Healing Hearts Otome

A Modern Fantasy Otome Game

[healingheartsotome]

eyyyy its been silent for a while, how's it going with y'all? how's the project?

First and foremost, I apologize for not being more forthcoming before this regarding the status of the game. The artist and I have been hesitant to put into words exactly what the future of the game is at this point.

As of right now, however, I think it’s on an indefinite hiatus. I know this isn’t what anyone wants to hear, and I’m sorry. The amount of time and effort put into working on it is something that’s been difficult to maintain for me, and its only been getting harder as my daughter has been getting older and more mobile.

I’m not willing to say that the project has been cancelled, but right now it has been put on the back burner.

If you have any interest in keeping up with me, the writer, you can take a peek at my personal tumblr @onadacora where I’ve been working on Dragon Age fanfiction if that’s your thing.

Again, I apologize to those who may be disappointed by this news, but I felt it had been long enough that I needed to be honest with those of you following this project.

[hayurika]

Healing Hearts Demo Review.

Leah Parrish is in her second year at Faelands School of Magic. It is time for teams to be chosen and work together to protect the regular world from magical threats, but there is a problem with Leah’s new team.

Team Yggdrasil is all boys and now Leah has to live with them. Besides the nervousness that surrounds her being the team’s newest healer, Leah needs to learn how to navigate around these boys’ personalities and choose her Primary.

The demo is filled with personality and really shows off Leah, the potential bachelors, and a bit of the side characters as well. 

Keep reading

[healingheartsotome]

Thank you so much for this awesome review! :D

[healingheartsotome]

Sorry for the recent silence guys, we’ve just been really distracted by recent releases. This game is a project of love for nittanynn and I, so we’re trying not to over-stress ourselves between her job and me staying at home with my daughter. We’re both committed to this game and the characters, we’ve just been a little sidetracked lately.

[healingheartsotome]

Well, this may be a little late, I just wanted to say something about the sex in your story... It all depends on the image you have of the main, how they face it, if it would be in the way of the relationship. Personally I think it's a very delicate subject, but at the same time is pretty much mandatory in the "fantasy" category, for obvious reasons.

You’re not late, anon, it’s fine. :)

It’s still something I’m debating on how to handle, because I haven’t quite gotten to that point in the story yet. It’s also going to vary based on each character. I’ve mentioned this before, but for example, the way things play out with Max would be very different from John or any of the others just because of his personality.

It’s trying to find the balance between remaining true to the story I want to tell, and giving the player more choices. I really think that Leah is not a ‘blank slate’ Main Character, so her personality really defines what choices are available. A lot of games don’t make intimacy really optional, especially if you want to get the ‘best’ ending, and that’s probably the route I’m going to end up taking.

If I had to compare the playstyle of Healing Hearts to other otome games, I’d say it’s sort of similar to Voltage’s formula. Common route -> choose bachelor -> some dialogue options but nothing that drastically changes the story.

Being my first game and a little intimidated by the idea of coding a game with lots of branches, this seems like the best way right now to tell the story I want, even if it might feel a little ‘limited’.

[onadacora]

11 Castor and Leah Because artist chan demands it!!! 😍

From THIS post…

“Don’t you dare throw that snowba-, goddammit!”

I laughed, ducking behind a tree as Castor shouted at me. I could hear him grumbling loudly to himself, and the crunching of snow growing louder.

I thought maybe I should run. I peered around the tree, but couldn’t see him. Before I could turn, I felt a tug on the back of my coat and–

“Ahhhh! That’s cold!” I screamed. My voice was higher than I would have liked to admit, but it was hard to focus on that when Castor was shoving snow down the back of my neck!

Keep reading

[healingheartsotome]

Anyone else have any drabbles they want from THIS post? Send them to me at onadacora!

[ladyzavoj-plays-otome-blog]

Healing Hearts - First Impressions

Just recently downloaded another wonderful otome game that is currently in progress! healingheartsotome has a feedback survey, so this is my response! :) As always, I’m very long winded. So for those who don’t care for the details, GO CHECK OUT THE DEMO:

For everyone else, my thoughts on the game are below the cut, as always. :)

Keep reading

[healingheartsotome]

Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I missed seeing this yesterday! Thank you so much for all this awesome feedback! Please excuse this wall of text. u///u

Here’s some answers to some of your questions, as well as some train of thought responses (some of which might be very slightly spoilery, but I really wanted to answer some of these and clarify!).

Yes, Willis has depression. I’m hoping to really explore what it’s like to be in a relationship with someone that has depression.

John is sort of the ‘wildcard’ character of the group, without a super obvious archetype. I hope you like him more when you (and Leah) get to know him better. ;)

Berhanu has been tricky to write, even though he was the first one I came up with a concept for. I just like making things hard for myself. It’s hard to let the players know much about him because he keeps things so close to his chest. Talk about a double-edged sword...

Max’s first ‘primary’ scene was fun for me to write, but I totally get where it might make people take a step back, hehe. I’m hoping that once his route is done, and you get to see more of him, that initial forward-ness will feel more ‘balanced out’ so to speak.

Castor has been growing on nittanynn and I a LOT as I’ve been writing him. The characters sort of started out as these standard archetypes, and then have been growing into their own people. It’s been really fun to explore.

I love that you like Castor and Max. I admit they really started out as really plain archetypes when they first made their way into the game, but they’ve grown a lot as I’ve written them.

About the school/teams: It’s hard to explain everything without feeling like you’re forcing a bunch of exposition on the reader. I might have to sneak this in a bit better though, so it’s more plain. Basically the teams, after they graduate, are tasked with protecting our world from magical threats. These are usually magical creatures that escape in to our world from multiple Fae ‘dimensions’ so to speak. There are other schools that teach non-combat focused magic, but Faelands in particular handles the training and management of these Teams while they are in training and for their period of active service afterwards.

Lastly (again, sorry about the wall of text) I’m happy to hear that the characters have a proper ‘voice’ so to speak. That’s one thing that can be really challenging sometimes.

Thank you again for all of your awesome feedback, we both really appreciate the time you took to write all this out and I hoped I answered your questions!

[healingheartsotome]

Some teasers from John’s route, since nittanynn and I are wrapped up in research* right now. Very important research*.

*Playing through Hakuouki, Sweet Fuse, and Amnesia. >_>

[onadacora]

Best Thing About Working on an Otome Game

Playing other otome games and calling it ‘research’.

Picked up Hakuouki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom on my Vita yesterday because it’s on sale, and I’ve never played any of the Hakuouki games before (I know, I know).

Saito, oh my god. You will be mine.

(Also, I may have freaked out over the fact that Toshizo Hijikata is voiced by the same VA that did Allen Schezar in Escaflowne, one of my first anime loves. I was like, “Why does this guy sound familiar?” Guess who’s getting romanced neeeeeeeext.)

[healingheartsotome]

Plans for today: ‘Research’

[healingheartsotome]

Something that didn’t quite make it into the Demo, but I wanted to share with you guys. :3

[healingheartsotome]

Demo Re-Uploaded

There was a small issue with a sprite in John’s route, triggering a placeholder on accident. This has been corrected and the demo re-uploaded. No other changes were made.

[onadacora]

I’m sitting here thinking of romance paths for my game, healingheartsotome, and I’m thinking of doing something a bit ‘unconventional’ for the Otome romance genre, as far as I’ve seen at least.

Why is sex the endgame in many of them? Maybe it’s the old lady in me talking, but most people don’t wait until they think they’ve found ‘the one’ to have sex with someone. Sex and love don’t always go hand in hand.

I want more scenes with you waking up next to your romance of choice, the small talk early in the morning, helping each other get dressed, true early beginnings of a relationship.

What kinds of things would you want to see in a romance game?

[healingheartsotome]

We’re suckers for feedback, so what do you guys think?

[daeva-agas]

“Why is sex the endgame in many of them?“

Uh, I’m not sure which otome games you’re thinking of, but if you meant Japanese-made otome games in the post, it should be obvious why: Cultural difference. 

No offense, but I felt like you’re pushing your personal views and beliefs onto everyone else. When you said “most people don’t wait for the one”, I immediately thought “most people where?” When you said “true early beginnings of a relationship”, I asked “true, but for who?” 

At the very least, that isn’t my reality. The idea that “sex and love don’t always go hand in hand” is not a universal given for everyone, and some countries still view the traditional marriage and traditional family as the norm (Japan included). 

Anyways. What I would like to see in an otome is an MC with a goal or strong passion for something. I tend to see the MCs in otome games are just doing their daily life listlessly until stuff just dropped into her life. I’m not sure if I ever saw an MC who wants something specific with her life and is working on it when shit just hit the fan. A long term goal that isn’t “I want to avenge my parents’ death” like in Kiss of Revenge or Ninja Assassin.

Maybe she’s working to be a writer. Maybe she wants to be a singer and takes singing classes and enters auditions whenever the chance comes up. Maybe she’s saving up to open a bakery and has this online bake shop. 

Because isn’t that one of the challenges of relationships, choosing between career/dreams/goals or romance? Would you try to get both to work? Compromise? What if it really can’t work? What do you do then?

[healingheartsotome]

“No offense, but I felt like you’re pushing your personal views and beliefs onto everyone else. When you said “most people don’t wait for the one”, I immediately thought “most people where?” When you said “true early beginnings of a relationship”, I asked “true, but for who?” “

No offense taken. This was sort of a train of thought post, I hope I didn’t offend you. I should say that my views have changed as I’ve gotten older. When I was a teenager, I definitely thought (and hoped) that maybe I’d only be with the one person I loved. WELL that didn’t happen. And when I met my now-husband I liked him a LOT, but I wasn’t head over heels in love with him the first time we had sex.

So yes, a lot of that has to do with my own personal views. And things I’ve seen from the people and friends around me.

Essentially, I’m really just thinking about putting the more intimate parts of the romance story earlier in the timeline of the game, depending on the character. For my game in particular, Max for example is a flirt. And he’s not a flirt that is just for show. Intimacy in his route will be earlier than others, for realistic reasons. 

I’m not saying that sex will be approached casually, or without consequence. I just don’t want the end of the game to be when they have sex, and then it’s over. Some of the best parts of love and romance are after the deed has been done, and you start to figure out this other person that much more and figure out how your life will take shape with them in it.

If any of this makes you, or anyone else, uncomfortable, then I apologize. This may not be the game for you, which is reasonable. There’s lots of games out there that make lots of different people uncomfortable. 

But I appreciate your perspective, I really do. Especially on the second point, regarding the MC having a goal. I’m going to try to take this into consideration with my game. I definitely think I’m suffering a little from ‘MC thrown into situation’ syndrome. 

[daeva-agas]

Oh, no, I’m so sorry. I had been seeing all the comments deriding the MC for all sorts of reasons (she’s being too submissive, she’s weak, she’s too helpless, etc), and I had thought the post was something along that line. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

I get your point, actually. I sometimes feel that the existing otome games tend to follow certain old tropes that’s been done too many times over. And that’s what indie/homemade games are for, right? Making stuff that we want to see, but isn’t getting from the market?

All the best for your project! :)

[healingheartsotome]

No worries! And yes, that’s exactly what I’m making this game for. Because at the end of the day, I’m making a story (well, stories) that I myself want to see more of. :)

Thank you!

[healingheartsotome]

If you want to give us feedback...

You can send us a message here on Tumblr, or visit the Lemma Soft Thread which also has some questions for you guys.

1. First impressions? 2. What do you think of the concept? 3. Which of the bachelors (Willis, John, Berhanu, Castor, and Max) interests you the most? 4. If you have a favorite, what do you like about them? 5. Any thoughts/questions/comments after playing the demo? 6. Any issues you had playing the game? 7. Anything you want to add?

[onadacora]

I’m sitting here thinking of romance paths for my game, healingheartsotome, and I’m thinking of doing something a bit ‘unconventional’ for the Otome romance genre, as far as I’ve seen at least.

Why is sex the endgame in many of them? Maybe it’s the old lady in me talking, but most people don’t wait until they think they’ve found ‘the one’ to have sex with someone. Sex and love don’t always go hand in hand.

I want more scenes with you waking up next to your romance of choice, the small talk early in the morning, helping each other get dressed, true early beginnings of a relationship.

What kinds of things would you want to see in a romance game?

[healingheartsotome]

We’re suckers for feedback, so what do you guys think?

[daeva-agas]

“Why is sex the endgame in many of them?“

Uh, I’m not sure which otome games you’re thinking of, but if you meant Japanese-made otome games in the post, it should be obvious why: Cultural difference. 

No offense, but I felt like you’re pushing your personal views and beliefs onto everyone else. When you said “most people don’t wait for the one”, I immediately thought “most people where?” When you said “true early beginnings of a relationship”, I asked “true, but for who?” 

At the very least, that isn’t my reality. The idea that “sex and love don’t always go hand in hand” is not a universal given for everyone, and some countries still view the traditional marriage and traditional family as the norm (Japan included). 

Anyways. What I would like to see in an otome is an MC with a goal or strong passion for something. I tend to see the MCs in otome games are just doing their daily life listlessly until stuff just dropped into her life. I’m not sure if I ever saw an MC who wants something specific with her life and is working on it when shit just hit the fan. A long term goal that isn’t “I want to avenge my parents’ death” like in Kiss of Revenge or Ninja Assassin.

Maybe she’s working to be a writer. Maybe she wants to be a singer and takes singing classes and enters auditions whenever the chance comes up. Maybe she’s saving up to open a bakery and has this online bake shop. 

Because isn’t that one of the challenges of relationships, choosing between career/dreams/goals or romance? Would you try to get both to work? Compromise? What if it really can’t work? What do you do then?

[healingheartsotome]

“No offense, but I felt like you’re pushing your personal views and beliefs onto everyone else. When you said “most people don’t wait for the one”, I immediately thought “most people where?” When you said “true early beginnings of a relationship”, I asked “true, but for who?” “

No offense taken. This was sort of a train of thought post, I hope I didn’t offend you. I should say that my views have changed as I’ve gotten older. When I was a teenager, I definitely thought (and hoped) that maybe I’d only be with the one person I loved. WELL that didn’t happen. And when I met my now-husband I liked him a LOT, but I wasn’t head over heels in love with him the first time we had sex.

So yes, a lot of that has to do with my own personal views. And things I’ve seen from the people and friends around me.

Essentially, I’m really just thinking about putting the more intimate parts of the romance story earlier in the timeline of the game, depending on the character. For my game in particular, Max for example is a flirt. And he’s not a flirt that is just for show. Intimacy in his route will be earlier than others, for realistic reasons. 

I’m not saying that sex will be approached casually, or without consequence. I just don’t want the end of the game to be when they have sex, and then it’s over. Some of the best parts of love and romance are after the deed has been done, and you start to figure out this other person that much more and figure out how your life will take shape with them in it.

If any of this makes you, or anyone else, uncomfortable, then I apologize. This may not be the game for you, which is reasonable. There’s lots of games out there that make lots of different people uncomfortable. 

But I appreciate your perspective, I really do. Especially on the second point, regarding the MC having a goal. I’m going to try to take this into consideration with my game. I definitely think I’m suffering a little from ‘MC thrown into situation’ syndrome. 

[healingheartsotome]

I'm so glad to see you added the other guys in the new demo, and the added dialogue in other scenes! The CG is absolutely gorgeous as well. It looks really great so far, keep up the great work!

Thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed the additions! :D After working on John’s route I felt like I got a better feel for the other characters so I wanted to get those extra bits of interaction in there to help players make their choice.

I’ll be sure to let nittanynn know that her hard work on the CG was worth it!

[healingheartsotome]

i loved the demo! Any idea when the official release will be?

I’m so glad you enjoyed it, anon! Currently the plan is to release each finished route one at a time as I finish them. Once John’s is done I’ll have a vote for who people would like to see next.

For me, doing the release in parts seems like the best way to give people content as soon as possible. Most of my day is currently spent taking care of my daughter, but I’m trying to keep momentum going so I can get things done as soon as possible.

Sorry that was a really long way of saying “I don’t know.”

[healingheartsotome]

Demo Updated!

Guys, the Demo has been updated! Here’s a list of updates:

-There are some expanded scenes in the intro. About 700 more words, giving us a total of ~8,200 words.

-John has a few more sprites! Yay! (Sorry, everyone else still just has one expression)

-John has a finished CG in his route, and an additional scene at the end because...

-Mamoru’s new sprite is in the game!

-The first scenes for all the other guys are now available! About 1000 words per character, a bit more in  some cases.

Download it HERE!

[healingheartsotome]

Check out what got done in time to be added to the updated demo!

(I’m working on Castor’s first scene right now, I’m hoping *crosses fingers* that I can get the updated demo out tonight.)