Happy Halloween! - Yandere Simulator

Hey, everybody! It’s Halloween! That means it’s time for a

What’s a “Spooktacular,” you ask? Well, it’s one of my yearly traditions: I post two dancing skeletons, and then release something horror-themed! Sometimes it’s a minigame within Yandere Simulator, and sometimes it’s a short-and-simple game that has nothing to do with Yandere Simulator. This year, I made a horror-themed addition to Yandere Simulator that I’ve been planning since October 31st of 2015 – nine years to the day! But, before I start talking about it, I want to mention something:

The addition that I’ve made to the game today was originally intended to be a hidden surprise; I was initially planning to make a vague statement like, “I’ve added a secret to the game; see if you can find it!” without providing any clues whatsoever. I thought this would provide you with a fun activity that has a nice reward at the end!

However, I can see several flaws with this idea:

Yandere Sim is a huge game with a lot of different environments; if you are given absolutely zero clues or hints, it might take you forever to find the secret on your own.
It’s very easy to use third-party tools to peek at the game’s code, see what changed, and immediately identify the secret with zero effort.
If you’re a member of the Yandere Simulator fan community, you’re probably going to have the surprise spoiled for you within 24 hours by people sharing screenshots and videos.
There’s a lot that I want to say about the content that I added to the game in this build, but if it’s meant to be a secret, then there’s no way for me to talk about it without spoiling the surprise!

So, I’ve decided that this blog post will use a different format than usual: The top of this blog post will be spoiler-free, but if you start scrolling down, you’ll start to see hints and clues intended to guide you towards the surprise, and if you scroll down even further, you’ll gradually begin to see spoilers. At the very bottom of the blog post, I’ll speak openly about the Halloween surprise. With this format, you only have to see as many spoilers as you want to see!

I’ll start off with something harmless: a list of additions/changes/fixes/improvements that were made to the game in the latest update! To get started, scroll down below this very spooky artwork by Tangsen_Malum and click Continue Reading!

Improvements

Amai’s suitor will now remove his kerchief (the cloth on top of his head) if the player instructs him to change his hairstyle, since the kerchief would have hidden his new hairstyle from view.
Jokichi, the “Rainbow Girls,” the “Rainbow Boys,” the Cooking Club, the Drama Club, and the Light Music Club are now all posing in their student portraits.
Club Accessories will no longer appear on characters in Custom Mode, since they might not suit the characters that the player has designed.
Amai’s Suitor now has unique “ponytail” and “slicked back” hair model variations, instead of re-purposing Kyuji’s hair model variations.
A few small tweaks have been made to several 1980s Mode students. Adjustments to their hair textures, etc.
Mantaro will no longer respond positively to gossip about Budo, because he admires and respects Budo.
Riku will no longer respond positively to gossip about Kokona, because he has a crush on her.
Updated the textures for the red trees and red leaves around the zen gardens.
Updated Budo’s eye texture to make it more accurate to his official artwork.
Updated the scrubber texture to match the color scheme of the mop.
Updated the models for the planters on the school rooftop.
Updated the texture for the “Mr Peter” vending machines.
Updated the texture for the fridge in the Cooking Club.
Reverted Chojo’s hair model to a previous iteration.
Updated the texture for the school’s light switches.
Updated the texture for the drinking fountains.
Adjusted Kenko’s likes/dislikes.

Fixes

If the player dropped a car battery into a puddle of water at the exact moment that they were spotted misbehaving by a teacher, they would drop the car battery into the puddle of water, killing both the teacher and themself, softlocking the game. There is really no way to “fix” this bug, since it’s just a result of the circumstances. As a result, my only option was to make the circumstances impossible: from now on, if the player is spotted misbehaving by a teacher while holding a car battery, the teacher automatically takes the car battery away and puts it in the “weapon box” in the faculty room, making any “got spotted, dropped car battery, died” bug impossible.
If a student photographed the player committing murder, and then immediately afterwards a teacher sent the player to the guidance counselor for misbehaving, and the police were called to school, the police would not receive the incriminating photograph from the student, meaning that the player would get away with their crime despite being photographed. This bug has been fixed.
If the player was using mouse+keyboard instead of gamepad, they could sometimes encounter difficulties navigating the Dialogue Wheel; talking to a student would cause the dialogue wheel to snap to a certain direction and not respond properly to the player’s mouse movements. This bug should now be fixed.
If the protagonist killed Chigusa in front of a student council member with a weapon that does not arouse suspicion (such as scissors) the student council member would attempt to apprehend the protagonist rather than pepper-spray her. This bug has been fixed.
To matchmake a rival, the player must befriend the rival and also her suitor. However, if the player used the Week Select screen to establish a rival as matchmade, the rival/suitor would not be befriended once gameplay began. This bug has been fixed.
If the player wrapped a martial artist in a bodybag, the martial artist’s gloves would remain visible, floating beside the bodybag, even if the player dragged it. This bug has been fixed.
The Death Demon easter egg wouldn’t trigger on the same day that the player maxed out the Enlightenment stat; it would only trigger the day after that. This bug has been fixed.
If the player attempted to push a student to their death while that student was begging for their life, the “push” animation would not play properly. This bug has been fixed.
In 1980s Mode, when the player instructed certain suitors to change their hairstyle, those suitors would get hairstyles reserved for other boys. This bug has been fixed.
Osana’s stockings were not appearing during the “walking to school with Senpai” cutscene or the Befriend/Betray cutscene in Ayano’s home. This bug has been fixed.
It was possible to put a pickaxe inside of a weapon bag, despite the fact that the bags were completely the wrong shape for that. This bug has been fixed.
If a mind-broken slave entered the murder-suicide animation with Raibaru, the sound effects would be desynchronized. This bug has been fixed.
In Custom Mode, any male student who witnessed the 9th rival die would instantly transform into a Heroic student. This bug has been fixed.
Due to a bug, any rival who was attracted to black hair would not react positively to a suitor with black hair. This bug has been fixed.
In Custom Mode, if the player chose “Rolled-up Socks” for the protagonist, they would not appear. This bug has been fixed.
Fixed bug that caused the pickaxe to shrink in size when placed inside of the cello case.
Adjusted one of the Occult Club girl’s accessories, since it was clipping into her hair.

Test

Several years ago, I decided that it would only be possible to wear gloves while wearing a school uniform, and that it would not be possible to wear gloves when wearing a gym uniform or swimsuit.

This decision was made because it meant that less factors would have to be considered when writing the code to wear/remove the gloves. However, “You can’t wear gloves if you’re wearing a gym uniform or a swimsuit” is illogical, leads to frustrating situations during gameplay, and also causes false bug reports.

So, I’ve decided to test something out: in this build, the player can wear gloves while wearing a gym uniform or swimsuit. (It turned out that writing the code to handle this scenario was, actually, trivially easy.) In the event that this addition to the game causes bugs, it will be reconsidered.

(It’s still not possible to wear gloves while wearing “club clothing” such as the Art Club apron or Martial Arts gi. That would be a bit more tricky to get working.)

Pumpkin Head Easter Egg

In addition to the big surprise that was added to the game today, a much smaller and (much more whimsical) Halloween-themed addition was also made!

Activate debug commands by typing “debug,” and then type “spooky” to activate an easter egg that will give “Pumpkin Heads” to all of the students at school!

Combine this with the “Spooky Mode” easter egg (accessible from the easter egg menu) for an extra-spooky time!

Now, I’m not going to start openly talking about the big Halloween surprise just yet, but the next thing I’m going to discuss is related to the surprise…

Basu Sisters Update

Way back in November 15th, 2015, two characters were added to the game: their names are Sakyu Basu and Inkyu Basu. These characters were created using hair models and textures purchased from the Unity Asset Store:

Occasionally, people ask me “Who are your least favorite characters in the game?” I don’t really have any ‘least favorite’ characters, because if I dislike anything about a character, I have the authority to simply adjust them, update them, or even completely re-write them until I like them better. However, the characters I am least proud of are the ones who are 100% identical to characters that are available for purchase from an online game asset store, such as Sakyu and Inkyu.

With this in mind, I’ve decided to revamp Sakyu and Ink with new, original appearances:

(Higher resolution artwork will be available on the official website soon.)

As you can see, their new appearances are similar in nature to their Asset Store counterparts (purpleish/pinkish hair, similar hairstyles) but they are still different/original enough that I feel they should now count as wholly unique characters, even if their origin story involves being purchased from an online store.

In addition to getting new hair models, the Basu sisters have also received new idle animations and adjusted student profiles in the latest build.

Okay! Now you’ve reached the point in the blog post where I’ll begin providing you with hints and clues that will guide you towards the “secret” that was added to the game in the latest build. If you want to search for it completely blind, stop reading here and go play the game! However, if you want to have at least one clue to guide you in the correct direction, then read on.

Hints

I’ll provide three hints which will progressively more obvious. I recommend starting out by viewing ONLY Hint #1. If you reeeeeally can’t figure it out, advance to Hint #2. And, if you STILL can’t figure it out, then Hint #3 will make it super obvious.

Click here to view Hint #1

Click here to view Hint #2

Click here to view Hint #3

Figured it out yet? …huh? No? You haven’t? Well, if you really can’t figure it out, then the video below should reveal everything.

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU WANT TO FIND THE SURPRISE YOURSELF, STOP READING THE BLOG POST HERE!

However, if you want to see footage of the latest addition to the game…scroll down!

Keep scrolling!

I guess you really want to see it, huh?

You’re not going to complain that it was spoiled for you, right? You’re scrolling down of your own volition!

If you scroll any further, you’re going to see the surprise! I swear! You’re gonna see it!

Okay, here it is!

This cutscene contains a lot of surprises – the presence of a corpse tangled up in the roots of the cherry tree, the supernatural sword embedded in the corpse’s chest, the sudden appearance of the Basu sisters – but, perhaps the biggest surprise in this video is the presence of voice acting! These voice lines were written and recorded back in April of 2020, and I’m delighted to finally be able to include them into the game!

After this cutscene ends, a “visual novel” cutscene begins. It’s 63 messages long – the game’s longest cutscene by a large margin. I won’t include a video of it here; you’ll have to play the game if you want to experience it for yourself! It should be a treat for anyone who has been waiting for me to drop more information about the lore/backstory of Yandere Simulator’s world.

You might be thinking, “Huh?! What?! Fantasy elements and supernatural elements?! This is completely out-of-place in Yandere Simulator!” However, I would strongly disagree with that notion…

Foreshadowing

Throughout the years, I’ve been dropping hints and clues that Yandere Simulator takes place in a setting with supernatural elements, and I’ve also been gradually adding plot elements that subtly reference one another:

September 1st, 2014 – The photography feature is added to the game. It is possible to take a picture of a ghost who is invisible during normal gameplay, but visible in photographs.
October 31st, 2014 – When discussing the possibility of DLC rivals, I suggest the idea of a succubus rival, ghost rival, or shapeshifter rival.
December 12th, 2014 – A tree is placed behind the school building that has a myth attached to it: According to legend, if a girl confesses her love to a boy underneath that tree on a Friday around 6:00 PM, the boy is guaranteed to accept her confession.
October 31st, 2015 – The player gains the ability to play a video game inside of the protagonist’s room. The game is called “Yanvania: Senpai of the Night” and features zombies, a witch, and a vampire.
November 15th, 2015 – The “Basu Sisters” are added to the game, a club dedicated to the research of supernatural beings is added to the game, and the mythical cherry tree is placed on top of a hill.
February 21st, 2016 – The game receives an easter egg that involves communing with demons and obtaining demonic powers – the first of several easter eggs with similar themes.
May 31st, 2016 – An easter egg is added to the game where the player can hear a disembodied voice say “That…ring…” if the player steals Sakyu Basu’s ring and takes it to the cherry tree behind the school.
September 30th, 2016 – The ghost girl is added to the Characters page of the official website, graduating from being an easter egg to being an official character with a place in the game’s lore.
February 14th, 2020 – Some rocks are added behind the hill that the cherry tree rests on top of, apparently blocking the entrance to some sort of cave that leads directly underneath the tree.
May 1st, 2020 – Events were added to the game where two characters – Sakyu Basu and Inkyu Basu – would talk to each other about the school. These conversations contained subtle hints that the sisters did not consider themselves to be “humans.”
May 1st, 2020 – An event is added to the game where, during Cleaning Time on Monday, two members of the Science Club discuss the possibility that the Yanvania video game may be a historical account of true events from several hundred years ago.
October 1st, 2022 – Kuu Dere’s original Task is replaced with a new Task that involves a black book with an elaborate design.
October 31st, 2022 – To celebrate Halloween, an enhanced version of Yanvania called “Yanvania 2022” is released. The loading screen for this minigame features the elaborate design from the book in Kuu Dere’s Task.
January 5th, 2024 – The ability to have “Dreams” is added to the game. To have a Dream, the player must purchase ramen from a woman who does not appear to age between 1989 and 202X. In the first Dream that is made available, the player is able to see visuals of zombies, monsters, a succubus, the mythical cherry tree atop its hill, and a cave underneath the hill where something is tangled up in the roots of the tree.
May 15th, 2024 – The Basu sisters are added to the Characters page of the official website.
August 1st, 2024 – A second “Dream” is added to the game, depicting characters slaying monsters in feudal Japan.
October 31st, 2024 – The game is updated with the ability to use a pickaxe to break the rocks behind the cherry tree, enter the cave underneath it, and discover something tangled up in its roots.

October 31st, 2015 was the day that I decided on the origin of the Aishi Condition, why it persists to modern day, and why the cherry tree has powers. May 1st, 2020 was the day that I included the biggest clue, but it was overlooked by most people.

After I decided what would be located underneath the cherry tree, I said to myself, “I’ll keep this a secret until the final build of the game!” However, I eventually came to feel that this would be too long to keep you waiting. I’ve decided to simply reveal the truth about the tree (and two characters) today, since there isn’t any good reason to keep you waiting more than 10 years for some lore answers.

But, even though today is the end of a breadcrumb trail that began on October 31st of 2015, it’s not the only breadcrumb trail that is still going. The exact events that led to the creation of the Aishi Condition, the history of the Aishi family, the truth behind Saisho Saikou, Ryoba and Jokichi’s lives between 1989 and 202X, the Headmaster’s deal with Ichirou Saikou – there are still a lot of mysteries that will gradually be revealed one-by-one, over time. I can’t promise that all of them will be accompanied by fully-animated cutscenes complete with music, sound effects, and voice acting, but I do think that you’ll enjoy seeing what I have in store!

That brings us to the end of today’s Spooktacular! But, before I end the blog post, there’s one last thing that I wanted to mention for the sake of transparency, even though it’s not directly related to Yandere Simulator.

An Important Note

I’ve always considered myself to be a “freelance programmer” who has been “hired by the Internet” to work on Yandere Sim. Even after all these years, I still have “the freelancer mentality.” In other words, “If someone ever contacted me and offered me a job, I’d consider accepting it.”

Well, it finally happened! Recently, someone needed a programmer for a one-month project, considered me to be the right man for the job, contacted me, and made an offer. I asked them a lot of questions to gain a complete understanding of the scope of the project. In the end, I felt that the job was within my ability, so I decided to accept it.

Yandere Simulator will continue to be my highest priority, but I want to give you advance warning that November’s updates might be smaller than the game’s average updates, since I will be giving some of my time and attention to the freelance job. Who knows; perhaps this will be a “trial run” month to see whether or not I can handle the responsibility of juggling two projects.

That’s all I wanted to say for now! To finish off the blog post, please enjoy this gorgeous artwork drawn by LacunaEclipse: