The Reveal

Our upcoming gamebook / visual novel:

All your life, you dream of adventure: knights, dragons, magic rings, chests of gold, and all the danger and glory that awaits a professional swordswoman. But every dream has a cost. You are on your way across the desert wastes to compete in the Warrior Games when your caravan is attacked. Orcs and bandits murder your father, capture your companions, and leave you for dead. 

Now alone in the world, will you choose to seek glory, vengeance, treasure... or love?

This is a short (but gorgeous!) Western-style fantasy in the old choose-your-own-adventure tradition, where choices can drastically branch the story. Maybe you'll become a queen, or fall headlong into a pile of gold, or be eaten by a dragon, or get carried off to live as a bride in a Hidden Elf Valley, who knows? There are 22 different endings to find.

If you are a registered member of the Hanako Games Forums, Sword Daughter is now available for beta-testing. Buy it now to receive a discount on the final price and get a sneak peek at what we've been up to.

This release is something of an experiment to see how well gamebooks can translate into visual novel format - so we'd love to hear from you!

Little Witches

edit: This post now semi-irrelevant because they apparently are using the PS2 graphics, so yes, all the art has been redrawn. That's a lot of redrawn, but it's already done.

And the second issue, that of people getting confused about what kind of game it is - it's unfortunately too late for that, with all the other "all ages" games hitting Steam and creating exactly the sort of thing I was talking about, customers who didn't want porn games being referred to porn games and customers who DID want porn mistakenly thinking every game has a secret porn version that's being denied to them. Ugh.

On the bright side, it hasn't yet created any legal problems, that I know of...

Original post follows

----

WARNING: somewhat NSFW - no actual nudity but suggestive graphics ahead!

tl;dr - I like the game but don't think an "all ages" release is a good plan

So, I've been spending a lot of time the past few days playing with Littlewitch Romanesque. On balance I'd say I enjoy it, there's a lot to like, and I'm mostly good with the art style. Some people pick on the faces, I'm occasionally bothered by those long torsos, but overall it's fine. Gameplay-wise, there are some things I think they've done well and I want to learn and steal from, and some things I think they've done poorly and should be avoided. But a mixed response is good, it means I would never be tempted to clone it exactly.

Unfortunately, after playing through the game and getting a couple of endings, I have to say that I am no longer in favor of the Greenlight campaign. Even if you remove all the explicit graphics (and you can't remove all the h-scenes without breaking the plot, so I guess a lot of black screens would be involved?). Originally I thought it was just going to be a raising sim with romantic endings and that one character whose design is going to raise some eyebrows.

After all, I've seen some moral crusaders denouncing Princess Maker as "filthy pedobait" because of a few optional bits added on. I figured this was the same thing.

It's... really not.

Over and over and over again, the learning of spells turns into an excuse for another wacky scene in which you see your (clearly underage) students either naked or in their underwear. "Oh, look, I learned a water spell and now I'm wet so I must raise my skirts to wring them out! Oh, look, I learned a fire spell and set my dress on fire so I have to take it off! Oh, look, I learned a spell to walk through walls and now I'm stuck halfway-through with my panty-clad butt in the air and everyone is poking it!" Many of these have unique CGs. Every spell learned has a little scene that plays after it. They're not all naughty, but a LOT of them are.

EVEN IF you cut out all the h-scenes and all the plotlines relating to sex and all the spell-learning scenes (and frankly we are running out of game at this point), the very spell cards themselves are often extremely suggestive. Several have nudity, usually undetailed but occasionally very clear, even to nipples. Some have panty shots. Some have art that...

... yeah.

Basically, this is exactly the sort of thing the anti-anime crowds accuse anime games of being. It is absolutely, totally, wholeheartedly a game about doing naughty things with little girls. It is not possible to censor this game enough to remove that and have any game left whatsoever.

Now, I don't object to the game. I bought it as an 18+ game. I knew exactly what I was getting into.

I object to the idea of selling ANY version of this game as an "all ages" title. It isn't, it never was, and trying to sell it as if it's just Princess Maker or Long Live The Queen is doing a disservice to the customers, the game, and the industry as a whole.

Customers will be misled and upset that they did not get the cute, harmless raising sim that they were advertised.
The game will be butchered - I have no idea how much content they think they're going to chop out of this, but even just removing the h-scenes will leave a lot of holes.
Everyone who makes and sells anime-styled games may face setbacks and backlash.

There will be a shitstorm.

Please, JAST, if you're reading this, DO NOT market this as "All Ages". If you must sell this title on Steam, label it as what it is - a game primarily about fanservice. EVEN IF you've removed all the sex graphics. AGE GATE THIS.

Happy Holidays!

Love and kisses,
(give in to me resistance is futile)
Damien

(Art courtesy of kankitsuru)

Roundup

(See, Google, you did very nearly kill my blog with your unwanted changes. It's such a pain to use, I almost never do.)

So, uh, haven't posted in a while. A few things going on.

The "lesbian student council secret police" game Black Closet is now in alpha-testing. Because of all the randomly-generated mysteries, it's a pretty complex game to test. The art is still in progress, but even when the art finishes, this will probably be held in testing for a while to try and stomp out as many bugs as possible. If you want to join in (and get the game for a discount) visit the Hanako Games forums.

The other game I'm working on, codename Fantasy Gamebook Adventure. It is a GxB game, and the first game I'm labeling as a 'Hanabira' product, which means that I personally did not write the plot.... because this is a licensed adaptation of an actual gamebook from the 1980s. We're keeping the title under wraps for the moment, but if you really, really want to find out, there is a clue hidden somewhere on this website.

What is that website, you ask? Why, it's the launchpad for a time-traveling superheroine, of course! (Not written by me, written by a friend of mine.) There are no current plans to make a Paradox Girl dating sim (in which you would, naturally, date yourself) but, um, you never know. Really, there are no plans for anything like that, it's just that I think it would be funny.

You can probably guess I've been too busy to make much progress on the procrastination front. However, I did get a chance to play through fault: milestone one now that the English version is finally out.

And speaking of Steam, the winter sale is on, so you can currently claim discounts on any of our titles:






Of course, that's not the ONLY way to get a discount this season... there will be more details announced soon on our newsletter/twitter, so stay tuned.

... phew! The benefit of not blogging here often anymore is that I have more to say when I finally do?

Procrastination

I have had The Way We All Go sitting in my tabs for 'i should look at that later' since... probably since it was released, and still haven't gotten around to it.

Sunrider, or one version of it anyway, at least got as far as being downloaded and installed, before being set aside for 'when I have some time'. By now that download's probably completely outdated.

And that's only the start of my VN-related backlog... I'm even carrying around box copies of ero-games with me, and haven't played them. I finally completed the first Danganronpa in normal plot mode but haven't been able to gear myself up to play the bonus mode and I haven't unshrinkwrapped the sequel.

And I still don't have time. Uh... Maybe next month?

Trick or Treat

For Steam users, Magical Diary is on Halloween sale! Dress up as a witch and kiss demons (is that a trick or a treat?)



For non-Steam users, we're running a Halloween free game giveaway - you're almost out of time to enter, so hurry up!

more cards?

I think they're breeding, I found more on my desk.

Gallery Gerard - more art, in a wide-eyed romantic fantasy painting way

Thomas Kuebler - a sculptor of weird horror/realistic things

Faerie Preservation Society - critters and toys

Emptying out my card holder

Just going to pile up and list some of the business cards and sites I've been picking up while doing the convention circuit this year!

Pippenwycks - leather things with eyes and teeth. (Bags, books, dice cups, keychains, whatever.)

KMKdesigns - steampunk/goth/lolita fashion, will do large sizes and custom designs

Alienphant - fashion/accessories with spikes and tentacles. the sweet lolita tentacle print is too cute!

Stylin Online - For the days when you need to feel like a superhero in your bathrobe

alicechan - artist

The League of Proper Villains - Honestly I couldn't tell what these guys were on about. Steampunk. Something. But they insisted I take a card or face dire consequences.

Dr Brassy - Steampunk jewelry that involves eyes. (I have a thing for eyes.)

cryptostore - Art and tights? socks? in interesting patterns but very limited sizes.

Back to Earth Creations - jewelrystuff

Rebecca Yanovskaya - artist of unusual style

Kelly Loftus - many and varied plush octopi

Plus some cards for porny things you probably don't need to hear about, although some of you might be interested in the link to the yaoi comic that I swear I don't even remember visiting the booth of...

Hella Yuri

For the fun of it, I'm building a curation list of games on Steam with lesbian content.

If you know of any I've missed or want to correct any of my information there please leave me a note!

Leading Ladies

Interested in some different approaches to narrative in video games? Check out this week's Humble Weekly Bundle, which is dedicated to female protagonists (sort of) and features adventure games and stat-sim/VN style games as well.

Humble Bundle Weekly Sale

Why 'sort of'? Well, The Yawhg lets you choose an avatar, so it's not necessarily female or a focused, detailed character, and Valdis Story (may possibly? I've heard conflicting reports) only lets you unlock a playable female character after you've beaten the game once. Details, details... but I try to be clear with you!

This week's bundle is also backing Girls Make Games, so your purchase helps fund scholarships in game development.

Reception - as - dungeon

Since I don't have time to actually code this idea right now to make it play and see how it works, a slightly longer description of what I had in mind: not so much dancing as mingling, with the intent of trying to gain social influence with all sorts of factions.

So, you're in a big reception room / ballroom. There are many guests. You want to get to the important people to schmooze with them but it's crowded and there are many people in the way, so you'll have to encounter and defeat other folks as you run into them. There are many approaches you can use to try and defeat someone, from flirting to impressing them with your knowledge to 'accidentally' bumping into them and denouncing them for it, and a lot of this would depend on skillchecks.

If you lose the battle you have to withdraw from the ballroom for the week. If you win then your opponent gets out of your way, adjusts your influence with their faction (like XP - important people will give you a lot more influence for beating them) and, if you're lucky, gives you a present. (LOOT!) And then you can move on to the next fight.

This would therefore allow for all the trappings of turn-based RPG combat but in a social situation rather than a cutting-off-heads situation, since a ruling-focused LLTQ-type game can't really have the heir wandering off into dungeons. :)

Date Warp wallpaper

For the Steam release, I commissioned a bunch of extra art to create trading cards and wallpaper. However, you shouldn't have to be a Steam user just to see the new pictures! Here's one of the new collectible graphics for Date Warp:

Time is fleeting...

Lost in time and space - can you find the way out?



After many delays, the new version of our sci-fi adventure Date Warp is finally available on steam, now with new science UI and additional bonus content! (Plus, of course, achievements and collectible Steam trading cards.)

Check it out now - for science!

"I know I wrote it down somewhere!"

Brainstorming ideas for making wussy wizards in old-school dungeon crawls less miserable to play / a better part of the group dynamic...

Instead of having to memorise all spells, you can cast spells from your spellbook - at least, those with a reasonable casting time that don't require a zillion components or anything. However, this is awkward, occupies both your hands, and limits your ability to defend yourself or see trouble coming, so you probably need someone to cover you. As well as reading a spell aloud being slower than casting from memory, there's also the time required to flip through pages in your spellbook trying to find the right spell.

Which in a computer game situation could lend itself to a game in which you play the wizard, the rest of your party is your hired minions that you order around, and turning spellbook pages takes a round, so the strategy of how you've organised your spellbook before the fight is relevant.

"A wraith? Dammit, why didn't I put a bookmark in front of the On Matters Of Undead section?"

"... note to self, next time put the 'Banish Demon' spell next to the 'Summon Demon' spell, just in case..."

If you go further along the line of being brilliant and in charge of all these goons, then minions might have basic AI (which can be tweaked in dialog between fights) but if you want them to do something particularly clever in a battle you have to spend your round yelling commands.

"No, backstab the hobgoblin! The hobgoblin!"

Digging in the Bargain Bucket

I don't really do Steam sales if I can help it (being a rabid anti-DRM freak). On the other hand, I'm part of the system, and I manage to obtain small amounts of Steam Wallet funds from the trading cards that materialise on my doorstep without my having to pay for them, so I may as well send those funds back to other game authors, right?

So this leads to the confusion of trying to figure out what to do with it.

I won't buy anything that costs more than $2. I don't have very much free money, after all.

I won't buy anything that I could get on GOG.com, because if I could get it there I'd far rather get it there. (I've already bought a handful of random gog games this summer sale...)

I won't buy anything that there is zero chance of me playing. Ugly 3D games are a no.

I prefer not to buy from a featured/flash sale because those are not the games that need my stray quarter. :)

I do read reviews - if it's broken or there's some other reason that it's a bad idea, I'm not going to do it.

This doesn't leave a whole lot. Right now I'm eyeing an adventure game that has 'meh' reviews and a little exploration platformer.

Dead Princess Brigade

Look what I found!


I don't want to die! by CaitRua on deviantART
(She's posted a whole set of cosplay photos but this one seemed the best introductory item to put here)

meaningless and terrible statistics

/v/ took issue with the complaints about lack of female protagonists and decided to assemble a list.

Their conclusions:

I have to be honest. There ARE more guy protags. That’s just a fact. But honestly, so many of them are unmemorable at best, or fucking awful at worst. No one’s saying they’re not. We’re saying there are also a healthy sample of female ones.

I don’t think anyone is arguing there’s the same number. But the line is usually “there are only a few games” or some shit

Which we've clearly just proven wrong.

Well I’m really proud of everyone that contributed, great job, everyone! Sure, there are gonna be more male protags, it happens, but it’s dumb to say that this is some work of discrimination, it’s simply what a lot of people decided to make games about, and you can’t shame people for making whatever they want to make. There are a lot of great examples of female protagonists out there as this list contains, and that’s good enough.

Now, while I'm not going to make any comments myself about the actual preponderances or what they say about gaming, or the fact that /v/ missed entire genres of games because /v/ either doesn't know they exist or doesn't think they count as games (casual games, otome games), the list they DID come up with is interesting because

1. It covers at least 25 years worth of gaming, based on the titles listed.
2. It covers PC, main console, and handheld titles.
3. It wasn't dupe-checked, some entries are on there more than once.
4. Some of the characters listed are shared protags (you get a choice of multiple characters in the game, or are required to play multiple characters throughout the game, or the girl PC is only an unlockable bonus after finishing as male)
5. Some of the characters listed are not even playable characters. Period. (Akane? Really?)
6. With all that, they came up with a list of less than 500 entries.

(Again, hardly a scientific survey, not something you can draw much conclusion from other than eyeing the anons in the particular thread.)

The Naming of Things

I am terrible at naming projects. I obsess over trying to find the right label, with all the right layers of reference, tone, implication and irony, while still being something that is short enough to fit on my webpage sidebar, unique enough that entering it into a search engine has a chance of bringing people to my game, sufficiently easy to spell that the average person CAN enter it into a search engine...

So at the moment I'm just tumbling over lists and phrases trying to find SOMETHING that fits.

Some of the phrases that have gone past me so far:


The Lily Marker
Buried Lilies
Drifting From Reason
Moonlight Visitation
Interlocking Spirits
A Delicacy of Spirit
These Pale Shadows
Memory's Refuge


All of them have some possibilities but...

(And no, I'm intentionally not saying just WHAT implications I'm trying to send with these titles. I want to see what images they evoke for you on their own!)

Please feel free to share your thoughts - what do these phrases make you think of? (Different ones bringing different thoughts is perfectly sensible) Which if any of them sound enticing and make you want to know what I'm on about?

Motivational Bonus Art

Since I actually am trying to get Black Closet moving again, I had some chibi versions of the characters done up as enthusiasm/inspiration.

This isn't exactly how they appear in-game obviously but important personality notes shine through...


C|| Thais, Mallory and Althea 1/2 by Philaphobia on deviantART
C|| Rowan, Vonne and Elsa by Philaphobia on deviantART

more bonus arts

Dumping in the other art I had made for Science Girls

Doughnut!!! by xunini on deviantART  

 

Thumb Wrestling

 

The Trouble With Slirrups

Also, if you somehow haven't heard, Magical Diary and Planet Stronghold are on the Humble Bundle this week, supporting RenPy. So if you haven't played, or you want to donate more to VN development... go have a look!

Child of Light

Interesting look to it, although it doesn't feel very RPG most of the time. I have some dubiousness towards ubisoft but worth seeking more information at least.

Let's Science!

Science Girls by Pocolla on deviantART (Above - bonus art, not an in-game image. There's more coming!) It's that time again! What time is it? Time to announce a game being available on Steam - Science Girls!
 The Steam release of the game has a bunch of little polish upgrades applied to it. New music, new animations, new map tiles, and so on (and yes, achievements). No new plot if you've played it before but a lot of tweaks to make the overall experience more enjoyable.

(Also, I notice that steam users have tagged the game 'Visual Novel'. Well, okay, if you say so. I generally don't think it counts because the talking part takes a clear backseat to the hitting monsters part, but... There is dialog, and it's in a VN-ish format, and there are some choices you can make and they have a small impact on the game, and it's RenPy, so... Close enough?)

Defender of Pure Hearts

And I thought to myself: Self, there is not nearly enough art of Elodie as Tuxedo Mask out there. You should do something about that.

So I did.

Comm Elodie as Tuxedo mask by Lily-Fu on deviantART

You're the WORST!

"Don't read the comments" - well yeah, I broke that rule, but bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this.

So I was looking at the Steam discussion forum for a recently released game and found someone loudly proclaiming that he'd played many RPGs and this was THE WORST rpg he'd ever seen. Given that the game appeared to be a complete and playable title, I find the idea of assigning the 'worst' tag to it pretty laughable. I mean, there's impressively bad things out there. Try harder!

But then... what *is* the worst RPG? Either in general or for me personally?

The problem is that many RPGs which would fall into my 'worst ever' pile are going to be things that I disliked strongly enough to give up on after less than five minutes of playing. Sometimes that's just because they were super-super-oldschool games whose control schemes I could not figure out! (Lack of clear manual) Terrible experience for me that I hated, but known to be great games by people who managed to get into them.

So which would you rate as 'worse' - a game that I couldn't figure out how to get started and immediately abandoned, or one where I enjoyed the first hour or so but things went progressively downhill until I eventually gave up in despair? I obviously got more enjoyment out of Lionheart than I did out of Deep Labyrinth, but I don't feel like I can give any meaningful commentary about Deep Labyrinth because I didn't play it. I looked at it, said "No", and moved on.

I could point to some renowned kusoge and claim them as the worst RPGs ever, maybe even read some reviews to have a bit of context for that judgment, but even then the ones that we hear about enough for them to become legendary bad games are often filled with interesting-but-failed ideas that made them worth talking about.



If a game has okay elements but the gameplay is so poorly placed that it will bore you to tears, is that still not bad enough because there were some things in it that might have been usable in a better game?

Since games which ARE unplayable do exist, should the title of 'worst' should be reserved for them? Or are they at that point no longer games?

Naturally, a google search for "worst RPG ever" turned up 'Oblivion' in the top results. Yeah. Those multimillion-copy-sellin games are just the worst, aren't they?

I'm not mad. I'm just drawn that way.

A little bonus graphic I had done by bunpurr of Linds from Date Warp:

It is worth noting that this is the only game I have left on Greenlight that hasn't quite gotten the tip yet. I have done pretty much nothing at all to advertise it since the day Greenlight launched, because I really wasn't sure how well a visual novel - with a scifi theme, but a female protagonist and a host of pretty boys - would go over with the Steam audience and didn't want to blow out my credit pushing something on them that they didn't want. So I left it to sink or swim on its own merits... which has meant hovering somewhere just outside the top100 for a while now.

If it ever did pass, that would be a great excuse for me to finally get the Special Bonus Exciting Thing done for it that I've kind of wanted to do for a long time... So, you know, it's up to you. :)

pointless self-indulgence PONIES PONIES PONIES

It's not exactly a secret that I was an old-school MLP fan, back when ponies were about fighting off potion-wielding sorceresses and soul-stealing demons. I've never really gotten into Friendship Is Magic, not because I have anything against it, but because I already have ponies in my heart and I don't feel the need to replace them.

This is boring toy talk, nothing to do with games. I just wanted to see if I can figure out how many of the things I used to own when I was little before I moved out and my family disposed of the collection. If you are not a pony fanatic ESCAPE NOW.

Some of these almost certainly belonged to my sister rather than me, technically, but I can't possibly remember by now. It's also possible I'll forget a few or think I had one just because it got talked about too much but nobody's perfect.

Year 1 - Blossom and Cotton Candy. Yes, I was in on this thing from the very beginning. They were kind of boring ponies, though. All they had going for them was being pink and purple.

Year 2 - Glory, Moondancer, and Sunbeam. I liked unicorns. And their symbols were sparkly! These three probably suffered the most abuse of any ponies in my collection, though. I'm pretty sure I lost at least one of them, and at least one other had her tail pulled out due to a cleaning accident. I think. Also, those glittery symbols tended to rub off. Sunbeam never got any attention in the cartoons and I think I ended up giving her more of Ribbon's personality in play? I was much fonder of Glory and Moondancer. IIRC in the intervening years I've found at least one bit of pony merchandise which made them a couple... although said merchandise was a little confused about standard pony gender. I can't remember which of them it made into a boy.

Oh yes, also Moonstone - another unicorn but this one with RAINBOW HAIR. Don't remember much about her though.

Year 3 - Tickle (first pegasus, and I'm pretty sure she 'belonged' to my sister. I really was more unicorn-obsessed.) Baby Glory and Baby Moondancer (told you I liked them).

Sea Shimmer (my only Sea Pony, i think).

Maaaaybe Megan and Sundance? I feel like I must have had Megan, but at the same time the doll looks wrong somehow. Possibly just because that dress is so unsuited to the character. Perhaps I dressed her in something else immediately and that's why it feels so odd. Was there a special Bendy Legs Megan designed to sit on ponies?

Year 4 - The fuzzy version of Lickety Split, which I thought was kind of creepy and never got any other furry ponies. I think I bought her because Lickety Split was featuring a lot in the cartoons?

Masquerade, the first pegasus that was actually mine, because she had jewel eyes and was therefore cooler than just a normal pegasus. Obviously they represented arcane laser power.

We found the blinky-eyed babies interesting as well and probably had Baby Ribbon and Baby Gusty. Maybe Baby Lickety-Split but I'm not sure.

I owned Morning Glory for about three minutes. Like many disappointed little girls, as soon as I got her out of the packaging her wings IMMEDIATELY broke, and as we were still in the car leaving the toy store my parents went right back in and complained and I got something else instead. Today there are people on ebay who will custom-make you better replacement wings for your wingless Flutter Pony because let's face it, if you played with that toy you broke it.

Baby Half Note - my sister was into ballet, I'm pretty sure she got this playset.

Molly and Baby Sundance - again, I'm uncertain about this.

... Are you terrified by this list yet?

Year 5 - Princess Tiffany, who ruled over the high shelf in my closet (because princesses cannot mingle with the common folk except in emergency drama situations) and was obviously the best pony ever because I thought Tiffany was a pretty neat name at the time. If only her wand had been purple instead of blue, because then it would have been amethystine and sheer perfection (my birthstone).

Baby Tic Tac Toe and Baby Fifi? Those had to have been my little sister's. Plus Milkweed and Tumbleweed and Noodles and Doodles. I can't remember what was interesting about the twin baby ponies other than them being small enough to fit into toy prisons (my playtime got weird occasionally)

Also, Spunky the Camel. Not sure why. Maybe there weren't any good ponies on the shelf that day. Maybe I was getting bored.

Year 6 - ... and all of a sudden I think I got ponied out. The cartoon must have come to an end. Also, I was sort of growing older by this point! I may have had the Twice As Fancy version of Buttons but most of the ponies in the year 6 list don't even sound familiar, and the years past that are a complete blank.

What can we tell from this?

Unicorns are the superior breed of pony. Not only could they teleport, they also got bonus magic powers based on their symbols. If you want an invincible pony army you want unicorns.

'Better than Bechdel'

Feel free to skip this, as it's nothing new if you've played the game already. For curiosity's sake I wanted to go over the proposed characteristics in this post and see how Long Live The Queen would hold up. So unless you're interested in that sort of thing, there's nothing to see here.

That said, how DO we score?

Gamers commonly refer to a female character in a way that highlights they are a female variant of a male character. If there is no named female character, these points are still lost.

I've never seen anyone refer to Elodie in such a way.

The most prominent Female Character in the game wasn’t important to the plot. The plot could have happened without them.

Elodie is the plot.

Prominent Female Characters in the game are primarily there as kidnap victims, general victims, prizes to be won or healers/ non combatants in combat games.

You could frame the story as one in which Elodie is a victim, since the bad ends involve her dying and you're trying not to let that happen, but you could say that about almost all video game protagonists. She's never kidnapped and she definitely does fight.

Charlotte falls into more of the traditional girly role, although she's less distressed than she seems to be in most people's first playthroughs. Several other female characters never have any of those traits at all.

Female Characters don’t feel like they might have believably picked out their own outfit. To clarify, skimpy outfits are still okay as long as it fits in a narrative context and seems easily justifiable. (Example: a woman going undercover as a prostitute would likely choose a revealing outfit of her own accord).

Women Wearing “Boob Sclupted Armour”. These points are lost in a non Armour game if women are wearing needlessly sexualised outfits without narrative purpose.

Anyone who wants to argue with me about the tutu has clearly not watched enough ballet.

There is the magical girl outfit, which is a little on the skimpy side (for those who haven't seen it - midriff-bare and very-short-skirt, with high stockings). I have honestly heard a lot more complaints about it from male players uncomfortable with seeing a young girl dressed like that than I have from female ones (I don't have a large pool of very young female playtesters to draw on; the only comment I have specifically heard from a young girl about that outfit was 'Pretty'.)

I don't think there's any real problem along these lines with the rest of the outfits?

A) Female is a never selectable playable character option.
or
B) Female is a secondary playable character option
or
C) Every playthrough requires you to play as a female character at some point, but the vast majority of the game you play as a male character.

Elodie's female, you don't have any other option.

Previous Bechdel test involving two important female characters talking to each other about something other than a man

I watched an LPer get slightly exasperated at the point where he was trying to voice four female characters having a conversation together at once (and it wasn't about men). While your playthrough might not get that particular scene, you can't avoid having women talking to each other.

A female playable lead is restricted to melee weapons if they take part in combat. If men take part in combat but women do not, these points are also lost.

Elodie has a range of options for attacking people: swords, staves, bows, and BLOWING YOU UP WITH FIRE.

No female character can be described using words that are antonyms to Pristine. (grizzled, battle scared, flawed, manipulative, evil ect). Basically this requires them to be a flawed character, without relying on stereotypical female flaws (Vulnerable, emotional ect).

There are manipulative and evil women. Not a lot of grizzled or scarred, though, other than by age and having had a lot of children (hi, Arisse).

Uses Gendered Identifiers prominently to denote Female Character(s)

In the context that this was meant, no.

A Female Protagonist is not prominently featured on the game box art (specifically the front cover).

Elodie is prominently featured.

In a game where you choose your protagonist gender, Male is the Default. Side note, you also loose these three points if you have no choice but to play the whole game male.

Again, she's your only character.

No Female character, portrayed as straight and Cisgender, enjoys a stereotypically Male pursuit or, if they do, it’s made into a big deal.

What exactly counts as a stereotypically male pursuit in a fantasy setting?

Well, Elodie can joust and fence if she chooses to and no-one in game thinks this is at all unusual. Several players have been upset by the idea of a young girl being challenged to a duel, though.

A Cisgender Woman does not at any point appear as an enemy/ villain . If they are an enemy or villain, it’s for reasons related to their gender or the actions of a man.

Depending on your playthrough you may or may not encounter them, but there are at least two major female villains/antagonists and their reasons are not about their gender or the actions of a man. (Not counting the Queen of Shanjia who only goes after you if you kill her husband.)

The most prominent female character’s story is highly dependent on that of the most prominent male character.

Elodie's poor dad is often considered by players to be the most useless video game father in existence - he does very little in many playthroughs except sigh and go along with whatever you say. The story is definitely about her, not him.

The game is a spin off from a series that features primarily Male protagonists.

Nope.