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I think a dark themed otome game is..interesting, actualy, I prefer it that way. I'd very much like to see how it would come out in the end process.
The fact that the game itself is going to contain acts of violence and plenty of gore is exciting (for me) because I LOVE Horror games, and it wouldn't be a horror game if you didn't put in lots of gore and semi-violence. I assume there's going to be some added mystery in the scenario?
If so, making the player "think" is the main goal. You don't want them to just casually go through choices, you want them to stop and take a minute to think about the choice their about to make.

EXAMPLE:
Perhaps they just witnessed a murder and the player has a choice of either confronting the murderer right their and then, or avoiding -said murderer- until later on, etc. Perhaps even the choice to fight -said murderer-.

This gives the player a difficult choice. Should they comfort the murderer? -- Will the murderer have any sense of reasoning, or is -said murderer- just that? -- Should they avoid the murderer? --But what if they never get a chance to confront them again? -- What if they kill again? --- Should they fight the murderer? -- The murderer has a weapon, so they're at an advantage, but the killer isn't facing towards the player's direction --

Choices. It's all about making it hard for the player to decide what to do. In a horror game, you have to make sure you make it as hard for them as possible.

Another EXAMPLE:

What IF the murderer was the player's bestfriend in the scenario? -- Could the player really have the will-power to turn in their own friend? -- Is the best-friend just using the player's history with them to avoid any future consequences down the road? ..


Anyway-

No. I think the monochromatic color scheme would work VERY well. It's supposed to be a horror game, right? You don't want a bunch of bright, contrast colors! You want dark, gloomy, almost depressing if you will.


last comments:

I love your art style, and the story. Though, the plot reminds me a lot of the anime "Zombie Loan". I assume that's where you got your inspiration from? --Nether less, it's a brilliant concept and I look forward to seeing and playing the finished product.

Reminds me of Zombie Loan..I mean with an unsocial girl and the black ring etc. xD

I love your art style, kinda like Manwha~ nice :3

And the guys are nice too, let's see with who she ends up in the true ending (IF that will happen)

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Own project:

I really like this idea! I would definitely play it. The idea of a dark themed otome game really catches my attention, as I love otome games and dark themes!
The gore and descriptions of violence are fine with me, I'm quite big on gore anyway. (Well, when it comes to anime etc, not so much real people!) And I think descriptions can be really good if done well.
Afor the monochromatic colour scheme, I quite like it. It fits the story very well, rather than bright colours etc.
If you do decide to continue with this this project, PM me! I'm really interested in this game and I can help with coding, plot lines, and proofreading as English is my first language.

I was never worried about it, just that it popped into my head when I saw your story
Point is, the main character Is unsocial what you only can see when you actually watch the anime same as in just because it's called Zombie Loan, the main chars aren't 'Zombies' xD

Mhhhh, she is unsocial from the inside but social from the outside? Sounds like a really hard to handle character :/

Well the ring arounf the neck thing isn't really copy...even though it reminds everybody who knows the anime extremly strong of the fact that the ring around peoples neck confirm when they are about to die.
That you made the girl a shinigami, well yeah thats pretty new and refreshing so I wouldn't make the trouble to change your idea, but if somebody claims this idea his own you should change it.

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Own project:

I love horror-blend stories (whether it's horror/romance or horror/mystery, as in your case), so I'm definitely looking forward to this one. I'm hoping for plenty of suspense in regards to those mysteries, too. The idea of a dark themed otome game sounds awesome to me. You can bring on the gore - I used to be a gorehound. The monochromatic color scheme goes hand in hand with your theme. I'm going to guess that you'll keep the blood as red, though, or maybe you'll colorize things of ultimate importance - just for added effect.

Liking the art a lot. Don't pull any punches with this.

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Main Website * Tumblr
Play: In This Dream of Ours (5/7/2012)
Working on: Skylines, Dream's Dénouement, The Girl in Red
ouroborosconnect.com

I would like to know what players think about a dark themed otome game?
Well, I am an avid fan of the horror genre, but a dislike of the otome genre. However, if the two are blended correctly and nicely, I'd play it.
How do you feel about the fact that this game will contain gore and descriptions of violence?
*points to signature* What do you think?
Does it bother you that the color scheme is monochromatic?
If it fits the theme, then no since it's a nice mood setter.
Any other comments welcome.
Is the game going to be more story-centric (as in, focus on the choices of Bunka and what she uses her powers for) or who she pursues (which is what most otome games are)? If it's the former, then it really shouldn't be called an otome game but a GxB game since Otome games are (almost specificly) about pursuing the boys and falling in love.

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I have moved to a new account. Please contact me here from now on. T/Y~

Screenshot:

The background is a placeholder. There are less than 10 backgrounds in the game, so I will be seeking a background artist once I finish everything on my end ^_^
Here's progress so far.

Statistics:

The game contains 281 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 3,492 words,
for an average of 12.4 words per screen.
The game contains 0 menus.



Well, she is a misanthropist {she has a strong dislike for humankind} and she has a social anxiety {but this only applies in certain situations}. Despite all of that, she can keep up a happy persona and appear normal to her classmates... but this is only a false pretense. Deep down inside, she hates all of them.



Thank you for the compliments! I'm trying to make a suspenseful atmosphere with the music and sound effects. Once it all comes together, the game should be very atmospheric. And you are right, the blood {and anything else of importance that is red} will be colored. I definitely won't hold back.


It is a story-centric game with very little to no romance The choices basically make it impossible to "pursue" anyone {there's nothing like talk to Guy A vs talk to Guy B}. Looks as if I made a mistake then, because I thought that otome game simply means the heroine is female. I will change it to GxB. This isn't anything close to a love story ^_^;
Thank you for pointing that out.

Ah your art is really cute!

And I wouldn't say that it's wrong to call it an otome game. Repeating the words of a friend:

"In Japanese Otome means maiden, so officially the genre of otome game means a game aimed at girls/women. It does not have to be a romance game, as long as its focus is towards women and it has a female main character. GxB on the other hand means there will be romance in the game with a girl and guy.
These are terms as they are meant when applied to the Japanese Visual Novels. I'm not sure if they have been changed when applied to English Visual Novels though.
It's pretty much stereotyped that otome games are romance based, as most are, but that is not the original and true meaning of the genre."

The problem is that in the community here, otome has come to be known as lovey-dovey couple games which is why I brought that up. Though then again the term "Otome" can be used for anything aimed at women, this includes BL games.
GxB just means that there is a female protagonist, and a possible male love interest. Though just as she has it labeled right now is good since it seems to be more plot-based than anything.

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I have moved to a new account. Please contact me here from now on. T/Y~

Interesting! I'm glad you already have some vn ideas up! I'm thinking of putting some rough ideas of mine up and see where I can get information on them.

If you ever need motivation or other types of help... Don't hesitate to message me.

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My little blog for reviews and development involving indie (or otherwise unknown) VN and Games in general: http://cassieholloway.wordpress.com/

Was just wondering if you're still working on this? I was just going through my posts and saw this and remembered being really interested in it ^_^

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Careful what you do, ‘cause God is watching your every move. Hold my hand in the dark street, for if you do I know that I’ll be safe. Even if I’m far away and alone, I can be sure that you’ll find me there, this I know. You draw me close for a while, so quiet. You tell me everything. If I forget what you say, then you’d come to me, and tell me again. Yes you’d tell me once again. But what happens when I know it all, then what should I do after that? What then?

Part of the huge LSF project: LemmaTV: Television that watches you!

Hello all, I'm sorry for disappearing for so long.
I've returned to this project after a long break and have made some changes to the story line and characters. Since this is my first VN it will be relatively short, I'm aiming for around 15,000-20,000 words and there are still only 2 endings. I'm planning to post the finished character sprites later today. I was planning to get a BG artist but I think that will take too much time and I don't have a budget, so I'll probably just use free sources for that. Even though my art skill isn't amazing I'll be doing the CGs as well. Hopefully it won't disappoint.
It's my goal to get this out by March~April.
By the way, this should no longer be considered an otome game. After changes to the plot, it contains absolutely no [conventional] romance, so hopefully this will appeal to a broader audience.