Visual Novel - sneak peek!
Added 2017-03-22 01:00:00 +0000 UTCI got an email from an awesome Patron who gently reminded me that I haven't shared much of the VN on Patreon yet. It's still in early concept development which means sketches, rough draft of story/script and a lot of things not set in stone yet. So I was reluctant to post anything in case it all changed later. That's OK though I have some art I'd love to start sharing here but you can assume it will undergo some tweaks later. Let's start with some beautiful amazing super great backgrounds by the very talented Dao (https://www.behance.net/daoneyung)
I'll start by storyboarding a quick thumbnail of how the scene should be set up and I'll include a butt load of reference photos with notes, then Dao will get to work on a sketch of my idea. From there, he sends me the sketch and I give feedback on what could be improved, or I'll draw over parts of it. Then he does the final color and the different lighting :D He's amazing! I'm going to start sharing more of that process - sketches, WIP backgrounds and character stuff. You've already seen some NSFW cg from Tonee that will be used but I find the backgrounds to be way more detailed and I'm excited to post some for ya!
Comments
Did you watch both seasons (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai is the 2nd season), or maybe forgot the ending, like I did? In that case go for the visual novels (if you have time, they are massive, over twice the length of the Harry Potter series), they are so much better. Yeah, I was guessing comedy would be a main focus, but that's kinda true of both CLANNAD and Rewrite, and they have plenty of room for drama too, so don't skimp on that part, I for one want to feel something reading it. But you don't have to take it up to 11 like in Kanon, some of that was just too much. No Ayano? I think you should really try to get her in, she kinda has a dynamic with the rest of them, and it seems she's actually one of the more popular girls, and it could be a good opportunity to point out that she, you know, murders people, until they die, for real. Seems a lot of people tend to forget or gloss over that. Plus I was really proud of that idea. Feels a little scary to hear that we might end up with a situation where all the girls won't be covered, how are you going to select the ones that go in? Internally, or some official poll? But hopefully it'll do well, and there'll be enough fans for it to carry it's weight. If I had the money I'd totally bankroll you, but sadly I don't make as much as Mashmallow-kun. Won't making art and writing take longer than that? And yeah, maybe KS was a bad example, you might be able to focus more, and you probably have a higher budget. Otoh, I originally thought it was going to be a monster with some ~10 hrs common, and 18 ~20 hr routes, but it seems it's going to be a little more limited in scope. Probably for the best, though now I might be more impatient when I hear it's coming so soon. Oh, something I forgot earlier, it'd be nice if it broke with the standard formula of being just a race to the relasionship, and then just an abrupt ending, at least I'm kinda disappointed when you don't get to see them being happy and having some fun later on. Kyou's route is CLANNAD is a really bad example of that, she was best girl for me, but the route just plain sucked, it's all drama and Ryou. And about endings, several for each girl? Good and bad? Or just one good per girl? That's probably what I had to say for now, feels like I've forgotten something, but maybe it will pop up, glad my suggestions weren't a complete waste of time :) And I'm more excited than ever.
Daniel Lundberg
2017-04-08 16:21:14 +0000 UTCAhh these are awesome suggestions! Thank you! I actually watched the higurashi anime before knowing about the VN so I never tried it out. It just feels like going backwards if I do that order. Hmm I can't reveal too much as we're still toying with a lot of options the VN could go, but I'll try to answer your points in order: - good amount of comedy but we'll have a nice chance to flesh out the characters more and backstories usually means a little dark/sad stuff. - it will definitely flow naturally and not feel like an afterthought. By the time you reach the romance scenes you'll have really gotten to know each girl and it will feel special when you get there. -Ayano isn't our character so I wouldn't feel right including her in another game without permissions (plus she doesn't feel like a core crush crush girl; frankly she and nutaku are the outliers IMO) -cute mascot!?! maybe a red panda *_* -there will be tons of comedic relief! We have lots of new characters that will be fun to show interactions with. -I'm planning on tons of event CGs, to the point where my hand might fall off from drawing so many haha but I agree they are special and help convey a feeling more than any script could -we won't take as long as katawa shoujo but we're thinking 5-7 girl routes and if this VN makes any money it'll fund more so we can explore the other girl's stories ^_^ -programmer panda says we can have the VN done before the end of this year but I'm skeptical... even with me commissioning artists to help out, it takes a long time, and we'd be at the mercy of other people to deliver their stuff (like voice acting can take months and we can't control that) ... so yah. Hopefully early 2018?
Sad Panda Studios
2017-04-07 04:42:31 +0000 UTCOne more thing, it'd be nice if the game threw at least one curveball or two, it doesn't have to be higurashi level, but a few surprises here and there are nice.
Daniel Lundberg
2017-04-06 21:05:29 +0000 UTCGame play in a visual novel, what heresy is this? But I trust that you know what you're doing. More seriously though, no Higurashi on the list? I think it might be one of the best works of literature ever, or I just have weird tastes, hard to tell at times. I'm also really interested in what direction you're taking the vn, will it be comedy or nakige? But I understand if it's too early to say anything, and I'll be happy as long as it's not an ustuge or nukige. On to my ideas, I bet you're already thought of some of this, but some of it is important: * Sex scenes, it's important that they flow naturally from the narrative, so they won't feel tacked on and weird. Good example: Katawa Shoujo. Bad example: 18+ version of Kanon * Regarding Ayano, now that I think of it, I'm not 100% sure that she's in, but if she is. I'm guessing there'll be a common route, where you meet all the girls, so what if there's an event for all of them where Ayano tries to kill them? The choice has two (or more) options, and one means you save the girl, the other that Ayano succeeds, if Ayano kills the rest of the cast, guess who you're left with? Could be an interesting lead in to her route maybe? * Cute mascot animals! Like Botan! :D * Some kind of comedic relief is nice, like Sunohara Youhei (Clannad), or Yoshino Haruhiko (Rewrite). I think I prefer the latter, since he has a littler stronger connection to the mc (minor spoiler sorry). * This might not be in everyone's tastes, but I think it's important to establish some intimacy, have at least one event cg for each girls where they have a very causal outfit, something like a pyjama (would probably fit Elle very well), anyway, something that they'd only let the player see them in. Absolutely doesn't have to be nude or sexual in any way, but for some of the more, erm, 'outgoing' girls, some kind of partial nudity could be fitting. * It might be a good idea to split it up into parts, 18 girls means a lot of routes, and unless you make it kinda short it could take a long time to make. I mean, Katawa Shoujo took 5 years from inception to completion, and that was only 5 paths, and some 30 hrs. I think that was all the stuff I thought of, I'll probably say something again if I think of something. Would be nice if there was a place dedicated to discussing the visual novel, but I get if it's too early or you don't have the resources. And the last, gruelling question, any idea when it will be done? Can we expect it as early as 2019? I totally understand if it's way too early to say anything, and thanks once again for all the work on everything, keep doing a great jorb! Sorry for distracting you with my huge block of text.
Daniel Lundberg
2017-04-06 21:03:38 +0000 UTCHer family has a bit of money so they've helped her out, hence the ridiculous home she lives in. But she lives alone so it's luxurious but a bit lonely!
Sad Panda Studios
2017-03-29 15:31:17 +0000 UTCWe love and welcome all ideas so please share them ^_^ I've personally played a few of the bigger ones, Kanon/Clannad/Steins Gate and a few miscellaneous ones like Yumina the Ethereal. There's a big list of ones I want Oji Panda to play so he's more familiar with the style before he dives into writing a whole game. It won't be entirely visual novel based though; there will be active gameplay elements.
Sad Panda Studios
2017-03-29 15:30:43 +0000 UTCSeems I forgot earlier, but I'm kinda curious about a few things now. What visual novels (if any) have you read? What direction will you be taking this in, and is there anywhere I could give you my ill conceived ideas?
Daniel Lundberg
2017-03-25 20:48:47 +0000 UTCWow! Those are some high quality backgrounds. Even better than some of the commercial stuff.
Daniel Lundberg
2017-03-25 17:04:28 +0000 UTCInteresting ... is she living at home, or is she doing quite well for a 22yo girl? Somehow the phrase that came into my head was "It's lucky I was born a girl, because if I'm an heiress, if I was a boy, that's make me an error..."
Jon Bailey
2017-03-22 13:22:08 +0000 UTClooks freaking amazing!
William Sykes
2017-03-22 11:04:07 +0000 UTCOhmygosh! Those backgrounds looks so nice and detailed! :O
Bård
2017-03-22 05:39:52 +0000 UTC
