Behind the Games | Blerdy Otome

Behind the Games Interview with GSE Studios

Published on October 17, 2023October 17, 2023 by BlerdyLeave a comment

Hey Hey Blerdy Tribe, I’m back with another Behind the Games post! For those of you just joining the party, Behind the Games is a segment where I interview the folks ‘behind the games’ I review. Giving you guys a chance to get to know the developers and publishers that spend so much time carefully crafting the games you enjoy.

This time around I’m chatting with GSE Studios, a newer indie team and the creative minds behind the Greek myth inspired, visual novel Heart & Soul. More recently, the team has been hard at work on their next title, Keepers of Astraela, which is based on the fantasy novel ‘Vision’ by Wrenna Stone.

Keepers of Astraela is currently in Kickstarter and I recently played the demo over on Twitch and I was blown away by the story! So, made some time to catch up with team lead, Gwynne and the author of ‘Vision’, Wrenna to chat about Keepers of Astraela and their experiences adapting a novel as a game.

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Behind the Games Interview with Anne Lee

Published on March 26, 2023March 26, 2023 by Blerdy4 Comments

Hey Blerdy Tribe! I had the chance to chat with Anne Lee about her work as a Localization Consultant & Proofreader on the new Norn9 Var Commons Switch port and the upcoming fandisk, Last Era! Many of you already know Anne, she has made several appearances on the Aksys Games streams with Sami as THE Otome Expert, sharing her vast otome knowledge with us all. But, for years Anne has been running the Japanese pop culture site Chic Pixel and most recently serves as co-host to the Pixel x Pixel podcast!

Of course first and foremost, Anne is an avid otome fan and that shines through in her informative and fun commentary! I am so glad that I was able to chat with her about what it was like working in otome localization!

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Behind the Games Interview with Red Spring Studio

Published on March 21, 2023March 21, 2023 by Blerdy6 Comments

Hey Blerdy Tribe! I had the chance to chat with Lulu, Vika, and Dev of the indies studio, Red Spring Studio–the team behind the upcoming gothic romance visual novel, TOUCHSTARVED! The team gives the goods on their debut title and what it’s like being an indie game developer in the latest Behind the Games interview!

Red Spring Studio is a small, POC and queer-owned indie studio made up of diverse talent from the gaming industry. United by a shared passion for dark, mature stories, they’ve poured their hearts into TOUCHSTARVED with the goal of telling ground-breaking tales for outcasts, danger lovers, and hopeless romantics.
Red Spring Studio About

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Behind the Games Interview with Jessinia of Jellyfish Parade

Published on March 5, 2023March 5, 2023 by BlerdyLeave a comment

Hey Blerdy Tribe! I had the chance to chat with Black game developer, Jessinia, the founder and head of indie game studio, Jellyfish Parade. This is not the first time I’ve spoken with Jessinia, we chatted back in 2018, but with their latest release, Belle Automata finally here, I wanted to circle back and see what they’ve been up to!

Jellyfish Parade is an independent visual novel developer dedicated to bringing ethnically diverse casts in every game across a variety of genres! Our main characters take the helm of their own love stories – whether they be chronically unemployed bunny girls, personified moons, or androids discovering a whole new world.

We specialize in character-driven GxB romance stories that focus on emotional intimacy and positive relationship dynamics – just beware of the more bittersweet bad endings! Join the parade and fall in love with our androids and celestial bodies, our ice princes and ocean kings, our perfumists and knights – and more to come!
Jellyfish Parade About

Where to find Jellyfish Parade

Twitter: @jelpiparade
Tumblr: jelpiparade.tumblr.com
itch.io Game Page: chouette.itch.io

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Behind the Games Interview with Yana and Kayla of Lovely Inc.

Published on January 6, 2023 by BlerdyLeave a comment

Hey Blerdy Tribe! I had the chance to chat with otome lovers and game developers, Kayla and Yana, the dynamic duo behind otome publisher, Lovely Inc. The team is best known for their office romance otome game, My Love For You Is Evermore.

Lovely, Inc. is an otome gaming company made by fans for fans. Our goal is to deliver unique personalities and experiences to our readers, so you can live out your own special love story!
Lovely Inc. About

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Behind the Games – Interview with Moonchime Localization

Published on January 18, 2022January 18, 2022 by Blerdy2 Comments

Last time, I spoke with Roxie the co-founder of Aikasa Collective—the studio the team behind the the yuri romance game, Mizuchi—which is loosely based on the Chinese folk tale, Legend of the White Snake. This time around, I had the chance to catch up with Raz and Belen the founders of Moonchime Localization, a small joseimuke publisher and localization company “for fans, by fans”.

As a publisher led by women, we strive to expand joseimuke in the west by connecting fans to Japanese creators.

I sat down with Raz and Belen, the co-founders of Moonchime Localization, to talk about the growth of joseimuke in the west and their experiences working as a women led publisher in the largely male dominated gaming industry. There are a lot of great things coming from the team in the future, and I am so excited to have gotten the chance to get this exclusive with Raz and Belen!

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Voices of the Community – Game Devs on LGBTQ+ Representation in Games

Published on June 23, 2021July 2, 2022 by Blerdy4 Comments

Hey Blerdy Tribe! It’s Pride Month and that means every site and major company is decked out in all their rainbow colored branding and for one short month the LGBTQ+ community is on the front page of everyone’s newsfeed. It’s a time of celebration for how far the community has come over the years, but also for how wonderfully multifaceted the LGBTQ+ community is and continues to be.

Throughout the month, queer people and stories have been at the forefront of everyone’s consciousness, with companies using queer individuals to promote their products and brands. But, for many in the community they don’t have the luxury of being able to speak on their own behalf or the safety to be their true authentic selves. Or worse, people from outside of the community will do the talking for them…

While we’re making strides to create safe spaces for folks, there is still a ways to go especially in some nerd spaces and fandoms. The gaming sphere is especially notorious for being unkind to folks who aren’t white cishet men. So I’m glad that more folks are starting to branch out and create their own independent projects.

This Pride Month, I wanted to take a step back and create a space for folks from the LGBTQ+ community to speak their truth–because Blerdy Otome is and always will remain a safe space. So, I did a call for Queer game devs/folks working in the gaming industry to participate in an “interview” where they shared their thoughts and their experiences on being queer in the gaming community. The response was overwhelming and I want to thank everyone who lent their voices to this project–you all are the real MVPs! So, enough of me, let’s turn things over to the amazing folks!

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Behind the Games – Interview with Aikasa Collective

Published on February 21, 2021January 3, 2022 by Blerdy2 Comments

Hey Hey Blerdy Tribe, I’m back with another Behind the Games post! For those of you just joining the party, Behind the Games is a segment where I interview the folks ‘behind the games’ I review. Giving you guys a chance to get to know the developers that spend so much time carefully crafting the games you enjoy.

Last time, I spoke with members of Perfect Garbage—the studio working on the upcoming cyberpunk visual novel, Love Shore. This time around, I had the chance to chat with the founder of Ai Collective, the team behind the the yuri romance game, Mizuchi—which is loosely based on the Chinese folk tale, Legend of the White Snake.

We are a small team of secret romantics who wanted to create visual novels together. The origin of our studio name is “ai ai gasa” – the concept of sharing an umbrella with someone you care about. We hope to show all types of love, the ups and downs of friendships and relationships.

I sat down with Roxie, the co-founder of Aikasa Collective, to talk about their debut game, Mizuchi and the ups and downs of being an indie game studio and a sneak peek at their upcoming release Red Rebellion! There are a lot of great things coming from the team in the future, and I am so excited to have gotten the chance to get this exclusive with Roxie!

The Aikasa Collective team also provided a copy of their first game, Mizuchi for a very special giveaway!! Read till the end for details!

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Behind the Games – Interview with Perfect Garbage

Published on February 8, 2021January 3, 2022 by BlerdyLeave a comment

Hey Hey Blerdy Tribe, I’m back with another Behind the Games post! For those of you just joining the party, Behind the Games is a segment where I interview the folks ‘behind the games’ I review. Giving you guys a chance to get to know the developers that spend so much time carefully crafting the games you enjoy.

Last time, I spoke with members of Fiction Factory Games—the studio behind the arcade themed visual novel Arcade Spirits. This time around I had the chance to chat with members of Perfect Garbage Studios, the folks behind Love Shore.

Perfect Garbage Studios is a diverse indie game studio based in Chicago, though many of the team’s members come from all over the globe. Founded in 2019, Perfect Garbage Studios strives to tell stories that center around LGBT and POC characters. They strive to explore genres and stories that will appeal to all gamers. The team is currently working on their first game, Love Shore—a cyberpunk adventure visual novel. There is definitely some good things coming from the studio in the near future, so I’m super excited to have gotten the opportunity to sit down and chat with the studio’s co-founder and narrative director, Emmett!

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Behind the Games – Interview with Fiction Factory Games

Published on November 25, 2020January 3, 2022 by Blerdy1 Comment

Hey Hey Blerdy Tribe, I’m back with another Behind the Games post! For those of you just joining the party, Behind the Games is a segment where I interview the folks ‘behind the games’ I review. Giving you guys a chance to get to know the developers that spend so much time carefully crafting the games you enjoy.

Last time, I spoke with members of the Great Gretsuki—the female founded and run studio behind the comedy indie otome game, Love Spell: Written in the Stars. This time around I had the chance to chat with members of Fiction Factory Games, the folks behind Arcade Spirits.

Fiction Factory Games is an indie game studio collaboration between Stefan Gagne and Aenne Schumann—while the duo has worked on a handful of individual projects, their first collaborative work arcade themed visual novel, Arcade Spirits. The game has received a great deal of praise from fans of visual novels and critics alike, prompting the team to announce a follow-up game, Arcade Spirits: The New Challenger! There is definitely a lot to look forward to from the studio in the near future, so I’m super excited to have gotten the opportunity to sit down and chat with the studio’s founders Aenne and Stefan!

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