Hello Observers,

Welcome back to another entry in Mirall’s Mansion!

If you missed the previous one, you can check it out below:

Mirall Mansion 001 [ The Making of '' Observer'']

Anyway, in this "Mirall Mansion," I want to discuss an interesting aspect of game development: "Canceled Games."

After over five years of making games and visual novels—spanning more than 30 projects, including the full 28-game Happiness series and multiple collaborations—it's only natural that some ideas didn't make it across the finish line.

Some were cut due to a lack of time or interest. Others just didn’t work, despite having all the “right” ingredients. So today, I want to give those games a moment in the spotlight. Even if they never came to life, they deserve to be remembered.

1- Triple Happiness 

Plot: In this story, the MC meets three daughters from three different timelines:

Mirall (daughter of Carmine and MC)

Annie (daughter of Anya and MC)

Daisy (daughter of Nessrine and MC)

Each girl comes from a future where the MC married their mother. The twist? The MC must now choose who to be with in the past, cementing one daughter’s existence while erasing the other two from reality. Meanwhile, a mysterious subplot with CC unfolds in the background.

Why it was canceled:

Honestly, I’m not sure. This game should have been perfect. It has Mirall (my favorite character), a time-travel sci-fi plot, emotional stakes, and three adorable daughters. But every time I returned to it, I just... lost interest. Sometimes, ideas that should work just don’t.

2- Full Sleep Syndrome

Plot: People are falling asleep... and not waking up. As the world descends into chaos, Zero introduces “Zero Juice,” an energy drink that keeps you awake indefinitely. The demand turns society into a dystopian wasteland.

You play as Jack (a timeline variant of Alex), who just wants to sleep permanently to reunite with his lost daughter. But he can’t... due to a rare form of insomnia.

Why it was canceled:

The post-apocalyptic setting didn’t suit the visual novel format. It may have worked better as an adventure or survival game. Still, I like the concept of a sleep pandemic, how sleep, this everyday act, can become a form of death. Maybe I’ll use it in another game.

3- Winter: Season of endings and exits

Plot: You play as Jack (again, a timeline variant of Alex), who receives a letter from Carmine, only to learn she has passed away... and left behind a daughter, Mirall. Now, Jack must raise her alone. This was intended as the first part of a four-part series: Winter, Spring, Summer, Autumn.

Why it was canceled:

Not enough plot. I love the idea of a father raising his daughter, but the story leaned too heavily into slice-of-life and drama genres I find difficult (and honestly, boring) to write. Sorry, Mirall.

4- Tales of Happiness

Plot: A spin-off that re-tells major events from the Happiness series, but from the perspectives of supporting characters like Mirall, Hassan, Anya, Carmine, and others.

Why it was canceled:

This project was a casualty of my first-ever writer’s block, which hit hard in October 2024. In 13 years of writing, I’d never faced a creative freeze like that. It was rough, and unfortunately, this game got caught in the crossfire.

5- The Dilemma of a Time Traveler

Plot: A retelling of Happiness 1 but from Mirall’s point of view, with added prequel chapters showing her life before the events of the main story.

Why it was canceled:

As much as I love Mirall, she’s a bit too cheerful and energetic to carry the story in the usual brooding, cynical Happiness tone. If completed, this would have been a light-hearted story, and that’s not really my strength.

6- Honorable mentions:

The original version of ''A Happiness Story'': The Cast goes to summer camp. Lost because my laptop got stolen in 2021

Carmine 2: Slice-of-life VN where the MC hangs out with Carmine from childhood to death. Canceled for lack of a real plot.

Writing Destiny: A magic pen that makes everything written come true. Canceled because it's dumb.

RPG version of Null 1: Same plot, different format. You can still see footage of it on my YouTube channel.

Intruder 2: Accept the Present: Sequel to Intruder: Kill The Past. Canceled because it felt too similar to previous games.

Zero One 2: Not exactly canceled—its ideas were absorbed into Intruder: Kill The Past ( I like Zero One 2 as a name though)

Reflect: A meta game where the Happiness characters are being interviewed about the Happiness series by Zero, who is using it as bonus content for her very own Happiness game based on the events she lived in the Happiness series. Canceled for being too meta.

Forbidden Happiness:  This one will never be canceled 💦💦💦

7- Final words

There are still more projects currently paused, but not officially canceled. Since there’s still hope for them to be revived—or absorbed into other games—I won’t cover them here.

And so to end this Mirall Mansion, I want to thank you for reading this far, and leave you with the image of CC in cat ears: