ignore the haters i LOVE your writing and the characters and their design is amazing , i don't have a question even tho you said only questions i just wanted to show you that someone out there appreciates your lovely game
okay i thought of two questions
how would kier react if mc or player started flirting with him?
how close is the game to being finished? just asking because the video i seen was from a year ago and I'm curious if the game is still in work or over already no pressure take your time to finish it , i understated how hard it is to make a game , the coding , drawing , lines , adding endings
feel free to ignore this if you want!^^
Hello! Iverelle here, sorry for the lack of asks being answered. Me, Paps, and Sal are kinda busy this month š„¹
But aww, thank you so much for this message. š It genuinely means a lot to me. Seeing people enjoy the story and characters reminds me why I started making this game in the first place. I really appreciate you taking the time to write this, and your understanding about how much work goes into game development means a lot too. Thank you for supporting Backstage Infatuation. ā¤ļø
As for your questions!
How would Kier react if the MC started flirting with him?
He'd actually enjoy it. It would make things a lot easier for him since he already knows how to play along and respond naturally. Whether he's teasing you back or matching your energy, he'd seem surprisingly comfortable with it... though whether what you're seeing is genuine or just another side he chooses to show is something you'll have to find out yourself. š
How's development going?
The game is still actively being worked on! The biggest reason it's taken a while is because I started college, and balancing studies with game development has been a challenge. I'm taking Multimedia Entertainment and Computing, though, which has actually been helping me improve both my art and the game's overall development. Unfortunately, I only have almost 2 months to work on development before another school year starts but I try my best to work whenever I have free time!š„¹
The good news is that I have a team now! Because of that, we're currently rewriting the prologue and completely redrawing the artwork to bring everything up to the quality we want. Chapter 1 is also in its very early writing stages. It's definitely a slow process, but we're making progress, and I hope it'll be worth the wait. Thank you so much for your patience and support! š«¶
Hello, Iverelle here and I'd like to take everyone's time for a moment.
I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has supported Backstage Infatuation. Your encouragement, feedback, and interest in the project mean a great deal to me.
However, I would also like to address something that has been weighing heavily on me. Recently, my work has repeatedly been dismissed as "AI slop," and I have even been asked whether I use AI to write the game.
To be clear: I do not use AI to write my story.
Writing has never been my strongest skill, but creating this game has always been a passion project. I wanted to share my original characters, their stories, and a world that I genuinely care about. While I understand that my writing may not appeal to everyone, it is still work that I have dedicated a significant amount of time, effort, and care into.
The constant accusations and dismissive comments have taken a toll on my confidence and motivation. There have been moments where I have questioned whether my work is even worth continuing because of the negativity surrounding it.
I fully respect that not everyone will enjoy my writing, and constructive criticism is always welcome. What I do not appreciate is having my work reduced to insults or being repeatedly accused of something that is simply untrue.
When I first began this project, I was writing everything on my own before later bringing on proofreaders and team members to help improve the experience. Like many creators, I have learned and grown throughout the development process, and I have always done my best with the skills and resources available to me.
I would also like to respectfully ask everyone to use the ask box for QUESTIONS only, me and my social media team will not entertain anything besides questions and asks.
Moving forward, I ask that discussions surrounding the game remain respectful. I will not hesitate to mute or block individuals who continue to harass me or spread false accusations.
To everyone who has taken the time to read, support, and enjoy Backstage Infatuation, thank you. Your support is what motivates me to keep creating despite the challenges.
AI has stolen a lot of creativity styles from humans. The usage of it will never be welcomed in my game and in future projects as I am strongly against it. Please take note of that.
Development Log #1: CG Redraws, Character Customization, Writing Updates, and Ko-fi Goal
Hello, Luminas!
Welcome to the very first official development log for Backstage Infatuation!
In this post, we'll be sharing some of the progress that's been happening behind the scenes over the past month. We've divided everything into four sections so you can easily follow along with the latest updates.
Part 1: Prologue CG Redraws (and Sprite Improvements!)
It's officially been a year since the game's release, and our main artist, Iverelle, has grown a lot since then. Because of this, we're currently redrawing the original prologue CGs to better match the game's updated art style and overall visual quality.
We're also giving all of the character sprites a major overhaul!
Fun fact: when the original sprites were created, Iverelle wasn't familiar with layered image systems yet. Instead of using a modular sprite setup, we ended up with countless individual variations of the same character. While it worked at the time, it definitely wasn't the most efficient approach!
The new sprite system will help reduce file size, improve organization, and open the door for more customization options in future updates. New outfits? Alternate hairstyles? Additional expressions? The possibilities are much more flexible now.
We'd also like to give a huge thank you to our team member, Luna, for assisting with the line art for the updated sprites that will be featured in an upcoming update. Your help has been invaluable!
Part 2: Character Customization Preview
This preview was previously shared on Tumblr, but we'd love to showcase it here as well!
For those who may not know, Backstage Infatuation will feature character customization, including selectable pronouns, along with the option to play as the default protagonist, Haesol.
So far, Iverelle has completed 10 outfit designs, each with their own color variations. That's already a lot of options to mix and match! Of course, this is only the beginning, and we plan to continue expanding the wardrobe with even more outfits in future updates to give players greater freedom when customizing their character.
Part 3: Writing Update
Writing development has been progressing steadily over the past month!
One of our current priorities is revising the Prologue. While the overall story remains the same, we're making significant improvements to the writing, pacing, dialogue, and presentation to create a stronger introduction to the world of Backstage Infatuation. These revisions will help establish the characters more effectively and provide a smoother experience for both new and returning players.
At the same time, work on Chapter 1 has been going very well. Writing progress has been steady, and we're excited with how the chapter is shaping up so far. Alongside the story itself, we're also implementing features such as character customization support and the Affection Point system, making Chapter 1 a much larger and more ambitious update than anything we've released before.
There's still plenty of work ahead, but we're happy with the progress being made and can't wait to share more previews as development continues!
Part 4: Ko-fi Goal for Backgrounds
Finally, we'd like to ask for your support!
As work on Chapter 1 continues, one of our biggest upcoming expenses is the creation of background assets for the game. To help cover these costs, we've opened a Ko-fi goal dedicated to background production.
At the moment, we're considering two possible approaches:
ā¢ Commissioning an architect/interior designer to create 3D-rendered environments
ā¢ Commissioning a background artist who specializes in illustrated scenery
Become a supporter of iverelle_1 today!
Every contribution, no matter the size, helps bring the next update closer to reality. Your support allows us to continue improving the game and creating the best experience possible for everyone.
Closing Remarks
Thank you for supporting Backstage Infatuation and for following this journey with us. Whether you've been here since the beginning or recently discovered the project, we're incredibly grateful to have you as part of the community.
We have plenty more content, improvements, and surprises planned for the future, and we can't wait to share them with you. As always, thank you for your patience, encouragement, and continued support.
First of all, I wanted to start by saying this is my personal experience, so what happened to me might not reflect the experience of all gamedevs and content creators out there who collaborated with this company.Ā
That said, my experience was bad enough that I really wanted to make a post to let people know about it; especially to those who might be reached out by Plush Wonderland in the future, so that they can make a more informed decision about what they wish to do. And, well, also to express my frustration and disappointment, because this really left me feeling defeated, peeved and crushed.
I am at least happy to say, though, that after several exchanged emails between me and this company, the people who bought an Oz plushie either for the first campaign, the second campaign, or both, have all been refunded by Plush Wonderland. So at least everyone has gotten their money back!
This post is also really long so, if youāre interested in reading it, be aware that it goes on for quite a while.
With that out of the way, letās begin.
HOW IT STARTED
Plush Wonderland first reached out to me on February 6th of 2026 to ask for a collaboration; mentioning how they wanted to make a doll/plushie for my brand. I actually didnāt see this first email (it probably got lost in spam, at first) and only realized once they sent their second email on March 9th, 2026.
As you can see from the 2nd screenshot, I was really excited to collaborate with them; especially after having seen, from their website, that they had worked with many known indie devs who have wonderful games. I thought this was like a dream come true, ācause Iāve wanted a plushie of my characters for a long time, and the fact that a company was offering to collaborate with me because they saw potential in my games made me extremely happy.
After asking for the process of how things worked, this was the email they sent me. Right away, I noticed 2 things: that the plushie would need to sell FIFTY orders, and that the percentage I would get from the sales would be 8% (there are other things I noticed later but weāll get to them afterwards).
Iām not going to lie, if they hadnāt already collaborated with several other indie devs, at this point I would have let them know that I wasnāt interested anymore. I know theyāre not a huge company, but they still collaborate with many people and sell a whole lot of plushies; so giving 8% of the sales to their collaborators is rather LOW. I was thinking 15, heck, even 10% at least would have been good. Also, having to sell 50 units seemed like it would be a huge challenge. Still, in spite of both of these things, l decided to agree because the possibility of having a plushie ofāat leastāone of my characters was really exciting and I was hopeful that my fans would be happy with the news as well.
Small Note: I confirmed with another dev that they also were told theyād get 8% so this is something they tell ALL of their collaborators, not just me.
Having sold merch of Where Winter Crows Go (keychains) previously, and seeing how it didnāt go so well at that timeāplus the fact that Killer Trait is more popular and currently in development, so people are more hyped about itāI told them to start with Killer Trait instead, so they agreed and told me to send some references for Oz, so they could start with his plushie design.
DESIGNING THE PLUSHIE
Over the course of a few weeks, Plush Wonderland and I exchanged emails to check that Ozās plushie design was going well. They gave me an initial design and, after just a few small corrections from the feedback I gave them, he was done.
Why am I sharing these seemingly nothing-burger emails? At this point in time, I didnāt notice, but, throughout aaaaall of these email exchanges, Plush Wonderland hadnāt ONCE shared with me what would be the costs of production for the plushie nor told me that certain things about my character (in this case, Oz) would increase said cost of production and, thus, the final price for the plushie.
Of course, we could argue that I should have asked them about the costs of production at this time and you would be absolutely right: I should have.
However, this is also a collaboration. And Plush Wonderland is a company that SPECIALIZES in making plushies and other accessories. Youād think they could have mentioned it to me at some point in time themselves, and not just when and IF I happened to ask.
Anywho, once the design was done, they asked me to send them the logo for the game so they could make a promotional image (which Iād have to approve first) and they finally sent me the image that was made public when the campaign went live.
They said they would promote it on their social media (Twitter and Instagram are the only social media accounts they used for this, as far as I know; I donāt remember seeing others) and that they would appreciate it if I could repost the announcement as well.
I agreed and they followed up telling me I could post it on Itch as well, since people who followed me there and played Killer Trait would see that the game had merchandise. I agreed as well. They also confirmed, after I asked, that the campaign would last one month.
THE FIRST CAMPAIGN GOES LIVE
April 9th finally comes around and the 20 cm Oz plushie is shown to the world. At the time, I was also busy with preparations to move to Spain so I admit it slipped my mind a bit and I ended up making the announcement post a bit late, but still made it on all of my social media AND Itch. I even made a Tiktok where the VA was kind enough to lend me their voice for free because they also wanted this campaign to be a success.
A few days go by and the plushie is justā¦ not selling well. I reposted the plushie posts a few times, sent it to several acquaintances and friends (even family members); but still no dice.
Donāt get me wrong, I know that not everyone can afford to buy merch; especially when thereās shipping involved (some countries in particular have shipping thatās INSANELY PRICEY). Thatās a fact and, sometimes, selling merch is a bit of a gamble. It can go well, but it can also go badly. Not to mention the plushie was not cheap.
No matter the reason, though, I couldnāt just fake my feelings. With the addition of my stress from the upcoming move to Spain, and seeing how not many people seemed to be interested in getting the plushie or even comment on the posts themselves, I started to feel really sad about the whole thing.
But then, after speaking with my friend Mustache (the artist for Killer Trait) and lamenting how some people from Latin America wouldnāt be able to buy it because of the price of the plushie and the shipping combinedā¦ I decided to check the price for Ozās plushie again and compare it to Plush Wonderlandās other plushies.
Thatās when I noticed the difference. Ozās 20 cm plushie was worth $46 (no skeleton)/$50 (with skeleton) compared to other plushies of the same size that were cheaper. Some werenāt that much cheaper, but others were at least 10 to 12 dollars cheaper. It may not seem like much to some, but a few dollars can really make the difference; especially when thereās shipping and ESPECIALLY in certain countries, like the ones from Latin America (believe me, Iām from Argentina, I KNOW).
Thatās when I decided to send Plush Wonderland another emailā¦ and when my gloominess started to turn into annoyance.
Small Note: Something I noticed when I checked the live campaign was that the goal for making the plushie was now selling THIRTY units instead of fifty. I thought it was odd at the time but, since it ultimately ended up benefitting me, I didnāt think much of it. However, a dev I talked to that also made a collaboration with them told me the opposite happened to them; Plush Wonderland first said they needed to sell 30 units and when the campaign went live it ended up being 50.
WHY IS IT SO EXPENSIVE?
On April 15th, I sent Plush Wonderland an email to ask about the difference in price between Oz plushie and other 20 cm dolls. This was their reply:
Remember when I previously talked about them not telling me anything regarding the costs of production for their plushies? THIS was the first time I was made aware of them. Not once in all of their previous emails did they tell me about the costs of production nor how much would the plushie cost.
Again, yes, this is something that I admittedly SHOULD have asked them about, but I also want to cut myself some slack in that regard because this was the first time I ever did something like this, but it was NOT the first time for them.
Heck, they could have even told me how adding white streaks to Ozās hair and his burn scar would make the plushie more expensive DURING the process of his plushie design! But they never said anything.
And wait, things get worse.
As you can see in the email above, I told them how I commissioned a few mini comics to try and promote the plushie as best as I could. Then I proceeded to make said comics into short videos; again, with the help of the very kind VAs who provided their voices (for free!) because they wanted to help me make this plushie become a reality.
But thatās when they repliedā¦ that, since the price of the 20 cm plushie seemed too high, I could make a poll for my fans to see if theyād prefer a 10 cm plushie instead; which would be much cheaper. They also told me we could do other things as well, like stickers or acrylic products.
Do you see the problem with this? First of all, why didnāt they tell me about these things right at the beginning? And what would the point of a poll like this even have been when the 20 cm plushie campaign was already live?
We could argue that I could have asked them to make a 10 cm plushie (or another product) from the start, but when they came to me for a collaboration they SPECIFICALLY talked about making a plushie and they NEVER specified what the size of that plushie would be. They went on ahead and made the 20 cm plushie design without ever telling me I could choose between 2 sizes. What choice could I have made if I didnāt know my options from the start?
During this time, because of my upcoming overseas move and overall general stress, I wasnāt really thinking with a clear mindāI was even considering making the poll, despite not being sure if many people would voteāso, while I was frustrated, I still didnāt see all the issues and red flags that I saw afterwards.
Plush Wonderland offered to have the campaign for the 20 cm Oz plushie and the one for a 10 cm Oz plushie run simultaneously. Thinking back, a friend told me (after the whole ordeal) that having 2 campaigns run somewhat simultaneously, where itās also visible that one of them is failing pretty badly, is not very good marketingā¦ and I think sheās completely right.
I should have refused. I REALLY should have refused. But since the first campaign was already failing so badly, and I was still really enamoured with the idea of having an Oz plushie, I agreed.
In fact, at first I was feeling really guilty that they were drawing another design:
THE SECOND CAMPAIGN GOES LIVE
A few days go by and, when April 29th comes around, the second campaign goes live. Once again, I make posts EVERYWHERE and even start commissioning one last mini comic to make another Tiktok video for this plushie.
At this point, I was pretty desperate. I even made an Instagram to try to promote both plushiesāI was already thinking of making a gamedev Instagram before, but thought this would be a good incentive.
I happened to see that their Instagram had a whole lot of followers, so I asked them if they could help me by posting there and adding me as a collaborator. That way, the post would be in both our accounts and, since they have so many followers, their post would reach more people than mine.
Their responseā¦ was that their social media schedule was very ātightā so it would be better for me to make the post instead. This could just be me, but the ādearā that they added also felt very rude.
I ended up making the post myself and adding them as a collaborator instead. However, when I told them about this, Plush Wonderland was unfortunately on holiday, so they saw my email late and, when they accepted my collaboration post (only one of them, because I also added them as collaborators on the plushie videos and they ignored those) it was already too lateā¦ They had made several new posts and the one with 10 cm Oz plushie was buried under their most recent ones.
I donāt know just how much a merch company should help their collaborators with marketing, but this is another one of the many reasons why I feel like I had a bad experience. Doing the marketing for the Oz plushie was very hard, stressful and, most of all, lonely. Plush Wonderland didnāt really help me much and, if Iām being honest, I feel like they could have helped more (and this goes not only for me, but for all people who collaborate with them; I feel they should be helped more).
Instead of receiving help, it felt like Plush Wonderland was counting on my fan base being big enough for the merch to, somehow, sell magically well.
WHEN EVERYTHING WENT TO HELL
Several days go by and, ultimately, the campaign for Ozās 20 cm plushie fails with 9 plushies sold out of 30. This was expected, so I was bummed but still hopeful that maybe, just maybe, the other campaign could succeed. In fact, Mustache told me that a couple of Brazilian fans had bought the 20 cm plushie and were waiting for their refund so they could try again with the 10 cm plushie.
A few days after the first campaign had failed, I got a message from Mustache letting me know that one of her friends who bought the plushie still hadnāt received a refund. I asked another friend of mine, Meiri, who bought one as well, to see if she ALSO hadnāt received a refund. She confirmed that she hadnāt AND that she had sent an email to Plush Wonderland days ago asking about it, but they never got back to her.
Thatās when I decided to send a new email to the company to see what was going on. If the campaign had failedā¦ shouldnāt everyone have been refunded?Ā
Their reply wasā¦ confusing, to say the least. I showed it to a few of my friends and we were all pretty perplexed. What did this even mean?
So, yet again, I sent them another email. Trying to grasp whether this meant that everyone would receive their refunds by May 28th. The first campaign had ended on May 8th so, from then onwards, without counting the weekends, two weeks would be around May 28thā¦ right?
I wanted to confirm this quickly too because there were only 11 days left for the second campaign to finish, and a couple of people who had bought the 20 cm plushie wanted their refund so they could buy the 10 cm plushie.
The email they sent me next made me go from confused and frustrated to angry and disappointed:
This reply made me beyond upset. Not only were they saying that the second campaign had over 20 days left (which was not true), they also, for some reason, talked to me like I was a buyer? Somehow, someway, there had been a huge misunderstanding on their part, and this really didnāt look professional at all.
Some could say that this is a matter of lost translation. That English is not their first language and, perhaps, they use Google Translate to communicate or something, so the meaning of the email was lost in the poor translation.
Well, English is not my first language either, and even taking that out of the way, you canāt be an international company who constantly offers merch collaborations to several people and have this level of English in email exchanges. The people who are in charge of contacting and engaging with the collaborators should have a level of English thatās high enough for these things to never happen.
What happened here was VERY unprofessional.
Yet again, I sent them another email where, firmly but politely, I expressed my frustration and that all I wanted was for the people who bought the 20 cm plushie to be refunded.
They replied apologetically but then, not even 5 minutes later, they followed with ANOTHER reply where they said they would extend the 10 cm plushie campaign by ONE MORE MONTH so that those who bought the 20 cm plushie could āwait patiently for their refundā and then buy the 10 cm plushie.
I told them to PLEASE not do this and that I would take a couple of days to process the whole thing before I sent a longer reply; because what they were doing was frankly making me uncomfortable.
Again, they initially replied in a way that seemed they were being understandingā¦ But then not even 30 minutes later they replied with yet another suggestion where they asked ME to ask the people who bought the 20 cm plushie (and wanted the 10 cm plushie) to send THEM an email to āpre-registerā so they could have the other plushie instead??Ā
This is most probably another problem with the translation but I THINK they were trying to tell me that they would transfer the money of those who bought the 20 cm plushie (and wanted the 10 cm plushie) to the other campaign so they could get the 10 cm plushie before the campaign ended??Ā
I donāt knowā¦ no matter, because, yet again, they were dancing around the fact that they werenāt refunding the buyers quickly and, yet again, making more suggestions of things that could āmaybeā work but, honestly speaking, felt like rather poor suggestions.
I sincerely felt like I was talking to someone who had a tiny shop and was selling merch for the very first time.
Small Note: I think itās important to mention as well that I was the only one telling people on social media that Plush Wonderland would refund them soon; the only one reassuring them. Meanwhile, they did nothing.Ā
I feel like this and my repeated posts of the plushie themselves may have also potentially hurt trust from my fans in me, all the while Plush Wonderland continues on with their day.
THEIR āAPOLOGYā AND THEIR ACTUAL APOLOGY
A couple of days later, after talking with a few friends and my Dad about this, I sent them a very long and detailed email where I politely expressed my disappointment and dissatisfaction with the collaboration and my overall bad experience with them. I listed 10 points, which are basically all of the things I mentioned in this large post in an even more detailed manner, so I wonāt bore you with my actual email but Iāll share with you what I received as a reply.
So, from what I understood based on the 2nd email (which is exactly the same but only contains that extra phrase at the start), there was only one person I had been talking to throughout the whole ordeal.
No matter, the liaison is still part of Plush Wonderland and, honestly speaking, the apology I received here felt a bit half-baked and insincere. It felt like they went on the defensive in several parts and STILL insisted that I should give their company another chance. Not to mention, several things I had told them I was displeased about were not yet addressed at all.
Also, for some reason, the English in this email was a lot more understandable than the previous emails, so Iām not sure if this person reached out to someone else in the company for help, but itās another thing to note.
The next reply, on the other hand, felt much MUCH more professional, like they had taken actual accountability, and the English level was completely different. Take a look:
Not long after receiving this email, my Dad and one of my friends told me Plush Wonderland had sent them an email apologizing for the trouble and they were refunded shortly after, as they had mentioned in the email above.
They did the same with the people who bought the 10 cm plushie and all people have been refunded now. So, credit where creditās due, this was a good thing about them and Iām glad and relieved that they delivered on their promise in their last email.
Unfortunately, this wasnāt enough to dissuade me from not making this post. I wanted to tell my whole experience, from start to finish, to let people know what I went through and for them to be careful and observant when approached with a deal/collaboration with similar characteristics to the one I was approached with. Whether youāre approached by Plush Wonderland or another company altogether.Ā
Donāt be naive like me and trust a company just because they made collaborations/deals with several people you know or know of. Being trusting is not a bad thing, but itās never bad to have some healthy skepticism and ask A LOT of questions. If something doesnāt feel right, donāt go through with it.Ā
Listen to your gut, itās there for a reason. I didnāt listen to it and I ended up going through a lot of stress because of it and even losing money to try and promote something that was destined to fail.
The silver lining I see in all of this is that, at least, I learned from this experience; and was also able to make this post to inform others about this matter.
Unfortunately, this experience has also greatly discouraged me from trying to make physical merch of my games for a long while. Iām not saying it wonāt happen, just that I will be a whole lot more careful next time and, most probably, start with a pre-order system so that Iām not at a risk of losing money.
Thank you very much for reading until the end and I hope you have an excellent week!
-Pri
(Final) Small Note: You might have noticed that I deleted a lot, if not all, the posts in which I advertised the plushie. That's because I honestly don't want to be reminded of the bad experience, so I'd rather they be gone. I also deleted the videos of the cute mini comics; but those in particular I will upload again after the artist I commissioned changes the plushie in those comics for one they drew themselves, so it's not associated with Plush Wonderland in any way.
Hi! So quick question, what would Kier think if the mc wore a caramel scented perfume? Cuz I know of this one perfume that smells exactly like caramel (caramel skin by phlur) and when I found out he liked caramel I got curious lol
Hihi!
Kier wonāt be able to resist trying to take a nibble out of you, or act really clingy by constantly hugging you, so the scent also ends up transferring on his clothes too.
I also kinda imagine him getting a plushie that reminds him of you and then spray your perfume on it. So whenever he is really tired and needs some rest, he will have the plushie wrapped around his arms.
It was fun answering this ask! Also, apologies for the inactivity, Ive injured her hand and I have been busy helping my friend with their visual novel. BUT I swear I have 10 asks drafted with juicy info!!! I'm just very picky with how I answer them :'3
Meet my MC Marina Kitty for @backstageinfatuationvn! šāā¬ļø She's your typical black cat: cold, calm, reserved. Marina's a solo artist who really admires and looks up to Kier.
Anyways, check out the game guys. It's so good!! Thank you Ive for making this VN š«¶
Aurora Rising Records @backstageinfatuationvn - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
