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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

I looked at this and suddenly got an Idolcraft-ish vibe from the whole thing. I just loved that one and was hoping you'd make another game that relied on extensive randomization, which is pretty rare in RM games. The game looks real good and i'd love to test it.
i cant appropriatly critisize games until i play them, so id be glad to test it out!

but in all honesty i have been looking for a game like this but have only found RE:alistar++ or whatever, which was shorter than i would have hoped. i hope that i might be able to test the game.

mabey if i say pretty please i can play :3
Thanks for offering to help, guys. If the download has been approved by the time you read this you can dig right in. Please take a look at the "Testing" page I just added, too.

LivingEffigy, I'm glad you liked Idolcraft :) Does it really give that vibe? haha
Well the game isn't out yet, so I've no idea what it will be like. The concept is fresh and different. But the screenshots did remind me of idolcraft though. Could be the manga girls and the maps with a lot of people, and a great deal of attributes I've not seen before :P
Oh yeah, great artwork!
(It would appear that RE:Alistar++ has started a brand new CRAZE here at RMN!)

Hmmmm...board game mechanics blending in with visual novel flair? This is pretty intriguing...

I will be awaiting to see what truly inspires here. ^^
iv played up to the point of the "challenge" and honestly the loser dosent have it that bad. it might be cuz i was one of the weirder kids at my school, BUT I WOULD TOTALY ROCK THAT BIB. ride by be all like "sup ladies, like mah ride!"
im thinkin mabey the punishment should be a littl worse. take in mind that these are high schoolers. since the school is split by gender the punishment could be not going into the other side of the school for the rest of your time there. or worse...you gota streak through the other corridor if you lose (not sure how they get there mabey they argue over what the loser does and eventualy miki brings up streaking and refuses to lose the idea)
but thats just my idea
p.s. i am realy good at avoiding everything on the map
Streaking, ok, I'll consider that. Another idea I had was the loser has to shave his head. But actually, I saw that in an anime so I'd be ripping the idea off.
a few notes:
1:you dont have to have pictures of them streaking (if you do that) just have our protagonist recall it. no chance of getin girls now ect.

2:i think it would be nice if some of the less important characters had pictures too.

3: finaly. i think you should be able to talk to your freinds about the girls around school, rumors ect. for example you ask your freind for rumors and they might say somthing like "i heard ______ was terrofied of _______." and mabey start some events

other than that the games pretty fun! characters are intresting to me (even if i want to strangle some of them), and i like how when you do an event another character will talk about it, like when i lost the race at the begining by triping and falling i was totaly gona win too

im also horrid at rolling anything lower than 4
author=flowerthief
Another idea I had was the loser has to shave his head.


Hey, I like that! And the challenge could be, like, a hardcore ass-kicking contest or something! Something manly like that!

I am 100% serious about that idea.
Thanks for the feedback, and spazhero, I'm glad you want to strangle some of the characters :D (just as long as you don't still feel that way about them by the end)
Here's what I think:
1. A great game. You've got me hooked and I'm eager to get to the end. I think you could improve the characterization a little. For example, you could make a girl let out some vital info while chatting, and later the player might be required to recall this. Just a thought, though.

2.You could have win-her-over competitions between the player and a male classmate, depending on the player's responses (and a little personality) there would be a considerable boost/drop in the player's relationship.

3. About what the loser must do, I think it should be something which nobody will ever forget, but the loser should not be ostracized for it (ie not too extreme). I haven't thought of anything yet.

4. I found a typo, i think. I got a fruitcake and went to the park and Hiro asked if he could buy it. The first time Hiro mentions the denomination, the letters are all screwed up, but the second time the player mentions it (Should I sell it for 1600), its ok.

Completed about 30 days I think. I'm hooked and won't play anything else until I'm done with this. Awesome game! XD

EDIT: Them bugs piss me off D:
yes living effigy fund it!
i like the idea of having to compete for your girl. mabey some other minigames too.
i thought of a name for one...but not sure in what context you would use it...mabey a trivia game where the girl will talk (what seems to be nonsence, or stuff about there day) then they ask if you where payin attention and you have to recall detail...I CALL AL RIGHTS TO THE NAME IM ABOUT TO POST HERE
--> ~playing attention~ <--
you cant argue living...i am a genius
Of course, without doubt. I like the sound of it XD

EDIT: Finished the game with Riho. Might have done better if I had phone numbers, but I have no idea how to get them.

EDIT: Got it. Now that I call them, I can see the characterization runs deeper.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I'm in something of a review mode! However, since I don't think it's totally fair to make a full-on review for this game, how about some general observances via PM?

*Edit: No public download? There goes that idea!
Marrend, I've given you tester status so you can get at the game. I'd be glad to hear what you have to say via PM.

Livingeffigy, thanks for the feedback and glad to hear you say so!
About the typo(?), I can't figure out how that might have happened. I'll keep trying to reproduce it....

spazhero, there is a kind of trivia game similar to what you describe in Hinami's route.

Oh, also, there is a kind of win-her-over contest with a male rival in Shihoko's route. (requires that a certain stat be high)
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Marrend, I've given you tester status so you can get at the game. I'd be glad to hear what you have to say via PM.


I figured there was a download that had "for testers only" checked. Yet, even as a tester, I still can't see a download. Is there a specific avenue that I should take, or am I just being unobservant/stupid?
Downloading! I'll be the first to download!
The current download is for testers. If you can give me some kind feedback/criticism, please go ahead and download it.
All right, I liked it a lot. Not too much wrong with it from what I saw. I never actually met Riho in two playthroughs of the game though, but she was mentioned I think once. I also never got the "good ending" on either playthroughs, one for Keika and one for Shihoko. I suppose I missed a couple events that just refused to trigger, because I have them both at Lovesick level.
I like the story, I have not finished it yet, I shall give some feedback later.