We had the pleasure of chatting with the Lovely, Inc. team all about their work. Be sure to check out their current Kickstarter for Snowkissed Romance HERE!
1. Tell us about Lovely, Inc.
Lovely, Inc. was born in November 2020, founded by us—two best friends and otome lovers, Kayla Michelle and Yana Raeven. Our tagline, “Fall in Love Your Way,” reflects our commitment to fully immersing players in each game, giving them the freedom to be who they want to be and truly feel like the main character. Instead of merely interacting with an avatar, our characters speak directly to you, reaching out beyond the screen to create a deeply personal and engaging experience.
2. What is Snowkissed Romance all about?
Snowkissed Romance takes place during the winter break of 1994-1995 in the enchanting ski town of Yukihari. You start off expecting a peaceful holiday at your aunt’s cozy resort, but soon find yourself in a life-changing journey of friendship, romance, and hidden emotions—especially when old friends arrive unannounced! Inspired by 90s shoujo manga and classic Japan-exclusive otome games like Angelique and Tokimeki Memorial Girl’s Side, we’ve woven together romance, time management, and heartfelt storytelling.
The Snowkissed Romance Kickstarter and a free demo on itch.io (steam coming soon), where you can experience the first few days of your character’s three-week vacation in Yukihari, are out now!
Key Features at a Glance:
- Customizable Main Character
Choose your name, gender, zodiac sign, and blood type. Shape your personality through a dedicated quiz—every interaction and daily activity affects your dialogue and compatibility with characters. - Real-Time Personality & Stat Management
Are you shy? Flirtatious? Bookish? Sporty? Keep an eye on stats like Intelligence, Athleticism, Sensitivity, Style, Elegance, Resilience, Charisma, Charm, and Stress to create a unique personality and romance path. - Immersive 90s Setting
From 1994-1995, the retro art and soundtrack bring classic 90s nostalgia to life with multiple time-of-day variations for each setting. - Multiple Routes & Endings
Ren, Kichirou, Yoh, and Shinichirou each have unique personalities and complex backstories. Love, friendship, or multiple romances—your choices determine how your story unfolds. - Engaging Gameplay Systems
- Dates & Daily Encounters: Plan each day according to your interests, enjoy new voiced scenes morning and night, and watch out for chance encounters in the resort.
- Cafe Mini-Game: Earn money by working at your aunt’s cocoa shop. Just be mindful of your stress levels!
- RNG Elements: Experience random weather shifts and surprise encounters for a unique playthrough every time.
3. What inspires your work?
We’ve been gamers since childhood, bonding over cozy girl classics like The Sims 2, Bratz games, and Hasbro’s Dream Life TV plug-in games. Later in life we discovered otome games and fell inlove. Our love of the otome genre blossomed even more when we discovered iconic titles that defined the genr such as Angelique and Tokimeki Memorial—both series have never been localized to English and remain Japan exclusives. We adore the time-management elements, branching narratives, and personal connections those games offer. Our mutual obsession with 90s anime (think Marmalade Boy, Cardcaptor Sakura) inspired Snowkissed Romance’s art style and soundtrack, capturing the dreamy nostalgia of that era.
4. What can supporters expect from your current Kickstarter?
We’re aiming to raise $55,000 to complete our game. The final version will offer a full three-week winter vacation in Yukihari with additional interactive areas like a festival and gift shop. You can look forward to more date spots, outfits, and a fleshed-out money system. We’ll have three main love routes, a secret route, multiple endings (including harem and friendship endings), plus childhood flashbacks sprinkled throughout for added depth.
If we hit $70,000, we’ll port the game to consoles (with Nintendo Switch as our focus). Reaching $75,000 unlocks another secret route. At $85,000, we’ll upgrade to full voice acting, and at $90,000, we’ll add even more date locations and outfits to enrich the experience.
5. What advice would you give to new game devs?
It might sound cliché, but never give up and keep refining your craft. We started with mobile games that were purely story-driven, which helped us sharpen our character-building and storytelling skills. From there, we are now here to introduce more complex, non-linear narratives with integrated gameplay to our work. It’s also crucial to listen to your community—figure out what’s missing in the market and let that guide you. For instance, when we realized people wanted more gameplay and broader perspectives, we developed it and expanded our character customization options for greater inclusivity.
6. What are your goals for the project?
Ultimately, we’d love to do this full time. Managing our day jobs while working on Snowkissed Romance is challenging, and we want to give this community our complete attention. Our hope is that a successful Kickstarter will lead to a successful launch by the end of the year and help us establish ourselves in the industry we adore. We have even bigger ideas for future projects—more ambitious gameplay elements that will bring fresh new experiences to romance games.
7. Where can folks support your work?
Please visit our Snowkissed Romance Kickstarter page:
Snowkissed Romance Kickstarter
Beyond Kickstarter, you can follow our journey on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and Bluesky. We’re also on YouTube as Latte and Foam, where we discuss otome news and more:
Latte and Foam YouTube Channel
Thank you for the opportunity to share our story. We can’t wait to see everyone in Yukihari this winter!
All Ages of Geek is a fully independent media platform, brought to life and sustained by the dedication of two sisters and the generous support of our community through donations. We’re passionate about creating content that resonates with our audience, and we’re excited to share our latest project with you—an upcoming game developed with our unique vision and creativity. Explore our other content and see how you can support our journey. Your engagement and contributions make a significant difference. Thank you for being part of our story.
