Interview: Hololive Advent Vtuber Shiori Novella Shares Her Creative Goals

Cover’s hololive Advent Vtubers all debuted back in July 2023, and the group is about to celebrate its first anniversary in this year. One of its most creative members is Shiori Novella, who encourages her community to write, made her own game, and has been singing in addition to her regular activities. Siliconera got a chance to talk with her, as well as others in her generation, about her activities and hopes for the future. 

Jenni Lada: First, congrats on reaching 500,000 subscribers on YouTube! What are your next goals as hololive Advent nears its first anniversary?

Shiori Novella: Though I may not be the most proficient singer, I want to sing more simply because it’s fun! The process of being able to collaborate with many talented folks for a project to ensure my vision becomes a reality is a thrill.

Moreover, I want to dabble more in more Unity projects. 3D scenes are a joy to create as it’s a way to craft my own little world. I love the idea of getting my community involved in all sorts of ways, whether it’s using their art for the 3D environments I make or designing a world just for them to visit in the future in VRChat. 

A lot of your streams have ended up being informational and even educational, such as the microscope stream you did not long after your debut and the one you did helping people figure out what they may need to create video content. How do you decide what to discuss? 

Shiori Novella: I selected the microscope slides beforehand and had assistance in researching fun trivia for each one. Preparing the PowerPoints ahead of time helps organize the direction of the discussion as well, otherwise I may steer into various tangents unrelated to the topic.

At the end of the day, it’s a collaborative effort because of how overwhelming preparation can be. Doing everything alone is stressful enough as it is with how easily things can go wrong.

You mentioned wanting to do some travel videos and, in the past, shared a Tropical Cruise Vlog. Where would you like to go for future streams?

Shiori Novella: Switzerland! Ireland holds an allure to me too. I suppose anywhere in Europe would be interesting as I would enjoy touring its castles and quaint villages. I enjoy preserving the memories I make – and making videos is a fun way to do that. They’re like little time capsules of all the good times – and perhaps even bad ones associated with it to be honest.

Back in February 2024, you released your first visual novel. When did development start on it?

Shiori Novella: I can’t remember! I’m pretty sure it could’ve been as early as September, but it might not have solidified completely until perhaps October. 

What did the development process look like for Snowed In, considering everything else you do on a daily basis?

Shiori Novella: It started with just an idea. ‘I want to make a visual novel!’ was what I pitched to my manager.

From there, it was brainstorming what topic would be straightforward with as little complications as possible. Initially we wanted to have a cozy winter theme as the original launch date was meant to be December, so that train of thought landed us to the topic of ‘hot pots.

Then came teamwork. I had a wonderful team help out with every step of the way. We worked on the UI, programming, and story together. A basic outline was crafted, sections were modified or removed, a list of assets needed were decided, artists were brought on, and the programmer did their thing.

If you got a chance to create another Hololive game, what sort of idea or story would you like to pursue?

Shiori Novella: A rhythm game involving all of Advent! I thought it would be fun to weave everyone’s lore into each stage. Of course, it’s still an idea that has to be finalized though.

Would you ever consider writing a novel and, if so, what sort of themes or story would you like to tell?

Shiori Novella: I don’t think I’d dabble into novels to be honest! I’m satisfied with snippets of stories because they’re easier to manage in terms of both time and motivation. Plus, if I write a novel, it would turn into a massive self-inserted tale more for myself rather than the audience!

You can follow Shiori Novella on social media and catch her streams on her YouTube channel.