Samantha Lienhard's Blog, page 137

Will You Get Final Fantasy XV’s DLC?

Final Fantasy XV is set to receive three pieces of DLC that each focus on one of your three party members, Gladiolus, Ignis, and Prompto.

Episode Gladiolus is due out in a little over two weeks, on March 28. According to reports, it’s approximately 2-3 hours long.

I’m conflicted about this DLC. On one hand, I enjoyed Final Fantasy XV and want to see its storytelling gaps filled in. On the other hand, I’m not sure if Episode Gladiolus will give me the sort of story details I’m interested in.

Gladio has his own gameplay style, and the DLC follows him as he goes on a quest to gain the power to better protect Noctis. Anyone who played Final Fantasy XV should have a pretty good guess as to where this story arc fits, and it sounds like it should be focused on Gladio’s personal character development.

More character development is great, but how story-driven will it be? Will it be enjoyable and worth playing to fill in that hole in the story?

(I have the highest hopes for Prompto’s DLC filling in story details.)

Over the weekend, Square Enix released a trailer for Gladio’s DLC. It includes scenes that could be spoilers for the DLC, so maybe you don’t want to watch it… but you should at least listen to it to enjoy the fantastic music.

Maybe reviews will help me make up my mind.

What are your plans? Will you get Final Fantasy XV’s DLC?

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Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ Update Brings New Title & A Familiar Face

The mobile Kingdom Hearts game, Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ, is about to receive a major update in Japan.

This update will bring a new multiplayer mode and new story missions that sound as though this is the “Season 2” where Unchained χ will split from the story of Japan’s Kingdom Hearts browser game, χ [chi]. And maybe because of that split, it’s also receiving a new name: Kingdom Hearts Union χ [cross].

(Since it’s now Union Cross, I’m not sure if the letter is an X or a χ now. Either way, at least the abbreviation KHUX still works.)

Now, if you want to go through the game completely blind, you probably should stop reading here. If, however, you want to see where Season 2 will take the story and join the rest of us in utter confusion about a certain character, check out the Union χ announcement trailer.

It seems that after the Keyblade War, five new Union leaders will be appointed from the Dandelions. The first is Ephemer, the second is Skuld, and the third is…

Ventus?!

How?!

This update raises other questions as well. For example, what happened to the new five Unions, since they aren’t around by the current era?

But the biggest question is definitely how Ventus could be around in the aftermath of the Keyblade War.

Is he a time traveler? Are the others time travelers? Is this a Sleeping World, and Ventus visits it while he’s trapped in sleep?

So many questions.

Here’s hoping we catch up quickly to these exciting Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ plot developments… preferably with a little less filler along the way.

What do you think is up with Ventus appearing alongside Ephemer and Skuld?

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Ascendant Hearts is Fully Funded!

The Kickstarter for Ascendant Hearts, the romantic comedy visual novel about a young man who finds himself in a world that follows JRPG rules, is almost over.

Yesterday, we finally met our base goal of $4065. Ascendant Hearts will be completed and released for the PC, Mac, and Linux.

However, there’s still time to support the campaign and make Ascendant Hearts even better! If we reach $6000 by the end of the campaign, we’ll be able to add character routes to the story.

In the base story, the player has a chance through dialogue options and actions to pursue a romance with Shiori, the mage who first helps him when he awakens in this strange world. The Character Routes stretch goal will add the other two main characters, Aiko (the green-haired healer) and Chise (the purple-haired rogue) as alternate romance options.

So if you love Aiko and/or Chise, or if you just want a longer story with greater replay value due to the alternate paths, support Ascendant Hearts on Kickstarter and push us closer to the stretch goal!

(I’d hoped we could reach the $10,000 Expanded Story stretch goal, but that seems unlikely now.)

Since the start of the campaign, we’ve:

Added beta access and your name in the credits to the second tier (Steam Key + OST) onward.
Updated the CG art to better match the quality and style of the sprites. However, the original CG art we already have done will still be viewable in the in-game gallery.

I’d also like to mention that there are choices and additional scenes not present in the demo.

There are less than 24 hours left in the Ascendant Hearts crowd-funding campaign! If you’re interested in a romance visual novel that parodies JRPG and MMORPG tropes, head over to the Kickstarter page and show us your support!

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Dragon Quest XI Continues to Look Awesome

Square Enix has provided new information about its upcoming JRPG Dragon Quest XI, and Gematsu has translated it.

According to this new information, when the main character learns he is the reincarnation of the Hero who saved the world, eh sets out to meet the king of Delcadar. When he tells the king this, however, the king calls him a “demon child.”

From there, it looks like he has to escape the king’s soldiers.

The website also includes several new screenshots of both the PS4 and 3DS versions. They still haven’t shown Dragon Quest XI on the Nintendo Switch, however.

They haven’t clarified the PS4 version’s combat system, either, although it looks pretty likely now that Dragon Quest XI is a turn-based RPG regardless of version. With many series switching to action, it’s good to know classic Dragon Quest is still being made.

I’ve still only played a single Dragon Quest game, but I hope to play more. Maybe I’ll have played more by the time Dragon Quest XI’s localization is announced!

What do you think of Dragon Quest XI?

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Excited to Announce the Publication of “Nightmare Stalker” This Summer

I’m excited to announce that my horror story “Nightmare Stalker” has been chosen by Book Smugglers Publishing for publication as part of their Gods and Monsters theme.

“Nightmare Stalker” is the story of a young woman who returns to her family’s home and discovers a terrifying secret in their past.

As she reads old letters once sent to her great-grandfather, she learns the legend of a demon said to stalk people in their nightmares… and soon she fears she is the demon’s next victim.

I wrote the first draft of “Nightmare Stalker” quite a while ago… maybe 6 years ago? Since then, it’s undergone numerous edits, critiques, and revisions.

I’d like to thank everyone who helped me with it, with a special thank you for my mom, who translated some lines into German for me.

I hope you enjoy the finished story when it comes out… and I hope your nightmares remain demon-free.

Gods and Monsters is the Summer 2017 theme for The Book Smugglers, and we’re hoping to have “Nightmare Stalker” published in July. I’ll keep you updated!

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NaNoRenO: NaNoWriMo for Visual Novels

You’ve probably heard of NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month where people challenge themselves to write 50,000 words in November, but have you heard of NaNoRenO?

NaNoRenO is basically NaNoWriMo for visual novels. It stands for……. well, it sounds a lot like “NaNoWriMo,” and the “Ren” refers to the visual novel software Ren’py. (And Ren’py comes from “Ren’ai,” a term sometimes used for Japanese dating sims.)

During NaNoRenO, developers challenge themselves to write an entire visual novel in the month of March. Many people work in groups so they can complete the entire visual novel. Consider it a cross between NaNoWriMo and a game jam.

I won’t be participating in NaNoRenO 2017 since I’m still working on projects like Ascendant Hearts (which just needs a little more help to reach its Kickstarter goal), but I might try it next year.

On the other hand, maybe I’ll use the concurrent IntRenAiMo (International Ren’ai Month) to finish up my writing for my current visual novel projects this March!

So, who here is participating in NaNoRenO or IntRenAiMo?

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Final Fantasy VII Remake and the Final Fantasy VII Compilation

Between its multi-part nature and new battle system, the Final Fantasy VII Remake has certainly caused some confusion for fans.

In a new interview, director Tetsuya Nomura raised even more questions about what the Final Fantasy VII Remake means for the Compilation.

Final Fantasy VII started as a single game, but it ended up as a small series of its own, with a movie sequel (Advent Children), a third-person shooter sequel (Dirge of Cerberus), and an action RPG prequel (Crisis Core), to name a few of the most popular additions to the Final Fantasy VII universe.

Some fans, including me, theorized that maybe the reason the Final Fantasy VII Remake needs to be released as multiple games is because it’s adapting pieces of the Compilation, too.

Well, that’s not the case. Probably.

In this new interview, Nomura gave his thoughts on the possibility of an HD remaster of Before Crisis, Crisis Core, and Dirge of Cerberus.

He said the Final Fantasy VII remake “will be different from the original Final Fantasy VII,” and that remasters of the Compilation games alongside the remake “will hardly have an overall coherence […] because there is no more continuity between the Compilation and the Remake for the moment.”

On one hand, you could that this to mean that the Final Fantasy VII Remake will include aspects of those games, which is why remasters wouldn’t fit alongside it. On the other hand, the phrase “no more continuity” suggests they won’t make sense in the new Final Fantasy VII universe.

Some fans will be pleased with this news, since the Compilation has had a mixed reception, especially for some of the more convoluted elements it introduced. At the same time, though, it raises the question of just how different the Final Fantasy VII Remake will be from the original.

Of course, he did say “at the moment,” so who knows how it will end up?

What do you think? Will elements of the Final Fantasy VII Compilation remain in the Final Fantasy VII Remake, or is the Compilation material gone from the new universe?

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My Recommended Resources for Story & Game Writing Markets

I’m taking a break from my usual topics today to talk about some of the online resources that have helped me:

Find markets for short stories
Get into video game writing

Short Story Markets

I have a few different sources for finding short story markets.

Brian Scott’s Online Writing Jobs eNewsletter sends you alerts about new freelance writing jobs as well as short story markets. Jobs are usually listed first, followed by a selection of new story submission calls at the end.

Next, since I write horror and dark fantasy, I also follow Dark Markets, a site that lists both established and new publications seeking dark fiction. You can also browse Dark Markets specifically for anthologies, magazines, etc.

Finally, there are a few genre-specific Open Call groups on Facebook where people can post new open markets:

Open Call: Horror Markets
Open Call: Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Pulp Markets
Open Call: Crime, Thriller, Mystery Markets

I haven’t found Open Call groups for other genres yet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t out there. These are my main resources for finding new markets to submit short fiction to.

Video Game Writing Jobs

More than short story markets, people often ask how to find video game writing jobs.

When I started, I thought the only way was for a big game developer to hire a writer. Jobs like that can sometimes be found at Gamasutra, although they’re uncommon. They also usually require you to be on-site and have a proven history of video game writing, which doesn’t help if you’re just starting out.

The first thing I did was play around with ChoiceScript. I don’t have a completed ChoiceScript game yet, but it gave me a small amount of game writing experience to show developers.

Then I moved on to writing for indie games.

Whenever you look into an indie game job, make sure you know the details. Will you get paid directly for your work? Is it a revenue-sharing project instead? Is it a free job that will give you nothing more than another credit? Look into the details and check out the company to make sure everything is legitimate.

Now, where can you find these jobs?

First, the newsletter I mentioned above occasionally lists video game opportunities as well. Other resources, however, are specifically geared toward games.

The Indie DB Job Board and the Mod DB Job Board are two places where indie developers list jobs.

Reddit is also surprisingly useful. My first job writing for an indie game came from /r/gameDevClassifieds, where developers post jobs and freelancers post portfolios.

There is a similar one, geared toward paid work only, called /r/gameDevJobs. Finally, while they aren’t gaming-specific, game writing jobs occasionally surface on /r/forhire and /r/HireaWriter.

I’ve also found game writing jobs through Upwork. Many writers will tell you to steer clear of sites like Upwork, but if you search carefully, you can find solid, well-paying jobs even there.

And finally, I also use the Lemma Soft Recruitment & Services Offered Forums to find opportunities specifically for visual novels.

Other Resources

Finally, on a side note, if you’re looking for an editor/agent for your finished novel, I recommend following the MSWL hashtag to see what agents/editors want, participating in pitch events like PitMad and SFFpit, and checking the New Agency Alerts at Writer’s Digest.

I hope these resources help you if you have short stories to publish or want to get into video game writing. Questions? Know of other good resources? Let me know in the comments.

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Angels With Scaly Wings Makes You Work for Your Happy Ending

About a month ago, indie developer Radical Phi sent me a review copy of Angels With Scaly Wings, which they described as “The Dragon Dating, Mystery & Drama Visual Novel.”

A dragon dating game? Sure, why not? After all, a game about dating birds proved to have hidden depths.

When I started Angels With Scaly Wings, I realized right away that the romance is only a small part of this visual novel. It began with an explanation of how humanity discovered a portal that put them in contact with a world of intelligent dragons, and from there quickly spiraled into a murder mystery with hints of conspiracy.

A few hours later, I reached a rather depressing ending. Determined to get a better outcome, I plunged into the story again and reached my first “good” ending… which was almost as bleak as the bad one. I realized I might need to play many times to get an actual happy ending.

But not only does Angels With Scaly Wings make that painless through features that let you fast-forward text you’ve seen or even skip entire scenes, it actually incorporates it into the narrative.

The presence of dragons might make you think “fantasy,” but this really is a science fiction story, and the sci-fi elements play a more central role than just setting up the premise. In particular, there’s time travel. When you start a new game, it’s because your character is in a time loop.

Ah yes… time travel…

While the game puts a great deal of enthusiasm into its time travel, it does present problems and paradoxes if you look at it too closely. On the other hand, the time loop creates a neat way to integrate the way most fans play visual novels–repeated playthroughs for each and every character route.

Now, despite the fact that you spend much of your time dating dragons, the sci-fi mystery story is stronger than the romance. You get to know these characters, learn their backstories, and grow close to them, but it isn’t given enough time or depth to feel especially romantic.

It’s also possible for at least some characters to get their good endings without accepting their romantic advances at the end, and a couple don’t have anything beyond lightly implied romance.

So if you’re looking for real serious dragon romance, Angels With Scaly Wings won’t be what you expect. (And if you’re looking for a happy, silly game, it’s definitely not what you expect.) However, the mystery is intriguing enough that it kept me hooked on my first playthrough, and subsequent playthroughs held my attention as I tried to see every scene, uncover every part of the story, and figure out how to help my dragon of choice.

In some ways, it felt like a puzzle: if I make this choice and go to this place, will I have the tools I need to get so-and-so’s good ending?

The more I played, the more my choices began to affect other playthroughs, because of the time loop. This was a pretty cool feature that tied into how the true ending actually works from a narrative perspective. It wasn’t perfect, as the game occasionally referenced events I hadn’t actually done, but overall it’s one of the most interesting aspects of Angels With Scaly Wings.

Some parts of the story and exposition could be handled better, and while some character interactions were engaging, others felt bland. However, I enjoyed playing Angels With Scaly Wings. It made me work hard for my happy ending, and intrigued me enough to make me do so. It might not be a perfect game, but I’ll be interested to see what Radical Phi does in the future.

Speaking of visual novels, don’t forget to back Ascendant Hearts on Kickstarter. No dragons here, but we do have romance!

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Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage is Awesome!

After Dream Drop Distance and χ Back Cover, only one part of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue remained: Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage.

It was awesome!

Now, the very premise of A Fragmentary Passage spoils Birth By Sleep, so if you aren’t that far in the series yet, save this review for after that fantastic game.

Got it? Everyone else here is okay with knowing the ending of Birth By Sleep?

Good.

A Fragmentary Passage follows Aqua during her time in the Realm of Darkness after Birth By Sleep. Technically, however, it starts right after the events of Dream Drop Distance: it’s a frame story as Mickey tells the others about his meeting with Aqua in the Realm of Darkness.

Although it doesn’t advance the plot in major ways, it handles its storytelling well (much better than the awkward pacing of Dream Drop Distance), does an excellent job of showing how Aqua has begun to break down from the tricks the Realm of Darkness plays on her, and establishes a solid hook for Kingdom Hearts 3.

Click for A Fragmentary Passage spoilerI was a little disappointed we never got to fight Terra-Xehanort (where IS he in the real world, anyway?), but the entire Terra encounter was still pretty cool.

Terra vs. Terranort is just the best. Terra has obviously gotten better at fighting back. Get him, Terra!

Also, since Terra confirmed that Xehanort is searching for Ventus, I feel vindicated in my belief that Xemnas is absolutely Xehanort-driven and that his “friend” line in Kingdom Hearts II is creepy.

The combat feels like a blend between Kingdom Hearts II and Birth By Sleep, and it has some awesome new additions.

For example, it takes Birth By Sleep’s Command Style system and expands it into Situation Commands. Once Aqua has dealt enough damage, she can use a Situation Command to enter a Command Style form like Spellweaker or use a powerful attack such as Firaja. You can even build up multiple Situation Commands at once and unleash them one after the other.

It feels great, and the game also looks fantastic. Magic is impressive and dazzling, and so are the strange, fragmented worlds you travel through.

Maybe there’s a little Xehanort in me, but the Realm of Darkness is beautiful…

What I loved even more about the world is that even though A Fragmentary Passage is a shorter game, without full-fledged worlds like you’ll find in other Kingdom Hearts games, it allowed for a lot of exploration. There were secrets to discover and optional objectives to complete, and overall I enjoyed exploring more than I have in several Kingdom Hearts games.

A Fragmentary Passage has been described as almost being a tech demo for Kingdom Hearts 3, to show us what the next major Kingdom Hearts entry will be like. Well, if Kingdom Hearts 3 plays like A Fragmentary Passage, I’ll be very happy.

Despite only taking a handful of hours to complete, Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth By Sleep – A Fragmentary Passage might be my favorite part of Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue. If you haven’t played it yet, grab Kingdom Hearts 2.8 and give it a try!

Like fantasy and comedy? Don’t forget to support my visual novel (I’m the writer), Ascendant Hearts, on Kickstarter!

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