[Fantasy/VN][WIP/Idea] Deadly Heart

[Juneberry]

BASIC PLOT IDEA:
It's a curse placed by the evil witch- each night day the sun rises, the demoness Aiyora goes to sleep only to be entangled with vines that grow from her body. Each fruit is said to kill a demon linked to it when eaten, but in reality, they all link back to her. The story follows Aiyora, a new friend/ex-bounty hunter Ison and her two familiars as they travel in search of a place to call 'home' and a cure for the curse that may just kill the sweet demon first.

MAIN CHARACTERS:
Protagonists/Playable Characters:

Aiyora - A half demon/half angel cursed with the 'deadly heart' that grows when she sleeps. She is a fairly maternal girl, but tends to hide her suffering internally, which only aids her curse. She tends to smile a lot, and has a childish kindness that will be the death of her if the Deadly Heart isn't.

Ison - A bounty hunter working for Aiyora's uncle, he was originally planning on killing Aiyora to destroy the Deadly Heart. However, he was warmed by her kindness. Ison is generally a stoic and rough man, but protective and loyal to those he deems worthy.

Maika - Although she's supposed to be Aiyora's familiar, Maika acts more like a spoiled little sister or daughter around the young demoness. She's playful, spoiled and loves cute things. But she especially loves Aiyora, and is easily jealous of those that are close to her.

Sorben - Maika's older brother and Aiyora's other familiar. Unlike Maika, he takes his job as a familiar seriously, and is always quick to criticize his sister's actions and scold Aiyora for not getting mad at them. Though he tends to seem like a kid with a tantrum, he's also the voice of reason many times and is very keen with his senses. He's very good at holding a grudge, too...

Other Characters:
Kobachi - The witch that created the Deadly Heart and implanted the curse in Aiyora. It was originally meant to destroy all demons that Aiyora knew by linking with them each time she met one, but the plan backfired due to Aiyora's mixed blood and general demeanor/tendencies. She has a grudge against demons and wants them all dead, obviously.

Suichen - Aiyora's father who is stuck in jail after breaking demon law and mating with an angel. Though the mother died, Suichen is kept alive, though basically tortured regularly. Despite this, he refuses to give in and help find Aiyora for her death. A doting father, he's very obsessive when Aiyora is involved.

Taikai - Aiyora's uncle, who hates her because he blames her for Suichen being in jail. He was the one who hired Ison to kill her, claiming it because of the Deadly Heart.

PLANNED FEATURES/Gameplay:
-Visual Novel elements
-Choosing from any of the four main characters to play as from the beginning of the game. Each path is slightly different and from their point of view. May possibly add the witch as a side route...Maybe.
-3 Romance Routes per character plausibly (each route goes to the other three for now)
-Personal travel choice (where would you like to go first? You choose!)
-Fruit Counter (the more fruits eaten, the sooner Aiyora will die)
-Basic Battle Elements (Fight, Flee menus)

HOW TO HELP:
I'm broke and unable to offer funds right now, but I may make a kickstarter if enough people seem interested in the project in general. I'll probably need some help with coding, and definitely with art (sprites, etc). Basically...Any help you're offering, I'd be happy to accept. But remember, at the moment, it'd be no pay. So only do it for fun.

PROGRESS:
-Main Character Concepts: Complete
-Character sketches: About 25% complete. (Definitive general scetches of Aiyora and Ison)
-Sprites: Intro Sprites complete~
-Coding: Intro complete. Debating which to focus on first. ;-;
-Features Included: None yet except for character choice.
-Story: Basic plot points complete. Figuring out minor details to add to routes.
-BGs: In progress

[Suika]

This sounds interesting! I especially like the idea of allowing the player to choose where they go first. That aspect reminds me of Spice and Wolf, in some small way ^^.

What are you planning for the setting? From the plot and characters, it sounds like a fantasy setting (?).

[Juneberry]

As the characters and the thread title portray, it is most definitely a fantasy setting. So far, I've gotten the first menu (outside of the 'who are you gonna be' one) done already for one of the timelines. This is gonna take a long time to write since it's four different perspectives, and two different timelines before they actually merge. But so far I'm having fun doing it at least. I'll have to figure out the whole point system thing later though. Too complicated right now since it's two different kinds of points to deal with.

[KuronekoRM]

I love the idea of this project. The plot is creative and unusual, it makes me want to know how the story will evolve through the game... And being able to choose whom to play as makes it ten times better, so if it gets made (which I really hope), I'll replay it for sure. Sounds like the characters have their faults, too, which is always nice to see.
Also, ¿what kind of help you need at the moment?

[Juneberry]

Don't worry, it's in the works right now. And by that, I mean I've got an opening already and am working on one of the story lines as we speak.

All characters have definitive strengths and faults, yep. I should probably make distinct character sheets for them to be safe, but I have some very basic ones as is.

In terms of the kind of help I need...I could always use a hand with whatever people are willing to help with basically. At the moment, I only have listed characters settled on, so the cast is small overall- but I still have to work out how to get all the events into each story line separately. I'd probably best ask for writing help just because of the fact that I've got to write four separate lines, and mini characters wouldn't be a bad idea to think of in the future. But...What I really struggle with personally is art and coding. I can code the basics of the game myself (IE the plot points jumping from one to another and inputting the character sprites/bgs), but I can't include extra features I'd had in mind because...My ability to code is sorta iffy at the moment. But it's still easier than PHP. xD And art is always a difficult thing for me- I mean, I've got sprites for now for the main four characters (thanks to Dilude's free ones) and a couple backgrounds including one on commission right now. But that's about it, and my ability to draw is...er...less then fitting for the moment.

That aside though, I have to admit: I'm just pleased as is at this point because so many nice people are here and I'm hearing some nice words about the idea/game. I'm much more excited now to keep working on it as I write this. One day I might have to learn how to work a kickstarter if I get even more support. But, Kuroneko, you're already helping a lot by telling me your viewpoint and your supportive words.

[KuronekoRM]

I can't offer you help with writing because I'm striving with my own visual novel's script, really xD. I wouldn't mind doing sprites if you need some (and CGs, for that matter, though these would probably take some time), just pm me so I can show you a couple of examples and you tell me if you like them or not. Also, when it's finished, I'd be honoured if you'd let me translate it to spanish (which is my native language), since you'd be surprised of how few VNs in spanish are out there.

About BGs, here are some sites which have free ones (some are in japanese, though, so you'll have to click and guess xD):
http://winddorf.oops.jp/4framepage.htm
http://masato.ciao.jp/haikei/furemu.html
http://www1.ocn.ne.jp/~kajiji/cgF.HTML
http://radius-rave.com/ks_factory/cgi-b ... sh1_album/
http://xxcubexx.web.fc2.com/
http://visualnoveldai.com/gallery/cresc ... ds-1006935

(And more here: http://wiki.renai.us/wiki/Pre-Made_Backgrounds)

I'm glad you are working on the project I can't explain you how much I'm looking forward to seeing more about your game! I'm sure you'll be have lots of support, you deserve it.

[Juneberry]

I'd be happy to have you translate it to Spanish if you're so interested I'll have to keep that in mind and write that down for later. And thanks for the websites you noted for backgrounds, too- I actually know some of them from before I started working on VNs, because I also do comics using a program called ComiPo (actually, it's because of another ComiPo user I found out about Ren'py and thought to start doing these types of things too) and importing backgrounds can be a great aid compared to just the ones that come with the program. I might actually use it for some of my BGs as I think on it. I'm sure I can make some useful things

I'll definitely send you a message to see your work just because I'm curious. And let me know if I can be helpful to you as well for your projects I'm the type who works on multiple things at once often. It may make me slow, but it doesn't make me any less determined to help and give quality. :3

Either way, thank you so much! I'm feeling really confident now! Now...Off to the PMs. And then some background hunting

[Sleipnir56]

I just love fantasy games and this one sounds really cool. Also, it is original to me. Is it like an RPG or is it a stat raising game. Also, if you don't pick Aiyora as the lead does that mean she is a romance option?

[Juneberry]

It's mostly stat raising for the moment, still scripting slowly. But if you don't pick Aiyora as your character, she is indeed a romantic option. And to a degree, you should have at least a little more leeway over the fruits being eaten. At the moment, as I'm writing Aiyora's script, the fruits being eaten depends on your affection with the romantic partners at different points. But you won't really know yourself most likely if it happens.