Summer Found Me Again
A downloadable visual novel for Windows, macOS, and Linux
Slice of life, High school-ish, Romance, Comedy
Nameable heroine
3 guys to romance
10 endings
46k words (~2 hours per path)
No CGS (yet, might consider them in the future)
Age rating: some bad words, physical violence (off screen), alcohol use (off screen)
Summer found me was my first visual novel. I started working on it back in 2011 and released it in 2012, after being inspired by such OG english otome visual novels as "Fantasia: the realm of Thanos", "Frozen Essence" and "Re:Alistair+" .
The game took me way too long to finish, taking a 6 months break at one point, and making another short visual novel in the mean time, but I did it . My art was pretty bad. The story, while I still like parts of it, wasn't the most original. But I still stand by my characters though, because to me at least, they knew they were stereotypes and self-inserts, but they had fun with it and never took themselves too seriously. The drama is cheesy as all hell, but there is some innocence to it, reflecting my younger self.
Summer found me again is an update to SFM. The sprites have been redone for a couple of years, so at least now they'll be put to good use. I wanted to do this remake for a while, now thanks to the quarantine I am able to deliver.
The UI was redone twice, technology was upgraded (that old mobile phone sprite tho) and much of the dialogue was tweaked. The plot is basically untouched though. Whether you're a new reader or an SFM veteran, I hope you enjoy this cheesy little story about high school flings and other inconsequential things.
~
There are still things to tweak, so if you find any mistakes, please let me know. There are no CGs in the game, but if there is enough interest in this release, I might make some. Some epilogues are planned as well. The game is free, just like the original, but your donations are very much appreciated!
Download
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very cute throwback, this feels like the empitome of a slice of life otome game. i like the concept.
This bring back memories. Re playing it again. I like all the route. Alden is sweet and Devlin is agreesive, I prefer Seth more hihi
Hey! I remember this visual novel really fondly, since it was one of the first ones I've played. I'm an amateur visual novel translator, and I'm interested in being able to let Spanish speaker players enjoy this game too! I would like to know if you could give me the permission to do so :)
Hi Shizuka! I'm glad to hear that. Would this imply hosting it somewhere else or do you mean I would add the Spanish version to this project? You can send me a message at the email in my profile so we don't talk through these comments :D
*Applause* Super good! Definitely worth a read... Couldn't stop... Reading... O_O
Thank you! :D
Hey Selavi, I loved your writing in Summer Found Me original and Tranquil Tempest.
Iris is relatable and really likable as the MC; the happenings and character interactions were fun and felt super realistic ^v^
The planned epilogues would be a joy to see!
Honestly.....I'm so glad I came across this!!
I download a lot of romance visual novels, so there aren't much options for me, but then, BAM! I see this! Its long and well developed!
I really enjoyed the storyline and the characters, and so far i got half of the endings, still playing! :D
Oh, and the art is really beautiful! c:
Anyways, stay safe and don't forget to sleep well! I stayed up for this TwT but it was worth it
Huggsss~~
Oh gosh I am SO GLAD I found this!!!!! I played the original version of Summer Found Me like 5-6 years ago. It was one of the first VNs I ever played and I LOVED it so so so much. I actually still remember parts of this VN to this day before I replayed it.
One that stuck out to me was what Cherri said about the eye color thing. In college I tested it out between friends who were dating. I asked her what our guy friend's eye color was and she knew straight out even if our other friends hesitated. Sometimes I still remember that Devlin had a P folder on his computer that stood for "poetry". Heck, I didn't use a walkthrough for this and I still remember exactly which choices to make to get the ending I want hahaha
I do miss the old CGs, but it's funny cause I can kinda still see some of them in my head. I knew the parts of the game where there would have been CGs. I REALLY LOVED SFM OKAY HAHA
The dialogue in this VN is just as great as I remember it. The banter between characters is legitimately funny and flows so naturally. You're a terrific writer. Summer Found Me remains to be one of my favorite VNs.
Thank you so much for your comment! So cool to hear the eye color thing worked in real life. I honestly don't even remember how I came up with it, probably was inspired by some character in a movie talking about their crush's eye color in detail or something like that.
Recently I wanted to make an update to SFM to add a side image of the MC when she talks, like in the old version, and then if that worked maybe add back some CGs at least for this kissing scenes. Unfortunately the structure of ren'py (the VN engine) has changed so much since then I can't get it to show up so I don't think I can keep updating this. I should probably focus on a new game anyway haha.
No pressure at all to add anything to the game! I can't wait for the games you'll be making in the future. I do think you're a great writer. I know you say the story is super cliche and the characters are stereotypes, and they are, but what made those work was how well you wrote them. Replaying it now that I'm older and more mature, the story still holds up for me. There's a simplicity in working with simple cliche plot lines but what made them enjoyable was really how well the dialogue was written. I wish you the best of luck in everything you do!
also wow I just found out I actually played SFM in 2012 almost 10 years ago. It's been wayyyy longer than I thought. I can't believe I still remembered it so well!
Love both art styles but really admire the work and updates you made to perfect your previous projects! I remember playing SFM so many years back, I wanted to replay it maybe a few years ago but could NOT find the game and I was so beat up about it because this one has a special place in my heart like those other novels you mentioned. (I eventually found it like a week or so later haha but I was so crushed not being able to remember the name.) I've been playing visual novels for well over 10 years now, and the heartwarming ones like yours from my childhood continue to stick out to me more than most. I also played Signed X and Out of Sight when they first came out, and you/your team's storytelling really stuck so much with me. I didn't even realize those games were yours until now, but now it makes complete sense why I enjoyed those games so much.
Now that I'm 22 and an ADULT adult lol, life gets tough but my comfort is in my memories, and I'm always gonna have fond memories of the lazy days where I had a nice cup of tea and played your games. It'll be a tradition going forward for me when I replay your games in the future.
Thanks for being a joy in my childhood and moments of peace in my adulthood! I look forward to your other works going forward, and I hope you're taking care of yourself well!
Thank you so much for your comment! I also have a special relationship with my first visual novels and I am so glad and honored to have provided that for someone else. <3
Hello, you've seen me before about the bgs and just love your visual novels even tho i never played them BUT STILL and i love YOUR ART, i wish i could make art like you :'(
Thank you, although I don't know how you can like a vn without playing it :D
I'm practicing drawing as much as I can, although I'm lazy so it's not as much as I should. A good piece of advice (that even I forget sometimes) is instead of comparing yourself to artists your like, compare your new drawings with your old ones to see how you improved. By practicing consistently you will get better! :)
Part of it i listed to:
Thank you for the advice ^_^
Omygoodness. No way! I haven't even played this yet but I absolutely ADORE Summer Found Me. One of my absolute favorite otome games! I seriously love loove your writing, your characters. I wonder if you put in more dialogues. If you don't I'm still gonna play it again. Seriously, girl I need another game from you asap. This was perfect tho and don't stop writing! This game will forever be in my laptop. Devlin! Wait for meeeee
Thank you so much!!! Your comment brought a smile to my face and made me want to get back to working on my VN projects! >.< I'm not sure to what degree the dialogue is different, but I reworded a lot of passages to try to give the character some more depth. Hope you like it!!
Okay I finished playing Devlin's route and I have a lot of thoughts.
First, I do notice that you reworded a lot of things. In my opinion, that did make the sentences more polished but that in turn, take away a lot of MC's personality. Her personality was what made the Summer Found Me so enjoyable to me. It sounds less like something she would say and more of an English essay? Or something like that. Less human and more.. Proper. I hope you understand what I mean lol.
I also notice there are sentences / phrases / wordd you take away completely. Like when Aidan wanted to take her picture and said "please.. For me?" She blushed and gave in to it cuz he said "for me" I thought that was super cute but you took that away. There were a lot of passages you took away that I actually liked and gave the characters more flavor.
Also the MC doesn't have a sprite now. I think in my opinion, that took away more of her personality that I so adore. Her expression, along with her witty responses were what made the game enjoyable to me. It's just all text now. It makes it feel less personal I suppose. I also like that she was more awkward before like when she reluctantly admit Devlin is good looking like "You're good looking.. Hot. I mean no not hot but" something like that. It fits with her personality
god I just realized how much I know about the previous version. It goes to show just how much I loved it
There are quite a lot of lines I actually miss like seth being a savage when MC said "oooh is that a new handbag?" seth: "No, that's Cherri" or him saying "Ugh, pass" instead of just "Pass" I donno. It's my opinion. XD Overall it's safe to say I like the previous version better but maybe I'm biased?
Also Cherri and MC are fantastic characters together. Even tho the MC is kinda like "not like other girls" but you don't undermine girls who do like shopping, who do like "girly" things which is awesome. That makes the MC a great character paired up with a bff like Cherri.
That's all I have to say for now. Hahahaha I still love love your work. Only I prefer the previous version and these are the reasons why.
The reason I rewrote some scenes was because I just wasn't relating to the MC anymore. I wanted Iris to be a bit more mature since it always did feel like she wizened up and changed her mind a little too fast about Alden at the very end. I wanted to show her growth more during the whole story. And yeah, a lot of the things you mentioned I thought were too cheesy and I took them out. I guess MC was too influenced by all the teen dramas I was watching at the time that now I can't stand watching lol. Maybe I took it too far in the opposite direction. I remember receiving criticism at the time that the MC was too annoying lol, so I know nothing will please everyone. But for this very reason I still keep the old version up on my blog. If anyone likes the original more, it will always be there.
The MC not having a sprite was because I noticed I enjoy it more in VNs and makes it easier for the player to insert into the character and makes it more "their story". I feel like this is the kind of story where inserting yourself works since the MC is just a girl, not a certain person in history, or a princess or Alice in wonderland etc. And I'll be honest, I could have given the option to turn the MC sprite off, but I was too lazy to draw it and just wanted to finally release this remake since it was sitting on a shelf for literal years. I was going through a bit of bad time and I wanted some validation to pick me back up. I am thinking of adding back the sprite at some point. That's if I'm going to do CGs, since I don't love the look of the faceless MC in CGs, but yeah, IDK yet.
With the rewrite I also hoped to have toned down some problematic topics. I did suffer from a bit of 'not like other girls' syndrome when I was younger and it showed in my characters. Sorry you didn't enjoy this version more, it wasn't my intention to change the characters too much. I just wanted to make them a bit more grounded in reality. But thanks so much for playing it and sharing your thoughts!
Thank you for listening to my thoughts then. I'm not saying it's a bad game at all. It's not. This is just my opinion. Summer Found me / Summer Found me Again still is a great game. ^^ I played other games you made like Signed X, Out of Sight and also Trapped. I really like them. They have something different that sets them apart, just a little bit. Signed X have great banter between the MC and the boys. I think that's the part where you shine the most; banter. To me, that's an important part of an otome game and why it set your games apart from others. In my opinion. I'm really looking forward to your future games if you're making more!
TL;DR
plz continue making them plzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
I just thought about SFM and looked you up to see if you made new vn. I am so exited to play this version! i just love your writing
I loved the original so much so this was a nice surprise, and it was fun to get to revisit the characters. I do miss the CGs and even the MC sprite (something I dont usually care about, but she's so adorkable and always made me laugh), but I enjoyed the refresh. Your games are always a rare treat, thank you!
I have finished the game when it was released as Summer found me and loved it. It was nice playing it again. Though I miss CG from the original. If you will find it possible to redraw them it wood be fantastic.Thank tou for the game!
I find myself thinking about this game from time to time so imagine my surprise when I saw this. It looks amazing, can't wait to play again! I've only ever romanced Devlin to be completely honest XD.
Oh my God I was in schock when I saw this fresh update version of Summer found me. I remember when I played the original version a few years ago and that was one of my first otome games. I love it do much I played Devlin's route so many Times that I lost count xD Graphic looks fantastic and I totally will give it a go when i will be free from work. Stay tuned for my opinion! I am glad your are still making some vn projects Selavi. Best wishes and stay healthy <3
I tried to play the Mac version but for some reason it wouldn’t open. Any suggestions?
Unfortunately I don't have a mac so I can't troubleshoot, but I made another build specifically for mac. Hopefully this one works for you.
The mac build worked. I'm happy that i'll be able to play this.
So glad to hear it!
I love this but I can't get 2 endings T~T Seth best and Deviln good.
It was easy for read, music was good to, ahh ewrything was soo good. I want so bad write what i love, what make my heart race. But even if i'm know what i read i can't write in english ^^"
Have nice day and motivationa =^.^=
I added a walkthrough in the downloads. It's basically a step by step guide to each ending. I did it pretty quickly based on the old one, so it might not be 100% accurate, but it should help you with your missing endings.
Playing visual novels is a great way to improve your English. I wish you good luck and one day I hope to read your stories too!
Thank you for playing and have a great day! ^_^
I remember this visual novel very fondly! It was one of the first I translated into German. Let me know if you want me to update the translation as well, I would love to see it included in this release and I'd be happy to work on this again! :)
Hi Marcel! It's been a while :D
I still want to add some more scenes to this game, but once that is done, it would be great to collaborate again on a translated version. Thank you very much for the offer!