itch.io

And to think, I was afraid it was underpowered at first testing XD;;. Kind of like Mikaylis, these defensive skills scale more at higher stakes I think. 

Thank you Yuno8! I am excited to finish this EPIC at last xD

Hi .michi,

Thank you very much! I'm glad to hear you think Samuel has potential XD he's a little more than his first impressions might convey. I always say you gotta watch out for priests, because they always so good at speaking in an unassuming way.

Hi JustaOnegirl,

So glad you liked the picture of Sam! I think he's the perfect messenger to spread the idea of Valentines Day to the ADW world XD!

 And thank you for your support! I hope I put forth a good face for our community, but at the very least, I hope I can convey my effort and sincerity. This particular indie game space is very passionate about our stories and games so I really want people to feel and respect that.

Best wishes,

Jen

Hi csonnich,

Thank you so much for trying out my game. I'd glad you enjoyed it enough to want to go back and play other routes. I'm sorry for the trouble with skipping function missing.  Because this game is doing things that is not typical of many VNs, such as combat and many animations layering, I did remove it from the default preferences settings due to some game breaking issues it caused. I forgot to remove the mention of it from the default menu preferences. I'll add that to my list of things to fix in the future. I apologize for any inconvenience that it has caused.  Thank you again for your patience and understanding TT!

I've always liked story and character focused games but I find that as I grow older and busier, I have less time for games with grindy filler content. I find indie game space, it's easier to find more concise, female/story focused games. Admittedly, as a dev who participates in game jams, discord and social media, it's easy to stumble into things that catch my interest. The hard part is having enough time to play.

I found this gem of a meme when I was cleaning up my screenshots.

Hi Raven, I'm sorry for your struggle in the dungeon. Admittedly I am just a hobbyist learning programming as I go. It's understandable if you want to quit, but in the case that you did want to complete the dungeon, I made a map for you. Please also make sure you have the most current build, as there was a game breaking bug in earlier versions. Thank you again for trying the game and best wishes!

Omg haha it's so fun! I was cracking up. Thank you for making my day XD. Feel free to post anything here or if you want to make your own thread that is also very welcome! Thank you so much! (dying over the drawings in background of normal mode lol)

Patience and consistency does also work I think. I update my youtube weekly and my game development monthly for years. Like Hodslate said, its slow and can feel like you're just throwing stuff out to into empty universe. sometimes we see "big hit" and this that is what success looks like, but I think for many smaller creator who is just looking for some engagement, this expectation is more feasible.

Hi .michi! Thanks for checking back in with this project. It is a little bittersweet but I'm excited to finally be approaching the finish line and I hope the endings are found to be satisfying. 

Oh I'm glad it worked for you. Thanks for letting me know. I hope you enjoy the rest of the game and story but let me know if you have any more troubles ^^

Hi Fidia,

sorry for the trouble you are experiencing. Here is a map of the forest. You should be able to confront the Katnir at #R1. Please let me know if you are still having a problem and I will investigate further. TYVM! <3

Hi Pampanun,

Thank you for sharing your experience and suggestions. I will consider some solutions to make the game less dependant on bond levels and ultimate morale skills for beating the end game encounters. I'll add it to my list of things to address for the next update. Thanks very much for playing. Oh and please don't be sorry for voicing your opinion, I'm very glad to recieve the honest and thoughtful feedback. It's helpful to get more opinions when deciding how much to weigh the situation.

you draw him so cute and pretty for "bullying" him <3<3<3

He knows who his true creator is haha XD;; I think I read too many Korean webnovels.

Hi Noodie,

The rejection at the proposal scene is probably when he's the most upset with the TO. Well in order to get that reaction from him, you basically agree to meet him for his proposal and hes all dressed up with this super expensive pendant to give the TO. It's a bit tricky to show up with another person's pendant on, so you'll have to accept proposals early on in the week because accepting the pendant and meeting with Jeth will have to be on seperate days. Good luck crushing him in the most devastating way possible. :D

Hi Noodie, 

Oooh I'm always happy to see more doodles  ^o^

And yes, Jeth and Ruwin comparison! So it's unfortunate that Ruwin and Jeth didn't face off at the battle of Brookhaven like in the original draft (replaced him with Mikaylis so that Jeth could lead the whole forest kidnapping) because Ruwin was REALLY looking forward to smashing Jeth in the face and pretty much went on a big tirade how much he thinks Jeth is a worm, spineless ect blah blah but yeah. I always thought Ruwin especially hated on Jeth to that extent because he probably could sense something in common with him that he did not like in himself. *prints out more art for my wall* P:

Hi JustaOneGirl, 

I'm glad for when you jump in and share your thoughts! I think that is one of the fun aspects of having an open forum and hopefully others feel the same.

I think your thoughts regarding Jeth are pretty insightful. Often times it's hard to try to understand characters/people when we disapprove of their actions. I have a strange fascination for understanding bad behavior, even if I don't believe in justifying the behavior, I do find it interesting to explain for several reasons but primarily for self preservation. Explaining from a psychological point of view, often makes it more obvious that is not me/the victim to blame. Some very manipulative behaviors need this kind of clarification for me, since I tend to hold myself easily accountable.

Somehow this habit turned into reading about all kinds of serial killers and criminal offenders. I used to be addicted to true crime type shows lol.

Awww, no one could resist pouting chibi Yumi! I'm playing up Katnir's stubbornness a little for laughs, I think if the TO asked him with seriousness, he would concede because ultimately the TO's happiness would trump his pride. Something like, reassuring him but while preserving his ego. "I know you'd probably be survive somehow given how much you've endured, but I don't know if I could handle being apart-" (sort of a reverse psychology of asking him for what he secretly wants without calling him out? if that makes sense lol) Would be the kind of line that would push him to be all soft and vulnerable without forcing him.

Hi Noodie. OMG protect Lady Yumi!! That depressed look just stabs deep! Quick someone give her the world!! 

Uh.. To clarify all the instances that Jeth can physically harm the TO (it's pretty specific) >_<;;; 

I dunno if SPOILER Warning is necessary here but I'm going to be listing a bunch of bad endings as well so here we go!*********** 

ADWVH:

1. upon escorting the TO to their room for the first time, if the TO refuses to cooperate, he kills them.

2. upon refusing to cooperate with him on the forest mission, he kills them.

3. upon warning the TO not to meet with him if they aren't interested in a romance with him if you ask him to meet and reject him a second time, he will scar the TO on the leg, saying that it's to remind them of his warning.

4. upon meeting him with someone else's pendant on in bond convo 5, he will try to kill the TO but fail to go through with it and apologize.

5. upon agreeing to meet him to accept the proposal in the courtyard, if you reject him or show up wearing someone else's pendant, he will bite the TO.

ADW:

1. If you fail to convince Katnir in the forest mission to help you, you will be turned over to Jeth... who surprise, surprise, murders you XD;;.

So... yeah considering he is the one of the few characters in this world that murders/hurt the TO, and he has a list, ah... >____<;; the only other characters who harm the TO would be mikaylis/miyetta are guilty of imprisoning and Jonas/Eve if the TO loses the final war battles. Hmm in that sense, I guess technically Deita tries but fails to murder the TO when she's imprisoned to "send them home".

Hi Noodie, I realize that I talked about inspiration for the other rogues but avoid talking too much about Jeth's mentality because I do not in any way, want to condone or justify his harmful behaviors (IRL, I wouldn't be in the same room with him LOL) but since this is fiction I think it's interesting to explore these personalities, I will explain a bit of my thinking when creating and writing Jeth. For those who might be disturbed by Jeth behaviors, that is a totally natural and valid reaction and you don't have an obligation to explore his character. But for those who are curious and love to dive into the rogues of this series-

WARNING- JETH IS A HOT MESS*****************************************************

Jeth is my take on a "yandere" type character. Admittedly, I'm not normally a "fan" of this archtype, but I often like to explore things that are not usually my thing as to better understand and appreciate it. Most of this behaviors are "theoretical" in my mind, but sadly his more sociopathic behaviors are based on real toxic dynamics that I have personally experienced and witnessed many of the people in my life endure. The part that is most fictional, is his actual love and devotion for the TO....

Firstly, he is a professional assassin and the only character that despite the normalization of violence and killing in this world, is truly remorseless. My mind can't place myself in the shoes of a sadist individual that derives pleasure from inflicting harm so rather than explain his behavior as sadistic, I had to have him cope with his violence through detachment.  He's simply numbed himself from his humanity to do his job that he was always trained for, by developing a jaded and bitter disdain for the world as a whole. A true nihilist. He sees the world as a dog eat dog, play for power, where those who are the cruelist and most ruthless will always exploit those who are more selfless. Since he feels that ironically those who grasp power will also be "ruled" by it in the end, a hopeless struggle to hold an illusion that humans in a world created by gods, can't truly possess. he prefers to situate himself adjacent to power, tip the scales here and there and watch to see if his world view can be challenged. In an odd way, Jeth and Ruwin could probably relate in their disillusioned views of their world and structures of power, but their approaches to tackling this problem in their minds are irreconcilably different. Ruwin's more naive and simple way of thinking makes it easier for him to be persuaded in the possibility of more hopeful, brighter future, filled with personal redemption and fulfilling human connections.

 Jeth is originally interested in the power and potential the TO presents and will kill them very early on in the game if he feels the TO is more trouble than it would be worth. But it's not long before he falls hard for the TO, as they spark a hope in him of a world and people outside his jaded existence. Maybe he could've been capable of love outside the TO, but the TO being from another world was the catalyst that opened his heart to his humanity. Perhaps he always saw himself aloofly looking at the world from the outside, and the TO as a true outsider, he felt he could connect with them. This is what he's referring to when he says the TO is untainted/pure, he means in the sense of not dirtied by the senseless crap of their world. When the TO rejects him, he's devastated and is surprised by his own desperate emotions. He marks the TO with a scar if the TO keeps seeing him, even after he told them to stay away if they weren't interested in a relationship. as a warning to stay as far away from him as possible. This is also probably to be taken with a grain of salt, but I researched where Jeth (an expert killer) would probably cut someone in as a warning but with as little actual harm as possible. Don't look at my search history U___U;;; And yes, at that point in the sequence of rejections, he's prepared to be rejected again and regardless of how carefully he did it, it's still an absolutely unacceptable way of setting a boundary, Jeth go to jail for assault, ok?)) It's bad of him, but he'd rather be hated and shunned by the TO than dragged along in some amicable way, and keeping his (now painful) emotions and hope alive. As eluded to in his aftermath conversations if you bond 5 him but not bond 6, he will be very mad at himself and bitterly admit that he still can't stop himself from wanting to throw himself pathetically at the TO (aka is unable to kill the hope of love and connection). 

This is attitude towards his own world vs TO's other world is also why he is much calmer and more willing to listen and cooperate when he's in the TO's world in Gacha Date. He wants to believe in a better world, life and relationship for himself and the TO. When in an official relationship with the TO, he won't harm them and will not force himself on them (tho he sulks a bit if refused), though he's still couldn't care less about destroying anything and anyone from his world, if he felt if the benefits would outweigh the costs. Like on some level, he knows the TO will be upset with killing everyone in his return ending, but he feels he must take the iniative to do the dirty work to fulfill the TO's wish, when the TO is to selfless to do so. A bit too twisted to say it's well meaning... one probably avoid dating assassins. 

I try to give the player a bit of power over Jeth, so if the player doesn't like him, they can enjoy seeing his mask slip, and know he's made to feel powerless in his frustrations (the TO  living rent free in his mind and haunting him for the rest of his life XD;;;)

How much of this I was able to protray, I don't know since he's not exactly one to just explain himself plainly, nor do I think he's fully aware of his own coping mechanisms. Originally, he was a bit too controlled and calculating, that I thought his true personality would never be unveiled enough, so maybe that's another reason why he flip flops from charming to an unhinged freak LOL. 

LOL! I read this through a translation and I wonder if it's accurate but it got a chuckle out of me XD. 80 years?? Are you sure your house can survive that long with this walking accident?

Katnir being more bark than bite. To answer Noodie, I think it's not that hard to get him flustered. Just...getting him to admit it xD

aww sparkqi, you made him look so cute and soft here while also calling him delulu LOL. He seems more successful in his attempts on the ADWVH comment section. Maybe its certain audience that connects with his way of thinking XD;;; Really I think the feeling in both games is very different considering they share the same characters, world, gameplay ect...

Hi Leledada!

oooh more art! TYVM for sharing~ Aww it looks so sweet with Jeth spooning. At least he had that momentary bliss before the crushing disappointment XD;;; I am also too lazy to color comics. Also line art is my personal favorite aspect of art though from both creating it and looking at it.

Hi Zack:3333, thanks for sharing about your TO! Gosh I had a time in my life when I was in college and kind of coming into my own adulthood and I ALSO dyed my hair dark red to feel more confident LOL. It was mess, because I was poor student so I try to do it all myself and it looked like a murder scene in my shower haha. I try to clean it up but I think I was staining pillow with dye until it completely washed out TT which it didn't seem to last very long either for all that efforts! Anyway with support I hope Nora gain confidence! 

Something I'm sure you notice, is that even when guild member disagrees with the T.O and is unhappy, they are willing to work through differences. I never want the player to feel like they have to answer all questions to solely make the LI happy. Some people might think there's not enough consequences but I'd rather the player can answer without looking up strategy guide, and answer what they feel they want without anxiety. I'm a min/max style player myself so I get anxiety to give optimal answers and ruin the immersion for myself in lots of games to the point when sometimes I can't play it anymore because it's makes me too anxious lol but that is my personal philosophy to these relationships/story choice  games. 

Hi Noodie!

Your post inspired another comic doodle. I had a response for Katnir in mind too but I ran out of doodle time~ also love your screenshots of reaction to game please don't stop posting them 😂

Hi ZaCk:3333,

Your comment on the other post mentioned Beileph (poor guy) and got me thinking of all the awkward situations he had to endure haha and inspired this doodle.

Hi ZaCk:3333! Welcome to the forums!! And thanks for sharing how you found ADW~ It's interesting to hear that you played ADW first and then ADWVH and ended up liking Jeth, as I wondered how the order of playing the games would color one's opinion of him and the Crown in general. Hmm, the more I think about it writing the rogues stories, I think their point of appeal for me (as a rather timid person) is they have a lot of guts and are a bit cheeky and fun loving. Also, I wonder if you also wouldn't mind telling us a bit about your MC? And thank you for the artwork of Jeth you posted on blusky <3

Hi Leledada,

Oh wow! I think that's very impressive artwork for not having practicing for very long. Drawing human figures is challenging and drawing them in a scene together is even more challenging and drawing them interacting (touching) is even more challenging! A very nice effort!

Also I always respect people who navigate English as non-native speakers, as I am pretty terrible at grammar and spelling, despite 1.English is my only language 2.I'm an avid reader who scored perfect on my language test portion of my SATs and yet I'm still this terrible?? LOL!! I'm not even trying to be humble... my copy edits are objectively TRUE mistake after mistakes!

If you don't mind me asking, do you use use some kind of translation tool or are you learning English? Do you usually play/read games in your native language or do you find more games in English? 

Hi Sparkqi,

I just wanted to say that I think Hanji is a pretty name! I mentioned before in another post about the Transient One, that I used to be adverse to the idea of self-insert ( there seems to be a stigma that it's too self indulgent? too silly?) I notice that a lot of people seem to apologize for their passion for fandoms or "imaginary" stuff/escapism in general, but I think as a creator, it's such a honor to have someone connect to my art and stories and if you felt willing to 'place' yourself in my works. then correct me if I'm wrong, but I feel you must've connected with it in a meaningful way. I guess some people might think immersing yourself in a piece of fiction is a waste of time, but sometimes i think with how guarded, jaded, and broken a lot of people are these days trying to keep up in these unnatural societal norms imposed on us, it's easier to connect with our shared humanity through the freedom that fiction and fantasy allows. Anyways, I wanted to thank you again for sharing <3 I did have the thought that "what if the player character is a strong, fit person? And justified it in a similair way you did, that lacking elemental power still made them seem vulnerable/defenseless to the rest of the cast."

Ooh hi leledada! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful artwork! I love all the energy in the all the detailed lines! With deita and Lor holding your character back, it makes me think this is a scene from ADWVH. Can you tell us a bit more about your MC?

Hi justaonegirl,

My symptoms started to be alot like the same respiratory illness I got back in October where I was like sick for a month so it kind of scared me into bed for a few days and forced rest. I slept a lot and I think I'm finally going back to work today and hopefully won't be sick for a prolonged period this time. 

I think katnir's comments are not bad also, but probably just hit him hard because as you say, he tries to hide this percieved weakness of himself. Words hit close to home hit hardest? I ended up doodling Lor sitting over in the same corner, (like it's a corner of shame or self doubt, which Lor probably spends a lot of time there as he's his own worst critic without any forum comments) he was surprised to see confident, head strong rogues self reflecting lol. 

I think of priests' weakness/clash against rogue from a interpersonal way that priests are so focused on cooperation and greater good (often at their own sacrifice) so rogues would definitely exploit that. (Even Jonas who can seem brutal at times, is still more big picture wellness and caring/cooperative and self sacrificing, as he was one of the original architects of the gods. Eve was one who opposed the creation of the gods, so they were enemies in their old dragon days but that's long long time ago so they don't really care about that disagreement anymore. Lol. Now he acts against the gods he created because he cant get himself to betray Ashur+ eves beautiful friendship so his empathy/sympathy overcomes his old reasoning) I can image irreverent rogues ignoring priests guidance on the ground that they're too idealistic and trusting  " sure, sir priest. Why don't you go pray for us." (Priests are in some ways some of the most powerful characters in the world, though not so much in direct battle. More like soft power?) 

LOL The unimpressed expression.  Calling out Jeth. I love it. <3

Oooh Sparkqi, Your TO looks so cool too! I love the ear cuff and chain. Do you want to tell us abit about them?

And here's this stupid doodle again because it seems fitting lol 

Part 3

Part 2

This thread was in my head all weekend while I was laying in bed sick. https://itch.io/t/4441443/fan-art-and-fan-girling

It inspired some random silly comics, so I thought I'd share these here. part 1