with the furry community? What do you think you get out of it? What are the parts you like of being in the furry community?

Oh, people are very friendly and very open, especially everything about LGBT and stuff. I think they are very supportive.

That's nice. I find people are people wherever you go. It is a not uncommon refrain, and it's a nice one to hear. It speaks well of how people like to say,` I feel supported`.

So now we're going to go for a little more spicy though, which is what's your furry hot take?

Actually, no, I don't have a very hot take. I could say that wolves are not overrated or overused.

I think that's hot enough, at least in this space. It's contentious. It's something people argue about. I think that at least in terms of the Maywolf Jam, Game Jam, which you did participate in for 2024, and part of the preparation for that, people were complaining about it being a wolf again. So, I think some people might fight with you over that. So I think that's a fair hot take.

I think that gives a very brief view into the mind of Wacky as much as you can get from my little silly questions but now we're going to talk more about your works.

If people don't know who you are, what they should know is what you've done at this point. 

You have two visual novels out there. One that's incomplete, that you maybe will get back to eventually: Burning Woof. You made that for the 2024 Maywolf Game Jam, and it's essentially Burning Man, but furry. It's very funny, because it's got that Wacky sense of humor and then your other one is  Alones which is a romance tale, a recipe simulator and a story about finding one's place in the world. I think that's a decent explanation but of course if you want a better understanding you'll have to read it for yourself

What made you want to make a furry visual novel?

In the first place, I was mostly just sharing art and memes I drew on Reddit. But I wanted something more to share, like a story or something like that. And coincidentally, it was on YouTube, I discovered a furry visual novel and I decided to give it a shot. Since in drawing and coding I'm kinda okay, although writing it's not a skill I'm very good at, it's maybe very noticeable in my VNs, but I try my best to improve. I stick with slice of life mostly and just portraying things that I know, something I like. 

You said you like to stick to things that you know and that you like or that you want to do? How much of your real life would you say goes into your creations? 

Oh, not that much. I would say only other French parts. Anything related to France.

When did you start doing art of any kind?

When did  I start to make a visual novel?

No, no, in general. When did you start, like, drawing? Like, what's your creative history? You said you were making memes and shit. I'm glad that it's how you got started. You saw some stuff and you were like, "oh yeah, I want to make memes. I love memes."

I discovered the furry fandom with reddit and furry_irl, I could scroll all day all the memes posted there, and I wanted to try as well, making some random furry memes

Did you do any drawing prior to that?

I have always loved drawing since I was a kid, but the furry drawings (buff anthro wolves and stuff) started 5 years ago, when I started college. 

I'm curious given you specifically said furry. Was your sharing specifically lined up with your quote unquote furry awakening?

Yes, for everything. Maybe it was during my teenage years.

So you said that you only draw from your life for the French bits for your work. So what are some of your inspirations for your creations? I mean, I assume Burning Man corresponds to Burning Woof, but outside of that, what were some of the things you drew upon?

Burning Woof  is literally just from Burning Man. I just saw many documentaries and forums to get an idea about it. But for Alones it's mostly French culture, some bits of my life.

Would you say your main characters are close to you? How much of yourself is in your main characters?

Not that much. The main character in Alone is somewhat a little bit lost, even violent because he's a wolf. But in real life, I'm not like that. I'm very kind and shy. So maybe shyness is the only trait I share with my characters. They're a little shy and silly.

Oh yeah, you certainly put the shy into Burning Woof.

What do you hope that people will get from your works?

I just hope they have fun while playing my games. Maybe learn more about French culture and recipes.

Given the French recipes, if you could only recommend one, which one would it have to be?

Oh, maybe something easy. Maybe the sandwich raclette. Some people already tried that and send me some feedback, it was heartwarming

Oh, yeah. Who doesn't love cheese? 

What is next for you and your work? I saw that you said that you were approaching the end of Alones. So what is next? Is it going to be more Burning Woof or something else?

Alones will be done in three builds, maybe. After that, I want to finish Burning Woof, adding more details. After that, I have another idea, and we'll see. And maybe in a far future, I want to try 3D games and making my own music.

That's, I think, a good little statement of where you are and where you're going to go. So let's talk about the greater industry, your colleagues, so to speak. So what is something that you wish there was more of in furry visual novels?

I don't know because there are like almost a thousand FNVs out there and they have all varieties of things. So I don't think FNVs lack anything in particular, maybe more CGs.

Good diplomatic answer. There's so much out there. What you're looking for may already be there if you just look a little harder.

I think you're certainly not alone in liking more CG's in your work. That is, I think, what the main appeals of the visual novel, to get those pictures along with the words. I mean, it's in the name. Visual, that's 50% of it. So that's why people expect 50% visuals.

What makes you want to read a furry visual novel?

They need to have a chill story, I guess, something nice. Sometimes I'm frisky and I try some horror, suspense, furry visual novels, but for the most part I want something chill, not something so much that happens. Besides that, they just need decent art and a story with [substance].. I'm not really picky because I know how hard it is to make a furry visual novel. I'm into more niche works rather than the usual mainstream.

It's certainly not easy to make these from personal experience.

What's something that you hate seeing in very visual novels? We're getting more spicy. You can't always be diplomatic, Wacky!

Okay, I will say it. I hate when there is an isekai weak human main character. That's so overused, I guess, and very boring.

Who doesn't love to hate a pathetic little meow meow human except for all the people that still like it. So, you know, I'm giving you a virtual handshake. 

What are your thoughts on some of the common gripes of the readers?

Multiple routes can be funny actually. I like visual novels like that, but when there are too many paths and options, it can be very confusing and it's hard in my opinion to focus. 

I totally understand visual novels that are taking a long time to create. Because I know that you are doing that in your free time for most creators. It's hard to make a visual novel all the time. We all have something in life that can get in the way, so it's hard to release every month.

I'd say for many people it's a side job and or hobby and or like, God, they might, some of them might even be students still. And everyone knows students are the best at managing time.

I started when I was a student, so yeah, I know that feeling.

Here's the moment where we're going to talk about other creators. We all know the big popular names. Everyone knows Adastra at this point. What's your favorite underground/niche FVNs? We want to shine that spotlight on people who don't get enough attention.

I have many examples, like the [2024] May Wolfs. It was really good, to be honest. There are a lot of people who started their first VNs. For example, Tuning Out . I like that. It was a good romance, a very visual novel. There's also Donut Holes. I like that too. It was about donuts, so that's why I liked that.

I can agree, there's lots of fun ones in game jam.  I think there's plenty of enjoyment to be found in something that is complete from the get-go as opposed to needing to wait for the string of updates.

Are there any other non-Game Jam ones you'd like to shout out?

There is a FVN I really liked. It's called the Kestadian Hope. So I know the guy, he made all the things by himself, the art, the stories, the music and all. It's not very noticeable because it's not a gay furry visual novel, but mostly with female characters. It's too bad that people don't really like it because of that. I think it should be more noticed because the story was good, in my opinion. 

I know what you're talking about. It's women-oriented. I know we are a very gay man oriented space. Not that there aren't works where there are women characters, but that is not necessarily what the common reader is looking for, for better or for worse.

You know the question when you asked about something that's missing in a furry visual novel? That's my new answer, that we don't see enough woman.

Wacky here said it here first first. "Give me women in my furry visual novels. That's a perfectly good answer.

Oh! There is another one I like. It's called Three Aces I like the story because the characters are struggling against their economic crisis. It was really nice and I like the wolf in the FVN, so it was good.

I am as much a gambling fan as anyone else, and if  it gets completed, I will open it up and enthusiastically restart.

So then we're getting to the end. Thanks so much. We're just speeding through this. Because I'm a fan of other media, I have to ask you, what is the meaning of life?

 I would say just trying to enjoy life the best we can and maybe making the life of others better

It's a very nice answer, and I guess in part what I'm hoping to do with these interviews, which is make other people have better lives by giving them a little more attention.. I always love those feel-good moments. So finally, anything else you would like to plug? We already noted your two VNs. Is there anything else that you have that you'd like attention for? 

Beside my VN, you can find me on my Twitter . I don't use that too often, but on Discord, I'm really active, especially on [F]VN. My reddit too.  You can find me  on Itch, of course. You can also find me on bluesky.

Alright, that's that! Thanks for agreeing to do this. I hope you enjoyed it and I hope it gives more attention to you and your works. Get that attention from me with my minimal clout haha.

Thank you so much for this interview. It was fun. 

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If you're a small dev interested in being interviewed, or want to suggest someone else, feel free to reach out to me and we can talk further!