TechRaptor also interviewed Riva Celso of Winter Wolves this week.

TechRaptor: Do you believe romances are important to developing characters in games?

I think so. It feels weird to me when I play a game without romance. I know that not all the stories can involve romances, but still the characters feels unnatural if they are unable to feel love or attraction to others!

TechRaptor: There’s been some argument that Visual Novels are not ‘games’ at times. What is your thought on this?

Haha, well if they refer to kinetic novels (VN without any choice) then maybe “game” is not the best word, a better one would be story, experience, art, etc. But some VN have a lot of choices, branching, many endings, so I think they can be called games!

Don't forget to read our interview posted yesterday with the developer.

2014 has ended and it has been over two months since my last interview on the site. So to remedy that I had the chance to interview Celso Riva of Winter Wolves.

Couchpotato: To start the interview can you talk a little bit about your background, Winter Wolves, and how you got started in the games industry?

Celso Riva: I started for a small software house in Italy around 1995, then in 2004 after a long period away from game development I discovered the possibility to sell games over internet and decided to try!

Couchpotato: You have been around for quite a few years, and probably have seen many changes. So what's your opinion on the state of the game industry?

Celso Riva: The game industry is quite healthy in my opinion, but is also getting very tough and competitive. I still think that thanks to the various platforms available (mobile, portals, desktop, direct, consoles, web, etc) there's still the possibility to carve in your niche and be successful. But is much harder, as indie dev, than when I started for sure.

If my interview got you interested in his games here is the link to his website.

Winter Wolves posted their release plans for 2015, and compare their latest two RPG  games Loren Amazon Princess vs Seasons Of The Wolf. Here is a small sample.

It’s the first post of the year! I imagine people’s main question will be: which games will be out next? since I don’t know myself, and after the big fail of last year (I announced like 5 games but I finished “just” 2), I’ll just say which ones should be definitely out this year (not tomorrow though! could be even Summer or Fall! but still technically 2015).

I have a new interview with the developer I will post later this week.

Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf has been released, and it looks like the sort of thing that might interest JRPG/dating sim fans.

The twins’ tale starts on a day like many others, when one of the siblings finds a young wolf and decides to take it with him/her. Thus begins the long journey which will take the siblings from the ice-shrouded Ninim to the desert-wrapped city of Dingirra to the storm-shrouded port of Shacklesplit. Explore the corruption-riddled halls of Dingirra, and contest with the crimelords who claim it as their own domain. Sail the high seas, battle mighty pirates, and discover their hidden treasures!

Travel alongside your old friend the ex-mercenary Vaelis, the illusionist Riley, the barbarian Krimm, the assassin Chalassa, the bard Jariel, and last, but not least, the crazy–ahem, the warlock Rowinda! As your relationships deepen, you may discover love with one of your companions. As you spend time together, you will find yourself influencing their very own storylines!

The game’s feature list reads:

• - Fantasy RPG set in the world of Aravorn, like Loren The Amazon Princess
• - Play as male (Shea) or female (Althea)
• - Four characters to romance: Krimm, Riley, Jariel or Chalassa
• - 8 unique party members each one with different skills
• - Advanced isometric tileset maps for a bigger world to explore

Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf is out for Windows Mac and Linux direct from the developer; and given that it’s been Greenlit, I imagine we’ll see it on Steam sooner or later as well. It’s $24.99, though there is a free demo (Windows / Mac / Linux).

More information.

Donald Parsons of TechRaptor notifed me his site did a new preview of  ToA: Seasons of the Wolf that is being developed by a studio called Winter Wolves Games.

If your not familiar with the developer they make visual novel RPGs.

The game follows the story of Shea and Althea, a pair of Snow Elf twins from the far north village of Ninim. The player can choose to play either as the protagonist, with the only difference being some character interactions. Each can be one of three classes – Ranger, Hunter, Druid – which conform more or less to the Fighter, Thief, Mage choices though each has a definite nature spin on them. Each of the characters you meet throughout the game will have their own set of skills to choose from – and each of these classes grants a good amount of skills to pick between.

Tales of Aravorn: Seasons of the Wolf will be released later this month, but is still in Greenlight. There is a free demo available on their site, which covers the first act of the game and gives several hours of play.