Because We're Here - Act II is Out Now! [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

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Eike
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Because We're Here - Act II is Out Now! [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#1 Post by Eike »


Because We’re Here ~Mohnblume und Blauerose~ is a story-driven otome dating sim in an unforgiving First World War-inspired conflict. It's an episodic visual novel in four acts. There was a demo out with the Greenlight campaign a few years ago, but it was very very rough around the edges! Then the project was in borderline-hiatus for a couple of years, and updates on the devlog were muted and rare. However, the full version of Act I has been released today!


Act I available on: Itch.io | Steam

Act II available on: Itch.io | Steam


Synopsis
1915, Wesslinger National Calendar. The Great War rages on.

As neurotic Postal Corps volunteer Elfriede Rauss, you walk the trenches with the men of a lost generation. And amidst the chaos and brutality of the front lines, you encounter an obstacle that you are absolutely and categorically not prepared for: love.

However. Love can be a difficult thing to hold on to at the best of times. And these are not the best of times...


Key Features

A Narrative-Driven Anti-War Epic - Act I sets in motion a twisting trench opera of conflicted loyalties and life-changing decisions. This first act features 20 pieces of original CG artwork.

Romance a Diverse Array of Bachelors - A large and varied cast, spanning childhood friends, aristocrats, corporals and cowards. Act I introduces 11 main characters; Act II introduces an additional 8. (A total of 16 are available as love interests.) See the full character profiles on the devlog!

Discover a Rich WW1-Inspired Setting - Investigate a grave turning point in the continent’s history as you journey across the towns and battlefronts of the First Lassallian War.

Master the Battle of Wits System - Argumentative boss battles that pit your emotional literacy and persuasive power against enemies and allies alike.

Estimated playthrough time for Act I (Never Such Innocence) is roughly 3 hours. (55k words.)


Screenshots


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Credits

WRITTEN & CREATED BY: Eike ('Studio Elfriede')
CHARACTER ART: J. L. Bartels
CG ART: Lordless
BG ART: Zayanah “Nalenthi” Mahammad
GUI & MENU DESIGN: KingV
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMMING: DragoonHP
MISC. ART: Rio

Make sure to follow Because We're Here's devlog for more information, including Act II updates and collaborators' other work!
Also, check Studio Elfriede out on Twitter!
Last edited by Eike on Sat Sep 28, 2019 1:48 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#2 Post by parttimestorier »

This looks great! Congratulations on the release. How many acts do you have planned? I tend to prefer to wait for episodic stories to be done before I start them, so I don't end up waiting around in between installments and forgetting what happened in the last one by the time a new one comes out. I'll follow your twitter and tumblr for updates. :)
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#3 Post by NiKaWo »

Ooh, will be keeping an eye on this for sure. You got me at 'childhood friend' LOL. I generally wait for a game to be fully released before playing, but this looks really good (art wise, story wise, everything wise basically) so I might just cave and get it anyway.

Is there any estimate as to when all 4 acts will be released?

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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#4 Post by Widdershins »

This looks terrific! Like the posters above, I prefer to wait for a whole story rather than play episodes as they release, but I'll definitely be following. Congrats on release!
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#5 Post by Eike »

Thank you all for the interest!! And no worries, waiting until they're all out is understandable.

There are going to be four acts in total! For Act II, I'm aiming for late this year - but it might be early next year. I can't give an estimate for the final act just yet, but it's incredibly likely to be late 2019.

(Though the success/sales of each act will have some effect on the timely release of the next one, given that the majority of Acts II, III and IV are already written and primarily I just need to acquire further pieces of artwork! So I'm going to be continually attempting to build some traction haha.)
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#6 Post by NiKaWo »

Oh wow, that' not so bad! I think I might cave and buy it since it won't be that long of a wait. I just love the whole setting, it's very unique and it has good reviews and the art and characters and everything just seem so lovely.

Also August man, August. I'm just so weak for his trope.

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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#7 Post by Eike »

Thank you for saying so! I hope you enjoy it, if you do decide to play 'as it unfolds' haha. :D

(Update: Act I is now available on Itch.io! Have edited the top post accordingly~)
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#8 Post by potouto »

I haven't gotten a chance to finish yet because of time restraint but a friend of mine did and she really loved it!
Quoting her here, mostly: "The ambiance is very good, the writing is good, the sprites are nice and the music is not a marvel, but good enough! I like the classical bits!"
I also tried a game a bit and we both agreed on the front that we don't really like the CGs, the first two are great, but the latter ones aren't really what we enjoy.

I admit I was a bit skeptical about the number of love interests, but from what I heard, they are handled pretty nicely! Since we get to choose the ones we want to pursue from time to time instead of locked in one and not to mention it's slow-paced. That's always a bonus!

This is another one I haven't gotten a chance to check myself as well, but I heard the game's war theme is very good despite being predictable at some part. Once again, I have to confess I don't know yet because I find the way August is excited about it is very... naive? I hope my mind will be changed when I have the time to play.

Aside from that, hope the rest of the release will turn out well! Can't wait to see what you have in store for the rest of the acts!
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#9 Post by Zelan »

potouto wrote: Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:19 amI find the way August is excited about it is very... naive?
I haven't had a chance to play this yet either, but since I'm low-key kind of a history nerd I wanted to say this. The sort of mindset that August has was actually somewhat common for soldiers who went off to fight in World War I (the conflict that this game is based on), particularly in America, because it had been so long since Americans had really seen full-blown war. The Civil War (aka the bloodiest war in American history) had been 50 years ago, so although plenty of veterans were still alive, they weren't the ones fighting in World War 1. The new soldiers had no firsthand experience of the harsh realities of war, and many had grown up on tales of glory to be found by fighting for their country. Of course, this didn't last long once the soldiers made it to the war, especially considering that military technology had advanced to be more lethal than it had ever been before.

Yeah, so that was a really long explanation, but basically, August isn't the only one who's ever felt that way about war.

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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#10 Post by Eike »

Hah, 'naive' is an understatement! Yes, as Zelan said, that attitude has popped up a few times across history, but it was a particularly notable part of WW1's outbreak. And the first half-hour of BWH sort of reflects that. I think you'd appreciate the rest of August's development across Act I. :)

But thank you (and your friend) for playing! I'm really glad your friend liked it, and it sounds like you'd enjoy the rest of the act haha. And yeah! The amount of love interests means that inevitably some are given more focus than others within Act I, but not to the extent where anybody gets ignored or anything. And future acts see the balance redressed somewhat, so hopefully it's not too much of an issue~!
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#11 Post by SwanMaiden »

Hello, wanted to share that I enjoyed this game on Steam and can't wait to learn what happens next! You did a wonderful job building up to your emotional beats and certain twists caught me entirely by surprise. I got a little misty at one part, actually!

I especially loved the time you took to delve into each character and their unique perspective on the war and their part in it. Even more impressive to me was the visible character growth as time passed and further changes in the story took shape. I imagine it's hard to accomplish all this in just one installment, but you definitely did it, and did it well.

My one critique is I want more, haha. I understand the reasoning for completing the game in installments, but I do very much want to know what happens next! Best of luck finishing up installment two.

PS: Gottfried has a fantastic sprite. His is easily my favorite. :3

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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#12 Post by potouto »

Well! I did play more in my free time though my friend dragged me into Stardew Valley, I must say, I'm loving Marius, is that his name? I think I'm too high right now to be coherent, and Wolf, major faves. Would love to see more contents of them, namely that first choice for the route if you ever decided to update. But yes, naive was indeed an understatement, I'm glad he has some growth and all but what is he in comparison to Wolf, I mean, who doesn't love a guy with no social skill, at all.
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Re: Because We're Here - Act I [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#13 Post by Eike »

Oh, thank you both so much! It's wonderful to hear that you each enjoyed it!

I don't have much more to say, but it feels rude to leave nice comments like that hanging, and I really do appreciate what you've written. :D

Oh, and Potouto - just to clarify, that first choice in Act I is not something I'm planning on updating; everything surrounding that has been done very deliberately. The only potential future updates to Act I are cosmetic! (As in, typos etc.) But Act II onwards has a lot more freedom with regard to your choices actually being viable - so there'll be more chances to speak with the likes of Marius and Wolf then. :lol:
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Re: Because We're Here - Act II is Out Now! [GxB] [War] [History-ish] [Steam] [Commercial]

#14 Post by Eike »

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Hello! I thought you might want to know that Act II of Because We're Here is out now!


This second act follows Elfriede through the next few months of the First Lassallian War, and a large amount of the story takes place in the trenches this time around. Against the backdrop of an upcoming spring offensive, she meets several new characters (many of whom are from ‘enemy’ nations) and struggles with the emotional fallout of Act I's events.

Because We're Here Act II has been in development for quite a long time! I really had the chance to work on it properly this year, but the plot and the new characters originated with the first draft in 2016-17. A lot of love has gone into it! It's full of twists and turns, and it’s the longest act by far at 220k words. Hopefully some of the people who were holding out for a more substantive instalment will feel like giving BWH a spin now. :D


(Act I is also 45% off at the moment, if anyone's interested - similarly, on Itch.io and Steam!)


Here are some screenshots from Act II! There's more on the store pages~

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