When we started Highway Blossoms, we didn’t know what to expect.
When we announced Highway Blossoms, we didn’t know what to expect.
When we released Highway Blossoms, we didn’t know what to expect.
We’ve been consistently shocked and overjoyed at the reception that our game has received every step of the way. Now that it’s been out for a little bit and we’re no longer still in the “initial launch” period, we wanted to take a quick moment to say thanks to everyone whose bought and enjoyed the game, or who left feedback on how it can be improved. We’re already sitting at a “Very Positive” rating on Steam with almost a hundred reviews. People are talking about the game in multiple languages, and we’ve seen a lot of favorable comments. Thank you for those.
It’s especially humbling when we see people talking about how the game had some sort of profound emotional effect on them, whether with regards to their sexuality or their family or whatever it may be. We’re awestruck and grateful to have had the opportunity to make a positive impact on our audience.
So where do we go from here?
Right now, we’re all going to buckle down and work even harder on completing “The Human Reignition Project.” That’s our main priority. We’ve learned a lot during the development cycle of HB and we think that you’ll be able to see the results when HRP is finally released.
While we don’t have any solid plans for future HB content at the moment, I think it’s safe to say that we’re not entirely done with Amber and Marina (or their acquaintances). Whether it’s side stories or maybe even a full-blown sequel, there’s definitely more that we wanna do with the characters – just not anytime soon. We’ve already had a couple people tell us that they’re working on fanfiction or fanart, and we can’t wait to see that ourselves.
Syon and I will be writing more detailed postmortems in a few weeks or so, but we didn’t want to go too long without expressing our gratitude for helping Highway Blossoms start off so strong.
Now onto the next game.
23 replies on “One Week (and some change) Later”
Highway Blossoms was a beautiful little story for the first time in a long time I got so engrossed in a pair of characters that I ended up pulling an all-nighter to finish it. The circumstances were fun to drop the reader into, the art was excellent and the best part was easily Amber and Marina. I loved how the two of them developed as characters and how they played off their circumstances.
Seeing how this was written and the art work done for it, I am even more looking forward to HRP and anything else you guys create.
Thank you very much for making this story and I’m really looking forward to future projects!
Thank you so much! That means a lot to us =3 Glad that you enjoyed it!
First of all, I’m a guy, with a profound affection for yuri-styled stories (real ones, not the testosterone-fueled sex-fests). I can’t really explain why I like them so much, but, I do. So far, my favorite yuri stories have, by and large, been written by women. I rarely get to see a male-written one with so much feels.
But that’s what this was – epic feels. I tend to gauge the quality of a VN in a few ways that are somewhat personal to me, and may be somewhat atypical:
Visuals – this is a _visual_ novel, after all, so, how much time do I spend hiding the interface to just _enjoy._ Also, is the CG gallery even visited after playing, and how much time spent there. For HB, I was constantly enjoying nearly every scene, the attention drawn in each character, their responses, their feelings… it was amazing.
Feels – this, for me, is how I feel while reading/viewing. I count smiles on my face, tears in my eyes, frowns, brow furrows, laughing moments, etc. HB kept a smile on my face during most every happy/sappy moment, frowns/tears during the sad/intense moments, and several moments of laughing out loud (especially the goofball mode).
Afterthoughts – this is where I feel the story long after it’s been read. If the story is meant to be a specific emotion, how long do I feel it? Do I revisit the plot/characters/etc in my mind later, and if so, how long? Again, HB was beyond my expectations, in that I’m still thinking about, and probably will continue to do so for many, many weeks. I will definitely revisit the story within a year, and quite possibly more after that (an example of something that I have never stopped watching afterward is Clannad – seen that too many times to count).
Sound – for most VNs, I don’t usually include this, as they have music and SFX that is just… boring, repetitive, misplaced, or otherwise lacking. But for HB, this is different. The music is so well fitting to the setting (lived in CO my whole life, parents moved to four corners region 10 years ago and I visit twice a year, and I’ve been all over the four corner states most of my life) that every soundtrack transported me to various spots I’ve visited frequently, or just seemed to conjure the image of the arches, Shiprock, Grand Canyon, etc. I normally mute the sounds of a VN and play in silence or with my own music, but this time, I absolutely _had_ to listen to each soundtrack play, I would often cease clicking until the soundtrack completed, and I wouldn’t play without my headphones on.
So, basically, by my own criteria, this is as close as I can imagine to a perfect VN – especially a yuri one.
Anyway, I’m so glad you guys wrote this. I have such a warm feeling of sentimentality (my grandpa would take me around Nebraska and Wyoming when I was little), nostalgia (again, I frequented many of the sites present in the story, and the whole essence of the South-West was captured magnificently), and also, of appreciation, for the genuine love you grew between these characters.
Thank you, and I hope to read more from your team soon!
Rex
Hi there! Sorry for the late response! But really, thank you so, so much for your kind words! It means the world to us =3 We’ve been blown away by the support we’ve gotten so far.
What part of Colorado are you from? I’m from the Western Slope myself – maybe an hour from Grand Junction.
We’ll be working on more games, too! Right now we’re working on a very lengthy BxG game called “The Human Reignition Project.” You can follow our Twitter @AlienworksDev for more news and updates on that if you’d like. Cheers! ^.^
Thanks for the reply, Raithfyre!
That’s interesting, that you’re on the the western slope – my parents live in Cortez, CO, and I am up at Fort Collins, probably moving to Estes Park real soon.
I lived for about 6 years in La Junta, CO – my high school years, with my brother going to university at Adams State in Alamosa. I ended up at CSU in Fort Collins.
So when I read the synopsis – the setting, the plot, everything – I was like “Yes, Please.” No second thoughts.
And, I’m very glad, as you and your team magnificently captured the setting (I’ve read it twice more since leaving this review, heh).
I am very excited to see what else you guys have to offer, and I have an idea, if you’re interested, in a story I’ve already written that I’d love to see as a VN, but sadly, I’m not an artist…
If you are, please email me and I’ll tell you more (it’s a romantic/erotic story with a focus on the story and the relationship development, not the intimacy), that takes place in Colorado (west slope) and around Phoenix area.
Cheers, back! 🙂
Rex
Hi !
Maybe i’m an emotional guy, but wahou… I have no word to describe all the emotions i felt !
Very well written ! (nice arts and musics too !)
Really, thanks you so much !
I am generally not one to leave comments on things like this but….Thank you for making a beautiful, emotional love story. The imagery was splendid and mixed perfectly with the plot. You also have created characters that when i finished to story went….wait thats all? i want to know what they do next! (that goes for the supporting cast as well)
so once more, Thank you for making me stay up way too late and be tired at work because i wanted to find out what happened, It was worth it.
Thank you for your kind words! Glad you enjoyed it!
I purchased the game on steam, played through it, and I was… partly hurt, since it brings back some memories, and partly happy.
It surely absolutely without doubt has a fair story, with everything smoothly merged together. The yuri-ness is enough for me to last for another two months or so.
Also, as a starter-level reader about South and Western American geography and national reserves, Highway Blossoms has some unique advantages when compared with other competitors, such as the beautiful story and the beautiful art.
And, to me, what really made this game was the music.
I cannot boast that I’ve been through many visual novels, or galgames if you prefer, but this is the first one I’ve seen applying country / folk / rock(not pop-rock) into a galgame. I am quite a folkrock lover myself, and I cannot describe how shocked I was when I first started the journey and heard the acoustic guitar ring. That was mesmerising.
(Please forward my thanks and appreciation to Mr. Jake Abernathie and all other musicians that contributed to this game, thank you!)
Thank you very much for the kind words! I’ll pass along the compliments to the musicians =)
It’s been a difficult few months for me and I found myself searching for a little escapism, and here I find a visual-novel close to home both in location and to my heart.
Having lived in Central Texas for the past three years, and having driven between here and my old home in California a few times, the novel was a pleasant ride (pun intended) that I’m certainly not starved of desire to revisit. If anything, I’ll likely be playing through it again for the wonderful visuals, sweet music, and the story.
Originally, I had purchased the game for Myuto’s designs and the art of Shiyun, Raemz, and Rosuuri. For a brief few minutes the story seemed average, whereas the soundtrack was splendid (and well worth a purchase to listen to on drives through the countryside); time marched on, and as Rex in the earlier comments was saying, there was something captivating about the storyline, and the emotions felt truly genuine. I’ve been a long-time reader of yuri works, as the happier ones provide me with the means to live vicariously through their stories, and the more serious, dramatic ones can be relatable, to say the least; Highway Blossoms was a surprising entry into the works I’d consider to hold close to me for years to come.
Sappy pseudo-review and praise for Highway Blossoms aside, I wish the Alienworks team the best of luck in the Human Reignition Project. While I’m somewhat bummed it only gives the option for BxG, I don’t for a moment let that dull my interest in the game or feel any doubts that it too will be a wonderful work of writing.
Thank you very much for the journey, Alienworks!
Thank you very much for your kind words! We’ll definitely make more yuri games in the future – they’re my favorite!
Thank you for making such a wonderful VN. I loved it! Seriously, you have my permission to e-mail me if you ever need to kickstart something (DLC, Part 2 whatever).
Let us know if there is anything we can do to help promote the game. Already left a good review on Steam.
Thank you so much! Really, just spreading the word or telling your friends or whatever is the most we can ask for. Stuff like Let’s Plays, reviews, and all that stuff is just icing on the cake.
If you know anyone who feels especially generous, itch.io allows a “pay what you want” where we have the minimum price set and people can pay more if they’re so inclined. https://alienworks.itch.io/highway-blossoms
But really, anything at all helps~ Thanks for your support! ^.^
At .itch.io do I get the full uncensored game on my computer or not?
The game isn’t uncensored by default by the free patch works on it just like the Steam version. Download this http://highwayblossoms.com/hbadult/
And then place it in the “game” folder in the HB directory
are you working on getting the game to denpasoft? how is that going?
It’ll be on Denpasoft eventually! That version will be the exact same as the patched version from Itch/Steam, though.
So will I have to put the patch in even on the denpasoft version?
No, it will be the same as if you had patched the all-ages version, just with the patch already installed.
This game is just amazing!
I wish there was a Japanese version so that the Japanese community could know how awesome this is easier. English version is the best tho!
Seriously think this game should get a manga, it totally deserves one and it would definitely work!~
well i recently got this game and it changed my entire perspective of how visual novels are for the better. I sued to to think its more H related content but after the first 10 minutes i was already fully into the two characters introduced and wanted to know more about them and a few hours later i longed for so i restarted. the best and most remembered visual novel i have played thus far awesome work i loved it and will buy the sequel should one ever be released.