The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

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chaos
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The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

#1 Post by chaos »

soo yes. i've been around since '09, experimenting here and there during the years, but finally i decided to try and come up with a solid idea for a game. this will be my first attempt to release something.

brief plot outline

the story follows a young witch whom is close to finishing her apprenticeship to her mentor. the witch has a natural affinity for nature, so she often uses spells that call upon the spirits of animals and familiars to aid her. however because of her enticing aura, the spirits often desire to stick around, and because she is amiable (if not naive), she allows it. over the years she's built herself quite the zoo.

as a final test, the witch's mentor sends her out to practise her magic alone, and after one year she will have to prove her abilities and all that she has learnt in a battle against her mentor. however once she separates from her mentor, her animal companions reveal their ability to shift into humans! and none too wise either - so now she not only has to train for her test, but babysit a bunch of spirits.

that's what i have. the game would have stats and a day-by-day system, and practising magic regularly will be necessary for the completion of the game. there will be other tasks too, and it will work a bit like a dating sim, with events during certain times and the ability to interact with her companions and build relationships. the game will be rather simple and light-hearted, as i plan to use this as an opportunity to practise my programming more than anything else and will probably last about 2 hours per route. however, i still would like to make it fun to play.

the characters

the witch - Darcy (changeable)

Image Image

although female by default, the option to play male will be implemented and will make no difference in-game.

darcy is cheerful and a little bit goofy. she always tries her best and she can be quite opinionated. if she's made up her mind about something, she'll stubbornly stand by it. although she's not always kind, she has a weakness for cute things and especially animals, and she just can't say no to them. she can be protective of them if she feels they are in danger and won't hesitate to attack anyone who threatens an innocent, man or animal. darcy also loves flora, and has a hobby of gardening. her dearest "pet" plant is a giant venus fly trap.

the cat - Felix

Image
sorry about the placeholder art... orz

darcy's first spirit companion, thus he could even be called her familiar. he's been with her for nearly two years at the start of the game, however it seems as if he hasn't developed much affection for her; he is grumpy and stuck-up, and will only accept attention in the form of silent petting. or chasing a gleam of light from darcy's wand, but tell anyone and you're getting a claw to the face.

the bird (olive warbler) - Ollie

Image

darcy's newest companion. he's energetic and has a heart for adventures as he loves to explore. darcy has yet to see ollie be in any way sad or upset - it seems he's always in a happy mood and will often sing a tune while following her around. he has a tendency to disappear for days, but he always comes back, sometimes even with a gift (unfortunately it seems he's yet to learn that earthworms don't make the bestest of gifts). him and felix hate each other, and often try to annoy each other.

the fox - Reynard

Image

rey is not interested in interacting with the other spirits, but he has got a particular liking for darcy. he won't directly dog her around, but he's always there when she's working in her room, or relaxing in her garden. in his interactions with darcy he always seemed sweet and affectionate, and he only shows a hint of his temper if one of the spirits bother him.

the rabbit - Thumper

Image

thumper could be called the voice of reason amongst everyone else, if he could speak. he's calm and adores a pleasant atmosphere, but it's hard to keep the peace when you live in a zoo. if there's an argument going on, thumper's the first to try and break it off. he often acts like a big brother to the others and he's often the only one to bother with keeping darcy company whenever she's upset or in a bad mood.

????

Image

unlockable character - available on the first playthrough but the PC has to meet certain requirements.

the mentor - Serafina
-no img yet sorry-

an elder witch, although the wrinkles have begun to mark her face, she still holds herself proud and her aura drips with power. although she has been strict in training darcy, she has good intentions and is doing what is best for her student. she has a familiar in the form of a hawk.

questions

i suppose that's that. i do have a few questions if you guys don't mind ;.;

1. what do you think of the concept? is the plot too generic?
2. do you reckon the game seems too simple? would you like to see some other features added?
3. do the characters seem interesting? i'm trying not to give too much away, but do they sound bland?
4. finally, if there was a demo in the future, would you play it?

IsTainn

Re: The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

#2 Post by IsTainn »

1. In my opinion I don't think the plot is all that generic I mean I've seen it used before but not like way overused so I think you have a pretty good concept
2. I think the game is pretty set from what you said with the day system, stats, and practicing magic and that nothing else needs to be added.
3. All of the characters seem to be pretty set apart and unique. I also hope that you'll be posting the human forms of the animals
4. I'd play it even though I don't really play ren'py games all that much to be honest actually but I think this is an interesting game
~Isabella

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Re: The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

#3 Post by runeraccoon »

Female > Male option? Magic? Dating sim? I'll be following this closely.

The premise sounds good. Animals' personification have been used quite some time in some otome game, so it's kinda generic, but the way you're going to wrap it with magic system and dating sim (instead visual novel) would be unique, I believe. And no matter how many times a theme is being reused, as long as there are some enjoyable parts, I won't mind playing it at all. ^^

As for enhancement, mini games would be awesome, especially for the magic practice? There are some that should be simple enough to implement (though I have absolutely no idea how to say it in programming language), such as [High-Low]- guess the next number. The number can represent anything exciting! Bu the mini game should be for fun and not determining the real goal of the game, I guess.

I kinda skip over the character intro, reason being a lack of capital letters. Sorry, my eyes get dizzy quickly without focal points in sentences. But the variety of animals looks cute, and the main character sounds fleshed. Just add more quirks in-game and you'll be fine.

And of course I'd play it!

cometgears
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Re: The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

#4 Post by cometgears »

1. what do you think of the concept? is the plot too generic?
The premise sounds cute. I don't think the plot is too generic. It might not be innovative, but as long as the story is good I would still play it, especially since you said it's supposed to be simple and light-hearted.

2. do you reckon the game seems too simple? would you like to see some other features added?
Stats and day-by-day system, practicing magic, tasks and interactions... Idk, it sounds interesting enough for me. Although I guess it would depend on how in-depth you make the activities (minigames, choices on what stats to raise, etc).

3. do the characters seem interesting? i'm trying not to give too much away, but do they sound bland?
her animal companions reveal their ability to shift into humans! and none too wise either - so now she not only has to train for her test, but babysit a bunch of spirits.
The part that caught my attention--sounds adorable. I want to see how Darcy reacts to them. From the blurbs you put up, I like the personalities you've sketched out. They fit the animal, but there are facets that aren't quite what you might expect to make them interesting.

4. finally, if there was a demo in the future, would you play it?
Yes.

chaos
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Re: The Witch's Trial [gxb, comedy, fantasy]

#5 Post by chaos »

ah thanks so much guys ;.;
IsTainn wrote:1. In my opinion I don't think the plot is all that generic I mean I've seen it used before but not like way overused so I think you have a pretty good concept
2. I think the game is pretty set from what you said with the day system, stats, and practicing magic and that nothing else needs to be added.
3. All of the characters seem to be pretty set apart and unique. I also hope that you'll be posting the human forms of the animals
4. I'd play it even though I don't really play ren'py games all that much to be honest actually but I think this is an interesting game
~Isabella
thank you for answering! i'm glad you think everything's OK so far. and yep, i will be posting their human forms, i just wanted opinions on them before i actually started designing them, haha. thanks again! :)
fuicchi wrote:Female > Male option? Magic? Dating sim? I'll be following this closely.

The premise sounds good. Animals' personification have been used quite some time in some otome game, so it's kinda generic, but the way you're going to wrap it with magic system and dating sim (instead visual novel) would be unique, I believe. And no matter how many times a theme is being reused, as long as there are some enjoyable parts, I won't mind playing it at all. ^^

As for enhancement, mini games would be awesome, especially for the magic practice? There are some that should be simple enough to implement (though I have absolutely no idea how to say it in programming language), such as [High-Low]- guess the next number. The number can represent anything exciting! Bu the mini game should be for fun and not determining the real goal of the game, I guess.

I kinda skip over the character intro, reason being a lack of capital letters. Sorry, my eyes get dizzy quickly without focal points in sentences. But the variety of animals looks cute, and the main character sounds fleshed. Just add more quirks in-game and you'll be fine.

And of course I'd play it!
thank you! mini games is something i haven't thought of! hmm, maybe rather than just "practise magic", she could do specific things like, "practise offensive", "practise defensive", "practise summoning" and so on? mini-games could be made out of that, nothing extremely difficult, just enough to be fun. either way thank you for that, i'll think on it! :D

oh that's alright! yeah, i know my typing style can be bothersome to some people, sorry about that. i'm glad you think it looks okay so far though, thank you for your opinions :)
cometgears wrote:1. what do you think of the concept? is the plot too generic?
The premise sounds cute. I don't think the plot is too generic. It might not be innovative, but as long as the story is good I would still play it, especially since you said it's supposed to be simple and light-hearted.

2. do you reckon the game seems too simple? would you like to see some other features added?
Stats and day-by-day system, practicing magic, tasks and interactions... Idk, it sounds interesting enough for me. Although I guess it would depend on how in-depth you make the activities (minigames, choices on what stats to raise, etc).

3. do the characters seem interesting? i'm trying not to give too much away, but do they sound bland?
her animal companions reveal their ability to shift into humans! and none too wise either - so now she not only has to train for her test, but babysit a bunch of spirits.
The part that caught my attention--sounds adorable. I want to see how Darcy reacts to them. From the blurbs you put up, I like the personalities you've sketched out. They fit the animal, but there are facets that aren't quite what you might expect to make them interesting.

4. finally, if there was a demo in the future, would you play it?
Yes.
thank you!! i'm glad you're liking the concept so far ;v; as for mini-games, indeed i will be brainstorming that. as i've never coded a dating sim before, it may be a challenge to tackle another aspect of programming i haven't done, but we'll see how things go.

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