Happy New Year 2026

Time is but an illusion

shino
December 31, 2025

Is it really already the end!?? What a year 2025 was…

recap 2025

In January, I gave a talk at Visual;Conference 2025: Visual Novel Project Management: Dev More, Manage Less

In June, I once again cohosted Battle Action Fantasy VN Jam! Although it’s definitely more of an easygoing jam than some others I won’t name right now, I always enjoy seeing more chuunige come out of it!

Battle Action Fantasy visual novel jam 2025 logo

(It’s also a fun excuse to make a logo, tehe.)

That month, I also dropped by OffKai Expo, a Vtuber convention held in California. While I won’t be going in 2026 due to various scheduling inconveniences, if you saw me around, maybe you got a business card?

Business Card Front: shino | 4noki yuri visual novel developer

Business Card Back: check out my games on steam! (and more on itch io)

In September, Studio Elan’s magical girl yuri visual novel, Lock and Key, released! I had the honor of being part of the game’s development as project manager and a co-director. If you haven’t yet, you should check it out!

Save 10% on Lock & Key: A Magical Girl Mystery on Steam

Lock and Key: A Magical Girl Mystery is a romantic thriller visual novel starring a married couple of former Magical Girls. Along with and old friend and a new protégé, they'll undertake one last journey to free Chicago from the terrifying grip of a mysterious serial killer.

store.steampowered.com/app/1803850/Lock__Key_A_Magical_Girl_Mystery

And throughout the year, I was writing…

What was I writing? Well, I can’t quite announce them yet without setting up their game pages and getting their key visuals, but here’s some word count data:

An in-progress multi-route yuri visual novel: 52787 words
A multi-chapter kinetic yuri visual novel: 36861 words

All in all, it was certainly a year. Much to my surprise, I got bingo on that bingo sheet I shared at the start of 2025! Wow! Exciting!

Bingo sheet with goals for 2025 and a successful bingo!

While I won’t be making another bingo sheet for 2026, let’s quickly talk about what’s coming up early next year:

upcoming

In January, I’ll be working on a new project for SWAK Jam 2026: a yuri visual novel by the title of Olga Doesn’t Die. As always, I’ll be directing the game as both scenario writer and character designer.

The imperial family's advisor is a witch, a hag, the devil in disguise.

At the turn of the 20th century, unrest stirs in the far-north Empire of Muscovy over bread and war, taxation and tyranny. The shadows whisper about the imperial family and about an immortal witch.

They whisper, "The imperial family's advisor is a witch. An old hag with a head full of white hairs. She knows magic like demons. The devil in disguise, tricking the emperor with her dark arts."

As the "witch" is violently exiled from the capital, the gears of revolution continue to turn toward blood.

—A historical drama yuri visual novel.

Olga Doesn’t Die synopsis

The game will feature 2 heroines, each with multiple endings:

The adorable Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Rurykovych / "Katusha"

A pink haired girl in a green dress

And the mysterious Vasilisa Nikolaevna Ulyanova / "Niko"

a brown haired woman with a monocle wearing a suit

In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be sharing more about this project. Please keep an eye out for more!

And with that, happy new year!

shino