Birds of Paradise - DEMO
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
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New city, new job, new apartment, new life!
Fresh out of college, Robin thinks she’s hit the jackpot after landing a position as assistant manager to the Birds of Paradise; an upcoming boy band with dreams of making it big. Robin is thrilled to be working with such high-profile clients… though not everything is as glamorous as it first seems.
Disastrously, Robin is left high and dry when her boss unexpectedly quits, leaving the fresh-faced recent grad fully in charge of the band. Robin soon finds herself overwhelmed by the boys’ -- *ahem* -- flamboyant personalities.
Left to fend for herself and help the band find success, Robin must navigate constant aggravation as the band members vie for her attention. Still, she can’t help but find them endearing…
To make matters all the more complicated, rival femme fatale rock band the Birds of Prey are constantly trying to steal the boys’ spotlight.
Not only must Robin navigate her relationships with the Birds of Paradise and the Birds of Prey, but she must ensure both she and the band succeed... in life, love, and in the limelight!
Development for Birds of Paradise is currently paused. Goals for the full game include 120,000+ words, four male romance options, one female romance option, one friendship route, multiple endings (good and bad), over 10 unlockable illustrations, and a whole lot of hilarity.
This demo features:
- 8,000+ words
Two backgrounds
Original soundtrack
Six character sprites
One unlockable illustration
While you're waiting, play our previous release; Up All Night – a serene, psychological horror visual novel, or consider supporting our new dating sim project: Occult Mingle.
Download
Development log
- Final 24 Hours on Kickstarter!Aug 24, 2022
- Demo V2.5 Released, Final 72 Hours of KSAug 22, 2022
- Fiendish Fiction, Birds of Paradise, and LGBTQ+ ContentAug 13, 2022
- A Note to Our Mac PlayersAug 09, 2022
- Kickstarter Campaign Now LIVE!Jul 26, 2022
- Major Demo Update + New Content! (v2.4)Jul 25, 2022
- Kickstarter Launch Announcement!Jul 12, 2022
- The Birds of Paradise Demo is LIVE!!Jun 30, 2022
Comments
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I just wanted to stop by and say I still think about this demo.
i’m a simple person, i see a blond guy who gives off that silly golden retriever energy and i fall in love
We love himbos in this household~ (◡‿◡✿)
I fully enjoyed the chaotic energy this has and won't give up hope for the full release. One day. uvu
Thank you, Let's Kei!
We have no plans to give up on Birds of Paradise, it may just take a little longer than we'd hoped. We're going to work on some other smaller projects in the meantime, and revisit this in year or so when funding is more likely. Thanks for the continued support!
SPOILER ALERT -
If you prefer the element of surprise, please stop reading!
I did a speed run of the demo in the video. Note spoiler alert in video, as reveals dialogue/storyline for each love interest.
What I liked about the game:
* Character sprite art - Each character is well designed with personality and colour theme. The changing expressions to reflect emotions and narrative is excellent! Callum's look of disgust at Wren's platform shoes purchase is classic!
* Logo art - Birds of Paradise logo is so bright and cheery.
* Background art - from main char apartment to band studio, and even the daytime/nighttime changes are beautiful.
* Music - Vega's sound track rocks. It totally gels with her femme fatale rock chick vibe. It's my favourite track so far.
* Writing / Editing / story - My favourite parts are when Robin meets Vega for the first time, with bonus ice cream melting on her thigh. Ha ha ha. I was especially hooked on Lonan's character reveal, with his piercings, which probably says something more about me than the story, but captivating and intriguing and very well written.
* Programming - When Robin researches the Birds of Paradise band, with the one cheesy photoshoot, this whole section of programming is masterful. It's so wonderfully designed with the end user in mind, that I was beaming the entire time. Let's give credit from start to finish. You can mouse hover over each love interest, which reveals their name over their head in their personalised colour theme - so cool! When you select a love interest, the others fade away. After introductory text, you're rewarded with a completely different pose (which is so art intensive and very much appreciated), and actual conversation with the love interest in a dream state.
Overall, loved it! I've backed the Kickstarter and looking forward to next steps for Birds of Paradise.
Thanks so much, Lila!
We're thrilled you enjoyed the demo, and really took the time to note of all the hard work we've poured into it. We also appreciate your generous Kickstarter support!
We'll definitely be watching your demo playthrough when can find the time. It's always a blast to see how different folks react to different scenes and characters.
Thanks again!
Just wanted to stop by and mention - when Vega/Jay are about to go through ‘the reveal’, the person indicated speaking is switched. It says Jay is saying “if you can even call Birds of Paradise a band”, then Vega says “I should say that about your song/dance number, BOP at least have instruments” (paraphrasing). It should be Vega/Jay instead of Jay/Vega, basically.
Anyway, I’m absolutely loving it so far. I cannot wait to see the finished product.
Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention! We'll be rolling out a demo update soon, and will make sure to include this in our fixes.
We're glad you enjoyed the demo... we definitely recommend keeping an eye on our Kickstarter, too. We have big plans for the full game!!
Oh, I’ve definitely already subscribed to the KS! I cannot wait! If the full-game is more of this, I have no doubt it’ll be well-worth the wait :)
Crushing On Lonan And Jay lmaoo
Excellent choices! We try not to be biased, but our writer's favourite is definitely Lonan, and our artist loves Jay. ;)
first I'd like to say: Daamn this looks sooo good
I have a bit of a dumb request, but would it be possible to have an option for they/them pronouns? (I get dysphoric when playing as she/her characters, and I just would love to play it, but can only without that uncomfortable feeling)
If this is not something you want to add because of any reason, then no harm, sometimes it's just not something one wants to do with a character or wants to figure out, I understand.
I'll just happily wait for your other great future projects. Please do have a good day and take care of yourself, I know of way too many creators who forget to do that.
Hello TheRandomMoth,
Thank you very much for the comment.
While we understand your concerns and believe nonbinary people and they/them pronouns are real and valid, our intention for Birds of Paradise is to deliver an experience authentic to women working in the entertainment industry. It's important to keep in mind that Robin is her own person (with quite the personality!) and her story shouldn’t be approached as a 'self-insertion'. To include the option of customizing the protagonist without adjusting the story or Robin as a character would be disingenuous to our players. We hope you understand.
Thank you again. We will definitely take care of ourselves today, and please make sure you do the same! We have plenty more games in the pipeline, and hope you can enjoy our future releases. :)
I really enjoyed this prologue! The story setup, the characters, the music and color scheme all charmed me. I also loved the changes in character sprites to match Robin's outfit swaps, it was such a nice show of attention to detail :>
It was all enough to get over my devastation when I tabbed over to find out that the character I love most is unromanceable 😭 I can't wait to see where the story goes from here!
Thank you so much!
We're thrilled you enjoyed the prologue, and all the hard work we've poured into it thus far.
We definitely want to be up front about Callum to avoid any in-game heartbreak, but we promise his friendship route will be just as in-depth and rewarding as the romantic paths. As LGBT+ creators ourselves, we think it's important to tackle the often undressed (but all too common) concept of unrequited attraction, and we hope it leads to a fulfilling player experience as Robin gets closer to Callum.
We look forward to sharing more, and hope you'll keep up with our upcoming Kickstarter launch. ;)
Thank you again!!
It's totally understandable! I could definitely see a rewarding friendship path with him :] I look forward to hearing more about him, the rest of the boys, and the trajectory of the project! <3
Just dropping by to let you know you're not alone in your interest in Callum... and we're taking it to heart with a Kickstarter stretch goal featuring a Callum scene in Jay's route. ;)
I just saw the stretch goal and I just have to say that your studio's definitely earning its name right now >//__//> EVERYONE GO THROW MONEY AT THEM!!
Haven't even played the game yet. And already just...Lonan supremacy.
We look forward to your thoughts on his scene in the demo... wink ;)
OmO, looking forward for future chapters (≧(ｴ)≦ ) I enjoyed the prologue.
Thanks so much! We're glad you enjoyed. :)