bury me by death's garden, after winter [Low Fantasy] [Drama] [NaNo18]

[proletariat]

bury me by death's garden, after winter

A contemplative logger comes to terms with his inevitable death before Christmas. In the mornings, he visits friends for one last drink; in the evenings, surrealistic dreams involving elusive angels, grim reapers, and other odd spirits plague his mind.



This visual novel features Hugo Simberg's paintings and sketches. He's a Finnish symbolist artist whose most famous piece, The Wounded Angel, is also known as Finland's national painting. When I saw his works on a public domain archive, I grew enamored with his style and fantastical depictions of death. bury me by death's garden is a personal challenge to write a visual novel based on pre-existing art, instead of having art made for an original script. The story stays faithful to the art's intentions: while both sobering and melancholic, a persistent pastoral charm remains, captured by the vivid range of humanity and imagination in Simberg's subjects.

preview of event images and backgrounds




characters

Constant coughing with blood and fatigue beleaguer our protagonist, Oakki, a peasant living a quiet life in a small Finnish town around the early 1900s. While the local doctor cannot diagnose his illness, he harbors suspicions that his illness may be more malignant than it seems. As he grows weaker day by day, Oakki finds it more difficult to get out of bed. The only source of refuge from physical pain is his dreams, where The World of Spirits welcomes him and other souls on the brink of death with open arms. The caveat is that the denizens of this world undergo their own struggles. Oakki cannot help them all, but he strives to try his best and offer aid to those who need it while he still can.


Kielo, Oakki's nine-year-old niece, loves tales of adventure and animals. She lives with him and his parents, for her father passed away a year ago, and her mother works in the city as a governess. Despite her mischievousness, Kielo handles of most of the household chores with genuine zest and grit, and extends the same care to her loved ones.


Death is both a collective and an individual, existing in as many corporeal forms as it pleases. Its ghoulish demeanor offsets its gentleness, and it's never seen without a tender smile. Death enjoys dancing, talking to spirits about their experiences living, and gardening.


Soile burns as bright in The World of Spirits as she does on earth, and doesn't intend to pass away without a struggle. She's a woman who gets what she wants, due to her charisma and strong convictions.


Not all people want a longer life. Lumi would rather end it all as soon as possible, but circumstances in her real life prevent her from going so soon. Her words cut like ice, her wit honed through years of reading and dealing with Machiavellian folk.


Oakki's parents, Mother and Father. Ever since the death of her firstborn, Mother spends all day sitting down and looking at the window, selectively mute and deaf to the concerned. Father does his best to support his wife and encourage her to move forward, but finds himself in his workshop most of the time working to make both ends meet.

...And more!

key features
- 6 endings
- ~25k words
- a unique presentation of art assets: sketches represent reality, while paintings in full color mean that Oakki is in The World of Spirits
- moral dilemmas and heartwarming events
- light exploration of Swedenborg's interpretation of the afterlife
- an inevitable death

notes

Hi! I've been a fan of visual novels for over four years, and have just decided to write my own. This is my first game. I am working alone with no programming knowledge, so I may be underestimating the amount of work involved. In case I run out of time to complete the jam, at the bare minimum, a demo containing the first third of the story will be released in lieu of a full game. Nevertheless, I will do my best to ensure a timely and polished release.

If anyone is interested in helping out with a custom GUI for the game, hit me up. I'm close to hopeless when it comes to these affairs, but will manage without a way to the light.

progress
- concepts: 100%, with a flowchart and brief scene outlines.
- writing: 0% (lol)
- art: 50%. All assets have been selected, but some light editing is required to crop out sprites and adjusting image sizes.
- programming: 0% (haha)
- music: 10%. Some sound effects have been downloaded.

questions
- What do you expect from the game?
- How does the non-anime art style look?
- Would you rather have sprites cropped and matched with the appropriate backgrounds, or would you be open to seeing the original piece laid over the background?
- How is death portrayed in your own culture? Do you see death as a phenomenon or an entity? If you were given less than a month to live, how would you spend your final days?

I'll create a Twitter soon and update there as well, but in the meantime, you can reach me through here with your own questions and comments. Thank you for your time and interest!

[gekiganwing]

bury me by death's garden is a personal challenge to write a visual novel based on pre-existing art, instead of having art made for an original script.

This sounds like an interesting challenge. Every now and then, I've dropped by the Art Institute of Chicago and thought about its 2D art, sculptures, etc. I think some of them infer a larger world or a story.

- How does the non-anime art style look?

I like a variety of drawing categories / genres / styles. For what it's worth, I've sometimes spent time browsing bookstores / libraries / video game stores, looking for personally interesting things that stand out. When a book's appearance seems like "just another comic" or "just another fantasy novel," then I will probably forget it the next day. When a video game looks like yet another downbeat title featuring a man with a firearm, then I will probably ignore it.

- Would you rather have sprites cropped and matched with the appropriate backgrounds, or would you be open to seeing the original piece laid over the background?

I think that your story might benefit if it's presented in NVL mode. Consider superimposing the text over the paintings.

- How is death portrayed in your own culture? Do you see death as a phenomenon or an entity? If you were given less than a month to live, how would you spend your final days?

Depends who you ask. Some of the people who raised me were strict evangelicals who were afraid of dancing. Some of the people who raised me were art enthusiasts who supported free thinking. I tried not to align myself with any group. So yeah... I dunno how I'd spend my final days.

[Zelan]

This is an awesome concept, I love the idea of using pre-existing art to create a story. Unfortunately, the images are blocked on this computer, but I'm intrigued to see how you feet the pieces together with the sketches. I really hope to see this finished at some point, it sounds like a thought-provoking story.

Gekiganwing's suggestion about NVL mode is a good one. Definitely give some thought to whether you want to use it in your VN.

[proletariat]

I think that your story might benefit if it's presented in NVL mode. Consider superimposing the text over the paintings.

Gekiganwing's suggestion about NVL mode is a good one. Definitely give some thought to whether you want to use it in your VN.

The VN will be in NVL mode, yes; it's the more natural fit for the story's writing and tone. Simberg's art shouldn't be obscured by a textbox either.

This sounds like an interesting challenge. Every now and then, I've dropped by the Art Institute of Chicago and thought about its 2D art, sculptures, etc. I think some of them infer a larger world or a story.

Oh, I do think about this all the time when I go to museums around here as well. Recently the mindset's been extended to digital archives, where old photographs, recordings, and texts have been uploaded. It's fascinating to consider other's narrative and intent for the piece, but to never really "understand" something because they aren't alive to refute or agree with statements from academics or the public...but death of the author and all. It's arguably a better alternative than to being forgotten, which applies to 90% of the works on public domain. Simberg's far from being lost to obscurity in Finland, but he's not as well known overshores.

Depends who you ask. Some of the people who raised me were strict evangelicals who were afraid of dancing. Some of the people who raised me were art enthusiasts who supported free thinking. I tried not to align myself with any group. So yeah... I dunno how I'd spend my final days.

Now that you're unaffiliated, might as well subscribe to your own philosophy. Joie de vivre!

This is an awesome concept, I love the idea of using pre-existing art to create a story. Unfortunately, the images are blocked on this computer, but I'm intrigued to see how you feet the pieces together with the sketches. I really hope to see this finished at some point, it sounds like a thought-provoking story.

Thanks! Simberg's art is fantastic, so if you're interested in rustic symbolism melded with fantastical myths, I'd suggest Googling up his works. Not all of his pieces will be featured in the VN. I'll do my best to assemble a good story, as my writing isn't up to equalling his oeuvre yet.

Brief progress update: I just woke up to my laptop charger covered in bleach...what or who tipped the bottle of beach over, I don't know. Ordering another charger will take a few days. I'm mildly frustrated at the setback, but c'est la vie. For the meantime, I'll work on the unwritten scenes in another computer. Writing progress so far should be ~10%. Weekdays should speed things up, due to having more time then.