Celso Riva (born c. 1974) is an Italian independent video game designer of several critically acclaimed games, including The Goalkeeper, Universal Boxing Manager, Magic Stones, the Heileen and Vera Blanc series, Bionic Heart, and the Loren the Amazon Princess.
Life and game design career At the age of twenty, Riva began his career, designing small-scale games for the Italian market. He took a seven-year sabbatical until 2003, when he discovered the shareware distribution model and created the sports management video game Universal Soccer Manager using BlitzBasic.
He moved to C/C++ language and published 10 more games under the Winter Wolves label, then opened a new company, Tycoon Games, on which he has published 6 games: the space war game Supernova 2: Spacewar, the dating sim game Summer Session, the visual novels Heileen and Bionic Heart, College Romance: Rise Of The Little Brother, and Spirited Heart. For the games Summer Session and Heileen, he moved away from C/C++ to embrace Python programming language and in particular the tool Ren'Py.
The stories of The Flower Shop: Summer In Fairbrook and The Flower Shop: Winter in Fairbrook were written by Ayu Sakata from sakevisual. Starting from 2020, some of his games were ported and published to consoles by Ratalaika Games.
Awards In 2004, both his games The Goalkeeper and Universal Boxing Manager were nominated among the 5 top Sports Games of the Year 2004 Sports Games of the Year Awards by the online magazine Gametunnel. In the 2011 Best Ofs from VNs Now!, Winter Wolves was named "Studio/EVN Circle of the Year".
Games Release dateTitle(s)Genre(s)Platform(s)2003Universal Soccer ManagerSports managementMac OS, Microsoft Windows2004Spin AroundPuzzle gameMac OS, Microsoft WindowsIgnazio The FrogPac-Man cloneMac OS, Microsoft WindowsUniversal Boxing ManagerSports managementMac OS, Microsoft WindowsQuizlandQuiz gameMac OS, Microsoft WindowsThe GoalkeeperSimulation video gameMac OS, Microsoft WindowsSupernova: Galactic WarsStrategy video gameMac OS, Microsoft Windows2005Magic StonesCard game, Role-playing video gameMac OS, Microsoft Windows2006Universal Soccer Manager 2Sports managementMac OS, Microsoft Windows2007TV Station ManagerSimulation video gameMac OS, Microsoft Windows2008Supernova 2: SpacewarStrategy video gameMac OS, Microsoft WindowsSummer SessionVisual novel, dating simLinux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsHeileen: Sail AwayVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2009College Romance: Rise Of The Little BrotherVisual novel, dating simLinux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsSpirited HeartVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsBionic HeartVisual novelAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsHeileen 2: The Hands of FateVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2010Card SweetheartsCard gameLinux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsThe Flower Shop - Summer In FairbrookVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsVera Blanc: Full MoonVisual novel, detective gameAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneVera Blanc: Ghost In The CastleVisual novel, detective gameAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One2011Love & Order with Christine LoveVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsPlanet StrongholdRole-playing video game, visual novelAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsAlways Remember MeVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsSpirited Heart Girl's LoveExpansionAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsThe Flower Shop - Winter In FairbrookVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2012Loren The Amazon PrincessRole-playing video game, visual novelAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsLoren The Amazon Princess: The Castle of N'marExpansionAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsHeileen 3: New HorizonsVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2013Heileen 3: Sea MaidensExpansionAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsBionic Heart 2Visual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsNicoleVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One2014RoommatesVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox OneTales of Aravorn: Seasons of the WolfRole-playing-game, visual novelAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2015Bad BloodExpansionAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2016Planet Stronghold: Colonial DefenseVisual novel, card game video gameAndroid, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsC14 DatingVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/SHeirs And GracesVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsQueen of ThievesVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsNever Forget MeVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2017Amber's Magic ShopVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2018Cursed LandsRole-playing video gameAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft WindowsLove BitesVisual novel, dating simAndroid, iOS, Linux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2019Corona BorealisVisual novel, dating simLinux, Mac OS, Microsoft Windows2020Planet Stronghold 2Role-playing video game, visual novelLinux, Microsoft WindowsVolleyball HeavenVisual novel, dating simLinux, Microsoft Windows2021Tales From The Under-Realm: HazelVisual novelLinux, Microsoft WindowsAt Your FeetVisual novel, dating simLinux, Microsoft WindowsSummer In TrigueVisual novel, dating simLinux, Microsoft WindowsLove NotesVisual novel, dating simLinux, Microsoft Windows2022The Curse Of MantrasCard game, role-playing video gameLinux, Microsoft WindowsTales From The Under-Realm: After MidnightVisual novelLinux, Microsoft Windows2023The Beastmaster PrincessVisual novelLinux, Microsoft WindowsSave The WorldVisual novelLinux, Microsoft WindowsTales Of Aravorn: An Elven MarriageRole-playing video game, visual novelLinux, Microsoft Windows
References
Interviews In The Company of Wolves: Celso Riva Interview from rockpapershotgun.com Interview from gamesetwatch.com Interview from pig-min Interview from Indie Superstar
External links Winter Wolves computer games site games forum his personal blog the games videos on YouTube