Hoping This Finds You Well
An experiment in letter writing, meant to evoke the distinctly sweet homoeroticism of Victorian and Edwardian literature. Follow the correspondence of two professors, in the months before one of them makes a decision he'll never be able to take back.
- A visual novel with a cute mechanic: Slide the letters back and forth across the screen, to experience the time the letter is written, and when it is read!
- About 10,000 words in length,
- A fantasy setting with demons,
- Two scientists, one of them arguably quite mad!
- If you enjoyed this game, you can continue Harry and Hawley’s story in: The Case of the Serialized Killer!
Download
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Development log
- Game Design Hour InterviewJul 19, 2024
- Web Build Updated to 1.6.1May 20, 2024
- Simplified Chinese Translation Available/简中本地化已上线！May 18, 2024
- Version 1.5 Available!Apr 30, 2024
- Hoping is Getting an Update and Coming to Steam!Mar 30, 2024
- Harold included as one of the '12 Best Gay Characters in Games!'Feb 07, 2024
- Featured in VN Game Den!Jan 11, 2023
- Version 1.01 Up!Jan 10, 2023
Comments
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i love absolutely everything about this! The simple mechanic of switching the two character's povs, the way they react to the letters, and the way you dealt with their meeting, it was still letters but in a little different way! Also the writing is so cool! I always love when people are creative to bring some new form of a game and visual story telling even in renpy! And the artstyle is so pretty wow.
Cannot BELIEVE I didn't play this sooner, it was such a lovely epistolary journey through the start of these two characters' relationship! I absolutely loved the ability to read between the lines of their respective letters through seeing the shifts in their expressions. There was such great humour throughout, and I felt I got to know Harold and Hawley so much better through this game! Encore 👏👏
Ahhh, I'm thrilled that you had a good time with it! The bulk of this text was originally written when I was trying to write Lead Into Gold/Serialized Killer as a NaNoWriMo project, and I had these letters scattered between chapters, so that they were filling in the blanks of the main narrative, as the story progressed.
But I'm sure you know how it is when you're writing prose; sometimes the desire to see sprites on screen is just too much! And I found myself really pulled between how I wanted each letter to be read, and which character's perspective I wanted to lean into. The letter-sliding mechanic came from that pure greed to have it both ways. VNs are so wonderful when you're a greedy writer; you get to have multiple tracks and endings and all the intimate character social interactions you want during dialogue. ^U^
this was a delightful little romp through the early lives of two fascinating original characters that I'm excited to see more of someday. I plan to recommend it to everyone who's new to the visual novel format as a way of getting started with a shorter story
Thank you so much! Writing for these two is such a joy, and I would be delighted if they could function as good ambassadors for visual novels in general. ^u^
THAT WAS SO GREAT AND GAY AND asdfghjll;sdlg'kd;glkws'kpef!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was really worried when Harry stopped responding oh gosh
thank you so much for this piece of art!!
Thank you! I was hoping that that section would be a little tense, haha, I didn't want this game to be like, a horror game, but sometimes a little bit of fear makes the fluff land better later. :3
This was a really neat experience to play through! The mechanic showing the reactions to the letters was very cute and it was nice to revisit the characters after playing The Case of the Serialised Killer and getting to know a little bit more about their backstory.
And Hawley sure did find out what Harry sounds like after three drinks but maybe not in the intended wayThank you! Coding character reactions is one of my favorite parts of VNs, so I thought swiping the letter to peek at them would be fun
And who says that wasn’t what Hawley was intending 👀I really like this visual novel so far, cute characters and a very strong visual style. However, I only have a touchpad and I have no Page Up button on my keyboard. Both dragging the stamp and scrolling back through the letter are pretty difficult. Please consider adding some common hotkeys!
Thank you! And I would like to have a button to click to slide the letter sometime, I just need to figure out the coding on it XD
SUCH A UNIQUE IDEA FOR GAMEPLAY!!
Harold Ludicael and Hawley Faraday! Stars of the epistolary visual novel!
"You write like a gentleman, but there is something wild in your way of thinking."
"It is a wondrous thing, to hold a secret in one's heart, and, without uttering it, to hear it reflected back through the words of another."
I LOVE both of their reactions to "...the one I wish to unravel is that of your preferences." and "You great and incomprehensible ass, Of course I will forgive you." HAHAHA
"my surgical duties include regularly dislodging your head from your posterior."
"I myself" ... "have a friend" GOD I felt that
THE REVEALLLLLL 1st of MID-WINTER 1905 OGH MY GOD
AWW THE UPDATED TITLE SCREEN TOO :'))
And it was all a prequel!! Awesome, love it. I was so interested in the supernatural lore. Well, supernabiological. Fantastic work, I would love another game like this. Going to check out The Case of the Serialized Killer soon!
Your Friend,
Scale
Awww, thank you so much for enjoying it, and leaving the kind words! You picked out a fair few moments that made me very happy to write, so that leaves me feeling confident that those moments landed. ^u^ Thanks, Scale!
ALRIGHT. I made an account just to comment. and holy shit
BEST VISUAL NOVEL EVER!!! (though I have not played any other visual novels, so this could change very quickly (I doubt it) (unless it's another one of yours))
it made me smile, laugh, and admittedly, tear up. thank you.
AND THE ENDING LMAOOOOO
P.S. i replayed the ending at least thrice. it just tickles my brain
P.P.S. god the gender stuff hit me so hard, especially the trans man part (im one myself) hgsfsgsgdgsfgshs you wove it in so well though
Thank you very much, and welcome to the world of visual novels! I have no doubt that you'll find something that you like even more soon. And that's not because I don't have faith in my games, but because the medium of VNs is so weird and cool that it's easy to find new favorites all the time. ^u^
If you liked Harry and Hawley, please consider trying out Serialized Killer, they're in that one, too!
ok i started serialized killer and hello???? did trauma happen or something? i can still dig it though
and idk if harry got a glowup or glowdown in my book but he's still surprisingly good-looking
I love this sm, it made me all warm inside! Does Hawley have albinism, by the way? I thought so but i cant be sure lol
also- if you ever need a turkish translator, im more than willing lol
Thank you so much! Hawley does indeed have albinism, which presents quite a lot of challenges for him out at sea.
We always welcome translation! There's a channel for it in the playtester discord, if you ever feel like going for it!
I really love the concept, and the accessibility options are a good gesture, but playing with larger than default text sizes isn't really possible. Text in letters will sometimes go offscreen with no way to see it all. I think the "display as a new page" points are hardcoded?
The text contrast in the options menu is fairly low, it's black (sometimes dark green) on dark tan. Most settings you can focus & they turn white, which helps. Navigating with a keyboard somewhat works, too- menus and advancing text is fine, but I couldn't find a way to switch perspectives without a mouse.
If that stuff isn't an issue for you, this seems like a really charming game- I just can't play it as it is. Hoping for an update :)
Thank you so much for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback! I'll note these down and see if I can learn a way to fix them. Truth be told, I'm still not entirely happy with the controls for the swapping mechanic, and if I can find a way to animate the screen movement and code it to a keyboard button, I'd really like to offer it as an alternative!
This was so sweet. Y'know, it took me longer than it should have to realise just how close Harry and Faraday were in The Case of the Serialised Killer, because they clearly cared about each other, but it took me a bit to see the romance behind all the trauma they were coping with. This view of what came before deepens things.
This was so tender to read through! I noticed it right as I was about to play through "The Case of the Serialized Killer" and decided to play this prequel first-- it was a good call, as the letters gave a lot of the backstory I'd felt was missing in the first 5ish minutes of The Case. About how long is the time gap between the two? Noticing how this ends and how The Case begins, it feels like it could be both immediate and with years between
I will be so honest with you, I have played this and The Case of the Serialized Killer (still ongoing, I just downloaded it today) And it is amazing! I love the characters and I want to be honest, I would love to write fanfics about them! Well, despite that, I want to say your writing is amazing and it entertains me! I love it and I hope you can still go onward in this amazing journey you are taking ^^ <33! HAWLEY AND HAROLD APPRECIATION!! :DDD!!
Aww, thank you so much! I'm honored that they resonated so deeply with you. ^u^ I hope you have a nice time with Serialized Killer, and if you'd ever like to chat about Harry and Hawley, or help out with future games that they're in, please consider joining the playtester discord! We'd love to have you!
Thank you, I think it over and I appreciate the offer! ^^
What a lovely piece of work! I enjoyed following the story through the letters and swiping back and forth to see reactions as I went. The ending was such a great deviation from the expected structure. I was also surprised at how much interesting worldbuilding came through as I read!
Thank you! I always feel like I struggle with worldbuilding, so having two academics rambling on about their field of study was a very smooth framework. Letting the characters have fun studying the world attaches emotional stakes to it, I guess?
And I'm glad that the game stuck the landing at the end! I edited a portion of an old NaNo piece for this, and though the letters continue after that moment, it really felt like the best moment to end it on. And the fact that I now had visuals meant that I had an opportunity to do something that pure prose hadn't initially allowed. ^u^ Man, I love visual novels!
loved this. great narrative and really creative game design.
Thank you very much!
Love this game, the build up of their relationship and all the little details of their reactions and expressions it had me flipping back and forth between each letter. I could read so many more of those letters, each one was more enjoyable than the last :)
Also like how it shows the issues that start to emerge in the later game, like how Harry's 'friend' had to give up the life of a girl to live one as a man and how this friend missed some aspect of this. Also love how abrassive Faraday can get at times and how he got a reprimand from the head of facaulty for his colourful language XD
The ending had me chuckling, what has he done indeed XD
Hope there is more to come of these two.
Thank you so much! I’m pleased to hear that the pace didn’t drag, and you’re right on the money about Harry’s “friend.” I also love how forthright and direct Hawley is; I don’t feel like I did a great job with his character voice in this, he should have had much more creative swears. XD But I’m glad that the allusion to what he might have said to the faculty got a laugh, it’s one of my favorite jokes in here.
If you’d like more from them, please check out The Case of the Serialized Killer! You’ll get to see some of the results of Harry’s research, and find out how their relationship is going!
Didn't expect that *giggles*
Neither did Harry, it seems~ ^u^
I have loved the game and the delicacy that has shown how their relationship has been strengthened with each letter<3.
The only complaint is that there is no option where you can see both reactions at the same time.
Now I have to ask...
WILL IT HAVE SEQUEL???
I need to know how it continues<3<3<3<3.
(And yep, I know this is a sequel, I've already played the other game, I need to know more about them, these characters and world have me in love)
PS: Harry still hasn't figured out that Faraday is technically a pirate? XD
(Assuming that in this world there is a discriminatory law that because you are the son of pirates you are automatically a pirate)
(technically this is a prequel story, go check out The Case of the Serialized Killer)
I know and I've already played it (And I love it too), this is more a question if they will make more games with this couple of idiots<3.
Just finished the game and I wasnt expecting that ending hahaha! 😂 I love it! 🥰
Hahaha, I laughed a lot while working on that ending; I’m very pleased to hear that the emotion communicated.
Any plan to add Simplified-Chinese language? If so, we can offer free translation.
That would be wonderful! We have a channel in our discord for discussing translations if you’re interested: https://discord.gg/7hDQx9Qe
not working
Hey there! Ren'Py's web port is currently a work in progress. As of Jan 2, 2022, the web version of this game works best on a desktop running Firefox.
If you'd like to report a bug with a downloaded version, could you let me know which one you've downloaded, and what happens when you try to run it? Thanks!
AAAA MY FAVORITE DUO IS BACK!! 🤩🤩🤩
This comment is everything, thank you so much, these two are the most beloved of my OCs so to hear that means so much ToT
Oh my god. Oh my god, this was delightful!
I am simply astonished at how you strung together words in such a manner that made my heart skip a beat. How you made me feel fear, irritation, and joy in a mere 10,000 words I will never know (not to say 10,000 words isn't a feat in itself! It usually takes more than that to make me as ecstatic as I am writing this is all).
The ending is what got me, however. It made me shriek with laughter (and no, I am not exaggerating. It woke up those I live with).
Oh, and the drawings? Your art style positively blessed my eyes. Thank you for this game. Seriously, I enjoyed it immensely.
I am to now play your other work, and I will leave my thoughts (and, more than likely, my praise) under that as well.
Thank you so much! The ending had me cracking over and over the more I worked on it; the rough draft had more written there but I decided to lean more heavily on the visual elements to land the moment home. XD
I hope you enjoy Serialized Killer! I love writing for Hawley and Harry, and I hope to do lots more with them in the future!
The Finale is here
i keep getting a script error
Sorry to hear that! Could you give me additional information?
it just.. Doesn't start, I've had this issue with other ren'py games in browser so I might just have to drop my pride and use Firefox,
Yeah, Ren'Py's web port is currently a work in progress. As of right now, the web version of this game works best on a desktop running Firefox!
Made a video
Oooooh! Lovely to see one from you guys, I’ll give it a watch as soon as I’ve come down from the rush from the latest episode of Lupin Zero XD
Hope you'll enjoy the video and we have a 2nd video coming out later to finish the game off because 10K words takes a long time to read.
We're going to watch new Lupin zero later today.
This was really nice, I loved the complexity of the dialogue. 10/10
I'm glad you had a nice time, and thank you for playing our game! Good luck with your channel!
You're welcome and good luck with your future game developments.
this is so sweet
Thank you very much!
This was the prequel I never knew I needed. Thank you!
Thank you! I can’t say how much I was smiling and laughing while adding expressions to this; my inner Maggie was really showing. XD
I love these two so much ih my god.
Thank you! They are always like, hanging out three feet away from my train of thought.
What a fantastic prequel to The Case of the Serialized Killer!
Awww, thank you so much! I'm still dreaming and scheming a new murder for a game that follows Serialized Killer, but in the meantime, I thought it would be fun to get their letters out there. I love the campy sweetness of old letters. <3