From A Muted Canvas: The Colors Of Sound in Manila

A heartfelt ode to the Metro Manila rock and music scene, and the enduring power of second chances.

Hi everyone! I’m a solo dev and musician from the Philippines, weaving my heart into this passion project, From A Muted Canvas—  a visual novel about grappling with pain, finding hope, and exploring how music affects and shapes us.

From A Muted Canvas is a coming-of-age tale, about finding oneself amidst the melodies of Metro Manila.

Join Sebastian, a UST student shadowed by a painful past, as he lands in Manila for a fresh start. This slice-of-life story watches as he navigates new surroundings and unexpected connections. But the pulse of the city's local music scene is a siren song, stirring a long-dormant part of his soul. As he's drawn towards its vibrant heart, Sebastian has to confront a difficult question: can a fresh start truly silence the echoes he fled?

What’s in the Demo?

• Originally produced music by the author and collaborators.
  
• A full Prologue. A brief introduction to our protagonist, Sebastian, and the setting of the story.
• Act 1 follows his move to Metro Manila, an unfamiliar and overwhelming place, where he begins to discover a world vividly colored by sound, and takes the first uncertain step toward a new future.
• Early bonding scenes, slice-of-life tone, and light flag-setting for future routes (will be added in v1.2)

About the Art

The demo uses AI-generated visuals as placeholders to bring my vision to life as a solo dev. I plan on hiring or teaming up with artists for hand-illustrated art in the final game. What art style would you vibe with? 

Press Kit

•  Genre: Visual Novel
• Platform: Windows, Linux
• Status: Demo (Act 1) available
• Contact: mugensoftwareph@gmail.com
• Screenshots:

🤍 Personal Note

The vision and conceptualization for this visual novel started back in 2022 with a few friends. At the time, I had just become a father. And while the passion for this project was there, it slowly fizzled out. I was the only one managing and directing the team, and eventually, I had to put everything on the backburner to focus on my new role as a parent.

Fast forward to today: My son now goes to daycare for a few hours during the weekdays. And with that bit of free time finally opening up, I revisited this old project. Something definitely clicked again, and I decided to revive this on my own. Completing this vertical slice became an obsession over the past month… and after 35 intense days, this demo is the result.

This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of a few friends, the tools I had access to (including AI), and especially my wife, who showed immense patience and belief through the long hours and late nights.

More than anything, I hope this story resonates with anyone who's ever stepped away from something they loved… and quietly wished they could start again.

If the demo spoke to you, I’d be grateful if you shared your thoughts, or passed it along to someone who might need it too. I’ll be here, working on the next act. Thank you so much for reading, and listening.

- Ice

And of course, if you'd like to support future development: Please share the demo, wishlist the game (when it’s up on Steam), or just send feedback. 🤍 Tell me if there's something about this VN that hits you!

Every little bit helps. I'll probably try to set up a Patreon page in the future too.