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Blue Rose Steam Release Date – April 23rd 2015

Blue Rose Steam Release Date – April 23rd 2015

Posted on by LTB

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The Blue Rose steam version finally has a release date!

Barring no issues, Blue Rose will finally release on Steam on April 23rd 2015. That is, in less than a week!

The steam release will contain an updated script, a few corrected event CGs, as well as achievements and trading cards. Those who have already bought the game directly through the White Cat website will receive keys following release for activation on Steam itself.

The game on White Cat’s own website will of course also be updated to reflect the changes and improvements in the steam version, though there will be no achievements or trading cards.

Blue Rose is Greenlit!!

Blue Rose is Greenlit!!

Posted on by LTB

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Thanks to everyone’s support, Blue Rose is now greenlit and ready to join the rising number of visual novels on Steam! Give eachother a good pat on the back, and throw some confetti around!

Of course being greenlit is not the end – it only mean that the game is now allowed to be posted in their store, but the final release is not quite ready yet. I want Blue Rose to be presented the best way it can be when it arrives on the store. Most of the things I want to do with it have been mentioned before both here and on twitter, but here is what you can expect from the Blue Rose Steam release:

  • Improved script – I got myself a very promising editor, and am confident that the upcoming script patch will greatly improve the text of the game, getting rid of the typos that are still there and generally give it an extra polish.
  • Trading Cards – I am planning to add trading cards, especially as this is something that some people seem to have looked forward to.
  • Achievements – of course!
  • Soundtrack DLC

I really want to provide steam keys to people who have supported the game until now by buying it, and will look into the possibility of doing so! News on this front will follow after the release.

So when will it happen?

I can’t promise any specific date as of yet, mostly because of the script improvements. It has taken some time to find a reliable editor, and it might still take a couple of months at worst. Blue Rose’s 1 year anniversary is coming up next month though, so I am hoping to be able to do something close to that time, if all goes well!

What’s brewing?

What’s brewing?

Posted on by LTB

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Time to finally talk a little about what is currently going on with White Cat!

It’s been almost half a year since Blue Rose was released, and I’m very thankful for the nice reception of our Visual Novel so far! Even with private and open testing though, there will almost always be hiccups with the script after release. Some of you have sent in your corrections and comments on these, a few of them very detailed as well, and I really appreciate it. They will all be taken into consideration, and a future patch for the script will take all these things into consideration. Feel free to still send me a mail if you run into something bugging you!

Remember that the game is also still up for voting on Steam Greenlight, should you wish to show your support there.

Now for what is currently on the drawing table for White Cat. Those who have followed my twitter or tumblr, you may have already noticed me mention one of these projects in passing a couple of times. I have been reworking and rewriting Angelic Orbs from the bottom up for a little while now, our company’s next big visual novel title. Some people might know the title from our first free vn from years back, while a very few might even remember its roots as a webcomic from even longer ago.

The first vn of this title was a kind of sidestory, while this project is a complete telling of the original story from the ground up. It will also be different from Blue Rose in a few ways, one of the most noteable ones the fact that this is not a first-person story. The reader will not step directly in the shoes of a protagonist and aiming for romance routes, but will instead follow a small group of protagonists and influence their journey over the course of the story, sometimes even choosing what POV to follow in the coming events.

A few other features are in mind for this title, that I won’t speak of yet however. The script is in the middle of being written, as well as general character and world designs being made. Hopefully I can show you something more of this soon, though the game itself won’t be done in a while.

At the same time as this, I am also working on another project of a very different kind than Blue Rose and Angelic Orbs. It will be cute and deadly. But that is all I’m going to say about it so far.

And that is mostly what is going on at the moment! After our first big release we are hoping for 2014 to be another good and productive year, coming closer to bringing you great storytelling and entertainment.

And in the future if the support for it is there, I might return to this lonely folder on my desktop named “Blue Rose 2″…

Blue Rose full release!

Blue Rose full release!

Posted on by LTB

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The final version of Blue Rose has been released! A demo is now also available, for trying out the novel.

Get it now to experience the story of Lena Ehrenfeldt, the Templar who goes M.I.A in the mountains during a mission to escort an important ambassador. Help solve the mysteries of what happens in the lonely village hidden there, throughout 5 different character routes with each a good or a bad outcome.

The full version of the game also includes extra short stories that are unlocked after playing through the game’s different routes, as well as image and music galleries.

All who bought the beta version will recieve an email with instructions to download the newest version.

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Blue Rose Beta

Blue Rose Beta

Posted on by LTB

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Blue Rose beta has been released into the wild!

– What exactly is the beta version?

The beta version of Blue Rose is effectively the entire, full game of Blue Rose. It contains the full story, artwork and music that is expected to be in the final version, along with the unlockable short stories for those who complete the five routes in the game, though they won’t be accessible until the first update. It will be available at a cheaper price than the final release.

– What is NOT in the beta?

Some of the polish is missing, as well as proper testing by a larger crowd. Not all menus are fully costumized, so users of Ren’Py will recognise some standard configurations here and there. Some things, like the Gallery, will not be available right away either.

– So why release now?

Because I want all of you to get the chance to get in early, and help test it out! Does it work on your computer? Do you have suggestions or corrections to the text? Then throw all of your comments my way! Even the slightest comments that might seem insignificant are welcome.Post them to me here on the blog, or send me a mail: ltb@the-white-cat.com !

Difficulty in Blue Rose

Difficulty in Blue Rose

Posted on by LTB

In most basic visual novels the difficulty is measured by how easy it is to reach a certain ending or not – to be able to foresee which choices bring you on the right path, and lets you avoid unhappy endings. Some are pretty straightforward, while others present you with a lot of vague and difficult options. It varies what people prefer – some like a challenge and the chance of something unexpected happening, while others would rather just read the story and bring up walkthroughs to make sure they’re heading in the right direction.

So what is the difficulty in Blue Rose like? At this point I’d have to say that it is probably… pretty easy. If you know what character’s story you’re after, then it should be pretty straightforward to get there. You can (usually) see where people are on the map before you go, and the conversational choices aren’t that challenging if you know what is going on.

Personally I don’t mind a challenge in visual novels, but I realise that in Blue Rose the focus has been elsewhere. The choices aren’t meaningless – rather than make it difficult for the player, they simply do just that, give the choice of where you wish to go, and how you want to see things unfold, and no version of the story is any more true than the others.

In that light I don’t think this title is going to really need in-depth walkthroughs when released, just guidelines at most. It is possible to run into a bad end without wanting to, but it shouldn’t take much more than one retry to get it right. One of the character routes also need to be unlocked first, which it will be after seeing just one of the other good endings.

I still hope some people also get to see the ‘bad’ endings, though – especially two of them I personally find to have quite some meaning as well, and I hope the readers will too if they come across them.

Some day in the future I’d like to make something more challenging, in a way that makes sense for the story. But for now I hope people will appreciate this approach as well, and enjoy the different possibilities of the story as they go along.

Blue Rose Characters – Simon

Blue Rose Characters – Simon

Posted on by LTB

Next character introduction is for Simon:

Simon is a Templar of the Blue Rose, just like Lena. They have worked together for almost two years now, and Lena sees him as an important mentor to her.

Simon takes his position very seriously, and has a great sense of responsibility for those under his command. He is also very calm and collected, and usually has his temper under control. Usually.

Simon’s route was hard to write. So many things are going on under his calm exterior, and the other routes have him say and do things as a result of this, which could be hard to explain. That, and he usually has to draw the short end of the stick.

Don’t worry Simon, you’ll get your chance! Some day…

Blue Rose Characters – Gavin

Blue Rose Characters – Gavin

Posted on by LTB

(I realised I had said earlier that I would now introduce Blue Rose characters, then never actually continued doing so…. oops? Anyway, here is finally introduction #2)

Next up in our character introductions is – Gavin! He was the first character I wrote a route for, so he might as well be the first of the main characters that I introduce as well:

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Gavin is one of the first people that Lena is introduced to in the village. He can be a bit of an idiot, but I quite like his non-serious attitude. In spite of his tendency to piss off everyone around him, Gavin is also a pretty dependable type.

Like Lena, Gavin is a bit of a newcomer in this village, and therefore also somewhat of an outsider.

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The inspiration for Gavin came very early on from a certain character in a certain movie/book. In the end his personality ended up completely different from that character though! They only share a very few superficial traits.

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