Tying Threads

[ShiraiJunichi]

After leaving behind everyone he had ever known to attend a new middle school, Allen learns the harsh reality that he can never again regain what he has lost. The rift between himself and others has become too large to overcome. And the expanse only widens, day by day. As the years pass by, Allen falls deeper and deeper into isolation. Until one day, a single smile in a sea of faces calls out to him...

I'm happy to finally release Summer Snow's first project- Tying Threads.

It is available for download on our webpage, http://www.eng.utah.edu/~jasons/summers ... ished.html

I'd like to thank everyone here at the forums who offered their support, especially PyTom. I'd also like to extend a deep heartfelt thanks to Snowshine, for allowing me the pleasure of working with her. Unfortunately she was unable to see the project through... as of yet. This is a 0.9 version, because this game will always feel incomplete to me until Snowshine can finish the artwork. But sadly, I don't know when or if that time will come... So if the artwork clashes, or seems incomplete, this is why. However, the game is complete in all other aspects.

I've worked on and off on this project for a very long time, and the (relatively short) plot has undergone several revisions, some of them quite drastic. But the game has always remained faithful to the underlying themes which I was trying to express.

I understand that this game won't be everyone's cup of tea. And I'll be the first to admit that the game has faults and inadequacies. However, I'd love to get some feedback about what everyone else thinks.

I'm not sure if it's appropriate for me to upload my own game to the ren'ai archives- or if I even still have access. But I'd like to grant my permission to have my game hosted at the archives.

(Oh, and FYI, this game was previously named Emiko. Just in case one of you, you know, maintain a list of all the English games ^_^ )

EDIT: The downloads on my site aren't working consistently, so I've uploaded the files here as well.

EDIT: Uploaded version 1.0!

[Ren]

Edit:Nevermind, I knew once I would have posted this the download would have gone through T_T

Editedit:Finished!I just couldn't wait!(now go and feel guilty, you offered me yet another way to procrastinate... )
I was really curious about this when I read the description quite some time ago and it didn't disappoint.I loved the main character's change through the story and Cheryl is just too adorable for words.Some considerations about friendship and how things change when you grow up are things I thought about a lot at a certain point in my life and this makes me feel a special bond with this story.

The art is also really well suited for your writing style I think, Snowshine's style is one of those you won't forget, I hope she'll be able to come back eventually!I would have liked to see Allen too at some point but perhaps not seeing him is good too, I can make up my own version of him in my mind.

All in all I really loved it and I recommend to anyone who has the time to play it!

[mikey]

I'm looking forward to seeing Snowshine's art once again. Especially to me, it will always be something special.

... and the entries in that certain list will be corrected in the next update. Might take a month or so, since the newest just came out.

[ShiraiJunichi]

I would have liked to see Allen too at some point but perhaps not seeing him is good too, I can make up my own version of him in my mind.

Well, you do see Allen... the back of his head anyway. The main menu and game menu backgrounds are actually sketches of Allen. I suppose the back of the head doesn't really count though... I had wanted a few special CGs, including one with Allen in it (you can probably guess the scene ~_^ ). Unfortunately, they didn't get finished... T_T

[Guest]

I liked this visual novel. The "special effects", like going from grayscale to color, were well-done. I dunno if I could call it fun, tough, since it was kinda sad at times. I don't know if this is a spoiler or not, but I'll mark it as such... It has to do with the nature of the endings, so it isn't a major spoiler.

Too bad there wasn't a happy ending. I was hoping for one... Awww.

Oh well, I still liked it! I look forward to the visual novels that you make in the future.

[ShiraiJunichi]

I liked this visual novel. The "special effects", like going from grayscale to color, were well-done. I dunno if I could call it fun, tough, since it was kinda sad at times. I don't know if this is a spoiler or not, but I'll mark it as such... It has to do with the nature of the endings, so it isn't a major spoiler.

Too bad there wasn't a happy ending. I was hoping for one... Awww.

Oh well, I still liked it! I look forward to the visual novels that you make in the future.

Thank you for playing! It is a bit depressing at times... which hurt my motivation at some points in development. However, I consider the overall message to be quite positive.
About the endings...

I suppose the third ending (the one I intended to be the "happy" ending) is a bit bitter sweet. It's sad, but at the same time offers hope. And it helps show just how much Cheryl has influenced Allen. She changed him so deeply, that he is able to continue on without her (of course, he still wishes she didn't have to go).

[F.I.A]

I have to say I enjoy this small masterpiece.

It portrays the loneliness an individual might encounter once put in an unfamiliar community.(Allen kind of reminds me of my past, and it was a good thing I went a better path).

Big point on the color fading effect to switch from gloom to joy and vice versa. My only gripe might be Cheryl's somewhat displaced mouth, but I had seen worse.

Congratulations on your first release.

[EDIT: A little insignificant trivia. The 18005551212.ogg and its copy of 18005551212.ogg.sfk can be excluded.]

[Samu-kun]

It reminds me too much of my life... It's sooo sad. I nearly cried at the end. =_=;; *wipes away tear*

[Ren]

Too bad there wasn't a happy ending. I was hoping for one... Awww.

Oh well, I still liked it! I look forward to the visual novels that you make in the future.

I thought that was the best possible ending:

If she magically could stay with him or something it would have sounded a bit fake in my opinion, this way it's more realistic and somehow more reassuring if you feel(like me) that it's really near your personal experience.He changed for the better and he found hope, he now knows there are people that you can be friends with and has a better attitude for the future.That will help him with anything he'll want to accomplish.
Plus I'm sure now he won't let go of something he holds onto like he did three years in the past, so they'll meet again, sooner or later^_-That's for sure!

[ShiraiJunichi]

I have to say I enjoy this small masterpiece.

My only gripe might be Cheryl's somewhat displaced mouth, but I had seen worse.

Congratulations on your first release.

Masterpiece? Surely, you flatter me ^_^;;;
About the mouth... I should've mentioned this in the beginning- If anything bothers you about the graphics, it's my fault. I actually had to create a few of the expressions myself. So if the mouth, eyebrows, blinking, or tears bother you- you can blame me. (Isn't that sad? I can't even paste a mouth onto an otherwise completely drawn figure >_< )

If she magically could stay with him or something it would have sounded a bit fake in my opinion, this way it's more realistic and somehow more reassuring if you feel(like me) that it's really near your personal experience.He changed for the better and he found hope, he now knows there are people that you can be friends with and has a better attitude for the future.That will help him with anything he'll want to accomplish.
Plus I'm sure now he won't let go of something he holds onto like he did three years in the past, so they'll meet again, sooner or later^_-That's for sure!

That pretty much hit the nail on the head.

I had thought about providing some way for Cheryl to stay, but it seemed like a fantasy fairy tale ending. I didn't want to sugar coat anything - I feel it would've detracted from the reality of the issues at play.

[Guest]

Too bad there wasn't a happy ending. I was hoping for one... Awww.

Oh well, I still liked it! I look forward to the visual novels that you make in the future.

I thought that was the best possible ending:

If she magically could stay with him or something it would have sounded a bit fake in my opinion, this way it's more realistic and somehow more reassuring if you feel(like me) that it's really near your personal experience.He changed for the better and he found hope, he now knows there are people that you can be friends with and has a better attitude for the future.That will help him with anything he'll want to accomplish.
Plus I'm sure now he won't let go of something he holds onto like he did three years in the past, so they'll meet again, sooner or later^_-That's for sure!

That's not the kind of happy ending I meant.

What I meant was them hugging or anything like that. Of course she had to go. It just would've been happier if he hadn't just walked away from her. That's what I meant. The way Allen reacted was very cold, don't you agree, especially considering how she was crying? A happier ending to me would've been some sort of proper goodbye from Allen.

[Ren]

Aaaah, I see^_^I guess I can't reply to you without spoiling though,

did you get all three endings

?

[ShiraiJunichi]

That's not the kind of happy ending I meant.

What I meant was them hugging or anything like that. Of course she had to go. It just would've been happier if he hadn't just walked away from her. That's what I meant. The way Allen reacted was very cold, don't you agree, especially considering how she was crying? A happier ending to me would've been some sort of proper goodbye from Allen.

Oh...yeah...

THAT ending definitely wasn't happy- it's about as depressing as it gets. In fact, after some contemplation, my tester commented that it couldn't have been more depressing if Cheryl had died! (not sure I'd go that far) ...No wonder you weren't satisfied. If you keep playing though, I'm pretty sure you'll find what you're looking for.

[DrakeNavarone]

This was... definitely something... It was nice. And a little nostalgic too, actually. I myself was forced to move in the middle of my middle school education, to a completely new and unfamiliar environment, and so I found myself in the exact same place as Allen. It really hit me, and I connected with him immediately thanks to that... despite the fact that I actually didn't like him that much... (which is hilarious cuz I'm thinking of main characters for my own stories that are pretty similar...). Of course, my little unsociable spell didn't last nearly as long, thankfully, but I think it was something that shaped me, and it certainly isn't something that's left me, as I relived it playing this game. (Man, I wish I had had a Cheryl... ;_;)

I may like other stories more, and I may like other stories less, but out of all the vns I've ever played from these forums, this is the one that's connected with me personally the most, and I just wanted to thank you for that.

[North Hawk]

Wow. This was really something else. I feel I just -have- to say something here, even with no idea what to say. This game touched me in a place nothing has ever managed to touch before. I suppose that's because I could relate perfectly with Allen's situation... it really makes me wonder if you've gone through the same thing, how perfectly you can write it. If you haven't, I'm even more impressed, given how real those emotions were, from beginning to all three ends. Honestly, I'm very impressed you could write them so well whether you've gone through similar or not.

Either way, everything about this game, the characters, scenario, emotions, every bit hit me in a place I buried away long ago and never thought could resurface. I'm not an emotional person, honestly, always feel I have to be in complete control of them, but several minutes after your game, and I'm still smiling like a fool while at the same time trying to fight back tears. And the latter's not something I'll usually admit to so blatantly. This game has a lot of heart, more than any I've ever tried, and I feel confident in saying that I'll treasure this one for a long time to come.