WE MADE IT!!! Thank you all for being awesome! Now we're off for our stretch goals and community goal.
about 1 year ago – Wed, May 17, 2023 at 05:06:09 AM

Wonderful job everyone!

The team of Aikasa Collective thanks you so much for your support! We're energized knowing so many of you care about this project and want to see it fully come to life! These last 3 weeks have been a wild emotional rollercoaster, but we're so excited to know we have a game in sight now ^_^

We have one week to try for these stretch goals... It's definitely a challenge, but it's not impossible. We'd love to add as many assets to this game for professional polished completeness. 

We can definitely reach some of these goals if we can continue to spread the word on the campaign, as we need fresh eyes and a wider audience. So here is our one and only community goal:

If we hit these goals, the sexy times patch, which will be available on release, will contain at least two fully colored CGs (R15). Steam version will be all ages, but with an available patch. Itchio version will now be complete, with the usual mature content as optional (SFW, stream, and ace friendly).

Additionally, an R18 10 Sketches Digital Booklet PDF Add-On will be made available in this Kickstarter and will be released some time after the game is released. This is because this booklet will have three sapphic pairings inside (no spoilers for you ^.~). The majority of pages will be our main couple, and the other two couples will have the remaining pages divided. We cannot provide a physical as it's quite challenging to find a printer for this type of work. This add-on will not be available separately on the Backerkit store after the campaign ends.

Why a community goal?

If we compare it to how our first game's campaign went, we have yet to match the same backer number (331). Which tells us we haven't quite reached out very far. With a bit more momentum, we may see more people come out and support the project, now that we already hit our funding goal. Also, this will allow those interested to see other couples with more intimacy. They will not have the typical VN love scenes within the game. But they can have a romance-related CG if we can reach our first stretch goal ^_^

Which posts and places did we need a boost?

•  Twitter Post (Retweets)
•  Tumblr Post (Reblogs)
• Reddit (Image posts work best. Provide link in the comment.) Examples you may already frequent: Sapphics/Yuri, VNs, LGBTQIA+, medievalists, (or other angles) etc.
• Other areas we haven't really done much in are Instagram, Facebook, Mastodon, Cohost, Tiktok, etc.

We have a hard push for this last week left, but we'll all do our best! Let me know if you have any questions.

- Roxie

97% We are SO CLOSE now!! Let's talk in-depth about those add-ons~
about 1 year ago – Tue, May 16, 2023 at 03:43:11 AM

Hello Everyone!

The team is so happy to see us ever so close to that funding goal! With just 9 more days until the end. Thank you to our newest backers! Our $300 tier is now finished as the last watercolor has been taken.  We still have 4 spots left in our $200 tier if you are still interested in customized characters artwork just for you ^_^

Let's talk more in-depth about our current add-ons and what you would expect if you pledge for these.

Pet Cameo

You have seen the Dire Wolf already, and now you have just seen our little black kitty named Felicia. She is a character's pet, and will be making her entrance post-demo pretty early on ;) If you'd like to have your pet or favorite animal remembered forever in a game, this is the chance to do it! Your pet will interact with a certain character(s) and be named. You'll just send us photos of your pet of choice, describe their personality, and we'll work them into the story. I'll also let Robin or a cast member be given a choice for you to "pet" your pet too (: It's not going to affect the game, but it's a fun gesture, yes? And just a fun fact, Hardy and Sturdy were very popular dog names in medieval times ^_^

Design Your Own Character

If you weren't aware, we have 5 characters that were actually custom designed by our backers. You've seen 3 of them already ;) They did pay a bit more than this current add-on so their sprite expressions are a bit more fleshed out, but your character will be of equal design quality overall. I haven't written the rest of the story yet, so I'll keep your character in mind as I nail out the story details. If the story has wiggle room, I will use them as often as I can and try to add as much of your backstory as appropriate. Our only request is that you remain flexible with their usage. So, if you'd really like to join the cast yourself or have your own original character join them, have a go! You can be a hero or a villain too (: One of the backer's characters is a villain! (And it is not Thomas lol). The character above is one of our upcoming cast members named Julian, who is nonbinary, and I just wanted to show off one of their unique outfits to you ^.~ (I never did plan to tuxedo masked the remaining characters but a little surprise is nice...)

Forever Remembered

This is the "Special Game Credit" mock-up concept that will exist in the future of the game. It will also appear in the "Extras" section with the team credit. It is also given to all backers at the top 4 level tiers and those who select the above add-ons. I have not decided if it's part of a building or a structure yet as I have to do a bit more research. But I did discover it will likely be made of limestone for quality. I don't want to go into too many details, because it's a spoiler, but for anyone who selects the Forever Remembered add-on, they will have their name appear in this scene in the story. Rebellions, like kickstarters, can only succeed when a whole community comes together. Be Forever Remembered as a person who helped with both.

Thanks for reading all of this. We will now be preparing our one and only community goal in the next update. It's going to be a challenge, but not impossible! And it's a little bit steamy...

Farewell for now,

- Roxie

We're almost there! Add-On Survey request (5 day vote)
about 1 year ago – Wed, May 10, 2023 at 10:45:10 PM

Good evening our wonderful Backers!

We are very excited to see us now at 85% with about two weeks of the campaign left ^_^ You all are awesome!!

We are considering a single physical acrylic stand add-on to the campaign but wish to gauge your interest. I really adored this couple-style acrylic stand from a yuri manga during the online Yuriten 2020 (repeat) Japan event. Perhaps you know this series Futaribeya? This particular stand was about 21cm (8 inches) tall and sold for roughly $30 USD for its complexity (lots more plastic).

We were wondering if any of you would also be interested in a couple-style acrylic stand with Robin and Red as an add-on. Please take our survey below as we do an interests (or no interest) count. We won't have an image ready in time, but this will be a Kickstarter special-only goods run if interest is high enough. Since this is not very large but also a durable item, the shipping I believe will not be "expensive", which was my main concern. The acrylic stand will also go out the moment we finalize the newly drawn image with Nalcyon and get it made with the small acrylic goods business. So you won't have to wait forever like the last campaign ^^; 

Please answer within 5 days: https://forms.gle/Pkpmr1TYEJQz1h2J9

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We are happy to announce another cross-promotion comic, a queer crossover 48-page anthology called Rainbow Canvas: A Wholesome BL & GL WEBTOON Anthology! 

Featuring 12 BRAND NEW, completely original stories from the worlds of your favorite LGBTQIA+ Webtoon Canvas titles, "Rainbow Canvas" delivers all of the wholesome, positive, fluffy queer love stories you could ask for!

Healthy and functional queer BL and GL relationships across a wide range of genres: slice-of-life, mermaids, action fantasy, princes, princesses, sci-fi, supernatural and more!

They have both digital goods, physical comics, and enamel pins! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/comicuno/rainbow-canvas 

See you soon! - Roxie

65% Funded and New Art Tiers Added!
about 1 year ago – Sun, May 07, 2023 at 04:48:35 AM

Hello Everyone!

We're almost halfway through our campaign and are now 65% funded with over 200 backers! Welcome to our new friends~ ^_^ 

The artist Nalcyon has gotten back to us and wanted to add two new custom art-related tiers for any dedicated backers who may have missed out on the last limited sketches. So let's explain these art tiers that are drawn by Nalcyon.

Make One's Mark is our $100 tier - Sold out atm.

• Request a black-and-white character sketch from either series: Red Rebellion or Mizuchi. The level of complexity allowed may vary at her discretion.
• 300-350 DPI printable quality will be provided for you to print at home.

Make an Impact is our $200 tier (New!)

• Request a flat-colored characters sketch
• 300-350 DPI printable quality for self-printing
• It is similar to the example single-color Patreon sketches below, but this tier also allows for two characters to interact together, with the addition of more colors!

  **If you were curious, these were requested sketch busts of Robin and Red in modern clothes. Aren't they cute?

A Noble Cause is our $300 tier (New!)

• Own a one-of-a-kind A4 size watercolor painted sketch by the artist herself! (physical artwork)
• Nalcyon may also use gold and silver pigments
• One character or two characters interaction. Bust or waist high ideally, or at her discretion.
• It will be mailed to you for a flat $20 USD for international shipping from her residence.

These new tiers will have an added bonus of your name being listed in our Special Name Credit (Forever Remembered add-on)! And you'll receive all the digital goods of course.

The next update will most likely be an explanation of the add-on rewards with visual examples! We do have a pet we'd love to share with you ^.~ (no it's not the dire wolf lol).

Thanks again for all the support and help! Cya later!

- Roxie

164 Backers and 48% funded now!
about 1 year ago – Tue, May 02, 2023 at 12:20:41 AM

Good day fellow merry folks!

Trying to sound medieval, but we sound oddly like a pirate huh? ^^;

We're so close to the 50% mark and only a week in! Thank you to our new backers and those that upgraded their pledges! *throws white rose petals*

Let's share a bit of our production work process.  We noticed a lot of Robin Hood movies tend to start with an introduction about the time period on an old tapestry. We sort of referenced it while maintaining a storybook vibe instead (: 

This is our CG director Candace's finalized storyboard of our opening scene sequence.  First we gave her access to all the images we had with certain rules to avoid spoilers. She is also an artist, and designed the shadow edge, sprites, and map below in her draft. 

Then we discuss with the other artists on the team, get more feedback, and share with the programmer, asking if renpy can do the effects okay. Candace makes more storyboard adjustments until we're all good. Then I prep all the remaining art assets myself and send them to DragoonHP to start programming. Then it's a constant tweak adjust tweak until everyone is happy and now the alpha demo is done, yay!

Now looking back... it seems we'll still need to tweak some things like the roses and fix the text timing, as one streamer Blerdyotome kindly pointed out that it was too fast for slow readers. So hopefully when the game is out someday, you'll forget all about this sequence and be amazed again by the future updated version ^^;

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If you're looking for another indie visual novel game to support, we'd love to introduce you to the medieval otome game Imperial Grace by the awesome Ayael. Play as the new Empress and become the greatest ruler Calidya has ever seen! Medieval intrigue, romance, and political strategy as you manage a kingdom (optional). You can also customize the main character's hair, skin, and eye colors. Pick from 4 love interests including the lovely lady below~

 The campaign is about to end in a few days! Be sure to check it out and hope their project reaches their last two stretch goals! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/367138901/imperial-grace-a-medieval-otome-visual-novel

Keep up the good work spreading the news! We'll see you again!

- Roxie and Team Aikasa