By Cyfir (Cyfiremmerich Resident)
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I’m not a big fan of visual novels, but something about The Crown of Leaves drew me in. I
was immediately drawn to the beautiful art style, music, world, lore, and of course the
characters. The setting and aesthetic were right up my alley. I enjoyed every second of
the first chapter and you can check out the plot and purchase on Steam here. As it turns
out, others have enjoyed the game as well. The reviews for the game on Steam have
been Overwhelmingly Positive and it even was nominated for a 2019 SXSW award. Now
being a huge fan of the game and the artists behind it, I was extremely excited to interview
the main duo behind it; Lins and Grimm.
was immediately drawn to the beautiful art style, music, world, lore, and of course the
characters. The setting and aesthetic were right up my alley. I enjoyed every second of
the first chapter and you can check out the plot and purchase on Steam here. As it turns
out, others have enjoyed the game as well. The reviews for the game on Steam have
been Overwhelmingly Positive and it even was nominated for a 2019 SXSW award. Now
being a huge fan of the game and the artists behind it, I was extremely excited to interview
the main duo behind it; Lins and Grimm.
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Cyfir: What inspired the art, story, and lore of the game?
Lins: The game’s lore had existed long before the game itself and has passed through
numerous and painful changes. Latori, a country within the Shang-La universe in which
the action of “The Crown of Leaves” takes place, was originally based on the mixture of
gypsy and voodoo culture. (We were very inspired by their aesthetics.)
numerous and painful changes. Latori, a country within the Shang-La universe in which
the action of “The Crown of Leaves” takes place, was originally based on the mixture of
gypsy and voodoo culture. (We were very inspired by their aesthetics.)
It’s always hard to talk about how the story was born. We put our feelings and emotions into the story and a little bit of ourselves into Roui, so we get a good laugh out of it.
As for the visual-novel-like-a-game genre, we were inspired by two games — Phoenix
Wright: Ace Attorney and Great Troubles created by our compatriots from the Hazukashi
Team. We can’t fail to mention Tales from the Borderlands by TTG because it radically
changed our vision of how character portrayal and storytelling should be done.
Wright: Ace Attorney and Great Troubles created by our compatriots from the Hazukashi
Team. We can’t fail to mention Tales from the Borderlands by TTG because it radically
changed our vision of how character portrayal and storytelling should be done.
================================================
Cyfir: Who provided the music?
Grimm: "Blacksmith" is an awesome musician! We met by chance. I had just been surfing
through resources for paid music, listening to everything I saw until I suddenly stumbled
upon one of his tracks. That tempted me at once, and we decided "Why not DM him?
What if he takes orders for original soundtracks? "
through resources for paid music, listening to everything I saw until I suddenly stumbled
upon one of his tracks. That tempted me at once, and we decided "Why not DM him?
What if he takes orders for original soundtracks? "
"Blacksmith" has a clearly recognizable style. He can’t be confused with anybody else, he
is not afraid of experiments, and he is a real professional with a capital “P.” And he also
enjoys rock, jazz, and Halloween-style gothic music.
is not afraid of experiments, and he is a real professional with a capital “P.” And he also
enjoys rock, jazz, and Halloween-style gothic music.
When he created "The Storyteller" (Roui’s music theme), and we listened to it for the first
time, we were sitting after it for a few minutes in a pleasant shock with the only thought in
our heads "It's fabulous."
time, we were sitting after it for a few minutes in a pleasant shock with the only thought in
our heads "It's fabulous."
================================================
Cyfir: Is there anyone else on the team that contributed to the project?
Lins: Sure! First of all, we should mention our coder, mold.FF. He is sincerely dedicated to
what he does and “The Crown” project. So he had been not only solving the tasks we gave
him, but also felt free to share his own ideas about technical issues. All complicated
modules were done by his hands.
what he does and “The Crown” project. So he had been not only solving the tasks we gave
him, but also felt free to share his own ideas about technical issues. All complicated
modules were done by his hands.
As for our musician, _Blacksmith_, Grimm has already told you about him before. There
are two tracks in the OST made by other musicians, Unikorn and Flaviocortizo — one
track was bought as the very first, the second one is the most recent. We also separately
ordered OST track from Craig C. Barnes for the location where all the main action takes
place. The main character’s voice in the intro video was acted by Beau Stephenson – this
is a voice which has clung to Roui and which all of us will undoubtedly hear again in the future.
are two tracks in the OST made by other musicians, Unikorn and Flaviocortizo — one
track was bought as the very first, the second one is the most recent. We also separately
ordered OST track from Craig C. Barnes for the location where all the main action takes
place. The main character’s voice in the intro video was acted by Beau Stephenson – this
is a voice which has clung to Roui and which all of us will undoubtedly hear again in the future.
A translation from Russian into English was made by Natalie De Corsair and edited by
Limelawn, Alexis, and Caervec. It is worth noting that Caervec also worked carefully on
Flynn’s manner of speech in the English localization.
Limelawn, Alexis, and Caervec. It is worth noting that Caervec also worked carefully on
Flynn’s manner of speech in the English localization.
I hope I’ve mentioned everyone. At the moment the team has changed again, but it is too
early to talk about it in detail.
early to talk about it in detail.
================================================
Cyfir: Without spoiling anything of course, what can everyone look forward to in the next
chapters?
chapters?
Lins: Intrigue, jiggery-pokery, a show-boat trip on a clear morning (possibly).
Grimm: Lots of adventures, mysticism, and monochrome gloom! And a little bit for Serbian
fans: in the second chapter, his story will be continued.
fans: in the second chapter, his story will be continued.
================================================
Cyfir: What have been the challenges of getting this project off the ground and what
helped you guys to overcome those challenges?
helped you guys to overcome those challenges?
Lins: As old friends and co-authors, Grimm and I are used to relying only on our own or
each other's strengths. We felt we had the firepower to make the game on our own, without
attracting any other people: writing stories together or generating universes and characters
is not something new to us, plus both of us are also artists. The game engine seemed quite
simple to me. And as for music, we planned to buy it from audio resources. Then we
realized pretty fast that we couldn’t cope with that by ourselves, and that is how the team
began to assemble.
each other's strengths. We felt we had the firepower to make the game on our own, without
attracting any other people: writing stories together or generating universes and characters
is not something new to us, plus both of us are also artists. The game engine seemed quite
simple to me. And as for music, we planned to buy it from audio resources. Then we
realized pretty fast that we couldn’t cope with that by ourselves, and that is how the team
began to assemble.
We had worked for several months with the first coder, but his work did not suit us. We
also had our friend Natalie De Corsair with us. She had to create psychological profiles
(I honestly still don’t understand what all of us had expected from that). We also planned
to pick another musician, but something went wrong.
also had our friend Natalie De Corsair with us. She had to create psychological profiles
(I honestly still don’t understand what all of us had expected from that). We also planned
to pick another musician, but something went wrong.
The vision on the final result was absolutely different between us, which slowed the
working process and caused some disagreements. We violated the deadlines that we
had set for ourselves. It all came to a decision that I took over the entire visual and plot
part of the project. But later, it became obvious that the leader is not the person who
does everything by himself, but the one who finds the strength to entrust the difficult
work to team members and to distribute responsibilities between them correctly.
Grimm worked with backgrounds, Natalie with translations, and I focused on plot and
drawing character sprites. That helped us to finish chapter one.
working process and caused some disagreements. We violated the deadlines that we
had set for ourselves. It all came to a decision that I took over the entire visual and plot
part of the project. But later, it became obvious that the leader is not the person who
does everything by himself, but the one who finds the strength to entrust the difficult
work to team members and to distribute responsibilities between them correctly.
Grimm worked with backgrounds, Natalie with translations, and I focused on plot and
drawing character sprites. That helped us to finish chapter one.
Grimm: I can also add depression and lack of spare time to that list. 2018 and 2019
stood out richly for tragic real-life situations and health issues for both of us. The coder
and translator also had enough of their own problems. There were months when we
barely had time to sleep at night, trying to combine our main jobs, real-life stuff, and
“The Crown” with all that gloomy background, eventually going into a deep pit.
stood out richly for tragic real-life situations and health issues for both of us. The coder
and translator also had enough of their own problems. There were months when we
barely had time to sleep at night, trying to combine our main jobs, real-life stuff, and
“The Crown” with all that gloomy background, eventually going into a deep pit.
But now all those things are already behind us, thanks to the closest people for their
support.
support.
================================================
Cyfir: Is there a rough release window for chapter two?
Lins/Grimm: We expect to finish chapter two by the end of 2020. We want to work
through everything we’ve done calmly and accurately, so as not to disappoint our fans!
through everything we’ve done calmly and accurately, so as not to disappoint our fans!
================================================
Cyfir: Game projects often go through changes as they are developed. Have there been
any changes in the direction of the game over the course of conception and development
and if so, what might those have been?
any changes in the direction of the game over the course of conception and development
and if so, what might those have been?
Lins/Grimm: We wanted to come up with a mystical story about a society committed to
ancient traditions and beliefs … aaaand it was supposed to be a dating simulator. That
was sort of “Let’s try something simple for the first time.” Over time, the concept of this
story had changed, and we began to bump into a sort of gloomy tale, completely devoid
of any humor.
ancient traditions and beliefs … aaaand it was supposed to be a dating simulator. That
was sort of “Let’s try something simple for the first time.” Over time, the concept of this
story had changed, and we began to bump into a sort of gloomy tale, completely devoid
of any humor.
The changes began imperceptibly, and to mark the point when they started, I will share
a little sort of a secret. We often turn on some nonsense content on the background
during the working process to make it less routine - the worse it is, the better – and we
also funnily comment about it in parallel. We have one TV channel where some sort of
nonsense about fortune-tellers, conspiracies, ceremonies, and etc. is broadcasted 24
hours a day. And there was the moment when we realized that the protagonist of “The
Crown” gradually became a skeptic instead of a guardian of ancient traditions and
superstitions, who had also started seeing through charlatans and languidly rolling his
eyes every time he had to hear another omen from one of his relatives. We’ve just
understood that such a story simply can’t be narrated with a serious face. So that is
how we got to what we have now, even though such a path forced us to postpone the
release of the game for a few years.
a little sort of a secret. We often turn on some nonsense content on the background
during the working process to make it less routine - the worse it is, the better – and we
also funnily comment about it in parallel. We have one TV channel where some sort of
nonsense about fortune-tellers, conspiracies, ceremonies, and etc. is broadcasted 24
hours a day. And there was the moment when we realized that the protagonist of “The
Crown” gradually became a skeptic instead of a guardian of ancient traditions and
superstitions, who had also started seeing through charlatans and languidly rolling his
eyes every time he had to hear another omen from one of his relatives. We’ve just
understood that such a story simply can’t be narrated with a serious face. So that is
how we got to what we have now, even though such a path forced us to postpone the
release of the game for a few years.
================================================
Cyfir: I loved playing through chapter one and my only real disappointment was that it
ended before I was ready to leave the world. Will chapter two be longer?
ended before I was ready to leave the world. Will chapter two be longer?
Lins: One review has deeply stained my mind (but, sadly, not literally). In that review,
a player shared his opinion, that, possibly, the first chapter is just a prologue for
something huge. What I said in my head was like “Nah, of course not”, but, actually,
it was more like “*scoff*… of course, yes!” Chapter two will be much longer.
a player shared his opinion, that, possibly, the first chapter is just a prologue for
something huge. What I said in my head was like “Nah, of course not”, but, actually,
it was more like “*scoff*… of course, yes!” Chapter two will be much longer.
Originally we planned to create a simple short game in 3-4 chapters just to pass the
time. No one had even thought about history in a few chapters. However, when we had
been finishing the first chapter, we clearly understood that the game left many issues
not only for the players but also even for us. We know how everything will go on; all of
us just have to solve “The Crown” correctly.
time. No one had even thought about history in a few chapters. However, when we had
been finishing the first chapter, we clearly understood that the game left many issues
not only for the players but also even for us. We know how everything will go on; all of
us just have to solve “The Crown” correctly.
================================================
Cyfir: Were you surprised at how well the game was received?
Grimm: Extremely! We had no guarantees that players would enjoy “The Crown”,
because it is 2D and anthro-styled. But we were suddenly supported both by Russian
and foreign fans. Some wrote and still write very warm kind words, others draw fan-arts,
really, lots of love! It’s nice to feel that you are striving for a good reason.
because it is 2D and anthro-styled. But we were suddenly supported both by Russian
and foreign fans. Some wrote and still write very warm kind words, others draw fan-arts,
really, lots of love! It’s nice to feel that you are striving for a good reason.
Critical remarks about game mechanics and conveniences/inconveniences are also
useful. With their help, we understand what should be changed in-game, or vice versa,
what should be left untouched.
useful. With their help, we understand what should be changed in-game, or vice versa,
what should be left untouched.
================================================
Cyfir: After The Crown of Leaves, what’s next for you and your team? Are there other
game projects on the horizon for you and your team?
game projects on the horizon for you and your team?
Lins/Grimm: We have plans to expand plot branches, which didn’t have enough
attention paid to them in “The Crown”. Roui’s story will end sooner or later, but this
universe is still full of unsolved mysteries.
It seems to me that a clearer understanding of what the next project should look like attention paid to them in “The Crown”. Roui’s story will end sooner or later, but this
universe is still full of unsolved mysteries.
will come during the development of the last chapter.
================================================
Cyfir: On your online profiles you mention that you are not furries. What lead you to
an anthropomorphic-like art-style and catering to the fandom?
an anthropomorphic-like art-style and catering to the fandom?
Grimm: The thing is that it is not the only fandom we are interested in. We enjoy
drawing both humans and anthros, which we tried to reflect in the Shang-La universe.
Sahash live side by side with humans and don’t conflict with each other. In “The Crown”,
we will continue to develop this idea. One human character is a protagonist of the DLC
called “Immortal Horses.” Another one will meet you in the second chapter.
drawing both humans and anthros, which we tried to reflect in the Shang-La universe.
Sahash live side by side with humans and don’t conflict with each other. In “The Crown”,
we will continue to develop this idea. One human character is a protagonist of the DLC
called “Immortal Horses.” Another one will meet you in the second chapter.
We began to draw animals in childhood. This is not surprising, considering the old Disney
cartoons we all grew up on and our love of fairy tales like “Narnia”. In my youth, it seemed
to me that it was easier to draw animals; my dog turned out better in my drawings than
my Mother, who resented that she had "round cheeks" or that her "nose does not look
like this". On the other hand, my dog did not have that much opportunity to comment on
my childhood creativity…
cartoons we all grew up on and our love of fairy tales like “Narnia”. In my youth, it seemed
to me that it was easier to draw animals; my dog turned out better in my drawings than
my Mother, who resented that she had "round cheeks" or that her "nose does not look
like this". On the other hand, my dog did not have that much opportunity to comment on
my childhood creativity…
================================================
Cyfir: Are there any other projects that you would like to plug?
Lins:We had been working on a comic book called “Asomatous” before “The Crown of
Leaves”, but we never finished it. Perhaps, we can come back to it after “The Crown” and
rework it according to the game, who knows. But it’s unlikely that there would be any side
stories to it.
Leaves”, but we never finished it. Perhaps, we can come back to it after “The Crown” and
rework it according to the game, who knows. But it’s unlikely that there would be any side
stories to it.
Also, we’ve got a small comic series “The Endless Circle of Wolves” about the adventures
of Tsourai Queen Saria, which is also indirectly related to Roui’s story. We had drawn it as
a present for our patrons after we achieved a certain number of them on our Patreon.
of Tsourai Queen Saria, which is also indirectly related to Roui’s story. We had drawn it as
a present for our patrons after we achieved a certain number of them on our Patreon.
----
Even if you are not a visual novel fan, I highly recommend this game for it’s intriguing story,
music, and visuals. You will be transported to another world that you won’t want to leave.
I can’t wait until the next chapter!
music, and visuals. You will be transported to another world that you won’t want to leave.
I can’t wait until the next chapter!
Cyfir
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