Death & Faeology-Prologue
A downloadable game for Windows
⁓ Made for SPOOKTOBER VN JAM 2024 ⁓
NOTE: Oct 10th - Build 1.0.1 is shipped! Click here to read the change log and please comment in the post to report any bug. We hope you enjoy Death & Faeology - Prologue!
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A dark academia murder mystery visual novel inspired by Strange Horticulture and the Ace Attorney series.
- Interact using your tools to investigate the evidence
- Interview a select character to gain information from them
- Read your trusty fae encyclopedia to learn more about the faerie world
- Choose between rekindling your past romance with a detective, indulging in the charm of your patron, or simply being contented with yourself
- 20k words (approximately)
- 5 different endings based on the choices you made
- 2 epilogue variations
You are a renowned faeologist in 1920s New York who has been tasked with solving a chilling crime:
Bizarre murders happening across the upper echelons of New York society, with the mystery deepening with every clue.
Follow the clues with your fae expertise and keen investigative tools such as a magnifying glass and a blacklight, and gather vital information by interviewing those who hold fragments of the truth, all while navigating your allegiance between a relentless detective and your enigmatic patron.
Will you unravel the truth and cement the importance of faeology in a world that relegates it to the realm of pseudoscience?
Death & Faeology-Prologue was made for Spooktober VN Jam 2024. This is a prologue episode intended as the demo of the full, much-longer game, information on which will be announced at a later date.
Aside from the two love interests in the current build, more love interests are already planned for the full game. Both the mystery and your relationship with the characters will become deeper and more complex, with some unexpected twists and turns along the way.
Learn more about the development of the game by following us on our socials:
- Bluesky (slowly migrating here): https://bsky.app/profile/mushroomallow.bsky.social
- X: https://x.com/mushroomallow
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mushroomallow
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mushroomallow_studio/
- Lead / art: Mushroomallow
- Writer: Ilyilaice | Lulucat | initial outline and concept by B.L. McDarragh
- Programmer: Emilisa (Mushroomallow)
- Item art: Appleciderdonut
- Development tools: Made using Unity, Yarn Spinner, FMod
- Sound and music: MYUU, Dovasyndrome, Freesound
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- Death & Faeology Prologue - WALKTHROUGH55 days ago
- Change Log and Bug Report72 days ago
Comments
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Hello! I just want to start this review by saying that I'm genuinely excited for the full game of this! I assume there are plans for a full game? Since the title says "prologue" hehe. It just has an interesting plotline for me. I'm mostly biased toward badass women (the clever MC) but I can't believe that there is a mystery (the detective investigation point and click) on top of ROMANCE (TEAM THEOOO). I wonder if the full game will give more details about Theo and the MC's backstory TT^TT I'm so curious. It also sounds like Theo is somewhat prideful? Maybe there will be development in his character in the full game? haha
Apologies for the long rant. TLDR I'm just excited cause I could see this game's potential!
SPOILER ALERT!!!
Now for the bugs. These are just some glaring ones I noticed while I was trying to get the good ending:
1. I saved during the Oscar Interview, but when I quickly loaded it, the background was sadly morning instead of night.
2. I saved during the second investigation part with some of the items on the desk instead of being stored. When I loaded this save, the items that were on the desk are not in the stored evidence anymore TT^TT. For example, I put the hair samples on the desk, and then I saved. When I loaded, I couldn't find the hair samples anymore. I had to load back to an earlier save to get them back haha
3. I followed your guide on how to get the good ending. I was stuck at first cause the guide mentioned "show him the coin and the family photographs of the first and second victims." As such I showed Oscar the coin first, but sadly it didn't do anything. The fae didn't appear. So, I reloaded and I showed all the photos first. Only then did Oscar suggest that I should put the coin under the blacklight. I'm not sure if this is a bug but more of a suggestion? Maybe the walkthrough guide should mention that the player must show all photos to Oscar first before showing the coin.
4. In relation to the No.3 there was actually a time when I unlocked the fae and investigated everything. However the button "End Investigation" never appeared. I had to reload cause I was stuck sadly haha. Unfortunately, I'm not sure what caused this :") Just something I wanted to bring to your knowledge.
That is all!!! I'm actually a fan of your work, since I played Edda. Your art is so cute and your stories are interesting! Looking forward to more Death & Faeology!
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! The bug reports are especially helpful. I'll add your suggestion for the walkthrough right away and will share the reports with the programmer afterward!
To answer your question, yes, the game is still in the Prologue stage, and we hope to continue production once we've gathered enough funds. The MC-Theo relationship will definitely be more fleshed out in the full game, but I should mention that the stories of the other characters are intriguing as well 😉
I really appreciate that you've played our games since EDDA Cafe! I sincerely hope you continue to support us in the future!
Oh I was going to download but it says no compatible download found for itch app haha
Can you check again if the game can be downloaded now? After I uploaded the 1.0.1 version, I forgot to check the 'executable for Windows', so that might be the thing that prevent you to download the game. It's already checked now. FYI, the file is compressed in zip format.
Terribly sorry for the inconvenience!
No problem!!! I'm just glad to help!
This looks so interesting! However I'm getting an error when trying to extract the file and it wont let me play :(
I just notice that I used rar format instead of zip to compress the file. Terribly sorry for the inconvenience! I've uploaded the zip file now. Please try it and let me know if the game can be installed this time.
Any chance of putting out a Mac build?
Since we used Unity to build the game, we'll need to use Mac to make Mac build. Our programmer use Windows, so unfortunately Mac build will have to wait indefinitely.
That is fair.
Hi, i'm not sure why but every time i try to extract the game it fails to extract and i can't play. I tried extracting to different locations but same issue
Thanks for the report! I'll look into this matter, but for now I suggest to download the game again, and install the new downloaded file. Let me know if the problem still persist.
Hi again cervineprince! I just found out the problem that prevent you to install the game properly, which is me using rar format instead of zip to compress the file. I've uploaded the correct format now. I'm sorry for the inconvenience! Please try downloading the game again, and let me know if it works this time.
Hi Mushroomallow, thank you!! I was able to extract the game now. I'm excited to start playing once i have some free time!
Glad to hear it works now! I hope you enjoy the game! ^^
Calling it right now, this secret Oscar is hiding is whatever makes his chicken so finger lickin' good
OMG not the KFC reference 😂 Man has his secrets, and will stay that way until we get the chance to continue the story (hopefully soon 😉).
Such an interesting story! I'm intrigued by the story so far in your prologue and I love the detective gameplay mechanic! It's so unique and on point with the plot for faeology. The hotbox for hover/active state for the detective tools like the blacklight and magnifying glass could be bigger. And the makeup box didn't prompt dialogue until I moved it on top of the encyclopedia and then moved the magnifying glass over it. That felt like a bug. Good job!
Already replied this in the submission page, but thank you again for the comment and feedbacks!
Oh I was about to report some issues but then I see that the game is currently being fixed XD
Can't wait for the re-upload!!!
The fixes are going well and the new build is almost ready to be uploaded! Please look forward to it! ^^
Hi again Terry! Just want to inform you that the build has been reuploaded and played much more smoothly this time (hopefully). Please enjoy, and let me know what you think of the game!
Yep, I will!
in the first minigame, I can't do anything else other than checking the items, how to progress &complete it?
Hi! The investigation minigame in the current build is still buggy and unresponsive. We've already worked to fix it, but the updates will be out this weekend at the earliest. I highly suggest wait until then to play the game at its better state.
Hi Rozansa! Just want to inform you that the build has been reuploaded. The gameplay experience is hopefully more smooth this time. Please enjoy, and let me know what you think of the game!