Starlit Void

Sin • They/Them • I make silly games on my free time. It's fun

[emberconstellation]

Starlit Void is OUT (and free!)

Starlit Void by EmberConstellation

A fallen Star needs to defeat the Darkness threatening the kingdom so they can go home to the sky. 

Will you follow the prophecy, or break free from fate and choose your own path?

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Starlit Void is a story driven RPG in which Spica, a young Star who just fell from the sky, is tasked with saving the world from a mysterious Darkness taking over it.

Follow Spica as they learn about the beauty and horrors the world has to offer. 

When interacting with the world, they will feel Hope and Despair. Will they stay hopeful through their journey, or crack under the pressure?

✦✦✦✦✦✦

My game Starlit Void is now out for FREE on itch.io! I've been working on it for about a year now and it's been a blast. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to see people playing it!

It features 3 whole endings, blue hair and pronouns, speedrunning depression and also cool art I made myself. Thank you for your support, and have fun playing! :)

[emberconstellation]

Happy pride month!!!

More doodles (/memes) under the cut

[comet-art-central]

SPOILERS FOR STARLIT VOID AHEAD. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I thought too much about Mira before everything happened, because they clearly weren't always a black hole. I tried to mimic the shape of Mira's cape from the fight, but otherwise gave myself artistic freedom to do as I wished. Look at them, they used to be so happy.

@emberconstellation it seems like you like seeing fanart

[comet-art-central]

Spoiler warning is still in effect. I feel like talking about some of the things I wrote on the image. Some of those thoughts and ideas are somewhat interesting and I want to expand on them slightly.

Starting with the more obvious ones:

"Yes the resemblance to Spica is intentional. I want to add to the preexisting themes and parallels"

"Did they ever see their reflection? Is it kinder if they did, or didn't?"

These two are linked together, so I think talking about them together is reasonable. It's the difference between them seeing Spica (especially in despair route) and maybe seeing bit of themself in the young star based on behavior alone, or taking a single look at Spica with Kimon and Hazel and potentially seeing themself being escorted by the king and by guards to their prison cell. It's the difference between "I was just like you, long ago" and "I was you in every way, wasn't I?"

"Do you think about how there's no bed or chairs visible in the cell? I do. They thought stars couldn't feel pain, so why would they need comfort?"

This was a very cruel thought to have, but these were clearly very cruel people who did not care as long as they got what they wanted. So much evil can take root when such cruelty to others becomes justifiable in someone's eyes. Even if he did have a bed, I doubt it was a nice one. Still, it's interesting to think about exactly how far they would have been willing to go. They clearly weren't interested in letting Mira rest any more than they had to.

"Does Mira have chronic pain or fatigue? From the literal burnout? I think he should."

Connecting to the above, he never got to rest properly. I think he should suffer the consequences of this. At one point, Lost, when telling a story about a Star, says that "They lost their light. Their power. Their connection to the stars. They cannot do anything, now. Cannot speak with humans, can barely walk. Unable to live, unable to die." Now, this is likely a very extreme case, but it demonstrates that for a Star, losing their light can lead to disability. I would argue that it certainly seems like Mira has lost their light, given that they are described as having dimmed light in the untitled book in the room before the cell in the castle, alongside their current appearance. I think chronic fatigue or chronic pain both fit, as Mira clearly was in pain, based on the book mentioned above, and they appear exhausted. It would not surprise me if the reason Mira stopped fighting back was just because he no longer had the energy or hope left in him to do so.

Additionally, there are the hidden secret ones that blend in with the background:

"This kingdom was built out of stardust, built on the backs of stars they ripped from their homes. How many? Too many."

Look at Azmidi. Look at Mira. Look at Spica in the neutral route. Look at Lost's stories. These people keep insisting Stars suffer and sacrifice for them. Azmidi says they don't even bother to learn even a word of the Star's language, forcing the Stars to learn to speak theirs instead. They are forced into boxes and cages, locked up and told to talk a certain way, told to just listen and help. They aren't treated like people. Of course something like the events of the game happened. Everything finally reached the boiling point.

"How do you survive a world where you are expected to suffer... for others gain? Trick question. You don't. Not when you are so easily replaced..."

This one is paraphrased, but Lost says it quite well when talking about the First. They could simply call down star after star. There wasn't an endless supply, but there was more than enough. Mira was never going to come out of this unscathed.

[comet-art-central]

SPOILERS FOR STARLIT VOID AHEAD. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK.

I thought too much about Mira before everything happened, because they clearly weren't always a black hole. I tried to mimic the shape of Mira's cape from the fight, but otherwise gave myself artistic freedom to do as I wished. Look at them, they used to be so happy.

@emberconstellation it seems like you like seeing fanart

[emberconstellation]

Starlit Void is OUT (and free!)

Starlit Void by EmberConstellation

A fallen Star needs to defeat the Darkness threatening the kingdom so they can go home to the sky. 

Will you follow the prophecy, or break free from fate and choose your own path?

✦✦✦✦✦✦

Starlit Void is a story driven RPG in which Spica, a young Star who just fell from the sky, is tasked with saving the world from a mysterious Darkness taking over it.

Follow Spica as they learn about the beauty and horrors the world has to offer. 

When interacting with the world, they will feel Hope and Despair. Will they stay hopeful through their journey, or crack under the pressure?

✦✦✦✦✦✦

My game Starlit Void is now out for FREE on itch.io! I've been working on it for about a year now and it's been a blast. I'm really happy with how it turned out and I can't wait to see people playing it!

It features 3 whole endings, blue hair and pronouns, speedrunning depression and also cool art I made myself. Thank you for your support, and have fun playing! :)

[novaamethyst]

Here's a fanfic on the game "Starlit Void", made by @emberconstellation!

Fair warning, this fic contains spoilers from two of its routes: the neutral ending and the hope ending.

An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works

[jonathanstims]

My Hazel art!!! I really loved this game, really recommend to everybodyyyyy

[jonathanstims]

damn i never uploaded this. a very low-effort spica!

[emberconstellation]

ANNNND WE'RE BACK!

The side characters!!! I'm so in love with each of them. This is gonna be a bit long, sorry in advance! Also, spoiler warning, but I’m gonna be paraphrasing several quotes from memory!

Kuna and the PTPS! She’s so fun. I loved the side quest, and the reveal that the tree was there all along! I always love a character who’s obsessed with something as a coping mechanism. Also, her book being able to be given to Azmidi was so wonderful — when I was playing the despair route and she mentioned wanting a new book I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get it to her, but I wanted sooooo badly to help them out. I had to use the guide a bit for that, and it let me know some fun stuff like the secret passage!

Azmidi, now. Wow, I loved finding stuff out about her through conversations with Lost in particular. Actually, this can be a general analysis para since characters like Lost and Az are so connected. The ten stories got me theorizing like a madman. Certainly, Lost seems to be the one before The First, the one who landed in the sea. And Az’s story was wild — reaching that tapestry in the castle and seeing “That… doesn’t seem right” wrt Vastéri’s backstory had me gnashing my teeth. Ohhhh and “do you ever get lonely?” Wrt lost! And the diary on Az’s nightstand! They probably can’t come live with me. It’s been twelve years, so they should be coming soon. You should go see her! Maybe, maybe. God, this nb/nb yuri (to me) william-year-slowburn romantic drama goes so hard. And they both lost their Shepards, but in completely different ways! Of course they’re different — Lost didn’t even know he had a Shepard, much less lost them. And Az worked so so so so hard to finish their wish, but it wasn’t possible. So Greek tragedy of them.

And the differences between Lost and Mira!!!!! God, my poor friends have been subjected enough to my yapping about this. They both lost their light. It makes me crazy. But Lost wasn’t subjected to the trauma and torture that Mira was, and they eventually had Az! They’re completely different in their relationship with the world and with connections, but so similar in their outcomes — stuck stars, lost light, endless listening. I have a lot of lore questions regarding the eating starlight thing: it could be just a joke about black holes, or it could be about how, after turning into black holes, they are constantly craving connection even more so than the non-turned stars. Also…. Lost knows the difference in taste between Darkness and Star-given starlight. Hm. So many stars fell… I’m curious how he got to taste it before Mira escaped.

Similarly… There are so many darknesses that are turned conscious. And their names: nebula, asteroid, comet, etc etc… are they just unfinished stars that fell, or are they something else entirely? Is it a situation like the tree, where Darkness somehow simply possessed a previously soulless Cosmos-fallen thing?

Also. I don’t know if you count this as a character or not. But The Cosmos. It is what I would consider to be Starlit Void’s equivalence to God, and it is so interesting to me. It’s not kind. It’s not benevolent at all, actually, even when it’s helping. It just is. It follows some sort of logic or rule pattern that it itself is bound to, and it’s not all powerful in that sense. However, it has some level of emotion — it grants the Stars for wishes. It made love. It guaranteed to Az a successful destruction of the Darkness. Still, it allowed the torture Mira went through. And it refuses the Stars back into itself. And it sent every Star from where they belonged down to the earth. What a good portrayal of an imperfect god!

Anyways, I just wanted to say thank you again! I really, really enjoyed this game. Have a good day/night!

Thank you for your wonderful analysis!!!

I love Lost and Azmidi ... Their relationship is very interesting to me. I really want to explore it more eventually! I'm really glad you got the nb/nb yuri vibe!!

For the Darkness, the idea was that it was created by Mira's magic, and it resembles stuff you can find in space (comets, planets, galaxies, etc) because Mira misses the sky, so his magic takes the shape of what he wants the most. Also it just looked cool!

Thank you for playing and giving me your thoughts on the game!! :)

[emberconstellation]

Thank you for the clarification regarding hope points!

I have completed all side quests and main endings. Spoiler warning!

This is now one of my favorite games. I really love the environmental storytelling, especially with regards to Az's relationships -- they're terrible at drawing. she has lovely handwriting. there are rocks from a friend. he collects rocks.

The reveal of information and items given from exploring is so exciting -- I love when multiple "levels" of the game later I find something I know I can go back and use for that thing I was curious about (flowers for people you like... oh, Aganthe! a small key for a small lock, etc). There are so many things I missed first try, like how to get the tiny chest and the magic book in the smaller library and the path to the legged tree. Going through the game several times felt genuinely as fun or more so than the first runthrough.

The gameplay is genuinely really intuitive -- the hope point thing should have been more obvious to me. I like that the fights aren't too difficult, but require genuine thought. As I played multiple times I figured out how each of the enemies fought, and I had so much fun collecting high level skills. Getting rid of nebulas was easy and rewarding, and lets me focus on the other enemies. I liked running around them after they respawn lol. And levelling up isn't too hard but still requires a lot of fights, which I found fun.

The amount of dialogue trees was super impressive. I'm always very awed by people who can make such complex conversation pathways -- I've tried to make one several times before, and it's so overwhelming for me.

The story is incredible. I'm probably going to cut this short and make another ask actually analyzing characters and storylines when I have the time, but this more objective, tech-crew appreciation ask is long enough😭😭😭😭😭 sorry lol! Anyways, I love your game and I'm gonna be back later with more yapping 🫡

Thank you for your ask!! It makes me so happy to know Starlit Void is one of your favorite games. I'm glad you enjoyed it! :)

The dialogues were really fun to write, but also really hard sometimes, especially the endings. Writing is hard!! I really wanted the game to have some replayability so people wouldn't be bored having to replay the game to get new endings so I'm glad it was fun for you!

I'd love to read your analysis of the characters and story when you have time to write it! :)

[emberconstellation]

i have 99 hope points, have gone to all five stumps, read the two books, and saw the cell. i dont start battles with spica being hopeful and i cant seem to get into the witches tower -- is there something im missing, or is there just a bug for me right now?

I think you might just be missing some hope points! Hope points are different from the hope stat you can see on the status window. You basically need to get the "you feel hope!" dialogue 15 times. Your hope stat is high because it can be changed by equipment/level, and Spica's hope stat is raised every time they feel hope. I know it's a bit confusing, sorry! You can get some hope points by talking to Lost (ask for happy stories), and interacting with a bunch of stuff (on the top of my head there is Hazel's dog, the cat in Moonpeak, talking to the crying dad in Moonpeak after clearing the Darkness there, giving a flower to Agathe, eating the candy at Kuna's house, the tree stumps, the tapestry with the moon and the doll (in the castle), hearing about all of kimon's constellation stories (with the "ask kimon" skill), etc). I hope it helps!

If you start battle while hopeful and it still doesn't work, it might be a bug, I'll look into it!

[emberconstellation]

”I won’t go back!” Uh oh…. I think I know what’s happening….

grins evilly

[emberconstellation]

hi I just got your game and it seems really cool so far so thank you for making it :]

Hi thank you for playing it!! I hope you enjoy it! :)

[arrowstike-bunn]

Okayy.. hoping that this time the post doesn't break.

Main fellas from Starlit Void !!! I have been enjoying this game for a couple days now :) @emberconstellation

More below [SPOILERS!!!!]

Mmmm i am normal about Azmidi.. i swear.... [<- friends can easily deny that claim]

[acozycrew]

(Starlit Void spoilers, beware!! Specifically for the Hope/Constellation ending!)

A hopeful Kimon!!! Let him be happy,,,

[acozycrew]

I recorded a playthrough of each of the routes in Starlit Void, trying to showcase the different endings, secrets, and as many little details as I could! There's no chatting from me, just the game!

If you are able to play it yourself I would highly recommend doing so first, it is a very fun experience and it's free!! But if you can't or just want to see anything you might've missed, I hope you enjoy these!!

Starlit Void

And if you would like to try the game yourself, here's a link to Starlit Void's itch.io page!!

Starlit Void by EmberConstellation

@emberconstellation

[emberconstellation]

"But I'm not a person! I'm a star!" "Can't you be both?" oughhhoguhghgough gouhhgough ouhgougho ough

Ehehe. Ough indeed