LudoNarraCon is a digital convention celebrating narrative video games, hosted on Steam by Fellow Traveller. It aims to create a platform to showcase and celebrate interesting and innovative narrative games, replicating as many of the aspects and benefits of the physical convention experience as possible within a digital format.

Discover all the amazing narrative games of this edition: LudoNarraCon

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506290/Nova_Hearts/

The demo is the first chapter of the game Nova Hearts. It is a slightly updated version of the previous demo. We now have a new combat tutorial, quality-of-life changes, and bug fixes! The first chapter lasts around 1h30.


Since some of you are here for the flirt, here is one of the new characters you will meet in the second chapter... SHADY!

There will be new environments, people, and mysteries... and still a ton of flirt!

After kicking the first boss' a**, what adventures await our super trio? Many! At the end of our first chapter, you could have a glimpse of a new character...

And what an arrival, very mysterious... if you did not get it yet, this is our new bad guy! And a villain always comes with their little companions... so discover the new goons of your next enemy.

Do you like what you see? Good, because there will be more coming soon! In the meantime, play the demo and share your feedback with us on Steam or Discord[discord.gg]!

Wait, why is Nova Hearts participating in the Lovecraftian Days Steam event? Because the game has some Lovecraft inspirations! As surprising as it may be for Nova Hearts, Lovecraft can take different forms and directions.

"H.P. Lovecraft (born August 20, 1890, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.—died March 15, 1937, Providence) was an American author of fantastic and macabre short novels and stories, one of the 20th-century masters of the Gothic tale of terror. Lovecraft was interested in science from childhood, but lifelong poor health prevented him from attending college. He made his living as a ghostwriter and rewrite man and spent most of his life in seclusion and poverty. His fame as a writer increased after his death." H.P Lovecraft, The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica, www.britannica.com.


The Curious Case of H. P. Lovecraft, Paul Roland
In Nova Hearts, Sailor Moon is a clear visual influence on the game, but more subtly Lovecraft's artworks too! We wanted to pay homage to the author by adding our own sense of Lovecraft to the game. The entry point to that is exploring the horror of non-existence and the influence of otherworldly beings when they are deprived of human intention. The game has taken a softer point-of-view to match the joyful pop feel of a queer narrative based on magical girls but retained these notions of what lies hidden and the consequences of powers wielded without conscience.

Lovecraft's artworks are an important part of the game's story. Who are these enemies and "monsters", where are they coming from, and why are they here? This mystery is part of the fantasy we wanted to create. There was never supposed to be a horror tone on things, though, it's more this underlying element to build the whole setting, that would become clear at the end to make the stakes higher. In the first chapter Nova Hearts: The Spark, these enemies look cute on paper, but when you're facing them, you discover there is something wrong. There is a deeper meaning there and the why is what you will have to discover in the full game!

Research for the "Chapter 1 Goon attack"

Final asset "Chapter 1 Goon attack"

More to discover about why the game has some Lovecraft inspirations in the full game! We can't be too explicit about it yet as we don't want to spoil anything! We can't wait for you to play Nova Hearts and discover it by yourself to understand where we're going with it!

We're participating in the Turn Based Thursday Festival! What better than to talk a little bit about the combat of Nova Hearts? You were many to give your feedback on it and we took notes, so thank you! Let's dive into it and reply to some questions we've seen online.

Our idea with Nova Hearts was to revisit the genres of visual novels and dating simulations. These games don't often have a combat system implemented. They are mostly based on narration, we wanted to spice it up and add some action into the mix! One great example is Boyfriend Dungeon. We were inspired by the well-balanced relationship between its story, dating, and combat. There are not a ton of games to mix genres like this, so we wanted to do our own and make a game we really want to play: FIGHT and FLIRT!

The theme of our game also helps a lot. In Magical Girls the "magical" is regularly associated with defending someone or something. The heroes have superpowers to fight the great evil! Here our trio Luce, Will, and CJ are defending the city from an emerging threat. Combat was definitely necessary in our scenario, and that's also the best place for Sailor Moon-esk transformations!

At the start of the combat, you will see a timeline at the bottom of the screen. This timeline is separated into equal parts that represent a turn.

When it is your time to play, there is a white bar you can move, representing the casting time of an attack. The more you move the bar to the right, the later your attack will be cast according to the order represented by the faces of the characters. If the white bar doesn't appear, it means this action is instantaneous and doesn't need casting time like Luce's second attack to heal all the allies.

During a playthrough, you will unlock new powers per character and will be able to up them. The Power App on the phone is the main place to manage your powers. After each combat, you gain XP points filling a jauge. When you have cumulated enough points, you can improve your attacks. The advantages are often an increase in the damages, in the buff/debuff bonuses, etc.

Turn-based games and the timeline are dear to our hearts. Our previous game, Othercide has the timeline too in its combat. We wanted to use this system appreciated by the players and adapt it to Nova Hearts. Our current timeline is not final and will evolve based on your feedback. So if you want to share your experience with the combat of Nova Hearts, we're all ears!

Othercide's timeline


We can't wait to listen to your feedback so if you didn't get the chance yet, play Nove Hearts: The Sparke for free on our Steam page!

We've been carefully reading your feedback and thanks to your reports and suggestions, a few things will be updated! This update will come in the first week of March.

Here is our plan for this update:

• Fasten the conversation in the Message App
  
• Modify the combat pacing to have fewer combats and fasten them
  
• Specify the intentions behind dialogue choices
  
• Many other quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes!

Thanks to YOU, we can improve this game, so don't hesitate to share your feedback and suggestions in the Steam discussions.

The first chapter "Nova Hearts - The Spark" is available right now FOR FREE on Steam!

The Spark is the first chapter and introduction to the world of Nova Hearts. As the main character Luce, players will meet the game’s flirty and thirsty cast of characters and their cosmic alter-egos, learn the basics of the stylish turn-based combat, and embark on a quest to unravel the magical mystery at the heart of it all. TEXT, DATE and FIGHT!

The full game will then be available in Summer 2024!

Click on "Install Game" on Nova Hearts's Steam page!
When returning to your hometown, you don’t expect things to be much different than when you left but now, you and other hot singles in the area have transformed into heroes and villains! Reconnect with old friends, meet new ones and pursue the strange origins of the new cosmic madness prowling the streets. Where did this come from? Why did this happen? And why is everyone so incredibly hot now!?

We can't wait to know what you think, so please share with us in the Steam forums or on Discord[discord.gg]! Plus, leave us a review to support us!

See you later Luce-igator

The first chapter Nova Hearts: The Spark will be officially playable for free on January 25, 4pm CET / 7am PST.


In this first chapter, you play Luce, a positive and funny 21yo who loves being around her friends and helping others. You're back in this city you left some years ago. Discover more about your new life, new old friends, and powers!


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506290/Nova_hearts/

We can't wait to know what you think of the game, its characters and soul!

Luce is coming back to Vermillion after a while. She's meeting with Will and CJ, her long-time friends. As she starts remembering her life there, everything seems to have changed. But she's well accompanied and always gets support from her two besties.

Luce just left university. She needs to take time for herself to find who she really is. And you're here to help her!

They are this iconic duo of friends who always know how to make fun of a situation and who love gossiping!


The first chapter Nova Hearts - The Spark will be playable in a couple of days, wishlist the game to receive all the news!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506290/Nova_Hearts/

We would like to inform you that the free first chapter "Nova Hearts - The Spark" will be postponed from its initial launch on January 17, 2024. The release date is moved by a few days. The first chapter, downloadable for free, will be officially playable end of January.

One of our core values is to be transparent and to make honest communications. We want your game experience to be the best possible and believe that postponing its release is the best decision we can make.

We are sorry for the inconvenience and are pleased to see that so many of you are excited to play the game. We ask you for some patience and thank you for your understanding.

The Lightbulb Crew team

After three years of development, we’re proud to announce our new game Nova Hearts!

A mysterious force of power transforms you and other highly attractive people in your area into superheroes and villains! TEXT, DATE and FIGHT your friends and enemies alike.

Do you like Sailor Moon? Texting, dating and fighting? Then Nova Hearts is the game for you!

Then, the full game will be available in Summer of 2024.


https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506290/Nova_hearts/

Join our Discord to chat with us and other players! https://discord.gg/UrbUgkVrMj

- Lightbulb Crew devs