Response to some controversies following the release of the English version of the game
I'm really happy that so many people have played the fan game I made! I'm also very grateful for all the praise and support my work has received.
That said, there have also been some voices of doubt. I'd like to respond to some of the misunderstandings and rumors here. Though this may be lengthy, I hope that when encountering partial misinformation, you might take a moment to read the following before forming judgments.
To state clearly: I am not a brilliantly gifted creator, and this story does contain elements that may feel illogical or imperfect.
I respect everyone's right to express their opinions, and I welcome non-malicious constructive criticism — when I uploaded this game to the platform, I was fully prepared to receive negative feedback.
However, I firmly oppose any malicious speculation about the creators' intentions or spreading unfounded rumors.
1. Till is straight？He doesn't like Ivan the way Ivan like him？
A：In this game, I kept the setting that Till once had feelings for Mizi, and that he believes he doesn't like men. This is to make the tragic dynamic between Ivan and Till logically consistent, and also to allow the story and conflicts in my game to unfold. In the work, he only has emotional entanglements with the two Ivans.
Although I don't want to spoil too much, in the storyline I originally planned for the future, there would also be Till's confusion and struggle about the fact that—even though he has never liked men—his feelings toward Ivan are completely different. So for me, this setup is necessary. But that does not mean Till is straight!
2. Why does Till look so small? Is this some kind of pedophilia?
A：I'm sorry, but I think this is due to my art style. If you look through my media, you'll see that I've always been a yuri fan, and before Ivantill I usually drew girls more. Because of that, I wasn't very skilled at handling male body proportions. After I finished all of Till's sprites and moved on to drawing Ivan, I started adjusting the body types of male characters.
However, I have absolutely no interest in pedophilia, and when creating the game I never intended for Till to appear a little kid or something. If his body type makes you uncomfortable, you're completely free to stop playing.
Once again, I sincerely apologize for my lack of artistic skill. I will refine my artistic skills going forward to prevent such misunderstandings from recurring.
3. Regarding the controversy over Ivan's characterization.
A：Cure is my favorite chapter of ALNST, and I also really like what director VIVINOS mentioned on Patreon—that in the former script (2nd script), Ivan was supposed to show a more extreme side of himself, full of control and possessiveness. (in the 2nd script, he even used his own death to trap Till intentionally).
And in the commentary on the Cure scenes in the artbook, VIVINOS wrote that childhood Ivan hitting Till stemmed from what he perceived as a positive action—because only when facing Till could he fully release all the negative emotions he had been hiding! In his eyes, Till is the only person who can accept all of his feelings, whether positive or negative, which makes Till extremely precious to him.
Honestly, I like this kind of twisted trait., so the Ivan I portray in my game is designed to focus on this aspect.（a little dark and self-centered）
I want to show the symbiotic, mirrored relationship between:
"Ivan", who follows raw instincts but slowly learns to hold back and let go because of Till.
Student Ivan, who's normally controlled and disciplined but slowly gives in to his raw desires when threatened by "the other himself".
And I also want to show how Till deals with them – first avoiding, but eventually accepting them.
Since this work is based on the Saya no Uta background, I wanted to explore and amplify the darker sides of the characters —such as Ivan's obsession and stubbornness, Till's neurosis, and his tendency to run away.
That said, I never abandoned Ivan's vulnerability and gentleness. In fact, in the follow-up storyline I had originally planned, there would also be parts about his regret and pain over some of his extreme actions in a certain route. But to avoid spoilers, I can't go into more detail here! （I hate that I have to spoil my own script just to clarify misunderstandings.）
4. Regarding the rumor that I drew “Segyin sexually harassing Till”
A：I only deleted one IVTI doodle from before the game had taken shape. The reason for deleting it was simply that I thought the drawing wasn't good. The deleted pic only contained Monster Ivan and Till—there were no Segyin in it！
The only non-human character I've ever drawn is monster Ivan in my game! In my setting, this Ivan is neither an alien nor a fake Ivan. He's simply another form of Ivan.
I don't deny that my tastes of monster Ivan may be niche and unacceptable, but please DON'T spread false rumors that I ever drew Segyin assaulting Till. I strongly dislike associating Segyin with any kind of sexual relationship involving characters.
Making this game was really exhausting. We're still students, and our team only has two people. Both of us were busy with our graduation theses, so we only had a little free time to work on the game. From August 2024 until this August, it finally got finished—and during that time, I even got sick and had to be hospitalized for surgery.
The English and Japanese translations were done by my friend alone. She has a full-time job, so she could only work on translations after work. In fact, we originally didn't plan to release an English version at all. We never intended to disturb the English-speaking community. It was only because many English-speaking users strongly requested it that we decided to make one for everyone.
I am merely a fan creator. my skills are not fully developed, and I cannot make a flawless story.
I don't believe my flawed work deserves "fans," nor can it please everyone. which is just a CP-focused fan game. Its release on Steam might create an "official" and influential impression, but it remains fundamentally a non-commercial fan creation. It doesn't represent official canon, nor does it bear responsibility for "delivering correct messages." Wish we uphold basic fandom etiquette, and refrain from malicious attacks simply due to different preferences or interpretations.
Before playing, please make sure to read the WARNINGS shown at the begining of the game and ensure that you can accept them without drawing real-life parallels. Especially these two warnings:
Script completed in November 2024, character portrayal may differ from current official canon.
Contains depiction of Doppelgängers, Non-human Beings, Bloody horror, Cannibalism, Non-consensual sexual activity, OOC.
That's all I want to say, and I don't think I'll be making any further responses.
I have no regrets about creating this game and releasing it for multiple languages.
And we still have significant room for growth.
Once again, thank you so much to everyone who has enjoyed and supported my game! I'm really glad to have found people with similar tastes in this fandom.
NaNa
2025/9/13