Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

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pyopyon
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Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#1 Post by pyopyon »

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SYNOPSIS


When Lalao's younger sister, Veni, leaves for the mainland, she can't help but be hurt.

Leaving for the mainland means abandoning her.
Leaving for the mainland means disrespecting their family's legacy on the Isles.
Leaving for the mainland means she'd never return.

Unable to forgive Veni, Lalao finds herself pulled into an equally unforgiving world of snow, ruled by a Prince with a frozen heart...
Will she let herself be consumed by her pain, even if it means never returning to the island herself?


FEATURES:
  • 4 endings
  • Almost 16k in words
  • Original soundtrack
QUESTIONS:

1. Which ending was your favorite? (Please use the spoiler tag!)
2. Who was your favorite character?
3. Did it live up to your expectations? (For better or for worse?)
4. After you got all four endings, did you understand the complete story?
5. Any critiques or general comments?


Thas' it! This is my second game and it's completely different from anything I've ever tried to make, so I hope it's received well.

Here's a walkthrough if you need assistance.

DOWNLOAD HERE:
Last edited by pyopyon on Mon Nov 06, 2017 5:51 am, edited 5 times in total.
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#2 Post by Kirlett »

When I go to the itch.io page says "we couldn't fing your page" :(
The idea sounds interesting so I want to play! ^^

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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#3 Post by pyopyon »

Sorry, slight hiccup on my part. It should be fine now!
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#4 Post by Kirlett »

Everything's fine now, thanks!
Just a question: who do we play as?
(It's downloading... I won't be able to play right now because it's 2 AM where I live, but I'll do it as soon as I can!)

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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#5 Post by pyopyon »

@Kirlett -- Great! I actually realized I left a placeholder in the game and forgot to remove it. I thought I could reupload real quick but alas. :lol:

In any case, you play as the island girl who crosses over, Lalao. This is her story.
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#6 Post by pyopyon »

I found an error where if you had equal points for two endings, then it would go to the menu screen.

It's been fixed.

Sorry about that! (I don't know if anyone else has encountered it, but I did, so.)
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#7 Post by Virelai »

The art on this is absolutely stunning.

Just general comments upon first opening the game: It's 16k words and as much as I'd love to play it now I have a quiz tomorrow :'(

The beginning intro actually spooked me for a second LOL I had my volume turned all the way up.
I love the GUI design, it's really aesthetically pleasing. It makes the VN look extremely professional. The artwork is super cute, it's really beautiful, but it also has a very playful vibe to it (does that make sense)

For me, I feel like Lalao doesn't look...feminine enough? I really hope I'm not offending anybody, but for a hot second I thought she was the prince, like a really beautiful and pretty prince LOL

But regardless, I will edit this post once I finally start digging into the VN, and overall I'm really excited! I played XOXO Academy (which I enjoyed greatly), and boy is this VN way different--but a good different ^-^

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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#8 Post by pyopyon »

@Virelai Thank you for liking it so much, I hope you get to play it soon! (Please leave your comments here when you do!) >w< I actually scared myself once when I was test playing with earphones in.
The door slamming shut
made me jump out of my skin because I wasn't expecting it.

The GUI is CC (by poutoto) -- there's so much high quality CC on LSF like you wouldn't believe! And, I know what you mean-- Bell's (littlestpersimmon) art really suited the faerietale vibe I was originally going for so I adore it, even though the VN script far surpassed what I originally imagined for it.

I'm not particularly bothered by Lalao's but you aren't the first to say that so I'm discussing what adjustments can be made with the artist. I hope it doesn't detract too much from the overall game. In the meantime, thanks for the feedback!

I look forward to your full review! And wow, thanks for playing XOXO Academy! Yeah, this game IS totally different... I actually hesitated posting because it's not really the kind of VN I intend on making often in the future but..... I like the way it came out so I can only hope that people like it on its own XD. Thanks for playing another one of my games!
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#9 Post by Virelai »

Can I just say, wow.

Actually, wow. For some reason, I thought it would be longer? Or maybe I personally was so engrossed that time flew by quickly.
I actually cried. The story of this VN is so beautiful. Although Lalao, Veni, and the Prince are set in a different world, it almost feels relatable. I'm not sure if this was in mind when the VN was being planned and discussed, but for me, it really related to my personal experiences with the burden of life. In a sense, this VN really reminded me to allow myself to forget any wrongdoings anybody has done, to forgive myself, and to really self evaluate?
This is by far one of the most well-thought out, and thought-provoking reads I have ever looked at. Although not much is known about the Prince, I also love the concept of how he has guests, and how he helps them relieve their trials and tribulations, but in return he becomes this empty soul. I actually felt my heart break when Lalao asked One-Eye how she could help him.
Addressing artwork and animations and stylings, it's perfect. There's honestly nothing I feel like you can change, there's no bugs or anything. Even regarding Lalao's manliness, I think it's fine. Because once you read the VN you kind of realize different aspects of it over the actual characters, you know?
Overall, it's a great short read. It's inspiring, and honestly really impactful to a person's life.

This is absolutely wonderful, and thank you so much for bringing this type of VN out on here.
Cheers to more of your work ^-^♥

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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#10 Post by pyopyon »

@Virelai -- Thank you so much!
While I'm sorry to make you cry, I'm glad for the reason! When I wrote this VN, the main theme I wanted to incorporate was grief and how to deal with it, so I wrote it with that in mind. It came out a little melancholy, but I hope, beautiful in its own way.

You motivated me to think of a better way to describe the struggles of Lalao, Veni and the Prince so I hope that the new synopsis is more helpful to other potential players. The Prince as a character... I thought about him a lot because I wondered how much information about him would be enough. I hope, after you get all the endings, that you get the full story of the Prince who is one of my favorite characters because of his sacrifices.
Hahaha, "Lalao's manliness". Well, to be fair, one of the things I am hoping to update is the lack of CGs, so I wasn't really dismissive of the notion. If I can, a modificiation of Lalao's sprite might be in order. I can't say yes or no at this point, but since I'm also hoping to get a sprite for One-Eye, it's possible. uwu That said, it is true that the story is important but because it's visual novel genre, I want to do my best as far as both are concerned.
Thank you so, so much! I'm glad it could have such an impact on you and thank you for playing it. I will continue to put out thought provoking stuff! ^^ This comment actually singled handedly made me less nervous about putting out non-otome works. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

_____

** As a side note, there is now a walkthrough of the game. I added a link in the first post.
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#11 Post by Sayumi101 »

Hello there!
Just finished playing this and I must say it was a short yet engrossing ride! Though I initially get surprised by Lalao'a sprite it didn't take long (not long at all) to accept her the way she was.
I loved the legend of the prince and the songs that were sung of him. They were very well written! Short, intriguing and with just the right amount of mystery.
It also got to me, how the prince reacted to said aongs and sought out more information.
His backstory itself is heart breaking. Because I wondered, all the way through whar could have happened to him for him to have lost his heart and feelings. And I was expecting some sort of curse, for him to be some sort of fiend. So his story just makes my heart ache all the more. How he keeps taking in the pain despite now being reduced to a mere shell.
I secretly wish we could have got a tiny little glimpse of Veni and where she is now, but all's good

My favourite ending should have been the happy one where the prince is brought to the island... But the most impacrful was the wolf ending, how he sets her free of suffering, how she wants to repay him but One-eye telling her that protecting him was enough. That one was really beautiful!
The art, sprites, bgs and overall environment were beautiful and complimented the fairy tale/story tell vibe really well!

My only complaint is that little blank space above the quit option in the GUI. It seemed like an unlockable extra and I kept playing the game to unlock it, lol. But then, clearly you've mentioned in this post that there are four ending and it should have been fairly obvious given as how there were four options per choice, so we'll just chalk that out as my stupidity.

In short, congratulations on the release and thank you for this journey!~
Also, good luck on your future projects!
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#12 Post by pyopyon »

@Sayumi101 -- Hahaha, another one about Lalao. Thinking back to when I first got her sprite I thought to myself, "Ah, she looks a little boy-ish--" but as I put it in to do the test playing, I got used to it and now I can only see her as a girl. It's still getting changed though XD Already in progress. (^:

Yay, thank you! One of the extras I'd prepared is a compilation of the songs. It would be nice if I got them sung one day as another extra. uwu Who knows? A fun fact is one of the songs in a certain ending is a spoiler for all of the endings.

The song Gran sings about "the Heart".

If you look closely, you can match each set of lines with an ending.
Ahh, I'm glad. As I was writing it, I kept thinking, 'will people be angry that they never knew the Prince's name? Hm..." but in the end, it became a secret I got to keep.

Yeah... as time goes on, he forgets himself too, so... in one of the choices, after the Prince asks Lalao what his name is, she says, "Haven't you asked people before?" and he just says "Perhaps." I guess it's a little scary because even though he's losing himself, he doesn't feel anything either so he's not scared or angry or desperate... and idk, that seems scarier, you know? Something bad happening to you, and you don't even know.

Ah, yeah, sorry. I actually do know what happened with Veni, but unfortunately, there wasn't any space to tell the story. It's kinda like one of the better endings (not the island one, but by your reply, I'm guessing you got all of the endings--) you might wonder what happens to the wolves when the Prince is King.

The only reason I didn't answer these questions is because there wasn't any space.... I also felt that if I gave more attention to a certain ending, players might take it as a "True Ending" but really, there are none.

At most, there's preferred endings, haha, but some of the preferred endings wouldn't quite qualify as true.

Thank you! ^^ The wolf ending was the last one I wrote, and it's also one of my favorites since it answers a major question (that is, what happens to the people who never come back from the Land of Ice & Snow?)
Thank you very much! ^^ I am grateful to the artists who brought my vision alive.

Ah, that... space... where an extras button definitely used to be.....

I should've moved the quit button up, sorry, but I was lazy >_>;; There were supposed to be CGs (I even made a CG Gallery! ^^) but unfortunately, they fell through, so... I ended up deciding that between waiting what might be indefinitely for CGs, I should just release it as is.

Maybe there will be an updated version with CGs and unlockable extra endings? You never know~

Thanks a lot and thanks a lot! :^) I look forward to releasing more, too! :lol: [/quote]
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#13 Post by ilyilaice »

This game is so pretty and well-executed. The story is unique and heartwarming. I almost cried when I got the first ending.
However, I encountered a problem. I got the ice princess ending first, which was fine. I tried to vary my choices, but I still kept getting the same ending. Then I tried to make Lalao angry and I got the first ending (the wolf ending). I finally searched for the walkthrough. I followed it, but trying to achieve the second, third, and fourth endings still yields the exact same ending (the ice princess ending) for me. I wonder if anyone else has encountered this problem? I really want to see the other endings. T^T
I also encountered the bug where it suddenly goes to the title screen while she's talking to the Prince.

Like other people have mentioned, I thought Lalao was male until Gran started talking about "island girls." I was a teeny bit disappointed since having a male protagonist pursue a prince would have definitely been exciting. XD But I am also fine with her being a girl.
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#14 Post by Sayumi101 »

OMG, really? If those songs could actually be sung that would add a whole another dimension all together. But reading them was fun in itself! I may have had to read a few of them over again, just to you know, absorb them XD

The path that quotes the Heart song was the second one I played and I remember scrolling back and saving it for future reference. It was supposed to help me gauge what to choose next but at some point distraction won through.
Welp, there you go reminding me of that complaint that I had forgotten. You very evil person, you! And although we couldn't learn his name, the way it was presented was beautiful enough so you can get away for now, lol.

I know exactly what you mean. He was apathetic even in his curiosity, even when he asks her of her 'request' and even when he is reasoning with her. It hit me sort of hard when Lalao speaks of saving him but he just stares on apathetically. Even when she presents the idea of kissing him. He just sits there, not confused, not resisting. In your words, 'a statue'.

Haha, I know the 'staying' one is 'one of the better endings' that you mentioned. It does have moments that makes an otome heart flutter! And normally speaking something like that would have undeniably been my favourite! But I somehow felt MUCH better when he was free from his icy prison. Of how he is promised a 'second life'. It just you know... somehow sits better.

The wolf one just haunts me.
Your decision to release this rather than waiting was definitely wiser. CGs are a daunting task and depending on the artist's workload it might take longer than one might think.

That being said, a future expansion would be more than welcome. I know I'll replay just for the fun of it. ^O^
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Re: Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance]

#15 Post by vana »

ilyilaice wrote:This game is so pretty and well-executed. The story is unique and heartwarming. I almost cried when I got the first ending.
However, I encountered a problem. I got the ice princess ending first, which was fine. I tried to vary my choices, but I still kept getting the same ending. Then I tried to make Lalao angry and I got the first ending (the wolf ending). I finally searched for the walkthrough. I followed it, but trying to achieve the second, third, and fourth endings still yields the exact same ending (the ice princess ending) for me. I wonder if anyone else has encountered this problem? I really want to see the other endings. T^T
I also encountered the bug where it suddenly goes to the title screen while she's talking to the Prince.
Oh thank goodness, I thought I was going crazy, like, four endings? What four endings, I only see two. Over and over and over again. Even after following the walkthrough @_@

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