Hello!
TL;DR: Doing a funding drive to make my dream project a reality. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MY KO-FI.
#EDIT: WE HIT THE GOAL IN LITERALLY HOURS WHAT THE HECK
In case you haven’t heard, I’m currently investing most of my free time, game dev resources, passion, and love into a commercial visual novel that has been planned for nearly a decade.
It’s name is Doce Fim: sweetend placebo.
April 25th, 202X. Society panics over the supposed revelation that the world will end in a year. A sudden drastic increase in the crime and suicide rates lead many to believe that this is truly the end of times.
But to reclusive hobbyist writer Syun, those are the last of the worries in his mind. On a last ditch-effort to find meaning in his life, he takes a leap of faith by joining a writing contest hosted by a local university, where a fateful encounter with fellow writers sets in motion the beginning of the end.
Amidst the backdrop of impending catastrophe, Doce Fim is a story that delves into the depths of human connection, and the importance of creating art in tough times.
The game features a single romance route alongside three friendship routes that explore the emotional depth and complexity of platonic relationships. One of the core themes of the game is that love doesn’t always have to be romantic to be life-changing, and that friendship, loyalty, and emotional vulnerability can carry just as much weight as a traditional love story.
Doce Fim features characters from past games -
It also brings back themes and recurring motifs from other games.
There are also some unique features that are different from my other visual novels. First of all, there’s Duality Mode.
The red choices are the negative, closed-off, and paranoid ones. The blue choices are the positive, friendly, and down-to-earth ones. If you’re familiar with my past games, you’ll know that this is a recurring theme in my works; the divide and the struggle between red and blue. However, being positive and idealistic isn’t always the best choice - sometimes you need to listen to your gut.
Another unique system is the Paranoia Bubbles. The main character is a deeply paranoid person who thinks the worst of others and interprets their actions in the worst possible way. The bubbles will appear on-screen, showing what he believes the people around him are thinking.
You can view a more positive and perhaps more realistic interpretation of what’s going on by checking the History menu after the bubbles appear.
Here it is in action:
After a character’s route is cleared, you will unlock their REAL thoughts in the History screen for past scenes where the protagonist thought the worst, as by the route’s end he trusts them enough. Replayability, hello!!
This is the final stop. It’s why I’ve always said all my games are connected. It’s closure for years and years of stories.
I’m not exaggerating when I say that this project is my reason for living. Everything I’ve made for the past 10 years has been building up to this. I would be happy to even retire from game dev once this is finished, as I believe this is the biggest and best story I’ll ever tell.
It’s the end of an era, and the most vulnerable I’ve ever been with my writing. My heart and soul are in this game.
If you’ve noticed that the phrase ‘a sweet end will come’ is repeated often in the games mentioned above, that is why - Doce Fim means ‘sweet end’ in Portuguese.
It’s all been building up to Doce Fim, all this time.
I’ve already invested 90% of my game dev funds on commissioning sprites, character designs, chibis, promotional artwork, backgrounds, full-body renders, the cover art, and art tests for my possible CG artists.
I tried my hardest to make it clear here how much I freaking love this project and how I’ve dedicated 10 years of my life as a creative to telling this story, and now it’s finally reached the point where I can finish it it. I’m so close.
The script is fully written - all 287k words with 3 routes, 2 endings each, plus a True Ending route. I’m working on the scripting and other coding things that I can do myself.
I’m just missing the money to afford the CGs.
With the dollar being so pricey, Brazilian Reais continuing to decrease in value, and me being jobless, it’s become impossible for me to pay anything else out of my own pocket.
As I’ve reached the depths of budgeting and spreadsheeting hell, I’ve come to the realization that I need monetary help to make my life’s work a reality. I currently have 10 dollars left in my game dev piggy bank (and itchio taking over 90 AND COUNTING days to send me the money I earned isn’t helping.)
I’ve budgeted everything down to the cent. I’m doing every bit of dev work I can possibly do on my own. But now, the last stretch for the demo is out of reach unless I get outside help.
This isn’t a case of “maybe one day.” Everything else is lined up. If I can just fund the remaining CGs, Doce Fim’s full demo can finally be released.
Here’s a video showcasing a WIP of Rikka and Lion’s intro scene, to show that the game is an actual thing that exists - still missing the camerawork.
Pardon the bad editing (I had to cut out some spoilerful parts), as a video editor I’m a great game dev.
I’m also sharing with you a screenshot of development spreadsheet. It includes all that I’ve done so far and what I’ve yet to do.
I want Doce Fim to be the best freaking visual novel I’ll ever make. I want to go out with the biggest possible bang, if that’s how it’s going to go. I have the passion, the time, and the love - I just need the money.
If you’ve ever played one of my games and it meant something to you, if you’ve ever seen a bit of yourself in one of my characters, if you believe that stories about grief, hope, and love - romantic or platonic - deserve to be told with care and honesty… then please consider helping me finish this.
Every dollar will go directly into production costs. I’ve brought Doce Fim as far as I can on my own, but now, I need your help.
That is why I’m starting my Birthday Funding Drive over on my Ko-fi.
I hate asking for money. This is something very difficult for me to do, and I feel like I need to give something back for it to be fair. So I’ve thought up of a few neat little perks you can get depending on how much you contribute.
Ko-fi Perks
Donors of $3 or more will have their names added to the demo’s credits!
Donors of $6 or more get a personal handwritten thank you note from me.
Donors of $20 or more get keys to all my current paid releases + Metahorror Therapy Session and its Lorebook for free. (That’s Another Episode, One Last Story Artbook & DlC, MyGF Artbook, all Donation Wallpapers, Metahorror Therapy Session, and its Lorebook when it releases next month!)
Donors of $30 or more get two extra keys for the above paid releases to gift some good friends.
Donors of $50 or more get all of the above plus they can pick a song for me (within reason!) to sing with my amazing very legit skills, and post on my Youtube for the public to see. I’ll do it for you.
If you donate $100 or more, you get all of the above and I’ll script an in-game scene where the characters sing your praises and talk about you like you’re their new best friend
If you donate $200 or more, you get all of the above + access to a WIP build of the game. Why not. Let’s GO
If you donate $500 or more, you get all of the above and you’re MY new best friend so I’ll record something fun to thank you. May or may not include ‘handmade’ sock puppets.
Even if you can’t donate, spreading the word helps more than you know. Share the Ko-fi goal. Tell a friend. Post about it. It all counts.
Let’s finish this story together.
Artwork seen here is by: \ Kay (cereja_pipo) - Sprites \ Nani de Almeida - Kie’s Design & Fullbodies \ BackgroundTK - Clubroom & Bedroom BG \ MustacheSkulls - Chibis
At this time the $750 goal is going to pay for:
Itchio payouts require manual review by the itchio team, which can unfortunately take a long time. My latest payout has been in review for 99 days as of the date this post is being written. This means I cannot be sure of when I’ll actually receive my payments (or IF I will get them?) - sometimes it’s 2 weeks, sometimes it’s 2 months, and I guess this time it’s 100 goshdang days.
Ko-fi allows me to receive your donations and purchases instantly. That’s why this time I kindly ask that focus is put on my Ko-fi.
With the demo released, I hope to be able to reach publishers to fund the rest of development. A Kickstarter would be my very last option, as it is not available in Brazil.
The goal may seem small to some, but it’s equivalent to almost 4k BRL — almost three full months of Brazil’s minimum wage. It’s a sum that would take me a long time to save, especially while jobless. I simply cannot do this alone.
I’ve never asked for this kind of support before, but I’m laying everything on the line because I believe in this game with all my heart.
Please help me accomplish my dream. I’ll be forever grateful, and I’ll make sure every bit of your support is honored through the work itself.
Thank you.
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