Violet Witch Trials
A downloadable game
Gentiana is a quiet woman who has lived mostly in solitude for the last fifteen years, loving her arcane studies most of all. But one day, while experimenting as usual, much of her magical power was suddenly ripped from her! Unable to continue with her work, she’s tracked down the mysterious force which stole away her strength. Traversing a mystical forest, she finds a great ravine, and a dungeon that stretches unfathomably deep into the earth. Can she reach the very bottom, reclaiming her power and thwarting the being responsible? Or will she eventually succumb to the dungeon, equipped and tailored specifically to capture Witches like her?
Try, Try Again!
Explore a dungeon where progression is based upon your skill, tools, and game knowledge. Say goodbye to grinding for levels - getting ahead is all about playing smart and patient.
Think Like An Adventurer
Rush ahead without careful consideration, and danger will soon follow! Consider your surroundings and move wisely. Not every engagement is necessary, and some paths are only more dangerous to tread!
Gentiana doesn't simply forget she can use magic outside of battles. Use your elemental spells in the field to shape the earth, freeze water, jolt machines to life, reignite engines, and more! Not all of your problems can be solved with magic, but sometimes it is vital to your progression.
Losing is Fun!
Gentiana is a powerful mage, who has no MP to track. But in the dungeon, you’ll have to think about her Stamina and her Willpower. If her Stamina runs out, a ward on her soul will activate - she’ll be forced back to her Sanctuary without her items, downgraded but immediately ready for another run!
But if her Willpower is exhausted, none of Gentiana’s magic will work, including her ward - giving her enemies a chance to capture her. Enduring and escaping captivity is difficult, but will allow you to keep your items for your next run!
The Spice of Life
Content caters to a variety of tastes, and mechanics offer depth for a variety of styles of play. Play an elemental specialist empowering one type of magic, or a strategist opportunistically targeting enemy weaknesses. Play a defensive mage, negating all incoming spells with wit and foresight, or play a daredevil wielding dangerous dueling spells at point-blank range. Every item serves a purpose and niche, even cursed ones.
* The currently available version of Violet Witch Trials is the demo. The scope of the demo is just one of its five planned areas, consisting of about ten maps, with four enemies (each with their own restraint attack), a boss fight, and an escape sequence. If you enjoy the demo, please support me as I work through the year toward a full release.
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Development log
- Update - Pv1.0470 days ago
- Update - Pv1.0371 days ago
- Update - Pv1.0276 days ago
Comments
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Hey, I don't know where else to post this so I made an account. (if you have some communal discord I must have missed it) I Just played the game today and while I could go on about my thoughts on a a bunch of stuff- maybe some other day, I had an observation to make.
When you get captured by enemies and get sent to jail, I feel like there miiiight be a bug or something going on - maybe linked to staying in jail too long. I got myself caught several times to test it out and in some occasions, with very different experiences some times. Once I was staying in there for a long time to see what was happening, managed to take off my leg shackles and some other restraints a couple of times and stuff, right. And then at some point the goblin that comes to put them back on put them back on, and I straight up couldn't struggle out of them at all. Even after struggling successfully 10+ times without the goblin "fixing them" in between those 10 struggles. It might be worth looking into. Also about the jail mechanic, it's a bit the same sentiment about the whole game, but I think you should explain some things in more details like for instance what does "fixing" the shackles do. Does it fully restore their "durability", or does it simply "replenish" said durability some.
I'm also curious how you're dealing with encounter weight. Sometimes the warden shows up a lot, saying he's "going to come back later" 4 times in a row or looking at restraints, and sometimes I see him once every... 60 encounters? Same happened with imps to a certain extent. I know randomness bias may be tricking me, but I felt like sharing this since the jail mini-game is probably going to expand and be more fleshed out, so here's some thoughts about it early on. Have a good one and good luck on the game.
I tested it a bit more and yeah it appears that whenever the goblin comes to "fix" your leg shackles as they're already applied to you, you can't escape anymore. The "Assess" option stops showing their looseness/tightness and you're stuck there until you alt-f4 or give up.
Just thought I'd update about this: I think it's based on if you have specific cursed gear on or if you're ticklish/suggestible, but I haven't tested it enough.
just finished up to the final boss of the current content, one thing that I think would be nice is if you put the actual in universe name of the spells in the list instead of just fire, ice, etc. For overworld stuff especially imo I find it's hard to really engage with the riddle solving stuff since I don't actually know off hand what the spells are called and which spells would fit with riddle.
Good evening! I just came to say, you would be interested in getting help with english to spanish translation for your game?
Thx for reading! c:
Hey this is a bit of a different proposal but I was wondering if I'd be able to help with the art for this? If you do it yourself I could help take some of the work load off. Art Account Here is my art. Just thought it'd be cool to contribute to something like this and I don't expect anything in return of course, just wanted some nsfw art to draw. Thanks, and keep up the good work!
Hello there! My apologies it took me so long to reply to you. It's very kind of you to offer to help, but I'm not currently looking for contributors - honestly, I adore every part of the process and I want to do it all myself.
But your work is impressive, very much so! I'd like to be in touch, even if only to talk. If you have Discord, feel free to add me @scarlilydoujin. Thank you!
oh, and one thing I've found, if you have 0 willpower and get into a fight, the fight still happens until the enemy uses a binding attack and you lose instantly. That on its own makes sense to me, but it also loses you the fight even if you spent your first turn moving out of range. The attack doesn't actually hit, but you're still captured.
Hmm! I mean for players to be able to win battles on 0 Stamina or Willpower, being able to heal once the battle is over and potentially keep going. But I hadn't considered what would happen if the player lacked resources to heal with, and entered battle with 0 of either resource. I'll have to include a check for that at the start of each battle. Thank you very much for catching this, I'll take care to resolve it for the demo's last update!
Regarding the QTE sections, they do feel a bit intense relative to the other parts of the game. I understand the desire to have there be a challenge so that the player doesn't just easily 'opt out' of the perils, but on the other hand, the current state adds a fair amount of tedium to the battles, which themselves can turn a bit repetitive after a bit.
Since there's already evidence of the intention to use stacking negative effects in the forms of cursed equipment and bad status passives, I would suggest using some of those to alter the QTE difficulty. Make the baseline struggling and avoidance easier, but have passives add the number of commands needed and/or reduce the time allotted for the inputs. If the difficulty of the QTEs gradually ramps up in this manner, it can create a more organic experience of the player being overconfident at first and then finding themselves in over their head.
Otherwise, there's a solid foundation here; don't let me critique of the QTE take away from the rest of the game. Looking forward to see what is added next.
Oh, and a quick bug report: The Stuffed Sheep seems meant to remove a cursed Cold Hairpin, but it actually removes Silky Stockings. Guessing the curse removal items were cloned from one another when created, but it should be an easy fix.
I played one run and got captured then game over'd after my second fight against goblins, which are very cute. didn't see any cursed items. I could certainly see myself going back to play more. Here's some notes I took while playing:
- Apple stealing is good, I wish I could steal more of them
- Good note on the magical gate mechanism having receptacle for elements on two different sides. that also proved a good way to get me to look at the menus and abilities available to me
- Entering past that gate rotated my direction of travel 90 degrees: Enter going left, continue going up. Might not be possible to change that now, but best to keep direction of movement consistent in future
- I like all the stuff being interactable and getting dialogue responses
- Music looping is abrupt
- Distance mechanic in combat could be interesting, I like it instinctively
- Cool ass music on the piano
- I suspect these adorable silly goblins are placeholder. if so I hope their design doesn't change too much
- The QTEs are an interesting twist on RPG combat
- Spell circle and getting teleported to jail was rather abrupt
- Often there's no indication of confirmation when you do something. You have two moves in combat but on completing the first of two there should probably be a sound effect and visual effect or something to show that
- I think if you order a manoeuvre to a different distance, the spells available should change to reflect the new distance
Wow, a lot to reply to! One of the most fun parts of releasing this demo is all these comments. As an artist before this, I grew used to people being so quiet and shy, but this is great! Truly, thank you.
The apple-stealing is in part a matter of balance (a Noble Festa Apple is a full recovery of your Willpower) and in part simply because Gentiana as a character would only take one. I've tried to confine the player's actions to "what would Gentiana do" - in the hopes I can keep the scope of development reasonable but still varied and prepared for many types of player. Sometimes the boundaries are because I as a developer did not think of something, but sometimes the answer is simply that "Gentiana wouldn't do that". And that is just the result of needing to draw the line somewhere.
The tutorial is both some of my worst and best work. I broke a game design guideline by making it very early in development. It's often wisest to work at first on the middle of a game and then branch out, but I only partially did this. The tutorial is in some ways most purely reflective of my design philosophy and in other ways showcasing just how new to this I really am.
When I design areas, I rarely if ever place things without a purpose. I have a lot of fun hiding away dialog and characterization and even items in strange places. I think one of the best examples of my approach is the bunk beds throughout the Monster Cave. Most if not all of them provide different pieces of dialog from Gentiana, sometimes producing different dialog when interacting with different parts of the same bed.
I hadn't given much consideration to how the music loops, so I will have to look into how most games solve the problem of abrupt looping. Nice catch!
There is, as of now, no placeholder art in the game. At least, not that I can recollect. My art is rough and unusual as I'm still quite new to drawing, but I intend to stick with most if not all of what I have drawn. A day might come where I take another pass through the game, but I only want to do that if my skill has significantly increased and quite a bit later at that. I have seen too many beloved projects fall to perfectionism and I know I am not immune to that myself.
The spell circle is abrupt - I think I want to make the hint for it more clear. Feedback suggests I hid it away in an obnoxious way. I want people to be thinking about what they're doing and treading very carefully, and my priority is a dungeon that feels dangerous more so than fair. But I think the entry of the Monster Cave in general is poorly communicated and I intend to clean it up.
I suppose when when I say the magic circle is abrupt, I mean I'm exploring the dungeon, then am quickly effectively teleported to an open prison to... continue exploring the dungeon. there's also a similar sudden transition when first heading into her pocket dimension home with the armchair
other thing: jumping the rocks was a good intro to the QTEs. is there a way to cross that with magic? I hadn't much understood the magic system at that point
Ah, I'm sorry - I misunderstood you! Yes, that scene ends suddenly and unusually, I agree. I'll keep it in mind and take care to change it when I update the demo one last time.
As for the rocks, there is actually a way to cross the river with magic. You can cast Ice beside the sign which suggests there used to be a bridge across the river. Casting Ice in this way produces an ice bridge for the player to cross. My intent with the river was to teach there is rarely one solution, you can make your path forward easier by thinking about it, and the route which plays into Gentiana's talents best (the one that involves magic) is typically easiest.
To counterbalance this, I know there is at least one case where using magic doesn't help. Encouraging players to consider a new and odd mechanic like this without accidentally teaching to assume it's always the solution is a challenge I'm struggling with, and I hope I have succeeded here.
Really good stuff! Great attention to detail, and the main character is so cute. The writing is also very elaborate, with an impressive amount of dialogue for just being a demo. I also personally really enjoyed the artwork!
The escape minigame is enjoyable, but becomes repetitive. Maybe different microgames other than the string of arrow keys and buttons depending on what restraint you're struggling out of/what kind of "fun" you're trying to resist? ;)
One thing I was confused about were the cursed items. Maybe I missed something, but I didn't understand exactly what they did or how to uncurse them/take them off.
The combat system is fun and UNIQUE!! The distance system is awesome, requiring you to strategically plan whether to advance of retreat, as well as what type of spell to use. So cool to see RPGM games give a fun twist on turn-based combat.
Overall very fun! Can't wait to see what's next!
Your words are very kind, thank you! I've received a lot of praise for how different combat is, and this I am overjoyed about. It took a lot of investment to produce and, while I think it is messy and flawed, what matters most to me is people seem to be having fun with it!
I have a lot of work to do as an artist, but it heartens me to see people enjoying my art regardless. I only started learning to draw around August, so I am still learning very basic things and making an amateur's mistakes. I hope to improve a lot as I work on this game! Producing art assets for this project has really pushed me!
Cursed items are something I need to add an in-game explanation for. There are a few systems in the game which I designed and then failed to convey their function appropriately to the player. The short explanation for cursed items is that they require a specific item to be removed. For example, to remove a Chastity Belt, you must have a Chastity Key. But, cursed items and the items required to remove them were added when the pool of items was considerably smaller than it currently is, so they might be too punishing in the current version of the game. I need to gather more feedback and opinions on the matter, though.
Some items are excessively punishing in the current version of the game. For example, the Sealing Choker wasn't designed with current restrictions on items in mind. I will likely need to adjust the balance of cursed items just a little for this demo before I move on.
Pretty good game! Do you plan to extend existing fetishes like the ghost possession?
Thank you! I've worked very hard on it.
My goal is to appeal to a variety of tastes while still remaining within my own. I hope to show you things you didn't know you liked! But I'm sympathetic to appreciators of possession and I may or may not have similar plans for another scene. I can't divulge many details right now, but I hope I won't disappoint you!
Wanted to give my detailed review for this first demo after I found everything (I think):
The Good:
- There is definitely a lot of care and attention to details. You can interact with almost everything and there are many ways you can complete every room in the dungeon: you can be stealthy or fight every monster and there are many hidden treasures and interactions within the dungeon itself.
- The fighting system is quite original for a RPGM game: I like the ability to flee the fights by actually using skills instead of pressing a button and the various items and elemental skills are well-balanced. The arrows minigame during the fight is too hard for me.
- The writing is really good, MC is well characterised and I like her reactions to the various perils she is forced into.
What can be improved:
- The art is quite rough: there is a good amount of CGs with the same art-style which isn't very detailed; however I really liked the facial expressions!
- The escape system is quite rudimental; most of the interactions with the monsters are minigame based which makes them quite repetitive. Maybe having different interactions based on the choices you make during dialogues or when trying to escape is a better solutions but I guess it might be too hard to code for a first-time developer.
In conclusion I liked this first release and I can't wait to see what the dev can create. This project has a lot of potential and can become a really solid game. I will follow the development with great interest!
Thank you very much for your feedback! I currently plan to adjust the resist/escape minigame based on the great advice many players have provided. There are a lot of changes to be made: I cannot guarantee they will be made to this demo, but they will make it into the final release.
I am very grateful for how tolerant and patient you have all been of my, shall we say, amateur art. I hope to improve a lot as I work on this project!
Thank you for cheering for me!
Oh, and last thing for today I think, is there any chance the escape/resist minigames can be made arrows only? I feel like this sort of game works best if it can be played with one hand at any given point.
Hmm! That's wise and I will certainly include it as a consideration in rebalances to come. That change may not come to this public demo, but the struggle minigame will be rebalanced for the completed game quite some time from now. I hope to see more feedback like this as I ponder the details of that balance change!
Struggle's allotted time is a bit short.
If you need to mention that your game is in development, use the splashscreens in the Made with MV plugin, just replace the made with mv pic with your splashes.
Other than that, nice designs, mapping and overall tone of the game. Great job.
Thank you very much! I appreciate your advice, and I will keep it in mind as I continue my work. The struggle minigame is something I plan to rebalance - my goal is for it to be a tight window to squeeze through, but I think I may have made it too narrow. As I work toward a final release, I will tinker with and adjust the struggle minigame.
Oh, and another thing I've found, submissive mode seems to load in her eyes, mouth, blushing, and her restraint textures, but not her body. Instead there's just her overworld sprite in a box.
Thank you so, so very much for this report! Another player has reported this issue but I couldn't replicate it, so I assumed it was a one-off issue. I will try more rigorously to replicate this now that I know it wasn't a fluke!
Edit: Pv1.01 should remove this issue. Since it's a rather major graphical issue, I saw fit to publish a fix immediately.
Played it for the first time, one thing I think might make the escape sequence a bit better is moving the assess options to just being a ui element displayed automatically, instead of being a menu option. In something like didnapper, having it be in a menu makes sense, since you're limited by time, and assessing takes a time unit. With your energy system it doesn't seem like there's any downside to just spamming out an assess every round, and if that's the case, then I think it would be better to just display any information that's available automatically. Great work in general tho, I can't wait to see where this project goes.
Thank you so much for your feedback! You make a good point and I will keep this in mind when I polish up the escape sequence later. My intent was to keep the information provided by 'Assess' from bogging down the Struggle menu, though it contorted into a mostly descriptive affair.