Beauty and the War [Dark/Epic Fantasy, Intrigue, GxB]

[Flowers from Nowhere]

1❀ Are you interested in playing Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces)? What do you make of it so far and is there anything you're particularly curious about?

Yes! Character relationships, character development (Ambrosia and others), and learning what I can do to affect the political situation.

2✿ I'd love to hear your opinions on the characters. Do you have a favorite? The entire cast has yet to be revealed, but from what you can see so far, who would you befriend, romance, and/or antagonize?

No favorites so far, they've all got things to recommend them. I'll have to play this a lot for the variations.

3❀ How do you think you'll play the game? Would you try to make a bunch of allies? Use your charm to forge peace? Or just try to live your life, keeping out of trouble?

Oh yeah, I want to try for allies and Peace. We'll see how much of a political powerhouse I can be.


Demo Questions

1❀ What were your expectations going into the game? And how did Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) meet or contradict them?

After the warm up games I wasn't quite sure what to expect. I thought it would be good. It blew me away. Dialogue is well-written, the characters all have distinct styles and it's pretty clear that there's a lot going on under the surface. You did a great job making the war loom as a very real threat. I felt like every time I would start to relax into the routine of camp life it would jump out of the darkness at me again.

2✿ Tell me. How did you spend your two days? There are a lot of choices, so I'm curious what you decided to do and who you tried to befriend.

I thought this was a fantastic simulation of a war camp. There is never enough time to do everything even when you're busy every moment of every day. The wounded were my number one priority, followed by trying to further relations with other clans, after that I harvested various things. I hated doing the cleanup and cooking chores mostly because those lead to more interactions with Ambrosia's cousins. It's probably not a good idea to get on the wrong side of members of your own clan when the situation is as up in the air as it is but they drove me nuts.

3❀ What are your thoughts on the story and the characters now? Do you have a favorite? What were you feeling during the last scene at the end of the demo?

I basically liked all the male characters and didn't like my own clan members. I felt like every time I talked to them they just tried to walk all over me.

The last scene was intense. I'm looking forward to playing it out in its entirety.

4✿ What are you looking forward to seeing in the full version?

I want to get a better grasp of the political situation and make some real allies here.



So awesome! Can't wait for the game!

[Dreamgazer]

P.S. You got some flak for the hair hanging from Ambrosia's mouth in the promo image in the thread were we discussed it before, but are you sure that wasn't the briefly mentioned grave-parasite coming out? Would be a subtle yet present way to include it into the cover image.

Hi, Mammon! I think the better question would be...was she really talking about a grave parasite? Or something else? I can't say anything more on that point, but thanks for playing the game and answering all my questions so thoroughly! It was interesting hearing what your thoughts were before the game even started and it helps me know whether I'm doing something right.

Ahaha! And I can see the resemblance between Arsenik and Viktor. They are family, after all. (Not to mention, Viktor sort of looks up to Arsenik, so the influence there is clear.)

Good luck protecting Ambrosia's smile! You know the curse of the main star. All the misfortune of the world will seek you out and even the least likely of coincidences will happen...if you believe in coincidences, that is.

EDIT: I hope I didn't come off as too harsh in my review! I did enjoy the game.

Hello, camisteja! Don't worry, what helps me most is a person's honest opinion about Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces). This way, I can weigh all the feedback I receive, along with my own personal feelings, and shape the game for the better.

So far, it seems like people either love the intro or find it bewildering. I was writing it like a book, in which the prologue starts off with a different POV. Now, since people are 50-50 on this, I actually have an idea that should hopefully work out for both sides (the ones who like it and those who feel confused by it).

My goal with the textbox was to give it a comic book/manga feel and direct the players' attention to the characters' faces. (I don't know if it's just me, but when the textbox is where it normally is, I don't really look at the people's expressions all that much!) However, I do see where you're coming from. I'm going to try revamping the GUI and see if I can improve it.

I absolutely love Arsenik. The story seems interesting but I am confused about how everything works. For example, if phoenix blood heals then why aren't all the phoenix ladies barely dressed? Shouldn't they all be running around in ribbons if they need their blood to heal or is Ambrosia the only one with that ability? I still don't buy her excuse as to why she needs to wear ribbons, either. It seems to me like she could easily roll up her sleeves and get the amount of blood she needs.

All the Phoenix have that ability, but I think it should be noted that Ambrosia...doesn't actually want to wear ribbons. During winter, there aren't enough clothes to go around, so Ambrosia gives what she has to her patients, the elders, and the children. No one's really using ribbons in winter, so she settled on using those as her clothes.

I alluded to this by having Arsenik tell her, "I can see you've lent all of your winter garments to the wounded again." But I think the problem is that the Hulder, as my friend puts it, don't like to talk very "straightforwardly." So, if he isn't getting the point across clearly enough, then I'm going to try to take this in another direction.

Now, I should mention that Ambrosia keeps telling Arsenik that ribbons are the best because she doesn't want to bother him and it's a way to justify it. She also has a few other reasons, but I'll let you discover those on your own.

Rest assured, once spring rolls in and the weather's warmer, there will be more fabric to go around, and you can be sure Ambrosia will get proper clothes. (She tries not to show it, but she's actually embarrassed to be wearing that little. It's why she tries to make it better by adding other gauzy fabrics - things that nobody's using.)

I'm glad you enjoyed the game! Thanks for playing and answering all the questions. Really, your feedback's helping me a lot. When I update the beta, you'll get to see the effect your opinions had.

So awesome! Can't wait for the game!

Hello, Flowers from Nowhere. I'm liking the enthusiasm! Thanks for taking the time to play it and answer all my questions. I was definitely trying to show that it's impossible to finish everything in a day, so it's good to know that I'm doing a proper simulation of a war camp.

Your support means a lot to me, everyone. I hope you'll continue to look forward to the full version! It's time to start doubling down on it.

[camisteja]

Hello, camisteja!

Thank you for answering all of my questions! I remember that quote from Arsenik but I thought that maybe he was exaggerating. LOL Then when Ambrosia mentioned her powers near the end of the demo, I was sort of left thinking, "really?" Either way, I'm excited to see the full release of your game. I almost couldn't believe that you plan to make this free! If you need any help with proofreading or art, please let me know. I'd be happy to help out.

EDIT: I'm trying out all the paths and I have to say that I love Chase so much more now. He's so cute! I did notice a grammar mistake. If I am not mistaken, it should be "mine" and not "mines."

[Dreamgazer]

Thank you for answering all of my questions! I remember that quote from Arsenik but I thought that maybe he was exaggerating. LOL Then when Ambrosia mentioned her powers near the end of the demo, I was sort of left thinking, "really?" Either way, I'm excited to see the full release of your game. I almost couldn't believe that you plan to make this free! If you need any help with proofreading or art, please let me know. I'd be happy to help out.

EDIT: I'm trying out all the paths and I have to say that I love Chase so much more now. He's so cute! I did notice a grammar mistake. If I am not mistaken, it should be "mine" and not "mines."

Whoops! I'll have to fix that. (But that is what the beta's for, after all - to catch all those pesky mistakes!) Thanks for catching it, camisteja. And I'm glad to hear that Chase is starting to endear himself to you!

Also, I've whipped up a guide that may help everyone keep track of who's in what clan. And I've made a mini-trailer for it:

Once the demo's officially out (and not in beta), I'll make a different trailer, but for now, what do you think of it?

[Katta]

I really like your trailer, it's so dynamic! And Ambrosia in the end is very cute The starting image (the one shown when the trailer isn't playing) is very beautiful, I wanted to see more of it in the trailer itself, and to know who's who and what's going on on it.

[Dreamgazer]

I really like your trailer, it's so dynamic! And Ambrosia in the end is very cute The starting image (the one shown when the trailer isn't playing) is very beautiful, I wanted to see more of it in the trailer itself, and to know who's who and what's going on on it.

Thanks, Katta! I'm glad you think so. And I hope you like big casts because...well, Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) is going to have a lot of characters, each with their own lives.

Hope everyone has been enjoying the holidays! Once it's over, I'll try to post more regular updates.

[Heiden]

YOOOO, this is probably the world's latest reply, but I finally had a chance to finish the demo and LOOVVEEEDDD it!

Your questions:

1) What were your expectations going into the game? And how did Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) meet or oppose them?

Going into the demo, I was really excited to see the main 'canon' work of the Virgo Islands. The other games you've released with the characters were all frame stories (outside of the parody games), so I was excited to see the 'original' version of the characters. Except it appears that Beauty and the War is another frame story! Which surprised me, but I also liked the tone it gave to the work, especially since I can tell Ambrosia (if that is even her in the cave talking to an unknown narrator/protagonist) is an unreliable narrator.

I wasn't expecting animation and such an unique GUI presentation going in, and I LOVE IT!! The animations HOLY MOLY!!!!!!! They do so much to tell us of the characters personalities, even outside of their dialogue. I've always struggled with convaying body language strictly through static sprites, but this is an ingenius and creative way around that problem!

2. Tell me. How did you spend your two days? There are a lot of choices, so I'm curious what you decided to do and who you tried to befriend.
To be honest I dont quite remember, XD. I remember getting yelled at for not washing dishes, and also picking some herbs.

During the "camp" scenes where we were given free reign to do what we wanted to do that day, I was really wishing that there was an on screen indicator of how much more time I had left. In the beginning I burned through a lot of days without realizing that moving from the camp to the forest to the river actually took time. So I would be zooming through the different screens looking at all the possible things I could do that day and then suddenly triggered the end of the day (oops;;).

In addition to this, I think maybe an in-game map or relationship chart we could pull up at any time would be really helpful in orienting the player as to where they are and who they're talking to. (Especially since Ambrosia herself can be somewhat unreliable in her dialogue)

3. What are your thoughts on the story and the characters now? Do you have a favorite?
LOVE IT. IM A TOTAL CHASE FANGIRL <3 <3 <3.

4. What are you looking forward to seeing in the full version?

The full story! Also I loved the little bit we saw of Wind, so I'm really excited to see more of him.

IM SO EXCITED I LOVE THIS GAME SO FAR AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE MORE OF IT!!!

[Dreamgazer]

IM SO EXCITED I LOVE THIS GAME SO FAR AND I CANT WAIT TO SEE MORE OF IT!!!

Hi, Heiden! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the demo and you're looking forward to the full version. I'm definitely planning on including an in-game chart in the game - and some sort of clock. Moving around doesn't actually take up time. Rather, it's the chance of meeting someone and possibly doing something for that person which does! But yes, I can see how a way to measure time will be helpful.

Your feedback helped me a lot. Thanks for taking the time to let me know your thoughts!

Also...I have a special Valentine event coming up.

Basically, answer these 2 questions:
1) What kind of Valentine do you want?

2) What would you like to see the men doing with Ambrosia? Or vice versa.

You have until January 27 (PST)! Can't wait to hear your answers.

[Dreamgazer]

I'm now working on the second-to-last CG for the revamped prologue of Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces). After that, I have two more sprites, and then, I'll be tackling the programming again.

Also, here's another update on the Valentine surprise. Do you want to give a Valentine to someone in the cast? Please do!

[wyverngem]

I actually got to play the demo and I'm really impressed with how natural the interactions felt between characters. Will there be an extended demo or just the release next? (Side why do I always fall for the Trolds...Oh and why isn't Viktor a romance option?)

[Kirlett]

I played the demo yesterday and I can't wait to play the full game^^ Do you have a release date?
My favorite characters were Wind and Ambrosia herself. He's SOOOO going to be my first route. Also, I'm intrigued by the prince.
I think I like Victor more than Arsenik hahaha... But I like them both.
The trold though... so passive-aggressive, ew. He's chasing Ambrosia like a puppy (or a stalker) and then, huh, you didn't pay me enough attention (even though she was always nice to him) so don't think you're so important or something. WOW, RUDE.

[Amberbaum]

The trold though... so passive-aggressive, ew. He's chasing Ambrosia like a puppy (or a stalker) and then, huh, you didn't pay me enough attention (even though she was always nice to him) so don't think you're so important or something. WOW, RUDE.

Hehehe, I like that he is like that. makes him more real 'cause guys like this exist in real life. Which doesn't mean that I like him. I often tend to avoid him or immediately rebuff him.

[Dreamgazer]

I actually got to play the demo and I'm really impressed with how natural the interactions felt between characters. Will there be an extended demo or just the release next? (Side why do I always fall for the Trolds...Oh and why isn't Viktor a romance option?)

Hi, wyverngem! Thanks, I'm glad to hear you're enjoying it. I'm going to let a closed beta group play ver. 2 of the demo, and depending on what their feedback is, I might release that one as well. (Though, it won't be as much of an extended demo as a super updated version.) By that time, I should hope that the full release won't be far behind!

Ooh, and Viktor might be a romance option. There is a hidden bachelor, after all. (But if it turns out not to be Viktor...well then, just keep your eye out for the extended version of the game that I'm set on making.)

I played the demo yesterday and I can't wait to play the full game^^ Do you have a release date?
My favorite characters were Wind and Ambrosia herself. He's SOOOO going to be my first route. Also, I'm intrigued by the prince.
I think I like Victor more than Arsenik hahaha... But I like them both.
The trold though... so passive-aggressive, ew. He's chasing Ambrosia like a puppy (or a stalker) and then, huh, you didn't pay me enough attention (even though she was always nice to him) so don't think you're so important or something. WOW, RUDE.

Hello, Kirlett! I don't have a release date pinned down yet, but when I have a better estimate, I'll be sure to post an update.

I'm happy to hear you're finding the cast interesting!

Though, in Wind's case...are you sure it wasn't his twin brother, Thunder, who caught your attention? That is, if it's based upon that last scene in the demo...

I'm actually rather surprised by how much attention Viktor's getting, but it's certainly a pleasant one.

Hehehe, I like that he is like that. makes him more real 'cause guys like this exist in real life. Which doesn't mean that I like him. I often tend to avoid him or immediately rebuff him.

I was aiming for a realistic feeling, so I'm honestly glad to hear that Chase is inspiring different reactions like this. I like when my characters and their world engender a variety of feelings.

I really appreciate everyone who's taken the time to comment and answer the in-game survey. It's been very encouraging and drives me to do even better for all of you. Though, with how much animation I want in the game, I suspect it will take quite some time to finish. Nevertheless, I'll get there!

Oh, and as I mentioned before, I've been having this Valentine special this year. Feel free to let me know what you think of the voice acting (and the whole series in general). You could say they're using it to get a hang of the voice they'll be using in the game, while having fun at the same time. (For instance, Ambrosia settles on a tone during the 4th date, Wind's date.)

Hope everyone has an amazing rest of the week!

[Elfy]

Firstly, I’d like to apologize in advance if I make grammar mistakes (and there will most probably be some), as English isn’t my mother tongue. That being said, let’s talk about this about-to-be-so-great game:


1) Are you interested in playing Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces)? What do you make of it so far and is there anything you're particularly curious about?
I’m definitely really really eager to play that game!! I first discovered your other games quite some time ago, and I already liked it very much! The story was great, well-thought (you could tell it demanded a lot of work already), and with interesting characters. War 13th day was the first I tried, so it mostly about this one that I was talking about here. But when you released War Valentine Edition, it was so great too! Two good reasons for that: it was quite funny to see the characters out of their world, trying to adapt to ours ; but mostly: it was so great to see a little bit more of everyone’s personalities!
So because of these two games, I expect lots of great things in Beauty and the War, given what I saw in the other games and how much work you seem to put in this one. But no need to feel pressured! With what I saw in the demo, it’s exactly what you’re gonna give us: the greatest of your games (for now… ^^).


2) I'd love to hear your opinions on the characters. Do you have a favorite? The entire cast has yet to be revealed, but from what you can see so far, who would you befriend, romance, and/or antagonize?
Do I have a favorite?… Well, I guess for now it’s too soon to say so. From the other games though, I know that:
- I found Arsenik quite boring back then, and a little too much “chivalrous” (like, in the old, boring meaning), so I guess I might end up totally ignoring him, even though I’m quite curious about his possible “dark side”...;
- Viktor, on the other hand, is quite lively, nice, and more spontaneous. To me, he’s like the better version of Arsenik (being from the same clan and family, I guess the comparison can’t be avoided). He still wouldn’t be the first I’d like to romance, but I think he would make a great friend;
- Chase was too “cute”, almost childish, for my liking, so I’ll probably try to be nice to him, but he’s definitely not gonna be my lover (at least at my first play), and honestly he bores me a little too (guess I’m really difficult haha);
- Night makes me a little curious, and even though the fact he is a Don Juan isn’t a good thing to me, his honesty about not wanting to be in a relationship and just wanting to have fun does make up for it. I imagine him like someone quite loving and probably jealous when in love, I guess I’ll discover if I was right in this game;
- As for Wind, I’m one of these players he managed to charm in the Valentine game. I’m probably not really objective though, as I tend to like quiet or cold characters the best in otome games in general: they are so much touching when they say or do something nice (well, sometimes I even get touched by them just not acting like a***oles), while on the contrary, with characters like Arsenik, they are always so nice that it tend to not mean anything anymore to me and just become bothersome. (And just to say, I have an idea about what’s going on with his brother, I’m almost certain I’m right, and I think I’m not the only one who thought about that)
- Onyx is quite mysterious, so I can’t say yet if I’ll like him, but I’m definitely eager to learn more about him, as he does seem interesting to me;
- Alexandrite is THE great mystery of the game, though. We’ve heard of him multiple times, here in the demo and in other games (or one at least), and now, without knowing what he’s like mentally and physically, he ends up being in the game and, on top of that, he’s one of the bachelors! So yeah, I really want to finally meet him (even if I have a feeling it might end up badly for Ambrosia, somehow…)
I won’t speak as much about the girls. Rosemary is annoying but a little bit funny, I think Jasmine is b*tchy but seems nice enough, Bo-peep (what a ridicule name, honestly) didn’t have much of my attention before I heard her voice, now I kinda want to slap her (sorry for whoever makes her voice, it just figuratively speaking, I promise!), Brooks is my favorite so far, she seems quite clever and honest (I might change my opinion latter though), and I’m waiting to see Wildfire to know what I will think about her in this game, but I quite liked her in 13th Day.
And I want to meet the King too! I don’t want to be in his harem (if it’s even an option), but I want to interact with him too.


3) How do you think you'll play the game? Would you try to make a bunch of allies? Use your charm to forge peace? Or just try to live your life, keeping out of trouble?
Well, my first play will be exactly what I’ll think I would have done in Ambrosia’s situation, so it will mostly depend on the story and what we learn about the general situation of the Island, the characters, and what kind of events happen while I’ll play. I think I’ll be more of a peacemaker, but I might end up running away with other people, or on the contrary trying to help the Vi clan at all costs, I’m not sure as you can see, and after all, I look forward being surprised by the story, and maybe by myself too!



1) What were your expectations going into the game? And how did Beauty and the War (X Playing Pieces) meet or contradict them?
I didn’t think I would have so many questions about what’s happening even before having properly begin to play the game, but I can’t say I was surprised either! Haha
I expected a rich story, which I am more than likely to get, given the demo, but I was honestly surprised by the amount of choices we were able to make, as I know a lot of them if not all will have their importance on some degree, and I can only imagine how much work must have been needed to do that. Well, that’s what I think now, but when I was playing, I was really focused on choosing what I would do next, mentally making a list things by importance, as I guessed it wasn’t possible to do everything. So, I really think that thanks to it, any player willing to may enter the story and completely forget it’s just a game, while trying to understand the lifestyle and politics of the Island. Congratulations about that!


2) Tell me. How did you spend your two days? There are a lot of choices, so I'm curious what you decided to do and who you tried to befriend.
I tried to go to the forest a lot, to harvest things, meeting with Little Sir Caramel, and all, while trying to do my duty with the wounded as much as possible. I ended up not helping a lot Rosemary and Jasmine, as I often lacked the time. I almost immediately tried to avoid Arsenik, as I saw he didn’t change much from the other games and didn’t want to be bored to death, but as I tried to avoid Chase as well, not wanting to be too close to him either, I ended up always seeing Arsenik by accident, and in the end, he was the one hiding Onyx’s scene… And it took me multiple tries to see it without him in front of it (Ambrosia is always way too nice with him...). I only tried Chase’s route after trying to get an alone one.


3) What are your thoughts on the story and the characters now? Do you have a favorite? What were you feeling during the last scene at the end of the demo?
Well, the story is gonna be really interesting, and I’m even more excited for it now! Which might be a problem, though… I tried your demo late because I didn’t want to check up updates too often and get frustrated, so I tried to put it in a corner of my head and not think to much about it, but now, having played the demo and knowing there are so many things I look forward to, it’s gonna be really hard for me not to think about it…
As you could tell by reading what I think about the characters, I’m still waiting for my (probably) favorite characters to interact with Ambrosia, so I’ll wait for the full version of the game to chose who my favorite one is gonna be (if I end up being able to choose, and somehow I kinda doubt that… haha)
As for the last scene… I was curious, then worried about him, then about Ambrosia, then surprised she wasn’t so useless after all, then disappointed to see she was still boring (regrets and all), then surprised she might not be so boring after all (didn’t want to do that AGAIN?… wtf!), and then frustrated to see the demo ended!!


4) What are you looking forward to seeing in the full version?
Everything… I might have said a lot of characters were boring to me, and yet I look forward seeing them too! So yeah, honestly, absolutely everything! I just know it’s going to be great!



P.S. About Don’t Take This Risk (I know it’s probably not the right place to ask, but I’ve just got a tiny little question):

In the 3rd and 7th endings, when I chose the cool and alluring voice, I keep hearing "mon petit chou-fleur" (“my little cauliflower”) just after the “je t’aime”, when the love words go on and on…
I even looked it up as I was quite puzzled because of that, and found someone who asked about it but didn’t get an answer, so I was still wondering and I though you might end up answering here. So, sorry about using the wrong topic, but could you help me understand? Pretty please? ^-^’
And by the way, it’s a great game too!


Aaaaaand I wrote too much again… Well, sorry for giving you so much to read (if you end up being able to read it all without getting too bored before finishing, which I would totally understand), but I can assure you that’s flattering for your work, as I always write too much when it’s about something I love!
Congratulations again about this promising demo, and I can’t wait to try the full version (but I wil, obviously, given I don’t really have a choice here… But you get what I meant!)
Good luck for everything you still have to work on! I hope we’ll hear about the release date soon!

[Dreamgazer]

P.S. About Don’t Take This Risk (I know it’s probably not the right place to ask, but I’ve just got a tiny little question):

In the 3rd and 7th endings, when I chose the cool and alluring voice, I keep hearing "mon petit chou-fleur" (“my little cauliflower”) just after the “je t’aime”, when the love words go on and on…
I even looked it up as I was quite puzzled because of that, and found someone who asked about it but didn’t get an answer, so I was still wondering and I though you might end up answering here. So, sorry about using the wrong topic, but could you help me understand? Pretty please? ^-^’
And by the way, it’s a great game too!


Aaaaaand I wrote too much again… Well, sorry for giving you so much to read (if you end up being able to read it all without getting too bored before finishing, which I would totally understand), but I can assure you that’s flattering for your work, as I always write too much when it’s about something I love!
Congratulations again about this promising demo, and I can’t wait to try the full version (but I wil, obviously, given I don’t really have a choice here… But you get what I meant!)
Good luck for everything you still have to work on! I hope we’ll hear about the release date soon!

Hi, Elfy! Aww, thank you so much for all your kind words and encouragement. I really loved hearing what you thought about everything. It's definitely motivating.

As for your question regarding Don't Take This Risk, I actually let Mr. Cool and Alluring ad-lib that part. I'm fairly certain he's saying "mon petite chou-fleur" because, according to google, it's supposed to be a French term of endearment. Hope that helps! I've actually been meaning to answer the other person who asked on itch.io, but there are so many comments there that I haven't had the time to go through all of them. However, that is on my to-do list, and I will absolutely get to to them as soon as possible!

Oh, there's no need to apologize for writing so much. It really makes me happy to know you have so many thoughts about it! If you ever have any more feedback, I'd definitely be happy to hear it. We're all working hard, so I can't tell you how much we appreciate your patience and support.

Right now, I'm in the process of finalizing the art assets for beta ver. 2 of the demo. I go into more detail about it on my tumblr here. I'm also thinking about including an achievements page, so you can keep track of what you've unlocked. Does that interest anyone?