The Dark Caravan Visual Novel

[Zogunplex]

Aw heck, I should go ahead and put this up. I've been working on building this game for a while now. Here's a promotional video which gives you a taste of the art and music for The Dark Caravan. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP-x_81kVs0

I'm building an original soundtrack, and right now I've got about fifteen minutes worth. I'm also doing the programming, sprites, backgrounds, etc by myself. Vikingspirit is helping me by collaborating on the script. VenusEclipse is also being a really big support and has lots of great advice.

Storyline: You play a girl who has been transported to a mysterious caravan in the middle of a forest. Here you are introduced to three prisoners. You can only pick one to set free. Your choice starts the story in one of three different worlds (a medieval world, a nightmare world and an underwater world) with whichever man you chose to release. Each of the three stories have different endings you can obtain through dialogue choices. The story focuses heavily on building successful relationships.

Hopefully the game will come out next year at some point. I've got some other projects I'm working on too, so I'm pretty busy, but I will do my best.

[gekiganwing]

Your synopsis leaves some major questions unanswered. Why is the main character asked to release prisoners? And how exactly do these people live in three separate worlds?

...I suppose it might be too early to ask for answers to those questions. Besides, they probably involve a lot of spoilers. Still, I'm wondering just what might be happening in your story.

[vikingspirit]

Yay! I'm so glad you finally decided to announce The Dark Caravan here on Lemma Soft Forums!!! You have been working so hard on it and people should totally know about it I look forward to the day this project is completed. Even though I'm helping with the script I so can't wait to play it

[Pugfarts]

Ignore this if you've already got it planned out;
My main concern here is that it sounds like you're essentially just making 3 different stories, i.e. 3 different games.
I would suggest making the stories branch back into each other at certain points, or if not, perhaps making them as separate games, one at a time, so you're less likely to burn out before finishing the whole thing. Then afterwards you can slap them all together as a full, what-if-style trilogy! (Or if you only finish one or two, you still have that many finished products to show off!)

[Zogunplex]

@Gekiganwin: I know that if I reveal why the MC is asked to free the prisoners, it would reveal too much, heh. Once I get the rest of the script done it will be so much easier to write a synopsis that will be intriguing and informative for the players. The characters living in separate worlds is also explained in the game. Does there need to be a lot of explanation for a synopsis or can it be vague? I've read a lot of game summaries and some are in-depth and some are pretty vague, making you play the game to find out what is going on. Do you prefer one over the other?

@Vikingspirit: Booyah It will be really fun to get back to work after the holidays are over. I miss working on it already XD

@Pugfarts: *nodnod* Yep! The three stories are interconnected, and I'm really excited about how they fit into each other. You're right, if they were different threads, it would make much more sense to make them into three different games. I'm kind of a discovery writer, so the game forms as I write the script, but I always start out with a basic outline, which involves how the three plots tie into each other. ^_^

[Zogunplex]

Oh! I was going to ask, I'm looking for a way to incorporate Asian instruments into my musical composition. Does anyone know of any Asian music resources that are available? Thank you all for your comments. ^-^

[Kindred87]

Oh! I was going to ask, I'm looking for a way to incorporate Asian instruments into my musical composition. Does anyone know of any Asian music resources that are available? Thank you all for your comments. ^-^

Are you looking for recordings? Or something more along the lines of a plugin or VST? And also, are you willing to purchase what you're looking for? o.O

[Zogunplex]

VST's if its possible. Recordings also are welcome. I found someone who would be willing to play the haegeum for me (Korean fiddle), as long as I can give them music to play. I've been using MAGIX MusicMaker as my main music-building program, and it allows me to add live recordings to rhythm tracks.

I'm trying to be cost-effective, but I'd rather spend money on some good quality resources than give the audience something sub-par.

[Kindred87]

If you don't mind using Chinese instruments, I recommend Kong Audio. I also recommend GuZheng and Kim by Sonic Couture (Requires Kontakt). Though if you don't really know how to compose ethnic music, then you can always get Silk by East/West Quantum Leap. (But I never recommend their products xP)


I'm not sure if those work in MusicMaker however.

[Zogunplex]

Thank you for the recommendations, Kindred87! I will definitely look into these once the holidays are over. I'm pretty sure I can incorporate them into MAGIX. I'm curious about how you found out about these programs. I wasn't sure how many folks around here liked putting together ethnic music for their game soundtracks, so I'm grateful you knew and took the time to answer. Thanks.

[Kindred87]

I'm a composer myself, and I managed to discover new VST products and their creators over time. Well, over the span of like five months really, but yeah. O.o

[Zogunplex]

Heh, nice. You were quick! Thanks again for the info, Kindred. Happy holidays!

[Dollywitch]

For some simple instruments Soundfonts will sound fine, there are a lot of them and they tend to be free and not crash like VSTs do.

[Zogunplex]

You guys are really helping me learn a lot! Dollywitch, do you know of any good websites where I could try downloading some Soundfonts? Your avatar is sweet-looking, by the way.

[Kindred87]

Lol, I've never had a VST crash o.O

Did you by chance use an East/West Quantum Leap product?