I follow a lot of news about independent visual novel developers—many of whom turn to crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo for the financial support they need to finish their projects. And lately I’ve seen a fair amount of comments expressing skepticism about the likelihood of these crowdfunded visual novels ever actually getting released. I can see where some of those sentiments come from, as crowdfunding doesn’t work for everything—I’m sure everyone has read about some spectacular Kickstarter failures. And there are definitely some people who start crowdfunding projects without any real understanding of how expensive and time-consuming it will be to complete them, and maybe even some who purposely use these platforms to scam others. But crowdfunding can also be a fantastic way to give creative people such as game developers the means to do the work they’re really passionate about, and many of those people really do release great products with the support of their backers. I want to encourage a bit more positivity regarding crowdfunded VNs by discussing just a few of the ones I’ve read, enjoyed, and in some cases backed, so I hope you enjoy the following brief list! (Note that I wanted to focus on developers who use crowdfunding to create their own original VNs, not translators using the same platforms to produce official English releases of Japanese ones.)

SC2VN (VNDB|Kickstarter)

I find the success of SC2VN’s kickstarter to be especially impressive, since the VN itself is actually free. I’ve supported a few visual novel crowdfunding campaigns myself, and while it is partially out of a desire to support the developer and make sure the project comes to life in general, it’s also just because I want to own the product once it’s finished. I’m honestly not sure if I would really want to spend money to support a kickstarter for something I could eventually get for free. But I’m glad that 165 backers did, since I really liked SC2VN. It made me feel nostalgic for the days when I used to play Starcraft 2 with my friends. But you don’t even necessarily need to be familiar with the game to enjoy the story; a tutorial-type segment featuring the voice of Starcraft streamer and commentator Day9 teaches you the basics, and the protagonist’s drive to succeed at a career they love despite the odds is universal. A prequel titled Don’t Forget Our Esports Dream has also been successfully crowdfunded, and I’m looking forward to its release.

Karakara (VNDB|Indiegogo)

Karakara’s campaign raised the most money out of all the VNs on this list—an achievement likely due in part to its developers’ previous experience and its almost simultaneous English and Japanese releases, appealing to people who read VNs in both languages. It’s a short VN full of cute and colourful artwork that I’d recommend for a nice relaxing read. Yet while its main plot about the relationships between a young man and two not-quite-human women is reminiscent of Nekopara, it also sets itself apart from typical light and fluffy eroge with its explicitly post-apocalyptic setting. An upcoming sequel was recently announced, and I would love to see it explore some of the darker sides of its world that were only hinted at in the first one.



Brilliant Shadows - Part One of the Book of Gray Magic (VNDB|Kickstarter)

Part one of Brilliant Shadows is about a girl searching for her soul mate—quite literally. The unexpected result of a ritual has magically bound the protagonist, a mage-in-training named Veronica, to a stranger of unknown whereabouts. In her quest, she’s aided by a large cast of interesting characters, all fully voiced and drawn in an unique art style that I really liked. I was intrigued by this tale of fantasy and mystery, and I look forward to its continuation in part two, Pale Spectrum, which has also been successfully crowdfunded. I also learned while working on this post that the developers have released a short, free VN called Embers of Magic that takes place centuries earlier in the same world, so that’s definitely on my list of VNs to read soon now!



SoulSet (VNDB|Indiegogo)

I just finished SoulSet the other day, and ended up taking way more notes on it than would fit into this short post, so I’ll probably be writing a more detailed review later! But to summarize, I really enjoyed the creepy atmosphere created by this VN’s setting of a mysterious mansion where a group of people with amnesia find themselves imprisoned. There are fun riddles to solve and plenty of secrets to unlock, alongside several cute romance routes you can take—if you decide that any of the characters seem trustworthy, that is. And while I would have liked some of the eventual explanations behind the mystery to have been explained in more detail, it was still an interesting conclusion, and I think it’s a testament to the developers’ ability to create a fascinating world that I wanted to spend more time in it. SoulSet is also notable for having raised the least money out of the projects on this list, and for still shaping up to be a great product.



The Letter (probably) (VNDB|Kickstarter)

Maybe I’m breaking my own rules by including The Letter on this list, as it hasn’t been released yet. However, everything about The Letter’s crowdfunding campaign and subsequent development process points toward a great VN coming later this year. I remember its demo garnering a fair bit of attention when the campaign began, and through regular updates like this lovely detailed one from last January, the developers have been extremely open about the challenges they’ve faced, their goals for the future, and exactly what they’re doing with the funds from their backers. I wish every crowdfunding project released updates like that one—and look at those gorgeous animated CGs! I couldn’t be happier to have backed The Letter back in 2015, and I’m really looking forward to playing it.



These VNs I’ve listed are just a small sample of the successfully crowdfunded VNs out there—others I’ve heard good things about but haven’t gotten around to reading yet include Lucy -The eternity she wished for-, Asagao Academy, and Hustle Cat, to name only a few. I hope this post has shed some light on the positives of crowdfunding in the visual novel industry, and maybe inspired some people to check out these VNs if they hadn’t heard of them!