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protagonists with Diya as the only point of view character and Min a member of a different baseball team, and had the pair's first kiss much later in the year. Akarsha and Noelle were included as supporting characters, and the story would cover multiple baseball games throughout the year. Lei decided early on in development, however, that the game was too long for her background in creating short stories and games, and ended it halfway through the school year with only a single full baseball game and Diya and Min's date as the conclusion. She also elevated
Akarsha and Noelle to major characters due to their strong personalities, and split the viewpoint between all four main characters. Shortening the game, however, resulted in removing planned plot and character arcs for Akarsha, Noelle, and supporting characters, which she later moved to
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312:. Lei created characters from multiple Asian backgrounds based on her own experience growing up in California, and also as a reaction to watching teen dramas that did not have Asian characters from more than one background. She wanted to make the characterization one that she would have wanted when growing up, as part of her general development philosophy to make games that she would want to play, rather than making design decisions based on imagined audience preferences.
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led to her having social anxiety; she then designed Min to have an opposing design as "tiny and hyper aggressive". Akarsha and Noelle were then designed to be the same height in contrast. The four girls were "loosely designed" to be the opposite of each of the others in one aspect, such as Noelle and
Akarsha representing order vs. chaos, and Noelle and Min representing logic vs. emotion.
187:, wherein the player advances through scenes with static two-dimensional images of characters. The player's primary interaction with the game is selecting dialogue options and deciding the order of actions. The game is mostly linear, with the exception of scenes where the player can select the next location or object to engage with. Unlike many visual novels,
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388:, in 2023, said that it was "a masterpiece, a rare and profound game that was, for me, one of the defining and essential works" of its time. A paper presented at the International Conference on the Foundations of Digital Games in 2018 described it as at the time the most popular example of "queer romance in games".
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Lei wrote the plot of the game first, and then built the dialog around humorous lines and other elements of her personal life. Diya was the first character designed; even before deciding on the baseball theme Lei had designed Diya to have a baseball aesthetic. She gave Diya deafness in one ear, which
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After the release of the game, Brianna Lei planned to create a sequel to cover the parts of the game that were cut from the design. She said a few months later in early 2018 that it was planned for release in mid-2019, though she warned that she was likely underestimating how long it would take. She
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The narrative focuses on each of the four girls in turn, alternating between the present day and their time during the third grade. It opens with Diya in third grade, showing her friendship with Min and hinting at Min's budding crush on Diya, before Min abruptly moves away to
Florida. In the present
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In Noelle's section, the narrative shows her relationship with Diya and Min in third grade, and her discontent with her academically demanding parents. In the present day, the four girls play a practice scrimmage with the baseball club. Noelle decides to join the club with the other girls after her
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club. The four protagonists are the strong and shy Indian-American Diya, the short and aggressive Korean-American Min-Seo, the quirky and energetic Indian-American
Akarsha, and the smart and dedicated Chinese-American Noelle. Additional characters include Min's twin brother Jun-Seo and baseball
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Lei developed the game over two and a half years, inspired by sports anime and teen drama shows to write a game that relied on the personalities and characterization of the protagonists. Lei tried to develop a game that she would have wanted when she was in high school, with elements of her own
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The first draft of game, with the working title "Queen of
Diamonds", was intended to be much longer than the final result, covering the characters' entire freshman year. It concluded with the graduation of the two older baseball captains. Additionally, the project had Diya and Min as the sole
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does not feature a branching narrative; the player's choices can impact the wording of individual scenes but do not change the overall story. The game's plot alternates its focus between four major protagonists, with the player taking the role of the four different viewpoint characters from a
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focused their review on the writing as well, and called it "one of the most moving, memorable stories I've experienced all year". They said that the characters all felt like real teenagers, and praised how the game used race and sexuality without letting it overwhelm the characters. Patricia
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In Min's section, the game shows her relationship with her abusive parents and her discomfort with traditional femininity. The baseball club goes for a team outing at a restaurant, where Min asks out Diya. Akarsha and Noelle advise Min for their lunch date the next day at a
453:, for Windows, macOS, and Linux on October 29, 2022. It continues the story of the four protagonists, with further emphasis on Noelle and Akarsha. The game is a similar length to the original, and is also available for "pay what you want" on itch.io.
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upbringing as an Asian-American child and an open perspective on sexuality. Critics praised the game's story and writing, especially for its realistic depiction of teenagers and strong characterization. It was named the "best visual novel" of 2017 by
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desert store. At the date, after realizing that the pair have followed them to the store and are also advising the nervous Diya, Min kisses her, and the group returns to school. In an after-credits scene, adult Diya and Min adopt a dog together.
152:, alternating between their first year of high school in 2008 and when they were young children. The coming-of-age story shows them as they join a baseball club and centers on the romance between the main character, Diya, and her friend Min.
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was developed by
Brianna Lei over the course of two and a half years. Prior to its release, the 23-year-old Lei had been developing indie video games for five years. She did so primarily while a student in Interactive Media+Games at the
349:. She felt that the game should even be available for free because her younger self would have "needed a game like this", while being unable to pay for it without discussing the purchase and the game's subject matter with her parents.
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on May 29, 2017, followed by a full release on
September 16. It was originally released in English for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with fan-made translations to several other languages added later. It also has unofficial web browser,
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day, it shows Diya's friendship with
Akarsha and Noelle and her realization that she is a lesbian. It finishes with the trio collectively deciding to try out a new baseball club and discovering that Min has moved back to Fremont.
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similarly praised the writing, and said that the game's "frank treatment of sexuality", and the way it integrated the character's feelings into their characterization without relying on tropes, made it special. Allegra Frank of
298:. She felt that the "mundane" settings caused the stories to rely on the personalities and characterization of the protagonists, and wanted to make a game with a similar style. The art and gameplay style were inspired by the
322:. Lei found that development took over a year longer than she had planned; she has said that she eventually had to force herself to stop writing new scenes instead of finishing artwork in order to actually release the game.
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mother tells her that any time spent with her friends is wasted. In
Akarsha's section, set entirely in the present, the girls play a baseball game against a team from Jun's school. They win due to Min's
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named the game as one of her five favorite of the year due to its writing, particularly the humor and characterization. While critics did not focus on the gameplay as much as the writing,
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s review did praise the game's use of the player's choices in controlling the pacing and in revealing who the characters were, rather than controlling them or changing the narrative.
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series of visual novels. Lei did not have much experience with visual novels, and so was not concerned with genre conventions. She settled on a concept of a "baseball
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described it as "an insta-hit, and a contemporary classic", and said it was one of the most popular visual novels of 2017 for players and critics. Carolyn Petit of
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Salter, Anastasia; Blodgett, Bridget; Sullivan, Anne (August 2018). ""Just
Because It's Gay?": Transgressive Design in Queer Coming of Age Visual Novels".
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Critics were very positive towards the game, focusing primarily on the writing, particularly the themes and humor. Caty McCarthy of
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called it a "cult hit" and that it had been widely praised for its subject matter, tone, and humor. D. M. Moore of
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pitching, which she had promised Diya in third grade that she would learn. Diya and Akarsha both
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642:""Make a game someone would kill a man to play" An interview with Brianna Lei of Butterfly Soup"
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praised the writing, which they felt created believable teenage characters. Brittany Vincent of
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noted it as still being one of the foremost titles on itch.io in June 2022.
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1134:"In A Year Of Great Games, A Small One Called Butterfly Soup Stands Out"
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and was nominated for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2018
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and was nominated for the Excellence in Narrative award at the 2018
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996:"Don't Miss One Of The Most Heartfelt (And Funniest) Games Of 2022"
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to each other, and Akarsha informs her that Min likes Diya back.
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developed by Brianna Lei and published in September 2017 for
726:"Developer of indie hit Butterfly Soup talks sequel plans"
608:"An interview with Brianna Lei, creator of Butterfly Soup"
141:. The game has the player follow the perspectives of four
814:"Butterfly Soup Web & Android Ports by Brianna Lei"
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959:"2017's most horrifying and heartfelt indie games"
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957:Ramos, Jeff; Frank, Allegra (December 14, 2017).
280:, Lei was inspired by sports anime shows such as
523:"Road to the IGF: Brianna Lei's Butterfly Soup"
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846:"Best Visual Novel 2017: Butterfly Soup"
1060:"Best indie games that aren't on Steam"
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938:from the original on September 1, 2018
862:from the original on September 2, 2018
793:from the original on December 31, 2022
493:from the original on September 2, 2018
1187:from the original on October 31, 2022
1150:from the original on January 21, 2023
1113:from the original on January 20, 2023
1095:Frank, Allegra (September 25, 2017).
1012:from the original on January 22, 2023
975:from the original on January 21, 2023
922:"Priceless Play – September 1st 2018"
898:from the original on January 20, 2023
826:from the original on February 3, 2021
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654:from the original on January 20, 2023
618:from the original on January 20, 2023
571:from the original on January 20, 2023
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742:from the original on August 30, 2018
724:Stanley, Alyse (February 28, 2018).
535:from the original on August 27, 2021
1037:Association for Computing Machinery
994:Petit, Carolyn (November 8, 2022).
920:Brewster, Kat (September 1, 2018).
764:Lei, Brianna (September 16, 2017).
475:Moore, Michael (January 21, 2018).
329:Lei released a demo of the game on
1169:Castello, Jay (October 31, 2022).
1076:from the original on June 25, 2022
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640:Hayes, Spencer (April 10, 2018).
263:University of Southern California
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676:McCarthy, Caty (July 26, 2018).
276:When developing the concept for
781:"Butterfly Soup by Brianna Lei"
521:Couture, Joel (March 5, 2018).
1237:High school-themed video games
1058:Hearts, Rosy (June 25, 2022).
292:and teen drama series such as
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368:Independent Games Festival
224:captains Chryssa and Liz.
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212:in 2008. It follows four
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172:, was released in 2022.
1282:Video games set in 2008
1045:10.1145/3235765.3235778
310:San Francisco Bay Area
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858:. December 29, 2017.
766:Art of Butterfly Soup
614:. November 14, 2017.
449:released the sequel,
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210:Fremont, California
208:The game is set in
150:Fremont, California
1176:Rock Paper Shotgun
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308:" game set in the
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1242:Indie games
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253:Development
234:knuckleball
64:Platform(s)
46:Brianna Lei
1226:Categories
1218:at itch.io
1065:Laptop Mag
612:Tomorrowed
457:References
391:Laptop Mag
246:shaved ice
1107:Vox Media
969:Vox Media
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353:Reception
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1074:Archived
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688:Archived
652:Archived
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412:PC Gamer
363:PC Gamer
283:Haikyu!!
238:come out
221:baseball
176:Gameplay
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432:'
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1193:2022
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1018:2023
981:2023
944:2018
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832:2021
799:2023
748:2018
696:2023
660:2023
624:2023
577:2023
541:2020
499:2018
306:yuri
286:and
214:LGBT
196:Plot
143:LGBT
1041:doi
340:iOS
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