We've officially passed 300 downloads of the demo for Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim (and 200 followers on Twitter)! This is a huge milestone for us, and to celebrate I decided to give a look behind the scenes at the development of the game, including the characters, the development, and the story!

- Creative Lead, Chris Mahon

The Original Pitch

The first germ of Black Heaven was born in my interview for a Narrative Designer job at GameLoft. Part of the process was coming up with a pitch for a game, and I made up a presentation for a Dark Souls-inspired dungeon crawler where you have to collect 10,000 souls for a god who promises you entry to a paradise--the titular "Black Heaven" (Originally, the tagline for the visual novel was going to be 'the Dark Souls of dating sims!"). 

After the bulk of the interview, I had a chance to chat with the narrative team, and we ended up gushing about a little indie game that had just hit it big--Doki Doki Literature Club. We were so excited that a game like that existed, and we couldn't stop talking about it.

After I walked out of that job, I was blown away that we could talk about a game that deals with suicide, depression, and existential horror with such genuine joy. It was like an outpouring of relief when we discovered that the game resonated with all of us in the same way.

When I found out that I didn't get the job, I decided to work on a demo for a visual novel. That VN became Black Heaven: A Necromantic Dating Sim.

A Tale of Ghosts, Time, and Memories

Black Heaven was always meant to be a stand-alone story, but I've been developing the world it takes place in short stories, notes, and drawings for years (I've even run a couple D&D campaigns in the setting!). When I outlined the narrative for Black Heaven, however, I knew I wanted to focus on time, memories, and ghosts.

Time and memory have always been a melancholy topic for me. I used to live life with the constant thought in the back of my head that nothing lasts--friendships fade, achievements become obsolete, and happy moments end, leaving only memories behind. 

After reading about Zen Buddhism, I came across the concept of the "hungry ghost," a dead person who's driven by a hunger to fill the void in themselves, and that's what I often felt like: a person suspended between past and future, trying desperately to fill a lingering sense of emptiness. That's what the protagonist in Black Heaven is doing, too--they're trying to hold onto the past.

Fun fact: the "Hungry Ghost" scroll is actually shown above the book cases in Ru's office!

Beautiful Corpses and Ghosts of the Past

It was really weird to create the three main romance interests for Black Heaven because I was using the anime genre as a loose guideline for their characters, but I'd never really thought that hard about anime archetypes. I knew what a tsundere and yandere were, but I didn't know there was a goddamn chart.

I decided pretty quickly that Ru, Izagi, and Lyse would fit general archetypes (shy, stoic, and mischievous), but they wouldn't follow the normal anime stereotypes. Still, when it came to actually drawing them, there were certain characters that became the inspiration for their appearance and attitude:

Ru

Ru's design was inspired by Mirai Kuriyama from Kyoukai no Kanata: she's petite, shy, self-doubting, and scholarly-looking. Mirai is also a bit eccentric and fun when you get to know her, and her unassuming exterior hides incredible talent. Ru, however, is a lot more cerebral and analytical, and her role as a full-fledged instructor at the school puts her in a position of authority, which is an interesting change. 

Izagi

Izagi's design was inspired by Saeko Busujima from High School of the Dead. Her stoic, cool demeanor and her casualness toward violence gives her a sense of mystery and intimidation, but there's flashes of warmth in her behavior. Izagi has  more internal turmoil and cynicism to her personality than Saeko, but she may also pick up a sword at some point...

Lyse

Lyse's design was influenced by Holo from Spice and Wolf, though Lyse is much more mature and intentionally flirtatious. His mischief is geared more toward teasing and playing with people's emotions, which is a departure from Holo's brattish personality. Still, Holo gregariousness and intelligence resembles Lyse, who's actually well-read despite being a lazy student.   

Plans for the Future

It's been over a year since I started working on this project, and it's so exciting to see the game hit 300 downloads (as well as gaining 200 followers on Twitter!). I want to thank  the wonderful VN devs who brought it to life and everyone who's supported the game, including all the people who have spread the word about it. 

With the Kickstarter coming up on April 30th, 2021, I'm hoping the community around the game grows even bigger! Here's a sneak peek:

If you want to get updates on the game and the upcoming Kickstarter:

Follow us here on Itch!

Follow us on Twitter!

Sign up for the Email list!