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Yes, that’s right, it’s finally time for a brand-new interview in our lewd games interview series! And this time we sat down and had a little chat with Exilim from Winged Cloud (the creators of the erotic visual novel series “Sakura”).
Well, we ended up talking about everything from erotic game development, the Sakura series, censorship, cancel culture to Winged Cloud’s plans for the future.
So, with that said, please enjoy our interview with Exilim and Winged Cloud 😉 (you can find Winged Cloud on Twitter, Steam and Facebook)
Winged Cloud is mostly well-known for their lewd hentai-like visual novels, and they have released quite a few erotic VN game titles via Steam since 2014 (35 erotic games to be exact as of the publishing of this interview).
Robin TGG
I’m going to start off this interview by thanking you for taking your time to do this interview with us =) And with that said, please go right ahead and introduce yourself to our readers.
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Hi, I’m Exilim, the manager of Winged Cloud.
“Sakura Spirit” was the very first lewd visual novel that Winged Cloud released via Steam back in 2014.
Robin TGG
How did everything start exactly with Winged Cloud? I mean, what’s the story behind the studio name and how the studio came to be? (when, where, why and how)
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Winged Cloud actually started with an otome game (Pyrite Heart) which was released as a free game with the option to give donations.
Back then, most of the team members were working on an anime style browser games which I made. It was difficult at that time to make money with anime-style games, since there was no market to sell visual novels or anime style RPGs of indie size and quality.
Exilim got interested in visual novels back in 2008, and the rest is, as they say, history (and thank the lewd Gods for that!).
Robin TGG
Do you remember when you first got interested in erotic video games? And at what point in life did you decide that you wanted to create lewd games for a living? (what was it that made you make that decision?)
Exilim – Winged Cloud
I got first interested in visual novels in 2008.
For me, having a normal job was just a way to finance the personal projects I was working on privately. I made the decision to work independently from employers after my first internship, when I saw what the daily life in an average company is like.
I thought that life could and maybe should be more exciting than that. There were many failed projects I had to pay for using the income from my job, and things didn’t turn out well until Sakura Spirit was released.
Sakura Spirit brought in enough money that I could work full time on lewd and anime style games in general.
Among all the games that Winged Cloud has released over the years, “Sakura Dungeon” counts as one of Exilim’s personal favorites.
Robin TGG
I think it’s safe to say that Winged Cloud has released quite a lot of erotic games over the years. So, do you have any personal favorites? And which of your games would you say that you are the proudest of and why?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
I personally think Sakura Dungeon is my favorite. After that probably Sakura Nova.
Sakura Dungeon was a lot of work and it took a lot of time. I’m proud of it since it turned out really well. It also sold well, which is not necessarily something a game does just because the production quality is high.
Sakura Nova, because I like the setting. We worked with a Japanese writer to create it, and it has a nice voice acting.
I honestly had no idea (whatsoever) that there was a “Sakura Gamer 2” game title. So that was quite a pleasant surprise for me to find out about with no doubt, because I enjoyed the original game a whole lot.
Robin TGG
On a personal level, I truly enjoyed “Sakura Gamer” a whole lot. That’s also I’m curious to know how that game came to be? And are there any plans at all for a part II?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Personally, I give the team a lot of freedom in deciding their ideas. On the art side as well as on the writing side. Sakura Gamer was the creation of our writer “Waffle”, and I approved the idea because I thought it had the potential to be an interesting project.
“Sakura MMO 3” is the third part in the “Sakura MMO” series, and the game has received quite a few positive reviews on Steam since it’s launch back in June of 2019. It’s also worth mentioning “Sakura MMO 3” has even managed to charm gamers in China out of all places in Asia.
Robin TGG
I couldn’t help to notice that you released “Sakura MMO 3” not so long ago. Well, how has the response and feedback been from the players and games media?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
To be honest, it’s difficult to say. Most customers who leave reviews are based in China and we can’t read their Chinese comments (Google translate aside, however reliable that is). But it sold much better than we expected, so I think it was received well.
I think for games media it really depends on the person. I feel many journalists still have the misconception that every visual novel has to be deep, dark or depressing, with a story that will explore the meaning of life or something else which is considered “significant” by the individual reviewing the game.
I prefer more light fun/comedy style visual novels which rather serve stress relief then provoke deep thoughts.
The erotic Yuri genre has just grown in popularity among gamers over the years, and I highly doubt that Yuri will ever become unpopular as both men and women enjoy it.
Robin TGG
I think it’s safe to say that the erotic Yuri genre has just kept on growing in popularity over the years. So is that a genre that you will continue to show some love for in the future as well?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
While we are working on a few yuri projects, we think it’s about time we wrote something with a male lead character as well.
Will we ever get to see and play a “Sakura Dungeon 2”? Winged Cloud is rather doubtful about it, but only time will tell.
Robin TGG
“Sakura Dungeon” has received a lot of positive responses and reviews since its release in 2016. So I’m kind of curious to know why the game hasn’t seen a sequel as of yet?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
That is a good question, I think many people are wondering the same.
Sakura Dungeon is a good game. It also had a unique concept which was something new. I’m not sure if it is possible to surpass the experience people had with the first game.
The game also has around 60 “monsters”. It would be hard to make a new Sakura Dungeon without having too similar monsters and feeling repetitive or re-used.
Yes, you guessed it, Winged Cloud is a company of culture :3 (sexy, cute and thick babes ftw!)
Robin TGG
I can’t be the only one that has spotted this by now, but pretty much every single game that Winged Cloud has released up to this point contains a lot of beautiful, cute and sexy females. So, I take it that you guys and girls know your waifus more than well? Simply put, you are a company of culture 😉
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Well, thank you! I’m glad you can appreciate and enjoy it! And yes, we’re a company of culture indeed (as seen in many of our games).
Unlike popular belief, there is no fancy or cool reason behind why Winged Cloud went for the name “Sakura” with every single title that they made. Nope, the reason is simply SEO-related (so much for my “Who the hell are Sakura?!”/”Vem fan är Sakura?!” joke.
Robin TGG
Just out of pure curiosity, how did everything start for you in terms of naming tons of your games “Sakura”? I’m asking this since there’s this super old Swedish meme that goes like this “How the hell is Sakura?” (“Vem fan är Sakura?”).
Exilim – Winged Cloud
I could probably come up with a fancy reason now, but the more accurate answer would be: it’s SEO.
Steam’s algorithm was different a few years ago, and the search function would give you all the Sakura games in a row if you wrote in “Sakura” or “Sakura Spirit”.
It was easier for people to notice that there was a new “Sakura” game rather than remembering the company’s name. I would have personally preferred to give them a few different names.
Winged Cloud does indeed have plans to release their games for consoles. However, since Winged Cloud develops erotic video games, it’s not as easy to get their games released on consoles as it is on PC (I’m looking and pointing my finger at you Sony).
Robin TGG
Do you have any plans at all for releasing your games to other formats than just PC? (mobile, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and so on)
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Yes, there are plans. However, we had a lot of issues finding reliable programmers after the one from Sakura Dungeon left. He only wanted to work with us on the one project, as he wanted to realize his own ideas after that.
However, there is some great news that I could share on the same subject: Last year we found a reliable programming team that we are working with, so we’ve been creating games with RPG elements for quite some time.
Unlike Steam, Nutaku allows Winged Cloud (and other lewd game devs) to release their games 100% uncensored on the release day.
Robin TGG
What’s it been like working with Nutaku and their adult gaming platform? And do you feel like you get the support and love that you need in-order to grow on Nutaku’s platform?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Nutaku is a great platform. From my personal experience, they are very supportive and welcoming.
It’s sad that Steam is still more significant income-wise and I hope Nutaku has plans to change that in the future by becoming the main storefront for adult and ecchi titles.
Winged Cloud really likes the idea of making erotic VR games in the future. As of here and now though, they are focusing mainly on lewd 2D games. For example, the lewd visual novel “Sakura succubus” is coming to PC this April (2020).
Robin TGG
Have you ever had any thoughts on making a lewd virtual reality title based on any of your most popular titles?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
That would certainly be a great idea. I would do it, but as we only have 2D artists it isn’t an option right now.
Winged Cloud is not a fan of censorship nor cancel culture. However, sadly enough, just like so many others in the games industry, they don’t always have the final say on all platforms when it comes to censorship in their games.
Robin TGG
What are your thoughts on censorship and cancel culture in the games industry? And what do you think that we could do about it? (gamers, publishers and game developers)
Exilim – Winged Cloud
Well about censorship… Obviously, we like to have all our games uncensored. Usually, platforms are under too much pressure from groups of people which became significant enough to force their view of the world onto other people.
Most platforms lack the power or financial independence to follow through with what they want to do.
There are also platforms that have those things, but lack integrity. So about cancel culture. It is tragic indeed that these days emotional manipulators have it easier than ever.
The access to the “superpower” named public opinion is accessible by a lot of people who lack the responsibility to wield it. What could gamers do? Be more responsible – but let’s be honest, that won’t happen. What could publishers do?
Did you like the product/people before it was attacked? Then work with them. Otherwise, it’s giving in to fear or financial gain. I mean, sure, this is understandable, as most people are not mentally strong so I would consider that as a normal reaction.
What could developers do? Educate yourself on a few things, hopefully before it happens:
– emotional manipulation, so you know what you are dealing with.
– resilience and mental fortitude
– emotional stability
– make your statement without justifying or discussing anything.
– deal with it. Things like that happen in life. You still have a lot of projects to make so don’t let that distract you from your own future.
And don’t forget. They shout loud, rage a lot, but forget very, very fast. You are it today, tomorrow its already someone else.
Winged Cloud got a lot of plans and goals marked out for themselves for this year (2020), and they also got quite a few new games in the making as well (such as “Sakura Succubus”). So I wish them the best of luck with everything.
Robin TGG
We have now reached the very end of this interview. So I’m just going to ask you about your hopes, expectations, and plans for the rest of the year? And is there anything else that you would like to let our readers know?
Exilim – Winged Cloud
There definitely can be more games expected, since we finally found reliable programmers after a few years of searching.
This year will be pretty busy, there will be Sakura Knight series, Sakura Succubus series as well as an rpg called “Leveling Up Girls in Another World”, which I would recommend you to have a look at.
As for what I would like them to know:
You will probably often see a lot of successful projects, visual novels, and games. But I can tell you, from my experience, that before you have a successful project there will be a lot of failures and things that don’t work out.
If you want to become a visual novel/RPG/game creator, I would recommend you to not give in when something fails. Start with small projects, finish them actually and release them. If it fails, do it till it works and try to improve over time.
We definitely need more quality ecchi/hentai games here in the west. Btw, do you remember when I mentioned Pyrite Heart? Our first game as Winged Cloud? It made $80 in donations after release.
***UNCENSORED NSFW IMAGES FOR DOWNLOAD!***
Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
More by Robin Ek:
Tags: Adult Games, Censorship, Erotic games, Hentai, Lewd, Nutaku, PC games, Sakura Apprentice, Winged Cloud
