Kaji (Working Title...)

[umemi]

Well, I'm at a decent point in developing this, so I decided to start a topic.... This'll be my first real project (I played around in Ren'py, but it was more rambling characters than anything), so wish me luck!


Summary:
Three girls. One guy. Your typical harem story, right? Not exactly… especially if you're playing from one of their perspectives!

"He sings, dances, acts, writes, cooks, and can do almost everything else! It's the Fiery Jack-Of-All-Talents Snow White Prince, Kaji-sama!"

Fame, fortune and talent surround Yukishiro Kajihiko, the hottest male celebrity all-in-one package to ever be released to the public from Bobby's Talent, the famed male idol company. His versatile voice, his foreign looks, and his princely personality have contributed to his skyrocketing popularity and prosperity. However, in a recent TV interview, he's implied that he's... lonely at the top?! Is there a princess out there for this "royal" celebrity?

Naturally, females of all walks of life aim for the position of girlfriend of Yukishiro Kajihiko. akuko is an otaku, komaki is blind, and only kittamin knows the real him. Who will win his heart? Who will falter in their struggle? What will each woman do to get her way?

Find out in Kaji!


The Girls: (Listed by their blog usernames)
akuko: Female Otaku (Not a BL fan, so Akiba-kei, I guess?). Dedicated Fangirl of Kaji. Goes on forums and talks with her comrades (read: friends) about life. Quiet Meganekko Nerd IRL. Head Trader at MSP Rosenborg, Tokyo Office. Member of her local aikido club. Lives in the vicinity of kittamin.

komaki: Blind college student by day, backup/harmony singer by night. Kaji's voice brought her out of a depression, so she's a loyal fan. Keeps a blog via her assistant, Watson (she talks, he types). Keeps up to date on blogs and news through a program that reads everything to her. Her eyes see a color changing wave, depending on the topic/person and the emotion the voice has. Lives separate from her (half-)siblings.

kittamin: Best friend of Kajihiko. (Maybe his only real one...) Tsunderekko. Half Japanese. Friends with komaki's older siblings, but doesn’t know that komaki’s a singer. Member of the Student Council and all-around strong-girl (fights off bullies, protector of the weak). Works a part time job at a local grocery.


Gameplay:
Visual Novel with few choices, inspired from Inside/Outside’s gameplay. You read blogs about Kajihiko through the eyes of one of the women. By reading blogs, the characters form their opinions shapes their actions in the game. The only action the player has is to select which blog/s your character reads on what day. Characters will react according to their personalities and gained traits. (I think that's straight forward enough?)


Does anyone have any opinions/information/sites about the idol industry, the blind in Japan, or female otaku? I don't want to be totally off base when I'm writing...

Don't think anything's set in stone. I'll keep adjusting personalities/hobbies until I finish this draft... Actually, I'll keep adjusting everything, most likely...

Heh heh, this'll be a one woman show for now, I guess. I'll give it my best!

Progress Meter:
Writing: First Draft @ 30% (My goal is to set aside time for 5% a week)
Art: Preliminary Sketching of Girls and Kaji @ 60% (Will post when finished)
Programming: Zip, Zero! (Will start after complete with First or Second Draft)
Music: Keeping inspired notes/riffs as I write (Will compose/finalize around time of Programming completion)
Extras: Heh heh, are you joking? (Voice Acting casting will begin after 50% completion of Programming)

[N0UGHTS]

Crimaney... Your second post and it's a project thread of your own? I'm still working on city infrastructure and transportation...

Well, I'm interested. I'm always interested in first projects. And this one so fast... Your ears are probably as green as mine, but I think I can provide a few useful tips:

Don't rush.
Capitalise the first letters of all the characters' names. :p
Get an editor/tester/second opinion.
Even better, get more than one of the above. :p
Re-read whatever you've written and make sure it's not too derivative, clichéd, etc. :coughcoughEragoncoughcough:.
Give your characters last names.
DO NOT set your game in a place and/or culture that you aren't familiar with unless you're sure you've got everything nailed. :coughcough:
If you happen to change your game setting to something outside of Japan, don't randomly insert Japanese words. (;-_-)
Write in Ren'Py. Saves time, plus you get to write in a screenplay-ish way. Example:

Code: Select all

   "It felt oddly familiar, though…" 
   "Why?"
   $ renpy.sound.stop (channel=0, fadeout=0)
   # show apidae
   "The sound stops."   
   "It snaps me out of my thoughts."

What I'm trying to say is, you can make notes about the CGs you want in the game while writing. So it plays like a movie in your head...

[Nebi]

Don't rush.

Noughts is trying to be helpful, I think. The suggestions were a bit assertive. ^^;

Umemi, we will wait in anticipation for future updates. It sounds like a promising, albeit ambitious, project. Do your best!

[N0UGHTS]

(,_,)

...Assertive? I guess I need to work on my people skills?... Dang... Can I blame it on testosterone or something?