Homecoming ~Morenatsu Revisited~ (Release #1)
Happy holidays, everyone!
It's been a long development process, but we've finally made it! Me and the rest of Stormsinger Studios are proud to bring you the first release of Homecoming!
After some extensive pre-release testing and a stream preview courtesy of our friend Deckerlink, we feel it's finally ready for the public. A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into this project, and I personally couldn't be more proud of the results so far. We hope all of you enjoy the experience as much as we've enjoyed making it!
As stated in previous posts, Homecoming is a radical reimagining of Morenatsu, so please understand what it actually is. Going in, be prepared for many in-progress elements, especially on the art side of things. Homecoming is a ground-up remake of the Morenatsu we love, and many artistic liberties have been taken with the source material. We know that isn't to everyone's preference, but the intent of Homecoming is to provide a new, updated experience for old fans and newcomers to Morenatsu. For most of us on the development team, Morenatsu was a first experience coming to terms with who we are, and we want to provide the best experience possible for people who are in the same situation as we were all those years ago. If even one person plays our game and learns to love themselves for who they are on the inside, well...I consider that a victory.
A-Anyway, links are after this next section, where I'm updating the FAQ I made way back when we first announced this project.
Have a good rest of the year!
A. Homecoming is a ground-up recoding of what we've already finished for Revisited. We're also increasing the game's resolution to a widescreen format, so everything should look cleaner and more organized. Essentially, think of this as a soft reboot for the Revisited project and a remake for Morenatsu as a whole.
2. Why stop developing the old version?
A. We believed it was a necessary step forward. Many issues started mounting as we developed Revisited, such as pressure from hardcore fans of the original to not change, disregard for the hard work we've put into the project, and resulting bloated code/file size trying to accommodate everyone. Starting fresh gives us the opportunity to make the experience we can feel proud of, ensuring every aspect stays consistent and the best it can be.
3. Will this change the story?
A. Yes, quite a bit, but ideally still keeping enough that it "feels" like Morenatsu. Revisited originally started out as a project to bring Morenatsu to a more accessible platform and correct grammatical errors. Along the way, it morphed into a project that tried to update the stories and give them more emotional depth. The same quality of writing you see in Revisited will continue on into Homecoming.
We are embracing the “adaptation” aspect of the project, though. This means that areas where we feel there needs to be a change, such as the inclusion of female sprites, we will be making adjustments. Entire routes from the original are being rewritten from scratch to match the quality of routes released later in the game's lifespan (Kounosuke, Shun, Kouya).
4. You keep using the word "adaptation". What do you mean by that?
A. Like when your favorite movie gets a modern remake, or an old classic television show gets a new revival, we see Homecoming as an opportunity to remake Morenatsu and give another spin on the classic storylines.
5. What does this mean for us who want the old art, music, and storylines?
We're making Homecoming because we love Morenatsu and feel another artistic direction will achieve the themes we're aiming for. We're not trying to spite anyone, as rumors have stated.
Other projects have popped up who meet the "don't change anything" expectations better than we ever could. Stormsinger Studios won't be the ones doing this for you, but if you want to experience the game the original creators intended, I highly recommend checking out rtlstien's Revival port:
https://www.furaffinity.net/view/26153752/
6. When can we expect updates for Homecoming?
A. We're all very busy people. Even this first release took a lot longer than I anticipated. Since we're not on any payment plans like Patreon (and have no desire to be), game updates are going to be on the old fashioned "when it's done" schedule. We'll try to keep you up to date in places like FA and Twitter, but due to our crazy schedules it would be foolish to force strict deadlines.
7. What has changed going from Revisited to Homecoming?
A. Homecoming aims to remake Morenatsu with a different goal. We desire to make a game that connects with people personally, makes them feel like things will get better in life...because eventually everything does. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and we're restructuring Morenatsu to better achieve that theme.
Coming from Revisited, Homecoming will feature new sprites, CGs, music, sound effects...basically, new everything! The resolution has increased to a widescreen format, so everything has the chance to look better and feel more modern. As stated before, the storylines have been updated to aim for a theme of "Hope". Finally, most Gallery features from Revisited will be ported over to Homecoming over time, though they won't necessarily be there at first.
8. Why is the protagonist an Arctic Fox now?
A. I get this one a lot, so I'll copy/paste my most recent answer to this question:
I've been pretty apprehensive about the species change (and writing out humans in general) because I knew it would be hands down the most controversial aspect of the game. So far it's been very polarized, which I expected, but I've also seen plenty of people come around to the idea as the days progress.
I wanted to remove humans from the setting because it does two things for me: It makes worldbuilding easier with not having to explain why a vastly inferior species (humans, as written in the OG) are able to coexist with superpowered beastmen (allowing me to better justify reasons why these characters would love Hiroyuki in the first place), and the concept of "if everyone is furry, nobody is", which is to say that it's up to the reader to interpret everyone the way they wish. If you want to see the characters as abstracted humans, then you're more than able to. If you want to see them as humanoid representations of their species, you're more than welcome to as well.
In short, I made the decision to remove humans from the setting because I believe it gives me more room to write interesting characters and scenarios. It provides a different perspective on things that the original game didn't have, and I believe that's reason enough to justify the change. Keep in mind, Homecoming is a "remake" and not everything is going to be (or even intends to be) exactly the way it was in the source material.
== Additional response from Frostclaw: One of the biggest things people tend to ask is "Why an arctic fox?" and though Dzahn answered the reason we made him a kemono, it wasn't exactly stated why we made him an arctic fox in particular. The truth is, we were looking for a species that wasn't represented as much in Morenatsu. Ultimately, fox was chosen, which seemed to go well, as foxes generally tend to be cute, albeit rather silly. Given that it went with Hiroyuki's personality, it just seemed to fit. However, the suggestion to make him an arctic fox was mine, for a few reasons:
1. The yuki portion of his name. Yuki, as some people may or may not be aware, is Japanese for snow.
2. Arctic foxes are an uncommon sight in Japan (though you can see a few at Zao Fox Village). They aren't native to the region.
3. Hiroyuki is extremely sensitive to the heat. Since arctic foxes have a thicker coat of fur, it fits well to make Hiroyuki an arctic fox.
As it stands, Hiroyuki is a set species, and there are no plans to allow for a species change (as that would require intensive programming and rewrites of story elements). Additionally, his kitsune heritage also will be playing an important part to the story. I can't say much about it now, but please look forward to it sometime in the future.
+++++ Release 1 Features +++++
+ Game recoded from scratch, featuring updated art along with an increased resolution
+ Tons of new and remixed writing, including three "events" that were never seen in Revisited
+ Most of Act 1, will take you to the end of August 6th
+ A complete soundtrack with functioning Music Room
+ New options to tailor the experience to your needs, such as enhanced adult content controls
https://stormsingerstudios.itch.io/homecoming-morenatsu-revisited
Homecoming ~Morenatsu Revisited~ Discord Server:
https://discord.gg/WTjM3S5
Homecoming Soundtrack Playlist (assorted):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLjQbwdUtaxNekKAPzMx3Aw/videos
Deckerlink's preview stream:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fk16fWOi0mA
+++++ Our Pages +++++
DzahnDragon (Project Director, Lead Writer, Coder):
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/dzahndragon/
https://dzahndragon.tumblr.com/
https://twitter.com/DzahnDragon
https://www.twitch.tv/dzahndragon
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHwk40OW_bVzPqP6GBTU1qQ
Devilizer (Art Director and Assistant Writer):
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/devilizer/
Lesli-Chu!? (Composer and Assistant Writer):
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/leslichu/
https://soundcloud.com/user-141917326
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLjQbwdUtaxNekKAPzMx3Aw
Frostclaw (~Revisited~ Manager and Assistant Writer):
https://www.furaffinity.net/user/grompyryokin/
https://www.the-gcn.com/
HypoNova (Assistant Artist)
