just picked c1 xianyun from selector and c4 jean from anniversary gift

happy 2021 everyone! just woke up from a coma, so excited for my favorite character xiao in genshin impact!! i'm going to be shredding so much anemo and plunging so hard

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u/ilovelosers1 — 13 days ago

finally got to use dps kazuha in fearless!

do NOT ask why the total clear time is so high my account is looking chopped

clear could definitely be better, also have double totm bc i didn't bother changing any artifacts, but it's ok for a first try + the plunge from stellar swirl is fun :D

(unoptimized) builds
c6 pjc kazuha vv 💀

c0 pjc odette furnace

c0 ttds vody totm

c6 fav faruzan totm 220%er

u/ilovelosers1 — 15 days ago

strawberry season, my jirai kei x gyaru vn is now available to wishlist + free demo!

hi all! i’m the developer behind strawberry season, a cute yuri vn where you play as selene, spending the last semester she’ll have with her girlfriend juno! it’s a slice of life romance with little to no angst, meant to be a cheerful depiction of love. the demo features a cooking and ita bag minigame, and the final version will have even more, including a nail decorating minigame!

it would mean a lot if you checked it out! <3 let me know if you have any questions
Demo (free, in browser on phone or pc): play here!
Steam: wishlist here <3

u/ilovelosers1 — 1 month ago
▲ 242 r/JiraiKei

huge thank u to this sub for the feedback on my jirai kei char design &lt;3

a few months ago i posted my character (slide 3) on this sub and got soo much positive feedback and details about improving her design! (slide 2 is the reworked version of that outfit, slide 1 a separate outfit) i really wanna thank everyone for being so welcoming as someone who does not dress jirai myself, and i hope the new design does the style justice 🍓🎀

she’s the main character in my yuri visual novel & the game also includes activities like itabag decorating and doing your nails, if you’re interested pls feel free to check it out here on steam! the game is called strawberry season :3c

u/ilovelosers1 — 1 month ago

how to make my sandbox demo fun but not infinitely replayable?

hi all! i’m making a story game with many minigames inside it, one of them being a decorating sandbox with no time limit or objectives. it’s garnered some interest on social media and reddit but it also made me realize nothings stopping people from just playing the demo forever since i was planning to just have all the controls available— which was supposed to excite them for the final, also it would be clunky to use w features disabled. obviously the story will be limited, but i do think there are players who only care about this minigame.

since it’s a decorating minigame, should i just severely limit the amount of items available, or will that just upset players with how little choice they have, considering i’ve already shown off available items on social media? should i show the other decor but greyed out, so they will want to buy the game? if so, how much should i cut out?

also if im completely overthinking it, please let me know! this feature has gotten more attention than any other part of my game so far, so id like to capitalize off that and actually convert it to sales without nerfing it so much that the demo is unfun

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u/ilovelosers1 — 2 months ago
▲ 387 r/itabag

i’m making an ita bag decorating minigame for my yuri game!

this minigame so far is my pride, you can change inserts, make custom buttons, and ofc decorate with plushies, keychains, and bows!! just wanted to show it off to the place i got most of the inspiration from & also ask what other features you’d be looking for? the game is still story based so i don’t want people to straight up be able to upload random pngs as decor, but i thought allowing it for buttons at least would be fun :3

if anyone’s interested, i don’t have a steam page yet but i post about it regularly on https://linktr.ee/strawberryseason !!

u/ilovelosers1 — 2 months ago

my cozy cooking minigame demo is available now for free!

hi! i’m currently working on a cozy yuri story game, with one of the main elements being a cafe that the main character works at. i just uploaded a demo of said cafe on itch.io, please feel free to check it out if you’re interested! it’s a cozy point and click 2d cooking game, very short and repeatable. any feedback is appreciated!

https://lotiion.itch.io/strawberry-season-cafe

u/ilovelosers1 — 2 months ago
▲ 35 r/RenPy

does anyone know how butterfly soup does its backgrounds?

looking to do something similar for my game, with real photos that we are taking ourselves, but not sure how brianna lei got this effect specifically! is it a filter with some manual editing (like the shop title on the left) or is the entire photo hand painted over? some look untouched with very clear hand painted elements, which make me think the cafe shots may be entirely hand painted? if anyone has any advice or resources for photobashed backgrounds it would be so appreciated ❤️

u/ilovelosers1 — 3 months ago

way for garchomp stomping tantrum to hit pelliper?

hi, asking for a friend, this was on champions and he swears this happened but not sure if its possible to get a replay or match history. enemy brought archaludon, whimsicott, garchomp, m-aerodactyl. he says he tried to stomping tantrum the archaludon slot with his garchomp, pelliper switched in and got hit by it instead, so it can't be roost shenanigans. the only thing he can remember is that the enemy had all his pokemon name zoroark though none of them were a zoroark, even from all 6. is there any possible way this couldve happened bc ive exhausted my limited knowledge. he brought incin, m-raichu y, pelliper.

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u/ilovelosers1 — 4 months ago

how to make brush style on stroke consistent width?

hi title, i'm using the brush "blockbuster" and the width profile that makes it all the same thickness, however wheni apply it to my rectangle stroke the top right corner still tapers and makes it really thin. Is there a way to make it all the thicker width?

https://preview.redd.it/22wjynrwhaah1.png?width=233&format=png&auto=webp&s=c6c30690bc3baea4f58affa437202b8fd79a636a

https://preview.redd.it/50yffhmxhaah1.png?width=898&format=png&auto=webp&s=7c0bcec4eba67a652237e8e085169b2a40fc2c0e

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u/ilovelosers1 — 4 months ago

what to include in a demo for a story based game?

basically title — making a visual novel game with a lot of point and click minigame elements and starting to plan out the demo, my story is split into 6 distinct sections. should the demo be the full first section, a custom mini section just for the demo, or the first section but with some parts shortened so when they playthrough the first time there will be some new content? i’d love to have a demo for the next fest i’m planning to participate in
(also, any examples of story games that did a demo well would be appreciated )

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u/ilovelosers1 — 4 months ago

how does C6 skirk hold up against stygian fearless/dire?

considering in C6ing her because i love her but i also know she's insanely strong at C0R1 (what i have atm). is there ANY boss, even ones super shilled for other things that she can't do at C6 with C0 supports? or is C2R1 good enough to go through basically everything in fearless? ty in advance (for ref, i have c2 furina and c0r1 effie, and c6 mona no shenhe)

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u/ilovelosers1 — 4 months ago
▲ 299 r/JiraiKei

looking for critique/advice on a jirai kei char i'm designing for a game

hii basically title, i referenced a ton of pics from pinterest for the outfit but it still feels a bit empty to me and im not sure why? also looking for opinions on if this qualifies as jirai/if i should add anything to make her more jirai <3

(for a jirai kei x gyaru yuri visual novel game i'm making)

u/ilovelosers1 — 4 months ago

should we acknowledge taking inspiration from other media?

hello, currently working on a visual novel with some friends, with plans to put it on steam for sure and most likely monetize it. the premise of the game is inspired by a specific japanese manga. the plot is basically 90% different, but the setting will be very similar & therefore some elements of the game will match some chapters of the manga. trying to be vague, lets say that the manga is about the friendship between two border collie dogs in a beach, and our game is about the friendship between a german shepherd and a border collie dog who live by a lake, something like that. basically the similarities are specific enough that inspiration will be obvious to anyone who is aware of the manga.

my general question is, should we / is it possible even to contact a japanese mangaka and ask for approval for taking inspiration from their work, AND should we bring up this manga in marketing the game if we do not contact/get a response? as in, if you liked XXX manga, you should look at our game. i'm afraid of backlash from the author if they were not aware at all of a game that may profit off a concept similar to theirs especially if they are overprotective of their work. the game is also designed to attract a similar audience to that of the manga, so do we just post our game as its own and wait for viewers to make the connection between the two?

i tend to worry about anything and everything at all, my worst fear is somehow contacting them and they get very offended of someone copying their work on a base level, and then denouncing the game. so please knock me back to earth, any advice is appreciated

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago
▲ 6 r/RenPy

how do you name your visual novels?

currently working on a yuri dating sim novel but stuck on the name, not sure if i should go for something that relates to the plot and reveals some of the story, for example like "10 last dates" or "our office romance" (fake examples) or something more abstract that is relevant to the story in a less obvious way, like the vn "butterfly soup" where the title doesn't necessarily make sense until the end of the game, but the butterfly motif is very present before then. i'm curious which is better to entice players, assuming no visuals, if the title should very clearly present the plot or rather an aesthetic or idea they may find appealing.

this is the first time ive made a not super themed game, in the past i've actually mostly made games after coming up with a stupid/catchy title, so it's really hard for me to work the other way around

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago

what do you think is missing from the yuri vn genre?

hi, going to be transparent, i'm a game designer and currently working on a yuri visual novel. we've ironed out the visuals and the setting, our biggest point of contention currently is the ending. i personally want a cheery ending, as i feel like there are enough yuri/wlw games with despair or high stakes, that i would love to work on something slice of life (think galxgal manga) where you just get to date your gf and have fun!! however, from the current direction our writing brainstorming is going, a more neutral breakup or bittersweet ending seems to fit the story best, with a possible "better" ending if certain actions are taken.

do you guys personally like playing more dramatic stories where it feels like your choices actually will factor into the ending, or something where you know the ending will be fun and lighthearted regardless even if it means the story will be less driven? or are both okay, given that the game has set your expectations correctly from the start? my biggest worry is an unsatisfying ending;; thanks all in advance

edit: thank you so much to everyone's answers, i've had a really thought provoking time reading them! for the time being we are definitely going to do multiple endings with varying degrees of happiness and will make sure it is communicated clearly that your choices matter 😃

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago
▲ 15 r/sims4cc

a comprehensive guide on finding cc!

welcome to my (long) and hopefully comprehensive guide about how to find a cc style that you like, and find more cc in that specific style en masse! my unofficial credentials: i have 200GB+ of cc and 45k+ downloads on my own custom content

  1. tumblr

tumblr remains the best way to find custom content due to the large amount of simblr accounts on the site as well as the tagging system. even if you find cc on other sites a lot of the times it will lead to a tumblr download or blog, so its good to know how to use the site to your advantage! the best way to start your search from 0 is to just search the tag of whatever you are looking for, something as simple as "eyeshadow cc" or "sims 4 eyeshadow" to "gyaru tops cc" or "sims 4 hello kitty" etc.

try to find at least 1-2 creators whos styles you really like, as they oftentimes will reblog cc with similar styles of their own. to get a more comprehensive view of their posts, once you go to their blog you can add /archive to the url to get a cleaner ui which helps with some simblrs that have pretty heavy styling (ie ilovelosers.tumblr.com**/archive**), and then you can sort by tag for the blog, such as sort for "my downloads" or "mycc" to dodge reblogs. you can also check their bio/pinned to see if they have a finds account, which is an account just used for reblogging cc they like!

a lot of times you can send in asks or look for answered asks about their favorite cc creators, most are more than happy to answer and will provide a really great list that matches their style. i will usually have 10+ tumblr tabs open just starting from one account, and will slowly go through all the other accounts, downloading any interesting cc they reblog

another way is to search sims lookbooks or sims wcif in the tags, as theyll always always have everything linked, and oftentimes lookbooks are cohesive which will lead to a bunch of similar creators if you like the style of the outfit

  1. youtube

i honestly use this one the least because i hate video content for finding cc, but searching "how i make my sims" or "cas with me" can lead to some good cc dumps in the description. i'd say its mostly good to get a good batch of genetics or learn how some people use sliders and such. cc shop with me videos are good as well, but i think using the links as a jumping post to start tumblr browsing is more efficient.

  1. rednote/pinterest

despite pinterest's ai usage it unfortunately has a really good image recommendation system, and once you find a few images you like it is pretty good about showing similar pictures. most actual cc images will link to tumblr which brings you back to step 1. rednotes algorithm is also pretty good with the help of google translate to get the initial searches going, but a lot of times the creators don't post cc names unless asked in the comments and some of them will straight up steal tumblr cc and reupload on chinese paywalled sites or giveaway groups. however it is great to find cute general game screenshots, which you can identify the cc from with step 4:

  1. WCIF!!!

wcif or where can i find is a community sourced way of finding cc. reddits like this sub are a great place, make sure to post a hq image and specify exactly which pieces you are looking for. my personal favorite is the dollhouse mafia wcif channel (not sure if i'm allowed to post links and i am not affiliated with them), they are super active and are really knowledgable in some obscure ccs i cant find through reddit/tumblr. tumblr is also good for wcif, check the poster's bio to see if it is allowed and then send them an ask, also check their answered wcifs to see if it's already been found (and to find a lot of the cc they use in case you like their style overall!). as you really figure out which creators and style you like, you should start to recognize some popular creators' cc styles!

overall: i know this was kinda basic but i hope it helped someone! tumblr can be overwhelming at the start, but once you get going down the rabbit hole and enter flow state you can easily end up with 2GB+ of cc in a few hours. if anyone has any questions about these platforms or anything that i missed please feel free to comment and i'll do my best!

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago

do you let yourself imagine success in ideation?

this is a very strange question but hear me out: when you're designing a game or passion project, do you let yourself envision success (ie, i really believe in this game, it's gonna go viral on social media, be a popular stream game, make xxx $$!! etc) in the early stages of a game, before you go ham on marketing or playtesting?

i try to approach things from an I did my best, but I don't expect any response at all standpoint, so that I can be pleasantly surprised if things pick up, but i never give myself any false hope by actually imagining success outside of what I can control (actually releasing the game for example)

just for context, i'm a games student and have worked on numerous games in uni including marketing, but because there weren't real stakes besides grades, player count and monetary returns were not a concern. i'm in the very early stages of working on a game with my classmates (a passion project BUT with a clear target audience), and i'm already catching myself dreaming about how it could do well, and forcing myself to stop because I don't want to be disappointed in case it gets no traction at all-- i plan to market it heavily of course but hard work doesn't always guarantee returns :')

just curious to hear how you all mentally approach ideating a new game, or thinking about it before you really see numbers from your marketing efforts ^^

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago

thoughts on the manga gyaru to gyaru no yuri?

https://preview.redd.it/2425cjh0511h1.png?width=640&format=png&auto=webp&s=697dc59755b87b18ef9363e8db0c53fa6a8ad944

hi! really curious about the opinion on this manga from actual gyaru. it's a super slice of life about two gyaru who start dating each other, but tbh, from their makeup style and even some of the outfits, are they actually considered gyaru? i think the art style is adorable and i def see some of the inspiration in the character designs, but do you guys consider these actual gyaru/rep?

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago

looking for criticism on my marketing plan

game dev student here, planning to make a small project with a couple of my uni friends this summer to hopefully strengthen our portfolios. i plan on doing design and helping with art, and also all of the marketing since no one wants to (understandably.) i've started putting together a small plan for marketing to make it less daunting, so looking for any advice on the plan!

platforms: reddit/twitter/insta reels/tiktok/yt shorts (possibly xiaohongshu)

- try to post 3-4 times per week when starting out, ramp up as release comes closer

- recycle same short form content across all 3 platforms

- post work in progress screenshots (once semi-polished) on twitter and reddit in relevant subs with audience that would like our game

- create short form content of development process, have my engineer and artist record their workflow to put into video content. possibly asking for feedback on designs to drive engagement

- once final character assets are finished start creating simple engaging posts about the characters on all platforms

once game is about few weeks-month out, start sending out emails to content creators and streamers, and also make press kit to send out to media outlets

my main questions are about actually converting views (if we get any) into wishlists, especially before we have enough content done to actually put together to have our steam page up. also on tiktok, from what i remember you can't put a link in your bio before 1k followers.. so where do you direct users before then? if anyone has any advice or bashing for this plan based on their experiences id love to hear it! (also planning to choose the price of our game based on engagement and wishlists.. is this a terrible idea?)

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u/ilovelosers1 — 5 months ago