Perfect Chemistry

[elekctra]

Perfect Chemistry--GxB Otome VN

Cammy, sarcastic but hopeful, is a first year college student. She and her lab partner Tyler get along well…maybe a little too well. Does he like her? Or are they too comfortable for that? Does it even matter–she might not even like him that way!

When Tyler’s ex-girlfriend comes back into the picture, Cammy has to figure out what she really wants.

Will she embrace her innate nerdy quirks see the simple beauty of reality? Or does she unleash her inner princess as she tries to pursues her fairy tale?

Features:
Modern, Slice-of-Life, Romance
1 Obtainable Character
11 Endings
16,600 Words
45 minute – 1 hour, 15 minute game-play per path

Download:
Windows: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?16u1u7sws0lixir (85 MB)
Mac: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?pgojzbegyxo2t8u (82 MB)
Linux: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?9c3eji55qztw6kx (79 MB)

Please, let me know what you think! Feedback is greatly appreciated.

For endings lists and walkthroughs or hints, stop by my dev blog: http://elekctrafied.wordpress.com/proje ... chemistry/

[aestate]

I'm surprised that no one has commented on this yet!

"Perfect Chemistry" is quite nice and entertaining. Stuff I particularly enjoyed:

• the writing (and dialogue) very engaging and I liked Cammy's character, although I thought she was a bit too naïve at times.
• the university setting, which is kind of a nice change from the default setting of high school, hahaha.
• this type of pixel sprite; I don't see it often, but I think it works wonderfully with your clean and simple art style.

The email system was cute, but I found it kind of a hassle to go and find the newest message once the inbox got too cluttered. Since it wasn't super-important to go back and read past messages, I think it might have been better to just have an image (of the phone screen with text) pop up on the screen or something like that.

The endings were well thought-out and covered a bunch of possible scenarios, but had I not cheated with the walkthroughpersevered, I would have totally given up trying to get them all. :'( The choices the player needed to pick to get each ending seemed kind of arbitrary at times (to me) and too particular. I'm not sure how it works out in your code, but I would suggest cutting down on the number of endings, or having more branching routes.

Anyway, that's just being nitpicky. The game was fantastic and I had fun, SO THAT IS THAT.

P.S. SO DISAPPOINT by Tyler's lack of appreciation of "The Princess Bride".

[elekctra]

Thanks so much for weighing in! I'm really glad you enjoyed it.

Your suggestion of the phone thing, I think, would be a good idea.

I would really like to hear a bit more about your opinions on choices and branching and that sort of thing. If you could point out a couple specific moments or examples (of what I did do or didn't do or could have done), I really think it would help me with future games.

One more thing: which ending(s) did you struggle to get?

Thanks for the comment.

[awesomeautumn]

Very cute! I really liked the relationships Cammy had with the other characters in the game. I liked the part where Cammy gets all that spam, haha! And I especially liked Cammy editing the "it's" to "its" (I'm such a grammar freak, it was just really nice to see xD). There were a few typos I saw, but nothing too terrible. The art was cute and I liked that there were so many sound effects. I also really loved David. I got endings 5 and 6, and I would definitely play this again to check out the other endings.

[victorita9]

This is such a good game! I'm surprised there are not more reviews. I also liked that it was in a college setting because it made the characters more mature.

I also liked the princess bride references! Best movie ever.

[aestate]

I would really like to hear a bit more about your opinions on choices and branching and that sort of thing. If you could point out a couple specific moments or examples (of what I did do or didn't do or could have done), I really think it would help me with future games.

One more thing: which ending(s) did you struggle to get?

Thanks for the comment.

I don't think there was anything inherently wrong or off with your game structure (in fact, it's very solidly written). I just thought that with the combination of the more fixed structure of the game and the amount of endings, it was difficult to determine what path I was on. Don't get me wrong: it was great to play with for the first couple playthroughs, when I wasn't familiar with the game yet and wasn't sure what to expect.

But when I started aiming for other endings, it got a bit more difficult because of some of the more ambiguous choices. (I got ending 1, then 4, and when I got 10, I sort of gave up predicting what kind of endings there might be or how to get them and went to see your walkthrough. It might have been because it was pretty early in the morning and I wanted to go to sleep, though. ;P) For example, when Cammy goes to get a drink with Tyler near the beginning, I had no idea what difference it would make choosing between two different types of tea, or how reading a specific article might affect the story.

(Out of curiosity, how are your endings coded? Is each choice used to indicate personality, or does the player just get "Tyler points"?)

Now that I think about it, though, my problems could just be because of my general inexperience with VNs that have more nuanced endings (i.e. not just the standard good / bad / neutral endings) or stubborn refusal to consult walkthroughs. Well, regardless, you've got a real knack for storytelling, so I'm looking forward to future VNs from you. ;D

[elekctra]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to review and leave comments.

I also really loved David. I got endings 5 and 6, and I would definitely play this again to check out the other endings.

Aw, thanks! David was a lot of fun--I really enjoyed writing his character. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for playing! I hope you do try for another ending sometime.

There were a few typos I saw, but nothing too terrible.

Typos? Please, do me a favor and send them my way! This goes for everyone else too. If you notice any typos, spelling errors, grammar boo-boos or the like, I would definitely appreciate if you would bring them to my attention.

I also liked the princess bride references! Best movie ever.

I know, right? Probably one of my all-time favorite movies--hands down! Thanks commenting and thanks for playing!

(Out of curiosity, how are your endings coded? Is each choice used to indicate personality, or does the player just get "Tyler points"?)

So I set this up a little bit differently. In my mind, a single choice (what I had for lunch, for instance) won't alter the grand scheme of my life (unless something exceptional happens like getting hit by a meteor on my way out of the cafe ). So when I set up the initial code structure, up to a certain point a lot of decisions are considered cumulatively. This made a lot more sense initially, when I only had four endings (bad, normal, nerdy good and princess-y good). But seeing as there are 11 endings now, I can see why it might make things difficult.
As far as the choices, some of them are for personality (more princess-y or more nerdy) some of them are Tyler points and at the end of the day, the game considers whether or not he likes you and whether or not you like him to see if your relationship progresses or falls apart or if you just stay friends.

Well, regardless, you've got a real knack for storytelling, so I'm looking forward to future VNs from you.

Thanks; you make me smile!

Thanks for the feedback, all!

[Ordog]

It's true that the choices didn't seem really important at the beginning, and I would have liked it more if there was reasons (or at least clearer reasons) as to why you'd choose to drink tea instead of coffee etc.. (but it's not that important...).
I enjoyed this game, though I left it on my computer, waiting for sometimes before playing it because of the drawings. But I got used to it, and I must admit that I liked them eventually. The story was great, and the endings too. The only bad point is that it was so hard to get all of the endings that I abandoned the game many times, and eventually gave up and took a look (a great one xD) at the walkthrough.

I will definitely be waiting for your next Visual novels !!

Btw I really loved David's character.

[keke-chan]

I really enjoyed playing this game So far I got endings 1, 2, 8, and 10. Sooo 7 more to go :O

Btw, I think there are too many endings If there were more obtainable characters then 11 endings would be okay imo but it could get tiring after a while if there's just 1 character

[elekctra]

It's true that the choices didn't seem really important at the beginning, and I would have liked it more if there was reasons (or at least clearer reasons) as to why you'd choose to drink tea instead of coffee etc.. (but it's not that important...).
I enjoyed this game, though I left it on my computer, waiting for sometimes before playing it because of the drawings. But I got used to it, and I must admit that I liked them eventually. The story was great, and the endings too. The only bad point is that it was so hard to get all of the endings that I abandoned the game many times, and eventually gave up and took a look (a great one xD) at the walkthrough.

I will definitely be waiting for your next Visual novels !!

Btw I really loved David's character.

Thanks for the comment, Ordog! I'm really glad you gave it a second (or third, or fourth...) try. I'm still learning to judge how easy or difficult a choice is. I like games to be a little bit challenging, but I think I missed the mark of 'challenging' and ended up with 'convoluted.' As far as the art goes, I don't draw a lot, so I'm still trying to figure out what my style is. Do you have any suggestions? I appreciate your being so detailed, because it gives me stuff to work with.

I really enjoyed playing this game So far I got endings 1, 2, 8, and 10. Sooo 7 more to go :O

Btw, I think there are too many endings If there were more obtainable characters then 11 endings would be okay imo but it could get tiring after a while if there's just 1 character

I'm glad you liked it, keke-chan! I think you're right; 11 endings is a bit much. Actually, the original plan was only to have between 4 and 6 endings, but I have a tendency to over-think things. I actually talk about how this project just completely spawned out of controlright here on my blog. Anyhow, thanks so much for playing and for commenting.

[Ordog]

Actually, if there were more obtainable characters 11 or more endings wouldn't be bothering, I think.
For the drawings, the only suggestion I could give you is that you should try copying again and again some part of the body from other drawing. That's how I progressed. And you seem to have the basics, so it shouldn't be that difficult to have splendid results )
But it only needs time !

[elekctra]

Actually, if there were more obtainable characters 11 or more endings wouldn't be bothering, I think.
For the drawings, the only suggestion I could give you is that you should try copying again and again some part of the body from other drawing. That's how I progressed. And you seem to have the basics, so it shouldn't be that difficult to have splendid results )
But it only needs time !

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll be sure to give it a shot.

[tiya_nofurita]

Yay for perfect chemistry !
I like it coz i'm chemistry addict lol *slapped* i bet you have a huge interest on chemistry too lol

Overall is nice, the story is well written. I FIND IT HARD TO FIND ALL THE ENDINGS AFTER SEVERAL PLAYTHROUGH, *oops sorry capslock abuse
But somehow i managed to get all lol
Plus, i also love the BG on the music room, it suits my le$son damn well *gö to h€ll orgañíç çh€míßtry !

[Arelune]

College, yes!
And yeah, agreeing with the others that 11 endings for one character is a lot. Got them all though. I didn't actually have any difficulty getting them all. I like that the choices aren't as obvious as the most gxb games.
I enjoyed all the endings, except 5(?):

Another girl's fairytale. It seems a bit silly. Tyler is still her lab partner, so it's not like they will never see and talk to each other again. Will he not make it obvious she had the wrong idea? It ends so abruptly compared to the others.

I really liked the dialogue, and somehow the story gave of a 'real' impression. Something that could possbily happen. (Most GxB games don't give that vibe.)
The chemistry class reminded me of my own in high school.
The characters David, Tyler and Cammy all had their own charm.

Artwise is a bit less, but the sprites do what they have to do. Only Tania looks rather bad, compared to the others (Anatomy).
The music was well chosen.
The e-mail system was a nice extra, but I agree with aestate that it got troublesome near the end. It also break a bit the flow of the story if you get more than one at a scene.

Lastly, a question. Are the pixelated sprites a concious choice?

[elekctra]

Yay for perfect chemistry !
I like it coz i'm chemistry addict lol *slapped* i bet you have a huge interest on chemistry too lol

Aw, thanks! I'm glad you managed to get all the endings. You're in organic chem? That must be hard. Chemistry was that one subject that was so, so difficult for me. Thanks for commenting!

I didn't actually have any difficulty getting them all. I like that the choices aren't as obvious as the most gxb games.

You have no idea how glad I am to hear that! You and I might be on the same wavelength.

With ending 5,

I was trying to play with the fairy tale theme. In classic fairy tales, the good, the kind and the patient get their happy ending...or something like that. The idea was that by being rash and a little hot-headed there should be some kind of consequence. But I think you've got a good point--one that I hadn't considered. The only thing Cammy has succeeded in is making things super awkward for both of them when they get back to school...unless she's scared him off.

With my monitor settings, I didn't notice the sprites being pixelated. If I had to guess, I think it has to do with scaling the completed images. I drew them by hand and inked them digitally, but they were too big, so I scaled them down in GIMP. I guess maybe I should start with smaller sketches next time? Or maybe a higher dpi?

Thanks for taking the time to review!