Introduction

Hello everyone! Aoi here.

For those just joining us - I’m Aoi, a high school student with a passion for game development and programming. But here’s the thing: I’m also the protagonist of Idealium. Pretty meta, right?

Idealium - Visual Novel RPG. Solo indie game project, that fuses nostalgia for late 90s to early 2000s culture with modern technology, themed around Digital Nostalgia.

I have taken over from gn3ko-chan, the developer, in posting devlog.

Currently, She is busy working to make our ideal world a reality So she asked, “Could you post devlog instead?” (She tell me “In return, I’ll treat you to a sweet coffee.” Great — I love sweet things!)

And… As I experience this world as it unfolds, who better to tell you about it than me?

I’ll continue to post updates, giving you an insider’s view of how Idealium is coming together from technical and personal perspectives.

Roadmap

• ✓Phase 1: Basic System Construction
• Phase 2: Focus on Chapter 01 (←I’m here!)
• Phase 3: Chapter 01 Prototype Release (Planned for EOY)
• Phase 4: Reflecting feedback, Chapter 01 Completion (Planned for 2026)

Development Status

Aoi’s Class room - Mysterious Warp Event

Nyankuro: It seems we’ve warped. This is evidence that the system is becoming unstable.

I and Nyankuro try to leave through the main entrance, but we mysteriously warp back in my classroom… Why??? Umm… It’s like the school won’t let us escape.

The developer tells me this isn’t just a gameplay mechanic - it’s meant to show how our world’s systems are breaking down.

From my perspective as someone living through this, it’s genuinely unsettling.

You will have to help us search for alternative exits while uncovering the school’s secrets and assisting me in recovering fragments of my lost memories.

Music Room - A Haunting Piano Scene

Female Student: If you play instead of me… surely… surely I can remember something!

Meeting this female student in the music room was…

Her fragmented piano memories, the way she desperately tries to remember something…

The tension between our idealized selves and painful real experiences. That struggle between who we want to be and what we’ve actually lived through…

I understand that feeling all too well.

Digital Sauna Classroom - Glitched Reality

Rewinding Student: OUR CLASSROOM… WHY transformed SAUNA… NOSTALGIA space… PAST AMPLIFY… nostalgic THINGS… EVERYWHERE…

This is probably the most surreal environment I’ve encountered in our world so far. A classroom that’s transformed into a Digital Sauna…

There’s so much nostalgia here, and people don’t know what they’re talking about… But why? I don’t want to leave here…

Nyankuro: Snap out of it!!!

Ow!!! By the way, according to the developer, the game is strongly inspired by the aesthetics of Vaporwave and Frutiger Aero. Because two movements that really resonate with the whole Digital Nostalgia theme.

Vaporwave (80s-90s nostalgia): A microgenre and art movement that emerged in the early 2010s, characterized by a nostalgic or surrealist engagement with retro cultural aesthetics, technology, and advertising imagery from the 1980s and 1990s

Frutiger Aero (early 2000s optimism): An aesthetic movement representing the glossy, nature-meets-technology optimism of the early 2000s, featuring translucent interfaces, water droplets, green nature imagery, and clean technological design

Musical Integration: These dual aesthetic influences extend beyond visuals - The developer is weaving these dual influences into Chapter 01’s soundtrack too. Working with slowed-down samples, nostalgic synths, optimistic electronic sounds, and nature-inspired ambient textures… trying to capture that Digital Nostalgia feeling that defines our world.

New Explorable Areas - Mapping the Mystery

Beyond the dramatic events mentioned above, The developer has been deeply focused on expanding our school environment. Each new area they create houses unique NPCs, events, and memory fragments that piece together the central mystery of what’s happening to our world.

I’m the one in the mirror… But it looks different somehow?

Looking Forward

These additions bring Chapter 01 much closer to being a cohesive experience. Our school actually feels more alive now (corrupted, but alive), with every room telling part of the larger story about what’s happening to our world.

What the developer has planned next:

• Finishing the complete school map - there are still a few areas that need detailed implementation
• Implementing all the remaining events, scenes, and memory fragment systems
• Final optimization and polishing for the EOY prototype release

From my perspective as someone living in this world, this strange, haunting atmosphere feels genuinely unique - mixing technological nostalgia with psychological elements and deeply personal human stories that hit close to home.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these surreal elements as the developer continues refining our world! Your feedback has been incredibly valuable in shaping how this world creates around us.

The prototype release gets closer every day, and I can’t wait for you to experience our world firsthand!

That’s all from me, Aoi.