STOVE Lounge

Mr. Hwang's record is 147 points!
I got 0 Flakes as a challenge reward.
I can't wake up from my egg..
Next time, try faster!

🦖Want to feed your baby dinosaur?
Take the challenge now!
👉 [Play on the Stove App]

STOCK7758 caught 82 dinosaurs!
I got 200 Flakes as a challenge reward.
Top Ranker Mode ON 👑
But you mustn't let your guard down!

🦕Catch the moving dinosaur
Take the challenge now!
👉 [Play on the Stove App]

Interview with gotoki, the creator of the visual novel game <After School Special Guidance>

*This is an indie game developer interview series. The photos and interview content used in the interviews were provided by the creators through Discord, etc. Game developers who are interested in participating in the interview can contact me through various methods (email, Discord, SNS address, post comments, etc.) and I can conduct interviews regardless of the platform.

Interview: Q (hashiruka48) / A (gotoki)

Game Title: <After School Special Instruction>
Genre: Visual novel, adventure, casual
Creator: gotoki

Q. What is the meaning behind the title “After School Special Guidance”?

A. <After School Special Tutoring> is a romance story between Min Seo-hee, who calls herself a dating expert but has poor grades, the main character (player) who receives dating help to fulfill her unrequited love, and the teacher Chae Ji-ae, who has been the object of the main character's long-time unrequited love. The name <After School Special Tutoring> was used to express the ambiguous situation of the main character learning about dating from Seo-hee and Seo-hee learning about studying from the main character.

Q. Please introduce the team that created the special after-school guidance program.

A. We are not a regular development team, but a project-based collaborative team formed with people with experience in each field as needed, centered around me (gotoki), who is in charge of the overall project. I am in charge of drafting the scenario and overall operations, and the programming, scenarios, illustrations, music, etc. are produced through collaboration with freelancers who are participating as team members.

Q. I would like to know the release date of the full version and the platform where I can purchase the special after-school map.

A. The official version is scheduled to be released on June 26th (Thursday), and we are aiming for a simultaneous release on Steam and Stove! If there are no major issues, you will be able to meet <After School Special Guide> on both platforms starting on the 26th.

Q. I am curious to know whether the bug has been fixed for the Tumblbug users and visual novel fans who have been waiting for a long time due to the bug.

A. First of all, we sincerely apologize for delaying the launch by about a month from the date we announced in the Tumblbug funding due to our inexperience. We are currently working hard to identify and resolve the cause of the bug that has occurred, and we are working hard to prevent any further delays no matter what happens. We will do our best to present a more stable and pleasant game to compensate for the delay.

Q. What game engine was this game made with?

A. <After School Special Tutoring> was developed using the Ren'Py engine. Since it is a genuine visual novel focused on scenarios, Ren'Py was used as it faithfully implements the basic functions of visual novels.

Q. I wonder if it is dubbed.

A. This is a full dubbing game with the main heroine. From cute and charming lines to passionate moments where emotions explode, all lines are dubbed. We ask for your great anticipation.

Q. Please introduce the characters Chae Ji-ae and Min Seo-hee.

A. The mentee 'Min Seo-hee' that the protagonist meets at the alternative school is a suspicious beauty who approaches the protagonist, saying she will help him based on her own theory of love. She seems to have a bright personality, but she has a unique personality with unique values and speech that are different from others. It would be fun to read while imagining whether Seo-hee's theory of love that you will see in the game is really credible. The protagonist's first love 'Chae Ji-ae' is a teacher at the alternative school and seems like a stable and affectionate 'adult'. She is a caring teacher who really cares for the protagonist, but she is also a character with many secrets and weaknesses that she does not want to reveal.

Q. Are there individual routes for each heroine?

A. There are individual routes. Both heroines have happy endings, so play with confidence.

Q. Is the ending a multi-ending?

A. There are three official endings available. You can see two endings in Seohee’s route and one ending in Ji-ae’s route.

Q. I'm curious about the play time of the official version.

A. The expected play time for the full version is approximately 6 to 7 hours, based on viewing all the official endings.

Q. Could you please give us a bragging answer as to why visual novel fans should purchase After School Special Guidance?

A. As a visual novel fan myself, and as a player who likes romance novels, I consider 'a natural and convincing emotional line', 'a unique and attractive heroine', and 'a plot that is not boring' to be important. I can confidently say that <After School Special Guidance> has these three elements. If you want to have fun, make memories, and feel exciting with a three-dimensional heroine, then definitely play it.

Q. What kind of atmosphere were the background music and sound effects composed to express?

A. Except for the music for the title screen, all of the music for <After School Special Tutoring> was composed by Miguel Angel. It is based on a cute atmosphere overall, taking advantage of the characteristics of a 'young poet'. However, since the music was composed to match the emotional line of each scene, it is not always expressed in a cute atmosphere, and I think it would be good to think of it as being composed to change according to the flow of the story.

Q. Please tell us about the game production, including the illustrations (sd).

A. I think the biggest advantage is the sound production through carefully placed sound effects. Rather than simply playing sounds, we worked hard to place vivid sounds according to the situation so that you can immerse yourself more deeply into the scene. Also, the amount of illustrations is quite large compared to the playing time, and even for the standing illustrations, we prepared various facial expression changes so that the heroines’ emotions can be delicately conveyed.

Q. What prompted you to produce this work as a visual novel?

A. We had a multi-ending structure in mind from the beginning of development, and more than anything, we thought that this work's story was about scenarios and emotional lines, so we decided that a visual novel was the genre that could best express those two things. Also, we decided that players would have to change the flow of the story themselves in terms of the scenario to be more immersed in the outcome. I think anyone who has seen the official ending since the game was released will agree with this.

Q. How do player choices affect the story progression? (Any tips for the affinity system and ending route?)

A. In the case of <After School Special Guidance>, it is not a game with a large number of choices. It only appears when there is a difference in the development after the choice. Depending on the choice, you can change the heroine's favorability, such as which heroine you will spend more time with or how you will treat the heroine. There are many cases where this is clearly expressed through the main character's monologue in the game, so you don't have to worry. As a small tip, if you focus on the one person you like the most rather than looking at various possibilities, I think you will be able to easily see the ending you want.

Q. What did you focus on when designing the character relationships?

A. From the beginning, when designing the relationships, I worked on the project while considering not only the relationships between the protagonist and Seo-hee, and the protagonist and Ji-ae, but also the relationships between Seo-hee and Ji-ae. I wanted to create a structure where the heroine, who was influenced by the protagonist, did not end up changing on her own, but that change in turn affected other heroines.

Q. Is there a special reason why you chose the ‘after school’ time slot for storytelling?

A. I thought 'after school' had a meaning beyond just a time period. It's a time period where the main character, who goes to a prestigious high school, and Seo-hee, who goes to an alternative school, can meet through mentoring, and it's also a time when Ji-ae, a teacher, can return to being human after work. In that sense, I thought that after school, the time after work, is the time when we can break down the walls in our hearts and get to know each other. That's why I chose 'after school' as the setting where the story and emotional line of this work can unfold most naturally.

Q. Lastly, please give a word to the visual novel fans who have been waiting for the special after-school guidance and the gamers who have supported Tumblbug.

A. First of all, thank you for your interest in the game <After School Special Guidance>. Especially, thanks to the sponsors who supported this project through Tumblbug, we were able to successfully launch the game. It may be an excessive dream, but I made it with the hope that Seohee and Jiae will remain in your hearts even after the game is over. Thank you very much.

When cutting something with a knife, have you ever felt that it cuts much better if you push or pull rather than just press down? This isn't just a feeling. It's a feeling that actually has scientific basis .
▷ Pressing vs. Pushing/Pulling — The Difference in Cutting Force When you simply press down on the blade, the object experiences a ' compressive force ' that tears or breaks. This requires a lot of force and often does not cut cleanly.
However, when you push or pull the knife , shear force is added to the compressive force, which dramatically improves cutting efficiency .
This shear force is a force that twists an object sideways and is particularly effective on textured structures such as fibers or tissues .
Also, from a microscopic point of view , the blade is not completely smooth, but has microscopic serrations and protrusions.
These protrusions act like saws to cut through the grain of the object during the 'push/pull' motion.
If you cut the cake by pressing down on it, the cross-section will look like the cake is clumped together, but if you push or pull the knife long enough, the cross-section will look clean.
So, even when cutting cake or soft ingredients, if you move the knife in a long motion , you can see that the cross-section is cut smoothly and cleanly . The reason that cake cutters are particularly long compared to other knives is because they are intended to be cut by moving them in a long motion. However, as the distance the knife moves increases, there is a greater risk of accidentally cutting another part of the body (your hand), so always be careful .
▷ Shear force from curvature — making it easy for beginners to cut So why are the kitchen knives we commonly use slightly curved?
The curvature of the blade naturally induces a “push/pull effect” (pushing the knife or food) even when the user simply presses down from top to bottom to cut.
Thanks to this , even beginners can easily cut by applying natural shear force without any special skills. = It cuts well.
Curved farming tools, represented by the sickle > All weapons based on this,
It was born from the wisdom of “easily inducing shear force” even for beginners.
The subtle curvature of the sickle and cleaver is the result of a design that allows even beginners to easily achieve the shearing effect.
▷ Wait, isn't the Chinese food straight? On the other hand, the Chinese kitchen knife (a large Chinese kitchen knife) takes a completely different approach.
This knife works like an axe, with the blade creating a slit in the material and the thick body cutting through the slit .
So even if the blade is slightly dull, the cutting power is still maintained. This is because the cutting method is centered on 'compression force' . (More precisely, the expression 'center of inertia' is correct.)
For this reason, Chinese knives are designed to be heavy , and are often used in a way that feels close to pressing down with some force to cut.
The unique “tang tang tang” sound of chopping boards on Chinese food is also a unique characteristic of Chinese food that was born from this different approach. ㅎㅎㅎ
Of course, there are experts who sharpen their Chinese knives to cut the radish thinly. There are many experts who quietly cut their swords while viewing the tang tang tang sound as “too much force”, so be careful not to make hasty generalizations!
Although the thickness of Chinese knives varies depending on their intended use, they are usually two to three times thicker than regular kitchen knives.

Among them, there are knives that have a curved blade, thus incorporating the advantages of a regular kitchen knife.

Spartan, Athenian, and even Roman heavy infantry, these infantry mostly used short straight swords such as the gladius .

At that time, it was closer to a secondary weapon that supported the spear and shield rather than a primary weapon. Therefore, it was a secondary tool that was taken out and used only when it was close enough to engage in a fight with a spear.

Since the Asian region had a "cutting-centered" sword culture from the beginning, infantry also developed using swords, so straight swords were rare.

Of course, its practicality is poor because its durability is too weak (it can be broken by hand), but it is interesting that even natural materials have reached the level of maximum cutting power.

So, the Aztec obsidian weapons were not symbols of an old era, but in some ways, they could be seen as cutting-edge technology comparable to modern sharpness.

Of course, there are swords that are strangely curved for aesthetic reasons… but basically, swords that are “for cutting” naturally acquire curvature over the course of evolution .

Today I got 50k flakes

It comes out twice and then one comes out...

It would be a gain if I could get 50,000 flakes just once.

They say the human heart is a deceitful thing...

I tried to turn it off after about 30 minutes before going to bed.

Even though I ended it normally, it didn't even last a minute 😞