Castle in the Stars [Modern Fantasy][Psychological][Mystery]

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jujube
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Castle in the Stars [Modern Fantasy][Psychological][Mystery]

#1 Post by jujube »

Hello there! Jujube here. As a brief background about myself, I've been playing VNs for quite a while now after being introduced to them by the Fate series some years ago. I've been lurking here on and off for around the same period of time, though I've never actively involved myself with the community. I'm largely a writer and editor with art as a hobby, and though I've been out of touch with VNs recently due to school, now that I'm done with that, I have a bit more time on my hands. So I've decided to go through some of my plot bunny files and try to make something out of it!

This is my first project, and it's been brewing for a while now. I'm at the point where I've been staring at what I have for too long, and now I need some input from others to further refine my ideas. Any and all comments are welcome!

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STORY
Modern Fantasy - Psychological - Mystery
Friendship - Romance - Drama - Tragedy

The continent of Zion is considered the most perfect place in the world—beautiful, prosperous, and blessed.
Gwendolen Spiegel had lived in it for as long as she remembered, spending her days working as a librarian
in the town library. Like many other fortunate people, she was content with the life she lived.

But when Gwendolen Spiegel suddenly died, she came to understand that the world she lived in
was wrong, precisely because it was "perfect." And with that realization came a second chance at life,
as well as memories of a time and a place she does not know. However, even in this unnaturally happy
and good world, the dead remain dead, and if Gwendolen Spiegel isn't Gwendolen Spiegel, then who is she?

CHARACTERS

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??? // A librarian who died in the fire that destroyed her workplace, but came back to life for some reason. She woke up in a graveyard with memories of her life as Gwendolen Spiegel intact, along with memories of a life that she's 99.9% sure is not hers. Largely apathetic and logical to a fault, now that nothing seems to make sense, she's starting to rely more on instinct and emotion, drifting further and further away from how she remembers she was before. In the end, who exactly is she…? Or rather, who will she become?

LOUIS RIDLEIGH // A foreigner from outside the continent, he said he came to Zion to find a better future, and is currently working as the apprentice of an apothecary. A young man with refined and graceful looks, his attractiveness is ruined by his sullen expression and room temperature boiling point. He generally stays away from other people, only really interacting with his benefactor and teacher, the apothecary, Master Farfalle. He isn't the kind of person Gwendolen usually associates herself with, but apparently they have a lot more in common than she expected…?

DEENA ALTINDA // A young woman whose family is originally from Losange, she works in the Cromwell Library with Gwendolen and they usually share the afternoon shifts. A sweet girl who sometimes has a bit too much sugar in her system, she admired Gwendolen as a person and was greatly saddened by her death, going so far as to blame herself for it, even when she had nothing to do with it. …Right?

CHELSEA CONNOR // One of the adopted daughters of the president of the Connor Conglomerate, on the surface, she deals with antique and luxury goods, but is actually quite infamous in the black market for "mysterious items." Nobody is quite sure about her past, having suddenly entered the Connor family when she was 16, but what is certain is that she came from outside the continent. She is usually abroad for work, and only rarely returns to Zion. Rumor has it that she's connected to a foreign cult that can revive the dead.

DUMAN CEPHE // A member of a merchant caravan that was traveling through Clovis, he frequented the library while they had been near Cromwell. He has a talent for taking without giving anything in return, and tends to speak in a roundabout manner. His true nature seems as deep and unfathomable as pockets, but it should still have a bottom.

MADISON HORTENSIA // A rich eccentric who is as well-known for his habit of squandering his wealth into huge parties and artistic exploits as he is for his foul mouth. A self-made businessman, he earned his fortune in the capital before moving to Cromwell some years ago, and is even purportedly a close friend of the King. He tends to be a bit outrageous, and can be kept in line only by the Duke of Clovis, Marcus Hargreaves. Despite his whimsical nature, he is one of the most powerful people in Zion, and is able to influence several major businesses and agencies on the continent.

MASTER FARFALLE // A local apothecary in Cromwell. He is Louis's benefactor and mentor. Nothing happens in the town that he doesn't know about.

DUKE MARCUS HARGREAVES // The Duke of Clovis. A close friend(?) of Madison Hortensia, and the only one who can keep him in line. Though he lives two towns away, it seems they have tea together often.

HIS HIGHNESS, KING RUFUS // The king of Zion. Though he officially holds absolute power, political matters are left to the heads of the Four Duke Houses and the Parliament while he spends his time doing… something else.



GAMEPLAY

This will be a fairly straightforward, story-based visual novel, wherein the choices you make will determine which endings you get. A personality index will be implemented to determine what choices will be available to you, so the role-playing aspect will be limited ^n^;; Riddle-solving and keywords will be needed to progress certain paths. Multiple playthroughs are required to realize the full story; there will be a suggested route sequence, with the last two locked until certain conditions are met. Possibly some optional, simple mini-games and a map system.

Important Note: This game does NOT focus on romance, and the main cast shouldn't be thought of as 'romanceable'/'obtainable.' The story endings revolve around and require you to build a relationship with them, though it isn't necessarily romantic. So that you know what to expect: there will be one full romance path, two shorter romances, a companionship path, a life partners path, and a plot path.



FEATURES

♣ Free to play; possibly pay-what-you-want in case anyone likes it enough to throw money at me
♣ Animated sprite, backgrounds, and CGs (hopefully)
♣ 20 full CGs, give or take, and lots of cut-ins
♣ 1280 x 720 resolution; future 1920 x 1080 release possible
♣ Six story endings with several dead ends


GUI SCREENSHOTS

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PROGRESS and PLANS
Detailed Story Outline: 60%
Character Designs: 70%
Other Concept Art: 15%
GUI: 45%
I'm working on finalizing the detailed story outline and concept art, and finishing at least the prologue by December, so that I can dive into production next year, demo in the second quarter, and hopefully release by late 2016. This will be a slow-burn thing since I'll be doing everything myself (except music orz) and is simply a side project. I'm narrowing the scope of the story as much as possible without sacrificing plot quality since this is mostly an art and programming trial for me.

Word count and play-time estimates will be announced when planning's done, but it won't be anything too long. It will be fairly fast-paced, and the common route so far takes up around half of one playthrough. Louis's path is mostly done, and I'm ploughing through Chelsea's and Madison's now.

Proofreaders and testers will be recruited eventually. Maybe a programming advisor as well.


*All art assets shown are not final and will undergo further refinement.


DISCUSSION

♣ What do you think about the premise? Is it interesting to you? What do you expect from the plot?
♣ What do you think about playing an unemotional (at least at the beginning—or until the end, if that's how you want to play it) protagonist?
♣ What do you think about the characters? Do their descriptions match their designs? Who is your favorite so far?
♣ What do you think about the gameplay mechanics? Specifically the personality index, and riddle-solving and keywords?
♣ There'll be quite a bit of world-building, so would you like a backdrop explanation to be available? If so, would you prefer it in-game as a sort of encyclopedia/info screen, or would you be interested in a post-production companion guide/artbook?

Feel free to ask questions!

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morg
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Re: Castle in the Stars [Modern Fantasy][Psychological][Myst

#2 Post by morg »

I read the summary and it hooked me immediately! I like how everything is set, it sounds neat and well planned in my opinion.
♧- yep, it's simple yet very appealing. I also like the hint of mystery. When written well, a perplex plot can be intriguing.
♧ - the characters seem nice. I mean I can't say much about them just yet - but I think I have a preferance for Chelsea
♧ - does 'personality index' mean you get to chose your personality at the start of the game? If so, then that's a really neat and new idea. riddle solving is nice and I'm excited to see how you will implement it into the game
♧ - I think the best thing to do would be to store any extra info in an in-game enclyopedia. That way people can return to it anytime they want to. It was convenient when they did it in final fantasy.
Good luck on the game, and if you need any help on the CGs, I wouldn't mind contributing ^-^
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