Bonjour mes chères !
If you follow our socials (and you should because we post all kinds of goodies on the platform fka Twitter, Instagram, and in our discord server) you've probably seen the brand new TRAILER for 'Love & Country'! If you haven't seen it yet, go watch it on YouTube!
We had some amazing vocal talent--Leah Booth (@lil_leahbee on instagram) as Lillian, James Aaron Oh as Emile, and Tim Winters (@timandhisvoices on Twitter) as Anton. Thanks to Very Berry Studios for helping us find these awesome actors! (Note, the game does not have voice acting in it, but that is something we intend to add in a future release. We'll be running a crowd-funding campaign down the road for this.)
The other thing you may catch in our trailer is the release date--November 2023! It is a little later than we had originally planned, but we promise the wait is worth it. I've had a sneak peak from our resident Artiste of some updated artwork and new CGs and they are looking great!
Speaking of our resident Artiste, we made her answer some interview questions to give you the chance to get to know the other half of Guhuhu:
Who are you?
Hi! I’m Juliana, also known as @pr1nsass everywhere else. I’m the co-owner/creator of Guhuhu Games, co-writer of ‘Love & Country’ (yes, it’s both ‘Love & Country’ and ‘Love and Country’ – WE’RE ALLOWED) and Guhuhu’s fabulous Artiste. I like doggies, cute things, and my iPad Pro.
What do you like about visual novels?
I love visual novels for the romance, first and foremost. No one said all VNs have to be a romance (nor should they be) but a lot of them are and I live for it. Secondly, Katie and I are otome fans, so visual novels seem like the spiritual sister to that kind of fun.
Why do you want to tell Lillian’s story?
I have always loved history and have always been fascinated by WWI in particular. I knew that I wanted to tell one set in this period, just not sure whose story I’d tell. It seemed like stories surrounding this war and this time tended to center on a male perspective. After all, they were the fighters, the ones whose contributions weighed the heaviest, so it makes sense. But that got the two Gu Girls thinking: where does a woman fit in this conflict? For us, the obvious and dramatic answer was espionage. But in all fairness, WWI isn’t known for its spies like WWII is. So we wanted to show off what we learned about it – wrapped up in a few idiosyncrasies here and there, but MOSTLY historically accurate.
What is your artistic process like?
I dislike discussing process, because I feel like it makes other artists feel like they have to have one in order to create. For me, creating art can be rather random and sporadic at times. Unless I’m close to a deadline, then it’s tunnel vision. But I suppose in approaching the material for L&C, the first step was always RESEARCH. Look at photographs, read articles, watch documentaries, pick up some other fiction set in the time period. Try to understand who lives in the 19-teens. And then, start doin’ the damn thing.
Who are your influences?
The Old Masters, anime and manga, video game, fashion both historical and contemporary. Other artists who live online!
How do you stay motivated?
Having a creative partner certainly helps. We keep each other in check. When I’m feeling a bit bleh, she’ll be like, “What D&D class do you think each of our characters are?” and then I’m reinvigorated! Honestly, the passion required in creating something from the ground up is the motivation. We get so excited to share what we’ve created with people who might be as obsessed with it as we are.
What has been the greatest challenge in creating 'Love and Country'?
The greatest challenge has been narrowing the scope of our work. I believe Katie mentioned something similar. We went into this project, our first one EVER, with such a giant sun-sized ball of ideas and we didn’t think of how we would realistically accomplish it. As of now, there is so much L&C and off-shoots planned that it feels…too much. Maybe it’s a bad idea. But we’re hard workers. We wouldn’t be shooting for the stars if we didn’t think we could stick the landing, okay?
Which love interest would you choose?
Émile. He’s got a mean badboy shell and a squishy UwU inside. 100% my type.
That's all for now, loves! More updates to come, so keep watching our socials. <3