Lycoris [GxB] [Otome] [Psychological Horror/Thriller] [Romance] [Mature Content] [FREE]

[Akua]

presents

A game inspired by the Drama CD series "Yandere Heaven"

◤Sypnosis◢

Every story starts somewhere but it wouldn't be worth telling if there isn't something exciting happening, of course. Marika (name changeable) is an office worker and a big sister, letting days continue in the same routine she is used to. Not exactly the thrill type but certainly searching for some flavour in her life in between all her responsibilities. And it doesn't help that her mother is bothering her to find a boyfriend.

Luckily there are three men around her who have quite an interest in her.

Yet the closer she gets to one of them, the stranger they behave - the glint in their eyes and the twist in their smile. Just imagining things? Or better believe your gut feeling?

Features (to be expected)

Genre: Otome, Horror/Thriller, Romance, Yandere, Slice of life (?)
Rating: R-17 (read below for warnings!)
Routes: Three, after a short common route, the story branches into routes.
Endings: Four for each route (Bad Ending, Normal Ending, Good Ending, Best Ending) and occasional instant Game Overs.
Platforms: PC. With planned Android port.
Extras: Gallery Screen, Epilogue (if it gets popular enough)


And it will be free to play!


For more up to date infomation, follow my Dev Twitter!
Or the game, Lycoris, itself!



While the demo won't be showing of the NSFW content and this thread will also remain safe for curious people, please read the following:

• Marked as NSFW for: Death, Murder, Drugs, Violence, Blood, Gore and other sensitive topics. With possibility of adding smut later on.
• This a work of fiction; any person, group or organizations mentioned are not related to reality. All characters are 18 years old or above.
• Views, opinions etc. of the characters do not reflect the views of the developer. Discretion is strongly advised.
• The game features Yandere and/or Stalkers.

Credits (currently)
Sprites, CGs, Story/Writing, Logo, GUI: Akua Kourin
Editor: Haley Brown
Programmer: PrinceMuma
Proofreader: MicroAeris, Pumpkin Spike, dansylversterre
Backgrounds: CC Assets - Moon Wind, Kimagure After, Studio 74, Yuzuru Anno, Winddorf, Kajiji, Pyonkitchi, Noraneko, 佐伯蓮, Snow Bloom, Radius Rave, Neeproject, す閲覧, spaztucular (Flickr), jetsun, hemohemo, ぐったりにゃんこ, 空彩, しじみのおすまし, http://masato.ciao.jp/haikei/furemu.html, mugenjohncel
Music: N/A
SFX: N/A
Engine: Ren'Py


Now that you read through it, why not answer some questions?

1. What intrigues you? The interest in Yandere or the psychological horror? Or even something else?
2. Do you like Otome with a twist and even good endings that are from all viewpoints still questionable?
3. A character you are specifically interested in? And opinions to him/her?
4. Who do you think is most likely to kill MC sorted by tiers? And how?
5. Personal opinions and expectations?

Also, feel free to ask questions!

Progress:

• Sprites - 100% (only counting main cast)
• GUI - 100%
• CGs - 0%
• Music + SFX - 5%
• BGs - 95% (mostly found and CC)
• Writing - 15% (common route)
• Editing - 15%
• Proofreading - 15%
• Coding - 80% of GUI done

[Akua]

Updates

Finished Sprites

• MC (Side Portrait Bust): work, casual outfit and undressed version, ponytail and open hair, 9 mouth parts + 8 eyes parts + 5 eyebrows parts + 9 extras for expressions
• Kaede (Thigh Up): one outfit, undressed version + two different arm poses, 7 mouth parts + 10 eyes parts + 5 eyebrows art + 11 extras for expressions
• Hayato (Thigh Up): work outfit with semi-casual version (with or without jacket), undressed version + two different arm poses, 8 mouth parts + 10 eyes parts + 6 eyebrows parts + 7 extras for expressions
• Aoi (Thigh Up): two outfits - school (long and short sleeve variation), casual and undressed version + two different arm poses, 13 mouth parts + 9 eyes parts + 5 eyebrows parts + 6 extras for expressions

• GUI finished and 80% coded
• Updated the character profiles in the first post with the proper sprite art and official information
• 1/3 of the prologue/common route written

Next up:

• Writing prologue/common route
• Create Main Menu Art
• Upload Proof of Concept Screenshots

[Akua]

Updates

Finished

• Prologue/ Common Route finished, edited and proofread.
• First chapter of all three guys' routes - Aoi gets a rewrite, Kaede in proofreading and Hayato in editing
• Uploaded new Main Menu Art and Cover to itch.io
• GUI coded

Next up

• Common route CGs
• Finding fitting CC music and SFX
• Still screenshots

[Duchess]

Wow this looks interesting!

1. I am naturally drawn to psychological horrors, and I'm also intrigued by the yandere guys, instead of the usual yandere female.

2. I think all stories need some kind of twist. I think bad endings tend to have more of an impact on the reader than a good one.

3: Hayato is definitely my type, he's stern, has seniority, and is a workaholic? I love it! And his character design is attractive to me personally. The other two aren't particularly my cup of tea, but I know that plenty of people enjoy those types.

4: Hmm, that's a difficult question. Depends on what motives each of them could potentially have, and that's based on backstory. But as far as their appearance and the descriptions you have presented, Aoi looks crazy by appearance. Kaede looks like he could be the "I'm sweet and polite, but I secretly kill cats in the forest," type of guy. And Hayato is a complete mystery to me, but he could be a killer.

5: Looks like you've got a good plotline going, and I look forward to playing this once you're finished. My palette of VN's is relatively small, but I enjoy GxB and I'm picky so it's hard for me to find any that really pique my interest. This one seems very unique to anything I've played, especially it being from a female perspective.

[Letitia_L]

1. I'm most interested in the psychological horror aspect.

2. I like otome with a twist as long I can feel fulfilled if I can say? Like I need to have the impression that the story came to his rightful end even if this ending is surprising or questionable from a different viewpoint.

3.I'm most interested in Hayato, I feel like he has a mysterious aura around him.

4.Hmm it obviously depends on what happens in the story and the circumstance of the murder and mostly the motive, but my intuition would say :
First- Aoi : A clingy little step-brother with an older sister complex, he likes plushies and childish things even if he's 19 years old and he has this smile and looks that say to me "I'm kind of crazy"
Second- Kaede: Here it's just the personality that put me on guard. Polite, elegant, noble, nice and frail in appearance...Could foul us.
Last-Hayato: He's just mysterious, and the fact that Marika thinks she was him before can hint a something. Maybe a stalker?

5. I'm really interested in this game! I hope to see something well fleshed out, not rushed and surprising

Keep up the good work, I can't wait to play this!

[Akatea]

Hi, Akua! It's nice to finally see the proper sprite art for Kaede! I was really looking forward to his final design from when you posted that character design poll on OA.

1. What I initially found to be of interest was the black butterflies and the spider lily. I'm all about hidden foreshadows so I got really excited when I saw how you used the symbolism as a foreshadow of what's to come in the game. But of course, it's the psychological horror genre that appeals to me rather than romancing crazies.

2. Twists are great, but only when the execution is good--if I can see it coming from a mile away (and I'm not even that sharp), it loses that shock factor that I find really important in psychological horrors. Questionable good ends are ideal, in my opinion. When the good end feels like everything just magically gets solved and the crazies are no longer crazy, it becomes anti-climatic.

3. I find them all to be interesting, but the one that stuck out the most to me was Kaede. It doesn't help that he's the first LI introduced (canon LI?)--it gives the impression that he's the most yandere out of the three? I like his femininity.

4. Most Likely - Aoi
Aoi seems the most unhinged to me, and therefore most likely to snap. He's young and hormonal, and unsure of his future (doesn't have a goal or plan). His lack of care is a concern to me--he seems like the type to easily get bored and discard playthings. I don't know how attached he is to Marika. Time is always a factor for developing affection (in a "normal" relationship) but it can't really be applied to yanderes, which makes it hard to judge based on how long they've been step-siblings. I also noticed that it was mentioned he seemed like a clingy brother from the outside. This makes me wonder if he sticks to her side a lot (when he's not in school). He reminds me of Remu from BAD MEDICINE.
Hayato
For the most part, Hayato seems like a fairly normal LI that can be put in an otome game. That was my impression. The only things that gave red flags were "has the feeling she saw him before but cannot remember when or if she really did", "easily...angered", and "do you think this is the real me?" He has normal hobbies, normal likes, heck he looks like a normal kuudere LI. What made me put him above Kaede, though. was the fact that he has a temperament and physique (183cm?!) easily capable of causing harming. And he sounds like a stalker. He might be two-faced? Hmm, the more I look at him the more he's starting to look like an abusive a**hole.
Least Likely (but equally dangerous) - Kaede
Frail, feminine, and best friend! How can he possibly kill Marika? Pfft, I mean as long "killing" doesn't mean "killing the person with your own hands" I'm sure it's still possible for Kaede to do it. But honestly, why would he? Holding her captive seems more plausible but since I don't know what the storyline is, I can't completely rule out Kaede killing Marika. It just doesn't make sense since he depends on her so much. Unless he's trying to commit double (lovers) suicide. He seems like the manipulative type. Probably would say "Don't leave! Please... I can't live without you" and guilt trip her so that she wouldn't leave. That kind of thing that leads to the MC staying with the yandere foreveeeer. Yikes.

Yandere Type Summary
Kaede - Clingy/Dependence/Double Suicide
Hayato - Stalker/Domestic Violence
Aoi - Obsessive/Monopoly

5. Looks great! Would totally play when it's completed! I'm very curious to seeing interactions (if any) between the LIs since they all have interest in Marika from before when the story starts. Hayato may be the odd one out, but Aoi and Kaede should at least know each other's names even if they didn't meet much (what kind of loving brother would Aoi be if he didn't even know his step-sister's best friend's name?). Oh and if smut was added, I wonder if any of it would be consensual.

[Akua]

Wow, didn't expect to get some feedback now but it's great nonetheless! Time to reply then!

1. I am naturally drawn to psychological horrors, and I'm also intrigued by the yandere guys, instead of the usual yandere female.

Yep, you see a lot of Yandere girls or even pure Yandere girls games, but where are the guys? Either they are hidden in bad endings or just one single character. Personally I have an obsession for this type of love interest and wanted more, so why not making more?

Kaede looks like he could be the "I'm sweet and polite, but I secretly kill cats in the forest," type of guy.

Wow, did not expect this description. XD I'm laughing even more about it now!

5: Looks like you've got a good plotline going, and I look forward to playing this once you're finished. My palette of VN's is relatively small, but I enjoy GxB and I'm picky so it's hard for me to find any that really pique my interest. This one seems very unique to anything I've played, especially it being from a female perspective.

Thanks, I will try my best to meet expectations but since it's my first own personal project there is nothing guaranteed. What counts for me is that I try my best.

3.I'm most interested in Hayato, I feel like he has a mysterious aura around him.

Oh boy, how would the guy react to that statement. XD

5. I'm really interested in this game! I hope to see something well fleshed out, not rushed and surprising :)

Yes, I plan to develop instead of letting it crash down on MC. Horror and Suspense feel best to me when it's built and not solely based on shock and jumpscares or else it loses the spice in my opinion. Slowly letting the information sink in and growing aware of the danger - of course, with game over endings you can find a rushed end XDD

Hi, Akua! It's nice to finally see the proper sprite art for Kaede! I was really looking forward to his final design from when you posted that character design poll on OA.

1. What I initially found to be of interest was the black butterflies and the spider lily. I'm all about hidden foreshadows so I got really excited when I saw how you used the symbolism as a foreshadow of what's to come in the game. But of course, it's the psychological horror genre that appeals to me rather than romancing crazies.

Hello~! Yea, I don't post on OA because... yea... the game has reasons XD And yay, somebody noticed the symbols! I like to play with symbols and interpretation a lot since it forces people to think twice what the meaning of said object is for example.

When the good end feels like everything just magically gets solved and the crazies are no longer crazy, it becomes anti-climatic.

Yes, personally I don't get the "power of love heals obsession", 1. It's not very realistic and 2. The guy loses character, what made him unique or stand out suddenly vanishes.

3. I find them all to be interesting, but the one that stuck out the most to me was Kaede. It doesn't help that he's the first LI introduced (canon LI?)--it gives the impression that he's the most yandere out of the three? I like his femininity.

Finally some love for Kaede XD

4. Most Likely - Aoi
Aoi seems the most unhinged to me, and therefore most likely to snap. He's young and hormonal, and unsure of his future (doesn't have a goal or plan). His lack of care is a concern to me--he seems like the type to easily get bored and discard playthings. I don't know how attached he is to Marika. Time is always a factor for developing affection (in a "normal" relationship) but it can't really be applied to yanderes, which makes it hard to judge based on how long they've been step-siblings. I also noticed that it was mentioned he seemed like a clingy brother from the outside. This makes me wonder if he sticks to her side a lot (when he's not in school). He reminds me of Remu from BAD MEDICINE.
Hayato
For the most part, Hayato seems like a fairly normal LI that can be put in an otome game. That was my impression. The only things that gave red flags were "has the feeling she saw him before but cannot remember when or if she really did", "easily...angered", and "do you think this is the real me?" He has normal hobbies, normal likes, heck he looks like a normal kuudere LI. What made me put him above Kaede, though. was the fact that he has a temperament and physique (183cm?!) easily capable of causing harming. And he sounds like a stalker. He might be two-faced? Hmm, the more I look at him the more he's starting to look like an abusive a**hole.
Least Likely (but equally dangerous) - Kaede
Frail, feminine, and best friend! How can he possibly kill Marika? Pfft, I mean as long "killing" doesn't mean "killing the person with your own hands" I'm sure it's still possible for Kaede to do it. But honestly, why would he? Holding her captive seems more plausible but since I don't know what the storyline is, I can't completely rule out Kaede killing Marika. It just doesn't make sense since he depends on her so much. Unless he's trying to commit double (lovers) suicide. He seems like the manipulative type. Probably would say "Don't leave! Please... I can't live without you" and guilt trip her so that she wouldn't leave. That kind of thing that leads to the MC staying with the yandere foreveeeer. Yikes.

Yandere Type Summary
Kaede - Clingy/Dependence/Double Suicide
Hayato - Stalker/Domestic Violence
Aoi - Obsessive/Monopoly

I'm really impressed, I can see, that you are no beginner to this! Now waiting how much of your predictions are true XDD

Oh and if smut was added, I wonder if any of it would be consensual.

I carefully avoid rape even if it's somewhat typical happening in extreme Yandere stories. If MC says no and means it, it will be a no. And smut is really only added if it gets popular and even then I consider whether to implement it into the story or as epilogue.