[Kinetic GxB] Eventide ~perennial hope~ (romance, fantasy)

[lumia]

Meet Jasmine, an outgoing and positive girl, and very compassionate.
She and her best friend Alice built their secret base in the forest next to the river;
it was later called Eventide, which translated to: “the end of the day.”
Later, they recruited another member:
an introverted yet intelligent individual named Nathan.
In middle school, yet another boy (reluctantly) joined after being pestered by Eventide.
Xander, the “cranky” yet misunderstood transfer student with a troubled past.
The four members met up every day, but “due to school”,
they could no longer meet up from high school onwards.
Eventide… was to be forever forgotten―…
Or, so they had thought.
It could have been fate, or something else entirely, but
these four close members have once again reunited.
Though, probably not in a way they hoped to see each other again.
Jasmine, now a spokesperson fresh out of college,
finds out Xander was sentenced to death for a murder in a bar.
Her childhood friend was going to die―… She couldn’t afford to lose him.
She soon realizes that her other two friends were involved:
Alice, the chef who will cook Xander’s final meal,
and Nathan, who will be none other than his executioner.
As much as she wants to deny it, as much as she wants to bring him out of the death row,
even Jasmine knows the inevitable must happen.

“Sorry for what I did, I really am;
I hope when I’m at the other side, you will forgive me for my sins…
I promise to you though…
that we’ll forever be together.”

♥ Genre(s) : Romance, drama, angst, tragedy, fantasy
♥ Endings : 1 ending. (Kinetic novel)
♥ Rating : 15+ for mild language.
♥ Platform(s) : Windows, Mac, Linux, and possibly iOS/Android.
♥ Commercial or free? : Completely free.

Jasmine “You’re a friend who’s important to me, really.”

• Bearing an optimistic personality, she believes the world is perfect, and that everything bad can be avoided and everything good can be showcased. In the darkest of moments, she is able to keep her light shining bright. She has a certain kindness and compassion that many people wish they had; a trait that captured the heart of a very certain misunderstood boy…

Xander “If I could speak with God, I could and would say only one thing: ‘I’m sorry.’”

• His troubled past has left him to be a cynical and cold boy since a young age. In fact, his past was so troubled that he even committed a crime: going into a bar and killing an innocent soul in cold blood. Due to this, he was sentenced to death. Although he has completely given into his inevitable fate, his friends all bear the hope to get him out of the dreaded death row.

Alice “I can always try, but results is but a dice. The world is just that cruel.”

• Having a creative mind, she is capable of making almost poetic comparisons on the fly. She was the epitome of the big sister of Eventide: calm, nice, and smiley, but scolded as needed if any trouble arose. Despite Jasmine’s outgoing personality and Alice’s calm one, they mix well like hot and cold.

Nathan “He is strong because I know he rose every time he fell.”

• Although quiet, his mind possessed infinite knowledge. He usually spends his time with his nose buried in a book, but every time he reads, he gets a lot out of it; Jasmine sometimes joked (and still does!) about him being a knowledge-storing robot. Although Nathan denies it, it’s one of the memories he treasures the most. He is torn between justice and his personal feelings.

● ● ● ● ●

· How in the world did you get the idea to do a story about the death penalty?
It's true that doing a story on this controversial issue is a bit... daring of me, but I'll tell you the roots of my inspiration. Basically, I am taking an AP government course in school, and we are doing a project on making an advertisements that PACs or Super PACs would normally make on certain issues. For me (and a partner), we decided to choose the death penalty (going against it). As I browsed through videos regarding things such as an inmate's last 24 hours in death row, I quickly found out the death penalty was more than I initially thought. Just imagining how families and friends of inmates must feel, I decided to craft a story out of it, hence came this.

· Wait, I thought you had another game in development?
Yes, I do; it's called My Eternal Rose. Right now, it's in heated development (though I'm still missing some vital assets). However, I would like to get this game idea down. I don't know whether I should develop this game; I wonder if you are interested in it. Depending on your thoughts, I will decide whether to start a heated development of this game after the release of My Eternal Rose. One game at a time. I also just wanted to record my ideas somewhere other than Google docs; sometimes my Drive gets utterly messy.

· Are you saying there are only four characters in the entire game!?
Well, there are four characters that are the main characters. As you may have read from the synopsis, these four are childhood friends. However, there will be two more characters that will be receiving sprites. Those two characters are what gives this story the "fantasy" aspect. Also, I intend to use those two to add to the emotional aspect of this game as well. So, I hope you look forward to it!

· How can all the childhood friends reunite like that? There's like... a 0.0001% chance??
I'm aware of that... Maybe that's another piece of the fantasy element? I would also like to say that this is a work of fiction, and is no way real. Except for the death penalty and all of that. I honestly would like to make them have different roles regarding the death penalty though, probably for the enrichment of the story (so it can actually happen?), and possibly for some emotional impact as well. It depends, really.

· This is a tragedy? Why??
You know how the death penalty is......

● ● ● ● ●

♥ What do you think of the plot? Would you play it once it comes out?
♥ Do you think a visual novel would be good for this, or stay at kinetic?
♥ Are you biased towards any of the main characters?
♥ What do you think of angst/tragic stories? Do you like them? Hate them? Or perhaps a neutral viewpoint?
♥ Do you have any other questions, comments, concerns, etc.? Feel free to say any you have.

[Mama J]

♥ What do you think of the plot? Would you play it once it comes out?

I am in love with the plot. I, personally, gravitate towards angst and tragedy stories, so I got hooked on this immediately. I will definitely play this once it comes out ^^

♥ Do you think a visual novel would be good for this, or stay at kinetic?

I'm a bit biased towards visual novels, but I wouldn't mind it being kinetic. As long as the story is still engaging, I'll be perfectly content with it!

♥ Are you biased towards any of the main characters?

You know I gotta say it -- Xander <333 I have an obsession with characters that have the same tropes as him.

♥ What do you think of angst/tragic stories? Do you like them? Hate them? Or perhaps a neutral viewpoint?

I adore the tragic/angst theme. It's my favorite next to romance, comedy, and drama.

♥ Do you have any other questions, comments, concerns, etc.? Feel free to say any you have.

I'm excited for the development of this game, even though it's far off! I can't wait to see how things turn out for these four friends.

[Zelan]

♥ What do you think of the plot? Would you play it once it comes out?
Hell yes I would.
♥ Do you think a visual novel would be good for this, or stay at kinetic?
I generally play only VNs, but I make exceptions for KNs that really grab my interest. This one had definitely done that. And, if you originally envisioned this story with only 1 ending, adding more might make those endings seem tacked on and/or rushed.
♥ Are you biased towards any of the main characters?
I actually like them all equally, and very much. ^_^
♥ What do you think of angst/tragic stories? Do you like them? Hate them? Or perhaps a neutral viewpoint?
I haven't read many of them, but I will say that my problem with some of them tends to be that nothing ever gets done. The characters just bemoan whatever's going on and then don't do anything about it. A scene where the character are crying or complaining is okay, of course, but there should also be scenes where the characters are actually trying to do something about it, too.
♥ Do you have any other questions, comments, concerns, etc.? Feel free to say any you have.
Regarding your idea of completing this after My Eternal Rose, I would actually suggest working on this one first. MER is a much larger project than this one is, having multiple routes. This one seems like it's going to be a lot shorter. Releasing a shorter game can help you get used to game production. Also, since you told us your inspiration for the game, it also makes me think that the longer you wait after this lesson, the more you might lose your idea.
It's your choice, of course, so you can work on them in whichever order you choose. But I personally would choose to finish this one first. c:

Good luck on both of your projects! ^_^ I love both of your ideas.

[lumia]

@Mama J
Thank you for your words of support! I'm also happy you like angst and tragedy; I honestly don't meet many people who gravitate towards those types of genres; I figured more of them would do. I do want to try making a kinetic novel, but on the other hand, I also could make multiple endings as well, so I will definitely think about it! The bad boy types, just like Aedan~ I also can't wait to write Xander scenes; he's such a sweet guy though he's misunderstood, which makes me sad. I hope you will join me on this emotional great ride of hope!

@Zelan
I love your reply and that you would play it when it comes out! I'm glad I have caught your interest on this, especially when you say you only make exceptions to kinetic novels. I admit myself it's never really been done before, so I would like to be the first to make such a novel about the death penalty. I'm glad you like all the four friends; I hope you do like the two other characters that will for now remain a secret, but will be adding the fantasy and emotional elements; hopefully you look forward to that. I do admit that doing a big project first is a bit out of order, but I promise the story will still stay; if it doesn't, I'll just re-watch the death penalty documentaries :'-) and hope I don't cry. Regarding the kinetic or visual novel...

I was actually thinking that if I do a visual novel, I could make it so that Xander wasn't actually the one who murdered the innocent person in the bar, but rather acted as a scapegoat for a "friend" he had made in the bar (he unfortunately hung out with the wrong people). That way, along with his lawyer and also Jasmine, Alice and Nathan, they convince the judge/juries to switch his sentence to something like life sentence or probably only a limited amount of years behind bars. If it was only behind bars, then after he get out, Jasmine is with him either as a girlfriend or wife. If it was life sentence, then Jasmine would visit him when she could. Then the true ending would be Xander receiving the death penalty. But, I was thinking just staying kinetic? You can give me feedback on that (since I came up with those ideas on the run, hahah)!

[aeri]

Sounds like a potential goldmine since a lot of games don't outrightly focus on controversial issues and if you're able to create a compelling tale about it, I think you will receive a lot of attention

♥ What do you think of the plot? Would you play it once it comes out?
Definitely not a typical plot and most games I've seen tend to avoid tragedy (I'm guilty of this too because there's already enough sadness in the world so I rather read things that end happily...though angst is always an attraction). Because of this preference, it is most likely that I would not play it but who knows, maybe in the future I'll be less resistant toward knowingly reading tragedies/death stories.

♥ Do you think a visual novel would be good for this, or stay at kinetic?
Like the previous posters, I have a bias toward VNs because I like the appeal of not having to read descriptions about scenes that are illustrated in words (probably one of the reasons that I have been not picking up any fictions or books...I dislike those paragraphs that have to describe the background scenes and locations and then...there is probably no purpose to it in the rest of the story). I actually have no experience reading kinetic so I don't know if it would follow the same format as a novel?

♥ Are you biased towards any of the main characters?
I don't think I have a particular bias toward the main characters, but Xander does stand out because of his actions and how he grew up compared to the other characters.

♥ What do you think of angst/tragic stories? Do you like them? Hate them? Or perhaps a neutral viewpoint?
Like I mentioned earlier, I don't have a preference for them (at all) because I'm for happy endings, but at the same time, having an appreciation for tragedies and sad endings strengthen the feelings when reading something that ends happily (which is probably why...I'm a sucker for angst with happy endings because it's almost a compromise between the two)

♥ Do you have any other questions, comments, concerns, etc.? Feel free to say any you have.
Not sure if this will be something I'll play in the end, but I think there is a lot of potential with this story and maybe when the story idea is more fleshed out, it will be very compelling and maybe even attract people who have neutral viewpoints on this~ Definitely good luck with this project (after my eternal rose) and glad to see more free games being made

[Zelan]

@Zelan
I love your reply and that you would play it when it comes out! I'm glad I have caught your interest on this, especially when you say you only make exceptions to kinetic novels. I admit myself it's never really been done before, so I would like to be the first to make such a novel about the death penalty. I'm glad you like all the four friends; I hope you do like the two other characters that will for now remain a secret, but will be adding the fantasy and emotional elements; hopefully you look forward to that. I do admit that doing a big project first is a bit out of order, but I promise the story will still stay; if it doesn't, I'll just re-watch the death penalty documentaries :'-) and hope I don't cry. Regarding the kinetic or visual novel...

I was actually thinking that if I do a visual novel, I could make it so that Xander wasn't actually the one who murdered the innocent person in the bar, but rather acted as a scapegoat for a "friend" he had made in the bar (he unfortunately hung out with the wrong people). That way, along with his lawyer and also Jasmine, Alice and Nathan, they convince the judge/juries to switch his sentence to something like life sentence or probably only a limited amount of years behind bars. If it was only behind bars, then after he get out, Jasmine is with him either as a girlfriend or wife. If it was life sentence, then Jasmine would visit him when she could. Then the true ending would be Xander receiving the death penalty. But, I was thinking just staying kinetic? You can give me feedback on that (since I came up with those ideas on the run, hahah)!

It might be good to cry, though. c: That will help you to empathize with you characters and their story. I actually love it when a story can make me cry; although crying itself isn't exactly fun, it means that the author did a good job. There have been times when I've read books or watched movies which are supposed to be sad, but just get no emotion out of me because the creator either failed to get me to be attached to the characters or just wrote the death in a weird way that made it confusing. (It once took me two pages to realize that a character was even dead - I thought she was just injured. By the time I realized what had happened, the shock was lost.)
Small hint(?): I don't know if this is true of everyone, but what really gets me is when other characters cry about the death. There was a book that I read where a minor character died. I didn't really care much at first - he was just a minor character, after all - but the main characters are shocked by the death. They hold a funeral service for him, and one of the main characters, who was usually sort of an emotionless jerk, finally breaks down and cries over the minor character. That was the moment where I started crying, too.
As for VNs, only one VN has ever made me cry before, but I've never played (or even found) a VN that was supposed to end in tragedy before. Yours is the first. ^_^

As for your ending idea, it's not bad at all, but it feels sort of like a "cop-out," especially since he still receives the death penalty in the true ending. No matter how well written, it would feel like you were sort of throwing the audience a bone, saying "Here's a happy ending before the sadness."
I'm not sure if I've really explained this well, but do you understand my meaning? I guess what I'm trying to say is that it would seem pointless if you still have the same true ending.