PRODIGY - episode 1 - [HORROR, MYSTERY]

[RenZero]

Oh, I loved it! The art and music is brilliant, and I don't have enough words to express how much I liked the story I think episode 1 was quite short (or maybe it's because I enjoyed it a lot xD), anyway, I'll be waiting for episode 2 to come x3
Congrats for the great work!

[Kessie]

I am personally not a horror fan (I scare too easily D:)
But the art on the first page drew me to this VN so I gave it a shot and I must say...the laughter at the end?
ALMOST got me XD That was a nice touch.

Although I would also like to take this opportunity to comment on the characters. They all seem to have their own sense of mystery and I felt that this introduction to them was too rushed. I hardly got to know the other prodigies to the extent I wanted to and already a new addition was brought into the picture. It just felt too soon and overwhelming to be able to understand each character as individuals.

Nonetheless, the art is inspiring and this start does leave me curious for the next episode.

[DragonKey]

Your art is wonderful. I love the concept of the story. It's so great and I really enjoyed it. Everything was great but it was too short.
I can't wait for episode 2.

[fathskie]

The art is very good!! OH THEIR EYES! Very nice touch in the end, that manic laugh... Overall like the premise a lot.
Looking forward for episode 2 !!

[Blane Doyle]

I know I am a bit late to the party but I decided to play this a second time after forgetting to give feedback the last time. I don't even know if you're going to see this anymore. Oh well.

Honestly, I enjoyed it. I found the setting, the details, and the idea behind the story quite interesting. The final scene of the game was not something I expected in the least so it was very nice to have something like that come unexpectedly, as I like those sorts of surprises. And needless to say the art is gorgeous. I don't think there is anything to say other than that, it's just really nice to look at and I loved it.

I actually found it interesting to see a genius character who didn't like his lot in life as a main character. There are quite a few people labeled as "genius" in real life who are lazy or don't want to be treated as such who attempt to act like they aren't one, but I don't see these as main characters enough. I usually see them as secondary or side characters. But I think this might just be me, so...

All in all, this was pretty good and definitely enjoyable in my opinion. I have some feedback that you might like to read if you decide to continue this. There isn't much I feel needs a lot of improvement (which is nice for me to say for once), just a few small things. These didn't drag down the overall quality, but they're probably good to note:

Like everyone else, this felt a bit too short and ends just as it gets really interesting. But at the same time, I find this to be a good thing. It makes me hope you plan to continue this because I would like to know what happens next. It does feel more like a demo or prologue, but if you do continue this that could work in your favor.

There were some typos and grammatical errors, but that is to be expected sometimes. It could have been much worse so that wasn't very distracting. Just a quick proofread can fix this.

I found it odd how Hikaru's head was kinda cut off and didn't have any transitions between expressions. A minor note, but sometimes the smallest technical things can be rather distracting. In addition to this, the long class bell sound effect without the ability to read through it or skip it was also distracting.

I also found it strange that we were treated to such a heavy sci-fi opening and that ending with simple high school hijinks in the middle, but being as short as it is I am not entirely sure how to respond to that. I don't know what the longer intentions of this story are, so I find it difficult to really comment on this.

In the very beginning we are told that it's 21XX. At least 88 years in the future, perhaps more. But then we're told not much changed... and then we see quite a few technological advances. I find this a little hard to swallow, seeing how different the word was a hundred years ago today. But this is more of an odd sense of inability to suspend disbelief fully than anything else. Simply stating advances have been made and not saying "not a lot looks different" would actually make me believe it more.

The very slow speed for the text in the end scene was a bit off putting as well. I know it is meant to be atmospheric but I am a decently fast reader and it was too slow for my taste. Just a SMIDGE faster would have been nice.

And that's it. I wish I had more to say and go on, but I think I touched on everything I wanted to. Everyone else brought up what I felt otherwise. I do hope you continue this.

[Gasai Yuno]

The art is just beautiful.I can't wait for episode 2 c:
I also like the storyline.

[sayu_k]

the art is so beautiful! I'm downloading it right now!

[Hikari Beldrich]

Just downloaded and played through the game.

Overall I would say you have a lot of potential here because of the simple yet easy to understand concept but as many others have said, it's too short. I found myself surprised that the story was so short even though all of that great art was already made. Kinda like building a lot of roads in a place where no cars drive. But maybe you'll add to that in a second episode.

I would encourage you to continue this idea, but I second the idea that you should restart with either a rewrite of episode 1, or just call this release a pilot episode and create a new opening. The story of this episode moved very quickly but did little to build up a strong, followable basis for a series. If you do decide to continue, try to focus on one important element to hook your audience with. Whether that element is the potential 'backfire' or the mystery surrounding this transfer student, make your plot focused and structured so that your audience isn't splitting their attention between a bunch of plot lines that aren't going to be resolved in the current episode. Cliff hangers are nice, but are much better if they are coming after a resolved plot line.

Also, best to get either your own music or creative commons music. Best not to step on anything you can't get a clean license to, and it would be a shame to not be able to take full credit for this work when the art is already so good.

Take some time to look at your plot then keep up the good work. I'll be following this story!