u/gwints

Hi everybody!

I wanted to follow up one more time to do one simple thing, and that's to express my gratitude.

My mod, Doki Doki Before The Bell! released this past Friday, and in its first weekend has surpassed 150 downloads, is averaging 5 stars, and has an ongoing Let's Play taking place on YouTube via KaneMonger. None of this would be possible without you all in the community, and I did not expect such an amazing reaction.

Before The Bell was written during a very personal time in my life when I was about 2 years out of college. Having a degree in theatre/screenwriting, as well as working on one in computer science, and being uncertain of how to use either of these degrees professionally had caused a lot of self-doubt. Around that time, I also played the original DDLC, and it completely changed the way I look at game narratives and my perception of how games & fiction can emotionally reach players. Before The Bell is a months-long culmination of hard work in writing, arranging music, and coding, born out of love for the original DDLC, and a creative rebirth in my personal life, and I am so thankful to have shared something that the community has been enjoying.

As a heads up, a 1.0.1 patch will be released later this week to fix a few typos and clean up the code a little bit more. No new story content will be added to Before The Bell at the current time, so if you're already playing 1.0, no need to rush to get the new patch.

Thank you for making this such a special weekend for me. Reading your comments & DM's after playing has been so lovely, and I would love to keep hearing everybody's thoughts upon finishing their playthroughs. This will probably be my last main follow-up for a while, but I look forward to reading, and possibly chiming in on discussions that are held about the game's story.

I'm currently in early concept with a few new mod ideas, and hope to become a long-standing member of the community with new story-based projects to come. Please know that your appreciation of my work is, and always will be, deeply valued. What a fantastic community!

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-Greg W.

Play Doki Doki Before The Bell!: https://gwints.itch.io/doki-doki-before-the-bell

Ehehe~ are you ready to see something really special? I’m Sayori, and I am so, so excited to finally welcome you to our Literature Club! We’ve been working so hard to make this a place where everyone can feel like they belong: a real safe space for all our friends to share their hearts and their poems! You’ll get to meet the amazing Monika, who’s been helping me lead the way, and our other wonderful members, Yuri and Natsuki!

We’ve had so many fun memories already, like our big founding celebration with Natsuki’s adorable animal cookies! But honestly, the best part is just being together. Sometimes life can feel a little bit cloudy or grey, but when we’re all in this room together, it feels like we can make the noise stop and just be us. I promise that every second you spend with us is worth it!

So pretty please, won't you come join our club? I’ve planned so many games and activities for us, and I just know we’re all going to be the best of friends! I’m counting on you to help make this club the greatest it can be. See you after school! <3

Before The Bell! is a fan-made mod to the original Doki Doki Literature Club! and is not affiliated with Team Salvato. This mod is intended to be played only after completion of DDLC. Game files for DDLC can be downloaded for free at ddlc.moe. 

Before The Bell! does not include any original game files, and is a downloadable script meant to be added to the original game. This experience is not suitable for children or those who are easily disturbed. 

Download now!

https://gwints.itch.io/doki-doki-before-the-bell

Hi everyone! Today's the day!

I have a few things I want to go over with the launch of BTB, but first, I want to say a huge thank you for nearly 300 upvotes on the teaser. I honestly did not expect that level of appreciation, and I'm so thankful to hear everyone's excitement over new fan content being released. BTB is a culmination of being heavily impacted by the story of DDLC, and wanting to honor the original game in a new spin. As someone who was unsure of how to use my theatre/screenwriting & comp sci degree for years, I'm really excited to share this new story and give back to the community here with a little bit of new content. DDLC really made me pause and think about how games connect with players emotionally, and I was very inspired creatively afterward. BTB is my love letter to the original game, and to you all in the community, for supporting DDLC, as well as my creative process. I really hope that you'll enjoy this fan game and that you find a unique and profound experience in it, but all the same, I'm just happy to be giving you guys something new! A few things I want to cover looking forward:

1. If anyone is wanting to engage in public discussions after playing through the mod, please be sure to hide any spoilers so as not to ruin the experience for others who have not played yet. For awhile after release, I will be refraining from answering story questions, and will be focused on technical questions if any arise.

2. I don't necessarily expect this mod to have overwhelming amounts of attention, but if you intend to publish a "Let's Play" of the mod, please include a link to the mod's download page and be sure to credit Greg W. as the mod's creator. Please also refrain from including spoilers in the title, and be sure to include in the title & description that this a fan game and is not affiliated with Team Salvato in any way.

3. Bugs/errors. While 1.0 has been play tested on Windows thoroughly, there is still always a chance that users may discover new bugs, errors, or tracebacks during their experience. If this happens to you, please feel free to message me here so that I can gather traceback details and work on a patch ASAP.

And most of all, have fun! A lot of hard work and many months have gone into this mod. I'm beyond grateful to be sharing it, and hope to work on many more projects in the future. I'll meet you in the club room!