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[bitterplayhouse]

Heart's Hollow is the first project (still in the making) by Bitter Playhouse (basically just two cynical gamers called Ryan and Alex) for Windows, Mac and iPad.
It hopes to break the mould of dating sim gaming by including elements of puzzle, adventure and asset management... and murder.
Scene: an old, Victorian House in the small town of Heart's Hollow.



Mission: complete simple tasks, maintaining the safety of the three oddball old ladies that live there.



The mission, of course, becomes increasingly difficult as gameplay progresses. It's a light-hearted and quirky story-driven game that focuses on mystery-solving dialogue, leading to a multitude of endings, from romantic to homicidal.

Check out our kickstarter page and support us with your feedback and comments... and money.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1743117127/hearts-hollow

The gameplay is essentially quite simple and easy to understand, even though it becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses. The real “meat” of the project will be the work we put into the story telling and dialogue choices. We really want to push this as far as we can to enrich the experience. Coming from both narrative and animation backgrounds, this is not only something we'll enjoy doing, but we believe that this is where our strength lies. We’ve outlined a good approach strategy so it shouldn’t be a problem (famous last words).
So why kickstarter?  Alex and Ryan have always relied on the kindness of strangers… actually we saw the opportunity for a great game to be developed and we need the funds to do so.

At the moment, our preferred engine (MMF2) only allows outputs for iPad, Windows and Mac. We are looking into other options, and would definitely like to publish to Android as well. We'll keep you updated.

[PartyMix]

Cute! The art looks very developed and clean. I'm especially liking the mono-hue style of the individual rooms. Is the entire thing going to take place in this one house?

[bitterplayhouse]

Hi Party Mix, thanks for your question. The game-play sections will be limited to inside the house, whilst the story mode ( presented like a visual novel ), will sometimes take you into the town of Heart's Hollow itself and into the surrounding woods. The house will have a day and night cycle that will be independent and faster than real time. During the night the grannies will sleep walk and go for late night trips to the kitchen and bathroom. In the final game, the house will also be undergoing restoration, making certain rooms inaccessible until later in the game, whilst also periodically changing the look of the house and introducing new dangers.

[Franklins Ghost]

Sounds and looks great. Like the way you've incorporated the gameplay in the house with having to watch over the grannies. Looks like it'll be a perfect game to pass the time on the ipad.

Looking forward to seeing more and good luck with the kickstarter.

[bitterplayhouse]

Hey FG
That's the plan. Thanks!