Hello and welcome to the Creator Spotlight series, where we showcase talented individuals and their works in the entertainment industry. Today, we’re excited to have with us Karitsa, a solo indie developer and the mastermind behind the upcoming visual novel, Doki Doki Dollmaker.
Note from Karitsa Creator of “Doki Doki Dollmaker”
Nothing lasts forever – at least, that’s what young Lyle has come to believe. Forced to move away from home with his older brother, Lyle finds himself in a new town, far away from a painful past and heading toward a lonely future. When he finds comfort in making dolls using a mysterious sewing kit, he soon discovers that his life will be anything but lonely! Be immersed in this heartfelt tale of love and discover what it means to find yourself, no matter who – or what, is willing to lend a hand!
Hello! My name is Karitsa and I’m a solo indie developer. Following a successful Kickstarter campaign in Spring 2021, my very first visual novel, Doki Doki Dollmaker, will release April 14th, 2023 – exclusively on Itchio! It’s a Boys Love (BL or BxB) romantic comedy filled with colorful characters and wholesome moments (with a little drama sprinkled in too). I’ve been working on this passion project for over a decade now, writing, producing, and programming in my spare time. I’m so excited to share Lyle’s story with everyone!
What inspired the creation of Doki Doki Dollmaker and its unique blend of genres?
Doki Doki Dollmaker is a love story, but it’s also a coming-of-age story. Since I put a lot of myself into my writing, I thought it was important to include story elements and themes that helped shaped me as a person. Doki Doki Dollmaker is inspired by stories that inspired me growing up, such as Fruits Basket, Saber Marionette J, Ouran High School Host Club, and Card Captor Sakura. I wanted to create something that I would have loved to play as a teen – but I’ll continue to enjoy it now as an adult too!
Can you tell us more about the main character, Lyle, and what players can expect from his journey?
Lyle’s going through a lot, but taking everything in stride; he doesn’t realize how strong he is! Don’t try to convince him, though – Lyle is incredibly hard on himself, and stubborn to boot. He’ll have to learn what he’s capable of on his own! Although players will make decisions on behalf of him, Lyle is still his own character. He has his own set of experiences that influence his thoughts and actions, but as you progress through the story, you’ll get to see him grow. Something that might’ve bothered him at the beginning of the game might not bother him by the end – it depends on what new experiences he has while you play! With a little help, Lyle will be able to learn about himself, his relationship with others, and find out what’s most important to him. It’s a journey filled with uncertainty, but that’s what life’s all about. We believe in you, Lyle!
How did you develop the various characters and their relationships in the game?
I initially designed the characters based on archetypes; I wanted Lyle to have a variety of personalities to interact with. It was fun to think of the different ways Lyle, an insecure over-thinker, might react to the scenarios he found himself in thanks to each doll’s unique disposition. The characters grew and developed as writing progressed and the relationships started taking on a life of their own! For example, it was natural for someone like Torin, who hates extravagance, to butt heads with Desifer, who thrives on it. This dynamic creates a lot of humorous – and sometimes tense – moments between them! Since everyone has such big personalities, it’s interesting to see when they’re out of their element or around someone they don’t mesh with. Characters won’t act the same around everyone and relationships will change throughout the story as well, which seemed natural, since everyone is slowly learning about themselves – and each other!
With multiple endings available, how many playthroughs would you recommend for players to experience the full story?
Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s story is fairly linear, with choices affecting specific scenes and dialogue. If a player is only interested in romancing a single doll, I’m confident that they’ll be able to enjoy the story by reaching that particular doll’s good ending. However, the choices throughout the game offer a lot of insight into character motives. For example, you’ll never realize just how fragile Lyle’s relationship with his brother is unless you make some mistakes along the way. Seeing both the good and the bad with multiple playthroughs can help you better understand the characters and their feelings. You can even learn something new about them! It all depends on what you as a player would like to get out of your experience playing Doki Doki Dollmaker. We’ve got over 50 CG illustrations to unlock, so if you’re a completionist, you can expect many, many playthroughs to see them all. I coded in some bonus content for those dedicated players!
What role does magic play in the story, and how does it affect the characters’ lives?
Lyle’s story takes place in our world, so magic isn’t the norm! Lyle finds an old sewing kit and copes with the changes life has thrown his way by making five plush dolls with the materials inside. He wasn’t expecting them to come to life, though… The sewing kit has magical properties and now Lyle’s stuck teaching five curious dolls about the world! His life is turned upside down as he tries to take care of the dolls while keeping them a secret from his nosy neighbor and science-savvy brother.
How did you balance the more mature themes and content in the game to make it suitable for a wider audience?
Doki Doki Dollmaker is a story of love, loss, family, and personal growth. It deals primarily with matters of the heart – the emotions and relationships that shape us – and I think that’s something everyone can relate to, especially those learning to love themselves. Although there are suggestive themes in the base game, the content is not explicit. All CG illustrations unlocked in the base game are suitable for players age 13 and up! There are five optional 18+ epilogues with mature illustrations, however, which were added as a bonus after exceeding crowd-funding goals. I’ve coded in an auto-block system at the start of each new game that will substitute mature language and prevent explicit content from being shown to players under the age of 18. If players are 18 or older, they can choose whether to allow or block the explicit content. Epilogues are bonuses that are not required to fully enjoy Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s story!
What can players expect from the extended demo that will launch alongside the full release?
The extended demo is twice as long as the original demo and is packed with never-before-seen content, only experienced by tester-tier project backers! There will be 5 new CG illustrations for players to unlock if they choose to play multiple routes. Lyle can spend some one-on-one time with each doll at the library, so it’s a great opportunity to get closer with your favorite before committing to the full release. You might be surprised who you fall for after spending more time with them!
How did you decide on the Ren’Py engine for Doki Doki Dollmaker, and what benefits does it offer for this project?
I heard about Ren’Py before starting the project, but the idea of coding, no matter how it was explained to me, was incredibly intimidating! I tried two other visual novel programs prior to using Ren’Py and was dissatisfied with both of them. The first was a drag-and-drop VN creator, which sounded great, but didn’t have much support at the time. The more I fiddled with the program, the more bugs I found, and before I knew it, my project reformatted itself and I lost what little progress I made. It was too risky to continue, so I tried the second program. The second had an excessive amount of features built in, even ones unrelated to visual novels, and I quickly became overwhelmed. Suddenly, Ren’Py didn’t seem so scary! Ren’Py updated regularly and had an active community, which was encouraging and helped motivate me. The tutorials and online resources were especially helpful! Reading, researching, and testing became fun and every hurdle I managed to pull myself over felt like the biggest victory. I will never look at a game menu or unlockable image gallery the same way ever again, haha! I’m so proud of what I’ve been able to create with this amazing engine and hope more people give it a try. If I can do it, anyone can!
Were there any challenges in creating a game that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux platforms?
Ren’Py makes exporting PC builds incredibly easy! The only downside is that I can’t personally test the Mac or Linux versions myself since I only have Windows. Thankfully, some of Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s testers have assisted with that!
Can you give us some insight into the development process of the game’s visual and audio design?
A story is only as good as its characters, so I designed them first! They went through many changes, especially Rook and Kahvel, but once I was happy with them, the character sheets were sent to one of the game’s artists, Dejinyucu, to work on the sprites. Deji suggested some minor changes, like giving Ellery a vest instead of a jacket and making Desifer’s pants a little less revealing, haha! After the sprites were finished, Deji worked on the game’s logo and title screen, which I wanted to be as colorful as the characters themselves. Since the story centers around handmade plush dolls, the sewing theme was a must as well. Sewing needles, stitches, ribbons, and patterns can be found throughout Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s GUI and marketing materials in honor of Lyle’s beloved dolls! The characters inspired the audio design as well – I wanted fun, energetic, and emotional tracks that fit well with my characters and Purple Planet Music was the perfect match. I’m honored to have their work in my project. Their pieces really help set the mood!
What was the reasoning behind choosing a 4:3 aspect ratio for the game?
When I first started coding, there weren’t as many free-to-use background options as there are now. When the Kickstarter was still a pipe-dream, Doki Doki Dollmaker was funded using my personal bank account. With my limited budget and my decision to prioritize CG illustrations, I needed high-quality backgrounds that wouldn’t put me in the red. My favorite royalty-free backgrounds at the time happened to be in the 4:3 aspect ratio. I began ordering CG illustrations and had them made to match. Before I knew it, the project was moving forward and there was no turning back! I’m still using some of those backgrounds to this day in the final release. The shows I grew up with, and the anime that inspired Doki Doki Dollmaker, were in the 4:3 aspect ratio, so it’s actually very nostalgic for me!
How long did it take to write the 120,000+ words for Doki Doki Dollmaker, and what was the writing process like?
Well, the script was at 16,000 words in April 2016, so… 8 years, I guess? I was (and still am) working full time outside of development, so all of my writing was done on weekends or days off. It was something I did during my free time, which I started having less and less of as I was given more and more responsibilities at work. It was hard to fit it into my schedule, but I always made time for it. Some days it’d take me 5 hours to write 5 sentences and other days the words would fall right into my lap – I never knew what kind of writing session I would have. There were ups and downs and I got discouraged on more than one occasion, but when something worked, it worked, and I ran with it! Ideas would come to me at inconvenient times – my scrub pockets were packed with sticky-notes by the end of some work days. Ideas liked to pop in my head as I drifted off to sleep, too. I’d wake myself up to jot them down because I knew I’d forget by the morning. I’d rather lose sleep than a scene, I guess… I’m looking forward to making up those lost hours after the release, haha!
Can you explain the importance of having a fairly linear story while still providing choices that impact scenes, dialogue, and endings?
Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s story has several overarching plots: Lyle must adapt to his new environment, cope with loss, strengthen his relationship with his brother, discover his sexual orientation, overcome gender stereotypes, and teach five curious dolls about the world. A linear story allows the player to remain focused on and immersed in the narrative while the choices offer insight along the way. Your decisions will change Lyle’s relationships with those around him and, ultimately, whether or not he’ll get the happy ending he’s hoping for.
Why did you decide to exclude dating sim elements like time management or stat-building from the game?
Since time management and stat-building are typically used as mechanics to meet or spend time with specific characters, they didn’t seem to fit Doki Doki Dollmaker‘s narrative. Lyle meets all five dolls, the romanceable characters, at the same time and they all live together under the same roof. He also spends time with them collectively, as a group, throughout the story – all five dolls are important to Lyle, even if players are only pursuing one of them romantically. Still, I wanted there to be adequate one-on-one time with the doll being romanced, which is where the choices come into play!
How did you ensure that the game is accessible to blind and visually impaired players?
Ren’Py has a built-in self-voicing mode, which can be toggled by pressing the “v” key on your keyboard during gameplay! When self-voicing is enabled, the following text will be read aloud using a speech synthesizer:
- Dialogue and Narration
- Choices, Quick Menu text buttons, Custom GUI image buttons
- Physical descriptions of characters when they appear on-screen for the first time
- A phrase or description when “…!” is used to portray reactions
- Setting and CG descriptions (when not already in narration)
What are some of your favorite moments or scenes from the game?
One of my favorite scenes in the game is when Lyle visits Mr. Mendoza’s toy shop for the first time. It follows a particularly chaotic scene and feels all the more relaxing because of it. Something about the casual but thoughtful conversation sets a pleasant, calming tone. You can learn a lot about Lyle and Mr. Mendoza in the words that are said and it ends on an interesting note. Lyle’s birthday is pretty special and the confession scenes, of course, are always a love-story highlight – I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed writing them!
What advice would you give to players as they make decisions for Lyle throughout the story?
Follow your heart and trust the wisdom of others. (Also, there’s a hint on the Itchio page. Have fun!)
Are there any plans for potential sequels or spin-offs in the Doki Doki Dollmaker universe?
A friend of mine is in love with Lyle’s brother, Cole. Since he isn’t a romance option in Doki Doki Dollmaker, I toyed with the idea of a spin-off where you play as one of Cole’s coworkers and go on a date with him. We’ll see!
What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating Doki Doki Dollmaker for you and your team?
For me, the most rewarding aspect of creating Doki Doki Dollmaker has been the connection some players have made with Lyle in the short time they’ve known him. I’ve received many messages from players who relate to Lyle and his story, saying they too had been bullied, or lost a loved one, or had to move far away. It’s been so touching to connect with people in this way. I never expected this sort of reaction to Lyle and hope his story is an uplifting one for all of you.
Lastly, what message do you hope players will take away from their experience with Doki Doki Dollmaker?
“When we love a person, we accept [them] exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong along with the fearful, the true mixed in with the facade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.” – Mr. Rogers
Doki Doki Dollmaker couldn’t have happened without support from family, friends, fans, backers, and the talented artists, musicians, and editors commissioned to bring its story and characters to life! I’m so grateful for the support this project has received over its years of development and sincerely hope the full release exceeds expectations! Thanks for having me, All Ages of Geek!
Thank you, Karitsa, for joining us today and sharing your journey as an indie developer. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for you and for Doki Doki Dollmaker. And for our viewers, don’t forget to check out All Ages of Geek’s Creator Spotlight series to discover more amazing creators and their works in the entertainment industry.
About Stec Studio, All Ages of Geek and “I Married a Monster on a Hill”
Stec Studio is a New Jersey-based company founded and run by by the Stec Sisters. We specialize in producing interactive comics and novels based on All Ages of Geek media, as well as creating a fully open world Boys Love Universe called BLU Media. This universe is being built from various media forms, including readable media, games, and animations.
Our main series, I Married a Monster on a Hill, is a WEBTOON that tells the story of a retired knight who falls in love with a half-monster. We are also developing an in-production visual novel called I Married a Monster on a Hill: Dates, along with an upcoming Wattpad Exclusive set in the same Universe. At Stec Studio, our goal is to create content that gives people hope and light, and we hope our stories can provide joy and entertainment to all who experience them.
