Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

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minyan
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Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#1 Post by minyan »

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Plot:

Your memory is gone, but at least the voice in your head seems to know what's going on.

Your typical amnesia story. Or is it? Dig through your past to decide the future. The MC wakes up in the hospital with their husband. They know their name and history, but none of if seems to fit. And then comes the voice that breaks their already shattered world into pieces.

Who are you?

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> Customize your name, pronoun, hairstyle, and skin tone
> Two love interests
> 30,000 words
> 5 CGs, 5 endings, 1 unique story

Click here to download!

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Sprites, writing, UI: Minyan
Proofreading/Testing: ClumsyRobot44, Averxy
Backgrounds: Reikun
CG artist: Kyan Josbel
Composer and sound designer: J-Ray
Editors: Zatomi, Wray92
Programmer: Sandalphon

~~~~
I'm very proud to announce this nano project is done! The whole team worked super hard and this has honestly been the most fun group I've ever worked in. Please enjoy our hard work! I know we've been kind of tight-lipped about the story, but I hope you'll give it a shot!

Some questions for those who have time:

1. Did you enjoy it overall?

2. Who was your favorite character?

3. Anything that could be improved?

4. Favorite/least favorite part?
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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#2 Post by ArizaLuca »

1. I loved it

2. I think I really liked Caesar; I know he was supposed to be the bad guy but killing him was really hard!

3. I think you're good on that front thus far...

4. Ooooh. The part where you kill Caesar while you're on his route. Man. My heart. Angst.

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#3 Post by minyan »

ArizaLuca wrote: Thu Apr 04, 2019 3:57 pm 1. I loved it

2. I think I really liked Caesar; I know he was supposed to be the bad guy but killing him was really hard!

3. I think you're good on that front thus far...

4. Ooooh. The part where you kill Caesar while you're on his route. Man. My heart. Angst.
Glad you enjoyed! Yeah, that ending was probably the hardest to write. At first there were only four endings but then I realized well technically this could happen...

Thanks so much for playing!
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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#4 Post by yayhamlet »

i usually lurk on the forums, but i've always liked your games and this one was a whole Ride that i had to comment

1. did you enjoy it overall?

i did! i had planned on playing it anyway, but i was ambivalent about the amnesia plot at first. i've seen the trope so many times in tv and movies that my first instinct was to just skim through until the penny dropped. you guys hinted it was a different take on the trope so i was expecting it, but i was pleasantly surprised with the direction you took! not just with the mc's identity, but also the circumstances surrounding their amnesia and the roles alto and caesar played in their life. i was screaming I KNEW IT I KNEW IIIIIIIIIIIIT at my laptop when it was revealed that
the mc was given the mission to kill caesar.
btw idk if cursing is allowed in the forums, but there were many expletives at all the plot twists lmao, even if i saw some of them coming. all in all, mnemonic devices is a solid vn and i would definitely recommend it to anyone!

2. who was your favorite character?

surprisingly, the mc.

i had expected that alto would be my favorite just from the design. he seemed like my type lol. but he veered a bit from my expectations lmao. not exactly in a bad way, i just thought he'd be more stoic. but he was great! meanwhile with caesar, i didn't think i'd like him at all tbh. and of course, i ended up liking him in the end lmao. his other side, when it concerned his job, added so much nuance to him, and i honestly like that side of him better. not exactly as a love interest, but as a character. i like characters w/ gray morals.

but the mc!!!!! god, they were so great. i loved that the vn was more about them. identity and what it means to be human is definitely an interesting concept when it concerns
androids.
i saw you worked on this my soul and i definitely saw some similar elements, though executed a bit differently. us having the choice of customizing the mc at the start felt a little more personal and more integral to the story, it was awesome.

3. anything that could be improved?

i wish we could've had more choices that didn't center on caesar or alto. it would've added another dimension to the mc's path in figuring out their identity. at some parts, it felt more like we were being defined by how the two men saw us prior to the accident.

4. favorite/least favorite part?

my favorite part was looking through all of mc's past memories. it was great seeing how their relationship developed w/ alto and caesar over time and seeing the change in mc throughout the course of the mission.
like how in the beginning the mc thought their body was weak, but by the end of one of the guys' route (i can't remember which), they admitted to liking it. i just love all the little things like this that show the mc becoming more "human."
also i adored that snapchat cg of caesar and the mc so much, it was so cute! my least favorite part is probably the thing i touched on number three. another thing was that there seemed to be a few things that were unexplained. i got all the cgs, but i'm not particularly sure i got all the endings bc i was confused by
the mc telling alto in his route that she figured out there was a mole in the syndicate and just ending abruptly on that. if i understood the part w/ alto in the end of the route where the mc gets 'killed' correctly, then i'm assuming he's the mole??? if so, it seemed to come out of nowhere compared to the rest of the plot twists. but idk if there were hints i just didn't pick up on lmao. honestly it was a bit bittersweet bc i really wanted to see how that panned out, and if this wasn't a nano project, i would've thought there would be a sequel following that plotline. but i digress.

OH WAIT HOW COULD I FORGET THE CHOICE OF KILLING CAESAR OR NOT. god that packed a punch. it was both a favorite and least favorite moment, bc i couldn't choose and the emotional payoff for either choice, when i finally forced myself to make it lmao, was huge. i got a bit teary-eyed when an mc romancing caesar chose to kill him ngl. ;u;
but yeah, i really loved the game! it was great! you should all be proud of what you guys accomplished! ❤

btw, just wondering, those two greyed out memories, could you really not view them? or do you have to do something specific to unlock those?

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#5 Post by minyan »

yayhamlet wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 1:57 pm i usually lurk on the forums, but i've always liked your games and this one was a whole Ride that i had to comment


1. did you enjoy it overall?

i did! i had planned on playing it anyway, but i was ambivalent about the amnesia plot at first. i've seen the trope so many times in tv and movies that my first instinct was to just skim through until the penny dropped. you guys hinted it was a different take on the trope so i was expecting it, but i was pleasantly surprised with the direction you took! not just with the mc's identity, but also the circumstances surrounding their amnesia and the roles alto and caesar played in their life. i was screaming I KNEW IT I KNEW IIIIIIIIIIIIT at my laptop when it was revealed that
the mc was given the mission to kill caesar.
btw idk if cursing is allowed in the forums, but there were many expletives at all the plot twists lmao, even if i saw some of them coming. all in all, mnemonic devices is a solid vn and i would definitely recommend it to anyone!

2. who was your favorite character?

surprisingly, the mc.

i had expected that alto would be my favorite just from the design. he seemed like my type lol. but he veered a bit from my expectations lmao. not exactly in a bad way, i just thought he'd be more stoic. but he was great! meanwhile with caesar, i didn't think i'd like him at all tbh. and of course, i ended up liking him in the end lmao. his other side, when it concerned his job, added so much nuance to him, and i honestly like that side of him better. not exactly as a love interest, but as a character. i like characters w/ gray morals.


but the mc!!!!! god, they were so great. i loved that the vn was more about them. identity and what it means to be human is definitely an interesting concept when it concerns
androids.
i saw you worked on this my soul and i definitely saw some similar elements, though executed a bit differently. us having the choice of customizing the mc at the start felt a little more personal and more integral to the story, it was awesome.

3. anything that could be improved?

i wish we could've had more choices that didn't center on caesar or alto. it would've added another dimension to the mc's path in figuring out their identity. at some parts, it felt more like we were being defined by how the two men saw us prior to the accident.


4. favorite/least favorite part?

my favorite part was looking through all of mc's past memories. it was great seeing how their relationship developed w/ alto and caesar over time and seeing the change in mc throughout the course of the mission.
like how in the beginning the mc thought their body was weak, but by the end of one of the guys' route (i can't remember which), they admitted to liking it. i just love all the little things like this that show the mc becoming more "human."
also i adored that snapchat cg of caesar and the mc so much, it was so cute! my least favorite part is probably the thing i touched on number three. another thing was that there seemed to be a few things that were unexplained. i got all the cgs, but i'm not particularly sure i got all the endings bc i was confused by
the mc telling alto in his route that she figured out there was a mole in the syndicate and just ending abruptly on that. if i understood the part w/ alto in the end of the route where the mc gets 'killed' correctly, then i'm assuming he's the mole??? if so, it seemed to come out of nowhere compared to the rest of the plot twists. but idk if there were hints i just didn't pick up on lmao. honestly it was a bit bittersweet bc i really wanted to see how that panned out, and if this wasn't a nano project, i would've thought there would be a sequel following that plotline. but i digress.

OH WAIT HOW COULD I FORGET THE CHOICE OF KILLING CAESAR OR NOT. god that packed a punch. it was both a favorite and least favorite moment, bc i couldn't choose and the emotional payoff for either choice, when i finally forced myself to make it lmao, was huge. i got a bit teary-eyed when an mc romancing caesar chose to kill him ngl. ;u;
but yeah, i really loved the game! it was great! you should all be proud of what you guys accomplished! ❤

btw, just wondering, those two greyed out memories, could you really not view them? or do you have to do something specific to unlock those?

Thanks so much for your continued support! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I was worried people would avoid just because of the amnesia plot, but I was determined not to give anything away once I had enough people helping on the project xD I'm happy you liked the MC, they were really fun to write. I was trying to keep the story short but I really wanted to touch on the aspect of them struggling with their "humanity," so I'm glad it came across. You make an interesting point on 3. My original intention was for the story to be defined by how the MC saw Caesar and Alto prior to the accident, rather than the MC themselves being defined but your interpretation is definitely valid.
As for the "mole," thing, no, Alto wasn't the mole. I really just brushed on it, but essentially, the MC figured out that there was a mole in the Syndicate prior to the accident, and was trying to flush them out without making it obvious they knew so as to not risk being accused or set up. There were only a few hints (the MC not being in the Syndicate's best graces due to snooping around, the MC's lack of focus on the mission as shown in one of the memories, the MC wondering why they would have crashed the car if not for Caesar) so I totally get why it wasn't clear what was going on xD
Unfortunately, there won't be a sequel. We'll assume MC and Alto took down the mole and lived happily ever after xD

That ending was rough to write xD I don't want to say I'm happy I made you sad, but...c:

And yes, the greyed out memories were just for aesthetic.

Again, thanks so much for playing and the lovely comment, it really made my day!
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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#6 Post by yoshibb »

Finally got a minute to play this :D

1. Did you enjoy it overall?
Yes, of course! I loved that I had options as far as the main characters appearance.
I kind of want to know what the past bodies looked like too.
The artwork was great and the game worked perfectly for me.

2. Who was your favorite character?
Caesar. I'm a sucker for cinnamon roll types anymore.
I kept waiting for some sort of twist but he was a sweetheart until the end which I was happy with.
I did like Alto too but unfortunately I was too smitten by Caesar at that point. Sorry, Alto, should've shown up earlier.

3. Anything that could be improved?
I'd say maybe making the choice about killing Caesar a little harder by showing implicit examples of him being a bad guy. Because I only saw the good side of him outside some tense phone calls, I really couldn't ever justify killing him. Unless there's a memory scene I missed?
4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Favorite is
The many memory options to choose from. Besides that, despite Caesar being my favorite character, I really liked the scene where the MC approaches Alto in the apartment and teases him about getting into his personal space. His reactions almost convinced me to switch routes the first playthrough.
No least favorites that I can think of.

Loved this game! You always do great things with NanoReno and this game didn't disappoint!

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#7 Post by minyan »

yoshibb wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2019 6:47 pm Finally got a minute to play this :D

1. Did you enjoy it overall?
Yes, of course! I loved that I had options as far as the main characters appearance.
I kind of want to know what the past bodies looked like too.
The artwork was great and the game worked perfectly for me.

2. Who was your favorite character?
Caesar. I'm a sucker for cinnamon roll types anymore.
I kept waiting for some sort of twist but he was a sweetheart until the end which I was happy with.
I did like Alto too but unfortunately I was too smitten by Caesar at that point. Sorry, Alto, should've shown up earlier.

3. Anything that could be improved?
I'd say maybe making the choice about killing Caesar a little harder by showing implicit examples of him being a bad guy. Because I only saw the good side of him outside some tense phone calls, I really couldn't ever justify killing him. Unless there's a memory scene I missed?
4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Favorite is
The many memory options to choose from. Besides that, despite Caesar being my favorite character, I really liked the scene where the MC approaches Alto in the apartment and teases him about getting into his personal space. His reactions almost convinced me to switch routes the first playthrough.
No least favorites that I can think of.

Loved this game! You always do great things with NanoReno and this game didn't disappoint!
Thanks so much for playing! I'm steadily making my way through nano games, I can't way to play My Only Sunshine ^^
and LOL poor Alto. I am glad you liked Caesar though xD Yeah, I definitely should have put more "bad" Caesar scenes in, or at least given some more info about that.

That scene might be my favorite too!

I'm so happy you enjoyed, and congrats on getting so much done on your project!
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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#8 Post by Harmonywish »

1. Did you enjoy it overall?

Yes! I loved the sci-fi concept, the MC not being human and how the amnesia + memories came together with the choices! :> It felt nice to be able to make a choice and shape their personalities and reactions but still have memories to hint at what might've happened before :)

2. Who was your favorite character?

I loved the MC! In every way possible ^^ Alto is a close second as I loved how the MC was when they interacted with him, in the memories and also
the dinner scene where they tease him haha :')
3. Anything that could be improved?

Think it would be a cool concept if we could access the greyed memories if we were close with the Syndicate or got them to trust the MC? I'm not sure what the grey memories would hold though!

4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Probably the part where Alto confesses that he loved the MC, and that he didn't mind what body they were in, or any. I think that was pretty sweet haha xD

My least favourite part would probably be the bad end, it hurt to see the MC die D:

Also, I really liked how open ended the story was! I might be wrong, but it seems like the MC could have different reasons/ feelings based on their choices? Such as they steered the car away because they loved Casaer in one route, but they did it for another reason in another route, regardless of how they really felt before amnesia. So in a way we were kind of defining the story too with our choices? :>

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#9 Post by minyan »

Harmonywish wrote: Sun Apr 07, 2019 11:01 pm 1. Did you enjoy it overall?

Yes! I loved the sci-fi concept, the MC not being human and how the amnesia + memories came together with the choices! :> It felt nice to be able to make a choice and shape their personalities and reactions but still have memories to hint at what might've happened before :)


2. Who was your favorite character?

I loved the MC! In every way possible ^^ Alto is a close second as I loved how the MC was when they interacted with him, in the memories and also
the dinner scene where they tease him haha :')
3. Anything that could be improved?

Think it would be a cool concept if we could access the greyed memories if we were close with the Syndicate or got them to trust the MC? I'm not sure what the grey memories would hold though!

4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Probably the part where Alto confesses that he loved the MC, and that he didn't mind what body they were in, or any. I think that was pretty sweet haha xD

My least favourite part would probably be the bad end, it hurt to see the MC die D:

Also, I really liked how open ended the story was! I might be wrong, but it seems like the MC could have different reasons/ feelings based on their choices? Such as they steered the car away because they loved Casaer in one route, but they did it for another reason in another route, regardless of how they really felt before amnesia. So in a way we were kind of defining the story too with our choices? :>

Thanks so much for playing! I'm glad you liked the MC and Alto. I was worried the more reactive choices as opposed to actively deciding things might not work, so I'm happy to see you found it nice.

That would be a cool concept! If I had written more memories I might have tried to implement something like that.

Also, you're right! That's what I was going for and how I wanted the choices to feel. I wanted the player to feel like they could figure out the past by what choices they made in the present.Thanks again for playing!
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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#10 Post by Elta »

1. Did you enjoy it overall?
Yep, I did. I found I was fairly absorbed into the story! I liked the choices I could make, and I felt the same moral dilemmas that the character felt. It felt the the coices really had a lot of weight to them! I felt like I was helping to write the story with my choices.

2. Who was your favorite character?
Alto is best! <3 I really enjoyed Alto's character and the interaction with the MC!

3. Anything that could be improved?
I thought Caesar was a little empty in the Alto path. I didn't clearly see how good or bad he was, so I felt little when I chose the not as kind end aside from just disliking harming someone. I feel like I should have seen a bit more about how much he cared about the MC aside from just being nice to the mc and reminiscing. Also some solid proof about him not being good might be nice. I played the alto path first, so I didn't really feel much for Caesar at all that time. It only gets hard after you play the other paths... but maybe that's a good thing now that I think about it? So I'm not so sure it's a problem after all~
4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Everything about the Alto path was my favorite even they not as happy ending. I love the way Alto doesn't give a damn about what body or no body the MC has, that made me love him so much! Least favorite was the sad stuff, but that's just because I'm a sap and like happy endings best.

Wonderful game! I think you did an amazing job!

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#11 Post by Zelan »

1. Did you enjoy it overall?:
Absolutely yes! I actually was able to play this game with my old roommate, so I can give you both of our opinions. ^_^ We both appreciated the customization options very much; I don't often get to pick they/them pronouns, and she rarely gets to play as a dark-skinned protagonist, so we chose both of those options for all of our playthroughs to make a character that we both liked. We also just got really into the story and the mystery. My roommate hadn't played any visual novels before and wasn't used to the format, so she really took her time with all of the decisions as if each one was life-or-death, too. (Unfortunately she ended up getting the worst ending the first time around because she was hesitant to trust Caesar or Alto lmao, but we got a few other endings together and she enjoyed those.)

2. Who was your favorite character?:
Caesar!! 100% Caesar. He was such a legitimately sweet guy with a clear devotion to the protagonist and I loved his ending. I never asked my roommate this question but I would bet that her favorite was probably the protagonist; I think she found their character and situation really interesting and we had a lot of pretty deep talks about it.

3. Anything that could be improved?:
I know that the memories that couldn't be accessed were supposed to be there for aesthetic but my roommate and I both found them annoying because we tried several things to unlock them before looking online and realizing that it wasn't possible.

4. Favorite/least favorite part?:
Killing Caesar was so incredibly upsetting aaaaaaah. Favorite part was probably his ending haha. I liked Alto too and their sort of tsundere/slow-burn/friends-to-lovers things was cute, but I'm such a sucker for people who are openly devoted to their partners like Caesar was. (He actually reminded me a little bit of the way my girlfriend and I interact, which of course is just bonus points for him.)

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Re: Mnemonic Devices [Nano 2019][Free][Sci-fi/Romance][G/B/NBxB]

#12 Post by Alia »

1. Did you enjoy it overall?
Yes!

2. Who was your favorite character?
Guy in Green Sweater. (jk, it was the MC)

3. Anything that could be improved?
Almost nothing. The only thing I can think of is that it might be nice to have an ending list in-game.
The walkthrough lists endings by name, and while I remember what happened in the endings I got, I don't remember their names. (MC runs solo, MC runs with Caesar, MC runs with Alto, and MC completes mission. Which is only four; did MC completes mission count as two depending on whether you ended up with Alto, or did I miss an ending?)
4. Favorite/least favorite part?
Favorite part: I loved watching how Caesar's behavior changed in reaction to MC choices as he awkwardly tried to figure out how to act and how much affection it was okay to show in this really weird situation. I liked that he was written in such a way that it's possible to hope their happy end really will turn out—that maybe his love will overcome the shock of not being able to always afford the best toys in the future, and that he really is just as glad not to answer to Croach anymore. And that the Syndicate might leave Quinn alone since they were thinking she ought to be retired anyway. It doesn't seem super likely, but it does seem possible.
Least favorite part: None.
I also liked the dystopian feel. Caesar was ruining lives, the Syndicate was assassinating folks right and left, and the programmers were aware Quinn was a person (she put on an emotionless act that "fooled everyone except the programmers") and yet she was still considered disposable property.

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