Heimweh [SoL, Drama] (just a place for ideas)
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2016 8:39 pm
Hello everyone!
My name is Locher and I've been wandering through the forums since the beginning of March '16 (especially in the Ren'Py Cookbook subforum).
I will be occupying this spot here for the next 2-3 months to collect and sort my thoughts about the Visual Novel that I am currently creating.
I will actually write everything about this Visual Novel so spoilers might be everywhere.
It's actually a school project of mine so the deadline is inevitable. The project will have a result though the quality may vary... well, let's not think about that for now.
So about that Visual Novel...
Written in a style that you might find on the backcover of a game:
Heiden is stuck in a quandary. He just turned 15 years old when his single mother died in an accident and his relatives refuse to take him in because of the dysfunctional family relationship with his mother. Only his uncle approaches him during the funeral and asks him to live with him in a village far away from the city, based on a written request of his mother. He offers Heiden a place he can call home though Heiden is sceptical.
About the main character bios...
This visual novel will feature 3-4 characters.
Heiden
Heiden is a 15 years old boy. At times playful, sometimes overly demanding and often being too direct. In the past his single mother took care of him with the best she had and placed his happiness above her own, leading to a lot of relationship disputes with her boyfriends. Now with his mother gone, he is unsure whether or not his uncle can replace the hole that only a caring mother could fill.
Uncle (Betaname: "Old")
Uncle Oliver, called "Old" because of his secluded lifestyle like a old scholar even when he is just 37 years old, lives in a small village in the outskirts of the country. His only friend is the Bartender of a pub where he spends his evening nearly every day. He was always remembered as grumpy, isolated and moody, always pondering over random things that noone cares. But things have changed. His attitude and personality has changed abruptly as he is now more outspoken, surprisingly sincere, excessively childish and slightly more annoying with his pondering. What brought that change?
Bartender
The Bartender, 33 years old, is always called as such by everyone in the story. He is good friends with Old and they knew each other for a long time now, even before he started his apprenticeship. The Bartender seems like a stoic person with a slightly cold attitude with his occasional stabbing remarks but he is in reality a real worryward and also a softie. Besides his job as a Bartender in the evening, he tends to exercise around the village, proclaiming that "while the village is peaceful and without care, it can become pretty boring. At least the air is fresh as always." He reproaches Old for being unable to fully take care of Heiden and doubts that Old is able to follow through.
Mother
About the Visual Novel itself...
- This Visual Novel is meant to be a demonstration on how Visual Novels may operate and work, incorporating common ideas of Visual Novels for people who never played a Visual Novel before... like the professors at my school or anyone else, really.
- This Visual Novel features a pretty shallow story and some characters, two endings and a true ending for those who dare to attempt a second playthrough.
- This Visual Novel should have a total "readtime" of between 2-3hours. (If it's longer, then I cannot finish it in time) That's why the Visual Novel limits itself to a weekend.
The Visual Novel is split into chapters, each with specific demonstrations. [Careful, this is thick spoiler because this is the essence of the VN]
About the Development process
This Visual Novel is called "Heimweh" for the time being. Heimweh is german for a sort of Homesickness, the longing of one's own home.
Background images are taken via my smartphone and altered with an image manipulation program. I think this is standard procedure?
A good friend of mine is music and sound designer, he can create what I need but this needs time. I also gave him a deadline and a way of communication, so for the time being I work with beta-files that will be replaced.
I worked myself through countless tutorials and cookbook guides, comparing and referencing work from existing VNs made by the same engine so I hope my way of programming suffices. I guess I will mention these in my credits out of respect.
I don't have someone who can draw, heh the most important role of development. I never drew anything in my life so this is the point where I get nervous, I think I'll need to check out for alternatives.
I mean, I at least drew the sketches of the stuff I need to have in my Visual Novel with a pencil. But I am in the middle of scripting so in the end, I'll postpone the artistic side of development and find solutions on the go.
Yeah, excellent. This will work.
I will most likely hire a native english speaker to look through the script or ten german schoolmates because I do not have an ounce of confidence in my grammar.
Heck, I wonder if my story is full of plotholes and inconsistent already ... *losing confidence*
*If the development process goes smoothly, I'll consider translating the game into german for my beloved peers.*
About discussion
Yeah well, I guess it would be pretty helpful to me to know what you guys think that a typical Visual Novel should have.
So far the only thing that my Visual Novel lacks is a combat scene, like a scene where I describe a combat fight via narrative influence or something.
I didn't actually read that many visual novels in total (20 at most), so I am still a novice.
You can assume that this is a project by a complete blankslate but I will try my best not to disappoint your efforts!
Thank you!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
16/04/08
-ch0 (proloque of some sorts) uploaded for proofreading, demonstration, first thoughts, etc
-I changed the personality of Heiden a bit to become more believable, more fit for interaction ( I mean, confine two silent-type characters in a room and not a single good conversation will come out)
-I will commit myself to draw every NPC with pen and paper for now, scan the best results and color them with paint.net [sorry for bad quality] [thank goodness there are only a handful of NPCs to draw]
-I may plan to simplify the overarching plot in order to fit my schedule (because I want to have a qualitative translation later on as well as not to panic in the face of that huge time-investment)
-I need more time with the background image manipulation (I am totally new to this and also scared) so please forgive my use of poorly made images via paint.net
-The music that I've used in here are not final and to be replaced. My buddy needs time so I just improvised so my proofreaders don't get bored while reading walls of text in total silence
-My lecturer was really excited to read through my VN because it's his very first experience. He is interested in knowing how I will use the visual novel engine to suit my purpose in the latter chapters.
My name is Locher and I've been wandering through the forums since the beginning of March '16 (especially in the Ren'Py Cookbook subforum).
I will be occupying this spot here for the next 2-3 months to collect and sort my thoughts about the Visual Novel that I am currently creating.
I will actually write everything about this Visual Novel so spoilers might be everywhere.
It's actually a school project of mine so the deadline is inevitable. The project will have a result though the quality may vary... well, let's not think about that for now.
So about that Visual Novel...
Written in a style that you might find on the backcover of a game:
Heiden is stuck in a quandary. He just turned 15 years old when his single mother died in an accident and his relatives refuse to take him in because of the dysfunctional family relationship with his mother. Only his uncle approaches him during the funeral and asks him to live with him in a village far away from the city, based on a written request of his mother. He offers Heiden a place he can call home though Heiden is sceptical.
About the main character bios...
This visual novel will feature 3-4 characters.
Heiden
Heiden is a 15 years old boy. At times playful, sometimes overly demanding and often being too direct. In the past his single mother took care of him with the best she had and placed his happiness above her own, leading to a lot of relationship disputes with her boyfriends. Now with his mother gone, he is unsure whether or not his uncle can replace the hole that only a caring mother could fill.
Uncle (Betaname: "Old")
Uncle Oliver, called "Old" because of his secluded lifestyle like a old scholar even when he is just 37 years old, lives in a small village in the outskirts of the country. His only friend is the Bartender of a pub where he spends his evening nearly every day. He was always remembered as grumpy, isolated and moody, always pondering over random things that noone cares. But things have changed. His attitude and personality has changed abruptly as he is now more outspoken, surprisingly sincere, excessively childish and slightly more annoying with his pondering. What brought that change?
Bartender
The Bartender, 33 years old, is always called as such by everyone in the story. He is good friends with Old and they knew each other for a long time now, even before he started his apprenticeship. The Bartender seems like a stoic person with a slightly cold attitude with his occasional stabbing remarks but he is in reality a real worryward and also a softie. Besides his job as a Bartender in the evening, he tends to exercise around the village, proclaiming that "while the village is peaceful and without care, it can become pretty boring. At least the air is fresh as always." He reproaches Old for being unable to fully take care of Heiden and doubts that Old is able to follow through.
Mother
*The mother only appears in true ending*
Always playful, always full of energy and optimistic. As a teenager, she often retreated to her brother Oliver in the village when she had an argument with her parents. Later she opposed the marriage that was arranged by her parents and fled into the city. She gave birth to Heiden and committed herself to become a splendid mother for him but it was easier said than done.About the Visual Novel itself...
- This Visual Novel is meant to be a demonstration on how Visual Novels may operate and work, incorporating common ideas of Visual Novels for people who never played a Visual Novel before... like the professors at my school or anyone else, really.
- This Visual Novel features a pretty shallow story and some characters, two endings and a true ending for those who dare to attempt a second playthrough.
- This Visual Novel should have a total "readtime" of between 2-3hours. (If it's longer, then I cannot finish it in time) That's why the Visual Novel limits itself to a weekend.
The Visual Novel is split into chapters, each with specific demonstrations. [Careful, this is thick spoiler because this is the essence of the VN]
ch0 - Third-person narrative (NVL-mode) of a man meeting Heiden inside of an express train wagon headed towards the village in the middle of the night. Playing around with Sound effects.
ch1 - Friday; ADV - Heiden arrives at the station as Uncle comes to pick him up. He shows him the village. (Playing around with background images). In the evening both are going to the pup to see the Bartender.
ch2 - Saturday; After a nightmare, Heiden wakes up to find himself covered with sweat and tears. He goes to the kitchen to get himself a cold drink and finds all sorts of medication on the table. Confronting the Uncle doesn't help and Heiden is encouraged to explore the village on his own. Imagemaps with hotspots, leading to specific character interaction and development. I guess using up to three imagemaps for each time of the day before being forced by Uncle to visit the pup with him.
ch3 - Sunday; Heiden wakes up to find someone groaning and in the middle of collapsing. Scared to find his Uncle being the source of his worries, Heiden contacts the hospital and Uncle is being hospitalized. Drama rama blablabla, oh no now the secret's out, revelation time. Heiden takes the shock and is visibly agitated but still softens up, now that he knows that though his Uncle is a true good-for-nothing and a pretty hopeless individual, he still expresses concern for him and truly cares for him.
chx - Label of either good or bad ending based on the various decisions that was made during ch0-3. True end is now unlocked through persistent data. Now something interesting happens in ch1 that the player can take advantage of in ch2.
ch1 - Friday; ADV - Heiden arrives at the station as Uncle comes to pick him up. He shows him the village. (Playing around with background images). In the evening both are going to the pup to see the Bartender.
ch2 - Saturday; After a nightmare, Heiden wakes up to find himself covered with sweat and tears. He goes to the kitchen to get himself a cold drink and finds all sorts of medication on the table. Confronting the Uncle doesn't help and Heiden is encouraged to explore the village on his own. Imagemaps with hotspots, leading to specific character interaction and development. I guess using up to three imagemaps for each time of the day before being forced by Uncle to visit the pup with him.
ch3 - Sunday; Heiden wakes up to find someone groaning and in the middle of collapsing. Scared to find his Uncle being the source of his worries, Heiden contacts the hospital and Uncle is being hospitalized. Drama rama blablabla, oh no now the secret's out, revelation time. Heiden takes the shock and is visibly agitated but still softens up, now that he knows that though his Uncle is a true good-for-nothing and a pretty hopeless individual, he still expresses concern for him and truly cares for him.
chx - Label of either good or bad ending based on the various decisions that was made during ch0-3. True end is now unlocked through persistent data. Now something interesting happens in ch1 that the player can take advantage of in ch2.
About the Development process
This Visual Novel is called "Heimweh" for the time being. Heimweh is german for a sort of Homesickness, the longing of one's own home.
Background images are taken via my smartphone and altered with an image manipulation program. I think this is standard procedure?
A good friend of mine is music and sound designer, he can create what I need but this needs time. I also gave him a deadline and a way of communication, so for the time being I work with beta-files that will be replaced.
I worked myself through countless tutorials and cookbook guides, comparing and referencing work from existing VNs made by the same engine so I hope my way of programming suffices. I guess I will mention these in my credits out of respect.
I don't have someone who can draw, heh the most important role of development. I never drew anything in my life so this is the point where I get nervous, I think I'll need to check out for alternatives.
I mean, I at least drew the sketches of the stuff I need to have in my Visual Novel with a pencil. But I am in the middle of scripting so in the end, I'll postpone the artistic side of development and find solutions on the go.
Yeah, excellent. This will work.
I will most likely hire a native english speaker to look through the script or ten german schoolmates because I do not have an ounce of confidence in my grammar.
Heck, I wonder if my story is full of plotholes and inconsistent already ... *losing confidence*
*If the development process goes smoothly, I'll consider translating the game into german for my beloved peers.*
About discussion
Yeah well, I guess it would be pretty helpful to me to know what you guys think that a typical Visual Novel should have.
So far the only thing that my Visual Novel lacks is a combat scene, like a scene where I describe a combat fight via narrative influence or something.
I didn't actually read that many visual novels in total (20 at most), so I am still a novice.
You can assume that this is a project by a complete blankslate but I will try my best not to disappoint your efforts!
Thank you!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Notes:
16/04/08
-ch0 (proloque of some sorts) uploaded for proofreading, demonstration, first thoughts, etc
-I changed the personality of Heiden a bit to become more believable, more fit for interaction ( I mean, confine two silent-type characters in a room and not a single good conversation will come out)
-I will commit myself to draw every NPC with pen and paper for now, scan the best results and color them with paint.net [sorry for bad quality] [thank goodness there are only a handful of NPCs to draw]
-I may plan to simplify the overarching plot in order to fit my schedule (because I want to have a qualitative translation later on as well as not to panic in the face of that huge time-investment)
-I need more time with the background image manipulation (I am totally new to this and also scared) so please forgive my use of poorly made images via paint.net
-The music that I've used in here are not final and to be replaced. My buddy needs time so I just improvised so my proofreaders don't get bored while reading walls of text in total silence
-My lecturer was really excited to read through my VN because it's his very first experience. He is interested in knowing how I will use the visual novel engine to suit my purpose in the latter chapters.
ch0_beta https://my.mixtape.moe/qtlnqd.zip
