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I N T R O D U C T I O N

'Sup. I'm Gio. I'm not an aspiring game maker; I just thought to broaden my artistic horizons by trying it out. Warp Gate Night Watch'll be a short (~20 min per session) game, featuring a female PC and two paths, each concerning a different character. Both paths have two endings each. For better or worse, I'm the artist. You can find examples of my artwork on my blog.

Since this's my first attempt at coding, WGNW'll hardly impress... but I hope it proves entertaining anyway! The only "features" will be choice-based dialogue changes and multiple endings. The decision points'll be significant, yet few and far between.

The story's already been drafted, so I'm not so concerned re: that. The art and coding, however...

Here's hoping I don't bork this up. OTL


S E T T I N G

Overall, a lovingly generic Asianesque RPG-verse. The game itself comprises only four locations; perhaps a fifth if you tilt your head a certain way.


S T O R Y

Congratulations! After two gruelling years of training, you've finally become a licensed warp gate watchman. Good goddamn. You'd always dreamed of following in your late mother's footsteps, and here you finally are. She'd be mega proud, you like to think, given how quickly you earned your uniform.

Man, you're excited. Tasked with screening, fining, and occasionally subduing who and what is drawn to warp gate D4-WQ, your new life is neither rote nor easy. Every shift brings a new, exciting, and potentially dangerous(!) experience.

For greenhorns like you, the job may prove overwhelming. To ensure their safety and reduce stress, each district's Administration Center pairs their initiates with a more experienced watchman. They're responsible for playing your mentor and ensuring your safety when things get hairy.

Not that you think you'll actually need it. Given that you completed training with flying colours, you're sure you've got your act together. So far as you know, you're the second woman -- first being your mother -- to graduate with such high scores.

With your first shift but hours away, you're impatient to meet your new partner. That questionnaire you took weeks ago (via flashback, of course) was supposed to have some sway in who Admin Central paired you with...



C H A R A C T E R S
(images coming soon)


Insert Pseudonym Here
Myun An Lei

The PC. Myun is a hot-blooded, somewhat cocky initiate with high expectations for herself and her vocation. Following in her late mother's footsteps, she worked hard to earn her uniform. The average watchman graduates by twenty; Myun managed by eighteen. She means well despite her naivete, firmly believing that hard work and a lot of heart are all you need to achieve your goals. Something of a tomboy.


Gravitas
Zhou Nam Tranh

Zhou, pseudonym Gravitas, is six years your senior. He's also very, very quiet. You like him well enough, but you'd like him better if he opened his mouth more than once in a blue moon. You're not too talkative yourself, but compared to Zhou, you're a regular Little Miss Chatterbox. Sigh! Though Zhou may be quiet, he doesn't seem cold. You have a sneaking suspicion that all you need is the right topic to make him open up.

Crow
Saeng An Shō

Saeng, pseudonym Crow, is only three years your senior. He doesn't impress you so much as he tries, but you decide to humour him anyway. Though addressing one's senior by their first name is rude, Saeng insists you call him as such until you're peer enough for his pseudonym. He seems a little relaxed for his position and preens far too much for the lady adventurers which come through your gate, but if Admin Central thinks he's competent...

There'll also be sprites for generic adventurers, etc.

G A M E P L A Y

Your story begins with the the questionnaire, wherein you pick your professional name/pseudonym and answer a few questions that define which character's route you play. From there, the game documents your experiences as a (hot-blooded, arrogant) rookie watchman on her first shift.

Both partner characters come with their own simple plotlines and two endings. Your interactions and an obligatory pivotal choice determines the ending you land upon night's conclusion.


P U R P O S E . O F . T H I S . T H R E A D

Garnering feedback, idea dumping, and charting the game's progress.

Since this is my first stab at a VN, I'd appreciate any and all responses to questions I might have. Stuff's complicated, yo.

To start us off: Should the PC of such a short game have a sprite of her own? I'm wondering Myun really needs one.

P R O G R E S S . R E P O R T

Sept. 09, 2012
Settin' up a work/progress blog so I don't clog the thread up with every little new thing.

Sept. 10, 2012
Got that blog set up. It contains other projects too, but whatevs!

It sounds like your fictional world has quite a few warp gates, and people need to use them. If I may ask, why? Is it too difficult to get from place to place? Are there forms of ground, water, or air transportation? Do warp gates have a reputation for being safe?

You mentioned that adventurers tend to use these... how do they fit into your universe? Do only a few people become adventurers, or are they commonplace? What is their rate of survival? Have any of them earned fame or fortune?

Thinking back to old games, I remember that the Ultima series (as early as game #3 or #4) let the party teleport from place to place, depending on the phase of the moon. The Dragon Quest franchise (from game #2 onward) had stable devices that instantly moved the main characters from one place to one place.

Giovedi wrote:Should the PC of such a short game have a sprite of her own? I'm wondering Myun really needs one.

If you want, the main character can be "behind the camera" at all times, and provide a perspective for the people and environments that the reader/player sees. But if you want to give her a character sprite, you can.

gekiganwing wrote: If you want, the main character can be "behind the camera" at all times, and provide a perspective for the people and environments that the reader/player sees. But if you want to give her a character sprite, you can.

I'll keep her behind the camera, then. I was toying with the idea of sticking a portrait beside her dialogue box to differentiate thoughts from spoken word, but if it's too difficult to code then I won't bother.

gekganwing wrote: It sounds like your fictional world has a few warp gates, and people need to use them. If I may ask, why? Is it too difficult to get from place to place?

Depending on geography, traveling on foot/by mount may be dangerous or too much trouble.

I liken the warp gates to bus stops, with each district representing the cities containing them. If I worked the evening shift and crossed a very dangerous neighbourhood on my way home, I'd rather bus than walk. Some stretches of land (deep woods, sites with an exceptionally high monster populace, etc.) are just too risky to cross by dark (or day, depending on the traveler).

As most major cities are too far away from one another to support direct gate-to-gate transportation, there are usually 4-5 gates spaced along the routes between them, all within half an hour's walk (or fifteen minutes' drive in a brass-era car) from the nearest, largest town's entrance.

That said, traveling by warp gate requires a day pass. These can be obtained in every town for a modest fee. Validating these passes and fining those without passes also falls within a watchman's job description.

gekganwing wrote: Are there forms of ground, water, or air transportation?

Yes, there are. Besides traditional mounts, the universe's transporation technology is more or less analogous to our 1920's North America's. While road tripping between cities is certainly possible, it's less convenient than traveling by gate.

gekganwing wrote: Do warp gates have a reputation for being safe?

Kinda like the Internet, warp gates advanced enough for public use are a fairly recent development. They barrelled onto the scene about 30 years prior.

As older generations tend to trust them less, the majority of warp gate users are between 17 and 35 years old. That's no coincidence, considering minors may travel unattended between warp gates when they turn 16.

Gates have 'collapsed' and vaporised their passengers, but there have only been four documented incidents since they become publicly available. Furthermore, each of these incidents were traced back to vandalism/destruction of the runes vital to the gate's functions.

gekganwing wrote: You mentioned that adventurers tend to use these... how do they fit into your universe?

'Adventurer' is an umbrella term, now colloquial, referring to various professions. An adventurer may be a hunter representing, say, a company producing clothes whose magical properties stem from a certain monster's fur. They may also be a botanist in an apothecary's employ, tasked with collecting herbs exclusive to an area too far from town to walk. Messengers and mailmen count as adventurers as well, particularly those who deliver parcels to out-of-the-way towns and villages. Freelance bodyguards who serve the combat-uninclined populace also quality.

Generally, anyone whose job resembles a 'fetch quest' or 'escort mission' is an adventurer.

gekganwing wrote: Do only a few people become adventurers, or are they commonplace? What is their rate of survival? Have any of them earned fame or fortune?

Considering how many lines of work produce adventurers, I'd say they're fairly commonplace. Most survive, so long as they're capable of defending themselves/accompanied by people capable of defending them.

Those who complete high-profile tasks can attain some level of celebrity, depending on their employer. As with real-world celebrities, fame isn't always awarded to those who work the hardest. A rookie who ventures into dangerous territory on a famous actress' behalf can become a household name, while veterans of 30 years remain virtually invisible. (Remind anyone of less-than-quality reality TV...?)

Hm. How difficult would coding a character portrait for Myun be? I'm such a coding noob it hurts.

Sounds as though this project is still in its ideas stage, so I'm moving the thread here until the work has really begun.

Warp Gate Night Watch got my attention with just the title. However, reading your take on the gates themselves only got me interested further in how you'd incorporate them into the game itself. As far as the PC goes, I think it really depends on how you want her to play out. Either you can give her a sprite, to help people immerse themselves as that character you've created, or leave it up to their imaginations by letting them try to place themselves in her place.

Good luck with your project. I'll keep an eye out for your updates. (=