Helianthus

Hey there, we haven’t really posted that much for the previous couple of months, have we? Ooopsie… To be fair, we were quite busy with Chronotopia’s development . Our brand new promotional art, by the talented Eirlysa Lawrence We’ve made plenty of progress and are getting closer to the finish line but then we realized that we were lacking illustrations. And it’s especially important for such a long visual novel like ours to break away from the sprites/backgrounds monotony once in a while. That’s why we’ve decided to make a small supplementary Kickstarter campaign in order to fund a few extra illustrations and make the experience more pleasant overall! Of course, we’ve also made the most of that time to improve the old demo and add a few features. Expect a revamped UI, new content, new illustrations, better effects and the apparition of the archives system which allows you to get a better insight on folklore and fairytales’ references. We also changed the game’s name to add clarity: it’s now called Chronotopia: Second Skin to better reflect Kionna’s adventures. Beware, the Fairy is not going to be pleased if we don’t reach our goal~ So, if you’ve missed the first campaign, now is the perfect time to fix that. Take a look at our updated demo here and if you like what you see, consider pledging a few bucks to our Kickstarter!

It took us long enough to get through Valve's validation process but at last, Ambre will be coming on Steam the 9th June! Don't hesitate to share the news with people who played the old version, I think they're going to like the overhaul and the achievements

That's it, Ambre has been greenlit! Which means we’ll be able to publish the new version on Steam very soon Thank you a lot for the support and stay tuned for the upcoming release date~

Now on Steam Greenlight! While working on Chronotopia, we’ve decided to make a brand new version of Ambre, one of our oldest visual novel. We got tremendous reviews of the original and we thought a complete overhaul would do the game justice: so, it will now include all new graphics, more languages (English, French and Japanese), as well as a more modern presentation (such as camera zooms or blinking animations). Vote for us on Greenlight so that we can publish the new version on Steam for free! That way, old readers and newcomers alike will be able to enjoy this heartbreaking story. As he is passing by a park, a depressed thirty years old named Tristan Mallory discovers a lost little girl. Touched, he decides to help by taking her in. But something is off about their relationship, very off. Will you be able to figure out their terrible secret? Ambre is a kinetic novel, thus you cannot choose the fate of the characters. However the story will take you on an emotional roller-coaster you won’t quite see coming. Even if things seem wrong, do not ever give up…or you’ll regret it.

Hey there! It’s been a while since the end of the Kickstarter so I thought it would be appropriate to make a general update on the project Chronotopia has a very peculiar structure that consists in a rather long introduction (which can be considered the “common route”) and a turning point where Donkeyskin has to choose how she will escape from her father. If you played the demo, you can’t miss it since it’s the last choice. In the full version, you’ll be able to opt for various strategies, each one corresponding to a “route”. All those routes have varying length and focus on different themes. One of the new finished backgrounds I’ve already finished writing the first one (I code-named it B1) which takes place in the countryside: Donkeyskin flees to escape the yoke of her father and ends up being taken in by a young farmer named Fleur. Despite her slender look, she’s very resourceful and has quite a strong character, so she's not to be underestimated! Since farmers are subject to seasons, this route appears relatively linear, though there are still choices. There’s also just as much content as in the demo itself…if not more: the demo represents 23 500 words and the B1 route 25 600 words! Several tests we're doing to choose Fleur's design Next time, I’ll talk about B2 which is a huge contrast to B1 since I’m trying to make each route feel unique to have Kionna experiment all kinds of things in her journey. In any case, I hope you’re looking forward to what Chronotopia has to offer

That’s it, folks, Chronotopia has been fully funded! And we’re greenlit too. What else could we ask for? Well, there is only a few hours left to reach a stretch goal but let’s try anyway! To celebrate this victory, here's a sketch of Lys by Anako. Thank you for your support: we would never have been able to do it without you! Now we absolutely cannot fail: we’re going to do our best to bring you the full game as we planned it and we hope you will enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it

Big news: Chronotopia will now include love scenes for all romances (yuri and otome)! For more information, please go read the update I made today on the Kickstarter’s page Link to the full NSFW version (full nudity) BTW, we’re 65% funded so don’t forget to vote for us on Greenlight!

Another update to announce that there’s an Android version of the demo available on Google Play! You can now read it on your phone or tablet~ Our Kickstarter is currently 20% funded so do take a look at the demo if you haven't tried yet, and don't hesitate to support us if you liked it Chronotopia is also 42% on its way to the top of Greenlight so we need your vote! Well, my collaborators don’t always mention their political convictions when we’re working together so, yes, I’m genuinely surprised! Anyay, thank you for giving us a second chance! Indeed, Chronotopia will very likely be a long game since I have a bad tendency of writing a lot. That’s why the price is a little higher than with other visual novel: we have to price the content accordingly, after all. I think you can have a good glimpse of that with the demo which is also quite long! Thank you for your support

Hey, people, we're already 17% funded and 32% on our way to the top of Greenlight! To celebrate, here's a new scene from Chronotopia's demo: the pact. Make a contract with the fairy and become a magical girl (or something like that )! It is said she can make all your wish come true…if you pay the price~ Also, since I’ve been asked: I wanted to confirm that yes, Chronotopia will include both yuri and otome options! Who would you like to romance: Your loyal childhood friend, the mysterious fairy or the unrevealed prince charming?

We're now on Greenlight too! Vote for us if you liked the demo and want to see more

That's weird, he never told me he had a Twitter: I didn't know he had said those things... Thank you for showing me this, I will talk with him to get things straight! But know that I (writer/project leader) don't support those opinions and that the game isn't written by the composer

It’s the big day, folks: Chronotopia is now officially live on Kickstarter! Chronotopia’s demo is available in English on itchio (PC/Mac/Linux). Don’t hesitate to tell us what you think and give a little bit of money to the campaign if you liked it The future of the team is now in your hands!

Update: Hello everyone! Great news: we’ve decided on a date for the Kickstarter campaign; it will launch the 28th of September. All details concerning rewards & stuff are on our Prefundia page so go take a look. Plus, if we managed to reach over 20 000€, we’ll get to work with Basiscape (Hitoshi Sakimoto’s label) so I’m pretty excited . To help you wait, here’s a quick overview of what Chronotopia looks like with the 3D camera. I feel it really helps giving more impact to the story. What do you think of the result?

Update: After thinking hard about everything that could be needed for the upcoming campaign, we've finally made a Prefundia page! There are still little things here and there to adjust but don't hesitate to give us feedbacks so that we can improve And while I was at it, I've put some actual screenshots of the game on the 1st post. What do you think? Does it make you want to play Chronotopia?

Thanks, I'll need it XD

Thank you very much, we will do our best

Thank you Forgetful Frank

We're now back on Kickstarter! Try our updated demo, tell us what you think, and consider giving some money to our new Kickstarter if you liked it Chronotopia: Second Skin is a dark rewriting of the fairytale Donkeyskin: princess Kionna lives a peaceful existence in her castle, enjoying her days with her best friend and confidant, Nahima. That is until her father, gone mad since the death of his beloved, decides he should wed the princess instead. Kionna has to find a way to escape from this fate, but how? She doesn’t know it yet, but it’s the beginning of a long nightmare that will take her to the edge of madness. Inspired by a wide range of influences (literature, anime, videogames), Chronotopia is a unique and more mature take on a forgotten fairytale that includes many twists and choices that affect the ending: the princess can either escape with her servant, become a fairy, or die a horrible death. Multiple times. It’s up to you to save …or doom her. A unique take on a forgotten fairytale with many twists Branching story with around 10 endings and 30 hours of playtime An optional archives system to learn more about folklore Two GxG (Nahima and the Fairy) and one GxB (the "Prince") romances possible! Beautiful artwork, with animated backgrounds and special stained-glass illustrations A full original soundtrack with celtic influences Extensive use of RenPy 3D camera for a more dynamic presentation Several segments allowing you to freely explore the castle to discover its secrets Demo available on itchio (Window, Mac, Linux) Website | Devblog | Twitter | Facebook | Tumblr | VNDB Writing / Programming / Project Leader: Helia Art: Anako, Adirosa, Mae, PyriteKite, MelowBee Music: Butterfly Tea, Roganis English Translation: MelesBadger

Thanks john 'mr. customer' smith Well, I thought the TL in itself was kinda finished but that they were working on an official localization So all we can do is wait, I suppose? Ahah, I know, the anime is horrendous. I'm not watching it!

Thank you nohman! It's not that late: I only posted today after all I admit there are many VN I know but don't have the time to play X). I've heard of both Nakazawa and Urobuchi solo projects but I don't know how they're like compared to their joint ones. I've heard mixed reviews of I/O so I'm more interested in Root Double for now! I've actually started Cross Channel at some point with a friend of mine (who's into visual novel as well) but we gave up around the opening because the translation was weird and we didn't get anything Yay for psychological themes ! Also I can't help but notice you seem to be a Chaos;Head fan. My friend played it and loved it, I need to find the time to see for myself

Thanks for the welcome, everyone! Aww, I'd rather go with mysterious than clickbait-y then. The whole «You Won't Believe What Happens Next » is not really my style Ahah, thank you! Unfortunately, I have so little free time I don't want to lose what's left of it. So learning a new language is out of the question! I already forgot all of my German due to lack of practice, that would not be reasonable at all ;). Oh my, I didn't expect someone here would have actually read it! I hope you enjoyed the story I understand what you mean but I'd even say it's the flaw of many of our free visual novel: since most of them were created during game jams, we couldn't really make something big. That's also part of the reason why I wanted to do a commercial project and try something a bit different

Hello there, I'm Helia/Helianthus and, as you would probably guess, I'm a big fan of visual novel (and anime) I have rather dififcult tastes though: what I like the most is deep, psychological themes, possibly depressing stuff. That's why some of my favorites are Saya no Uta, Yume Miru Kusuri, Narcissu, Kara no Shoujo and the Infinity series. Especially Remember11 which is very well written. Well, except for the ending (of lack thereof). Needless to say, I'm one of the people waiting for SubaHibi TL since forever Ah and I'm very fond of English visual novel in general. I'm also making my own under the Träumendes Mädchen team since more than four years now. We were hobbyist for a while but we recently decided to make a bold move and become a real company. So I'll be sharing our first commercial project soon if you don't mind. Beware though, we do make pretty unique stuff...