Of Valkyries and Life (free) [fantasy, slice of life]

[desulishor]

What would you do if you woke up one day with wings grown on your back?

Of Valkyries and Life is a compilation of short stories, all build around the theme of winged girls: A story of a winged girl who lived in ancient Finland, another winged girl who was worshiped as a Valkyrie in the times of Vikings, and lastly a tomboy from modern day Japan, all struggling to find a way to live with their wings.

The stories are largely kinetic and can be played in any order, there is a total of 5 different endings.
The artwork was provided by a friend of mine http://www.Xxlei-chanxx.deviantart.com or alternatively http://www.Sketchy-ness.tumblr.com

In-game music was produced by Marc Tabula http://www.Starryai.mctabula.com and Trass84 (Soundcloud.com)

Written and coded by Desulishor... Uh well, that's me. http://desulishorwrites.blogspot.fi/

The VN is available for free on indiedb, http://www.indiedb.com/games/of-valkyries-and-life (mac and windows now available) All comments and questions are welcome. Lastly, donations are also accepted, and will be used directly for future projects.

[peapodprincess]

I haven't seen this type of narration in a visual novel before. Once I download it and play it through, I'll be sure to give you my thoughts.

[Cafechan]

Aw man! It looks interesting but I will have to wait for a Mac version.

[desulishor]

Aw man! It looks interesting but I will have to wait for a Mac version.

Looks like my upload was authorized just earlier this evening, so it should be available now.

[peapodprincess]

Now that I've finally had the time to play this after several real life things getting in the way of sitting at the computer for more than five minutes, I think that I've collected some feedback for you.

First off, I'm in love with this concept - both the actual connecting thread between the girls and the way they're interpreted through the lens of a visual novel. I think that a collection of tied-together short stories, each its own miniature game, is a simple but unique way to present your work. I might just have to steal it from you for my project.

My personal favorite was Tuuli because I think that you put forth a rather fantastical idea (girls with wings) and put it in the context of a historical culture (Vikings). The way you introduced it worked for me, and I didn't feel during the story that this was impossible if such people existed in real life.

Your assets (art, music, UI, etc.) outside of the story were a little all over the board for me. I thought the art that your friend created fit with the story you wanted to tell and, outside of that, was pretty nice looking by itself. However, the music didn't transition well (though that could be because I'm a fast reader) even though it was beautifully done. Another issue I had was the UI layout in game. I think that if you did a little bit of custom NVL tweaking, the narration text would've looked much better. Right now, it's a bit distracting because it's off center. Also, the background you had against the narration text was pretty bland and a little blurry. I'm not against people using mostly the pre-made UI and textboxes, but I do think that it should be something to step away from in future projects. It didn't detract from the stories you were trying to tell, though.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head. If you'd like feedback on specific points, please let me know.

Overall, I really liked this game. I'll be looking out for work you're attached to in the future.