Lost & Found [Updated 6/14/15!]

[Katy133]

I like your art style!

I've noticed each of your characters has their own distinctive colour scheme (red for Meat Man, dark blue for Sneaky, purple/violet for Drinky, etc.) Did you do that on purpose to give each character a personal colour to associate their names in the dialogue box? (ie: To make it easier for casual readers to follow the VN's reading, and so on.) I'd be very interested to hear more about your art process.

[sasquatchii]

I like your art style!

I've noticed each of your characters has their own distinctive colour scheme (red for Meat Man, dark blue for Sneaky, purple/violet for Drinky, etc.) Did you do that on purpose to give each character a personal colour to associate their names in the dialogue box? (ie: To make it easier for casual readers to follow the VN's reading, and so on.) I'd be very interested to hear more about your art process.

Thank you! And yes, I chose the different colors for the different characters partially so that their sprites would be easy to associate with the color of their names in the dialogue box. But also, I love color psychology and wanted to apply some of that to my characters. Angry Man is red, because red is an emotionally intense color, red stimulates people, and is also the color of love, which all really suits him. Blue can be seen as peaceful, tranquil, but also can be a sad color, which works for Sneaky. Purple promotes harmony of the mind and emotions, and also relates to imagination and spirituality (all things Drinky aspires to but struggles with).

As for my art process, I'm a pretty bad artist because I don't sketch things out for these characters. Most of the time, I just find a picture or image reference online and build on top of that. For example, Dog is based off of a german shorthaired pointer (because my dog is a GSP mix & I love them!), so I'll find an image like this:

and build on top of it with a bunch of circles to start:

Then spend time connecting & tweaking those circles until I'm happy with the body shape:

And then spend time picking out colors, putting in shadows and highlights, and adding detail to everything (like eyes, nose, etc):


It looks deceptively simple, but I actually spend hours coming up with these. It just takes me a lot of time! But it is really fun and I enjoy making them

[Mad Harlequin]

That is amazing! Thanks for offering us a look at your process.

[sasquatchii]

That is amazing! Thanks for offering us a look at your process.

No problem! Although it is quite a simple one, it's always fun to share if people are interested

[wendlierie]

I LOVE THE CHARACTER ART. SO. MUCH.

I will definitely play this when it comes out! Good luck!

[Tatty]

Despite being a cat person myself, I've never understood why that means I can't also be a dog person! This looks amazingly sweet, with some potential for real heartbreak as well - and I love the art style, I personally think it's charming, a breath of fresh air, and just fun! Concept and character-wise, I love every single character you've got so far. I especially like Sneaky. What's that guys problem, right?? I honestly am looking forward to finding out the reasoning for everyone's actions - I have a feeling that learning about these humans might give us and Dog a lot to think about... And hopefully lead to some heartwarming ends. : )

Though I am a little worried about Cookie... : (

Anyway. I would absolutely play it, 100%.

[sasquatchii]

I LOVE THE CHARACTER ART. SO. MUCH.

I will definitely play this when it comes out! Good luck!

Thank you!! It makes me so happy to hear that, so I am trying my best to write a great story

Despite being a cat person myself, I've never understood why that means I can't also be a dog person! This looks amazingly sweet, with some potential for real heartbreak as well - and I love the art style, I personally think it's charming, a breath of fresh air, and just fun! Concept and character-wise, I love every single character you've got so far. I especially like Sneaky. What's that guys problem, right?? I honestly am looking forward to finding out the reasoning for everyone's actions - I have a feeling that learning about these humans might give us and Dog a lot to think about... And hopefully lead to some heartwarming ends. : )

Though I am a little worried about Cookie... : (

Anyway. I would absolutely play it, 100%.

Thank you so much!! These kind of comments are super encouraging as I'm focusing on writing right now, (in my opinion, the hardest part) and make me want to write even more!
And you couldn't be more right- I am going for heartbreaking/heartwarming (depending on the choices you make, although you'll have to mess up quite a bit to get one of the bad endings)

And honestly, Sneaky & Mr. Kitty aren't even really bad guys! Sneaky is just doing his job, and Mr. Kitty is more than your average housecat! Dog just doesn't understand them, and their goals conflict with his xD

[Tatty]

I've always felt that the only comment worth listening to are ones that encourage us to strive harder - if I can in anyway contribute to the hard task of setting oneself to the grindstone, I'm very pleased. I know it can be like drawing blood from a stone, but trust me when I say I believe in you and the final story, and rooting it for you all the way there! (And the hope for bad endings - and then, of course, more sweet ones to earn afterwards) only makes me more excited... : )

Plus, hearing that some of my favorite characters even have their own (alien to Dog) reasons just makes me more psyched. Not that I don't also love Drinky, and Angry, and EVERYONE! : D Good luck, and I'll be looking forward to the future!

[Fujihime]

1. How do you like the concept/story?
I'm a cat lover so I was hoping that Mr Kitty is a friend >_< but other than that, it seems cool. But what are the games mechanics to make Dog find a friend? Are all of the listed characters 'achievable'?
2. What do you think of flat, vector art? Would it turn you off and discourage you from wanting to play the game?
I think the art has its own distinctive style. It's a good style and I will play the game
3. Which characters sound interesting to you and why?
Angry Meat Man just because from the description, he seems to have more depth
4. Would you play this game, even though it's not romantic and you don't even get to play as a human?
I don't mind not playing as a human, it's quite a good change. But I'm used to playing romance sims so I'm a bit skeptical to play this one off the shelve (or so to say). But since I have already read a little bout the story here, I will give it a try .

[Shio_Fuu]

I'm so in love with your project! It looks wonderful, I love the simple but cute art style. Anything with doggies melts my heart, I'm a huge dog lover And Cookie sounds like a very nice old lady
I think there should be more games likes these (too much romance already)

[sasquatchii]

I've always felt that the only comment worth listening to are ones that encourage us to strive harder - if I can in anyway contribute to the hard task of setting oneself to the grindstone, I'm very pleased. I know it can be like drawing blood from a stone, but trust me when I say I believe in you and the final story, and rooting it for you all the way there! (And the hope for bad endings - and then, of course, more sweet ones to earn afterwards) only makes me more excited... : )

Plus, hearing that some of my favorite characters even have their own (alien to Dog) reasons just makes me more psyched. Not that I don't also love Drinky, and Angry, and EVERYONE! : D Good luck, and I'll be looking forward to the future!

I've always felt that, in really good stories, side characters/characters that aren't main character don't feel like "side" characters. Everyone has their own agenda, and in their minds, they are the protagonists to their own stories. So since this will be a longer story (but hopefully not too long!) I would really like to explore that and work on character development!

And thank you for your support! Your words have definitely helped and are hugely encouraging to me

1. How do you like the concept/story?
I'm a cat lover so I was hoping that Mr Kitty is a friend >_< but other than that, it seems cool. But what are the games mechanics to make Dog find a friend? Are all of the listed characters 'achievable'?
2. What do you think of flat, vector art? Would it turn you off and discourage you from wanting to play the game?
I think the art has its own distinctive style. It's a good style and I will play the game
3. Which characters sound interesting to you and why?
Angry Meat Man just because from the description, he seems to have more depth
4. Would you play this game, even though it's not romantic and you don't even get to play as a human?
I don't mind not playing as a human, it's quite a good change. But I'm used to playing romance sims so I'm a bit skeptical to play this one off the shelve (or so to say). But since I have already read a little bout the story here, I will give it a try .

Actually, Mr. Kitty has become an integral part of the story! I have changed up the story A LOT, and we are going to get a heck of a lot of Mr. Kitty! (he has turned into Dog's sidekick/foil) Unfortunately I have cut out a lot of Drinky & Cookie. They are still present, but not main characters anymore. (I should probably make an update explaining all this... )

The game mechanics have changed quite a bit, and instead of choosing out of 3 characters to pursue, you will now only be pursuing one of them. The trade off is that I will be able to make the story a heck of a lot better (versus writing three stories like I'd planned) and more concrete! So it will play more like a traditional visual novel instead of a dating sim, where you embark on a journey and the choices you make will affect the end.

Thank you for considering my game, I hope that if you play it it will be entertaining/moving!

I'm so in love with your project! It looks wonderful, I love the simple but cute art style. Anything with doggies melts my heart, I'm a huge dog lover And Cookie sounds like a very nice old lady
I think there should be more games likes these (too much romance already)

I totally agree! I was really sad that there wasn't a VN told from the point of view of a dog (as far as I could tell) or animals in general (I'm a huge fan of the redwall series and watership down was a very enjoyable book with over 500 pages of talking bunnies!)

So yay non romance VNs

[Tatty]

Please feel free to do write-up an update as to what's up - when you have the time and interest, of course. We're definitely interested in hearing what's going on, although if you're still re-writing stuff, I'll definitely be glad to wait well you tool up the plot back to a state that makes you smile. And speaking of things that make me smile, I like your view on 'side' characters. A story is kind of like a spiderweb; even the disparate threads should feel like they mean something, when woven together. I think my metaphor just bombed, alas!

(And ah, Redwall/Watership Down! Now I know we're in good hands!)

[Rinima]

Is this still alive?

[Mad Harlequin]

I think so. I talked to sasquatchii not long ago. I'm pretty sure she's just been busy with other things.

[PyroOgre]

Hopefully it's not dead. After reading the synopsis and the plan this sounds like a VN I would definitely play. Unique, plus I love the character art as well.