AIdol: Artificial Intelligence Idol Masterpost
AIdol: Artificial Intelligence Idol is an indie visual novel that was made in the Ren'Py Engine and released in 2018. It is meant to be a family-friendly game for all ages.
A young high school student goes on an adventure to save her favorite virtual idol, Aiko, from malfunctioning, and gets help from the most unexpected of places.
You can find it on Steam and itch.
Homepage
Content Guidance and Let's Player Guidelines
Disclaimers
General TOS
Ethics Statement
To learn more, read after the cut!
Set fifteen minutes into the future, AIdol is about a new craze that’s been sweeping Japan: virtual idols.
Virtual idols look like normal humans, but they’re made of wire and circuitry. They can sing better, dance better, and entertain better than any human could ever hope to, and their devotion to their jobs is unfailing.
The protagonist, Hana, is a young high school student who loves virtual idols - particularly Aiko. Aiko is the postergirl of the famous company Lyriq, and one of the most popular virtual idols to ever exist. Aiko is the nation’s darling, and though Hana adores her, she knows she’ll never get a chance to speak to her. Aiko is simply too far out of her reach.
That is, until one day, when somebody claiming to be Aiko starts sending Hana text messages asking for help. Aiko tells Hana that she’s in severe danger of malfunctioning, and the only person who can save her is her original programmer… but nobody seems to know where they are, and nobody is willing to help her.
Left with no alternatives, it’s up to Hana (and an eclectic cast of characters she meets along the way) to save Aiko from being turned into scrap metal!
A sweet, family-friendly story about making friends, going on adventures, and the power of music!
Written by ebi-hime, the author of Strawberry Vinegar and Blackberry Honey
A large cast of adorable characters drawn by Melowbee, the artist behind Windswept Night
A custom soundtrack by Mock Off, featuring an insert song by Vocaloid composer nostraightanswer (Kenji-B)
Numerous choices, branching endings, and character-specific epilogues to obtain
In-game music and CG gallery
Lots of cute girls (and some cute boys)!!!
Content Guidance
This guidance is provided in the hopes of assisting consumers make informed purchases. Please exercise discretion when interacting with visual novels and other downloadable games. While this title is intended to be safe for all ages, regional or cultural differences require potential players to practice due diligence when deciding if this title is right for them. If you are a minor (as defined by your local and regional laws), please get approval from an adult before purchasing or installing executable programs, including any games and visual novels you might find online.
While AIdol is generally intended to be family-friendly, some sensitive topics are present, including but not limited to:
lots of pink
A soft science fiction story set 15 minutes in the future
an idealistic, fantasy version of the idol industry
A shady corporate executive
interpersonal office drama
Employee scapegoating and wrongful termination
Enthusiastically supportive parental units
QUILTBAG (aka queer / LGBTQUIA+) Characters
Characters with disabilities
Infidelity (involving side characters)
References to sexuality, implied sexual behavior (involving side characters)
Conventions and subcultures (Idol fandom, Cosplayers and Lolita fashion)
Existential and ethical questions regarding AI
Platonic friendship routes (no romantic routes)
Remember to stay hydrated, rest your eyes, and take breaks as need be to keep yourself mentally and physically well. It's always okay to stop playing any game for any reason, any time, so don't feel bad if it's not right for you.
This game does not require an internet connection. This game does not collect player data.
Credits
Melow (Karamelow) is the artist who helped bring the GUI and characters of AIdol to life. She has worked on several visual novels, including When Our Journey Ends and Once on a Windswept Night. You can see her visual novels on itch.io
ebi-hime is the writer and programmer who helped make the script of AIdol a reality. She has penned a good many visual novels. Some of her previous works include Strawberry Vinegar and Blackberry Honey. You can find her games on itch.io and Steam.
Mock Off is the musician who composed the instrumental music for AIdol. Mock Off's contributions are available to listen to on bandcamp. The full soundtrack is available as a DLC on Steam.
The soundtrack features insert songs by Vocaloid composer nostr8answer (Kenji-B).
MysteryCorgi was the creative director behind AIdol. She has assisted in the writing, programming, and other creative tasks of various visual novels. Some of her previous works include Afterthought Studios' A More Beautiful World, Forgotten, Not Lost, and When Our Journey Ends.
Other Contributors:
Beedrops
Fonts used: "Fashion Victim" by Nick's Fonts “Coder's Crux” by NAL "Gardens Regular" by Aleksander Shevchuk "Sazanami Gothic" "Source Sans Pro"
Backgrounds: Minikle
Special Thanks: Ren'Py Engine Alice
