Visual Novels to RPGs: Interview with Rascal Devworks
Updated: Apr 24, 2024
I had the excellent opportunity to have an interview with Rascal Devworks, the guys behind yuri visual novels such as Snowed IN and After I Met That Catgirl, My Questlist Got Too Long! (Catgirl's Questlist). During the interview I ask questions such as Rascal Devworks upbringing, Snowed IN and Catgirl’s Questlist!
1. When and how did you start Rascal Devworks?
“Rascal Devworks started in July 2018. I've dabbled in the development of visual novels before, and I wanted to work on a commercial project.”
What inspired you to make your own Visual Novels? Like did you see or play anything that you made you think "Hey, I wanna make my own!"
“I've played many commercial visual novels from Japan, but I never really consider making my own until I discovered the English Visual Novel scene. It took me a while to actually play EVNs--I am ashamed to admit it, but I was a bit prejudiced. When I gave EVNs I shot, not only I enjoyed them a lot, I also realized I could make them.”
2. Is Snowed IN your first game?
“My first completed and commercial game, yes. I never made my experiments public!”
3. Since Snowed IN was your debut game for Rascal Devworks, were you nervous on releasing it?
“You bet! I wanted to debut with a short game, to keep the scope manageable. The original idea was much more outlandish. As the release date approached, I started doubting some things. Was it too short? Was the mini game a mistake? (With hindsight, yes) Was it too cold?”
What was going on with the mini game?
“I wanted to keep it, but I should have scrapped it. The feedback wasn't great. I tied some achievements to it, so I can't really just take it out now. I'm working on a patch to make it more user-friendly!”
Mind if I ask what type of feedback you got on it?
“It's really hard on a touchpad, and quite fast. It's also not really responsive.”
That makes sense. I remember having some response issues on my playthrough.
“Lesson for the future: get extensive feedback and if the mini game doesn't feel good, scrap it. Damn, I wish I could say that to the me of some months ago.”
4. What inspired you to develop Snowed IN?
“In Snowed IN's prototype, players would take the role of Sigma's commander. They would observe the relationship between Sigma and Linde unfold in a very voyeuristic manner, thanks to a floating support-bot with cameras. The original idea was inspired by Azur Lane and Nier:Automata. It felt somewhat wrong. Because of the external point of view, the inner conflicts of the characters were not coming out, and I wrote the commander as a huge jerk. I ended up merging the commander and Sigma. Her personality went from 'ara ara' to 'your mother calls me mommy, too'. The conflict between her and Linde became clear, and could actually lead to a relationship.”
I can the see the Nier: Automata in it. How does Azur Lane fit in though?
“Azur Lane inspired the Commander!”
5. What was the hardest part of developing Snowed IN?
“We self-funded Snowed IN, and the budget limitations made pacing an issue. I wanted a good amount of CGs despite the short length, but I could not simply throw a CG every 10 minutes for the sake of it. There needed to be an important plot point of something worth showing. ...and then there's Sigma's dream. We thought we could not really market Snowed In as a H-game if all the H was at the end, so we introduced the dream scene after everything was written. We also made it more interactive and with looping audio in the background. The feedback on the scene was mixed; some liked it, some thought it was out of place.”
6. After releasing Snowed IN, did you learn anything new?
“We learned that marketing is crucial and it's the most challenging part of pre, during and post development. While I was working on Snowed IN, the rest of the team could have started with marketing.”
7. About your newest game (Catgirl's Questlist), what inspired you to do a RPG/ Visual Novel types of game?
“I played a lot of them, much to the dismay of my Steam friend list, but there were no yuri RPG/VNs. The nature of some scenes in those games was not to my liking, so I got to work. I wrote down the guidelines I would abide to:
1. consensual scenes only 2. players should win, not lose to see the good stuff 3. the combat should be balanced
The game should feel complete even without the H content and I started working on the characters.
I see, that's true. Not a whole lot of yuri RPG/ VNs!
“Most of them have a female main character, but the vast majority of the scenes is with men. Or monsters. Or animals... I had to stop playing one because it was too much. I only felt guilt. I want my games to be guilt-free.”
9. How much would (Catgirl's Questlist) cost when it releases?
“$12.99. We're using Steam's regional pricing tool, so players in different countries will have it adjusted to regional trends. It translates to €10.79, £10.29 and a plethora of other currencies.”
Respective pricing, I can tell that you are throwing everything at it.
“It's quite a jump from the $1.99 of Snowed IN, but this game should be around 20 hours long and has a lot more content.”
10. As I was playing the demo (unrecorded session), I found an Easter egg linking to Snowed IN. Will we see more Easter eggs like that in the game?
“You found the book! Ahah :D We would love to have more Easter eggs like that in the game. The design tiers of our Kickstarter are geared towards that: players can put a bit of themselves in the game, or have an OC roam around in the capital. The books in the Mayor's Estate tell more about the lore, so maybe Snowed IN exists in that world... somehow”
The kickstarter is up at the moment(June 1, 2019) right?
“Yep, it's still up and running!”
11. What is the hardest part about developing Catgirl's Questlist?
“The amount of writing outside of the story. Every quest has at least 2 descriptions. Most NPCs say something different every day. The bookcases contain lore in book-format. Items, weapons have descriptions. Skills as well. The flavor text adds up, and it needs to be effective, respect the word count limit and convey personality. Balancing the three difficulties was also challenging. How easy should 'easy' be? How hard should 'hard' be? Consumable resources play a crucial role in the effectiveness of Sunny. Are we giving enough resources?”
Can't wait to meet sunny!
“She is actually already somewhere in Day 2, but nobody talks to her, she’s well hidden.”
12. To your current fans and future fans, do you have anything you would like to say to them?
“Thank you for the incredible support! We're glad you enjoyed Snowed IN. We're receiving a lot of positive feedback on the demo of Catgirl's Questlist, and it makes our day.”
To finalize, would you like to add anything else before we close?
“Consider playing the demo of Catgirl's Questlist! It's free and it should give you a good idea about the final product. Like it? Our Kickstarter campaign is more than 25% funded, and we need your help! Every pledge counts!!”
A huge thank you to Rascal Devworks in taking the time out of their busy schedule in order to talk to me! “Snowed IN” is available at the Steam store and you can purchase it HERE. The Kickstarter for “After I Met That Catgirl, My Questlist Got Too Long” is LIVE(as of June 1, 2019) and you can support it HERE. Rascal Devworks itch(.)io
Rascal Devworks Twitter/X
Snowed IN: N/A
Snowed IN Store Page: N/A
Snowed IN Artist - julioalqae
Catgirl’s Questlist Kickstarter
Catgirl’s Questlist Artist - ThaiChau [Visual Novels to RPGs: Interview with Rascal Devworks]
June 2, 2019
Far2close - Visual Novel Playthroughs
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