Why did we make Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life?

Hello everyone! I’m the lead of Potato Blossom Studio.

Our game, Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life, is officially out, and the launch discount is still running!

The game has now made it through its first week on sale, and the results have far exceeded our expectations.

Before release, I was very anxious.

Would it sink without a trace, like so many Chinese visual novels, and end up being overlooked?

Unfortunately, that is not an unusual outcome in this field.

Of course we hoped it would do well. But before launch, we spent much more time worrying about failure than hoping for some miracle.

In the end, there was no astonishing miracle, but the result really was much better than we expected.

Which brings us to a question:

“Why did we make Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life?”

Before answering that, perhaps we should address something else we are often asked:

“Why not simply make a sequel to Tiny Shadows Interwoven Hearts?”

There are several reasons.

For one, our scenario writer did not have time available.

Changing writers would make it difficult to ensure that a sequel retained the original’s atmosphere. We would rather wait until the circumstances are right and give the next story proper consideration than rush to replace the writer just to release a sequel sooner.

For another, Tiny Shadows was not nearly as popular in its first week as it later became.

It is also a free game. We could see how much players liked it, but it was hard to judge whether that enthusiasm would translate into sales, or whether a larger project would be viable.

The more important reason, though, is that we want to keep moving forward.

Rather than stay with what we have already made, we want to try new directions and gradually take on projects that are larger and more challenging to produce.

Making a Chinese visual novel on the scale of a full-price Japanese release has always been Potato Blossom Studio’s goal.

That is not a goal we can reach in a single step.

Before attempting a project of that scale, we need experience with larger productions, time to develop as a team, and evidence that these games can survive in the market.

That is the thinking that led to Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life.

Moving from one heroine to two, and from a free game to a paid one, were both significant changes for us. This was a new experiment, and a step we needed to take before making something larger still.

Was it the right step?

So far, it seems to have been.

We have not yet recouped our costs, but if the current sales trend continues, we may do so within the first month.

Of course, we cannot know in advance how far sales will ultimately go.

At least the results so far suggest that our direction is viable, and give us more confidence to keep going.

So, what are our plans?

First, both Tiny Shadows and Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life will have sequels.

Neither sequel will enter production immediately, though. We want to begin when the conditions are right.

For now, we will follow our original plan and continue working towards our goal.

Our next main project will move from two heroines to three, telling a story about making a visual novel together.

Alongside it, we are also developing My Cat Is a Maid!, a short visual novel with one heroine.

This will be a smaller game, primarily to let us experiment with Live2D presentation.

We expect to release demos for both the next main project and the catgirl game towards the end of the year. We will share more about them along the way.

Of course, we know that continuing to make Chinese visual novels will not be easy.

A full year has passed since the wave of failures last May, yet the overall environment for Chinese visual novels has still not noticeably improved.

Even so, we choose to keep making them.

Our reason is not particularly complicated.

We love visual novels. We want to make games that we enjoy and that players can have a good time with too.

Thank you for supporting Eternity, Stars, and Everyday Life.

The launch discount is still running, and we would love to hear your reviews and feedback. Whether it is something you liked or something you think could be improved, we will take it seriously.

We expect the demos for our next game and the catgirl project to meet you towards the end of the year.

Finally, we will not forget what brought us here.

We will keep working hard to make more visual novels about falling in love with adult loli heroines!

We hope we can keep sharing these stories with you for many years to come.