Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

Finished games are posted here, once they've been tested and are ready for wide release.
Forum rules
Adult content should not be posted in this forum.
Message
Author
RunicV
Veteran
Posts: 240
Joined: Tue May 29, 2012 12:06 am
IRC Nick: RunicV
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#46 Post by RunicV »

So, I just finished getting all the endings for Nachtigal, and thought I'd share my thoughts! It's in a somewhat incoherent jumble, but I hope you can still decipher it.

First off:

-Beautiful graphics, I really like the design of the cursor and the Cyanide Tea logo! It was a really nice touch to fade it in with blood splatters, it was really classy! I liked the title screen too, and the cursor was just gorgeous. I really liked the two bodies of Adrian and Luca standing by the side, and the return to menu was really classy! I didn't quite like the textbox, maybe because it didn't look as regal with just two lines around it? The side image place for Miranda was really nice and pretty to look at to! I like the theme of red and gold in this game, blood and royalty. The choice menu was also really nice to look at.

-Really like the art! There were a few anatomical errors, but the backgrounds and CGs and sprites were really nice to look at. It was really pleasant on the eye, and I liked the character designs for all the characters! I just thought that in the bite scenes, the blood after wards was a nice touch, and so was the plaster. I do have a bunch of nitpicks which I'll list later, but that's pretty much personal opinions. The colours were really nice, and I liked how you flipped the
Red/Hot-headed and Blue/Calm with Luca and Adrian's hair colours.
-Nice choice of music! For this I'm not sure if it's a personal opinion, but I enjoyed the fast tracks and the slow tracks were quite nice to listen in the background too. I'm biased towards Music Box of Time, Danger Approaches, Wandering Child and Impending Doom. I have to say my favourite BGM was Stand at Attention.

-Loved the plot and writing! I really liked all the events with the characters, they were likable and quite funny. Miranda being scared of Egbert is adorable, and
how Luca puts it on her is amusing~ I quite enjoyed the card game
and all their interactions with all three of them more than the romantic moments. I found them quite realistic, and liked how the vampires really did act like
asshole vampires hahaha!
The writing was a joy to read, it was really engaging, and I was rarely bored. Their reactions to each other were lovely. I quite liked Miranda
despite some of her weirder actions, and it was nice to see her optimistic about her death. You could really see their personalities through their talking with one another. Miranda was really realistic, and to me she came off like trying to convince herself she would be okay through her happiness.
-Multiple resolutions! :D

-Nice extras! Music box, CG gallery, ending list! But where's the author's comments? ;-;

Okay now the bad stuff "orz Some are minor nitpicks or personal opinions.

-I felt like the bad endings were... just bad ends. I'm not referring to what happens if you
bluff or interrupt, I'm talking about the Feast, Pet and Escape endings. They didn't really feel like a realistic depiction of what would happen, and weren't a satisfying end to the story. It felt like just filler to end the story if you didn't romance Adrian or Luca, and was just there to scare you. As a result I wasn't scared at all, just surprised that it was such a weird end. It just felt like a Game Over screen and not a proper ending to the story.
-The side image of Miranda sometimes blocked out Adrian's body when
they were all in the same room
. It was a bit weird to have to look at Adrian to see his expression but get distracted by Miranda's.

-When
Miranda ran into Adrian, he was drinking from a woman. Said woman never appears again. Which forms... um... a gigantic plothole. They don't need to suck her blood, they have that woman. That kind of rendered every scene with blood-sucking a bit weird. I suppose perhaps the woman may have died from Adrian sucking her, but even then Miranda herself never brings it up again, despite it surely being a first impression.
-Somewhat romanticizing? I'm not sure if that's the correct word, but
Miranda says it's okay that the vampires suck her blood. It sounds a lot like excusing them, and that didn't really sit well with me. D: It might be her deluding herself that everything is okay,
but it still left a nasty taste in my mouth.

-In the
ends where you don't romance either Adrian or Luca, it jumps suddenly to the scene where you have to make a choice. I didn't even know what was going on since there was no context or anything, and when the option to live or die came up
, I was really surprised at what was going on.

-The mood was a bit weird sometimes due to the music. When
Adrian pushed her down and tried to suck her blood
, I didn't really think it was scary or threatening, instead I kind of thought it was a happy scene due to the upbeat and jolly music. ._. Which clashed horribly. The music also transitioned suddenly, and it was really abrupt and jarring to the ears.

I'm not really sure if I can properly answer the questions about CGs, but since I've seen Auro-Cyanide's art in a few games, I've noticed a few things about it. (I'm not sure if this is too personal >_<, if it is then I'll edit it out.)

The first is that the CGs have a lot of background space in them. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but rarely does a character in a CG fill up the entire space. It feels really distanced and like there's lots of wasted space.

Another thing is that the CGs tend to feel a bit repetitive. There's an abuse of light to make it look vibrant/dynamic/action-packed, it's at a distance, there's a lot of background, it's always in third-person, you can see almost their whole body. It does help with showing exactly what is going on, but it does get a bit repetitive. The large background also annoys me because I know exactly where they are, I've been staring at it for the last few minutes, I don't need to see it in another view again.
I'm not sure if this is a minor nitpick, I might just be used to some other styles of CGs.

The sprites also tend to be quite stiff, they tend to be all 3/4 position, and have barely any movements. While they do have arm movements, it's not very dynamic. They rarely move their torsos or their heads, so it feels really stiff after a while.
Again, also might be just me being used to other styles. For example, all the sprites in Diabolik Lovers are in idek poses, some even turn away from the viewer sometimes.

"orz That was a really long post, and I hope I wasn't too negative. Still, I really enjoyed the game of Nachtigal, it was a really fun read!

<3
Hatred: the absence of love.
Please, treat me with kindness.

User avatar
Auro-Cyanide
ssǝʇunoƆ ʇɹ∀
Posts: 3059
Joined: Sun Jul 25, 2010 9:02 am
Completed: http://auro-cyanide.tumblr.com/visualnovels
Projects: Athena
Organization: Cyanide Tea
Tumblr: auro-cyanide
Deviantart: Auro-Cyanide
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#47 Post by Auro-Cyanide »

@Kayber Thank you :) Yeah, I can understand that. I think inconsistency issues would be helped more if I drew the characters more >_<

@Reverie Raven, Thank you for your comments :D They were very interesting to read through, and I'm glad the art made the game enjoyable for you. I'll have to make sure to work on the aspects further to improve. The 4th ending is my fav too ;) Good luck on your own art as well!

@miss headache, I'm sorry I can't help you, but I don't understand the technical side. Hopefully Camille might be able to help you out.

@RunicV, Thank you for the comments~ I do agree that I probably subscribe to a different set of preferences, but it's always good to hear about other sides as well :)
We were pretty set on Miranda accepting them as vampires because a)Having a fearful protagonist has been done already a fair bit and b) it made sense to us. Vampires drink blood to live, so if she thought it was horrible for them to drink it, it would be akin to her thinking they should all die. Not to mention it would be hugely hypocritical since humans, regardless of diet, have to take some form of life in order to live as well. It's a food chain, and she accepts it.

The sprites were mostly a time restriction, and they would have been improved with more poses if I could have managed it. The 3/4 pose tends to be the compromise I use to have characters acknowledge both the protagonist and each other at the same time when they are stuck in one pose. I've always thought it a bit weird when sprites face front on all the time, even when talking to each other ^_^; Poses are something I am experimenting with in other projects though and is something I want to expand on.

For the CGs... this is a more difficult one. I do prefer them to focus on action and atmosphere, since those are things that tend to lack with sprites and backgrounds. I like to focus more on what is happening and the lighting of the scene to make up for it. The background space is probably more a result of not want to focus on their faces, putting two characters in a scene and widescreen format. Dutch angles kind of help, but it can be a bit weird to make it work. I'll definitely think about it in the future and try and be more aware :) I prefer to have the protagonist in there rather than have scenes in first person generally because I think her reactions and what she is doing is just as important in the story telling, which I guess is a personal preference.

You gave me a lot to think about so I'll be sure to mull it over next time I'm doing CGs!

Thank you again for the comments everyone. They are a big help in me improving next time~

Chibichann
Regular
Posts: 83
Joined: Sun Feb 10, 2013 11:38 am
Location: Nepal
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#48 Post by Chibichann »

the game is a total WOW!
it has been a long time since i have not been so engaged to finish a visual novel,i loved the story the art,their interaction,each character's love gradually growing in a short time as well as how they noticed it
(I find it kind of stupid no offence,when suddenly,the plot turns somehow and the main character love's some one)
etc i have so much more that i cannot list down.
But a hats off to you...
You know what i think you should make a walk through for it,u know because i think everyone find's it convenient.
Last edited by Chibichann on Tue Nov 19, 2013 3:06 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
scorlight
Regular
Posts: 67
Joined: Fri Sep 13, 2013 7:02 am
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#49 Post by scorlight »

I just want to say thank you for making this game. Great job! ^^
Artist for rent, see my art here: http://scorlight.deviantart.com/gallery/

User avatar
nefferinthia
Regular
Posts: 164
Joined: Sun Mar 21, 2010 10:12 am
Location: The Netherlands
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#50 Post by nefferinthia »

Hey there! I'm just about to download the game (although I relly wish I could pay through Paypal, since I don't have a credit card) but I was wondering if you guys had seen the review on Love-Colored Sky? Thought you might want to read it, hehe~

User avatar
Akitsuki
Veteran
Posts: 260
Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:38 pm
Deviantart: ak-itsuki
Location: Indonesia
Discord: fsalmon#5522
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#51 Post by Akitsuki »

I've played the game! The first time I got the bad, really short ending (lol) and the second time I don't know but I got Luca's ending. I was kind of trying to get Adrian's but somehow ended up with Luca xD I need to try again to get Adrian's this time.

Overall, it's a really great game! I hope it could be longer but it's also fine this way though. Good job for the game!

User avatar
buttdumpling
Regular
Posts: 54
Joined: Wed Nov 21, 2012 4:20 pm
Projects: Dämmerung
Location: USA
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#52 Post by buttdumpling »

I just finished two of the routes, and first off: wow! congrats!!
It's definitely a nice game for sure <3
I absolutely loved the coloring, I'm super jealous of how your palates really pop! orz
ALSO, YAY on having a beautiful woman of color as your heroine! She was so lovely ouo
And the detail was super impressive, not only were the backgrounds beautiful, the moon clock was really nice too!
The only bad thing I have to say is that I didn't understand why Miranda was so jolly the entire time. She seemed really passive in what was happening to her, I didn't really get any sense that she cared if she died or not. It was a little strange to hear her talk so easily about her own death, almost like she was negligent with her safety (which she was!! omg!! don't give dangerous weirdos your blood!!)
But that's also a personal thing, & I've been playing a lot of Solmare games (like, omg, solmare heroines need HELP sometimes I swear) lately so I've been looking for a heroine who's a bit less interested in doing what's asked of her, you know? I did like that you added an escape route. I *really* like otome games that give you the option to nope out of town when dangerous men enter your life.
Image

User avatar
Ferdokki
Veteran
Posts: 372
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 4:32 pm
Completed: Before Dream Valley, Chasing, Fear&Love
IRC Nick: Ferdokki
Location: The Land of Ooo
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#53 Post by Ferdokki »

Yo I saw this on the jayisgames blog!
Nice work! :D

zmajoljupka
Newbie
Posts: 10
Joined: Wed May 08, 2013 2:20 pm
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#54 Post by zmajoljupka »

Hi! HELP!

I've downloaded the game several times over now just to make sure there wasn't a download error. I wanted to give it a try because it looked very interesting. Unfortunately when I unpack the rar I have an error message about the "Icon" file, where the last character after the word icon cannot be recognized. The file itself then appears in the folder but with 0KB. :?:
The game starts with massive lag and it's impossible to play and ends up crashing after the first or second line of text. Also at some point I have been informed that my computer runs slow graphics but my directX is up to date. I don't know which of the two is causing these problems but is there someone with any advice?
I have an old IBM Thinkpad T43 but no ren'py game has ever had any issues working.

Thank you for any help and my praise for getting such a project done, I just wish I could see what it's like :)
Last edited by zmajoljupka on Mon Jan 13, 2014 6:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
storykween
Regular
Posts: 154
Joined: Mon Sep 30, 2013 1:17 pm
Completed: Serafina's Saga, Quantum Conscience, Echoes of the Fey, miraclr - Divine Dating Sim
Organization: Woodsy Studio
Location: St Louis
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#55 Post by storykween »

This was a charming VN! The art was lovely and the GUI very polished. I enjoyed the fast pace of events, the interesting and quirky characters, the stylish music, and the unique blend of humor and horror. Great work!
Image
My website: woodsy-studio.com

Lunacore
Newbie
Posts: 15
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2013 12:05 pm
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#56 Post by Lunacore »

Soo :3 Just got all endings, the 4th one realy was something. xD And was kinda amusing..
The game was made realy nice, the humor in the writing style, and the art. It just fit together realy well.

User avatar
potsolnyx
Newbie
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Apr 15, 2013 4:50 pm
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#57 Post by potsolnyx »

What a brilliant game!The CGs were absolutely gorgeous. I can definitely say that I love this game. I love graphic design and the visuals in the game are amazing.
The writing was really fun, I really liked the characters and their interactions! Miranda is great character.
Thank you very much for a wonderful game! I wish you good luck and inspiration!

User avatar
FrozenApple66
Regular
Posts: 147
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:41 am
Projects: Lunescara (Hiatus) The Cottage (NaNo16)
Organization: Pink Squirrel Games
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#58 Post by FrozenApple66 »

I want to play this so badly~!! Hopefully I can do it next weekend... once I have time to actually do things.
The art is lovely by the way~! :D

User avatar
15385bic
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 771
Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2011 7:39 am
Location: Australia
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#59 Post by 15385bic »

i finally got the chance to play this~

it was cute/quirky and i quite liked the ending so far~ (got luca's end)
the gui is so pretty and i love the moon calender you guys have at the top.

going back to try another route~

User avatar
tobesomething
Newbie
Posts: 11
Joined: Fri Oct 24, 2014 9:44 pm
Projects: Unnamed LGBT Slice of Life
Tumblr: ewnerds
Contact:

Re: Nachtigal (otome/soft horror/vampires)

#60 Post by tobesomething »

I love this game so much, I'm probably going to keep it on my computer forever. I've only gotten the relationship endings, and I heard there's a threesome ending?! Which I'm very excited to try out, though from what I've read, it's not going to be what I expect. :(

Luca is adorable, but I didn't really like Adrian that much. I don't know why, I guess I just found Luca's ending to much more satisfying while Adrian's was just kind of short and 'meh'. (Talk about a plot twist though!)

Overall, very nice read, wish it was longer though. I'm already missing them! :(

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users