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Announcement

AwaF Design Contest Results

It’s time to announce the winners of the April was a Fool Design Contest!


In first place, is Winter’s design with a landslide of 57% of the votes. A huge, HUGE congrats to our winner! Your design will be featured in the game! I’m very excited~! It’s a great design.


In second place is Fictional01‘s design! It was a tight race between this and another design; watching them battle was pretty epic!


And Maki’s Pick goes to Gourd-clae I found the design to be really charming to work with!

So a huge applause for our winners! And another huge applause to everyone who entered. We got some wonderful designs all around and I was very excited to see them all. (I may just draw them all in the future just because) And yet another applause for everyone who voted. There’d be no winners without you.

To our winners, I’ll be contacting you personally soon to sort out your rewards and such. Don’t forget everyone who entered wins a free sketch of the AwaF character of their choice! So hit me up by email with which character you would like. :)

This contest was a lot of fun and I hope we can have more like it in the future. Thank you so much for all your support <3 <3 That we could have a contest like this with the turnout that we did means so much to me.

So one last round of applause. For everyone who played April was a Fool!

Announcement

Design Contest Voting!



Hello everyone!

First, a huge thank you to EVERYONE who entered a design for the contest; now we’ll move onto the next phase. Voting! Take a look at the 11 designs we received from all of you and vote for the one that you think we should use.

Remember, this is a design that will be used in the post game short stories after May graduates Hero Academy - so try to pick a design that will work for ANY of the classes she could pick between: Mage, Warrior, Priest, Rogue, or, well, “Politician”

CLICK HERE TO CAST YOUR VOTE!

Voting will last for two weeks. I’ll close the poll May 18th before I go to work. I’ll get a time when I know what I work.

Here’s a link to the original rules just in case.

Thank you again to everyone who has played our game, and another very big thank you to the people who entered. We got a lot of great designs, and I’m really curious to see which will win!

--

It was pointed out to me that you can't view the entries after voting, so here's a Trello with all the entries posted where you can see them after the fact.
I'll add credit to these after voting ends, for now I want to keep them anonymous. :)
https://trello.com/b/qMKVkBvP/awaf-contest-entries

Announcement

Design Contest!


Hello everyone! Can you imagine, it’s been a year since we released April was a Fool? I can’t… We’re still chugging away at the expanded version, but it’s time I let you fans take the reigns for a bit.

Though the duration of the original game, May never wore an outfit that belonged to herself. The reasoning for that was that May was not ‘me’ she is all of you! The expanded version of the game will include bits of story after the main plot, some of which are going to require May to wear something that is her own. It just doesn’t feel right that I design that outfit.

So, from today until May 1st at midnight (UTC-07:00), we’ll be holding a contest for fans to design the outfit May will wear after graduating from Hero’s Academy! And to make sure this is by you all, the final decision will be decided by a vote.

Here’s some tips:
* It would be best to keep her original colour scheme of blue, purple, and white. (but you don’t have to)
* You can style her hair, but please do not cut it
* The outfit must be something that can work for any of the classes the player can pick in game: Mage, Warrior, Priest, Rogue, or, well, “Politician”

As it stands right now, there will be 3 winning categories!

PLAYERS CHOICE - The entry that wins the most votes
* Your design will be used in game
* I will draw a print with your design to go on Society 6 and send you a copy
* I will design a mug to go on Society 6 and send you one
* Free Bust Shot Commission from @makiokuta

MAKIO’S PICK - I will pick one aside from the winner that I like best
* One item from the Society 6 Store up to the value of $25
* Free bust shot commission
* One 11oz mug of your choice from the Society 6 Store

RUNNER UP VOTE - 2nd place in votes
* One free chibi commission from me

CONSOLATION PRIZE
* Everyone who enters and doesn’t win gets a free doodle of an AwaF character of their choice!

** Please note, the winning design will become property of Dragonfly Studios. We will never use your artwork for anything outside of advertising the winner of this contest (On twitter, tumblr, RMN, and our website), but we will use the design in game, promotional artwork, and on merchandise. Please, do not enter if you are uncomfortable with this!

** If you are unwilling or unable to share your mailing address, but win a physical prize, we will work something else out at that time.

RULES
* Please email your entries to Shuta.Medu@gmail.com with the subject line “AwaF Contest” before 0:00 May 1st, UTC-700
* You may enter only one design, however if you send one and wish to swap it with another, that’s fine
* After entries are all submitted, I will take a couple of days to set up the vote. The vote will then run for two weeks
* The winner, ultimately, will be the person with the most votes :)
* I will be using my Patreon goals to help set up more prizes for this event!

If you have any questions or concerns, please toss me a message or note here, or an email. I hope this will be fun.

And a huge THANK YOU to anyone who played and supported April was a Fool this past year! <3

Announcement

Thank You and Game Update!!

Hello everyone!

First off a HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for us in the Misaos!

April was a Fool took first place in all these categories, and we're so flattered and honoured by that!
* Best Storytelling and Direction
* Best Game Title
* Best Graphics & Artwork
* Best Game You Can Beat Under An Hour
* Most Humourous Game

So, ready to experience a game that won 5 categories in the Misaos? Well, you're in luck, because as of last week, I finished updating those old sketchy backgrounds with brand new spanking PRETTY backgrounds! Take a look at a sample of what's in store~!

The PJ busts are also finished, and as promised, we'll be adding both of those to the free version of the game! Tonight! We were going to hold off a bit longer, but this is our Thank You to all of you! For all the positive reception, the reviews, the comments, and now the Misao results! <3

(We've updated all of the screenshot files as well. :) )

With this, we'll officially move into production of the expanded version of the game. The new songs have been commissioned to replace the old (however, they won't be included in the free version), and we have PLENTY of new material planned. I'm very excited to finally be able to sink my teeth into the new stuff.

So again, thank YOU! And if you decide to download this new version and play it again, we hope you enjoy the new backgrounds and the PJ busts!

Progress Report

Progress!!

Hello everyone! It's been a while!

First off, I'd like to say that progress has been going smoothly. With summer vacations and such now out of the way, I've really dug my heels down and started working on the extended, polished version of the game. The focus so far has been on the upgraded backgrounds and music before we move into working on the new content itself.

A couple months ago we posted a preview of what a new background will look like, and we've actually adjusted the style since then (since I didn't find that matched the character art very well.) Now we've got something that's working good and I'm 7 backgrounds in.

Here's one of the new backgrounds in game:


Music wise, I'm glad to say we've brought Scythuz on board for the commercial version's soundtrack! We've been working together on this for about a month now, and I'm really excited about the new sound he is bringing to the game.
Here's a sample of one of the new songs:
Utopia Makers - Scythuz


If anyone is interested in supporting us during the development of the game, I've set up a Patreon account. I'll be posting artwork and music from the game, and also other games, goodies and such. It would mean a lot to us to have the support, both for this game and future games! <3

We're both very excited about how this project is growing, so thanks to everyone who has played, commented, and reviewed this game. It brought us the confidence to push it forward into something more.

Thanks for reading!

Progress Report

New Backgrounds Preview

I wanted to take a break from working on character art for a bit, so decided I would fancy up one of the backgrounds for this game and give a sample of what to expect down the road. Without further delay:
Here's the old:


Here's the new:


Just a little bit of a difference ;D Here's how it looks in game - It's important that the character's still pop from the background even with it having more details, but I think this works well.

click to see that bigger

I'll probably work on these sporadically as I feel like it even though we're not officially starting to work on this expansion until after IGMC. Nothing like a little head start!

Let us know what you think!

Announcement

Music Player, Game Expansion, Website, and More!!

It's been one month since the release of April was a Fool and in that month we have received more reception than we could have ever imagined. So, before I get the ball rolling properly on this announcement, I'll risk sounding like a broken record with another HUGE thank you to everyone who has taken the time to download, play, review, comment, draw, write anything for AwaF. It was always our goal to release this game, get a feel for what people thought of it, and if we felt it was popular enough, expand on the game itself. Never in my wildest dreams did I think we would be able to decide this within the first month of the game's release and we're both very excited that expanding the game is a direction we'll be able to go. More details on that in a bit, first some news about a game file update itself.

The download has been updated fixing typos that have been found and also, the bigger news here, adding a much requested music player to the game! Now you will be able to listen to any of your favourite songs on demand through the bonus menu.



We've also launched an official website for the game! Check it out right HERE! There's a few more aspects of it to be worked on, but for the most part it's done and ready. I've also been setting up a Society6 account very slowly; there's not much there yet, but if you ever thought you wanted a Foxy mug you can totally buy one.

Now, back to that stuff about expanding the game. We would like to take April was a Fool the next mile, by adding loads of new content to the game and taking it commercial. Commercial is a scary word, but I've honestly always felt that Rach and I are a strong enough team with good enough ideas to achieve it. It's also a scary word to toss around on a free game. So I will say right now that we will NEVER be pulling the current version of AwaF from its free status. The game in its most basic form will always be available for anyone who wishes to play it. Secondly, we are not picturing a large price on the expanded version of the game. It's going to be somewhere in the $5-$10 range. At the moment we're not sure where or how we will handle sales, but that's something we'll be looking at. In terms of this, we will keep you all updated.

So, what does expanding the game mean exactly? Is it going to be worth your money? I'd like to say it will be! We have a lot of ideas in mind for AwaF; here's a list of some things that will definitely be included in the expanded version of the game:
  • Finished Backgrounds (will be added to the free version as well)
  • PJ busts (will be added to the free version as well)
  • A flashback bonus route from April's PoV
  • Three flashback childhood routes:
    Erwin/Gunn | Gabby/Blake | Kent/His Father
  • Three new events in the main story for every route (one short, and two longer ones)
  • Post story bonus scenes for EVERY ending minus the Evil End
  • A new unlockable main route that will address every character and serve as a true ending
  • A new fully custom soundtrack


A new soundtrack may come as a strange decision, but the music we picked was not picked with a commercial release in mind, as it was always on our minds that we would be commissioning a custom soundtrack later on. The music we picked we have both grown very attached to, but I have confidence that we will be able to bring someone on board who can produce music just as fitting.

While the above things are set in stone, we have been tossing around other ideas that are still a 'maybe.' This includes:
  • Translations into other languages
  • English language voice acting
  • A kickstarter for said translations, the music, voice acting, + paying our editor for the new content
  • This will also help justify keeping the final cost of the game down
  • Contest to design May's outfit in the post story arcs
  • Alternate version of the Evil End where you have a high affection with one of the other characters
  • Porting to iOS, android, and/or Vita


I'll also be looking into a few concerns that have come up in regards to a couple of the characters. Nothing will be changed substantially, but I do feel there's a couple places where my writing can be stronger.

I'd be very curious to hear what other things people would be interested in seeing added to the game! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please feel free to contact me here, on tumblr, twitter, or by email (Shuta.Medu@gmail.com Please put AwaF in the subject line!), as we want to bring to everyone a good, strong game worthy of standing as an improvement of the original.

In particular, we are interested in knowing if we should pursue adding voice acting to the game. Voice acting seems to have mixed reception and we're not too sure how much of an investment this angle will be yet, so we want to make sure it is worth our time to look into it. If we add a voice track, it will be something that can be shut off in the menu.

We don't have a solid timeframe yet for these plans, but I would peg Summer as when we really start working on these things. The Indie Game Maker Contest is on the horizon, which we will be participating in, so these plans will definitely begin after that is done and we have recuperated.

Thank you again! We're both excited and hyped to even be able to start THINKING about the above things in a realistic manner.
Lots of love to you all! <3

And a huge Happy Birthday to our protagonist ;)

Announcement

Happy April Fools!


I'll admit, we debated launching the page in a butchered way at midnight as a joke, but we were honestly too busy with the actual project, and too tired from the actual project, to go that extra mile.

SO! Without further ado, we present to you:

April was a Fool!

We began working on this game back in January and since then it's evolved a lot. I'm very happy with the finished product as it stands, and I hope everyone who plays it will enjoy it as well!

There are a couple of things I'd like to mention here that we didn't have time to complete: Backgrounds remain as sketches and when the characters visit you at the inn, their busts are in their regular outfits and not their PJs like the CGs and text implies they should be. Some of the songs don't loop the best either, we tried. (curse RenPy not using looping oggs properly)

Both these things are things we might go back and adjust at a later date, but to be honest, we have other plans for this story as well if people enjoy it!

So! We'd love to hear what you all think! <3

Thanks for sticking with us through the countdown! We don't usually post much about our games before we release them, so this was a bit different for us, but it was a lot of fun! Especially since we spent two months saying practically NOTHING about this game to anyone. (True, we started mentioning it to a couple of people after the first month or so.)

Also, another huge thank you to our testers!! (Ebeth, Zeigfried_McBacon, Palladinthug, and my family) Who did a great job catching typos and things that we didn't in like 7 read overs.

and if you spot any typoes, let us know. I think I'll be nuking typos in this game until the day I die. There's just a lot of words!

I hope everyone has a happy and safe April Fools Day!

Progress Report

1 Day to Go: Blake

Yikes! Crunch time is on for real now. Huge shout out to the people who have play tested for us! No matter how many times we read this over, tiny typoes still seem to slip by. Plus we're making one very critical change to the way numbers crunch thanks to your results thus far!

It's time for the final character introduction!

BLAKE EMBERS

Age: 23
Level: 23
Class: Warrior
Occupation: Hero
Place of Birth: Eastern Town
Special Skills: Hero Prophecy

Hobbies: Collects swords
Likes: Sour food, stories about Heroes
Dislikes: His own lack of skill

In the ashy ruins of the Embers' Estate stands a stone tablet. On it Blake's Hero Prophecy is scrawled. "The first son born with hair of flames is destined for greatness." Needless to say, that put a lot of pressure on the young boy, but no outside pressure could ever be as powerful as the internal one he put on himself.

"I must be great. I must be strong. I must be a Hero!"

After losing his family twice to the fires his sister started, Blake's outlook on life died with them. If he was so great, why did that happen? With each compounding feeling of failure, he simply started to fail even more.

Still, he joined the party to fight the Overlord with his sister at her request - it would be good experience. Meeting April, he started to improve over time, gaining confidence from the other destined Hero. From Kent, he learned to be better with his sword. Things were looking up for the young boy, and though he still often showed weakness, he was proud to finally notice his own potential.

Until one trip to the snowy mountaintops of Death Peaks, where his insecurity, and paralyzing fear of fire, cost him the greatest failure and loss yet.

"I can't be great. I can't be strong. I can't be a Hero..."

As blood spills across the snow, and the tearing sound of flesh echoes through the smoke-filled skies, Blake's confidence leaves him, perhaps this time for good.

---

Progess - POLISH

Progress Report

2 Days to Go: Erwin

I can't believe there's only two days left already! We didn't get as much done today as we would have liked (oh work), but we're still on schedule and results from testers are rolling in and their positive reception is making me SUPER excited. Anyway, that aside, let's meet our next character!

ERWIN GATES

Age: 27
Level: 80
Class: Rogue
Occupation: Mayor
Place of Birth: Perk City
Special Skills: Lockpicking | Expert Hearing | Disarm Trap

Hobbies: Travelling
Likes: Money, Expensive cheeses
Dislikes: Annoying people

Erwin Gates is a lot of things: The richest and, perhaps self-proclaimed, smartest man alive, the mayor of the illustrious Perk City, a business man, and a World-Class Hero. He's other things too, but he doesn't like talking about those.

Before Perk came into his possession, it was owned by his parents, a pair of gambling addicts who almost drove the city to bankruptcy. Upset with both their treatment of the city, and their treatment of him, Erwin spent most of his time at the church. However, he was quickly developing a bad habit, and soon did something to the church he was sure they'd never forgive.

As the hulking mass of Gunn approached him, he thought, "I'm going to die here."

True, the apologetic smack to the back the priest gave him while grinning widely almost broke him in two, but the following invitation to travel the world together as Heroes took him by surprise.

Still fearing for his life, he agreed, and the two began a partnership that would last for years to come. They raided dungeon after dungeon hoping to use the treasure they found to pull Perk up from bankruptcy.

When they returned, Erwin found his parents dead and a golden opportunity in his hands. Perk was now his.

--

Progress: Testing and polish. Testing and polish.
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