#nicohverse

[nicohverse]

LGBTQ Pride month is over, now it's disability pride month. I spent most of pride on my main blog plugging the etsy store, not Entropic Float, despite its testimonials like "The single queerest game I've ever played".

Truth be told, I don't really see Entropic Float as a game about queerness at its core- the whole cast is queer, there are queer stories, but that's just because those are the kind of people I know, the kind of characters I want to write. The story can be queer without being about queerness- But one of the things it certainly is about is disability.

Because I'm not just queer, I'm also multiply disabled. And when I was making Entropic Float, a lot of it was during a period of my life where I had no choice but to focus on my disability. I was working in an environment that wasn't accomodating, where I needed to micromanage my own body to make it through the day. I caught covid at one point during development, and it had lasting effects. Everything just kept getting worse. There's a reason I quit that job a month after releasing EF- I told myself to just keep going until it was done, and after it was, I couldn't.

Entropic Float is important to me, with my own disabilities. Entropic Float has helped others realize their experiences were not universal and that they are disabled as well. Entropic Float has reaffirmed the impact of disability on people's lives. So this disability pride month, consider playing Entropic Float. It's a completely free way to support a disabled creator, and you may just find your own support in its text too.

#disability pride month #indie gamedev #visual novel #entropic float #nicohverse #gamedev #indie games #vndev #queer

[gucciguccigarbage]

A few spare Entropic Float doodles! I posted these over on twitter as a countdown to release, but only just realized I hadn’t shared them over here. Since none of these images show up in-game, I’ll post em here on my personal tumblr. Featuring some lyric doodles, a set of siblings, Amelie dressed up as one of the characters who inspired her, and the one tattoo Malcolm has that he didn’t give himself~

#entropic float #entropic float this world will decay and disappear #nicohverse #999 #my art #recent #my ocs

[powerfulblob]

Happy Aromantic Awareness week!

ID under the read more!

To celebrate Aromantic Visibility Week, here‘s a group shot of the aro-spec characters in @nicohverse’s Entropic Float series!

[ID: A watercolor and pen drawing of Abel, Peri, Maude, and Jazz from the games Entropic Float 1 and Entropic Float 2. Text below reads Aromantic Awareness Week! In green, grey, and white letters. Text also reads “Feb 18-24”.

Jazz is a non-binary woman with pale skin and purple hair, bunny ears as a headband, and a crop top with the colors of the greyromantic flag. She has fishnets underneath, and grey pants. She smiles cheekily and gives a middle finger to the audience.

Abel is a boy with dark skin and curls dyed with black fading into yellow near the tips. He wears a blue tie, a striped blue and white shirt, a blue jacket, and grey pants. He smiles to the side, and holds an aroace flag with one hand, giving a peace sign with the other.

Peri is a girl with light skin and pink shoulder-length hair with bangs. She has a black bow in the back of her head. She wears a pink and black outfit, and holds a spear. The spear has an aroace flag tied to it. She smiles slightly. Maude is a thin tall woman with pale skin and grey eyes, with long light brown hair in bangs and tied in two braids behind her back. She has a blank expression.. She wears a grey and gold outfit that includes a beret, a dress with a bowtie with the colors of the quoiromantic flag: green, white, black, and blue. She holds an umbrella with the colors of the quoiromantic flag as well.

end ID]

#image described #entropic float #aromantic #fanart #blob's art #jazz #abel #peri #maude

[qpr-competition]

art of Peri and Abel by @nicohverse

#qpr competition #swag competition #tumblr polls #good omens #entropic float

[vaspider]

Any shot you could spare a reblog for my queer game sequel's kickstarter pinned on my sideblog nicohverse? No worries if you can't 💖

<3

[white-weasel]

I usually consider myself pretty good at logic grid puzzles, but the one in Entropic Float actually made me bust out the pen and paper (just like Amelie makes a comment about lol)

Been enjoying the game that @nicohverse has created so far! About 1/3 of the way through and intrigued about the story and ending for sure!

#entropic float #white weasel talks

[catrillion]

Y'all my Entropic Float shirt came!!!! It looks so so good. @nicohverse thank you so much for this wonderfully made merch!!!

#entropic float #i have never taken a good selfie in my entire life sorry

[ao3feed-danganronpa]

Game Over

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAy1de

by Nhitori

It's been twenty years since the 'Final Killing Game' concluded and the world finally began the process of moving on from The Tragedy. Both of them; The Earth, and the distant planet which was settled by those who just wanted to get away from it all. Jun Barasu is one of the children who grew up in Dome City, but he's heard at least a little bit of history. The Ultimate Initiative remained in Dome City as a way of motivating children to improve upon their unique skills. Nobody ever stopped to think that it could be a danger. When an Ultimate wakes up in an unfamiliar place, to find only others with the same levels of talent, it can only be one thing.

'Final Killing Game'? Not so much.

  (The Final Installation of the Everyone's Brand New And Improved Killing Game series. As always, the story is written to be understood without knowledge of my previous work. In addition, there will be a link to a 'lore recap' in the notes. Please consider picking this up!)

  [Comments and speculation always very welcomed and appreciated! Updates Daily!]

  (If you'd like to chat or liveblog, check out the discord! https://ift.tt/33c9kWT )

Words: 1329, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Series: Part 5 of Everyone's Brand New and Improved Killing Game Semester

Fandoms: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, nicohverse, Original Work

Rating: Mature

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death

Categories: Multi

Characters: Jun Barasu, Ayano Ueda, Hikari Ruka, Shin Tsubasa, Nanjo Mirai, Yume Mirai, Kagome Itadai, Emi Oowada, Syoko Saihara, Ryota Nageko, Homura Shinku, Evie Snow, Irarako Ebizakaya, Saya Yoshiro, Yuji Sato, Tooru Hanazaki, Mercury Mars, others - Character

Relationships: Oma Kokichi/Saihara Shuichi, Fujisaki Chihiro/Oowada Mondo, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added

Additional Tags: Trans Character, Fanganronpa, Fan Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa)

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2WAy1de

#IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic #dangan ronpa #danganronpa #dr

[nicohverse]

Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear

(Announcement art by the lovely @ministarfruit​ !)

The one thing made certain in the Loop Anomaly that suddenly appeared in Black Rock Desert in 2024- No matter what the individuals trapped inside might try to do, their version of the world will fade away when the clocktower strikes midnight. It's up to you to influence their choices and determine the method through which each loop will disappear. As you step into the shoes of Kanatsun, Amelie, and Rashmi over the course of nine different timelines, discover the secrets of the characters and the clocktower alike. Push your protagonist into making good choices, and see the loop simply rewind, granting its victims the opportunity to recall the events which transpired... Or dive into poor decisions and watch as Entropy overtakes the loop, leaving you the only one to remember the way the timeline fell apart. How was this Anomaly formed? Why did these particular people get trapped inside? What is the source of the Entropy, and who is the Enemy? And most of all, how can the Anomaly be escaped? Morning, Noon, and Night. Kanatsun, Amelie, and Rashmi. Explore the different permutations of this time loop and bear witness to all eighteen endings, and you just might be able to find a path to set free the fourteen individuals trapped inside the Anomalous Clocktower.

And now, you’ll be able to join them there. Understand their hearts and unravel the mystery. itch.io https://nhitori.itch.io/entropic-float

steam https://store.steampowered.com/app/2011310/Entropic_Float_This_World_Will_Decay_And_Disappear/

more info https://entropicfloat.blogspot.com/p/about.html As of today, 07/09/2022, Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear has been released completely free of charge on itch and steam! A 300k+ word visual novel, and my labor of love for the past year and a half. I would love if you could spread the word and check it out yourself- I’ve been so very excited to finally share this story.

#visual novel #indie games #Queer Games #lgbt representation #vndev #gamedev #visual novel gamedev #indie gamedev #Entropic Float #Entropic Float This World Will Decay And Disappear #nicohverse #official content #Mainline Content

[nicohverse]

Entropic Float's One Year Anniversary!

One year ago today- On July 7th, 2022- I released the 300k+ word long visual novel Entropic Float: This World Will Decay and Disappear, at no cost on itch and steam.

(Madeline by @unluckyerror404 on Artfight)

It was a labor of love- I worked on it for just over a year and a half, and my life changed a lot during that time. I got a job related to my degree, then proceeded to crash and burn when it turned out that I couldn't actually manage that job alongside my chronic conditions. Working on Entropic Float was the only thing during that time that really made me happy at all, so it's no surprise I ended up quitting for my health shortly after release...

Since I released Entropic Float, lots of things have happened. I've seen it referred to on reddit as 'the queerest game I've ever played'. I've received wonderful fanart. People have come to me saying that the game helped them realize they were physically disabled. My good friend, the vtuber FreyaFukunaga, played through the entire game on stream. There have of course been bad reviews too, negative feedback- No game can be for everyone, and Entropic Float is a game for some rather specific people. I've taken into account critiques made in good faith, and made efforts to improve these things where possible in updates to the game, and even moreso in the way they will be structured in Entropic Float 2: Land Of The Witch.

But before we talk about Entropic Float 2, which I'm sure you've all been waiting for information on, let me put some concerns to rest. I have, by no means, been doing nothing all this time. EF2 is coming along, though not in ways that are easy to share. Still, have a look-

Admittedly, it's a bit ugly without all the extra buttons, text, and more that will accompany this frame- It's just one small piece of the GUI I've been building. Entropic Float 2 is a big shift in style from the first game- For one, I'm no longer using Koikatsu for talksprites or environments. For another, it's going to be a point and click adventure game (Though the final release will include a 'kinetic novel version' option for those who prefer to play VNs on auto-advance!). You can see it, right? The menu buttons along the right edge, an inventory with tabs you can cycle in the bottom right corner, some information about the current state of the game in the empty space on the left...However, besides EF2, there have been other things I'm working on, and I'll admit to having some trouble finding a good workflow. During EF's development, it was simple enough- In my free time, I did those things which made me money (commissions, convention prep) and when those were done I worked on Entropic Float and did very little else. This workflow can no longer apply, because in the interim year, I've been building my small business, Nico's Fan Niche, on etsy. There are some pieces of Entropic Float merch available there! But the point is, now it seems there is always 'something to do which can make me money', as designing new products has a direct impact on my life now.

Besides the store, I'm also involved in other gamedev projects- I continue to be support staff on Heart Fragment, and am the primary artist of an RPG with a few friends of mine, yet to be formally announced. To top it all off, I do still have a day job. I work 30 hours a week (sometimes up to 39) with a studio called Small Victories. It's a wonderful and fulfilling position that gives me the space I need for personal projects, but that's still 30+ hours of the week not spent on those projects.

(Sharma by Quartoch on Artfight)

Finally- Entropic Float 2 is a loftier game than Entropic Float was. When I started EF, it was just for fun, to play with ren'py, and was never supposed to be as long as it ended up being. EF2 is a followup game. It needs to be bigger, better, and the pressure is on. For this reason, I decided to postpone making the game's art until after July- After Artfight 2023. My username there is nhitori if you want an attack from me! Each year, Artfight represents a huge burst of improvement for me and my artistic abilities. A talksprite drawn in June and a talksprite drawn in August would by nature be very obviously different in quality. I've been writing, outlining, working on GUI, but there hasn't been anything worth sharing on here yet.

Even so, I am very happy to announce- You should be able to expect the Entropic Float 2 Demo, and its Kickstarter, in November 2023!

Enter the Pine Creek Anomaly to discover exactly what happened in the small, Appalachian town several years ago- And why, so suddenly, the Anomaly started to invite outsiders in, after flying under the radar all this time. Kanatsune Ame returns to be guided by the player as he searches for the answers within a new cast of characters; Some familiar faces, some made more familiar after a mention in the Anomalous Clocktower, and some he's never met before at all.

And following shortly after the EF2 Demo and Kickstarter- There's one backer reward that will be fulfilled right away. Releasing in December 2023, right away for backers, just in time for the holidays if you just want to purchase it on its own (For only 5 USD- But if you played Entropic Float because it was free, and you really can't spare the money for any reason, do reach out to me.)

">It's been such a long time... But I've finally found You." (Box by Vanitasium on Artfight)

Quite a while after the stabilization of the Anomalous Clocktower, but not yet when you join Ame in the Pine Creek Anomaly- A voice calls out to you. A voice that is familiar, the voice which spoke directly to you throughout the first game. Informing you of the endings you've acquired. Warning you of what's ahead. Asking if you'd like to bring about the miracle. You never would have imagined that voice belonged to somebody. But it seems... She's gathered a new collection of stories for you. Fragments of those you've met before. Histories you couldn't see at the time, updates from the year since you left them behind. If you can read these stories and become more powerful again, like you did in the Clocktower, then maybe, just maybe... You and Her can meet face to face.

The Letters To A Beloved Ghost DLC for the first game will be arriving in December 2023! Along with the DLC, you'll also be able to install the 'Anachrono Mode' for Entropic Float. This mode replaces koikatsu talksprites with drawn talksprites in any cases where those have been added for DLC content. As the characters may be dressed in different clothing in these talksprites, and there may not be exact analogues for every expression, and the environments will remain koikatsu-style in most if not all places- It promises to be a bit anachronistic. But if the talksprites exist, may as well give you the option to use them!

One last thing- I'll be tabling in the Artist's Colony at Connecticon 2023, though I haven't got a table number yet. I also may be tabling at FANEXPO Boston 2023 (Unconfirmed), and Otakuthon 2023 (Waitlisted, but I'll still be attending as a guest if I don't get a table.) So if any fans reading this wanted to come say hello- There's a few opportunities. I might even have something for you, if you come by my table.

With that, the anniversary update is finished. That's all I've got for you right now- But there's a lot to look forward to! Thank you, as always, for reading, for playing, for being here with me on my gamedev journey.

#visual novel #indie games #gamedev #vndev #indie gamedev #entropic float #nicohverse

[nicohverse]

EF2 Ame

Hey, hey! Here's a sneak peek! The reference image for Kanatsune Ame's design in Entropic Float 2! Isn't it just awful? Isn't his fashion just the worst? Before you think he might have improved, consider that this scarf has three ends.

Posted using PostyBirb

#entropic float 2 #entropic float #indie games #visual novel dev #vndev #visual novels #nicohverse

[nicohverse]

The trailer for Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear is finally ready to share with the world, and with it, a promise of the hard work I’ve been putting in over the past year! Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear is an indie visual novel coming to itch.io for free on July 9th 2022, and Steam shortly after if not on the same date.

 Entropic Float is a branching narrative, requiring the finding of all endings before unlocking a true end. A low sci-fi and low fantasy character drama focusing on the lives of fourteen people trapped within the Anomalous Clocktower. Each player will seek the endings in their own order influenced by protagonist choice and computer system time, with the option to select the time manually after completing four endings.

If you’re interested in mysteries with an emotional core, this just might be the game for you!

 Follow for regular dev updates and more information! 

Website:  https://entropicfloat.blogspot.com/  Twitter:  https://twitter.com/NicohverseTwT Discord: https://discord.gg/5T5SMZCVgN Itch Page: https://nhitori.itch.io/entropic-float

#gamedev #visual novel gamedev #visual novel #indie games #indie gamedev #official content #Mainline Content #Entropic Float #nicohverse #eyestrain warning

[nicohverse]

Digitized and threw some color on a sketch I had sitting around of Peri and Abel, ten years into the future from their Entropic Float appearances. I wouldn't call these finalized future designs, but I do know they wear ace rings.

If you haven't played Entropic Float yet- Check it out! These are just two of the fourteen people trapped within the Anomalous Clocktower, a mysterious time-looping location full of secrets and lurking dangers.

If you have played it, or you just want to hear more about these two, under the readmore you'll find a blurb about my thoughts on writing them, in honor of asexual awareness week!

I had a bit of a dilemma on my hands when writing the profile pages for Entropic Float- Specifically when it came to Peri and Abel. At age 13 and 14 respectively, I wasn't sure how to go about expressing the fact that they're both aroace. At their age and in their situation, it's not something they've been able to put words to yet.

Another character in the game has his orientation listed as 'questioning'- But for these two, I decided to list their 'future orientation' as asexual. (Aromantic too, but my personal precedent in my work is to only list romantic orientation separately when it isn't the same as the sexual orientation). In part because they're both already pretty well aware, but in part because of the story they share.

For both of them, amatonormativity has already been and will continue to be traumatizing. Being as close as they are, it's assumed frequently by others in their lives that the two of them are or will become a romantic couple. Under those pressures, with none of those feelings, they're both frequently concerned that they're disappointing the other. As they grow up, they'll come to have terms for and understand their queerplatonic relationship, but still need to defend it from outsider assumptions.

So, I didn't want to add to that. I wanted to invite readers not to add to those assumptions and pressures on these kids- Yes, they haven't figured it out yet, but they're well on their way, and you should know. There's no speculation to be had there. Peri Dubois and Abel Moreau are aroace individuals, and they've had enough trouble with that fact already without strangers in another world shipping them together cluelessly; So I needed to let people know. It's the least I could do for them. We've got something pretty important in common, after all.

#asexual awareness week #asexual #aroace #ownvoices #aromantic #aromantic asexual #ace week #visual novel #entropic float #entropic float this world will decay and disappear #nicohverse #official content

[nicohverse]

Entropic Float in 2023: An Update!

 Happy New Year, everybody!

It's 2023 and I have a lot of plans! I'll start out by offering reminders that there's a survey to influence the contents of the Entropic Float DLC (Letters To A Beloved Ghost) and make sure that you get to see your favorite characters again, as well as a few pieces of official Entropic Float Merch available on my etsy store. There are stickers of the full cast, keychains of the protagonists and antagonist, and pin buttons of each standard ending- But if there's a particular piece of merchandise you'd want to see, feel free to contact me and let me know.

Entropic Float: Letters To A Beloved Ghost

As mentioned above, there's a survey to influence this DLC's content, but that doesn't mean I don't have plans for it! In fact, I already have a few of the side stories drafted. The DLC will be 5 USD or included in any pledge to the Entropic Float 2 Kickstarter. It will feature all new original art and music, and over 100k words of new content. By reading letters to you exploring unseen moments, past and present, you'll accumulate points toward meeting with somebody who's been hoping to meet you since long before you were invited to the clocktower. Not all letters will be required to finish the DLC's story, but all will be available.

Some side stories haven't yet been planned, as the survey is still open- But those that have been drafted include the pasts of Shinjiro Nozomi's friends, an oddly magical discovery at a small concert attended by Jasper Jasmine Jekyll, and a classic 'battle so we can become friends' between witches. Some will provide closure to doors left ajar in Entropic Float- Others will open up brand new doors for the sequels to shut- And others still will simply give you more time with the dear friends you made over the course of the game.

I plan to close the survey on 03/31/2023, and hope to have the DLC ready for release by the end of summer 2023.

Entropic Float 2: Land Of The Witch

I'm going to begin work in earnest on EF2 now that the new year has begun. I didn't 100% keep to my plan of not starting till the new year, but I managed to at least sort of take a break! I'm not going to be jumping right back into biweekly development updates, because this game has a lot more ground-up building to be done and I have a lot of other things to square away- I'd rather not post the same 'I got some of the point-and-click working the way I imagined' update too many times. I'll update once a month until development is progressing strongly enough to share more.

But you'll be getting introduced to the cast of the game quite soon- In next month's update, most likely! Though character trailers will come a bit later down the line.

Entropic Float 2: Land Of The Witch is... A point and click adventure game focusing on the 'Pine Creek Anomaly'. One year after the resolution of the anomalous clocktower in the Black Rock Desert, Kanatsune Ame is assigned a similarly difficult case. A rural town in the Appalachian Mountains disappeared five years ago- And the Anomaly in its place has only recently signaled its presence by opening an invitation. What will the World Anomaly which stole the town of Pine Creek reveal?

I can't give a timeline on EF2's development quite yet, but I'm tentatively hoping to run a Kickstarter in summer 2023, so that pledges to the Kickstarter can be swiftly translated into the reward of the Letters To A Beloved Ghost DLC. Before running the Kickstarter, I hope to have a demo ready to play, so that I can put my best foot forward. After all, EF2 is going to be a point-and-click adventure, not just a visual novel- Though I do plan, for accessibility, to also offer a 'kinetic novel version' in which the events of the game are arranged into a semi-canon order of experience.

The demo will of course be free, and will cover from the beginning of the game through to the first open exploration area.

The full game will be priced at 15 USD. While Kickstarter reward tiers will be determined closer to its launch, pledges of 5 USD will include the Beloved Ghost DLC only, while pledges of 15 USD or more will include both the DLC and Entropic Float 2, essentially giving you the DLC for free if you pledge at 15 USD exactly. I wish I could offer EF2 for the same zero-dollar price point as the first game, but I hope that the increased production value will make up the difference!

Any Other Projects?

Well, I wouldn't put this category here if I didn't have some other stuff going on. I'm considering participating in a few gamejams with short and sweet VNs. I'm also doing the art for an RPG that a friend of mine is writing. And of course, I'm selling on etsy, taking commissions, and working a day job. Wouldn't it be nice if I could just devote all my time to gamedev... Alas. Well, that's all I've got for now. Thanks for tuning in! More to come!

#indie gamedev #visual novel #visual novel gamedev #gamedev #indie games #entropic float #entropic float 2 #nicohverse #official content

[nicohverse]

Happy Pride from Starfield Gaming! Those of us working hard on Entropic Float and @heartfragment wanted to share some of the identities that our characters can find common ground under~ Is it still rainbow capitalism if we’re lgbt+ indie devs whose games are free to play...? Ah well, even if it is, I had fun drawing these and I hope you have fun looking at them!

#pride #queer games #vndev #visual novel #visual novel gamedev #heart fragment #Entropic Float This World Will Decay And Disappear #entropic float #nicohverse #bisexual #transgender #nonbinary #pansexual #agender

[nicohverse]

Entropic Float Post-Release Update

 Hi everybody! It's been a month today since the initial release of Entropic Float: This World Will Decay And Disappear!

The response has been amazing so far- Wonderful feedback on steam and itch! I hope that with time, my story can continue to reach out and touch hearts.

Today's featured art includes two Artfight attacks I received! One of Loam from Gladebell, and one of Rashmi and Amelie from Liliatdmful~ Due to the timing of this release, the convention, and some other stuff in my personal life I wasn't able to participate quite as much as I did in 2021...  But it was still a lot of fun!

But now, for some actual updates!

August QoL Update

Later this month, I'm hoping to release a QoL update with a few changes. Fixing up a few more mistakes that slipped through the cracks, of course, but a few solid changes as well. I'd like to adjust the trigger timing on the 'Are You Making Fun Of Me?' achievement to make it easier to get, balance the music and textspeed on initialization a little better, and introduce some more consistency with the other routes to the early parts of Amelie's morning route. If possible, I'd also implement a feature that labels save files with the route you're currently on, to make it easier to tell.

Letters To A Beloved Ghost DLC

I'm planning a small paid DLC called 'Letters To A Beloved Ghost'. This would consist of several side stories featuring both the main cast and side cast, as well as a bit more setup for the sequels. The art style would be changed to reflect the paid status- And the DLC's price point would be 5$, or included in any 5$+ backer tiers of the EF2 kickstarter. While certain side stories are already planned, I'll also be opening up a survey to see which characters in particular players may want to see more of.

Entropic Float 2: Land Of The Witch

Keep an eye out for a kickstarter in 2023! Land Of The Witch is going to have much more art and much more gameplay, being a point and click adventure (with an option to switch it to a stripped-down VN format as well). Going too much into the ideas I've got for it would be spoiling the first game, which I'd rather not do so soon, but rest assured that I have big plans... After I recover a bit from the marathon that was creating this first game, of course.

Thanks for checking in. Until next time!

#Entropic Float #Entropic Float This World Will Decay And Disappear #official content #vndev #visual novel #visual novel gamedev #indie gamedev #indie games #nicohverse