Lemma Soft Forums

My current favorite elements in visual novels include... * An external conflict. The characters need to overcome something. * A distinct art style. If the illustrations are compared with other VNs or pop culture art, then they should stand out. * There's more to the major characters than what their ...

It ended up becoming a much bigger conversation about why someone makes a dating sim. So much of the visual novel and dating sim genres seem to operate on the promise of NSFW that it's almost required to put the sexy stuff up front, or at least promise players it's in there. I had been active for t...

If the characters' friendship is linked to a conflict, that can be a major element of your story. A few examples... * Two friends trying to survive an ordeal. * Two friendly coworkers trying to solve a mystery. * The main characters' friendship is turning into rivalry over a woman. Can they get alon...

Here's something I've been thinking about lately: what do players of romance games think of love interests that mention or discuss past relationships? I usually assume that fictional characters have had life experiences before the events of a story. That said, think about how many of their experien...

For a moment, I thought the title of this story was "Garden of Self." Oops. :) Iris Lapis, an undercover assassin, seeks to exterminate a hitlist of Imperials that have darkened her past. Enter Seth Salazar, a cunning Imperial man that promises to help her on her quest for revenge, but at ...

At one point in my life, I owned a couple dozen CYOA books, and a few other gamebooks. :P They were probably donated years ago... Also, I'm old enough to remember the television series Head of the Class . :P Consider talking to other people who sell indie games, and who use Patreon and/or Twitter. D...

... how do you all, as players of the game, expect the level of writing to be? If there's an emphasis on gameplay, then I don't expect too much story. Having said that, I appreciate the following: * A conflict. The main character wants to achieve a specific goal, and someone / something is preventi...

Recommendation #1: be careful with the scope of your story. Especially if your team does not include people who have completed fiction or games. Think about leaving scenes, characters, and gameplay elements which don't contribute to the story on the cutting room floor. I say this because a lot of pr...

So I want to experiment with the genre just for the sake of it and am wondering what exactly makes a game a visual novel because the definition isn't really all that clear. A visual novel should just be a story told through words and pictures, using a computer / video game format. It shouldn't be d...

First, I like your cartoonish drawings. Were you influenced by any specific series or illustrators? After a good amount of verbal abuse and dealing with false accusations of shirking her work, she finally snaps, hitting one of the patrons. In horror of what she has done, she flees to the outside and...

If I look at the illustrations in your visual novel and think "an individual person created these," then that's good. However, if I look at the illustrations in your VN and think "these could have been created by a committee," then I might not pay attention to your story. In the ...

Positive points for letting the character Steph wear overalls. :D How do I make the old "high school romance" premise more unique and attention grabbing? In my opinion, a sense of time and place can make a difference. Help the reader understand when and where the story is happening. It mig...

It has no sprites or backgrounds, every illustration is unique. Think in a panel from a comic or a frame from a movie. I like this idea. I can only think of a few VNs in which each illustration is distinct. Just be careful with the scope of your story. Make sure you can manage its length and scope....

... it will be revealed that he is actually a high-functioning sociopath whose sole motivation for being involved in the events of the story is to relieve his boredom, and the nice nervous guy persona is just a facade he puts on ... Think about what your protagonist's goal is. What is he trying to ...

Right now I'm curious about character perspective (my concept is third person instead of the many first person POVs I've stumbled across) and how that perspective is portrayed to the reader through the graphics. For example, when you have 2 characters talking to each other, would you have both char...