A downloadable visual novel for Windows and macOS

Download NowName your own price

STORY

You found a job listing online for a manual labour job in a remote town, room and board included. 

The town is smaller than you expected. Only a few residents, no internet access and most local businesses completely boarded up. 

But who knows, maybe you could really grow some roots here.

CONTENT WARNINGS

    Common Route: Animal Death, Swearing

    Joseph's Route: Alcoholism, Non-consensual kissing, Forced feminine gender roles, References to religion, Suicidal ideation, Violence, Visible injuries, Death


ABOUT

A Place to Grow is a work in progress horror dating sim set in Northern Ontario, made by a solo dev.

The first route was built for Nanoreno 2024 and features the following...

  • 5 endings
  • ~8.5K wordcount - est. 30 min playtime
  • 4 CGs (with variants)
  • 1 Romanceable love interest (hopefully more to come?)
  • Playable character is gender neutral, but there are currently feminine comparisons/pronoun usage (to be updated later)
  • References to Canadiana 


UPDATE ROADMAP

May 1st - Amare Games Festival: 

  • Character Sprites for other existing characters
  • Gallery and an endings tracker
  • More MC character customization(?)


July 1st - Josei Game Jam: 

  • Additional character route(s?)
  • More interactions between existing characters


StatusIn development
PlatformsWindows, macOS
Rating
Rated 4.7 out of 5 stars
(54 total ratings)
AuthorAdoxographist
GenreVisual Novel
TagsDating Sim, Horror, Romance, yandere

Download

Download NowName your own price

Click download now to get access to the following files:

APlacetoGrow-0.1-mac.zip 111 MB
APlacetoGrow-0.1-pc.zip 117 MB

Development log

Comments

Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.

O M G 
artstyle is incredible! and im in love with this story! so good...

spoilers!

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

i just caught something at the ending where you die, how he can fix this he just needs t talk to do... THIS GAME IS SO BEAUTIFUL I LOVE IT SMMM

(1 edit) ( 1)

My mc a guy and like men but wait till he lifts that dress XD LMAO and not just that a child too oh boy ,but the game is  really good i like it feel Kinda bad for Jody he does need a lot of help

( 1)

I’m genuinely obsessed with the game- everything is good, the art style, the writing, the music, etc. I know time meant to be an horror game but something about the game is so comforting and nostalgic! I love Jody’s character, he’s so endearing despite his problems. He comes across to me as someone who lost huge parts of his life, but he doesn’t know how to cope with it, and feels misunderstood. I hope that there is a possibility of him getting psychological help to help him cope with his loss, and being able to move forward :) I have so many questions about his character!
I wonder why did his family come to Ontario for the farm if he’s from Quebec, how was his relationship with Dixie, and what happened with her, what « demon » was he talking about, and how was he failing Dixie? I can’t wait for the further development of his character and other characters, the relationship they all have between them! 

(1 edit) ( 1)

welcome to the boat. bro I really want to know more of the game too! and EXACLTY!- more background on Dixie and Joseph. But early spoilers may get in the way of the game's experience, so I don't know if much is going to be said. And again, we should remember that the author is human and deserve their good old rest (yes U, take care author) :D

( 1)

Yes I agree with you! But maybe we could get more information as we get to know Jody more c: He could tell us more about his past life, not just with Dixie, but with his parents, people who used to be in the town, it would be nice ^^ And yes ofc the author needs their rest! 

( 1)

BRUHFUDHFSDOJSFKLSKDJFLSKD

this is such a good game, the writing, the art, the MUSIC CHOICE? oh my golly!

(10 edits) ( 1)

helloooooooo, I absolutely LOVE this game, the writing and atmosphere is something I have really wanted to see in the horror genera. You can guess what my favorite character is- but I just have a few questions about the storyline. So I know that the two endings, the 'Abuse ending' and the 'Comfort ending'. Both of them end with similar dialog but they have me very curious on Dixie's character and her relationship with Joseph..(I hope these are similar to the dialog sorry ;-;) Joseph says that 'she would not do this on her life...' for the comfort AND abuse ending, why? why does he believe you both r going to hell when u comfort him and that he- 'turned you into a monster just like him', y does he believe he a monster? ..and how was Dixie? was she nice to Joseph? Was Joseph okay with you beating the crap out of him because he already had a ton of screws loose or had he already experienced that before?...and why does he say 'even now you won't give me what I want' when you comfort him? And when he sees you for the first time and believes you are Dixie, did you actually do something that Dixie did or is he 100% delulu? and how old is Joseph?? If I remember right he says he is deluding himself for 30-40 years?? How old are the other characters. I know I am bombarding you with an essay of question, sorry I just love this story ;-; (holy shit this turned into too many q's, I am so sorry pls feel free to give me very simple answers) Also just to remind you as a creator, take breaks, don't feel like yo MUST create and create for your audience despite your feelings, good luck on your dreams and take care :D

yo opino que dixie andaba medio loca tambien pero x

( 3)

OH. MY. GOD. THIS HAS TO BE ONE OF THE BEST VISUAL NOVELS I´VE PLAYED

( 3)

i really enjoyed it! though i get really jumpscared whenever im suddenly a girl in the game lol. What really got me hooked the most is the art style! its gorgeous~♡ 

( 3)

This has to be a complete game. Joseph is so cute he makes me want to make him worse, I need to make him worse, I just have a thing for pathetic men sorry

(1 edit) ( 2)

I have fallen in love with Joseph, hes a little fucked up 
and I definitely made that man worse >:3c
I cant wait to see the other routes, I will be closely following this development 👁️👄👁️

I really enjoy how realistic he is and the situation is not completely hopeless, Our Character has a chance to fight back, manipulate or "help" Joseph get better, it is not cut and dry like the usual yandere equation (NOT THAT I AM SAYING THE USUAL EQUATION IS BAD).

I will wait for Finn's route hope he is as crazy (or maybe worse) as Joseph   😇

( 1)

i can and will fix him 

genuinely in love with this game and its art- sometimes simplicity pays off.

( 1)

I fell in love with the demo. Will definitly encourage anybody to give it a shot and stay tuned for future updates :P

( 2)

discovered this game on youtube and i haven't been able to get it out of my head, it's very well written and charming !!!  joseph is such an interesting character , there's this eerie unsettling feeling about it!! this is the type of story that makes me want to know every detail about it >.< i can't wait to see this when it's finished!

( 2)

This game's story was so well executed! I'm so excited to see where with the other character routes. 

One question, is it okay if I make fanart for it? It's usually fine for larger well known games, but I'm unsure about posting something for this one

( 1)

I really enjoyed the art style and how the story seems to be going. I think with a bit of work this could really be something either way I really enjoyed playing and I can't wait to see more :)

( 2)

this was a LOT ngl. 10000000000/10

I wanna save that poor man

(1 edit) ( 3)

oh my god this game was such a mindfuck and I mean this in the bestest way possible 😭

( 1)

I found this game through YouTube and although I don't have the capacity to download and play it myself at the moment, this story is so compelling. It really stuck with me somehow - I haven't been able to get it out of my head since I saw the playthrough. Thank you for your amazing work with this VN!! I'm planning on purchasing and playing it through myself as soon as I'm able hehe 🥹 I want to support the work you're doing here. :) Thank you again for this!

( 5)

I'm used to obsessed & unstable LIs so I'm usually just like "haha they're just a silly fella, I'm okay with how y'all treat me :)", but the way you wrote Joseph is just so uncomfortably realistic & I love it. I never felt such dread from playing a Yandere VN & this guy isn't even the worst one from the ones I played considering other Yanderes just kill their rivals & move on with their lives. I could actually see a guy like this exist in real life & that just makes this so much more scary.

( 2)

It will have a mobile version maybe in the future? I really want to play the game for myself but i don't have other ways to play...😓

(1 edit) ( 2)

found the game through epykslion on youtube and i really love the game so far!! Joseph gives me traumatized sopping wet cat vibes and the art style really grew onto me, its really soft and pleasing to the eye. Looking forward to seeing more!

( 1)

BROTHER IS A SOPPING WET CAT, YOU ARE SO RIGHT


GUYS LOOK ITS OUR MAN

( 2)

Man I just love the vibes in this. Comfy and unsettling all at the same time, much like Joseph himself. Amazing work!

(1 edit) ( 8)

🤍🖤🤍🖤🤍

( 5)

This was a really cool experience! Joseph toed the line perfectly between being sympathetic and unsettling, and I was very intrigued by the hints towards the hidden darkness of the town. I’m looking forward to more updates!

( 4)

I really enjoyed the game! I love the art style and especially all the unhinged expressions Joseph has.

I do have a question though. I know this game isn't finished but:

*spoilers*

I noticed the comfort him choice just leads to the same end as if you chose to punish and kiss him. I assume it's because the game is still in progress. Will there be an ending to save him? I love how endearing yet pathetic he is in a way and it's refreshing to see a game where you can say turn table or get some sort of revenge in a game with a yandere love interest. 

( 3)

I'm glad you enjoyed the game!

Hmm, as for saving him... Tbh I don't know! I guess I have to think about what that means and what someone like Joseph would even consider being saved? Much to consider! 

( 2)

I wish there was an option to like... get him a therapist or something 😭 his character made me so sad haha, maybe it's the pick me girl in me but like... he can be fixed!!! I can fix him!!!

( 2)(-1)

I played the game and felt like making a review or something.


I was very triggered by the screen shake and offended that there was no warning for it. /j

The narrative was disjointed and the decisions were arbitrary. I guess Joseph being smitten that quickly makes sense since the MC reminds him of a past lover, but the intensity of it seems fairly unrealistic.

The main character suffered from a lack of depth and the "Jody" persona was underdeveloped and didn't have a satisfying arc, at least to me. He feels fairly one dimensional.

I liked the part where Joseph gets all masochistic about punishment A LITTLE BIT, but it still feels illogical for him to act that way. Or maybe he just really is batshit insane.

I only reached one of the endings, in which the MC pummels Joseph to death and doesn't face any repercussions. It felt kind of weird and un-natural in a way I can't explain.

I liked the art style, with the colors and whatnot. I felt that the backgrounds and general art could have gotten more detail, but as an artist myself I understand cutting corners where need be, especially in a whole video game.

I hope that my constructive criticism can help with your future projects, even if just a little bit.

( 4)

Hey! Appreciate you taking the time to write a review. Even if you didn't enjoy the experience, you still took the time to make an account just to leave a review, which means something to me.

The game is an unfinished project, so definitely understand it feeling incomplete. I do think by only achieving one ending you might have cut yourself off from some information that would have added some context? But I can't promise even if you did play more endings that you would enjoy yourself, sometimes things just aren't to people's tastes! 

Regarding the backgrounds though... I'm not super good at drawing backgrounds to begin with, so them feeling rough is fair, but it's also a bit of a stylistic choice. Since the game takes place in Northern Ontario, they're meant to be a bit reminiscent of The Group Of Seven, a group of landscape artists who painted a lot of Ontario Scenery. Again, I'm a pretty shoddy background artist, so that might not come across, but the visible brown peaking out is meant to mimic the wood that they sometimes painted on and left visible, and the chunky paint strokes are kind of a feature as well!

This isn't meant to change your opinion or anything, just some of the general thinking behind stylistic choices that I thought were interesting to share in general. 

(1 edit) ( 2)

THAT WAS SO COOL. I really liked it from the beginning, the colors of background AND THE TASTIEST juiciest artstyle, oh how I just love how Joseph's sprite looks like, I was so happy to see every new sprite, they're all so so so delicious, I could stare at them for a long time .
I guess I got every ending possible (but I'm not sure, I wasn't counting actually, forgot to), and I was feeling uncomfortable in every one lol . but I have my favorite ending anyway
I just wish for a happy life for this man, ehhh, I hope he'll get it eventually (payin' for his therapy rn)
I hope we'll see more of this game, characters and endings, I'm looking forward to play this novel in the future
in my past, I once experienced similar vibes (as this novel), and it's just ... so scary, uncomfortable, eerie, but at the same time somehow cozy
amazing

( 3)

Wow! This is a super kind comment. 

I also hope to keep updating this game, although I'm moving a bit slower now that there's no jam to light a fire under me. 

I'm hoping to figure out how to make an ending tracker so hopefully keeping track of something like that won't be as difficult in the future. But! Still figuring it out!

( 2)

I wish you the best of luck with your work! honestly, I still think about your novel sometimes. it's been a long time since I've had one of those occasions where I think about a novel for a long time . . .

(I'm still in awe of the drawing style. it's too beautiful. can we expect more content with Joseph during the development of the novel in the future? or will you only be working on other characters?)

( 3)

As much as I would like to say my dreams for this VN are huge. The scope of the game in my mind is planned to be pretty small... since for now my goal is just to focus on other character's routes

Then when it's done I'll work on adding more stuff, maybe? 

Like I really would like to add in more interactions between characters to make it feel like these are people who actually know each other and have relationships... New scenes/endings where if you visit more than one person maybe they'll feel some type of way about it and stuff.

That's more for the future though, so I don't wanna promise anything! But thank u so much for being excited! 

( 2)

that's a good plan. I think it's a good decision to create the basics first, and then apply new layers on top of that. just do what you like, because that's what matters!

I also just want to say that thanks to your novel I learned about yandere game jam and now I'm working on my first novel. thank you so much for your work!

( 1)

Hey ho! Really well made, art AND writing! It feels like the small town I used to have (But it wasn't a farm town, more so a fishers town where the old sailor tells little ol' you that a siren will grab you if you get too close to the strong waves.) and all but,

There is an error that occurs? Around day 6 or something, when you choose to not punish Joseph/Jody, you get the message that the code had an issue running, have the error!

I'm sorry, but an uncaught exception occurred.

While running game code:

  File "game/script.rpy", line 2402, in script

    "He says it one evening, while you're enjoying each other's company."

Exception: DynamicImage 'BG/Farm_LivingRoom_[time].png': could not find image. ('BG/Farm_LivingRoom_Day.png')

( 2)

Oh jeez, thank you so much for flagging that, and also for your super nice comment!

I missed some images in my folder, but have fixed that now. You'll have to redownload the folder on itch.io! The file you would need is in the game/image/BG folder. 

( 1)

No problem dude!!! I hope to see this game continue and grow!! That seems to be the only bug I ran into after replaying it several times for EVERY possible scenario, as said great game, writing and art !!

( 2)

I like the drawing style and Joseph is quite cute. At the same time, all his smiles, even harmless ones, give off madness, but in a time of calm he directly exudes an aura of inner confidence.

( 3)

Thank you! I appreciate you playing and taking the time to comment. 

In my mind he's someone who was quite well liked and popular back when the town was more populated. So him having some confidence makes sense :)