The Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign for Do Not Love - Violators Will Be Shot has been officially launched. The campaign, which started August 13, seeks funding for the production of the full release of the survival/romance visual novel after it received positive responses to the proof-of-concept demo through itch.io last April.
The game is set in a quarantine zone, Neo-Manila, where skin contact is illegal. Players take on the role of Jericho, who is a former mercenary who sells illegal hand-holding, also known as an ‘intimi.’ Revolving around themes of love, survival, and death, players of the game are challenged to make decisions that shape the narrative, which unfolds according to the choices the players make.
Do Not Love features a ruthless decision tree that requires players to make choices based on their instincts and principles of morality. Making the wrong decisions can have drastic consequences, even resulting to the death of the protagonist. On the other hand, making the right decisions can have rewarding consequences, including more story, world-building, and progress in your relationships. Based on the demo, a total of 10 bad endings and three good endings are possible.
There are three characters in the survival/romance visual novel that your character can romance, each of them with different themes and arcs that both protagonist and partner have to face. In addition, the game features beautiful backgrounds, unique character art, and an original soundtrack that immerses the player in the narrative experience.
The key features of Do Not Love according to its Kickstarter project campaign page include:
- Romance three possible characters as the intimus, Jericho.
- Different routes showcase different aspects of the story and characters. Watch the world unfold the more you play.
- All your choices matter. Adapt a survivor's mindset when approaching a dilemma.
- Over 30+ hours of content for you to read and unlock.
- Immerse yourself in the world of Neo-Manila through beautiful backgrounds and compelling character art.
- Let the atmosphere creep in with our original soundtrack, done by our own composer.
Team Bisugo Project Lead Chaironiichan shared in a statement that the team had always wanted to make a visual novel that focused on hand holding. Chaironiichan said that “it started off as a joke of sorts, considering the connotation of ‘hand-holding’ in the internet nowadays.” However as the concept was developed, the characters started to come to life followed by the setting, and later the protagonist. Chaironiichan went on to say that they suddenly “built a world where love was needed to prevail.” While the ‘hand-holding’ scenes continue to make the developers grin from time to time, it became more sincere as development went on.
