Those following me on social media already know about the new game I’m working on, but for everyone else, I’m doing right now a Kickstarter for a new project called House of Chavez.

I’m not going to repeat here the info you can already find in the Kickstarter page. Instead I’ll explain better the kind of gameplay. It will be a visual novel mixed with adventure gameplay.

I already tried something like this back in 2009 with Bionic Heart, that mixed some old-school adventure sequences with the main story. In that case though, you had buttons at the bottom of the screen to move, another series of buttons with the actions and so on.

This time, we’re going for a modern point-and-click adventure system, complete with an inventory, a clue system, and a map for navigation. You can click directly on highlighted objects on the screen or use items from your inventory to interact with them.

But that’s not all – we’re spicing it up with various mini-games that unlock special scenes or lead to different endings. These mini-games will range from composing a song (see below) to cracking a safe or using a flashlight in a dark forest, and more.

What about romance?

I bet this will be the first question that comes to mind to my usual players! Initially, I planned to go with just Silke, the blonde girl from the trailer. However, thanks to the outstanding success of the crowdfunding campaign (one of the most impressive initial surges ever), I’ve decided to include Dolores, a wonderfully charming curvy Latina, as well.

This complicates things slightly since the initial draft had only Silke as love interest. Anyway, I am already at work to change this. Which means that now you can finish the game in two different ways, depending who you romance (and who remains alive… remember it’s a horror game!).

And in case isn’t obvious this is a yuri-only game (you can’t date Bruno, it’s your brother! lol). I decided to go with this since commercially is less risky. If the game does well I could do more adventure-like VN with different romance combos. Since it’s a new type of game I didn’t want to start with something too big (also because I have other projects I want to start / resume next year).

Here’s a short introduction for the main characters of the cast:

Adriana – She’s pretty open about her sexuality, however she often behaves like a shy person. Mostly because her brain stops working in presence of cute girls. She plays the guitar and sings, and she is a pretty independent girl, not afraid to speak her mind. She had problems with alcohol when her parents passed away, and her big brother Bruno worries a lot about her. They argue sometimes, but they support and motivate each other.

Silke – She comes from Germany and works as a waitress in a local pub. Not much is known about her background. What’s special to Adriana is that she was there for Adriana’s grandma, Maria, during her last days. She’s familiar with the House of Chavez. Silke keeps her true self hidden because of the close-minded people in Sombromar (the city’s name), but she’s been flirting with Adriana from their very first meeting. She appears extra careful and cautious, as if she’s concerned about something happening in town.

Dolores – A beautiful curvy Latina, Dolores is vacationing in Sombromar and enjoying the peaceful, off-peak beaches. She loves the beach and shopping. Beneath her seemingly surface-level persona, she’s a confident, independent woman who knows her mind and takes charge in everyday situations and relationships. She’s managed to accumulate significant wealth, allowing her to travel without working. But such a lifestyle can be lonely sometimes, so when she meets Adriana, she asks her out to have some company.

Bruno – Adriana’s older brother, albeit only for a couple of years, can sometimes come off as less mature than his younger sister. He was the first person Adriana came out to, and he values the trust she places in him. At times, he can be overly protective, and he occasionally feels a tad envious of how Adriana seems to get the attention of all the attractive ladies around them, as if it’s a sort of competition. Bruno is into amateur boxing and has a passion for motorbikes.

Adult content

Since this is not just a VN, I want to make sure anyone can play it, so it will have both a censored and an uncensored version. In practice the story will be the same, but in the uncensored version certain scenes will offer nudity:

And there’ll be some extra adult only CGs that won’t appear in the base censored game.

Estimate release

To relax after the effort of ToA: An Elven Marriage, I’ll be working mainly on this game in the next months. So it’s not unlikely that it might be ready around Q1 2024 ! Stay tuned for more news, and check the Kickstarter page if you haven’t already.