Shinpaku High (GxB/BxG)(Life/Date Sim)(Multi-Route)

[Kayotime]

Genre: Life/Love Sim
Rating(ESRB): Undecided
Kinetic: No
Multi-Route: Yes
Style: Anime

Description:
Shinpaku High is a Life/Date Sim created by me, Kayotime. It follows the life of a schoolkid attending High School in Japan (They are in their second year, and most of the characters are around this age). You can choose the gender of your character, and their name. Depending on the gender of your character, there are 20 Dateable Characters for you to interact with, as well as a decent number of NPCs. Unfortunately, at this point in time, I'm NOT planning on having same-sex romantic relationships, however I may implement this in the future, if enough people request it and if I have enough time/resources. Each dateable character has a different Anime Archetype that is NOT just limited to 'dere' types. For the most part, no Archetypes are repeated among characters, except in certain instances. Each character's storypath is based on their Archetype and sub personality, and each storypath has several endings, including death scenes. I'm not sure how long the game will be, but the majority of the story will take place in the High School, with the rest taking place in a small town. You can score points as well, for bragging rights, and your character can earn money through requests and part-time jobs to buy items from various shops. Dating your desired character isn't the only goal, however. If you slack off too much, you'll be expelled from school, resulting in a Gameover. You must keep your grades up, not just to avoid a Gameover, but also to learn useful skills that may come in handy later.

Currently, I've made an Alpha Build to test the functionality of the code I'm using. I'm letting people Alpha Test this build for free, so as to receive feedback on bugs and typos that I need to fix, and also to receive suggestions and criticism on the game.

THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO THE FINAL GAME AND IS NOT A DEMO!

It is an Alpha Debug Build for testing ONLY!

Please leave comments/criticism/suggestions/questions in this post, or PM me if you wish.

If you want to help with the game, please email me at: kayokayotime@gmail.com

I'm currently in need of background artists and character artists, but I cannot pay you for your help, unfortunately. Still, volunteers are greatly appreciated!

Here is a link to the Alpha 0.1 Debug for Mac users:
<a href=http://www.filedropper.com/shinpakuhigh-10-mac_1><img src=http://www.filedropper.com/download_button.png width=127 height=145 border=0/></a><br /><div style=font-size:9px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;width:127px;font-color:#44a854;> <a href=http://www.filedropper.com >file upload</a></div>

Here is a link to the Alpha 0.1 Debug for Windows users:
<a href=http://www.filedropper.com/shinpakuhigh-10-win><img src=http://www.filedropper.com/download_button.png width=127 height=145 border=0/></a><br /><div style=font-size:9px;font-family:Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;width:127px;font-color:#44a854;> <a href=http://www.filedropper.com >online backup storage</a></div>

(For those of you who don't want to click the download link, the files are also attached in this post)

Thank you!

~Kayo-Chan~

[gekiganwing]

You can choose the gender of your character, and their name. Depending on the gender of your character, there are 20 Dateable Characters for you to interact with, as well as a decent number of NPCs.

If you plan to sell Shinpaku High as an indie visual novel, this is a rather large scope. You may benefit by carefully considering how many characters are necessary. Think about leaving ones who seem redundant or less interesting on the cutting room floor.

If this is a freeware project, then... I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it here. Please think about how much time and effort you can dedicate. Many small-scope freeware VNs have never made it past the planning stages. Likewise, I've seen several instances of people talking about how they will create ambitious free VNs, but unfortunately, all but a few of them have been quietly canceled.

Each dateable character has a different Anime Archetype that is NOT just limited to 'dere' types.

I believe that a fictional character can be described as archetypal. In other words, their role and personality can be summed up in a brief phrase ("eccentric mentor," "threshold guardian," and so on). I do not think archetypal characters are necessarily good or bad.

Can a character who is only an archetype be interesting? Maybe. I can think of stories which feature a likable optimistic shonen demographic hero, office lady, kendo team captain, and so on. However, if there is nothing remarkable about the character, then the story will probably not succeed unless it has a memorable plot or a great supporting cast.

Slightly off-topic: what makes a character interesting? That's also tough question to answer. Right now, I would say "The fictional person seems believable, and I care about their plight." In other words, they don't seem like a copy / imitation of a famous character. They are reasonably flawed. They grow and change as the story goes on.

[Kayotime]

Thank you for your feedback!

If you plan to sell Shinpaku High as an indie visual novel, this is a rather large scope. You may benefit by carefully considering how many characters are necessary. Think about leaving ones who seem redundant or less interesting on the cutting room floor.

If this is a freeware project, then... I've said it elsewhere, but I'll say it here. Please think about how much time and effort you can dedicate. Many small-scope freeware VNs have never made it past the planning stages. Likewise, I've seen several instances of people talking about how they will create ambitious free VNs, but unfortunately, all but a few of them have been quietly canceled.

In response to this, I've already tried multiple times to limit the number of characters in the game, however, there are just so many great ideas I've been having about the plot, development, backstories, and so on that I can't seem to pick the most significant ones.

I'm not sure if I'm going to make this game commercial or not. It depends on how much time over the next few months I have open to work on it, and who is willing to work with me. I DO hope to be able to sell the game, but that's not a huge priority right now. Nonetheless, I'm making sure that any free assets I get off the forums are allowed for commercial use, just in case.

I believe that a fictional character can be described as archetypal. In other words, their role and personality can be summed up in a brief phrase ("eccentric mentor," "threshold guardian," and so on). I do not think archetypal characters are necessarily good or bad.

Can a character who is only an archetype be interesting? Maybe. I can think of stories which feature a likable optimistic shonen demographic hero, office lady, kendo team captain, and so on. However, if there is nothing remarkable about the character, then the story will probably not succeed unless it has a memorable plot or a great supporting cast.

Slightly off-topic: what makes a character interesting? That's also tough question to answer. Right now, I would say "The fictional person seems believable, and I care about their plight." In other words, they don't seem like a copy / imitation of a famous character. They are reasonably flawed. They grow and change as the story goes on.

I should've known that not everyone on the forum would know about specific Anime Archetypes.

In brief, I'm using common, recognizable archetypes typically found in anime or manga.

Some examples are Yandere, Tsundere, Mayadere, Undere, Utsudere (got a lot planned for this one), Osananajimi, Dojikko, Bokukko, and Dameko among others.

The archetypes I've chosen for them are basically an outline of their full personality. A "Yandere" in this game will not be limited to strictly "Yandere" actions. Neither will a "Dameko" strictly have "Dameko" related scenes. I should have mentioned before, but each archetype is accompanied by a sub-persona that further defines the character, as well as a Blood Type which is essentially the Japanese equivalent of Zodiac Signs, and their appearance is largely based on the Color Association idea, where certain colors convey a certain personality. This is mostly expressed in the character's hair and eye color, as the stereotypical Japanese High School uniforms will be the most often worn outfit by the characters.

Let me give an example through a character I've been working on for a while now:

Her name is Kana Aisuru. She's a Yandere. However, she is not strictly limited to what others might consider "Yandere" actions. In fact, upon first appearance, she seems more Himedere than anything. This is because of her sub-persona The Actress. The basis of her story centers around her involvement in the school's Theater Club, and how she uses her talent as an actress to try and win the heart of the male player. Her mindset is focused on "acting" in the sense that she is covering up her Yandere personality with another archetype, so the male player will not become suspicious and refuse her affections. Like any Yandere, her goal is to win her "Senpai's" heart (the male player) at any cost, even murder, but she wants to do it in a way that doesn't reveal her malicious tendencies.

A few ideas I've had for certain scenes involve the player walking in on Kana as she murders another dateable character that the player had a relationship with (if no dateables have a high enough relationship with the player to trigger this, the victim will be another member of the Theater Club that was secretly in love with the player). When Kana notices the player, she tries to cover up her actions by saying "it was all an act", but if the player pushes her further, she will drop the act and instead ask the player if they can "pretend" with her, meaning that she wants him to be an actor in her "play" (her fantasy about being with him). If the player refuses, she proceeds to kill the player, then herself, resulting in a Gameover. (And yes, there is death in this VN so I'm probably going to put a warning at the beginning once I get to implementing such things in case young players ignore the warning I'm planning to put on the download page :/)

Hopefully that answers your concerns, and if you have anything else to say please feel free to comment or pm me. I only ask that you trust me to create many unique and wonderful characters that the player will actually fall in love with (in the fan sense).

P.S: I know this might not mean anything to you, since you don't know me, but if I stick with something long enough to put this much effort into it, then more than likely I'll see it through to the end. I've come too far to turn back now. You should see my desk! It's littered with sketches and scripts and informational archives I've been working on for the past few weeks!

Sincerely,
~Kayotime~