Category Archives: visual novel

Surprise! Steins;Gate English version coming to PS3 and Vita in 2015

Talk about a surprise announcement! Just before the holidays, UK publisher PQube has announced that they will be working directly with developer Mages to bring acclaimed visual novel Steins;Gate to PlayStation 3 and Vita to both North America and Europe in 2015.

So far, other details are scare: According to Siliconera, who followed up with PQube, it’s not set in stone whether the release will be physical, digital, or both, but PQube representative Geraint Evans is adamant that they will strive to release a physical version if at all possible.

What makes this announcement particularly surprising is the fact that JAST USA already released their own English version of Steins;Gate for PC earlier this year (both physical and digital), but at that time there was no word of a console release. When speaking with Siliconera, Evans said he was unsure at this point if they would be using JAST’s translation.

(gif from the Steins;Gate anime adaptation)
Steins;Gate is about the self-proclaimed mad scientist Rintarō Okabe (pictured above) and his group of tech-savvy friends who discover they have the ability to send text messages back in time and effectively alter the past using a modified microwave. The game is a classic visual novel with gorgeous visuals and a story that advances through a text message-based system where what messages you choose to respond to determines the direction of the narrative. 
As someone who doesn’t really enjoy playing games on my computer, I’m extremely exited for the console version of Steins;Gate. It will be the perfect game to play on the Vita, and it’s always great to see more visual novels come out in English! For more updates on the 2015 release, like the official page on Facebook.

Interview: HamletMachine on the Starfighter Visual Novel Kickstarter

Time and time again it’s been said that women are not a viable market for comic books or video games. Of course, both you and I know that’s simply not true, dear reader, but if you’re at all like me, you still like to celebrate the times that statement is refuted. And, while the Starfighter: Eclipse Kickstarter isn’t explicitly aimed at a female audience, I’m going count it raising over $110,000 at the time of this post (with 11 days left to go!) as one big win for the ladies. 
The Starfighter: Eclipse Kickstarter is helmed by none other than HamletMachine, creator of the original gay erotic sci-fi webcomic Starfighter. If you’re not familiar with it, I highly suggest checking it out, but be warned, it’s most definitely of the over-18 variety. The comic began in 2008 and has gained a devoted following due to its wonderful fusion of sci-fi drama, sexual tension, and of course, beautiful art. 
As a long-time fan of the series, the announcement of a Starfighter Kickstarter had me at the letter “s,” but the niche video game fan in me rejoiced to hear that it would be a visual novel, to boot! While details are being purposefully kept vague, it’s clear that Starfighter: Eclipse will be a separate story from the comic, featuring new characters while maintaining the series’ original cast. There will alsobe romanceable characters and the same steamy action the comic is known for, making this perhaps the closest to a boys’ love visual novel we’ve ever seen officially in English. But enough about what I have to say on the subject – HamletMachine was kind enough to answer a few of my questions about the project, so let’s hear what she has to say! 

First, congratulations on the successful funding of the Starfighter: Eclipse Kickstarter! What made you decide to turn your popular webcomic into a visual novel?

Thank you! I think Starfighter‘s set-up really compliments the visual novel format as far as the comic’s focus on character interaction.. it’s something I had been thinking on for some time now as I have been making the comic.

You’ve recently announced that chapter 4 is the last chapter of Starfighter. Do you view the game as a way for fans to get to stay in that world a little longer?

Oh yes, this is a whole game full of new Starfighter content, so hopefully this will be a nice big EU fanfic for everyone to enjoy.

Why did you choose to create Starfighter: Eclipse using Date Nighto’s VNengine instead of a more traditional visual novel software such as Ren’Py?

It was really important to me that the game be easily accessible to players and Date Nighto’s htmlVN was the perfect solution to deployment details we were considering when we were conceiving our vision for the game!

(there’s a great article on Date Nighto and the Starfighter Kickstarter over at Polygon if you’re interested in learning more!)



It’s clear from your webcomic that homosexual romance is a big theme. Are you inspired by yaoi/BL? Is there a reason you chose not to call Starfighter: Eclipse a “yaoi” VN?

Yes, I am very influenced by these genres; I love the combination of drama, emotional focus, and sexual content. While the Starfighter comic is in many ways a nod to these genres, I hope it’s also a bit of a personal departure from it as well. Starfighter: Eclipse isn’t directly referred to as yaoi for a few reasons, but also to avoid confusion – “yaoi” is still very much a niche term and not everyone knows what it means, saying something like, “male romance” is more clear about what the game is about!

While you mention in the Kickstarter description that there will be an emphasis on character interaction, there isn’t any indication of how many characters will be “pursuable.” Are you envisioning multiple endings and romantic possibilities, or is there a specific story you would like to tell?

Oh yes, there is a specific story to tell in Eclipse! I am envisioning multiple endings for different characters but I’m afraid I don’t want to spoil too much of the story! You can expect to interact with some of the familiar faces of the Starfighter comic plus some new ones.

Thanks again to HamletMachine for taking the time to chat with me, and a huge congratulations to all involved in the Kickstarter project! I am absolutely thrilled that a project like this is seeing such overwhelming success, and hopefully as a result we’ll continue to see more varied game (and comic) endeavours with female interests in mind popping up in Kickstarter or elsewhere. 
But you certainly don’t have to be a lady to enjoy Starfighter: Eclipse! If the project sounds up your alley, be sure to read the comic and back the Kickstarter before it closes on the 25th! 

No, Thank You!!!: A BL game with bears?!

While I was doing some research for my thesis (yes, really), I stumbled onto a rather interesting upcoming boys love game called No, Thank you!!!. Why is it so interesting, you ask? Behold:

Whoa, there! Who got chest hair and massive pecks in my BL game?! 

Now, please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but the above photo is probably the closest I’ve ever seen any from of BL media come to depicting a bear. And the man in the above image isn’t the only bear-like character in No, Thank You!!!:

These burly manly men are far from what you normally see in BL media, which generally feature lanky, often effeminate “pretty boys,” so who exactly is this game being marketed towards? Well, the official website explicitly states that it is a “boys love adventure game,” and it has been featured in a number of magazines aimed at BL game fans, so we can rule out the possibility of it being an advent-guarde bara game (bara being a term used for media with homosexual characters that is aimed at a male homosexual audience). The men above certainly look like they could’ve been pulled straight out of a bara magazine, though!

Of course, not all of the characters are bears –– the two pictured above are pretty standard BL fare, in my opinion (main protagonist is the one with the black hair), but the game’s’ premise is that all of the characters are actually semes (tops), which are generally considered to be the masculine/dominant men in a BL romantic pairing. This leaves me to wonder if the creators decided to inject a little bara into their BL game, as there are a small number of BL/yaoi fans that like bara, as well. Or, you could argue that perhaps they’re trying to hook in the regular bara-loving crowd. Either way, I love to see different types of characters portrayed in these kind of games!

A funny result of the addition of muscly men into a BL setting is that some more “traditional” fans will likely balk at the sight of body hair. No, Thank You!!! has covered its bases, offering a special “body hair on/off” button that allows players to change the on-screen hair levels instantaneously! How cool (and totally weird) is that? I guess everyone wins… except for some of the men:

source

You can probably tell what’s going on in the above mini-manga (aka 4-koma) without a translation, but in case you’re interested:
Panel one: CUT! “Okay, good job guys!”
Panel two: “Next we’ll do the without-body hair version!” “Okay!”
Panel four: “It––” “It––” “It––” “…was just a dream!”
Bottom: The body hair is up to you.

I’d be really interested hear from both bear/bara fans and BL fans about what they think abou this game! It’s scheduled for a Japanese PC release sometime this spring. If you’re interested in seeing more images/learning more about the game, head to the official site here (be warned, some content on the site is NSFW!).

Note: It’s come to my attention that my first example might be more appropriately be described as a “muscle bear.” I hope no one is offended by how I’ve used the term – I just wanted to point out that these are the most bear-like characters I’ve ever seen in a BL game, whereas bara media depicts characters that could easily be labeled as “bears” all the time.