Unsent Letter
Evan Wilhelm, the most fearsome knight of the Thyrs Empire is writing a letter to a friend on his day off.
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Content Warning
This game contains depression, mention of war, death, and suicidal thoughts, Nothing too detailed, but be careful just in case.
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Features
- 1000 words.
- There are choices, but only one ending.
- Dunno... staring at a handsome knight?
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Story Settings
- Thyrs Empire
The Thyrs Empire was known throughout its history as the military powerhouse in the continent. Led by an ambitious Emperor, the Thrys Empire wished to conquer the continent and unify it under the rule of their Emperor. They were waging wars with neighborhood countries.
- Arvis Kingdom
The Arvis Kingdom stood against Thrys Empire. They put up remarkable fights, halting the Empire's advances. However, the attack from Thrys seemed to be never-ending.
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Characters
- Evan Wilhelm (a.k.a The Obsidian Knight)
The strongest knight and general of Thrys despite his young age. An illegitimate child of the current head of the Ministry of Defense who was also the former General of Thrys. He proved himself worthy of Wilhelm name with his strength. Thus, no one ever complained about his lineage. Evan admired knights and it was his childhood dream to become a knight. Ambidextrous. He was a man of few words. In a certain battle, he fought Claude Edelrose, his role model, and managed to defeat him. Depressed by the wars, he was waiting for the day someone would take him down.
- Edgar Kuhn
Evan's best friend. They knew each other since their days in the military academy. Unlike Evan, Edgar was easygoing and sociable. However, being someone of humble birth made things difficult for him to raise in rank despite his sufficient ability. Accused of being a spy and executed for treason.
- Claude Edelrose
One of the generals of Arvis Kingdom, the commander of the Order of White Owl. The first son of the Edelrose household which was the family of knights. On top of his battle prowess, Claude had a bright and humble personality along with charisma. He crossed swords with Evan several times until in a certain battle he was defeated by the latter.
- Clarissa Edelrose
Claude's younger sister. Just like Evan, she admired knights and saw Claude as her role model. Having her brother killed by Evan, she vowed to take him down herself. She was strong but still lacked experience.
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Disclaimer
- This game is a work of fiction. Doesn't have any relation with the real world.
- This game was made for the O2A2 VN Jam 2023, a micro Visual Novel jam with strict asset limitations and a 1000 words limit.
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Credits
- Story, art, programming: Altila
- BGM: DOVA SYNDROME (Spring Riverside by Kyaai)
- Engine: Renpy
Status | Released |
Platforms | HTML5, Windows, macOS, Linux |
Rating | Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars (22 total ratings) |
Author | Altila |
Genre | Visual Novel |
Tags | 2D, Anime, Dark, Kinetic Novel, knight, Male protagonist, Ren'Py, Short, Story Rich |
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Thank you for 500 plays!May 16, 2024
- DevlogJul 24, 2023
Comments
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I liked the concept. Your character is going through his inner turmoil in a healthy manner despite being a ruthless murderer on the battlefield.
Thank you for playing! Good luck on your channel!
Keep up the good work!
may i ask, if you like the game, why rate it 2 stars?..
Oh, my bad, thank you for noticing! I meant 3 stars but probably miss-clicked, as for why, is a rating based on comparison to similar games I have played, my personal preference and the overall enjoyment I got from it.
Thank you for playing!
This is a Kinetic Novel, so the plot is linear and has no branch!
I like the idea of this game! And I was impressed how you could show so much storytelling and characters within the limitations of the jam!(Sorry for the deleted post, I accidentally double posted this!)
Thank you for playing :D
Really great ! I love the art, and the story is really touching (^^)
Thank you for writing it (^^)<3
Thank you for playing!!
Oh my! It's such a bittersweet experience -- I wish for Evan to find solace and peace among all of the things he's been having. I wonder that in an alternate reality, I hope he can meet Edgar again one day in a more peaceful environment without war, just two buddies enjoying life happily. I love this narration, congrats for the release!
Thank you for playing!! Congrats to you too!
Yeah, one day, probably.
Sad and bittersweet, a wonderful experience!
Thank you for plaaaayyyiiinggg!!!!!
Writing a letter is a really great format for this jam. You really capture the pain of war, even on those who might be considered the "bad guys." I like the sprite as well. I might get rid of the prologue--I think you included more world-building than you really need in such a short game.
Thank you for playing!!
Oh, this was such a bittersweet experience! You can feel the friendship of Edgar and Evan, Evan's solitude and sadness (writing a letter to his deceased friend is so sad yet tender: bittersweet!)! Overall, interesting dive into the lack of meaning of wars (I am anti-militarist so it spoke to me!).
The art was beautiful! It felt sweet and tranquil, calm, as a brief moment of breathing before everything explodes again (war). The music track was also very well-chosen and worked very well with the story!
Now, the world-building seems quite developed for such a short game (and congrats for conveying so much in a few words): is there another game developing it, or do you intend to create something bigger?
Either way, thanks for creating it, I enjoyed this game a lot!
Thank you for playing and enjoying the game!
Evan is just my OC and not part of any bigger project (at least, for now)!
I played your game, loved it, and I felt that despite the short length of (Evan's) Unsent Letter, it painted a clear picture of his personality and thoughts. I really teared up at the latter part (hint: "salvation") and to be honest I loved this first-person perspective/take on the "fearsome knight" trope. After playing the game I was still thinking about "what could've been" if things had gone differently.
Thank you for playing!
If things had gone differently, he probably became an op shonen manga/hwa/hua mc, though xD
Oh, gosh... I have tears in my eyes... this was a really beautiful little moment. I love how much emotion and history and... and just convoluted feelings you've packed into this one letter. I feel like I was able to come to know so much about Evan just from what he wrote -- which is honestly so impressive given the word count??? Like, you really packed so much into every line to help shape not only Evan's past and duties but who Evan is as a person. And I really enjoyed the deep relationship I could feel between him and Edgar. It made me want to know so much more about the world and what the two have gone through together despite knowing that it will only break my heart even more.
The art is really lovely -- the composition of the room and him at the desk and the almost dreamy feel of the ambience with the faint glare of the light from the window really set this warm, nostalgic tone. And the music was so beautiful! Just overall a really wonderful little snapshot into both a world and a man and a relationship between two people framed in a letter that speaks far beyond the words on the page. I really enjoyed this!!
Thank you for playing!
I did pack so much information there. Glad it's conveyed!
What can I say? this was simply a beautiful experience.
Thank you for playing!
I had actual chills while playing it, maybe because of how the background music combined with the letter's contents... really good entry
Thank you for playing!
I like the BGM too!
The soundtrack is phenomonal! and i loved the story, you did so well <3
Thank you for playing! Glad you like it!!
The BGM is from DOVA! Spring Riverside by Kyaai
https://dova-s.jp/EN/bgm/play1363.html
You worked with the limitations really well. Having it be a letter was a smart way to do it.
Thank you for playing!
To be honest, letter is the only thing I can think about