a2 ~a due~ [GxB][Dramedy][NaNo 2013] - new music downloads!

[Anomandaris]

It's absolutely stunning that this was completed in a month! I marathon-played through it to get all the endings

although I admit that I skipped through most of the dialogue for the ??? path when I did it last...I couldn't bring myself to be mean to Hao, especially after his adorable and heartbreaking backstory...

, and I thought that it was really neat to only be able to see the translations after having attempted to vaguely understand the gist of what he was saying the first time, just like Sona!

I really like Sona's character. She's a strong lead with motivations that are well thought-out and executed;

I teared up a little when Hao was trying to tell her why her dad broke her guitar

! Hao's workaholic personality was conveyed in a pretty fun fashion, too (and, on a purely shallow note, I love the glasses! The art for this game is gorgeous, and I really liked Sona's character design as well). The plot was also well done, especially the dramatic event right before the concert. I was left with one question, though:

How did Sona manage to pay off the thugs in the end? Did she get revenue from her future concerts, pay, and then go to visit Hao once that was all cleared up?

Anyways, overall, this was an excellent VN that really left me wanting more! I really liked the bittersweet ending (that's the way bittersweet really *should* be done!), but I'm really looking forward to seeing an extension of that bonus scene in the remastered version. Can't wait to play it when it comes out!

[sonorousgem]

You guys did a really great job! I liked it a lot and it was so professional, I can't believe you finished it in a month!
I'm sure you've been getting this a lot, but Sona is really different from other MCs-- in a good way! I thought she would have been hard to relate to, but that wasn't true at all (I actually thought I was similar to her in a lot of ways). I haven't played through everything but...

I got the "a tempo" ending first. I really liked that one because I (initially) thought she and Hao were so different they would've made an awkward couple... but after I played for the "con amore" ending, they turned out to suit each other really well... and your plot twist was impressive-- I wasn't expecting her to get tasered at all XD

I'm Chinese, but I don't speak/read/write, so it was frustrating when I couldn't understand what Hao was saying... Sona is surprisingly patient but Hao grew on me. And it was cool learning just a little more Chinese.
I liked all the musical references... I just love music in general, so I enjoyed all the theory and I could feel for the ensemble whenever Hao demanded more practice (i need to practice my instruments more too XD).
Thanks for releasing! I had a lot of fun playing it

[facades]

I love the concept so much!

(The concept of music and language barriers, then finding a common music theory language.)

I can read chinese so it was hilarious watching how they kept misunderstanding each other and how it's a good thing that Sona doesn't understand quite a few things that Hao said. I haven't got the translated version yet but this is what I read that really cracked me up.

"Did you stuff something into your bra? Because your boobs look larger than usual." LOL

The story had great depth, more than what I had expected when I first saw the page. It's always interesting to watch things develop between two people of very different personalities and dispositions.

I thought the difference made between the a tempo ending, where the whole orchestra immediately comes in to save Sona, and the con amore ending, where Hao comes in first so he seems more heroic and more suave, was a nice touch. (:

It's an amazing game and I've learnt quite a number of musical terms!

[Arowana]

@ Obscura
Omg Obscura, that is amazing and you are all kinds of awesome! (saves picture and treasures it forever)


@ ixWishing
Haha, no problem! I didn't know if people would think to check back, so that's really sweet of you! ^_^


@ Anomandaris
Thanks so much - we're really happy you're looking forward to the remastered version! Sorry we made the ??? path the "be as mean as possible" path, ahaha - we'll most likely relax the conditions to get that ending for the revamp! It's awesome to hear you enjoyed the characters and the art (and don't worry, we love Hao's glasses, too - why else do you think he has them? xD ).

About how Sona finally manages to pay off her debts, I'm glad you asked! Because once Nellie and I started talking about it, we totally had some new crazy side story ideas for the expansion. xD The original handwavey explanation was that everyone in the orchestra would pitch in and help her out until she got money from the next concert. She'd probably lose her apartment and do a lot of couch surfing in the meantime, though.

@ sonorousgem
Aw, thanks! I can't believe we finished it in a month either - there were definitely a lot of sleepless nights near the end. ^^; And haha yes, Sona definitely doesn't look or act like a typical otome heroine, and we're always happy to hear when players are able to like her despite that! I'm especially glad you were able to relate to her (she's similar to me in a lot of ways, too)!

I am also Chinese (Chinese-American like Sona), and I can't really speak/read/write very well either, so it was also a good learning experience for me. xD Glad you enjoyed the music references - I learned a lot of new things about music theory as well!


@ facades
Glad you enjoyed the game - it was definitely fun playing off the "odd couple" interaction between the two protagonists! And haha yes, that part is definitely one of the biggest Chinese stealth puns (and nice, you didn't even have to unlock the translation mode to understand it)! xD

Aw, thanks! I'm really glad that Nellie and azure put in the effort of doing CG variations for that scene as well!

[Mermaid123xox]

Oh my gosh I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!!!! <3<3<3
For the whole time I was playing this I was thinking "this is amazing"!!
The story, the music, the pictures are all beautiful!!
Great job! You are all so talented!

[kirmaros]

i wish i could read chines but this is way more funnier when you cant but i want to know what he is saying

[Nellie]

@Mermaid123xox - Thank you so much for the compliment! ^///^ Means so much so us! Please continue supporting our future games :3

@kirmaros - You can unlock the English translation for the Chinese parts as soon as you've gotten all three endings! Good luck!


A note - we're now looking for volunteers to help us beta test for our Android port... Is anyone interested? :3

[Blane Doyle]

*deep breath* OH BOY. I had most of this feedback written about a week ago and then... well things happened. So... yeah, that didn't get posted when I wanted to post it. I had this downloaded but I had not played it for a while because of time constraints. I really wish I had played this sooner, to be honest, because I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

See, I had a feeling that this game was going to be lighthearted and silly going in. So I expected it to be what I expect from media that has that feeling from the get go, so over the top lighthearted and silly to the point I wasn't sure if I was even going to be able to enjoy it. And I wasn't wrong, in a way, it was lighthearted and silly... but I was wrong in a the sense that it was to a point that doesn't go over the top and actually makes the game a more enjoyable casual reading experience.

While the game wasn't exactly 100% realistic... I was genuinely surprised by just how well it embraced that aspect and used it to make it more enjoyable without going too far into unrealistic territory. It's so well written and sweet that you just don't mind and suspend your disbelief because, hey, it's not like it's impossible. Just improbable. Reality does tend to be stranger than fiction after all and when it is written so well I just can't help but enjoy my experience.

I think what put this into the place that made me able to enjoy it so much was Sona and Hao (especially when you finally know what he is trying to say, it is so much better then). To see how their relationship can go either way, to see it be so similar and yet unique in each path, and to see their personalities bounce off each other was just... FUN! These two were just fun to read and I went back to play through the Love ending one last time because some of their interactions were either so amusing or interesting that I couldn't help myself.

While I wish the game was more realistic in the events at times, I wouldn't want to change their dynamic for anything. I'm more than happy with a game that is just plain fun and enjoyable and works exceptionally well as it already is for this aspect alone.

Honestly, the only thing that bothered me were some of the CGs. Not because they weren't cute, no, but because having two different art styles in the story always bothers me. In comparison, the chibi chapter signs didn't bother me at all (and they are ADORABLE by the way) because they were just that, chapter signs and not in the direct story. I dunno, I think this is just a personal nitpick of mine since they didn't diminish the scenes (in once instance the CG made an already funny scene even funnier).

All in all? Again, I wish I played this sooner. The game is what it is, simply fun and enjoyable. And as much as I like deeply introspective or action filled amazing plot games... this is sometimes the best kind of game to play and story to read. It's great to sit down with something like this and just have a good time because what you have is just plain good and nothing less (did I also mention really adorable? Because it is really adorable). I'm looking forward to seeing what you guys may do with this!

[Didules]

This game is amazing: I cried several times (Sona's story with her father, it was soooo sad), was it really done in 1 month?
All the endings were cute (or funny), the musics are wonderful!
The story is well-written and comprehensible even without a good command of english.
Thank you for this game!

[Arowana]

Hey, everyone! We've just released an Android version of a2 on Google Play. Please check it out and give it a try.

***

@ Blane Doyle
No problem - thanks so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us! (And thanks again for helping us test the Android version. )

I'm really glad you gave our game a chance, even though it can be quite silly at times! We were aiming for a fluffy, feel-good story similar to a romantic comedy or drama, so there are definitely parts that aren't very serious, or are more idealistic than you'd expect in reality. I know that's not everyone's cup of tea, so it's great that you were able to enjoy it nonetheless.

Also really glad you enjoyed the interactions between Sona and Hao! Since a2 is very much a character-driven game, we really wanted the characters and their "odd couple" dynamic to be fun and interesting. Good point about the CGs - we're planning to redo them for the remastered version, so we'll definitely take care to make them more consistent with the character art. (And yay, I love Nelllie's adorable chibis as well! <3)


@ Didules
Thanks so much - I'm very glad that you enjoyed the game! And we're always especially happy to hear that someone cried, ahaha (swear we're not sadists ;p). Yeah, we did everything during the month of February (we were originally hoping to finish in two weeks, but that probably would have killed us, lol).

[Taleweaver]

And you've made it to jayisgames yet again! Looks like these guys are very much fans of your writing.

[FailedSanity]

I downloaded a2 and played through it today, and just wanted to say I really enjoyed it. The way the dialogue was written made it so even though we didn't speak Chinese, we could still follow the conversation... well, as much as Sona could, at least.
It was fun to go back through and see where Hao was sassing at her when he knew Sona couldn't understand him, as well.

A note on a programming bug, though I'm not sure whether it's been mentioned or not?
I was playing the Mac version, and no matter where I clicked I couldn't get the text to advance through clicking, I had to revert to using the Enter key. Every time I clicked it would go between having the text box on the screen and not having it on the screen. I tried clicking in many different places, but couldn't get it to work properly. This was a little bit frustrating, but since RenPy lets you advance through keyboard shortcuts, not game ruining.

[Arowana]

Thanks to combined awesomeness of Marcel/NoJoker and the Renpy 6.15 translation framework, a dual English+German version of a2, with some other small updates, is currently in testing. We'll replace the download links once it's finalized!

***

@ Taleweaver
Wow, thanks for the heads up! We are stoked that they decided to review us. I actually don't think any of us have been on jayisgames before, so it's a huge honor!

@ FailedSanity
Sweet, I'm glad you enjoyed it! Hao is quite a sneaky guy, actually. ;p

Thanks also for reporting the text error. Were you playing the game in fullscreen mode, by any chance? If so, does the problem go away in window mode? (We've caught a bug that sounds similar to that in fullscreen, but it should be fixed in the upcoming dual version. Let us know if your problem sounds different, though!)

[FailedSanity]

Arowana:
I was playing in windowed mode, actually.
Further clicking reveals that switching from windowed mode to fullscreen fixed the problem, though, which is kind of odd?

[sakura_candy]

Neat concept! Although as a native Chinese speaker I kind of have some... opinions about the Chinese text here. It looks to me that the Chinese is written by someone who's much more comfortable and proficient in writing English than Chinese, because it's a lot more... wordy? than what you will hear from normal speech, even from what you would expect from a person like Hao. Definitely not conversational, and the way the sentences reads like they are designed with English in mind than Chinese. (It's just like the way Singaporeans who grew up in a English speaking environment write Chinese, or when I translate English-Chinese without beta reading it afterwards)

Sorry, just came in with high expectations on the billingual stuff! I really like Sona btw

UPDATE:
Even though Hao's Chinese still get some getting used to, it's really fun to see how 2 one sided conversations actually make sense a single conversation!

UPDATE2:
ANDDDD finished it all!

I especially like the "bad" ending for all its jaw-droppingness. Most hilarious Bad End I've seen in a VN since 428.