Melancholic Star (Act I)
A downloadable Fever dream for Windows, macOS, and Linux
The beginning of a Journey of self; discovery, acceptance and love
Prologue and Act I
The guards say that «he is a improper man, just a little weirdo»
The maids say that «she is such cute girl, just like a little doll»
They wonder if there is a place where it's ok just to be…
.
.
.
What are they? Who do they want to be?
There everything feels wrong so they want to go «home»
But where is «home»?
Would be confortable there?
Thinking is tiring so they wish to sleep
-Act I Content-
Drawings! I lost count
Animation~
20 or so minutes of prologue + Act I
Choices that don't matter ++
Classical music that is CC0 and PD but youtube may copy strike anyway
-Content Warnings-
Gender stuff
Depression and the wish of not being... anymore
Abuse
Implied SA
--Please don't read if you are under... I don't know... 16?
and If it gets too heavy please take your time--
Download
Install instructions
The music volume is set to 50% by default
It opens in Fullscreen (I think)
Anyway!! Thanks for Downloading!!! And please do mind the content warnings in the game page!
Development log
- The Demo Version of act I was AddedApr 12, 2023
Comments
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Hey! I played the visual novel and wanted to give feedback!
First, geez: the art, the animations, the colours, everything is so well put-together and beautiful-looking!
In terms of ambiance, I can only say I'm amazed by how dream-like everything is: it's blurry, surreal, intense and somehow... disconnected from reality? As someone who suffers from dissociative symptoms, the dissociation of the MC really felt right and authentic!
I loved how you chose to use choices for narrative purpose and some scenes were really intense. I'm also interested in the commentary about gender...
I would just suggest to proof read it as the game contains some typos which, I'll admit, made it hard to read in one go sometimes (if you need help in that regard, hit me up!), but that's a detail: overall, I could easily understand the game and the writing style, on the other hand, was somehow ephemeral and really fitting...
So, I'm excited to see where the story will go with this enchanted land thing! Thanks for the experience, it was truly inspiring!!!
Hey!! Thank you so much!! I'm always happy to hear that I succeeded in making the game feel Dreamy/Ephemeral, and that the "hiding in fantasy land" felt authentic.
And well Gender sure is a thing… isn't it? I'm living my own "gender quest" and I think that it shows but also, I always liked gender non conformity and I remember having some characters from when I was little and didn't know much(if anything) about LGBTI+ stuff that I look back now and I'm like "oh, I made a trans MC to that story… oh, that other one was NB" also everyone was really gay.
I'm kinda proud of little me love for queerness (੭ˊ꒳ˋ)੭✧
And… typos! My archenemy!!!
-English isn't my first language (and the spelling can feel so inconsistent, I know some words only by ear and trying to guess how to write them is a nightmare)
-I have bad eyesight
-I Think I'm Dyslexic
-Sometimes I write half asleep because after bed is the only time I have
-I'm really bad at looking for help so thanks!! Maybe we can make an exchange someday, typo hunting for… sprite art for a small project… or a logo? I can do BG but they make me suffer and I have enough pain with my day job _(꒪ཀ꒪」∠)_
Oh, it's really interesting to read! And I kinda have a similar experience, with a character I created for a fiction actually being genderfluid! And you can be proud!
Ha ha, don't worry about justifying yout typos, haha (I get you with the English language, the prononciation is inconsistent with the spelling, so it's a really weird)!
But if you want me to proofread some things, don't hesitate to contact me on Twitter (but I'd like to precise English isn't my first language either). And if I someday create a small project which truly interests you, why not sprite art, but otherwise, don't worry, I didn't expect anything back, I just wanted to help because the game is already excellent and that I love helping, it makes me happy, haha!
I am absolutely blown away by how good this is! It's so surreal and dreamlike, and every single line I was shocked by the new animations/visual effects. Some effects were used so inventively, I honestly think that this game really utilizes the medium of a VN to its fullest potential...
Although the plot/dialogue is very ambiguous/surreal, the feelings of the protagonist come across so well, especially their (I hope this is correct) struggles with gender identity and mental health.
I honestly think that as a standalone the demo is a conclusive story already? But I am looking forward to the continuation. I hope that the protagonist finds some solace at the end!
Thank you so much!!!
I think that at this point of the story she/they is fine, but they/them better descrives... well them (gosh I felt so bad having to write other characters missgendering them, specially the guards in the begining like duuuuuuuude shut up!!! let the child be!!!!!!!! and kinda in that note... the scene before the "that day nothing happend" makes me so unconfortable).
I wanted the game to feel very dreamy/ambigous/surreal and I'm happy to hear that I acomplish that, something like "it doesn't matter if this is reality or dream, the feelings are real"
I wanted to feel somewhat conclusive, part of me wanted to be evil and ending after the fade to pink of the window/little star falling/the story about Icarus but It felt too hopeless and I didn't like that.
Yes, the reactions of all the people around, forcing and judging based on their own expectations of gender, was painful to read... "It doesn't matter if this is reality or dream, the feelings are real" - wow, this quote summarizes the game absolutely perfectly!! I think you really conveyed that well!
Oh nooo, I'm glad that you didn't decide to end it there! I want them to be able to escape the expectations of others/accept themselves/overcome their traumas...of course not every story has to have a happy ending, but I hope that's the case!
The art and the animations really help to visualize the story the game is telling. This actually felt like the full game instead of a demo. I'm really looking forward to playing the full game.
Hey! Thank you so much!! watching your made me so happy!! (and sad but that is because the story makes me emotional).
I hope that when the time comes you keep reading/playing!
I wanted to make the Demo feel kinda conclusive but in a way is just the beginning, like an extended prologue?
This little demo has so much work put into it, was more than just reading lines of dialouge in a text box, had lots of animations and drawing like watching a full fledged cutscene, even for a demo, this much of taken lots of work to make, so keep it up, i look forward to seeing more and what kind of story this VN will have
Also did a video on it
Heyy!! Thank you so much!
beautiful!
Thank you!
This is amazing
Thanks!!
Finally had a chance to play this!!!
This made me feel a lot of things. Some of which I don't even quite understand myself. But just like... a kind of twisty gut-gurgly kinda thing deep inside.
Absolutely gorgeous in every way. From the animation. To the surreal lapses through the environments. It was like going through some kind of dream and waking up on the other side and being like WTF just happened LOL but in a way that you can't stop thinking about it afterwards.
Very very cool and can't wait to see how this will continue???
Thanks Carrot!!
As you can see I have a thing for surreal/oniric stories.
I always liked stuff that let you like "I am not sure what I saw but I feel like I now understanded something... just not what"
Don't know, Yume Nikki or a movie like angel's egg come to mind.
Someday I want to make something like Yume nikki but VN, explore weird landscapes with weird descriptions, no story, just things happening but... one project at a time.
Wow, that was very cool, I'm intrigued! 😮
I love the art and the way it's animated, can't wait to see where the story is going. Good job!💕
Hi! thank you so much!!
I'm glad to hear that you liked the visuals and the story (little at it is right now) intriged you!
PS: I love Q's eyebags
nice novel
Hi, Thanks!!
Kawaii
Desu ne?
Hai ˗ˋˏ ♡ ˎˊ˗