Click here to go to the Steam page! :DDDDDDD

A huge huge thanks to everyone who retweeted, wishlisted and promoted the game! And just a big thanks to everyone who wanted the game on Steam, you're the real heroes XD Given this game's age I was little hesitant to put it up but enough people contacted me about it after W&U's release that I figured why not ^_^

Now, back to Izrand development XD

I recently launched Weird and Unfortunate Things Are Happening on Steam (click here to see the Steam page) and it's been pretty successful, and I've already gotten people asking about getting some of my other games on Steam.

The problem with Luxaren Allure is that when I made it, I started with a mindset of how I made games back in the old RPG Maker 2k days: while the tilesets were all made for the project, the icons, sounds and animations had a lot of rips from other games, and it wasn't until I was over 50% done with the game that I even started properly tracking where some of the resources were from.

My first impulse was to remake the game in RPG Maker MZ, but after careful consideration, I've scrapped that idea, as what motivates me is making new games; I doubt I could spend the time needed to redo absolutely everything to run in MZ without getting massively burnt-out, and that would also delay Izrand for a long long time, which I'd like to avoid.

So instead I've decided to just revamp the VX Ace version for Steam, by redoing or replacing any resources that I don't know the source of. Unfortunately due to my poor labeling of what I used plus the fact that a lot of places where you could get VX Ace and older resources now being offline, I've had to replace more than I might otherwise have needed.

Most of the icons were from either Dragon Quest or from packs that might have had rips in them, so I've replaced all of them save for ones that were just modified Ace icons or that I made myself.



The sounds were a big hassle, as I originally mixed sounds I got from Freesound.org with several from other games, including Warcraft III and Starcraft and a couple from older RPGs. So unless I could positively identify and credit a sound's source, which was rare, I replaced it, tho I tried to find replacements that sound similar enough. I couldn't even track the source of the original cursor sounds, so I'm using Izrand's for that, which don't 100% sound the same but kinda "feel" in the right ballpark to me.

That leaves the animations, which is going to be a good deal of work, tho I've gotten about a third of them done already. Again, some from the original are rips and there are a lot of others that I don't know the source and can't find it with google reverse image search. Luckily, about halfway thru the game I started saving any new resources with the creators' name as part of the file name, which makes verifying and crediting those a snap, but the rest... oh boy.

Some of the offending animations have just been replaced by new ones drawn by me, some have been replaced by ones I made for Izrand, and some have been replaced by assets that I've bought or from free sites with clear credit/attribution licenses, but I've still got a ways to go.

You may ask: With so much being replaced, will this still feel like the same darn game, unity? I think it will. The tilesets, monsters, hero sprites, music etc are all the same, and I'm trying hard to keep the new assets very much in spirit of the original game. It's not perfect, and still feels like a bit of a mish-mash, but to be honest that's very true to the original project, with all those animations and sounds from very different sources XD;;;



That leaves the big question of: When will this Steam edition launch? I'm thinking somewhere between March and May of this year; I both need to get the rest of these animations done and I don't want it too soon since W&U launched on Steam only a little more than a week ago.

What's going to happen to the original version of Luxaren? It'll stay right here on RMN. You can still play it as-is without any of the Steam changes. I think it's best to preserve it in it's original form alongside with the new Steam version.

I apologize to people who have been patiently waiting for Izrand, as this pushes it back slightly further while I fiddle with this, but once I get an idea like this in my head, sometimes I have to do it all before I can move on.

Before I go, here's an awesome Valentine's artwork from Maki of Karuna and Aurelie! :D (click here to go to Maki's twitter!)


EDIT: Originally, I had posted an example of one the animations I failed to name correctly when I made the game. Later that very day, I just found the source: It was by LexusX, who I did indeed have in the credits, I just failed to name that resource correctly! So that's one mystery solved XD :D

It's the fourth anniversary of Luxaren Allure being complete! (and wow, like nearly 6 years since I started the project!)

Before I continue further, I just wanted to share some really awesome stuff, like this super cute artwork I got from ebeth recently! So adorable!!!



And as anyone who's been following the comments is no doubt aware, Error recently completed this really incredible fanfiction about Merel's continued research after the events of the game, and if you haven't checked it out, I urge you to do so, because it's really well written and enjoyable! :D

If you'll indulge me, I'd like to ramble a little about Luxaren Allure and future plans for games. I replayed LA recently this year, and I'm still pretty darn happy with how it turned out! My favorite part is probably the Hotenshin Contest of Love, as what started as a silly idea also happened to wring out a lot of funny character moments and some drama and just a lot of fun.

While I still get a lot of great comments both here and on Luxaren's itch.io page, I still felt like maybe I went a bit overboard with the density of RPG battles in the game, not to mention the game has a very slow pace, as I prioritized exploring around the isles over really investing players with a deep plot right away.

At the same time, I kinda like that more relaxed pace, but I can see how it didn't gel with some players and I could have done more to hook people right away. And it means people who primarily wanted yuri content had to power through all the exploring and battling just to get to content they wanted. Some even cheated to get there (which is fine, you do what makes you happy :DDD). Makes me think I could have done better, though.

As you probably know, I've been working on Weird and Unfortunate during the years since LA's release, but I've been longing to do more projects like Luxaren, with fantasy settings and cute lesbian relationships. During RMN's Rainbow of Positivity event, I got that chance, and released a demo of Date Knights, a short RPG with a focus on a Holy Knight and Dark Knight who used to date and meet again for a mission years later.



I really need to go back and flesh this demo out into a full game, but if you haven't checked it out, please feel free to give it a play and let me know what you think ^_^

And there's also the matter of what I work on next after Weird and Unfortunate. It'll probably be a remake of Lilies of Vanigale (a game I almost finished in RPG Maker XP over like ten years ago) or I'll work on Eye of Uzola (a game I started in RPG Maker 2000 as a teenager).

What sort of game would you like to see from me in the future? :DDD While I can't say it'll absolutely influence what I make next, I am curious XD



Okay, that's enough rambling and reminiscing from me! Time to get back to work on RPG making! Hopefully I can finish Weird and Unfortunate early in 2020 and get to make even more games! A huge thanks to everyone who's following me and cheering me on! Seriously, it means a lot to me!

On this day of love, to RMN for the February Featured Game spotlight, and to everyone who's played, I'd just like to say



I am so happy that people are enjoying this game! Please be on the lookout for my next game, Weird and Unfortunate Things are Happening, and plans for a Luxaren Allure spin-off game are also in the works.

THANKS AGAIN, EVERYONE! ^_^

Hello everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that the game has been updated again! NeverSilent let me know of some pretty serious bugs (as well as a lot of typos). A huge thanks for pointing those out! ^_^

I also tweaked the Cavern of Swirling Sand and the Watery Depths a little, as well. There is now a fairy in the Depths who can sell you a badge that gives you extra time for those pesky Tidal Zones.

Also, the nominations for the Misaos are out, and Luxaren Allure got nominated for a bunch of categories! I am so flattered and amazed! A huge thanks to everyone that nominated the game! I'm excited to see how the voting goes! I know the game is far from perfect, but I've very happy to have it out there and that so many people are enjoying it. :DDDDD

Thanks again, and have a wonderful day, everyone! ^_^