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Tag: Memoirs of an Angel
“Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” Coming to Steam
My first game, “Memoirs of an Angel”, is finally coming to Steam on July 30, 2024. How exciting!
Back in my day, you couldn’t just publish your game to Steam. It had to be “greenlit” by people voting to express interest, and your game would only be published on Steam if it got enough votes. That held me back from posting to Steam for a long time because I didn’t think my stupid little game would get enough interest. But now, you can just fork over some $$ and go through a brief review process, which is much more accessible. So, hey, I’m official now!
To celebrate, I’m going to be live-streaming playthroughs of each of the four main routes of the game on my Twitch channel throughout the month of July, so keep an eye out for more information about that.
Can’t wait for the end of July? The new game version, v1.3, has already been posted to itch.io.
Originally posted July 6, 2024 on Tumblr.
Version 1.3 of “Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” is now available!
Version 1.3 of Memoirs of an Angel (2010) is now available! This version was built with the latest version of Ren’Py and adds Steam support and achievements, as well as some bug fixes and quality of life improvements.
Added:
- Steam support
- 18 new achievements
- “Actions Remaining” label during action periods
Updated:
- Replaced old logo animation in splashscreen with new Anigrams logo
- Complete rewrite of Settings, Save/Load, and Say screens to work with newer version of Ren’Py
- Replaced dancing arrows (that were blatantly ripped from a DDR screenshot) with new custom arrow images
- Updated references to “Osirian Empire” and “Neffronian Empire” to just be “Tyracan Empire” regardless of who is emperor for clarity
Fixed:
- Fixed some places during the dancing mini-game where choosing the wrong option would result in the wrong character showing up
- Fixed some places where Zuleika suddenly showed up in the wrong outfit
- Fixed a few typos and awkward phrases
The walkthrough has also been updated to add the new achievements and fix various typos.
Originally posted July 2, 2024 on itch.io.
“Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” Now on Itch.io
Zuleika introduces herself to Chael. 
Kirile shows off his Blue Heart status. It’s been (almost) 11 long years
and my first game, Memoirs of an Angel, continues to be the highlight of my game development journey. It was my first foray into game development and computer programming: just a quick, fun, otome visual novel made at a time when the genre was practically non-existent outside of Japan.
I loved making this game so much, it literally changed my life! I’m now a professional software engineer living in Seattle, WA, seeking out my first big break into the AAA game industry.
Almost immediately after the initial release of Memoirs back in 2010, I began developing a reboot. I could see the potential in the story and characters beyond the quick and silly script I wrote in a couple days for the original game, and I wanted to realize it as a full RPG.
Of course, RPGs are incredibly complex and difficult to develop, so… uh… I’m still working on that one.
Anyway, I hope this release on itch.io will expose Memoirs to a whole new audience. I also want to thank everyone who has stuck around this long – it’s hard to believe it’s already been over a decade! The otome landscape has changed so much since 2010, but I’m so proud to see so many indie game devs out there fighting the good fight and providing quality content for otome-lovers.
Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the game!
Originally posted July 25, 2021 on itch.io.
Anigrams Productions: 2019 Update
It’s been a while, hasn’t it?
It’s been 10 years since, inspired by Japanese visual novels and Winter Wolves’ games, I came up with the idea for the original Memoirs of an Angel – a visual novel (with mini-games) about a dethroned princess courting various handsome men in a fantasy setting while figuring out what to do next.
That quick, fun little game changed my life. I thought, “This is what I want to do. This is what I was meant to do.”
Ten years later, I still feel the same way. Even though my personal projects have taken a backseat to my full-time job as a software engineer and side gigs as a freelance web developer, I feel like now is the time to continue pursuing my passion for making games. I have the skills, I’m working on getting the knowledge, and all I need is more experience and confidence in my work.
Without further ado, let’s take stock of the current state of Anigrams Productions’ various projects…
Memoirs of an Angel: Legends
Status: Working on it
I have the basic storyboard for the Memoirs remake written out, which has gone through several revisions and will probably go through a few more before I’m satisfied. I’m deep enough into it, though, to know that I’m going to have to split it up into two games: the first focusing on Zuleika taking her throne back, and the second focusing on the conflict with Menorrhi (evil lady who created Chael to kill Zuleika).
I’m still trying to nail down a good gameplay system that not only makes sense for the story I’m trying to tell, but is simple enough that it won’t turn off VN players who enjoyed the original game, and also features strategic elements that make it challenging and give real weight to winning and losing. I’ve built several prototypes, but they’ve all been failures so far.
I’m also still trying to decide whether I want to allow the player to choose the protagonist’s gender or not. The only thing it would really add is the possibility for additional romances (like Duren, whose sexuality was only hinted at in the original game, with most players not even realizing he was meant to be gay). My current stance is that it would be better to add those things as a DLC – get the main game out first, then worry about extra additions that don’t really add anything to the plot.
The serious investigator, James, and the playful inventor, Seiko, make a surprisingly good team. W.I.S.H
Status: On hold (indefinitely)
W.I.S.H started as Starlit Dreams, a sci-fi themed business simulation about a bored librarian with a passion for inventing robotic prosthetics and her budding friendship with a paranormal investigator on the run from a secret evil organization. Yeah. What the hell was I thinking?
After getting some feedback on the prototype/tech demo I made, I realized that the concept just wasn’t that great. Not only was the story all over the place, but the gameplay (basically killing time by going around to different locations and hoping you ran into the person you needed to talk to) sucked.
Unfortunately, I’d already spent hundreds of dollars on art assets. W.I.S.H was my attempt to take all the same characters (so I could reuse the art) and throw them into a completely different situation, this time a Faustian tale about how the main character makes a deal with a demon and inadvertently breaks the fabric of reality (or something), causing all sorts of paranormal mayhem.
I thought I had a pretty decent plan of how all the characters would be involved in this new storyline and how each of their romantic routes would weave a larger story, but after sharing my outline with a friend, I realized there were a lot of plot holes and things that didn’t really make sense (like why would the main character even make a deal with a demon in the first place?), and I still didn’t know whether I wanted to do a straight visual novel or include some sort of battle system.
Since then, I’ve entertained a few different ideas of how to change up the story, including cutting out most of the cast and maybe even having a completely different protagonist, but nothing has really stood out as a good direction to go in.
For now, this game idea is stuck in limbo.
Genesis (and her boys) are ready to kick some ass. The Memoirs of Genesis
Status: Planning to do someday
A prequel to Memoirs of an Angel, The Memoirs of Genesis was originally going to be a kinetic novel (like a visual novel with no choices), but I ultimately decided that if there weren’t choices, it might as well just be a straight novel.
I had a full storyboard written out, but realized that the fragmented, un-chronological structure of the story was difficult to follow. It also didn’t tell much of a story – it was a biography that had no flow, no vision, no cohesion. The events of Genesis’ life are what they are. They had to happen in order for Memoirs of an Angel to happen. But Genesis’ story is one of tragedy and revenge, blurring the lines between good and evil, and that story needs to be told.
That said, I feel like Memoirs of Genesis will be so much more meaningful if you’ve already played the Memoirs of an Angel remake… which isn’t complete yet. So this one is on the back-burner until I complete the main game that it’s supposed to be a prequel to.
Title screen for “Buried”, featuring a skull made up of ASCII symbols. Buried
Status: Working on it
I’m not sure if I ever officially announced Buried except for a mention here and there, but it was originally conceived as an old-school text adventure dungeon-crawler. The goal was to practice programming while exploring one of the mysteries of the Memoirs universe: the disappearance of the djinn.
It turns out that building a fun, exciting dungeon-crawler with only text is really hard. I built out the whole dungeon in Minecraft just to be able to get my bearings, but I still couldn’t quite visualize it. So I made some adjustments and started building it in GameMaker using RPGMaker sprites as stand-ins, but it just felt way too generic. I figured there was no point in working on it anymore.
But now, as I work towards my goal of becoming a professional game designer, I find myself in need of a good portfolio piece. Memoirs is so big and dear to my heart that it may be another 10 years before I finish it, so it’s not a good candidate for fluffing up my portfolio. Buried, on the other hand, can be a short, fun little game that I can use to practice things like writing an official Game Design Document, iterating on a concept, building prototypes, etc.
So my plan is to pick it back up and use it as a portfolio piece that I can (hopefully) show off with pride.
You can create a wide variety of characters with the “The Memoirs Character Creator”. The Memoirs Character Creator
Status: Done
Looking back through this blog, it looks like I never officially “released” the Memoirs Character Creator and had planned to add some additional features, like more color options and armor options. Honestly, the UI needs an update, too.
These improvements aren’t a priority, though. From my perspective, this project is done and I’ve been focusing my efforts on other projects instead. That said, I may push out some updates once I start updating my portfolio, but nothing is guaranteed.
Anigrams Language Generator
Status: Needs improvement
The Anigrams Language Generator is just something I did for fun and accidentally added to the website before it was ready.
My idea was to store phonetic symbols associated with specific languages, and create words by randomly alternating vowel and consonant symbols and adding a suffix common to that language (to make the word “masculine” or “feminine”).
In short, it doesn’t work very well. The system needs to be smarter about which vowel/consonant combinations work best together, maybe employing a machine learning algorithm to analyze a sample of text and spit out something instead of storing everything in a database.
It probably won’t get fixed any time soon, though, not with other projects being more of a priority.
Which of these projects are you most excited about? Let me know in the comments below!
Originally posted January 20, 2019 on Tumblr.
Version 1.2 of “Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” is now available!
I know, I know, everyone who was going to play this game probably has by now (I can’t believe it’s been over 5 years since its first release!). But I’m working on building my professional portfolio and thought I’d dust off some of my old projects, make sure they’re presentable.
I didn’t add any extra scenes or content, so if you’ve already played it, feel free to skip this update. But if not, now is as good a time as any to jump on board!
What’s new in this version:
- Updated to the latest version of Ren’py (I think I caught all the bugs this caused, but if you see something funky, let me know).
- A complete overhaul of the GUI, including game menus, the gallery, and the status screen that shows up at the end of each chapter. No more default Ren’py menus or graphics made in Microsoft Word. (And the world rejoices!)
- For you completionists out there, I added a new “Endings” panel to the gallery so you can tell exactly which endings you’ve unlocked and how many more you still need to find.
- The battle mini-game has been revamped. It still looks the same on the outside, but the programming behind it is completely different. Rather than critical hits and misses being tied to specific turns, it’s randomized (based on different percentages for each character). In other words, it’s much more difficult now! (Remember you can always forfeit and get your energy back if you’re about to lose
or just rollback like a cheater…).
This will probably be the last update I do on this game. Playing through it and noticing its flaws really made me want to go through and add some scenes to flesh out the story more…but that’s the whole purpose behind the remake: to regain some of that lost potential.
In the meantime, I’m working on a short, old-school text-based game that takes place in the same world (specifically Pyralis). It does tie into the Memoirs series, but I won’t say how quite yet. 😉 So be on the lookout for that.
Originally posted January 31, 2016 on Tumblr.
“Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” Officially Released
Title screen for “Memoirs of an Angel”. The other day (October 31), I finally posted the old 2010 version of “Memoirs of an Angel,” which has been sitting around collecting dust on my computer for the last two years. Though it was technically finished, I never posted it as a “completed game” because, first of all, I never got all the CGs I wanted, and second, because I started working on the remake almost immediately.
My full rant notes and details about the game can be found here, but the short version is that I was digging around for something and found the original “Memoirs” game on my backup drive, so I decided to dust it off, fix it up, and finally release it to the public. Major fixes include: reworking the code so that it’s more “skip-friendly” (and the same text isn’t repeated 10 times), replacing Duren’s and Nefferon’s sprites with the improved versions from the remake (no more ugly yellow raincoat for Neffy), adding a system to change Zuleika’s outfit color and equip accessories unlocked in past playthroughs, making the dancing mini-game slightly more difficult based on feedback, making the character profiles more legible and adding credits to all outside artists’ work, and restoring the audio to its original quality after I had significantly lowered the quality for previous versions.
Zuleika introduces herself to Chael. I hadn’t expected much of a response since, again, this is just the old game, and honestly, the remake is/will be so much better that playing through the old game makes me laugh at how bad it is (at least compared to what I can do now). But to my surprise, I’ve had a pretty overwhelmingly positive response, and it was brought to my attention that a blurb for my game has even been posted on the English Otome Games Tumblr. Upon doing a search, I found a few other reviews for my game as well! It makes me happy to see that people like my game, but it definitely puts pressure on me to finish the remake, haha. I guess I better get on that, lest I incur the wrath of the fans…
If you haven’t already done so, please check out the “Memoirs of an Angel (2010)” thread. If you like it, please be sure to let me know. 🙂
Originally posted November 2, 2012 on Anigrams’ Dev Blog.
“Memoirs of an Angel” Getting RPG Style Remake
Upon being framed for the murder of the mighty Emperor Osirus, the princess Zuleika is forced to rely on the help of a mysterious elven assassin to escape her doom and find the real culprit. All the while, she watches as her precious nation is taken over by Osrius’ sadistic younger brother, Nefferon, who seems intent on watching the empire crumble beneath him. Tensions mount as more people become dissatisfied with the new regime and call for Osrius’ “true heir” to return to the throne, sparking rebellion and pitting the provinces of the east against those of the west.
As the empire succumbs to a bloody revolution, both sides seek the former princess to lead them to glory… but which side will she choose?
On her quest, she’ll meet and befriend Chael, a mysterious former assassin from the elven nation; Kirile, a playful, light-hearted thief from the demon nation; Nefferon, the newly ascended emperor and the man everyone loves to hate; Duren, the well-mannered young man who serves as the emperor’s right hand; Ahzi, the spunky, self-proclaimed “Keeper of the Forest;” and a host of other characters.
Gameplay
First half of the game will focus on going around to the different provinces and recruiting allies, solving problems and accumulating fame, gathering information, and finding out who killed Osirus. At this point, she’s only concerned with what directly impacts her; she hears rumors about a possible rebellion, but doesn’t want to get involved.
Second half of the game will focus on the aforementioned rebellion, which is then in full-swing. Knowing what she does after the first big confrontation with Nefferon, she can no longer remain on the sidelines; there’s no way she can avoid the upcoming battle and must instead prepare for what is to come.
Zuleika’s creator tells her to forge her own destiny. Battle System
Here’s a basic run-down:
- Battles will take place at pre-determined places within the story, and will consist of two parties battling against each other in a 4×3 grid (each party has six slots). The position of party members is meant to be strategic since attacks will have specific ranges.
- New attacks are learned by leveling up or by buying scrolls from different shops. However, only six attacks can be made available for battle at any one time.
- The angels in your party (Zuleika, Chael, Kirile, Duren) can transform into their “beast forms” when their “rage meters” are full. Rage accumulates every time an angel is attacked and takes damage, but dissipates when the danger has passed (so it starts over each battle). This “beast form” gives a whole new set of powerful special attacks that can turn the tide in desperate situations.
- Throughout the game, you’ll have five “permanent” party members (once you recruit them): Zuleika, Chael, Kirile, Duren, and Ahzi. These party members will, when leveled up enough, change classes according to your alignment (see below). Depending on where you are and what part of the plot you’re doing, you may also have additional party members at your disposal. Within your battle formation, you can use as few or as many of these available party members as you like.
- Battles can be turned off following the initial tutorial or at any time from the Preferences menu. So if you don’t want to bother with all this and just want to play for the story, you can do that, too. ;D
Choices will shift Zuleika’s alignment towards Order or Chaos Alignment
- There are two main forces in Egea (the continent this all happens on): Order and Chaos. While these two forces are generally related to light and darkness, they don’t necessarily denote good or evil.
- The elves of Nalan are highly attuned to Order and, as such, are nearly colorless in their appearance (pale eyes, pale skin, pale hair, wear all white or light blue). They are a very strict, stoic people who communicate with thoughts rather than words, because words are inefficient and can be misinterpreted.
- The demons of Pyralis, on the other hand, are highly attuned to Chaos and, as such, vary widely in appearance and personality. There is very little order or hierarchy among them, except that the strong are respected while the weak are thrown out or killed (or eaten, in some tribes…).
- The humans of Tyraca, then, are somewhere in the middle and are the most varied in that regard. Some humans, such as priests and scholars, are more attuned to Order; others, specifically fighters, are more attuned to Chaos.
- Generally, a person’s alignment is relatively stable throughout their life, but may change after a dramatically life-altering event. This is what has happened to Zuleika, which gives the player the opportunity to shape what her new alignment will be in a way similar to the “Paragon-Renegade” system from Mass Effect, but on a single linear scale. Either way, she’s still a “hero” with fairly good intentions, but her methods and priorities will change depending on the player’s choices.
- Your alignment will also affect your party members. When they change classes, for instance, your alignment will determine whether they change to a “light” class or a “dark” class.
Chael approves of Zuleika seeking justice over revenge. Purpose of this Remake
For those who don’t know, this is a remake of my first game (or should I say only, since it’s the only one I ever actually finished). I took to heart many of the comments about it feeling rushed and not feeling like you were actually doing anything, and have come up with this monster in response. However, while I call it a remake, this game is completely different from the original. It starts out relatively the same, but past that, it’s a whole new story.
I’ve been working on it for a long time now, with still very little to show for it, unfortunately. I have most of the graphics done, the programming framework built, and a fairly thorough outline of the story, but very little of the actual writing done because I’m not confident in my writing at all and keep going back and redoing it.
…So…anyone want to be my writing slave and help me finish this faster? ;D Just kidding……..or am I?Despite the lack of showable progress, I am still working on this, and damn it, I will finish this thing, even if it kills me.
Download Now Available
I called it a beta before, but apparently, that’s not the right terminology… so it’s not even a demo or a beta, just a “download.”
It’s the first 5-10 minutes or so of the game, leading up to the battle tutorial that I haven’t made yet. There are still some issues, but it shows what the game will generally look like.
Let me know what you think!
Originally posted January 14, 2012 on Lemma Soft Forums.
“Memoirs of an Angel”: A Fantasy Otome Visual Novel
The love interests: Chael, Nefferon, Duren, and Kirile. Memoirs of an Angel is a stat-raising, romance-themed visual novel produced by Anigrams Productions.
The Story
Upon the death of the mighty Emperor Osirus, the nation of Tyraca is thrown into chaos. Its former princess, an angel named Zuleika, is now faced with a choice: will she bend to the authority of the new emperor, Osrirus’ younger brother, Nefferon; or will she give up her title and leave her old life behind?
When a mysterious elven assassin shows up to take her life, she is forced to make a decision that will affect the fate of the kingdom. Regardless of what she chooses, the young angel’s life will never be the same.
Game Features
- 4 GxB Romances (including one with the villain himself)
- 4 personality types, each with its own activities and mini-games
- Customize your character with different outfit colors and accessories
- Playtime: approximately 30-60 minutes, depending on the path
Memoirs of an Angel was made with Ren’Py and is available on multiple platforms. The game is completely free to download and play.
Download the demo now!
The demo is mostly the complete game, but it’s missing some artwork and needs more testing and refinement. There may still be some bugs I haven’t caught yet. If you find one, let me know.
If you played and enjoyed the game, please use the Memoirs of an Angel tag if you can. Thanks for playing!