concept studio logo
FloraA quiet land from another world: the aftermath of an cataclysmic event caused by spontaneous growth of plant life all over what was once called “Earth”. Because of this overgrowth, the effects of aging have lessened on living things extending average human life by 120 years. Resources are plentiful, but the lack of those to labor hinder humanity’s advancement. This growth has gradually diminished in recent decades, opening the path to once closed off regions allowing for societal renewal and cultural bloom.
Remnants of the past are being uncovered, and while much of them have been destroyed through the passage of time, they seem to be plentiful. Unfortunately, they’re useless without ways to extract and display digitized information… Until a wandering scientist set up and distributed such devices to a collection of villages. Flora’s residents begin to learn and {re}discover these artifacts gradually integrating the past into daily life.
Nekohi begins right before [MC]'s departure to Yuru Village, settled in a secluded forest area only reachable by train. There they will explore many firsts and experience life lessons outside of their reclusive personality while taking steps towards understanding their idle anxieties.
concept vn logo
Technical Features
- Choice between more masculine and more feminine main character
- 4 Routes(?) - The game will technically be B/GxG without a strong emphasis on romance. You will spend more time with the girls you choose.
- Nameable main character
- In-Game Encyclopedia: More knowledge consumed, more choices to make (flavor)
- Time and Day - Shown in the GUI
- Regular and Timed Choices - Choices that impact the story, flavor choices, and timed choices to simulate urgency or anxiety
- No bad endings - Iyashikei stories do not typically feature bad endings. Even in tense situations, the characters will come out alright.
- Partially Voiced (?) - Undecided between no voice and partial voice.
- Drawing Sketchpad - Something similar to scribble.io in-game. Related to story, but can be an outside feature where players can upload drawings to a gallery.
- Made in Ren'py
- 3D Camera
- Live 2d Animation(?)
- Opening Movie ~1 minute(?)
- Length: 10-15 hours (?)
Characters (last names withheld)
(some designs made in https://picrew.me/image_maker/100365 which I found here /viewtopic.php?f=16&t=58323)
---
「MC」 Main
Age: 20 | Hobbies: Sketching, the Relic | Likes: Art, Music, Etymology, Bad Puns
A stoic recluse about to get their feet wet in the outside world. While they have a strong affinity to the wonders of inside, their drifting imagination beckons for the experience of unfamiliar scenery, cultures, and food. They're much more attentive and even talkative, when it's something that they're interested in. At times they get swept up in the emotions of others.
---
「Aria」 Main
Age: 23 | Hobbies: ??? | Likes: Rien, Rain, Honey Toast with Whipped Cream
Yuru Village's premier sleepy resident. People say she's prone to daydreaming and is often seen wandering the outside forests with her pet squirrel. Though she always seems aloof, even detached from situations, she has many fans and is often doted on by shopkeepers and vendors alike. Aria works part time as a waitress at Nekohi (mostly for her favorite dessert).
---
「Moka」 Main
Age: 24| Hobbies: Cooking and Tailoring | Likes: Ribbons, Iced Coffee, Art, Alcohol
The younger of 2 daughters to the Nekohi household. Moka acts as the head of the cafe, when her mother is out. She oversees preparation, cooking, cleaning, and presentation of the restaurant, doing a pretty well job being trained by her mother after all. Sometimes she comes off as disinterested and stiff, however. Regardless, the villagers recognize her reliability and steadiness and is thus respected.
---
「Iris」 Main
Age: 26 | Hobbies: Tending to flowers | Likes: Plants(food-bearing, herbs, big trees), Fizzy Drinks
A sprightly girl almost never seen in one place for too long. She's a newer resident who works many odd jobs for shopkeepers- usually related to ingredient acquisition, such as foraging, picking, or harvesting food. Another one of her services is personal delivery. You can anticipate her company by the soft rumbling of her old electric scooter.
---
「Runa」 Main
Age: ??? | Hobbies: ??? | Likes: Trivia, Holidays, Teasing, Tea
Villagers and travelers often liken her to a fairy: living in the forest, healing the sick, and being seen in the village during festivities. She seldom visits Nekohi and the Panshi Bakery to pick up groceries and meals. Although she retains a motherly demeanor, conversations with her can quickly turn gloomy and so only a few can keep up with her. She also has a rather great memory and enjoys sharing seemingly weird trivia.
---
「Boss」 Supporting
Age: ??? | Hobbies: ??? | Likes: Nekohi, her daughters
The free-spirited, sole owner and manager of Nekohi. She has a very playful personality overall and is loved for her contributions to the prosperity of the village. Even while raising her daughters, she would travel to gain knowledge of the land working part-time jobs before settling in Yuru. Her daughters are her first priority as she hopes to leave them with legs to stand on.
---
「Shouko」 Supporting
Age: ??? 35| Hobbies: Baking | Likes: Eating delicious food, Warmth, Chocolate, helping her juniors
Ara ara~ Shouko is the lone manager and head baker of the cozy "Panshi", Nekohi's neighboring bakery. She's a bit clumsy with anything outside of baking and pastry making. Consequently, she has never ending patience which often leads to its own set of troubles. Her and Boss are long time friends.
---
「Noodle Man/ Norman」 Supporting
Age: 42 | Hobbies: Cooking anything with pasta and noodles | Likes: Experimenting and creating noodle dishes
Nekohi's wholesome head chef. He speaks in a very familiar and friendly manner, even acting foolish to keep the mood light. He proudly holds the name "Noodle Man" for his passion for cooking with noodles. Introspective in his own right, he tries to give helpful advice to young ones around him.
---
「Shippo」 Supporting
Age: 10 | Hobbies: Cleaning | Likes: Nekohi, sausages, Norman (in that order)
There's a myth that some animals have had human consciences implanted for experiments before the overgrowth. Shippo is an unusually intelligent dog that works at Nekohi. He dons a dapper bow and cute apron making cleaning his leading duty. Guests oftentimes open up to him about their day to day problems so he sits and diligently listens. His payment includes a permanent home, unlimited meals, and the freedom to pick his own shifts.
---
「Rien」 Supporting
Age: 39 | Hobbies: ??? | Likes: Aria, Sunbathing
Hailing from a squirrel/bunny hybrid species called "Korisagi", Rien is the only known albino of the species. She's often seen around Aria, trailing behind or perched on her shoulder. She lives in the forest along with her family. Though their species usually hibernates in the Fall and Winter seasons, she alone stays close to Aria, resting in her satchel pouch.
------------------------
Team
Scenario - rainarium and ???
I'm not sure if I want co-writers, because I want the story to remain "pure" if that makes sense- so that it I can understand the best I can while keeping everything coherent. I'm deeply considering cowriters, but I feel like they should be someone familiar and has great affection with the Iyashikei/SoL genre. Note: English was my worst subject so I really am thinking about it
Editor and Proofreading - n/a
Similar sentiment with the scenario section. I don't know any better so I'll hire people regardless.
Sprite and CG Art - rainarium
I'm definitely an artist before a writer. Designing characters, clothes, expressions etc etc is tons of fun. The drawings in the character section are by me with more I've yet to share. Current art shown in the post is not the final art style.
Concept and Character Art - rainarium, picrewmaker, and ???
The designs shown other than picrewmaker characters are original. I'll be using the PC-made characters as a base towards their polished designs. Other than the four drawn, I'm willing to consider submissions for character designs if anyone's interested in hopping on board.
Background Art - n/a*
I would love to draw backgrounds, but what I can do versus what I'm envisioning doesn't match up. Someone specializing in the field of natural scenery and an "abandoned" look is what I'm searching for.
Music - Various Artists
There are various artists I have in mind for the music- both royalty free and commercial. As for the style I'm interested in... acoustic guitar and piano sounds with a bit of ambience/electronica sounds mixed in. If you're familiar with Junya Nakano, Katou Tatsuya, and Choro Club ft. Senoo's works, songs in a similar tune would be great.
Sound Design - n/a
The rustling of trees that almost sound like ocean waves, soft rumbling of train tracks, vending machine dispenser, turning pages in a book, water dripping into a wooden bucket, chirping of cicadas, the clanging of metal against a wok or pan, the pitter patter of rain, wind chimes, pouring all kind of drinks into a cup/glass, boiling kettle, forest and lake animal ambience. A bunch of sounds that I'll try to find royalty free for the most part. Other than that, I would like custom GUI sounds too.
Voice Acting - n/a*
Again, unsure if I want voices or not. There are a lot of scenes where I think they'd have high value (ex. humming, sighing, greetings). I also would prefer it in Japanese, but that wouldn't make much sense since I don't speak the language and don't know where I'd start looking for amateur vocalists. I do have a few English VA's bookmarked that fit the tones I'm looking for.
GUI, GUI coding, Logo Design - n/a
I've no idea how to tackle this. Off the top of my head anything with simple, smooth design would work. The text box would be very similar to Steins;Gate's. I'd also like a phone-like device implemented for the encyclopedia feature. I'm a complete noob at logo work so I'll hire/partner with someone to clean my designs up.
Programming - n/a*
Almost everything will be done in Ren'py. I have a friend who's willing to help me out on this while I also learn a bit of coding. If they're not available though, I'll most likely hire someone for things I'm unable to do, namely the Encyclopedia system and 3D camera.
It boils down to I'm not looking for team members/ partners currently, but will do so in the future. (Also due to financial and time limitations) If anyone is interested and has prior VN or fictional writing/directing/leading experience, I'd like your opinions so far on the project.
------------------------
Funding and Price
Because this is a hobby/passion project, I'm not looking for any funding right now. I also want to release the game for free with the option to buy some sort of fan pack if it ever reaches that point. If I do manage to assemble a studio/team, I will look into ways to compensating everyone with the use of Kickstarter or Patreon if not out of pocket.
------------------------
Questions
- What are your first impressions of the setting?
- First reaction to the characters? Who's your favorite in terms of 1) Design, if applicable, and 2) Personality Description
- Most interesting main character and most interesting supporting character?
- I realized I never explicitly described what "Nekohi" is in the story. What do you think it is?
- How could I better hook people with a story synopsis and/or features list?
- For experienced developers, directors, and writers: overarching opinion on what I've shared so far?
- Anything crucial that I'm overlooking?
------------------------
Progress
Road Map Towards a Demo:
1) Complete first draft outline (plan out scenes)
1a) Plan CG and sprite use
1b) Draw appropriate concept designs, expressions, etc.
1c) Finalize designs
2) Complete script outline (4 routes with a rough description for each ending)
2a) Find proper bgm and sounds to insert
3) Proofread, Edit, Revise Script multiple times
3a) Check in with an editor
3b) Finalize choices and routes
4) Draw prototype sprites for all characters
4a) Decide on best color palette to match with objects and backgrounds
4b) Default poses and outfit
4c) Expressions
4d) Additional outfits
5) Insert script and sprites into scenes in Ren'Py
Definitely not organized lol. Writing is top priority. Even so, I think it's more natural to direct it through imagination which includes envisioning scenery, characters, music, flow of a situation etc etc (which is what I've done for the few scenes I have now)
I'm barely on the first stage with characters fleshed out and a few scenes jotted down for the scope of a demo. Its length will be about 30 minutes to an hour? Overall, this project is gonna be put on a very slow burn as I try to move forward with my own life while tackling other projects. Maybe 5-10 years? ;__;
------------------------
Background
A few years ago I struggled through the torment of depression, panic attacks, and a whole 2-year marathon of internal and external troubles that almost led to a suicide attempt. A lot of things and feelings bubbled, flowing like dense lava at the time. Suffocating is probably the best word to describe it- mentally and physically. Near the end of it was when I'd look at my bottle of lorazepam, thinking of downing the whole thing along with a bottle of wine. I was "getting better" but ironically, the aftermath of taking that medicine was a motivation to end it all. Everything was numbingly "fine" and that became its own form of pain.
Until I was recommended the ARIA series by a good Twitter friend. I like to say this anime "saved" me, but it's not exactly the case. Moreso, it was a turning point that led to thoughts and actions that slowly healed my heart and mind. "Iyashikei" refers to a genre of media that have a healing effect towards the audience, often with slow-pacing story (usually overarching) and a strong focus on the atmosphere and ambiance of settings, situations, and relationships. I think two integral parts of the genre are observation and awareness, particularly of your surroundings. Your mind: emotions, feelings, thoughts can all be observed. And like time, things will pass. Because things in nature are momentary, we gain a stronger appreciation for the present. 「Mono no Aware」 At the very least, this is my understanding of Iyashikei.
Since then, I've come across and revisited similar series to ARIA and with a newfound appreciation and affection for the SoL genre, I started creating a story and characters to share my interests, experiences, and "things I've gained" thanks to these stories, along with the opportunity to pay tribute to a few of my favorite shows.
Why a Visual Novel?
Accessibility first comes to mind. Among my first VNs were Katawa Shoujo and True Remembrance and I remember thinking how much easier it is to show and experience a story compared to Animating or Manga. I could pick out elements of the game with my elementary knowledge of game design. Around 2017, I browsed forums which had occasional "Write your own Anime Plot" threads and thus, "Nekohi" was born on windows notepad. This was just a few months after I finished the ARIA series. Sooner or later, DDLC released and I watched it almost explode in popularity. I really respect what Salvato had done coming out of nowhere with a high-quality and well-received EVN. So far, I've been writing, drawing, and brainstorming for the project on and off. I hope to make something impactful for fellow SoL enthusiasts.
Issues and Reservations
The heart of VNs is definitely the writing and I am in no way eloquent, imaginative, and/or experienced enough to write it myself (as much as I want to). I would like to do everything myself, but it's not feasible. Another problem is because of the nature of the Iyashikei genre and its emphasis on backgrounds, I'm unsure how well it would translate to the VN medium. Would it even work? Non-verbal communication to the audience is so important to the genre, so I'm really worried about pacing, getting feelings right, and the healing effect. A lot of effort would need to be put in to backgrounds and CGs for seemingly uninteresting, mundane moments that occur often.
