We have just released a new short story!
It’s an e-book instead of a full game, but if you want more VA-11 Hall-A this will hopefully help tide you over for a while!
The rest of this blog entry isn’t necessary to enjoy the short story, but if you’ve followed the other Daily VA-11 Hall-A posts, I recommend the read. I also recommend it if you want a bit more context as to how and why this happened.
So, despite skipping a lot of details, hopefully yesterday’s post illustrates clearly the state of mind I was in until fairly recently (I cannot speak for Kiririn but it’s safe to say we were both in a really rough spot regardless). Years and years of just pushing forward, lamenting my inability to Not Do Absolutely Everything, just charging ahead with my head lowered.
So… what happens afterwards? After I’m forced to stop and not blindly push forward.
Well, you start questioning yourself, a lot.
Who am I really? What do I really want to achieve? Is this a path in life I’m happy with?
I can’t and shouldn’t go into deep detail about this period of my life, but one thing was evident: I wanted to Make Things.
I haven’t mentioned this until now, but videogames weren’t like… a dream I had from childhood or something similar. I’ve always loved them and knew their narrative potential, but making them never really crossed my mind until I met Kiririn in college. Before then I just jumped between mediums. Novels, comics, paintings, illustration. I wanted to Make Stories and videogames felt like an option tailor made for what I wanted to achieve back then.
But the thing about making videogames is that it’s… tough, but it’s even tougher if what you want is to use the game as a storytelling medium rather than just something focused on the gameplay experience.
Not that the gameplay experience was secondary to me, on the contrary, I could’ve just made simple novel games without anything fancy, but the way I approach games is that I like to craft the mechanics to be conducive to the gameplay. Everything in one package, and so I end up trapped in a cycle of not envisioning the plot without gameplay or the gameplay without plot, and being unable to settle for regular cookie cutter frameworks.
And after 5 years of being stuck in “can’t write till you code but also can’t code properly without writing” I needed some… outlet. I had all this stuff I want to make and do, but building whole games for it is driving me crazy.
After all, if I’m going to put the effort into building mechanics and gameplay loops I’m not going to leave it at a small adventure, I want it to be something big with more time and effort investment.
But even if I had some gameplay loop for shorter stories, I needed some outlet still. In this shuffle I took up photography which quickly became a passion and… oh my god a hobby that’s completely unrelated to work and I can indulge into to wind down from work.
But as much as I love photography it wasn’t scratching that very specific creative itch.
So in early 2021 I started to write. It was with a concept that had been bouncing in my head for ages without a definitive shape. I had all the plot beats I just hadn’t settled on a format.
And since seeing code gave me anxiety at that time I tried to write it as a novel.
I hadn’t written a novel since High School, and all of my professional efforts were in videogames. So needless to say, the efforts were… clumsy.
That started a chain of events. By the end of 2021 I had something that I felt happy enough with I tried to sell it in Comitia but life didn’t align properly, so it kept being pushed throughout the year.
But the book-reading part of myself came to the front for the first time in over a decade and was demanding MORE and when I realized Amazon Japan let you import books in english I started… swallowing books whole. I could go on painful detail about every single I’ve read both good and bad, or the ones that I’ve been reading even as I finished the blog entries.
Around… September? October? I suddenly had this idea for a short story set in the VA-11 Hall-A world, still in Glitch City but after the game ends. And in one afternoon I suddenly had 5000 words of a really cool story, so cool that for the first time in YEARS I was invaded by this URGE to show it to all of you.
The way to show it wasn’t definitive, I was still on the fence about the specifics, maybe save it for later? Because I do have a bunch of other drafts that I’ve been working on with other similar stories.
Then with Daily VA-11 Hall-A approaching and wanting to do something special for it I decided on a whim that I wanted to share what I wrote with you all.
The tone of this blog entry has shifted wildly with time. At first it was like “it’s not a game but fuck you I made it for myself” but after venting some of my deep seated frustrations with public reactions and seeing you all be so supportive of all the entries, that anger calmed down.
Not to mention that in a minor resurgence that VA-11 Hall-A had with some big name VTubers playing it (though thankfully interest in VA-11 Hall-A never died, it just saw peaks and valleys) I found myself appreciating our silly little game properly for the first time in 6 years.
The worries about “sitting on your laurels” were long gone, and with that noise muted I was able to see things clearly for the first time, to truly appreciate how this game was released 6 years ago and people still treated it as if it came out last year. That’s kinda neat, don’t you think?
And so, I bring you VA-11 Hall-A: Sapphic Pussy Rhapsody. It is a gift, it is a declaration of self-affirmation, it is a means to check on all of you since we last released anything big at all. And I hope it is to your liking and you can appreciate how far we’ve come compared to the base game of VA-11 Hall-A.
Oh, and the other thing I wrote before making this one? It’s still ongoing! But SPR made something fully click style-wise that the other project desperately needs, but you’ll learn about it before long.
In fact, it’s safe to say that you’ll all be seeing us more often this year.
And that’s not a promise.
That’s a threat.
I have to say, you caught me with my guard down. Didn’t thought there will be something more for us, directly from you.
I’m really thankfull for it (haven’t read it yet) and I see it as the best New year’s present I’ve got.
It’s good to hear you’re having more peace and order, and finally something other under the sleeve. Here’s to a new year full of encounters with you guys. Whish there was a lot more I could do for you
Best New Years present EVER!!!!! I’m glad you decided to share this with us and I’m looking forward to whatever you put out next 🙂
It’s just amazing. I can’t find words that can describe my admiration and joy after reading this story. Thank you!
“That’s a threat”. Well, being threatened has never felt more reassuring.
I wanted to voice my gratitude for the surprise gift. I shall cherish it. Also, the Daily VA-11 Hall-A posts were fun to read and thought-provoking. Following through them allowed me to appreciate the game and your writing more than ever. Thank you for sharing your experiences.
Cheers to a new bountiful year filled with health and joy, where all your wishes come true. Best wishes to everyone at Sukeban Games. Whatever your goals are, you guys can do it!
Wow, that was quite the journey.
It’s safe to say that when my friend told me, at the beginning of December “Hey, remember VA-11 Hall-A ?”, I was not expecting to go down this rabbit hole, but I’m glad I did.
Rediscovering this game through my first VA-11 Hall-A daily along side your blog post felt incredible, and really made this December special.
I love how you wrote these posts, and really appreciated giving us more context about the game creation and your life when it was relevant (even when it felt painfully relatable).
I’m glad that you’re in a better place now, and I’m looking forward to what you have cooking for us in the future.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, it seems there’s a little something I got to read.
Thank you for this cool 36 pages of novel with Anna and Fore !
What is this threat that I like 🙂
Thank you for Daily VA-11 Hall-A posts, it was very interesting. I had a great time reading all of this and will be looking forward to more future posts!
I’ve been following through and reading all the blog posts along with playing the game (almost) in cadence, so it’d feel criminal NOT to pay my thanks. I appreciate all the posts and insight, and It’s great to hear that you’re in a better spot than you were prior. Much love to you and the team, and to a brighter future <3
Va-11-hall-a has a place in my goddamn heart and I am very glad that more content is coming. This is the best threat that I got and it’s still the first week of 2023!
omg””
I usually drop by here once every few months to check for updates, and I just gotta say: Wow, this year’s (er, last year’s?) daily VA-11 Hall-A is a doozy! It was really a blast to read all everything, from the tangents to the lore and general “How-to-make-a-story/game/both”. Then out of nowhere hitting us with a surprise new ebook – you’re really spoiling us, huh?
In any case, VA-11 Hall-A is to this day one of my all-time favourite stories, so I hope you make good on that threat and bring us more sweet sweet content in the future.
Belated Happy New Year, and good luck with all your future endeavours!
I’m gonna miss waking up reading these while going to my work , I really enjoyed every post. I’m definitely reading the e book as soon as I can. I’m so excited about future , normally I was feeling really scared about going forward but this threat makes me excited about the unexpected of the future , thanks for everything 😄
Thank you, ferfer!
This story has some same feelings to it like the epilogue, it’s soooo good to see Anna being fleshed out even more, showing a side we don’t see very much… Her own insecurities, and her relationships with Jill.
Words cannot express my love. Happy new year.
A threat has never felt so good, happy new year Fer, and thank you <3
i really wish i found these BEFORE yesterday
bought the game a week or so before christmas and it quickly became my latest hyperfixation
reading these logs even weeks after they came out is an amazing experience and i love hearing what you’ve got to say on all this
also the story went pretty hard
once i actually have money to spare you bet i’m actually paying the recommended price for it lol
Stayed up a whole night to translate this fancinating novel into Chinese, it’s sooo good to see new contents about Anna and Jill, thanks for the story and keep care of yourselves!
btw, N1RVANNA when?
Glad to see the VA-11 HALL-A world is not dead even after so many years. It’s also really nice to see this team on a better mental situation. Hope this year treats you both well.
Greetings from Uruguay.
What a wonderful read! You’ve got a knack for writing, although I had already kind of known that ever since having played the game for the first time. The world and characters of VA-11 Hall-A are still some of those I’m most fond of when it comes to fiction and they just seem to hit all the right spots when it comes to my personal tastes. I would definitely be very happy to read more such stories.
As for the rest of your entry…it always makes me feel nice to hear about people who’re candid about their struggles but who also find a way to move forward and improve things. It’s genuinely great to read that things have been improving for you.
Oh, and it is only after having received an e-mail telling me about this short story that I had checked the rest of the blog and noticed all the Daily VA-11 Hall-A posts that have been piling up. I know what I’ll be reading for some time 🙂
I’d just finished watching a playthrough of the game and was aching for more content on it. Came looking at the site here, and ended up getting a wonderful read that was very much worth my time. Thanks for satiating my urge to see more, and I hope that all future production goes just as well! 🙂 Happy New Years!