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[Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2009 6:47 pm
by MaiMai
[Phase Shift]
Genre: Slice-of-Life, Short story, kinetic novel.
Written by: MaiMai (Me!) and Maiku
Sprites: MaiMai
BGs: Sky bgs by Mikan on LSF and other bgs were free.
Engine: Ren Py' 6.9.2
Summary:
Boy meets girl. Boy is a cynic. Girl is just a tad bit strange and not what she seems on the surface... A friendship is born and perhaps a new phase in their lives will begin to move. But this is just a small story within a bigger picture.

Holy *BEEP* it's done. :shock: I am shocked, I am sincerely shocked that I finished this. Granted this KN isn't an extraordinary breakthrough in anything... Hell, I have my own grievances about this story. But I hope that my first VN is somewhat amusing for all you lovely people here on LSF and that it'll intrigue you enough to look forward to my next project.

The game contains 502 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 6880 words,
for an average of 13.7 words per screen.
The game contains 0 menus.


I guess you can say I worked hard on this... But I've got my buddy to thank for helping me write the script for this. Without his help, none of this would be finished. |D So I hope you all enjoy it! I like to thank everyone who was supportive of me with this project and encouraged me to get it done because of all your nice compliments. Couldn't have done it without ya! Of course, I would love to have feedback artwise and storywise. Have at it.

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 10:42 pm
by lunasspecto
I just played this. I enjoyed it enough that I plan to play the sequel as well. The sky backgrounds were quite pleasant, the sprites were darn better than anything I could put together, and the background story
about a secret community of clairvoyants forced out of modern Vietnam
was intriguing. I was surprised to see that you used Purisa as your font, because when I used that in a recent project of my own I thought I was making a unique choice, since it's actually a Thai font and all.

Good luck with the continuing adventures of Kawamura Kazuhiko.

Peace,
Kazuki Mishima

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 11:22 pm
by sake-bento
Oy! I just noticed it's done. Shows how much I pay attention.

Downloading now!

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 1:22 am
by MaiMai
lunasspecto wrote:I just played this. I enjoyed it enough that I plan to play the sequel as well. The sky backgrounds were quite pleasant, the sprites were darn better than anything I could put together, and the background story
about a secret community of clairvoyants forced out of modern Vietnam
was intriguing. I was surprised to see that you used Purisa as your font, because when I used that in a recent project of my own I thought I was making a unique choice, since it's actually a Thai font and all.

Good luck with the continuing adventures of Kawamura Kazuhiko.
Thank you very much for your feedback! It's so positive. :oops:

Yeah, I found the Purisa font to be a visual boost to the story, but I didn't think too much about it. XD I'm glad you enjoyed the story, vague as it was. (Hopefully, several elements in the story were obvious though.)

For my next project, I'm actually debating two stories that will have choices for players to make, both distantly related to [Phase Shift]. Not so much sequels as they are connected. I am planning to make another kinetic novel that will be a true sequel to [Phase Shift] though... But that's in the future and who knows what the future brings. :wink:

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:01 am
by ghost_of_razgriz
Just played this.

And I'd say, it's awesome. I'm moved by the background, music, and the story. The background's so... Melancholic, and it match very good with the theme of the story. The characters itself is likeable (And I loved Ai Thao :D She's cute). Great work, waiting for the sequel, obviously.

One more: Are you a fan of Key/visual art's? Because I get Clannad's feelings when I played this....

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 7:32 am
by pinkmouse
Hi there MaiMai

I've just played Phase Shift and really enjoyed it. I liked the font; it personalized the game - it made it seem as though I was reading Kazuhiko's private journal or something. A good choice, distinctive but not difficult to read.

I liked the way Ai Thao moved slightly when she changed expression - it made her seem more alive. The only thing that wasn't so good was that I found the background behind the Redheaded Guy was so dark I could hardly see it (playing on a windows XP machine with an LCD screen, if that helps) - the other backgrounds were fine.

A lovely story - thanks for making it!

PM

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 11:53 am
by Deji
Lovely work, Mai! :D
I really enjoyed the story and the characters were really likeable :3 I found myself wanting to know a lot more about them and what will happen to them in the future!

Make a sequel soon ;o;!!!!

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2009 2:00 pm
by MaiMai
Ahhh, I'm so surprised people like the story so far. I was actually afraid it would be boring! :shock: (lord knows that I almost got bored writing it which was probably why I needed a co-writer in the first place.)

@ghost_of_razgriz: I've never played a Key game before actually. I'm more of a Type-Moon fan, but I am very familiar with Key and their VNs and stories and seen snippets of the Clannad anime. I guess it rubbed off without me knowing!

@Pinkmouse: Glad you enjoyed the story! Hm, sorry to see that the nighttime bg when you meet the redhead is too dark for your screen. My screen's pretty bright so I thought it looked fine. XD I'll put something like nighttime bgs into more consideration for people with darker screens!

@Deji: I'm glad you like my characters Deji (although Kazuhiko is actually a creation of my co-writer-- Ai Thao and the redhead belong to me really |D) Hopefully I can make a sequel for this soon, but I'm looking forward to working on another project that isn't A Minute to Midnight despite me saying that. :lol: I have another working title called ONE. But if it's any consolation, the Redhead will be making an appearance in that story!

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 5:08 am
by pinkmouse
MaiMai wrote: [...] Hopefully I can make a sequel for this soon, but I'm looking forward to working on another project that isn't A Minute to Midnight despite me saying that. :lol: I have another working title called ONE. But if it's any consolation, the Redhead will be making an appearance in that story!
I'm looking forward to your next story, whatever it is.

*focuses plot-bunny breeder ray on your helpless brain* :mrgreen:

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:08 pm
by ghost_of_razgriz
MaiMai wrote: Hopefully I can make a sequel for this soon, but I'm looking forward to working on another project that isn't A Minute to Midnight despite me saying that. :lol: I have another working title called ONE. But if it's any consolation, the Redhead will be making an appearance in that story!
Didn't read this before. RAAAAGEEEEE :evil: :evil: (jokes)

:lol: hahaha... but at least the redhead will appear.... But I'd prefer more Ai Thao... hehehe :D

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Tue Jul 28, 2009 8:12 pm
by MaiMai
Haha, glad you like her so much. She'll have her appearances, you never know ;)

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 4:42 am
by V2Blast
Ah, a new KN. I shall download it now and play/comment later.

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 1:47 pm
by ebonyskies
Nice. ^_^ It's particularly good for a first VN.

Besides a few missing words here and there, the writing is very solid. The character sprites were good as well. The customized font was a nice touch. I can't wait for the sequel. =D

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Fri Jul 31, 2009 5:10 am
by MaiMai
@ebonyskies- Wish I could have done more with it really-- like add a few CGs, maybe actually have someone look over the script and edit it for me. But alas, nothing can be perfect. If you liked it though, mission accomplished o/

@V2blast- Looking forward to your thoughts!

Re: [Phase Shift]- A Kinetic Novel

Posted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 6:36 am
by rimir
It's...beautiful! That's the only word which can come close to what I felt after reading it.

I liked your BG's a lot and the font and music was so...soothing...I'd say. :D
I'm not very good at English myself----but these seemed like typos:
1>Noticing this, she covered her cheeks with the of her fists, embarrasment radiating off of her in waves.

2>It was as if had little to zero experience with communication.

3>In fact,I don't think she had a very clear reason it.

4>What kind grandmother doesn't let a grandkid listen to music?
Really looking forward to the sequel. :mrgreen:

BTW,how long did it take from conception to completion?