Queen's Crown (gxb)(Fantasy)(Romance)(Drama)

[Agashi]

So after playing "Long Live the Queen" for the past few weeks and feeling a bit frustrated with it, (To be clear: GREAT game, just not quite what I was expecting) I started spinning an idea in my head for a similar game... One with more romance, fewer deaths, and a whole heck of a lot less skill grinding.

The protagonist is the player-named Princess who is getting ready to take over the throne in the midst of a war with a neighboring country. The game can be won by making peace or defeating all your enemies, but it is possible to lose also if you fail to resolve the conflict or surrender your throne to a political rival. In order to win, the Princess must learn to be an effective monarch by mastering at least one of her three skills: Combat, Intelligence, or Charisma. She can level up these skills in dialogue with other characters, or by performing certain tasks during the week.

Not the most original of concepts, I know, but I'm putting a lot of effort into the execution.

Each love interest will have a unique story arc spanning the game, and multiple endings based on the choices you make throughout. The game will be written in such a way that the player will be given a HEAVY amount of choice with very little assumption about her personality. Like an absurd amount. Really, it's borderline masochistic what I'm doing to myself.

I'm going to be honest here: I play games like Dragon Age and Baldur's Gate a lot more often than I play otome. Therefore, my goal is to write a game that is propelled more by plot and player-choice. So instead of having something like:

1) *option that continues romance*
2) *option that ends romance*

You would almost always have something like:
1) *adds to charisma stat*
2) *adds intelligence, lowers combat*
3) *no change, but you could get amusing dialogue*

To "win" your romance, you have to get enough of his stat to meet his requirement, but how you get there is up to you, and I don't plan on being stingy with opportunities to raise them. Just like with people in real life, Noah might PREFER an intelligent, loud-mouthed debater, but if you're more of a quiet, sweet-tempered bookworm, you'll still be able to finish the romance without a problem.

Instead of telling you the story, I will write the game in a way that allows YOU to tell your OWN story.

A peek at the romantic interests (Character art done by Lady_Luck94!):

Noah Du Eirrault

Personality: He is extremely clever and witty, possessing a wry, dark sense of humor. He masks an overwhelming thirst for knowledge from his soldiers, as they think of such book learning with scorn. Noah is smart enough to recognize the value of intelligence in moving society forward and appreciates a woman who shares this idea. Despite the fact that he is more progressive than his peers, he still possesses a somewhat savage streak as a result of his culture, and he is ruthlessly pragmatic in all matters. That being said, he still enjoys life to its fullest, and takes advantage of the finery all around him in the Sinadoan capital.

Hobbies: Reading, Drinking, and Playing the Irish Flute
Age: 26
Height: 6'3”

Lord Emry

Personality: As the oldest of her love interests and the one who has known her longest, Emry still treats the Princess as a child. He advises her on matters of the Royal Treasury as he is currently serving as Sinado's Master of Coin and there is no one more qualified left in the capital. He is genteel and polite for the most part, though he is also distant and difficult to get to know. There is a somber elegance to him that makes other admire him, but feel intimidated as well. When he speaks to others, he doesn't always realize that they don't possess the same knowledge that he does, and he'll sometimes ramble on without noticing that his audience is completely lost. That being said, he also has a superior, condescending side to him as well. He tends to think he knows best in all situations and doesn't always give others credit when they deserve it.

Hobbies: Researching and Preserving History, Archery, Painting.
Age: 31
Height: 6'2

Lord Teiran Quait

Personality: Cultured, flippant, and somewhat irreverent, Teiran comes across as quite volatile at first. He has a keen mind for strategy and tactics, though other intellectual pursuits seem to bore him. It is immediately apparent that he is chafing under the weight of familial obligation due to his elder brother's death in the war, and doesn't seem too enthused about the prospect of marriage. Oftentimes he is on the verge of intentionally sabotaging it. Still, a princess who tries to befriend his lordship and isn't afraid to speak her mind or put him in his place can easily earn his begrudging respect.

Hobbies: Wining and Dining, Fencing, and Falconry.
Age: 22
Height: 6'0”


UPDATE: 12/07/15
Planning - DONE
Writing - In Progress

Main Plot - 10%

Noah - 0 written, 15 planned

Emry - 2 written, 15 planned

Teiran - 0 written, 15 planned

Stat Raising - 4 written, 48 planned

Art - 30%
Coding - 0%
Testing - 0%

[Mad Harlequin]

Since I, too, appreciate fully developed plots and characters, I would probably end up playing this if you worked on it. But I think you should go for it if you want to do it, regardless of what other people's mileage may be.

[fleet]

"Would anyone play this?"

Some people will play it. Go for it.

[Agashi]

Thank you both for the encouragement. I'll continue working on this and post in the works in progress section once I get more down the pipeline.

[Katta]

I think some commercial otome developers use "types" not because players prefer that, but to lessen their work. On the other hand actually I don't think that belonging to a type necessarily makes a character not developed enough (less like a human), this is just describing several characteristics a character has in one word.
I loved "Long Live the Queen", so I'm absolutely interested in projects like that! (tbh I'm making one myself except that it'll be not about a princess but just a common person. There's also an awesome "Seven Kingdoms" project). But wasn't calculating the parameters needed for each possible way of events part of the fun? I mean, aren't just 4 parameters too little?
Anyway I'm really looking forward to see more of your progress.

[Agashi]

I definitely think you're right that some characters who fall into a type are developed well (I don't think anyone could watch OHSHC and say Tamaki or any of the other hosts are under-developed after all), but sometimes the "types" end up being a crutch with no effort being taken to make the character interesting or fresh in any way. An unoriginal character can be fine (even great!) if done well, but too often they aren't and it makes me sad. That's all I meant by that.

^^^none of this^^^ means that I think my own characters aren't going to fall into this trap. Just that I'm trying to make a conscious effort not to let the existance of character types effect the way I'm writing them... if that makes sense... and I hope I don't sound pretentious by saying this. They're only my opinions, after all.

Thank you for replying, and actually, you bring up a debate I had with my sister about this: She loved the skills aspect of the game a lot and thought it was a great method of raising the game's replay value. I found it more frustrating - borderline tedious - than she did (actually had to get out a pen and paper to take notes on which stats to raise by which point to beat the game) and found myself wanting to create something simpler for myself and other players like me.

My game will be different in the sense that its not about choosing the "right" stats, its about consistently playing to your strengths. If you play your princess as a bloodthirsty warmonger throughout the whole game and then choose an option to negotiate for peace with your enemies, you'll probably lose. In this way, the game will be a LOT easier than "Long Live the Queen" and will be meant more for players that want to tell a story about their character. Players who want a more challenging experience might be disappointed.

[HiddenCreature]

The game almost sounds like a "Choose Your Own Adventure" type. But I only thought that after reading your last reply, saying, "...will be meant for players that want to tell a story about their character. Players who want a more challenging experience might be disappointed."

So there's going to be more of a focus on showing different arcs for the story, rather than challenging the player to get the best ending?

I think I could enjoy a game like that. However, if one of your main goals isn't to test the player's skill, you might consider removing the idea for stats.

[Agashi]

Thank you for your interest! I didn't think about it before, but "Choose your own Adventure" is pretty much what I'm going for.

The idea for stats sort of goes hand-in-hand with the story aspect. They also measure how compatible you are with a specific character. I don't want to give away any spoilers, but to successfully romance each character the princess faces certain obstacles. The stats are there for player convenience, so that you can keep track of how close you are to overcoming the obstacle, and they also determine which paths you can take to win the game itself.

I don't know if I could entirely scrap the idea, as it's so central to plot!

[VocaloidsRCool]

This sounds very interesting, and the forum does need more otome games, seeing as how there are an abundance of bxg, bxb, and gxg games, but fewer gxb games. Genre aside, I like the plot, and the stat idea. Usually, I don't like stat-raising games, but yours doesn't sound as hard, so I can focus more on the scenes rather than worrying about getting a particular stat up. The only way I might have a problem is if you make this commercial. I have a problem with buying things online, because of the information you have to give, and the threat of someone managing to get that info from the internet, and also, I have been going through a rough patch lately, so I can only afford necessities. However...I think you should do what you want, as this is your project. Everything, including the decision to make this, the adding of stats, rather it becomes commercial or not, is your own choice to make. With that in mind, if you do make this, I will try to play it.

[Writer16]

Since I'm a huge fan of the medevial time period, and I'm interested in any twists or how accurate this remains to that time period. Once, the characters, the world, and the story, get better explained, I'll be willing to give this a try. Count me in!

[Agashi]

Yikes. Sorry about the late response! I haven't checked back here since my last post, as I didn't have much to add, but let me address these points:

@Vocaloids... - Yes, once I get the project completed, I will be offering it for free. I'm leaning toward creating a kickstarter later on to fund the art and miscellaneous expenses that are likely to crop up, as I'm kind of short on cash at the moment as well. I'll only consider this once everything is written and edited though. I REFUSE to be the person who asks for donations and then never finishes the project. If I do go this route, I might at a future date create bonus content of an undetermined variety for people who DO donate. Currently undecided, and that's pretty far in the future. Maybe for a stretch-goal...

@Writer16 - Thank you for your interest! I plan to be at least as faithful to the time period as something like Dragon Age or Game of Thrones, taking into account the fact that those two feature magic heavily and this will not. Some of the spoken dialogue options may sound more modern than others, depending on the character, but the majority of it will be consistent with the genre.

First post updated!

[Agashi]

Apologies for the double-post, but I just wanted to announce that this project is still in the works!

The 3rd romance route outline has been completed. *Happy dance* I hit a snag halfway through and it was an absolute beast to write, but I'm very pleased with how Emry's path has turned out. To recap for anyone keeping track of progress...

Planning Stage: 90%

Main Plot - DONE
Noah Route - DONE
Desmond Route - DONE
Emry Route - DONE
Teiran Route - In progress
Character Bios - DONE

If you haven't seen this post, I'm still looking for a very kind, generous soul willing to contribute some free concept sketches of the characters to be viewed when I move the project over to the main WIP forum.

In closing, if you have any questions about the characters or about the plot or gameplay, please don't hesitate to ask! I'd love to hear from you.

[Laera-chan]

Ooooh, so so so so SO interested!! I played LLTQ, and I was incredibly frustrated by the difficulty in passing those events. I tried using a pen and paper to write down how much I needed of what by when to pass events, but gave up after the third failed event. Guh. So something like this is awesome sounding!

[Agashi]

Ahh! Sorry for such a late response, Laera-chan! I forgot to check back here. Thank you for the support and interest! I'll do my best not to disappoint.

PROGRESS UPDATE:

Teiran's route has finally been completed! *cheering* This is largely thanks to my best friend who begged me not to toss him out of the game when I kept getting stuck on thinking up romantic dialogues for him. I can't help it, though. Bad boys are REALLY not my thing.

This means that the planning stage is officially 100% done! And now that the dialogues have been outlined completely, I should have very little trouble with the actual writing stage. (in theory)

Also, I have some lovely new character concept art by the very talented Lady_Luck94! I will be posting them shortly.

[Harliqueen]

Oh my word! I checked this out after you said you were doing this type of VN, and it sounds amazing! I am very up for this type of game, so you can count me in for being there as soon as it's released

Noah takes my fancy straight away I do like them tall and witty!

Sounds like you're making brilliant progress. Will you be releasing a demo?