Hello out there!

Last year, we had such a great time participating in the Monstrous Desires VN Jam that we've decided to put what we've learned to use and do it all over again!

Beauty's Plaything is a queer retelling of Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve's Beauty and the Beast. It's a Dark Romcom where the MC is in a situationship with a "beauty" and antics leave them both trapped with a "beast" until they can all sort their problems out. Both "beauty" and "beast" are love interests for a potential polycule, and of course, are monsters themselves. It has morbid humor and the same angsty undertones as our previous release, To The Wayside.

We are still looking to fill these roles:

• Writer
• Background Artist
• Ren'py Programmer

The game will be structured as a main route that branches into 5 endings. It solely focuses on the three characters mentioned in our synopsis, all of which stay within the beast's mansion and its grounds during the course of the plotline. Potential writers should be comfortable with writing for this genre and unhealthy relationship dynamics. If you do not have experience writing for visual novels, that isn't an issue! We are open to teaching the ropes. Potential background artists should be prepared for both interior and exterior locations. Potential programmers should expect to code in the GUI, including the main character's sprite on top of the textbox, and help with any issues that may arise when we handle the scene direction.

The team communicates through the studio's Discord server, shares files through Google Drive, and keeps track of code through Github. Given that the jam's rules allow it, development has already begun and your work will start in the near future. If we are unable to make Monstrous Desire's October deadline, our backup plan is to switch this project to the Once Upon A Time VN Jam and/or PolyJamorous, depending on whether they are returning this year and what their time frames will be.

Those interested may DM us @thehorizons on Discord or email us at sparklinghorizonstudios@gmail.com. We'd appreciate if you would send samples of your work or past projects you've been a part of when you reach out. You're welcome to ask us any questions you have about the project, too!

Thank you all for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you!