Chattercap

Honestly this is interesting, and it’s something that I’ve thought about a lot 🤔 I do wonder if I…

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:21:24 -0400

the problem with visual novels is that they are novels, but they are almost exclusively sold on video game distribution platforms, which means that they’re novels being read by gamers who are by and large entirely unequipped to critique that medium

Honestly this is interesting, and it’s something that I’ve thought about a lot 🤔 I do wonder if I should make my VN writing simpler and more dialogue-heavy to be more accessible to audiences that aren’t necessarily used to reading heavy amounts of text. At the same time, I have gotten quite a lot of players who say they enjoy my writing style, and I like to think that playing VNs is a good way to keep the love of reading alive with people who don’t generally vibe with traditional books 🤔

the problem with visual novels is that they are novels, but they are almost exclusively sold on…

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 23:17:54 -0400

vivvy-of-the-lake:

emnesoi0:
the problem with visual novels is that they are novels, but they are almost exclusively sold on video game distribution platforms, which means that they’re novels being read by gamers who are by and large entirely unequipped to critique that medium
gamers are by and large unequipped to read

👑Princess Protocol is out!👑

Fri, 03 Jul 2026 14:05:38 -0400

👑Princess Protocol is out!👑

You’re 36. You’re divorced after ten years of marriage. And now you’re on a dating show. Romance a single dad or your influencer nemesis in this Bachelor-inspired sci-fi/comedy otome/romance visual novel, with an intricate dress up system and character customization! Will you sell your soul for fame and success - or maybe take a chance at finding something real?

Available for Windows, MacOS, Linux, Android, and Web.

Play it for free here!

Synopsis

You’ve just split with your husband after almost ten years of marriage. A relationship influencer who couldn’t keep her own relationship afloat - what a joke! Your personal and professional lives are both a mess… and this is not where you wanted to end up at 36.

While you’re spiraling, your college friend begs you to join her reality TV dating show, and in a drunken stupor, you agree. Unfortunately, you get branded as the old, sad divorcée. And, even worse, the bachelor turns out to be someone you’re not on great terms with. Your producer doesn’t seem to like you much, either.

At this point, all you want to do is survive this nightmare.

Features

👠 Complex dress-up system, with 9 outfits, 9 hairstyles, and a variety of facial features to choose from - all with flexible color picking!

🎭 Customize your character’s name, skin tone, and eye color!

📖 24k+ words in the demo (~2 hours of playtime)

💊 Unique gameplay mechanic, “EvoMod Plus”! Some of your choices will have both positive and negative effects - by taking a dose of “EvoMod Plus,” you can get a positive result no matter what. But be careful about indulging too much… if you rely too much on shortcuts to win fame and affection, your ending might be affected…

🌙 Play as a spiraling 36-year-old divorcée as you pursue a romance with either a single divorced dad or your influencer nemesis

🗡️ Try to survive this dating show with your reputation intact! (And maybe find true love..? Who are you kidding, that’s not going to happen)

The final game is planned to be 50k+ words long, with 5+ endings.

Thank you to everyone who worked on the game!

Many thanks to the team: azureXtwilight, Chattercap, CyborgNekoSica, OtokeNeko, and Koni Draw Illustration!

Monthly Update (May 2026)

Tue, 26 May 2026 03:18:09 -0400

Hello everyone,

Happy May!

This month really flew past (and last month too)… I kept chipping away at the ol’ to-do list, only for it to constantly refill… like a cornucopia of never-ending work… 😭 (and my car broke… and I sprained my back…) That said, I got a lot of things done these past two months!

Since the devlog this time came so late, I’ll review what I accomplished in both April and May. I also think I’ll make a slight adjustment to my monthly devlog scheduling from now on - for the most part, I’ve tried to get them out in the first week of the month (to extremely questionable success), but I think that I’ll start putting them out near the end of the month instead. (This is 90% because I constantly write “What did I do this month” as my header when it should have been “What did I do last month” and I’m tired of making typoes…)

What did I do last (and this) month?

First of all, I had the honor of participating in a couple of Steam festivals earlier this month - the Otome Games Celebration hosted by Crystal Game Works, as well as the Storyteller’s Festival hosted by Two and a Half Studios. To celebrate, I put out a small updated demo release of Steam of Karamu, covering around half of the first game. I wanted to finish the entire game, but I didn’t make it 😭😭😭 (for some reason I thought it was a good idea to do a million and a half CGs for it… somehow it has even more art than the original game?!?! Blame Nelli and Raku for being my hyperfixation couple…) However, you can check it out if you want a sneak preview at all the shiny new art for it!

In addition, I:

-Implemented a Russian translation of MindMindMind
-Received sample style backgrounds for Our Hollow Appetites
-Finished most of the character designs for Countdown to Midnight.
-Received and made some adjustments to the Villainfall GUI.
-Wrote 29k words

The biggest thing that I did last month is that I put out a recruitment form for character artists. In the past, I’ve done the character art for all of my projects. However, I’ve been interested in collaborating with character artists for quite a long time, but I could never get the courage to actually reach out… (As for what made me want to finally commit? I got a project idea that I wanted to do for Otome Jam and realized that I couldn’t do it because my project list was too long 😔 I am cursed by the amount of things I want to do in my short lifetime… 😔)

This form generated quite a lot more interest than I was expecting! The first day I got 20 applicants and I was like “wow!!!” Then the next day it was 200 and I was like “…wow!!!” All in all, I got almost 900 extremely talented artists who were interested in working with me, I was so honored 😭

I reviewed all the applications carefully, and there are some artists that I’m extremely excited to work with 🤭 There have been a lot of discussions for the past 2 months! Unfortunately, I have to keep a lot of it secret for the time being until I’m ready to make public announcements, but I’m pretty excited 😏 I will say that there’s a gorgeous knight lady in our future…

What am I doing next month?

Next month is… largely a secret! I’m working on a pretty neat project with some very cool collaborators, and we’re hoping to get it out for Otome Jam, so I’d like to devote all of my attention to that for the next month. There should still be a bit of progress to announce for my own projects, but it’ll be a little bit less than what I usually do in a month.

Thank you to everyone who’s following along!

Chattercap

I’ve officially closed this recruitment form! Thank you so much to all of the artists who took the…

Sat, 16 May 2026 05:44:22 -0400

chattercap:

🎨 HIRING ARTIST 🎨
I’m a small visual novel developer looking to hire a character artist for a couple of dark romance/fantasy games. Looking for someone who wants to draw pretty murderous ladies in armor and spooky Eldritch forest gods! ⚔️ This is a paid, long term position.
You can find the details below ⬇️
Chattercap Character Artist Recruitment (April 2026)

I’ve officially closed this recruitment form! Thank you so much to all of the artists who took the time to apply (there were a lot more insanely talented people who applied than I expected!)

I’ll review the applications carefully and reach out to selected artists for paid style tests. Thank you again! 😊

🎨 HIRING ARTIST 🎨

Sat, 16 May 2026 05:43:44 -0400

chattercap:

I’m a small visual novel developer looking to hire a character artist for a couple of dark romance/fantasy games. Looking for someone who wants to draw pretty murderous ladies in armor and spooky Eldritch forest gods! ⚔️ This is a paid, long term position.
You can find the details below ⬇️
Chattercap Character Artist Recruitment (April 2026)

Hello!

Mon, 11 May 2026 14:47:38 -0400

Hello!

The Storyteller’s Festival is running again this year, and I’m honored to announce that My Husband is a Stranger is participating! You can find it here on Steam from May 11th to May 18th!

You can find the festival page here!

You can find My Husband is a Stranger’s Steam page here!

Please check it out if you have an interest in narrative-focused games!

💬 I’m happy to announce that my social anxiety dating sim, MindMindMind, has been updated with a…

Fri, 08 May 2026 21:26:52 -0400

💬 I’m happy to announce that my social anxiety dating sim, MindMindMind, has been updated with a Russian (Русский) translation, courtesy of Alina A. (Solanin)! 💬

Available for free on Steam and itchio! 🎮

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2914960/MindMindMind/

https://chattercap.itch.io/mindmindmind

Otome Games Celebration!

Mon, 04 May 2026 22:20:22 -0400

Hello!

The Otome Games Celebration is running now, for one week from May 4th to May 11th! There are over 140+ otome games in the event, from 80+ developers and publishers. Both My Husband is a Stranger and the Karamu Trilogy are participating this year~

To commemorate the festival, I’ve released a short, exclusive preview of the Karamu remake on Steam for you to check out!

Check out My Husband is a Stranger here!

Check out the Karamu Trilogy here!

YOU! YOU made ME fall for not One but TWO(!) blonde men. AND one of them is mean. Like okay Regina George, sorry that I exist, now marry me or something?? Why would you do this to me? I’ve been nothing but kind to you (aside from the fact that I’m a stranger and we’ve never even interacted) But I genuinely love Morgan and Geist so much. I love you too, thanks for your hard work

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 02:44:14 -0400

I CHOKED READING THIS COMMENT

I'm so sorry, please forgive me 😔 😔 😔

I'll tell you a secret - I'm not a huge fan of blond men either... as for how I ended up making two games featuring blond men, I have no idea, I blinked and somehow they ended up on my computer 😟 maybe it was ghosts???

Rest assured that my next games will be blissfully blond-men free 😔 (except the one where you play as a blond man)

(More seriously I'm so glad you enjoyed both 😂😂😂 Honestly I didn't even notice both Morgan and Geist were blond until people pointed it out to me, they're almost polar opposites in my mind 😂 Thanks for the hilarious comment!!!)

Helloooo! Quick question is by chance you still continue my husband is a stranger (the game broke me in tears when there a part 14 month ago and I’m lit in tears how beautiful the writing and the game is)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 21:03:16 -0400

Oh gosh, I'm so glad that you enjoyed the game! And yes yes yes, of course!!! The game isn't dropped in the slightest! I am just really attached to this script and these characters, and I want to make sure the final version is the very best that I can make it (I am, unfortunately, a bit of a perfectionist with a game development fixation).

I'm actually currently considering revamping fairly major parts of the game, which is why there have been some delays with the production. I can't go into too much detail since I haven't made a final decision, but rest assured that I'll share an update once I've finalized things a bit more. (Hint: There might be some very pretty new art with the next update! ;) )

Hii! I don’t know whether you take suggestions to make visual game novels or not, but I am a BIG FAN of MindMindMind and My Husband Is A Stranger, I absolutely love them and the characters. Its just a suggestion by the way, basically the player is a detective sort of thing, in 1800s London or smth and they get involved in the murder of a rich man, and as the story goes by, the love interests evolve into the rich man’s son, their arch rival, and co worker/their watson. so it would be like they are solving a murder, BUT ALSO having romance as a sub plot. I hope you understand what i mean, and I am NOT forcing you, its just an idea that randomly came to my head while doodling :)

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:57:11 -0400

OHHHH gosh thank you so much, I'm so honored that you're a fan of my work!! I do really, really love whodunnits and murder mysteries, and I really want to add a murder mystery otome to my list of projects in the future - 1800s London also sounds like a really interesting setting! I'll definitely keep it in mind! 😊

🎨 HIRING ARTIST 🎨

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 19:55:41 -0400

I’m a small visual novel developer looking to hire a character artist for a couple of dark romance/fantasy games. Looking for someone who wants to draw pretty murderous ladies in armor and spooky Eldritch forest gods! ⚔️ This is a paid, long term position.

You can find the details below ⬇️

Chattercap Character Artist Recruitment (April 2026)

Monthly Update (April 2026)

Sat, 04 Apr 2026 01:05:52 -0400

Hello everyone, happy April!

Spring is in the air (along with my allergies, unfortunately…)

What did I do last month?

MindMindMind was very kindly translated into Brazilian Portuguese by Samara Marx, so I implemented and tested it! It’s so cool seeing my game in different languages, and I got quite a few comments from people who played the translation, which is amazing!

The backgrounds were Villainfall were also completely finished (barring any random last minute additions, I always seem to manage to add scenes as I write…) They look very nice, and I can’t wait to show them off in game.

I also completed a detailed outline for Countdown to Midnight! I had a more barebones outline completed before, but I fleshed it out quite a bit and wrote a much more detailed event flowchart. Countdown to Midnight will be an “adventure game” style title, where you wander around a city map and interact with people and collect items to progress the story - It’s my first time trying out this kind of gameplay, so I was experimenting with a few different methods of outlining it/fleshing it out (sketching out what items/interactions the players needs to acquire to progress, and so on and so forth.) I ended up pretty happy with the result. Hopefully the production is smooth!

I also continued working on the Karamu artwork! Honestly while looking at my old art for it, I realized how so many of the compositions were a bit samey… (well most of it is a conversation between two people in a bus stop, I guess that’s unavoidable…) But I do want to try to make it more visually interesting! So you might see me start to do stuff that’s more experimental (okay, so maybe making the characters little cute bobble heads won’t do much for the eerie atmosphere but… they came out cute, so…)

What am I going to do this month?

This month I’ll be working on Karamu and MHIAS! Both games will be participating in some Steam festivals in May, so I’ll mainly be preparing for that. I’d also like to get back into the swing of writing regularly (I was doing so good at the beginning of the year…)

I hope that everyone has a happy April, and see you next month!

Chattercap

Hello everyone, it’s Chattercap!

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:12:48 -0400

Hello everyone, it’s Chattercap!

I’m dropping by to let you know that MindMindMind has been updated with a Brazilian Portuguese translation kindly provided by Samara Marx!

Thank you, and I hope that you enjoy the new build of the game!

~~~

Olá pessoal, aqui é a Chattercap!

Passando para avisar que MindMindMind foi atualizado com uma tradução para Português Brasileiro feita carinhosamente por Samara Marx!

Muito obrigada, e espero que curtam a nova versão do jogo!

Steam Link

itch.io Link

Hi!!!! So I really enjoy the Karamu game line and I was wondering if Hanasu will be available on android to play???

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:08:55 -0400

Oh thank you so much for playing!!! And yes, it will be, don't worry! 🥰 As long as my games will run/fit on Android (and don't have any inexplicable bugs), I plan to release on that platform as well - I do want my games to be as accessible as possible! 🫡 (Kanau will also be available on Android with the new update!)

Hello! I’m someone who’s only recently heard about your games. I have to say your games are amazing! The plot and character developement, animation, and the arts are all so good. I played MHIAS, Karamu, and Kanau in the same evening because they were so addictive, LOL. I am really looking forward to your future game projects.💕💕 But don’t forget to take care of yourself (^3(^o^*) [P/s : I used the translate tool, hope I didn’t make any mistakes TvT]

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:07:26 -0400

Oh gosh this is such a sweet comment, thank you so much 😭😭😭 To think that you played all three in a single night!! (Shows that I need to make more games!!! 🤣) I really hope that you enjoy my future projects too!!! 💕

(And oh I'm so honored that you took the time to draft this in English even though it's not your native language 🥹 and for taking the time to play my games too!! The translation was perfect, don't worry!)

Omg.. Ahwhwhwhegdh I wanna cry soo badd Iswtg if the mc and morgan won’t get their happy ending. I will bawl my eyes 3 days 3 nights non stop 😭😭 Shbshsjsns aghhh my hearttt

Tue, 31 Mar 2026 20:04:23 -0400

🌻🌻🌻(My lips are sealed...)

Hi!! How are u doing? I just wanted to say, if something, I can actually help you to draw some… Sprites or backgrounds for your games! And honestly, your games are really underrated, I wish more people knew about your VN🥹🥹

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 18:15:05 -0400

Oh gosh thank you so much, I'm so touched that you enjoyed my games!!! And I'm so honored that you want to help with my games too, it's so sweet of you 🥹 I do have background artists already, and as for sprite art I'm basically handling that myself because all of the projects that I'm working on right now are pretty lengthy and I don't want to drag new character artists onto such long projects 😂 (and it doesn't help that I like adding new CGs and sprite variations on a whim lolol) But I really do appreciate the offer, it's so kind of you to reach out!

In the new update, you put old and new art of Raku for your redoing of art for Karamu, & I really like both the new & old art of Raku/Karamu, personally! Tho, I do notice in the to pictures of Raku (is the top pictures of Raku the old version & the bottom version of Raku pictures, the new versions? It has been a bit since I played Karamu, so unsure, lol) in the top pics of Raku in Karamu, Raku’s blue eyes are more easy they are blue & startling; that I like. His new? eyes still look cool tho.

Thu, 05 Mar 2026 00:41:01 -0500

Oh I probably should have labeled them 😂 The bottom versions are the new ones, yes! Back in 2023 (when I first made Karamu) I was really crazy about glowing eyes that stand out 😂 I do still love them but I plan to use them a little more conservatively(?) So they'll still be present, but used a little less often! I also think that they're a little more noticeable in the old versions since I drew eyes on top of the hair back then (now I draw it underneath with a bit of erasing/fade), and Raku's hair was also darker - I ended up softening his hair shade to make it a little easier to add shading, which makes the overall illustration a little softer/more cohesive, but it does make the eyes stand out less!