LENGTH: unknown, maybe 15+ hours per route?
SYNOPSIS: Magic exists and unfortunately, it only adds to society's fear of the abnormal. Because of this, there are some places where people are friendly towards magic users, and places where they decidedly are not. Follow Karma's story as they return to their childhood town after ten years. Will you guide them into reconciling with old friends or making new ones? And what's the deal with the strange guy who's watching them so closely?
CHARACTERS:
- Karma (main character) | 28 | unknown | unknown
A traveler. They're honest, patient, and understanding. They also have powers that are both sought after and feared, so they make a point to use them only for good. - Haneul Park | late 30s | male | Korean-American
One of the "Reapers" who are largely feared by the magical community. He's devoted to his job and he actively avoids developing attachments to others.
- a multiracial (black + ? , still researching cultures, won't be + white) female gamer who's also really shy
- a genderfluid person that has a less than ideal body type to pass as femme
- a Native American (I'll need to do research on how tribes - not to mention I'll need to pick a tribe to begin with - view non-Native American magic and compare to their beliefs in spirituality. I'm hoping I'll be able to include them in this project, but we'll see...)
- a childhood BFF (ethnicity undecided, apparently there's a lot of stereotypes around "the best friend" so I'm being careful at the moment)
Congratulations! If you've reached this part, that means you must really want to know what's up
BASICALLY! I'm hoping to create, quote, a visual novel that aims to be diverse and inclusive when it comes to gender identity, ethnicity, sexuality, and more. End quote. I was getting real tired of seeing visual novels that only had either an all-white cast, characters that have Perfect Bodies, oriented for one type of sexuality, or extremely stereotypical (and predictable, to me) characters. And so I wanted to contribute to diversity.
To make things less cluttered, I'll list features I want "Missing A" to have.
- Almost everything about Karma (other than their personality, sexuality, speech pattern, and backstory) is left ambiguous so the reader could identify with them if they so wished. That includes gender identity, ethnicity, and physical appearance!
- But how will Karma be able to romance characters who are only attracted to one gender? Glad you asked! There will be a gender identity selection screen with three choices: male, female, and non-binary (agender). And on the other side, there will be rows of preview icons of who you would be able to romance as you choose a specific gender for Karma. Whoever you can't romance will be dimmed.
fasteverything wrote:Oh, I'm sorry. I should clarify-- the gender identity selection screen is only a mechanism that will identify who you can or can't romance as certain genders. It wouldn't make sense if a male character who is only interested in other men is available for a female Karma to initiate a romance with.
- Karma and the true route character are both pansexuals. So, it won't matter what gender you choose -- you will be able to get the true ending on any of them!
- Speaking of the true route... it will be an unlockable. You will need to get around two or three different endings before you can choose the true route. Hopefully that will be something for the readers to look forward to.
- "Missing A" is heavily inspired by Nitro+Chiral. Meaning there won't be any interactive games or schedules or anything of the sort. You just keep on reading and decide what choices Karma will go through and finish with either a good ending, a bad ending, or a true ending.
- When it comes to routes, you can either have Karma kindle a romantic relationship or remain aromantic all throughout the story! The aromantic route will also have its' own good and bad ending. (And naturally, the true route will only have one ending.)
- More unlockables I'm hoping to have are as follows: a gallery for all the CGs you've seen thus far, and an extra section that will have concept arts and special CGs. You can only unlock the extras of a character by completing their route.
- The story will be split into chapters! This is for those who can't sit or read for very long.
- Achievements! That's something I'm hoping I'll be able to implement as well. For example...
- Wipe A Tear: You've unlocked your first bad ending. How sad!
- There There: You've unlocked all of the bad endings. It's okay. Here's a broom to the shoulder.
- Aces and Arrows: Made it through a playthrough without romancing anyone. (there will also be one for each characters)
fasteverything wrote:I will say this again: I don't want a thread about my project to evolve into a debate about how diversity should work.Yes, it is a sensitive subject. No, I do not know better than you or anyone else. Culture is HUGE and I am only part of a handful. But what I am getting thus far is "I am of a minority group that doesn't match with what your characters are part of."
What I need is "I am of the same ethnicity as one (or more) of your characters. It is troubling how you handled this one aspect of them." Such things could be harmful portrayal of said ethnicity, lack of explanation or reasoning behind the character's traits, and so on. I will rectify this kind of mistake immediately. But as I have not revealed anything about any of my character other than their name, age, ethnicity, gender, and a very brief and untelling synopsis, I should not be getting this kind of concern. Yet.
I understand the caution one may have when reading through what I have pitched, but I have written pages upon pages in my notebook both about the plot and the characters. This is a bare-boned preview of what is to come. Please be patient.
I plan on asking for people of similar ethnicity and background to do sensitivity reading to ensure I have created a positive portrayal with the character in question.
I will not be under the impression that their portrayal will be perfect on the first try.
But I am working hard to make them well-rounded; Please do not assume I am not doing this. Especially after I have said such a thing several times.
I know what I should be doing.
I am not new to visual novels; Please do not assume this either. I am new only to this website and the language used in Ren'Py.
I do not claim that I am the first to create an inclusive and diverse visual novel (or media, for that matter). I want to contribute to the communities that wants a positive portrayal of their ethnicity, culture, sexuality, gender identity, personality type, body type, and/or disability. I want to contribute to breaking harmful stereotypes. That is my goal with "Missing A."
The major points of this visual novel are:
- humans with magical powers
- a variety of romanceable characters (& a choice to remain single)
- an engaging story that transition between "ordinary" daily life, finding one's place in the world, and the true nature of magic
- inclusive diversity of literally everything about a human being
That is all. Thank you for your time.