SHINRAI [Murder Mystery] - Released (August 26, 2016)

[Gospel]

SHINRAI is a murder mystery revolving around a small group of friends,
gathering at a secluded mountain resort to spend the night of All Hallows' Eve together.
However...

What was originally intended to be a fun little Halloween party quickly turns into an actual night of horrors.
When one of the attendees is found dead, fear and uncertainty spread as the friends realize they are trapped with a murderer.

As they try to unveil the identity of the killer, they slowly begin to learn
to what atrocities despair can drive a human being... once its trust has been broken.

Rie: "Hey there, peeps! I'm Rie Miyamoto, the host of the party! And on the right you can see my best friend, Runa Hikari!"
Runa: "Hello, everyone."
Rie: "We're here to give you a little more info on this VN project, which has finally been released!"
Runa: "Indeed. You can find the links to the store pages down below, so feel free to take a look. You will discover new screenshots, gameplay videos, and even a little trailer there."
Rie: "Yup! Oh, and don't forget that we have a demo available! You can find the link for it down below, as well!"



Steam Greenlight Page: http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/f ... =542962744

Steam (Game): http://store.steampowered.com/app/499910/
Steam (Soundtrack): http://store.steampowered.com/app/509120/

itch.io (Game): https://gosatsuvns.itch.io/shinrai-brok ... nd-despair
itch.io (Soundtrack): https://gosatsuvns.itch.io/shinrai-brok ... soundtrack

Demo:

Demo Download Link: http://www.mediafire.com/download/5ctya ... I_demo.zip
Digital Instruction Booklet: http://www.mediafire.com/download/6164j ... ooklet.pdf

This demo contains the prologue, as well as the entire first chapter, and amounts to approximately 35,000 words.
Its main purpose is to introduce you to the setting and characters, as well as some of the interactive/gameplay elements.
You can also check out the digital instruction booklet for more information about the characters and mechanics of SHINRAI.

Rie: "Alrighty! And with that outta the way, let's get into a bit more detail about this visual novel project, starting with the story and setting, of course!"

Story & Setting:

Runa: "The story is set on October 31st, and-"
Rie: "Halloweeeeeeen! The day we all know and love! I’ve decided to throw a really neat Halloween party, and invited a whole buncha my classmates! We’re gonna have a blast and do lotsa scary stuff! And who knows? Maybe someone’s even gonna get murdered!?"
Runa: "D-Don’t say things like that, Miyamoto-san! Not even as a joke!"
Rie: "Aw, c’mon, as if that’d actually happen! We're just gonna have some fun at the majorly awesome Miyamoto Mountain Resort! My dad’s the owner, as you might’ve guessed, and he allowed us to have our little party there! The resort lies rather isolated in the mountains, and there's not even any cell phone reception out there, so that place just begs for a murder to occur, don't you think?"
Runa: "W-Would you stop talking about murder?? I'm already starting to get a really bad feeling about this..."
Rie: "C'mon, I'm just messing with you! Anyways, overall, the Miyamoto Mountain Resort is a pretty nice place and perfect to relax! Or to go on a killing spree!"
Runa: "... ... ..."

Characters:

Runa: "Including myself and Miyamoto-san, a total of ten people will be attending the Halloween party. You can read detailed descriptions of each attendee by clicking on their respective pictures below."

Interactive/Gameplay Elements:

Rie: "Okay, let's get to the interactive elements next. Since I'm lazy and really bad at explaining stuff, I'll just leave you with this explanation typed up by Gospel!"

Throughout the story, you will be presented with various choices, which will not only contribute towards your Detective Rank, but also influence the story and unlock bonus content upon its completion. And who knows? Maybe you will even be able to save a life!

Furthermore, you will be given the chance to investigate certain locations inside the resort, and interrogate your classmates in order to collect clues and evidence, which will ultimately be used to back up your claims as you solve all the mysteries encountered throughout the night, and reveal the identity of the culprit.

Be careful with your deductions, however, as it is perfectly possible to use your evidence to frame someone completely innocent for the most heinous crimes!

Additional Features & Other Information:

Runa: "Alright, like the previous section, we will keep this simple and just list everything here. This visual novel features..."

- Character Profiles which provide you with additional information about the characters, as well as their current status (Alive, Dead, Missing, Unknown)
- Diary which summarizes the story's progression
- Notebook which is frequently updated to help you keep track of gathered information and evidence
- 5 Endings (4 Bad Ends and 1 True Culprit Ending)
- Unlockable Gallery encompassing CG art, miscellaneous art, as well as extra scenes and additional diary entries
- Original Soundtrack consisting of 21 unique tracks, as well as a couple of variations (To listen to a few BGM samples, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ykkAma ... focjQw4j4J)
- 150,000+ words (resulting in a playtime of 8-10 hours, depending on your reading speed and how thorough you are)

The Steam release also features:
- Achievements
- Trading Cards

Screenshots:

Runa: "I think those should be the most important facts. If you have any other questions, don't be shy to ask them! Anyway, to wrap things up and actually show you a little of what the game looks like, here we present you a couple of screenshots. Just click on them for enlarged versions!"

Runa: "Well, that is it for now. For more information, please visit the team's official Twitter account, developer's blog, or the thread in the Completed Games section of this forum."
Rie: "And don't forget that we also have a YouTube channel where you can listen to some music samples, or watch some videos to see this VN in action. So be sure to check that out as well! You can find the links down below. Anyways, have a nice one, guys!"
Runa: "Take care."

Completed Games Thread: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=40038
Twitter: https://twitter.com/GosatsuVNs
Dev Blog: http://gosatsuvns.tumblr.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gosatsu- ... 4957588105
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJHANC ... DuQ/videos

[Googaboga]

Sounds awesome. I love murder mysterious. The way you presented the information was an interesting touch as well :]. I'm really looking forward to seeing more.

[Ran08]

(I pressed submit already but I don't see my post. Huhu. :'( I still would like to comment though, even if it means typing again. Hahaha. This will be shorter though, haha.)

This game looks nice. I know it's a murder mystery but it seems really fun. The art seems especially nice. It gives me that old-fashioned feel, which I really like.

Coincidentally, my own Halloween game is also set in a mountain getaway! Hahaha. Are mountains popular Halloween places, I wonder? ^^

Anyway... good luck! I'm looking forward to this!

[Onomatopoeia]

This looks like it'll be fun. I can't wait to see it.

Good luck moving forward.

[Gospel]

Thank you everyone for your support!
Seeing that people like our project and are looking forward to it really makes me happy!

The way you presented the information was an interesting touch as well :]

I'm glad you liked it. I was planning to keep doing the main updates in this fashion, unless people are really bothered by it.

This game looks nice. I know it's a murder mystery but it seems really fun.

This looks like it'll be fun.

Well... it is a murder mystery and the overall story will be dealing with a few rather dark and serious topics.
Nevertheless, I sure hope it'll be a lot of fun. Especially during the early part of the story, when no tragedy has occurred yet.

Coincidentally, my own Halloween game is also set in a mountain getaway! Hahaha. Are mountains popular Halloween places, I wonder? ^^

I don't know, but I'd sure like to spend a Halloween in the mountains myself! Preferably without actual deaths, though
Well, for story-purposes, I needed an isolated location, and what better to use than a secluded mountain area, or a remote island!
I already used the latter for a completely different project though, so that left me with the former.

May I ask what your Halloween game is called? I'm curious now, since, just like Rie, I absolutely love Halloween.

[Ran08]

Hahahaha, oh, I get what you mean! The main reason I chose a mountain as a setting for my own project is because it's a secluded area too. ))

Would you believe me if I told you that it has no name yet? The idea came to me on a rainy night around 3 months ago but I wasn't able to flesh it out much, only the characters and the basic plot. Its working title is "Mountain Sparks" but it doesn't sound eerie at all for a Halloween game! Hahaha.

Anyway, your game would be really interesting to play. I forgot to ask, will you release this on or before Halloween?

[Gospel]

Hahahaha, oh, I get what you mean! The main reason I chose a mountain as a setting for my own project is because it's a secluded area too. ))

Would you believe me if I told you that it has no name yet? The idea came to me on a rainy night around 3 months ago but I wasn't able to flesh it out much, only the characters and the basic plot. Its working title is "Mountain Sparks" but it doesn't sound eerie at all for a Halloween game! Hahaha.

Anyway, your game would be really interesting to play. I forgot to ask, will you release this on or before Halloween?

I see. Well, finding the right title is never an easy task. At least not for me.
Deciding on a title and logo for this project was a lot more difficult than writing the story, designing the characters or drawing the sprites, BGs and CGs...
Anyway, I hope you'll find a suitable title soon!

As for the release date, we're currently hoping to have it out early 2016.

[Onomatopoeia]

This game looks nice. I know it's a murder mystery but it seems really fun.

This looks like it'll be fun.

Well... it is a murder mystery and the overall story will be dealing with a few rather dark and serious topics.

That was noticed, silly. If you're concerned about people finding murder mysteries fun, please don't!

It's a popular genre (as I'm sure you are aware, due to some of the things you said and the game referenced above) and there are a lot of people that find such games entertaining to play, even during the dark/serious parts.

Sorry if I concerned you about being eager to play the game. I still wish you luck.

[pickle131]

I love the unique colouring style!!

[Gospel]

That was noticed, silly. If you're concerned about people finding murder mysteries fun, please don't!

It's a popular genre (as I'm sure you are aware, due to some of the things you said and the game referenced above) and there are a lot of people that find such games entertaining to play, even during the dark/serious parts.

Sorry if I concerned you about being eager to play the game. I still wish you luck.

Thanks again, and it's okay. No need to apologize. Guess I just misinterpreted your comment a little. My bad

I love the unique colouring style!!

I'm glad to hear that, and I'm certain the person in charge of the coloring will be very happy and relieved to hear that, too!

[AntiquedFae]

This sounds very, very fun! (<---Halloween and Mystery lover right here. Oi, hello. I want this.) So it is only natural I gravitate towards this. Yay, murder mystery!!! -dances- The way of introducing it is unique, but I think I personally don't like it because I find the presentation more distracting than informative about the game. I think the very first introduction part with them is cute, but the plot, characters etc. I think might be better written from the developer's/third person point of view. It would make it easier to see what the game is about!
I also really like the art! Also, from what I gathered(mostly the screenshots; the two characters bantering really distracted me -_-) the characters sound like they will be fun! Admittedly, I'm a little bit worried about some of the characters falling into Japanese anime-style stereotypes, but that can be fun in a way too. I think it will be really, really interesting to see how the plot progresses once this comes out! I want to see how the characters respond.

Also, gameplay-wise, something I really picked up on is that the resort sounds like it is very big and natural. For me(because I love wandering, forests and am a complete snoop!) this just screams "Explore! Investigate! Wander! Weee!" -ahem- So will we be allowed exploration or clue-searching periods? Or is it more of a fixed plot with specific things happening at specific times in specific locations? I'm fine with both, but when something says "mystery" I automatically want to play detective.

Ooh! Also, I almost forgot to ask this, but it is very important! What sort of narration style will it be, and will we be playing a specific character? Or will we be more the observer/jumping perspectives? Or will we be allowed to select a character? Rie seems to be sort of the main character from the introduction, but she doesn't really strike me as being a character who is very skilled at deductive reasoning, observant or patient, and I don't see her being an overly talented mystery-solver. Maybe a little too loud and impulsive to catch any bad guys in the act. If she is the main character, then I almost kind of wonder if the game will take more of a horror-like turn rather than a murder mystery, with people being killed one after another and everyone being in a frenzy.

The gameplay features you have listed sound really fun! I love them. I can't wait to see how they work in-game.

Okay, no more rambling...for now. I'm looking very forward to this game, and wish you all the best in working on it! I'm excited for it! I only ask buckets of rapid-fire questions when I am really interested in something! Murder mystery, yay! -resumes terrible dancing-

[Gospel]

First of all, thank you for the comment and all those questions!
I'll just divide it up and hopefully answer everything to your satisfaction. And if I don't, or more questions arise, feel free to fire away!

The way of introducing it is unique, but I think I personally don't like it because I find the presentation more distracting than informative about the game. I think the very first introduction part with them is cute, but the plot, characters etc. I think might be better written from the developer's/third person point of view. It would make it easier to see what the game is about!

This is valuable feedback, and I'll definitely keep it in mind once I update the opening posting.
Right now, what's written under the 'Characters' section is basically only a temporary placeholder, anyway. Once the actual character introductions get added next weekend, it will be replaced.

Also, gameplay-wise, something I really picked up on is that the resort sounds like it is very big and natural. For me(because I love wandering, forests and am a complete snoop!) this just screams "Explore! Investigate! Wander! Weee!" -ahem- So will we be allowed exploration or clue-searching periods? Or is it more of a fixed plot with specific things happening at specific times in specific locations? I'm fine with both, but when something says "mystery" I automatically want to play detective.

You won't be able to freely move around the resort, however, there will be investigation periods at certain key points throughout the story (you will naturally have to investigate crime scenes in search of clues and evidence).
Depending on the location and how big it is, you might be able to change your perspective to investigate the opposite side of a room, for example.
It will also be possible to inspect almost every nook and cranny of your surroundings, some objects even multiple times for different reactions and comments.
I put a lot of detail into those, since I always loved reading the character comments during the investigation parts in the Ace Attorney or Zero Escape series, for example. So I really hope you will enjoy them.

Ooh! Also, I almost forgot to ask this, but it is very important! What sort of narration style will it be, and will we be playing a specific character? Or will we be more the observer/jumping perspectives? Or will we be allowed to select a character? Rie seems to be sort of the main character from the introduction, but she doesn't really strike me as being a character who is very skilled at deductive reasoning, observant or patient, and I don't see her being an overly talented mystery-solver. Maybe a little too loud and impulsive to catch any bad guys in the act. If she is the main character, then I almost kind of wonder if the game will take more of a horror-like turn rather than a murder mystery, with people being killed one after another and everyone being in a frenzy.

The story will be told from the perspective of a specific character, that character taking the role of the 'detective'. There will also be a kind of sidekick character who will accompany the detective throughout most of the story.
I originally wasn't planning to outright say who will fulfill those roles, at least not until all the characters have been introduced.
However, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out if you take a closer look at the title logo.
Also, I can say that Rie is definitely not going to be the 'detective' for the reasons you have already mentioned
I simply chose her for the introduction, because she's the host of the party.

On a sidenote, there will be a total of 10 characters attending the party.

Okay, no more rambling...for now. I'm looking very forward to this game, and wish you all the best in working on it! I'm excited for it! I only ask buckets of rapid-fire questions when I am really interested in something! Murder mystery, yay! -resumes terrible dancing-

Thank you very much, and it's okay! I'm incredibly happy to see people so interested in our project!

[Lishy]

Hmm, it seems there are a lot of When They Cry references in this?

Hiro (vampire-dude) seems to be using a very iconic facial expression to Ryukishi07's style.

Not to mention, refereces to a "Golden Butterfly", and twin sisters who look a lot like Mion and Shion.

[Gospel]

Hmm, it seems there are a lot of When They Cry references in this?

Hiro (vampire-dude) seems to be using a very iconic facial expression to Ryukishi07's style.

Not to mention, refereces to a "Golden Butterfly", and twin sisters who look a lot like Mion and Shion.

I wouldn't say 'a lot', but there are definitely some small nods and references towards When They Cry here and there, as well as towards a few other games which I'm a fan of, or which have inspired this project.

I honestly didn't even put such intention behind Hiro's expression.
Now that you mention it, I guess it's kind of true, but it's really just a coincidence.

The 'Golden Butterfly' subtitle is intentional, however, as is the resemblance of the sisters to Mion and Shion (the whole thing is also a reference to Fatal Frame/Project Zero, so basically, Twin Sister Sacrifice is a mashup of Umineko, Higurashi and Fatal Frame).

[Gospel]

Alright, update time!
I was originally planning to do this every Saturday, but unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out this weekend.
Next update will definitely be next Saturday, though!

Anyway, time for another character introduction!
Taiko’s already been mentioned before in Rie’s character description, so... it only felt natural to introduce him next.
You can find his description and a picture of him here: http://gosatsuvns.tumblr.com/taiko

Apart from adding Taiko's description, I also edited the opening post a little and added a few additional bits and pieces of information under the Story section. Not all of it is new, though (I added some of the information I've been giving in my replies throughout this thread).