Making a Visual Novel Just for Fun!

※This article is repost of a note I posted in June 2025.

　As I wrote in last night’s diary, thanks to everyone pitching in, we’ve already reached a point where I could toss out a test build just to see how it feels. Honestly, I’m hyped.

　I got some rough character art from Ohisashiburi-san, and after roughly editing a friend’s room to use as a background, I tried putting them together.

　Even that strange feeling—the heroine slightly floating above reality, like she doesn’t quite belong—was enough to get me excited. A heroine standing in a square frame, with text scrolling below… that image is basically my hometown at this point.

　I couldn’t resist and ended up scribbling a few lines of text on impulse. While I was thinking “Man, we’re missing BGM…,” I threw a (〃ﾉω•͈) side-eye at Aiobahn, and within 30 minutes they sent me a temporary music box-style track. Too good. So cool.

　Honestly, just making a simple visual novel, no matter how it turns out, feels like a ritual I need to accomplish in my life. People have destinies, after all.

　This project has been in the works for a while. The “official” side kept saying they’d do it, then abandoned it for years.

　When I pushed back, I got hit with endless excuses, then anger, and finally the whole thing was scrapped. It was such a mess that I started hating it all. I ended up going back to therapy, sinking into my old mental health issues. That was rough.

　Because of all that, people who’ve gone through similar drama told me, “I’m glad you didn’t give up on making this.” So yeah, I’ll just keep chipping away at it.

　Honestly, this is the easiest way to make it anyway. It’s my money, so no one can tell me what to do—and that freedom is probably the best thing in the end.

　It’s like turning a disaster into a blessing. Besides, I don’t really get how someone could sit there acting like some big boss in what’s supposed to be a freedom indie game scene. That just feels wrong to me.

　All of this, even the anger, I’m turning into fuel. The goal is to release around next year, after the anime drops, and I’d love for people to look at our world from multiple angles.

　I plan to have the store page ready by the end of this year. More details about the staff and all that will come then—though I feel like I’ve already spilled most of it. Stay tuned.

　As for the theme behind the making of this project, it’s simply “no holding back.” That’s the advantage of people who aren’t bound by commercial rules. I’m too old and too tired for all that middle-aged social politics. I’m done with that fight.

Below is a snippet of the test text I wrote.

　I wrote it on the fly to match the art’s vibe, so it’s not really tied to the main story or the actual settings.

　Our programmer friend got all fired up and added a smooth “slide-in” animation for the character art. It’s so good! I hope we can keep experimenting with these kinds of effects—things that only a modern visual novel can pull off.

Sister's fair copy blinking animation

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"Onii-chan, aren't you going to sleep yet?"

Her voice finally makes me aware of the time.

"Onii-chan, you should really sleep properly at night."

Midnight.

The dead of night when even plants sleep. I feel bad that my staying up has kept her awake too, but she probably doesn't mind.

Since neither of us goes to school, the passage of time outside our window has no bearing on us anyway.

There's no point being forced to follow the conventions of a world that has nothing to do with us. She just wants attention and chose concern as a conversation starter. She wants to play family, no matter how twisted it might be.

Besides, staying up late is more fun precisely because she's in elementary school.After all, every kid her age is tucked in bed for tomorrow's classes.

They all complain but still obey their parents and teachers and go to school. They wake up early just to willingly train themselves to be society's slaves. How ridiculous. They'll never know how quiet and enjoyable the night can be.

Compared to those slaves, look at my sister's composure. I'm truly proud. She confidently points out my unhealthy habits while having no intention of going to school herself.

"Onii-chan, you're looking down on others in your head again, aren't you?"

"I'm not. I was actually praising you, saying how proud I am."

"I can tell. Because onii-chan, you always look down on people living normal lives to justify yourself."

"I don't. Even if I was thinking something similar, I'm just stating facts, not looking down on anyone."

"Onii-chan would be totally hopeless without me, huh?"

"That goes both ways. We're shut-ins together, so if one of us disappears, the other automatically loses their only other person and ends up in a world alone. You can't say you're living without others."

"Can we say we're living in a world of just two?"

"I don't know. But compared to being alone, we're barely living. Almost finished, though. Well, I'm fine with that."

"I'm fine with it too."

"I'll stay by your side, onii-chan."

She's always sarcastic, but always honest too.

Really, what a weird little sister. Good thing she's weird. A normal girl would hate her teenage brother and, more importantly, would wake up and go to school.Setting that cursed alarm clock. Making me wake up to that bell too. But since going to school is considered admirable, my complaints would reach no one.

And so the healthy ones exclude me without even realizing it. What cruel people.

"Onii-chan and I are slowly committing suicide together forever."