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Words Within Our Hearts.



Sypnosis: - Words without Our Hearts is a series of Otome games featuring 6 possible Love interests in the first game, and seven in the second game. The game takes place in a town known as Chesdale, where the protagonist used to live as a child. This game takes place during the second half of the protagonist’s Second Year of high school when she returns to Chesdale to attend the private school, where hopes and dreams take top priority above all else, known as Cheshire State Westford academy. There, she reunites with her childhood friends, Mia and Mina, beginning her new days at the new school.

The protagonist has no special talents or hobbies, so when it’s time to go looking for a club to join, she really isn’t sure if she should join a club at all, but with a bit of convincing from her friends, she decides to check out the CSW journalism club. Upon arriving to the club room after school one day,what she saw is not what she expected. Instead, she saw what appeared to be a… detention center for delinquents. The members weren’t doing any work, and there was a guy that appeared to be grabbing his head in frustration and yelling at everyone.

Turns out, the club is in a terrible mess to the point where the club will be shut down in six months. Jeremy, the leader however, does NOT want this to happen. He has been raising this club since he first attended high school (now in his 3rd year). Sadly, due to a series of unfortunate events last year, the club somehow suffered a major setback and hasnt been able to recover ever since. Jeremy however, is determined to get the club out of the slump and regain its former glory before he graduates.

Will you be able to help Jeremy and the crew get back on thier feet? Will you be able to even find a new romance along the way? Will you be able to figure out what was the tragedy that caused such an calamity amongst the club and its members? Will everyone’s hopes and dreams never be fufilled? Or will the club be shut down for good?



** Characters **


Love Interests: (These are dateable)

Name: Jeremy Zaccheo
Nickname: Jubbz
Age: 17. 3rd Year.
Looks: Dark-skinned. 5ft10 155lbs. His hair is a short with Jehri Curls, but usually can’t be seen because he hides it under his hat which he wears at all times. He has more than one hat to match his outfit. Whenever he becomes embarrassed he often uses his hat to cover his blushing face. In his school uniform, he never buttons up the blazer, and wears the sleeves up to his elbows.
Likes: Baking, Aiming for number one, Mystery novels, eating fried chicken, and giving people nicknames.
Dislikes: Tsundere behavior in anime, slackers, people who disrespect his crew, Stephen hitting on him.
Club Role: President of the CSW Journalism club.
Type: Hot-headed, Tsundere.

Personality: The hot-headed leader of CSW. He has anger problems, prone to outbursts due to stress, and just wants to make the club the best like it once was in the beginning. He wasn't always like this, as he was once a cheerful young guy who simply wanted to have fun; that is until a series of unfortunate events occurred, causing not only him, but the whole club to take a nosedive. Could you help Jeremy this year bring not only the club back its former glory, but help get over his stress and past as well? You will have to show that you truly care about him and help him get through his problems in order to win his love and become a better man.

Misc. : Childhood friends with Alice Stanfield and lives next door to her. He also likes to bake cookies for the club, but only when he’s in a good mood. Also, he's not a tsundere. Maybe.


Name. Mr. Martin
Nickname: Martin~Sensei
Age: 26 Years old. Teacher
Looks: 6ft7 215lbs. Has short shaggy brown hair and a goatee. Wears reading glasses sometimes. Wears normal attire white shirt, black tie, slacks, shoes. Dresses very neatly.
Likes: Magical Girls, Helping his students, and Playing the saxophone.
Dislikes: Late homework, unruly students, and wasted potential
Club Role: He is the club advisory.
Type: Teacher

Personality: Mr. Martin is your homeroom math teacher. Laidback and generally good nature, he's very passionate about teaching and his students. He even lets the club members call him Martin~Sensei. Mr. Martin however seems to be having some troubles with his wife and things aren't so great in paradise. At the same time, him and protagonist seem to be getting along just fine. Will you and Mr. Martin develop in a torrid student/teacher relationship? Will he leave his wife for you? Or will you two break it off and help him get back with his wife?

Misc: His hobbies are playing the saxophone and watching magical girl anime.


Name: Kitsu “Kit-tan” Madaki
Nickname: Chaps/Chapperz
Age: 16. 2nd year.
Looks: Medium sized shaggy hair and closed kitsune eyes that he only opens when talking seriously. He also smiles most of the time, usually forming into a grin when talking, though can be indifferent when his eyes are open. Like sort’ve like Walker but with dark brown hair that’s shaggy. His casual outfit is a plaid shirt, dark blue jeans, and a dogtag necklace
Likes: Making others laugh, a light atmosphere, tea, traps, cats.
Dislikes: Taking things too seriously, rain, loneliness
Club Role: Writing Parody/Snarky column in CSW, likes to poke fun at things.
Type: Trickster

Personality: A laid-back guy and goofy guy. Nothing much fazes him but he does like playing tricks on people. He doesn’t do anything that will intentionally cause harm, just silly things like shaking someone's hand when he is holding gum. Around people he likes to say and do things that would make other’s uncomfortable (akin to a male fujoshi). However he is beginning to think that maybe he should take things more serious. Could you help him show that there is more to life than tricks and games? Will he want to settle down with you afterall? Or will he continue to be aloof and silly never really accomplishing much?

Misc: He would like to be a voice actor someday.



Name: Chris Ciel King
Nickname: CCK
Age: 15. 1st year.
Looks: Blonde hair. blue eyes, 5ft1 115 lbs. He dresses very cleanly even when outside of school, sporting a blazer, button-up shirt, and slacks.
Likes: Women, reading, and hanging out with his friends.
Dislikes: Family problems, having to live away from his sister, and homework.
Club Role: Writes the romance advice column.
Type: Younger Prince.

Personality: A 1st year with a flirtatious personality. due to that he seems to have a flock of women around him, his own personal harem. Usually cheerful very outgoing and silly. However it seems that he usually uses his womanizing to hide his true feelings. Is he perhaps not as happy as he seems? Is there more to him that meets the eye? You may not take him serious at first, but after hearing about his current problems and what is really going on, you begin to start seeing him in another light.

Misc: Has an older sister, Evangeline.



Name: Megan “Megiddo” Miles
Nickname: Megz
Age: 17. 3rd year.
Looks: Has medium length dark green hair to his neck, wears glasses. 5ft10 135lbs.
Likes: Computers and being alone.
Dislikes: His real name... People... especially stupid people, which, really is most people according to him. Also Spiders. His real name.
Club Role: Deals with anything related to computers, and is the one who typesets and designs the newspaper, making it ready for print.
Type: Cold-hearted, elitist smart type.

Personality: A person who would rather watch the world go by him, Megz is a quiet introverted guy whose only interests lie in the digital world. Before you join CSW, Megz has just been like decoration in the background but after your involvement and willingness to bring Megz into group events, Megz start acting colder and colder to you. And when the time of the CSW camp trip comes to play, you will see a side of Megz you never knew existed. What will happen to you? And will Megz ever fall for you?

Misc: knows a ton of useless information and likes baseball.



Name: Mason Takahashi
Nickname: Mdogg/DarkKingSilvers
Age: 17. 3rd year.
Looks: 6ft4 175lbs. Muscular yet Lean, very tall. Atheltic build. Has redish-brown somewhat short hair, that sticks out a bit (kind of like he just got out of the shower) Dresses in sports casual attire when not in school.
Likes: Basketball and Martial Arts.
Dislikes: Talking a lot and loud people, his memory.
Club Role: Writes the sports collum.
Type: Stoic Atheletic Type.

Personality: At first he doesn't seem like the type to talk much. Despite his athletic build not that many people approach him. Due to an unfortunate accident, his memory is very bad, and he hardly remembers anything. Because of this, he rarely tries to make friends anymore, and sticks to himself. Could you maybe help him with his memory? Maybe show him that he can still make friends and doesn't have to be so distant anymore?

Misc: Has photography as a side-hobby.



FRIENDS: (non-dateable)

(Each friend has a mini-arc contained in various guy's routes.)



Name: Mia Hughes
Nickname: Rainy
Age: 16 2nd year.
Looks: Plain appearance. She isn’t ugly or anything but she doesn’t bother wearing any makeup or spending hours on her hair.
Likes: YAOI YAOI YAOI!
Dislikes: Mean people.
Club Role: Writes the Boy’s love and gay column

Personality: Mia is a yaoi fangirl, she likes randomly pairing up guys (especially ones in the club) and creating elaborate fantasy stories about them. She has quite the imagination as well.

Misc: Childhood friend and lives right next door to you.



Name: Mina-chan.
Nickname: Splitter
Age: 16 2nd year
Looks: Trap, short greenish bob hair-do glasses. Kind of a nerdy girl.
Likes: Ponies and girly frilly things.
Dislikes: wearing boys clothing and doing manly things.
Club Role: Rants Column.

Personality: Mina is usually the smart and normal one of your friends; that is to say she is the most levelheaded. She often offers sound advice as well. She’s pretty nice but sometimes goes off on silly rant tangents. Mina used to be a boy who still liked girly things. But it wasnt until high school when he decided to finally begin cross-dressing.

Misc: Mina is your other childhood friend that lives next door to you.



Name: Alice Stanfield
Nickname: Cidz
Age: 17. 3rd year.
Looks: Long purple hair and likes wearing gothic-lolita/cosplay outfits; Mostly of which she makes herself.
Likes: Sewing, Fashion, and Hot guys.
Dislikes: Having to do homework or sit still for long.
Club Role: Writes the fashion column.

Personality: The perky friend. Bubbly and Energetic! Usually likes fangirling over hot bishies and also coming up with silly yaoi scenarios with Mia. She enjoys sewing and always likes harassing Mina to make her frilly clothing.

Misc: best friends with Jeremy and lives right next door to him.



Name: Evangeline King
Nickname: Ghost
Age: 17. 3rd year.
Looks: long blonde hair down to mid-back, and blue eyes. A short appearance, often mistaken for a little girl (Token Loli). When not in school, her outfits range from baseball t-shirts or black turtlenecks and jeans, to short-sleeved baseball shirts and shorts.
Likes: Cooking and looking out for her younger brother, collecting fan art, and writing and reading literature.
Dislikes: Family problems and people always calling/mistaking her [for] a little girl

Personality: she is usually calm and collected, but will joke around with friends or even scold them for being reckless at times. Lives in a house with her grandmother and their dog. Spends her free time reading books, manga, watching anime, etc. She also likes to cook and learn recipes from her grandmother. She’ll also be the one to cook meals for them every now and again.

Misc: Is the older sister to Chris King. Lives away from him with their grandma due to family issues.



Protagonist (aka Jinko)


Name: Player Chooses.
Nickname: Jinko-chan.
Age: 16. 2nd year.
Looks: Brown, Short haired girl with fair skin. 5ft5. blue eyes.
Likes: Helping people.
Dislikes: People who act annoying.

Personality: After moving back to her hometown (she lived in a big city before), she reunites with her old friends and begins a new school life. There she meets the crew members of the CSW journalism club, even though the club is in shambles right now. However, the MC may be able to help get the club back on it’s feet and maybe find out why it went so bad in the first place. She’s also strong and independent, not afraid to stand up for herself and speak her mind, or go the extra mile to help out those she cares about.

Misc: has a mother and a father and 2 brothers named Freddy and Jason. Her nickname is derived from the word Shujinko, which means Main character (or Protagonist) in Japanese.


** MORE ABOUT THIS GAME **

This game is loosely based off the blog and bloggers of Chocolate Syrupy Waffles (CSW) Anime blog, which is a small anime blog that my friend (and one of the co-writers) had started. Still, even if you don't go by there, it's fine; you can still enjoy the game.

This game will have 6 love interests each having multiple endings.
There are friend mini-routes within various guy's routes.
This game is non-commercial and 100% free.
It's also a team effort with various people working on it.

If you would like to keep up with updates or know more about this game please visit the blog or twitter, thanks.

Estimated Time this game will be completed: No idea. But I'll let you guys know when we finally can make a demo and release it!



** CREDIT **

Writers:
~ Jubbz: Jeremy and Chris.(Eva and Alice)
~ Chaps: Kitsu.(Mina)
~ Cidz: Mason and Mr. Martin. (Mia)
~ Spiral: Megan.
~ Nesse: Will (Mason's half brother.)

Artists:
TBA (at the moment we are focusing on writing, and not sure if our artist can still help out. But most likely we may have to look for new ones, especially a sprite artist)

** PROGRESS **
[as of Jan. 20th 2012]

Jubbz - finished Jeremy's rough draft.
Chapperz - half way through Kitsu's rough draft.
Spiral - finished Megan's rough draft.
Nesse - 1/3 through Will's route.
Cidz - working on intro.




** DISCUSSION **

This thread is also for posting development on the game, as we progress.

I'd love any feedback good or bad on this game. The more we get the more we can improve on this game. I know it's a rather long and lengthy game, but I want to still put my heart into it and give it my all. So please don't hold back or hesitate on anything you have to say. (Even if it's just a quick "Hey I like this game!")



** Requirement **
none at the moment, but we'll be sure and let people know when we are ready to recruit.

_________________

Blog | Twitter | Starlight Melodies | Papercut [NaNoReNo 2013]

Hmm... no one's biting huh? Geez.

_________________
As you know, I'm called Jubbz, of the CSW Anime Blog. I started it, i run it.

Words Within Our Hearts (GxB VN)
Progress blog on the game
Current script progress: 20%.
I'm one of the writers of the Words within Our Hearts Otome Visual Novel, working on the scripts.
Completed Chris's route, and now working on Jeremy's. I'll re-do Avu's route when we get started on the sequel.

The girl characters don't look like they are 16 and 17 (more like 14 or 15).
Sounds like a VERY ambitious project. If you're looking for a background artist you should say how many backgrounds you'll need.

_________________
All of my VNs are at http://wolflore.net Some recent works on lemmasoft:
Vera Blanc and the Purloined patient http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=20801
Something Strange (modern fantasy/romance) http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=17127
Arnie and the Hitchhiker (vampire romance) http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=15382
Poorly done hand drawn art is still poorly done art. Be a Poser (or better yet, use DAZ Studio 3D) - dare to be different.

Hmm..... you really think so? well I know Eva looks incredibly young, but that's sort of her thing. People mistake her for a grade-schooler and she gets mad over it lol. Oh, i really should of done that thanks! Actually I made a thread once in the recruitment area, i could link that or something. I have a list of backgrounds we need I'll have to go over it.

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Blog | Twitter | Starlight Melodies | Papercut [NaNoReNo 2013]

Alright, time for me to jump on the stalker bandwagon give you guys some actual feedback. And also start stalking this game properly.

First of all, let me gawk at all 11 obtainables. Has there ever been a game like this with so many bishies? Talk about a reverse harem! It's probably manageable since you have 4 writers on the job, but you need to make sure that all the writing styles sound somewhat similar to each other. Besides that, all of them need distinct personalities to make them unique and memorable. I'm already having trouble remembering some of their names and personalities >_>

I'm digging Gothic~Ichigo's sprites, so no qualms on the art. The character designs are easy on the eyes, which is important since I'll be looking at them for the whole game.

As for those questions you'd like some opinions on:
1. What do you think of the game overall? Does the plot interest you? What about the characters, do they seem interesting or too cliché?
I'm just so utterly overwhelmed by the amount of characters @_@ The plot is interesting enough, but I'm not sure if each character will be able to stand out from the crowd. I'm putting my faith in you guys to make them equally unique.

2. Are you ok with Jeremy's route being only available after you play through once of everyone's route (excluding Adrian)? Would you prefer he always be available? What about available after playing through a certain amount of routes?
NO HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO MY FIRST HASUBANDO HE HAS KOTETSU'S HAT I WANT THAT HAT SO BADLY WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ME OTL That's unfair IMO, unless he's the canon love interest. I suggest you make him available after one playthrough; any more than that and you're out to kill off his fangirls.

3. Are you ok with Adrian being an extra route?


4. Are you ok with the routes being lengthy? Would you prefer shorter routes? Or a variety? (I can't tell you the exact length of each route but my guess is if you were to play like 2-3hrs it probably take you a couple days?)
Do I want to exchange length/quality for quantity? If possible, I'd have both.

5. This game contains:
- some cursing and may contain a few politically incorrect words

like "Retard."

- some violence

(shooting, stabbing. possible animal cruelty, suicide, death threats, brutal beatings)

- Implied sex.

(Nothing shown, nothing explicit, but there is a scene in Avu's route where him and MC get intimate.)

Those first 2 things are sorta okay for me as long as you don't advocate The last thing is questionable, especially since Though as long as no explicit content is shown, the 16+ rating should be fine.

6. We plan on releasing this game with music, SFX, sprites, CGs, etc...you know everything you need for your standard VN. Then afterwards we thought of releasing a updated (still free) edition that's fully voiced. With extras like a CG gallery/music room, maybe extra little side stories...stuff like that. Do you like this idea or no? Do you like the idea of it being fully voiced? What kind of extra things would you like for the delux edition to include?
It's easy to include a CG gallery and Music Room into the regular release. A fully voiced VN of this scope would be amazing if the quality was good, and I'd definitely play the deluxe version even after finishing the first version. Extra side stories would be an incentive for other players to look at the deluxe version too.

7. We also thought of the overall theme of the game is staying true to yourself... And to kinda help stay connected to the title of the game, we wanted to included small arcana elements... like, give every main character a specific arcana. Would you like that, or no?
Arcana is a little overused IMO, but go ahead if it fits. Just don't shoehorn it in because you like the idea of it.

And I'm too exhausted to ask questions right now ._. BTW, you misspelled Martin~Sensei in his description (it says "Martin~Sesei"). You also better tell Jeremy and Megan to watch out because THEY WILL BE MINE.

_________________


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Alright...

1. In regards to the violence... Well... it won't be gratuitous like you'd see in a horror manga, buuuuuuuuuuuuut.............. I have wrote in some violence already... It'll make sense in context...

2. There's a reason why Jeremy's route is kinda hidden until later... But i do like your suggestion of making him available a little earlier... >.>

3. Implied sex... i'm finding it harder and harder to fit in. Heck, it might not even happen. Or it might. Who knows. I'm still kinda juggling the idea around when i'm writing Avu's route.

4.Avu's route is too damn long... honestly, what is wrong with me? I wanted to write a good amount of Character development for Avu, the kind of guy whose personality is the typical nice guy like your harem protagonist. But i wanted to like... make him an actual character at the same time. You know. And i know for sure Jeremy's route'll be the longest... orz
But anywho, if the routes are long, that's because i feel there's a certain length for proper character development, ya know?

5. Also, the whole arcana stuff... i thought it over, sounded awesome at first when i thought it up, but thinking now, it'd barely fit in (if at all) with the overall theme of the game. I mean, the only thing that'll reference the arcana at all is the titles of the routes themselves, but i don't think it'd be playing as big a role as i once planned. Will that fine at least?

<--- Yeah... If you guys wanna know, I'm like, 75% done with Avu's route, but I've been considering doing a re-write of it... or at least the middle bits.
And i just got started on Jeremy's route too. Only about... 5% done. Heh.

At least Chris's route is finished, 100%. Wheeeeee~

_________________
As you know, I'm called Jubbz, of the CSW Anime Blog. I started it, i run it.

Words Within Our Hearts (GxB VN)
Progress blog on the game
Current script progress: 20%.
I'm one of the writers of the Words within Our Hearts Otome Visual Novel, working on the scripts.
Completed Chris's route, and now working on Jeremy's. I'll re-do Avu's route when we get started on the sequel.

Ah since Jubbz addressed some of the stuff you wrote about i probably wont say anything on that, no need since avu isnt the one im writting.

yeah, 11 characters are certainly....alot. I mean at least you cant say you dont have enough to choose from . but really we are trying our best to make them each unique. There's still more to the characters too, some stuff i didnt put down because i dont want to spoil. But i hope that we can make each character intersting in one way or another. Sure some might be more interesting then others, but i am confident in the crew to work hard at it. Ah we do our best to make sure it all matches up, our writing and overall story. We go over ideas with each other, get on group chats on AIM, etc...

ah, i am glad you are pleased with the art <3 i really think she does a great job!

2. HAHA well glad to know you enjoy Jeremy <3. Hmm.... well he is i guess the main guy (love interest) and there is also what Jubbz had said too. Jeremy's route also sometimes adds little extra pieces to the guys routes, and explain some things.
for example: however thinking about it i think after playing through once, or a few times you can unlock his.. having to play through 11 routes would be a bit too much O_o

3.

4. Well we dont want to rush it or anything, but I think there will be some routes that are longer then others. So, I think there will be a bit of variety with lengths, but nothing drastic (nothing like one route is 30 mins. the other is 30 hrs )

5. Nooooo we dont advocate it! Not at all.

no, nothing explicit not at all... i think 16+ is a good raiting.


6. thats true! I think that I'll include the music and CG gallery in the original. But I'd like to do voices and extra stories, things like that in a delux version. Still we should finish the first version first haha, buuut food for thought at least!

oh geez did i!? thanks for pointing that out i better fix it! HAHA Jeremy and Megan are awesome, I think you will really like those routes <333 I really like all these guys actually, i hope that the others will as well.

and thanks soooooooo much for your feedback you dont know how happy this makes me >_< i was getting a bit discouraged because for awhile i wasnt getting anything, i just wanted to at least get peoples opinions on some things or at least know if people are interested or not lol.

_________________

Blog | Twitter | Starlight Melodies | Papercut [NaNoReNo 2013]

1. What do you think of the game overall? Does the plot interest you? What about the characters, do they seem interesting or too cliché?
The plot interests me, but the huge amount of characters are indeed a bit overwhelming. And I'm a bit afraid to see some of them become the "Just there" characters. (Haha! Sorry, I couldn't find a good enough word. What I meant to say was characters that were just put there, they're not related to anyone or anything whatsoever and have such little screen time.)

2. Are you ok with Jeremy's route being only available after you play through once of everyone's route (excluding Adrian)? Would you prefer he always be available? What about available after playing through a certain amount of routes?
Well, since I am a bit of a completionist when it comes to games or VNs, I'd say go for it, but I can't say the same for potential Jeremy fangirls. Maybe one playthrough is just enough?

3. Are you ok with Adrian being an extra route?



4. Are you ok with the routes being lengthy? Would you prefer shorter routes? Or a variety? (I can't tell you the exact length of each route but my guess is if you were to play like 2-3hrs it probably take you a couple days?)
Well, I don't really care about the length, as long as there isn't huge amounts of purple prose, then I'm good.

5. This game contains:
- some cursing and may contain a few politically incorrect words

Fine by me. Maybe you should rate it 13+ though
- some violence

Or maybe 16+
- Implied sex.

Yep, 16+.
- Also contains yaoi and yuri elements.
** Everything above is NOT explicit in any way, it's used in moderation and/or implied. It's used to suit a character and/or scene. We plan on giving this a 16+ rating due to everything above. Do you think this is a fair rating? If not, what would you rate it as? Also are you ok with everything? Only some things? Is there anything you aren't ok with? And if so why how can we improve or change it?
Well, I'm fine with it. And 16+ sounds good.

6. We plan on releasing this game with music, SFX, sprites, CGs, etc...you know everything you need for your standard VN. Then afterwards we thought of releasing a updated (still free) edition that's fully voiced. With extras like a CG gallery/music room, maybe extra little side stories...stuff like that. Do you like this idea or no? Do you like the idea of it being fully voiced? What kind of extra things would you like for the delux edition to include?
I may be able to play it, but if it's just voice then I'm sorry but no.

Maybe a few bonus scenes, or maybe a secret character (I don't think this is necessary since you have a lot of characters already) would let me play the deluxe edition.

7. We also thought of the overall theme of the game is staying true to yourself... And to kinda help stay connected to the title of the game, we wanted to included small arcana elements... like, give every main character a specific arcana. Would you like that, or no?

I'm not sure... The only time I've seen the Arcana used in a video game is when I'm playing Persona, and being the Persona fangirl that I am, then go for it!

_________________

"A fool who doesn't think is more foolish than a fool who foolishly thinks." - Franziska Von Karma
My avatar is chibi Alex in disguise, not chibi Zander. >_>

1. Hmm. you know i think people are right, 11 characters IS overwhelming, so how would you and anyone else feel if we split the game up into 2 games? the 2nd one can be a continuation of the 1st so we would still have the protag, and overall plot. But i think if we split the characters up into two games (plus we kinda thought about adding a couple more >_> ) into lets say oh 6 in one game and 7 in the other would that be a bit more manageable?

2. Ah well...if we split it up into two games i think waiting for jeremys route might be a bit easier, but chances are we might just make it after a couple routes like 2 or 3.

3.

4. purple prose? hmm...well i dont think thers anything too lengthy dont think anyone has major monologues (maybe jeremy might have a couple lengthy monologues when explainging his story? im not too sure on that...)

5. ah ok, glad you are ok with it and you think the ratiing fits.

6. well...i thought voiced, extra small stories, hmmm secret character well i could place adrian in this...

7. haha yah well it might be something, i think jubbz said it might be really minor afterall or not used.


thanks again wow! feedback from 3 people this really does make me happy <3333 super happy! oh i forgot to add if anyones curious as to why so many characters its because they are all loosely based on the bloggers of CSW an anime blog run by Jubbz himself <3 we thought it might be fun to make an otome game out of it (since most of the bloggers on there are male >_> ) its quite the team (altho honestly some of them quit/fired by now, still would like to add them.) well i really would like to split this game, if we do might make things more easier on the players and everyone working on it.

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Blog | Twitter | Starlight Melodies | Papercut [NaNoReNo 2013]

What seems to be a long read to one person may be average for another. What's the wordcount for the longest route and shortest route respectively? You'll need to balance it out eventually for the characters with less wordcount, because it'll feel unfair to fans of those characters.

It's the fact that he's like my perfect cup of coffee: tall, dark, and handsome. And also because of the hat. He sounds like a genuinely nice guy before shit hit the fan, and I respect a guy who will bake cookies for his club. I will steal that hat from him. If his route will explain other events, then I can wait a couple (meaning 2-3) playthroughs to get him. Just don't make it absolutely mandatory to go through all the routes. I. Need. That. Hat. Plus you don't see tsundere guys that often :3

Maybe, but don't you already have some character's routes done? I have no idea how you'll be able to make this all work, but you'll just have to work out the kinks with your team. This is what you get for having so many bishies in a single game @_@

BTW, this question just wandered into my mind just now: doesn't it feel strange to be writing characters based on your blogging buddies? Do the personalities of the character match the blogger? Juuuuuuust curious...

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Visit the OELVN wiki at the top of the forum! We have free assets, programs, tutorials, tips and more over there. I'm the administrator, PM me if you want to help organize the place. I could use a hand.

True... the draft i have now is over 100 pages in Microsoft Word. Make that what you will.

We don't know whose route will be the shortest yet, since only Chris's route is officially complete, and Mason's route is getting a re-write.



Yes and No. I mean, the guys won't be 100% based off of us. Just loosely.
I do think it'll be kinda fun for the people who regularly read our blog to guess what's part of the real and what's not.

I totally want a WMG page on tvtropes just for people to figure out what's real and what's not! :3

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As you know, I'm called Jubbz, of the CSW Anime Blog. I started it, i run it.

Words Within Our Hearts (GxB VN)
Progress blog on the game
Current script progress: 20%.
I'm one of the writers of the Words within Our Hearts Otome Visual Novel, working on the scripts.
Completed Chris's route, and now working on Jeremy's. I'll re-do Avu's route when we get started on the sequel.

not sure on the wordcount.. i can tell you that chris route is around 70+ pages? thatll probably be one of the shorter ones.

Jeremy is a genuinly nice guy, its just that well...with alot that goes on with him (and a troubled past) sometimes he doesnt seem like it. and yeah, he really cares about his crew, he really wants to do his best... what he really needs is a hug the poor guy >_> hmm...yeah i think waiting a couple routes until you unlock his is fair. having to play through them all is rather much. Yeah I love tsundere guys.

hmm...actually i just talked to them tonight and last night about it. and we are going to split the characters up into two games. it wont be hard at all actually... for the first game the dateable guys will be: chris, avu, kitsu, stephen, mason, mr. martin, and megan. thats 7 guys. and the rest will be supporting non-dateable. for the 2nd game will have jeremy, victor, justin, adrian (still as a secret character) and possibly 3 new brand new guys...again making it around 7.. jeremy will probably still be accessable after a couple chars are unlocked or maybe he can just be accessable from the get-go if hes going to be in the 2nd game.

actually not at all! i find it quite fun and ammusing and so do they. The idea of bishie-fying them is kind of a fun thing to do lol and they all get a kick out of it. Hmm well I would say they are loosely based on each guy. So you have certain quirks or personality traits, dislikes/likes, etc.... Also when the idea first arose to make this game i went around to each guy and asked them if they were ok with it and had any idea on what kind of character they wanted to be. so these guys are all partially made by thier real life counterparts. some even helped come up with plot ideas as well. Although some didnt really give any details just a "yeah sure go for it!" so we kind of had to make them up (cck didnt say anything about chris, and justin just said to make justice chaotic-neutral type...)

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** Update **
So after some late night talking with the team, we decided to make some changes to the 2nd game.
First it'll actually be a sequel. We decided to make it take place 1 year later after the 1st game takes place. (So the 2nd years will be 3rd yrs, and the 3rd yrs. would of graduated.) Jeremy will be in the 1st game, and leave the club to Avu, who will take charge of it in the 2nd game. There he wil recuit new members (and by that i mean the remaining 11 and 3 new guys...so 7 total.). And also there will be a new MC, as well as 2 new friends, (the friend characters will be in the 1st one)


so in short the 1st game will now have: Jeremy, Chris, Kitsu, Megan, Mason, and Mr. Martin. (Plus - Mia, Mina, Alice, and Eva.)
2nd game which will be more of a sequel will have: Victor, Justin, Stephen, and the 3 new guys.

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I finally have time to sit down and write a proper response.


Oh-ho, questions. I like questions, they help me direct my thoughts in a certain direction instead of having jumbled, incoherent thoughts.

First of all, I like the fact you've decided to split it into two games, it'll be easier for the player to distinguish and remember characters. (Or at least, it will be for me). I'm curious though, are you planning to completely finish both and then release them within a short amount of time within each other, or will you guys be focusing on releasing the first game before completing the second one?

The art is fantastic, Gothic~Ichigo is extremely talented; all the characters look distinguishable and reflect their personalities well

And as for the questions:

1. What do you think of the game overall? Does the plot interest you? What about the characters, do they seem interesting or too cliché?
I think that all school based stories are overused in general, but that's not to say that it can't be pulled off well or that I dislike it. If it's executed well I don't mind a bit of cliche. My thought of the length of the game is that it's definitely very ambitious, but it seems like you've got a good team working part of it, so the project doesn't seem impossible to create. As for the characters, I agree that the sheer amount of them makes it hard to remember each face and personality. I think this will probably change later on when we're 'getting to know' each character. I just hope that each of them play an equal role in the story and have vaguely equal face time. Too often I see people stick characters in just so they have that 'designated best friend/etc'.


2. Are you ok with Jeremy's route being only available after you play through once of everyone's route (excluding Adrian)? Would you prefer he always be available? What about available after playing through a certain amount of routes?
I don't mind Jeremy's route being unlockable, but I think making players play through every single path (especially with your proposed word lengths of each route) is a bit much; it could ruin the likeliness of players bothering to play his path. One or two routes seems like a good amount to finish.


3. Are you ok with Adrian being an extra route?





4. Are you ok with the routes being lengthy? Would you prefer shorter routes? Or a variety? (I can't tell you the exact length of each route but my guess is if you were to play like 2-3hrs it probably take you a couple days?)
I like a really fleshed out story, so a long word count is fine with me, as long as the text wasn't repetitive and dragged out. (I had such a problem with that in HnKnA). If it were a stat raising sim that took that long to play I'd probably have some issues though.

5. This game contains:
- some cursing and may contain a few politically incorrect words
like "Retard."
I don't mind. 'Retard' being used in that sort of context (I'm assuming you're using it for a character to describe someone else as being stupid) doesn't bother me.

- some violence
(shooting, stabbing. possible animal cruelty, suicide, death threats, brutal beatings)
As long as they make sense in the context and aren't pulled out willy-nilly I don't have any problems with that.

- Implied sex.
(Nothing shown, nothing explicit, but there is a scene in Avu's route where him and MC get intimate.)
Erm, as CheeryMoya stated, their ages are slightly worrying, but since it isn't explicit, I wouldn't be turned away completely.

Also contains yaoi and yuri elements.
No problems here either, as long as they're not just thrown in to grab at the yaoi and yuri fangirls/boys.

** Everything above is NOT explicit in any way, it's used in moderation and/or implied. It's used to suit a character and/or scene. We plan on giving this a 16+ rating due to everything above. Do you think this is a fair rating? If not, what would you rate it as? Also are you ok with everything? Only some things? Is there anything you aren't ok with? And if so why how can we improve or change it?
16+ seems fair, although you should probably add brief warnings with it so that perhaps those slightly younger and older know what they're getting into.


6. We plan on releasing this game with music, SFX, sprites, CGs, etc...you know everything you need for your standard VN. Then afterwards we thought of releasing a updated (still free) edition that's fully voiced. With extras like a CG gallery/music room, maybe extra little side stories...stuff like that. Do you like this idea or no? Do you like the idea of it being fully voiced? What kind of extra things would you like for the delux edition to include?
I prefer having a CG gallery with the game, since this is quite the lengthy project, it'd be nice to see a mark of my 'progress' while going through each route. I'm pretty neutral about the game being voiced, but as long as it's done well it'd be nice to see it included. Are you going to include an option to turn them off though? If not, that might be a good idea to consider. As for extras I'd like to see, how about creator's thoughts? Like what each person thought of their role, the characters, the good/bad times working on it, what was hard/easy, etc. I love reading stuff like that after playing a route or finishing a game; it makes me feel happy for the creators as well.


7. We also thought of the overall theme of the game is staying true to yourself... And to kinda help stay connected to the title of the game, we wanted to included small arcana elements... like, give every main character a specific arcana. Would you like that, or no?
I....have no idea what that is so, uh.....go for it?

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Ah, I'm glad you like questions. I like them too that way we get specific things answered (of course I don't mind if people say things outside these questions lol.)

I'm glad you like the idea of splitting the characters, it'll be easier all around I think. Oh we plan on releasing the first game, then start working on the 2nd after that. Plus then we can get some feedback on the 1st, and see if we need to make any improvements on the 2nd.

I'm so glad to get such a talented artist <3


1. Ah yeah, the school theme is used alot, but I still think it'll be fun to do since it centers around a school club. Well with splitting the game too i think it'll make it easier for us to flesh out the characters and take our time more. It wont be so much "oh geez this'll take longer then Katawa Shoujo to make >_<" XD Also having trouble remembering the characters, is another reason we wanted to split the game. (I'll admit even I can't remember them all half the time >_> ) Well in the 1st game we'll primarily be focusing on the main characters (with the exception of Avu who is going to be in the 2nd game, but plays a big part in the 1st. I mean he kind of needs to anyways, so people wont be like "wait...why is this strange guy taking charge of the club?" in the 2nd.) The other characters, for now will have small roles, probably wont even need sprites. However in the 2nd they will have their time to shine, as they now get their own routes, and character development. The friends as well get character development, as they each have their own little mini-arc hidden inside certain guy's routes.

2. Hmm, well we're going to put him in the 1st game. That has about 6 characters I think (After I reply to this, I'm going to do some editing to that front page with all the recent changes) And I think maybe about oh, half-way through it can be unlockable? So how does 3 sound? if not, perhaps after playing through once.

3.

4. Nope, wont be repetitive or dragged out, we'll make sure to that! Also nope, not a stat-raising game, just a story with choices and several endings.

5. "I don't mind. 'Retard' being used in that sort of context (I'm assuming you're using it for a character to describe someone else as being stupid) doesn't bother me." - Yeah, that's basically what it's used for, the character is incredibly condescending as well. However since someone else is handling this character (Megan) route, I don't even know if it'll get used at all.

As long as they make sense in the context and aren't pulled out willy-nilly I don't have any problems with that. - No, not pulled out of nowhere, it makes sense and serves a purpose.

Erm, as CheeryMoya stated, their ages are slightly worrying, but since it isn't explicit, I wouldn't be turned away completely. - Well jubbz is going to rewrite Avu's route anyways, and he said now that he thinks about it, doesn't think it'll fit in after all. But if he was going to use it, it wasn't going to be explicit.

No problems here either, as long as they're not just thrown in to grab at the yaoi and yuri fangirls/boys. - Nah, not really. They're used as part of a characters personality (Mia is a yaoi fangirl.) and parodied off thier actual real life counterparts. So, might not be that serious but not thrown in for the yaoi/yuri fanbase.

16+ seems fair, although you should probably add brief warnings with it so that perhaps those slightly younger and older know what they're getting into. - Ah ok thanks. Yeah I planned on doing that.

6. Well, with cutting it into two games. I think we can add perhaps all that stuff in the 1st? At least have the CG gallery, Music Room, and Voiced. I like that idea of having more behind the scenes stuff, and creator commentary. I thought of adding a sort of reference list as well. Since this is all loosely based off real people and real events, it might be fun to add a "In this scene it references this part that happened with us, etc...."

7. Arcana is the 22 cards in a Tarot Deck such as Strength, Wisdom, Lovers, etc.....I don't think we'll go with that after all, as it really doesn't fit in too well. Still, food for thought lol.

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