SC2VN - The eSports Visual Novel was released yesterday on 9/7/15 and available for free to players on Windows, Mac, and Linux. We were blown away by the reception ranging from professional players and streamers, to players who didn't even know anything about SC2 but still gave the game a shot. It exceeded our wildest expectations, and now we want to bring the game to a wider audience.
SC2VN is a visual novel about the South Korean StarCraft 2 scene. You play as Mach, a foreign semi-pro trying to make it in eSports who soon learns that success in StarCraft takes more than in-game strategy. Meet fellow pros and build a team that can compete with the best.
This game will be released for free. No previous knowledge of StarCraft and eSports required!
This project was made possible by the support of our backers on Kickstarter.
I played yesterday and absolutely loved it, remembering the game from back in 2011. Played through and would have liked a few more decision moments, but the story was very fun to listen to with the old man being the MVP!
Asked a friend that enjoys VNs but that never followed SC2, he says it was very nice if short, although he would have liked multiple endings with romance
Damn school getting in the way, I gotta finish now this & Yosuga No So-- I mean this is my only current VN. Seems like it'll be a great read. Can't wait to finally get to it.
I didn't play it, but I basically did watching fenner (not sure if he's finished yet so I plan to go through his vods). I think that the only reason why I won't be playing it myself is because there didn't seem to be enough options for me to think it worthwhile to play through again. There is so much room for more stuff like interacting when you are practicing (e.g. you choose to focus more on micro and study build orders during your training so +3 to micro and +1 to strategy or something like that- or maybe you did do this, but I didn't go deep enough into the game to see it).
Regardless, I love the exposure you've given to sc2 and there is so much positivity going towards this that I just had to add to it.
Already voted yesterday, I had a lot of fun playing it through (it was my first virtual novel) and the nostalgia fell was real! Here's hoping for a sequel!
I've played a few VNs so I decided to give this a shot (I did try the demo you released at some point). I have to say it was quite enjoyable. I'm also impressed by the quality of the art in a game you're giving away for free, really good work there (I know there was a kickstarter, but still). A good job with the writing as well, I felt the slowest parts were probably the actual SC2 gameplay-parts, but since they were pretty short it wasn't a problem.
Too bad the game wasn't longer, but now for the 40 hour long sequel with multiple endings and dating options (where the team falls apart if you don't do it correctly or spend too much time dating), right?
I'd vote for you on the Greenlight, but I don't use Steam, sorry. Still, thanks for the game, playing it was time well spent.
On September 10 2015 07:29 Kerence wrote: I've played a few VNs so I decided to give this a shot (I did try the demo you released at some point). I have to say it was quite enjoyable. I'm also impressed by the quality of the art in a game you're giving away for free, really good work there (I know there was a kickstarter, but still). A good job with the writing as well, I felt the slowest parts were probably the actual SC2 gameplay-parts, but since they were pretty short it wasn't a problem.
Too bad the game wasn't longer, but now for the 40 hour long sequel with multiple endings and dating options (where the team falls apart if you don't do it correctly or spend too much time dating), right?
I'd vote for you on the Greenlight, but I don't use Steam, sorry. Still, thanks for the game, playing it was time well spent.
(dev here) Totally agree with you there that the StarCraft sequences felt slow. They were originally meant to add a super unique flavor to the game, but gameplay wise it was really tough to make them work within our scope. Thankfully I think we found a good compromise.
On September 10 2015 17:50 fluidrone wrote: livibee loves you shindigs! (she is playing it live on her stream right this second "basetrade hype")
I just watched the VoD to see the reaction to the final scene. Really glad that everyone on stream enjoyed it! I think a lot of people interpret the scene as 'SEQUEL' but really I think it's the most appropriate ending for all the characters.
Greenlight stuff
The StarCraft community has SKYROCKETED this game to the top of Greenlight, and we still need your comments and votes! We'll be sharing more stats later but I can definitely say the success of this game on Greenlight was unprecedented.
Please keep leaving your vote and comments, especially if you enjoyed the game!
Well, I must say TB rant at every in-game screenshot was hilarious.
To roughly paraphrase:
"Why is there tech lab on Factory vs P" "What important tech building did she snipe, one pylon and gateway? Did he proxy HT?" "Protoss is on fourth base at 15 minutes?! Of course SCV pull was the correct thing to do! What is she talking about? He was on four bases!"
"Photo cannon rush vs Terran doesn't work. Just float away" "What are you doing?! Just move! You also can't micro damaged workers from the cannon damage. ... I'm pretty sure losing three workers put him ahead. He's not going to build another cannon, he already have second Nexus started!" <screenshot with 3 marines> "What are you speaking about?! You have three marines! You are behind, he has a forge! He has photon cannons! If making a push is the correct decision here..." "...why are we trying to recruit this kid again?"
On September 12 2015 06:48 Hesmyrr wrote: Well, I must say TB rant at every in-game screenshot was hilarious.
To roughly paraphrase:
"Why is there tech lab on Factory vs P" "What important tech building did she snipe, one pylon and gateway? Did he proxy HT?" "Protoss is on fourth base at 15 minutes?! Of course SCV pull was the correct thing to do! What is she talking about? He was on four bases!"
"Photo cannon rush vs Terran doesn't work. Just float away" "What are you doing?! Just move! You also can't micro damaged workers from the cannon damage. ... I'm pretty sure losing three workers put him ahead. He's not going to build another cannon, he already have second Nexus started!" <screenshot with 3 marines> "What are you speaking about?! You have three marines! You are behind, he has a forge! He has photon cannons! If making a push is the correct decision here..." "...why are we trying to recruit this kid again?"
lol, I'm totally going to watch the vod of TB playing now.
Writing is decent and has good SC2 flavor, character a little stereotypical but well defined nonetheless and graphic are decent, but many incoherencies in the story (mostly the matches) and total lack of choice means it's just an amateur novel with anime tack-on. In fact the few "choices" you actually get only have temporary flavor effect and no consequences at all. The story itself doesn't have any climax or surprising element and only one story line spanning more than few panels, thus hasn't raised my interest much.
I ended up just spamming "enter" to avoid the little animations and reading the story via the history (mouse wheel up). I stopped at a point where I thought we'd enter in the meat of the gameplay for a bathroom, just to get the game auto-advance maybe 1 or 2 text box and start the end credits... If it wasn't of the SC2 flavor I would not even made it that far in the game, in my personal opinion it was a waste of 90 minutes.
If you're looking for a little story on progaming scene, why not. You'll probably enjoy it the most if you're already into the scene and thus get the "inside joke" which on the other hand means the introductory tone won't be of any help. If you're looking for a game of any sort, run away, this isn't a game. I do read very fast so my play time might be biased, but if you read the main story plus both extras you can expect it to last about 2-3hours.
On September 12 2015 06:48 Hesmyrr wrote: Well, I must say TB rant at every in-game screenshot was hilarious.
To roughly paraphrase:
"Why is there tech lab on Factory vs P" "What important tech building did she snipe, one pylon and gateway? Did he proxy HT?" "Protoss is on fourth base at 15 minutes?! Of course SCV pull was the correct thing to do! What is she talking about? He was on four bases!"
"Photo cannon rush vs Terran doesn't work. Just float away" "What are you doing?! Just move! You also can't micro damaged workers from the cannon damage. ... I'm pretty sure losing three workers put him ahead. He's not going to build another cannon, he already have second Nexus started!" <screenshot with 3 marines> "What are you speaking about?! You have three marines! You are behind, he has a forge! He has photon cannons! If making a push is the correct decision here..." "...why are we trying to recruit this kid again?"
If Mach was such a good player they wouldn't be making those silly mistakes! It was all part of the story! All part of the plan!
On September 12 2015 16:45 art_of_turtle wrote: It's not really a game... just a book.... Ill vote for it but I don't think out of TL you will get much support.
That's what we call a Visual Novel. Its incredibly popular in asian cultures. Anyways i played it a bit and it was cool congratz.
On September 12 2015 16:45 art_of_turtle wrote: It's not really a game... just a book.... Ill vote for it but I don't think out of TL you will get much support.
"Greenlight stuff
The StarCraft community has SKYROCKETED this game to the top of Greenlight, and we still need your comments and votes! We'll be sharing more stats later but I can definitely say the success of this game on Greenlight was unprecedented.
Please keep leaving your vote and comments, especially if you enjoyed the game!"
Awesome fun. Loved all the in-jokes like hot soup etc
Will admit I was a little gutted when it stopped before the VSTL, was hoping that would be the main thrust of the game. Make it! And agree with some others it would be nice for the decisions to actually have an impact.
Thought the characters were good. Mix of personalities made everything fun. If the aim of the writing was max out nostalgia, goal achieved.
On September 12 2015 06:48 Hesmyrr wrote: Well, I must say TB rant at every in-game screenshot was hilarious.
To roughly paraphrase:
"Why is there tech lab on Factory vs P" "What important tech building did she snipe, one pylon and gateway? Did he proxy HT?" "Protoss is on fourth base at 15 minutes?! Of course SCV pull was the correct thing to do! What is she talking about? He was on four bases!"
"Photo cannon rush vs Terran doesn't work. Just float away" "What are you doing?! Just move! You also can't micro damaged workers from the cannon damage. ... I'm pretty sure losing three workers put him ahead. He's not going to build another cannon, he already have second Nexus started!" <screenshot with 3 marines> "What are you speaking about?! You have three marines! You are behind, he has a forge! He has photon cannons! If making a push is the correct decision here..." "...why are we trying to recruit this kid again?"
TotalBiscuit is a scrub at the game and you can easily tell that by listening to any of his commentaries, He doesn't have any right to criticise like that. He is fucking terrible and doesn't understand high level play or it's depth.
Great work, had a blast going through it, the art is pretty stellar for this kind of thing. Even thou i hoped for more matches and more decisions in the end.
On September 12 2015 06:48 Hesmyrr wrote: Well, I must say TB rant at every in-game screenshot was hilarious.
To roughly paraphrase:
"Why is there tech lab on Factory vs P" "What important tech building did she snipe, one pylon and gateway? Did he proxy HT?" "Protoss is on fourth base at 15 minutes?! Of course SCV pull was the correct thing to do! What is she talking about? He was on four bases!"
"Photo cannon rush vs Terran doesn't work. Just float away" "What are you doing?! Just move! You also can't micro damaged workers from the cannon damage. ... I'm pretty sure losing three workers put him ahead. He's not going to build another cannon, he already have second Nexus started!" <screenshot with 3 marines> "What are you speaking about?! You have three marines! You are behind, he has a forge! He has photon cannons! If making a push is the correct decision here..." "...why are we trying to recruit this kid again?"
TotalBiscuit is a scrub at the game and you can easily tell that by listening to any of his commentaries, He doesn't have any right to criticise like that. He is fucking terrible and doesn't understand high level play or it's depth.
Please take your bashing somewhere else, preferably completely out of TL.
I thought this game was great, particularly the high quality of the art, and the care and passion that went into the writing. It really made me feel like I was a foreign hopeful in Korea in 2011 trying to break into the GSL (sorry, VSL ) scene.
The only thing I would have liked is a little more player choice. In the early part of the visual novel you can choose build orders for games that don't mean that much (when you are recruiting team members) but in the end of the novel, where everything is on the line in one crucial match, there is a menu that pops up and then is immediately dismissed automatically. I found my heart pumping as I was imagining myself actually sitting in the booth and thinking about what build orders I would try out. I wanted to try some out and hopefully succeed based on my memory of watching 2011-era Starcraft games (or go back to a saved game if I failed).
But in the end it turned out that I didn't get to make a choice and just won anyway. It was exciting, but not as exciting as what I was expecting would happen.
Still, this is a fantastic work of art and everyone who loves Starcraft should play it!
On September 17 2015 03:48 Jeremy Reimer wrote: I thought this game was great, particularly the high quality of the art, and the care and passion that went into the writing. It really made me feel like I was a foreign hopeful in Korea in 2011 trying to break into the GSL (sorry, VSL ) scene.
The only thing I would have liked is a little more player choice. In the early part of the visual novel you can choose build orders for games that don't mean that much (when you are recruiting team members) but in the end of the novel, where everything is on the line in one crucial match, there is a menu that pops up and then is immediately dismissed automatically. I found my heart pumping as I was imagining myself actually sitting in the booth and thinking about what build orders I would try out. I wanted to try some out and hopefully succeed based on my memory of watching 2011-era Starcraft games (or go back to a saved game if I failed).
But in the end it turned out that I didn't get to make a choice and just won anyway. It was exciting, but not as exciting as what I was expecting would happen.
Still, this is a fantastic work of art and everyone who loves Starcraft should play it!
That menu disappeared on purpose since the character detected that he was being cheesed.
On September 17 2015 03:48 Jeremy Reimer wrote: I thought this game was great, particularly the high quality of the art, and the care and passion that went into the writing. It really made me feel like I was a foreign hopeful in Korea in 2011 trying to break into the GSL (sorry, VSL ) scene.
The only thing I would have liked is a little more player choice. In the early part of the visual novel you can choose build orders for games that don't mean that much (when you are recruiting team members) but in the end of the novel, where everything is on the line in one crucial match, there is a menu that pops up and then is immediately dismissed automatically. I found my heart pumping as I was imagining myself actually sitting in the booth and thinking about what build orders I would try out. I wanted to try some out and hopefully succeed based on my memory of watching 2011-era Starcraft games (or go back to a saved game if I failed).
But in the end it turned out that I didn't get to make a choice and just won anyway. It was exciting, but not as exciting as what I was expecting would happen.
Still, this is a fantastic work of art and everyone who loves Starcraft should play it!
That menu disappeared on purpose since the character detected that he was being cheesed.
On September 17 2015 03:48 Jeremy Reimer wrote: I thought this game was great, particularly the high quality of the art, and the care and passion that went into the writing. It really made me feel like I was a foreign hopeful in Korea in 2011 trying to break into the GSL (sorry, VSL ) scene.
The only thing I would have liked is a little more player choice. In the early part of the visual novel you can choose build orders for games that don't mean that much (when you are recruiting team members) but in the end of the novel, where everything is on the line in one crucial match, there is a menu that pops up and then is immediately dismissed automatically. I found my heart pumping as I was imagining myself actually sitting in the booth and thinking about what build orders I would try out. I wanted to try some out and hopefully succeed based on my memory of watching 2011-era Starcraft games (or go back to a saved game if I failed).
But in the end it turned out that I didn't get to make a choice and just won anyway. It was exciting, but not as exciting as what I was expecting would happen.
Still, this is a fantastic work of art and everyone who loves Starcraft should play it!
That menu disappeared on purpose since the character detected that he was being cheesed.
Yeah, I actually thought that was pretty cool.
It actually was a pretty realistic experience. "Okay I'm gonna take a quick expand then tech quickly to mediva-OH SHIT NVM PANIC"
On September 18 2015 10:52 Narfin wrote: This game needs to be extended to include a whole VSTL arc! I'd like to know what happens next... I was sad when it ended
But I want to say, thanks for introducing me to visual novels. This was an entire medium I had no knowledge of existing, and I really enjoyed it!
On September 18 2015 10:52 Narfin wrote: This game needs to be extended to include a whole VSTL arc! I'd like to know what happens next... I was sad when it ended
But I want to say, thanks for introducing me to visual novels. This was an entire medium I had no knowledge of existing, and I really enjoyed it!
On September 18 2015 10:52 Narfin wrote: This game needs to be extended to include a whole VSTL arc! I'd like to know what happens next... I was sad when it ended
But I want to say, thanks for introducing me to visual novels. This was an entire medium I had no knowledge of existing, and I really enjoyed it!
EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/EXN3FxM.jpg)
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