The following is a peek into the mind of Ari, developer of Momotarou and the Froot Basket series.

CHAPTER 1. FOMO

My entire TL is excited about O2A2 Jam. I'm sad having missed opportunities to reach out and collaborate with peeps or explore other ideas in previous jams. This year so far I've just been hit with disappointment after disappointment. Among other personal things, not being able to finish Sutoro's Route for Otome Jam killed me a little inside. I know it's not my fault, but what am I doing wrong? 

Man. This sucks. I just really need to get out of this rut. I need to move! 

Well... I'm crazy. I'm insane. It's Day 7 of the 10-day O2A2 jam period and I've decided that, yeah I want to join O2A2 Jam. But what? What should my short project be about?

I basically have two days. The game should have two characters at most. Maybe a conversation between two people. I dig around my bag of original characters. Which one of them could I flesh out more? There's Greyson, a jaded retired detective with a son who hates him. I could have him in a cyberpunk bar setting, and the player character could either be the bartender or an investigator questioning him about the whereabouts of his son.

No. Too complex. I don't really know where to start with that and I don't have much time. I don't want to even open that can of worms right now. I'll leave Greyson alone.

What about something a little simpler? I'm already working with Momotarou and his demon pal in Froot Basket White. So why don't we get to know the demon more?

Just kidding. What would even happen? I don't know. Head empty. Let's ask Twitter.

Lo and behold! My prayers answered! A pal swooped in and asked for some look into the relationship between the demon and Momo! Thank you, Kristi! How did you read my mind? HOW?!

CHAPTER 2. I'm so dumb.

Ain't no way. Ain't no way I got time to finish this. I've got a thousand-word limit. What do I fill it with? What do these two have to say to each other? What does this demon want with Momo anyway? Ugh. I already established in Froot Basket Dark Chocolate that it wants blood, guts, and bones. What even is that? A body? That's a body, right? Right.

Okay. Yeah. The demon has Momo's body. Now what? Is Momo, like, trapped there? Is he gone forever? Where did Momo go?

If we're gonna save him in Froot Basket White, he needs to be trapped. So, okay. Momo is trapped. I can work with that. And I can keep that under a thousand words. But now... 

What's this visual novel gonna look like? It's a demon and in Froot Basket Dark Chocolate, I depicted it with big wide eyes, a pale face, and tendrils coming off its body. It's tall and gangly. It has claws... Okay. So it's a horror visual novel? The player is Momo. The demon will emerge from the darkness and speak to Momo. Will the demon have Momo's form? Or will it be that grotesque creature I designed previously? Hmm... Whatever. The one character sprite will be the demon.

One thousand words. One character sprite. I don't have time to draw one background. It's just a black screen. I need music. Something... creepy. Maybe a lullaby played with a music box? Where can I even find something like that?

I browse some sites. I find nothing. ZERO things that give off the right vibe. But wait. This one tune sounds so sad, so... forlorn. That's it. THAT'S IT. Forget the dark, creepy, horror vibes. Forget it. I'll tug on heart strings. I'll make people feel SAD. Because Momo is sad. Brother is trapped! And he can't even be with his senpai!

So what's this sound, this music track look like with Momo in it? It's cold. It's empty. There's nothing for miles as far as the eye can see. Just poor, lone Momotarou against a demon.

Hey. Wait a second... I based this character off of that Japanese folktale, didn't I? I purposely made the peach boy obsessed with demons because it'd be silly and so on the nose for him to fight one later... or just tragic if he became possessed... Let me use that.

What do I have now? It's cold. It's empty. There's nothing for miles, just poor, lone Momotarou against a demon. He's tired, battered, worn. He is Momotaro from the folktale. He should wear traditional Japanese attire to invoke that image. And the demon... the oni... How should it be depicted? I'm only allowed one sprite.

Wait a second. Hold on. Oni mask. That would be so cool to draw. And Momo can wear it. Better yet, he can take it on and off whenever the demon is speaking!!!! I'M A GENIUS. MY BRAIN IS SO BIG.

OKAY! I HAVE MY CONCEPT AND PROJECT. NOW I WRITE. I DRAW. I STITCH TOGETHER BEFORE THE END OF THE JAM WHICH IS IN * checks watch * OMGGG I'M SO DUMB I ONLY HAVE LESS THAN 48 HOURS!!!! FORGET USER INTERFACE. JUST FIND SOME COOL-LOOKING FONTS AND GO!! GOGOGOGOGOGOGOGO

THE END

This has been a peek into the mind of Ari as she scrambled to put together her O2A2 Jam entry.

Okay, but honestly, me having FOMO was the problem and if I just didn't feel bummed and unconfident about my work and accomplishments, I wouldn't have had to put myself through stress and hell for... AN ABSOLUTE BANGER. IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THIS MICRO-VISUAL NOVEL YET, YOU SHOULD.

Just kidding. I needed the adrenaline rush to blast myself out of the sadness hole.

Thanks for reading this far! Hope you at least giggled a little at how ridiculous this was.

xxAri