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Date, create, and share!

Assuming the role of a male high school student in Japan, the player will meet, interact with, and date a number of female characters with the goal of winding up with one of them at the end of a 101-day calendar. Yeah, you've seen this all before...or have you?

In other romance sims, there's little reason to replay the game again once you've pursued all the characters you're interested in. But Heartache 101 allows for a variable female cast. The number of characters in the game is completely open-ended!

You can create new characters and add them to the game, share them with other users, and add characters created by other users. You can create the images for custom characters from a template, or use images you created yourself, or images from any source. (only "standing" images of characters can be imported; there is no event CG in the game) A simple scripting language is provided for writing story events. You can also customize some of the music.

The game system itself is in part a visual novel interface with gameplay that include conversational decision-making, board game-like mechanics, stat management, financial management, and more.

Latest Blog

New game forthcoming, some might like to know



Since I've been asked many times if I would ever make a sequel to Heartache....

Well this is not a sequel. In very many ways it's radically different. But some might find that it partially retains a bit of the same feel?

So I'm posting the first public screenshot here, and whoever is interested, look for a game page up in the next week or two with the title "Where One Citizen". Game is not complete yet, but after 10 years of development it's about time to start showing it!

Posts

Marrend and Garage are the saviours of this game.-.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I must admit, I have no idea what this game (or gamepage) would look like were I to have never gotten involved. Who would have known that a person who started as a mere beta-tester would have grown into the face/voice of the game for years on end?

*Edit: I still wonder where the buzz this game gets is coming from! Well, okay, it's probably being generated by views and/or downloads, as the comment section isn't terribly busy. At least, not as busy as it once was. Still, how are people even finding this page to begin with!?
author=Marrend
I must admit, I have no idea what this game (or gamepage) would look like were I to have never gotten involved. Who would have known that a person who started as a mere beta-tester would have grown into the face/voice of the game for years on end?

*Edit: I still wonder where the buzz this game gets is coming from! Well, okay, it's probably being generated by views and/or downloads, as the comment section isn't terribly busy. At least, not as busy as it once was. Still, how are people even finding this page to begin with!?

I think now it cam randooooooooooooooom... or? Or only game god knows!!
Hey, brand new here and just found this site, so please forgive me if I ask a question that's really obvious or answered elsewhere or something. Anyway, I see in the description that you are a male high school student. I was just wondering, with the level of customization this game has if there's an option to play as a female student for lesbian routes? I know it's an old game, but since comments have been responded to as recently as December last year I'm hopeful someone will answer anyway. Thanks ahead of time!
author=LadyKolima
Hey, brand new here and just found this site, so please forgive me if I ask a question that's really obvious or answered elsewhere or something. Anyway, I see in the description that you are a male high school student. I was just wondering, with the level of customization this game has if there's an option to play as a female student for lesbian routes? I know it's an old game, but since comments have been responded to as recently as December last year I'm hopeful someone will answer anyway. Thanks ahead of time!

Sorry, but you cannot play as a female PC in this game. There's plenty of "boy pursues girl" routes, most of which are really enjoyable, but you cannot change the gender of the playing character.

But - if I am forgiven for the self advertising - there is something like a spin-off that I've written where you play the role of a female high school student who's attending the same school.

It's not really finished yet, but there's several completed routes for you to try.
(At the time of this post I consider Yuki, Misa and Chinatsu as "finished routes").
author=Garage
author=LadyKolima
Hey, brand new here and just found this site, so please forgive me if I ask a question that's really obvious or answered elsewhere or something. Anyway, I see in the description that you are a male high school student. I was just wondering, with the level of customization this game has if there's an option to play as a female student for lesbian routes? I know it's an old game, but since comments have been responded to as recently as December last year I'm hopeful someone will answer anyway. Thanks ahead of time!
Sorry, but you cannot play as a female PC in this game. There's plenty of "boy pursues girl" routes, most of which are really enjoyable, but you cannot change the gender of the playing character.

But - if I am forgiven for the self advertising - there is something like a spin-off that I've written where you play the role of a female high school student who's attending the same school.

It's not really finished yet, but there's several completed routes for you to try.
(At the time of this post I consider Yuki, Misa and Chinatsu as "finished routes").

As far as I'm concerned, please, do self promote. There's just always such a shortage of good sapphic romantic games (I say sapphic rather than lesbian because I don't mind if there are straight romance routes, as long as I can choose to ignore them, so lesbian or bi protagonists are fine with me). So thank you for your recommendation, I'll check it out right away!

Edit: Also wow, thanks for getting back to me so quickly!
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
For what it's worth, the game was designed to handle boy-girl relationships, and boy-boy relationships, with the known available content very much focusing on the former. There may have been considerations to allow a female MC, but, the idea was likely discarded.

*Edit: I would highly, highly recommend unity's Luxaren Allure for you.
author=Marrend
I would highly, highly recommend unity's Luxaren Allure for you.

Yes, you should definitely try this game.
Amazing game! Loved the mechanics and small plot points, I was aiming for miki towards the end but sadly keiko latched on to me and forced me into her ending which was a shame, since I kept going on dates and hanging out with miki.
author=Marrend
*Edit: I would highly, highly recommend unity's Luxaren Allure for you.

Can i given that a chance?
author=EgyLynx
author=Marrend
*Edit: I would highly, highly recommend unity's Luxaren Allure for you.
Can i given that a chance?

Sure! By all means try this game. It's fun.
author=Garage
author=EgyLynx
author=Marrend
*Edit: I would highly, highly recommend unity's Luxaren Allure for you.
Can i given that a chance?
Sure! By all means try this game. It's fun.

Any plans your own games or scanerio in this?
I'm surprised at how well this game kept up over the years for an rpgmaker game, I think the replayability and easy access make it worth anyone's time.

the other day I did Akari's route again, and while the writing wasn't as good as I remember it being, it was still interesting enough to keep me invested.

Out of all the routes, I enjoyed Akari and Riho's the most.
I think Riho has some of the best development as a character, starting off very tsun, but eventually warms up to the player. It's a classic trope, but its effective. Akari as a character was also done very well. The terseness of her responses and how closed off she was to almost everyone really sold how realistic she felt. Her theme is also memorable in that same way. Seeing her transition from that state to someone that's still able to smile despite everything that's happened was impactful.

I'm glad that you two keep the game page alive and are still around to answer questions or just to talk to

with that being said:
have either of you played the Muv-Luv series?
If you haven't, I highly recommend checking it out. If you don't care, click below to see why I mention it. (spoilers)

The main character ends up in an alternate post-apocalyptic world, with humanity on the brink of extinction. He ends up meeting the same characters from "his world", and while they have the same core personalities, they aren't the same people. Without much of a choice, he ends up having to learn how to fight against this new threat and find a way to survive.



I thought it would be very interesting to have a similar basis for some sort of sequel, or some custom content, or something. Though I feel like the current engine would need a complete overhaul on gameplay to make up for it.

It was just an interesting thought though. I really enjoyed Muv-Luv, and thought it would be funny to see this game move in a similar direction since the initial premise is nearly the same.

I liked the idea so much, that I even made a joke post about it. (shameless self-promotion and spoilers)
^Good feedback. Glad it was still enjoyable. Check out the Kakyusei pack I recently made and other finished content if you're so inclined. (about time I be moving the Kakyusei pack to that page)

And nice joke post. I've not played Muv-Luv but am aware of its popularity.

For what it's worth, a *kind of* spiritual successor to Heartache with new gameplay elements has actually been in development for 10 years (><). Still alive, but still a long ways off from complete and I wouldn't blame anyone for failing to get excited about it. Alas I can't make games at the same pace that I used to.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
author=dwaif
I'm glad that you two keep the game page alive and are still around to answer questions or just to talk to


There is something about this post that makes me feel older than dirt. Like, Darigaaz, this game is gonna turn ten years old this year, and I've been here since practically the beginning of it all.

author=dwaif
with that being said:
have either of you played the Muv-Luv series?
If you haven't, I highly recommend checking it out. If you don't care, click below to see why I mention it.


Ages Years ago, I was a beta-tester for a game called Neverlasting Memories, which was effectively a VN/adventure game... with GEARS MECHA! The game never released publicly, but, I still have the beta... well, somewhere on my hard drive, or archived!
author=Marrend
author=dwaif
I'm glad that you two keep the game page alive and are still around to answer questions or just to talk to
There is something about this post that makes me feel older than dirt. Like, Darigaaz, this game is gonna turn ten years old this year, and I've been here since practically the beginning of it all.

author=dwaif
with that being said:
have either of you played the Muv-Luv series?
If you haven't, I highly recommend checking it out. If you don't care, click below to see why I mention it.


Ages Years ago, I was a beta-tester for a game called Neverlasting Memories, which was effectively a VN/adventure game... with GEARS MECHA! The game never released publicly, but, I still have the beta... well, somewhere on my hard drive, or archived!

Well... and one game there is soldier named ...
Wow the game is still receiving updates !? And i felt old for playing a 2011 game in 2020 ! The unlockable content reminds me of the time you unlocked things in games, now you buy them... And i'm not even that old.

Anyway sorry for rambling but i read some other recent comment here and got and felt that. Anyone has a clue on how to effectively progress character stories ? Even if they're lovesick they're not progressing most of the time. Is it only based on pure luck or something ? Should i date them more ?
author=Timeless_swgh
Wow the game is still receiving updates !? And i felt old for playing a 2011 game in 2020 ! The unlockable content reminds me of the time you unlocked things in games, now you buy them... And i'm not even that old.

Anyway sorry for rambling but i read some other recent comment here and got and felt that. Anyone has a clue on how to effectively progress character stories ? Even if they're lovesick they're not progressing most of the time. Is it only based on pure luck or something ? Should i date them more ?

What you need to do to progress a certain route pretty much depends on the character you're pursuing.

Generally speaking you should pay close attention to any conversation, especially if one of your interests is talking about liking some place or meeting somewhere with some one. Or if a friend of "your girl to be" talks about some event that might involve her.

But yes, luck is certainly a factor on most routes.

Also, not spending every single of your afternoons with trying to improve one of your stats might help, too. Maybe the next important encounter with "her" is waiting to happen in some place like "Market Street" or the Shrine?
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I don't think it's 100% correct to say that the game is still receiving updates. What puts this game into the buzz section of this site seems to be more from "silent" interactions. Consider comparing the latest stat-threads from kentona (here and here). The page-view count goes from 2,222,206 to 2,244,439 (a difference of 22,233 views), while the discussion count (which I assume is the same as post-count) stays at 5,285.

*Edit: Big thanks to kentona for posting the site-stats almost every month!