[WIP?] Starlit Dreams (B/GxB/G)

[broken_angel]

Once again, sorry for the late reply. ^^;;

Dragon Age: Origins has pretty much taken over my life. xD I know, I know, I'm pretty late to be joining the bandwagon, but...seriously. I love this game. All the options, all the choices (well...minor ones, at least)...without the battles, it's really more of a visual novel than anything, and I like that part of it.
It makes me want to start working on my Memoirs remake. @.@

In other words, this game is on hold for a bit...again...but I won't abandon it, I promise. I just need to find the right inspiration first.

[Aleema]

DAO is definitely teh shit, and we all likely agree, so no apology necessary. xD We should make a thread and geek out about it. Even my own little forum had too many posts about DA2. xD

[Yunome]

Oh my gooses I knoooooooww~ DAO is epic 1337ness Yes, we must make a thread for it, my inner geek has been playing D&D by her little ol' self for a while and needs some people interaction

...And, so this post isn't totally unrelated, I can't wait for this game broken_angel! Everything looks so nice...@_@ Not to mention, it has voice acting which just makes it ever better x3

[broken_angel]

Bumping this topic so I don't lose it. x__X


As far as the game goes, I'm finally getting back into it (or I would be if my computer were cooperating...).
I'm basically redoing...everything except the GUI graphics, pretty much. xD

No more toolbar. Not only did I take the drop-down out, but I just took out the toolbar altogether. Instead, objects will be clickable, and actions like talking, asking for help, buying from the shop, etc. will be accessible by clicking on the person. That's actually what I had in mind in the first place, and I think it'll work (and look) a lot better.

An actual plot. Before, it was a simulation game with a bit of VN slapped on for the heck of it, namely for the sake of romancing characters. From now on, it'll be a VN with a bit of sim. You'll still have free reign to spend your time how you like, but there will be a progressing story that will last a year in-game (at that point, there will be a fancy "ending" scene, but with an option to continue). Instead of the only story bits coming from romancing characters, the story will focus on the main character and his or her path to success (or failure). The other characters' stories will just be an added layer to the main story, so it doesn't penalize the player for choosing not to pursue a romance by skimping out on fun plot stuff.

Conversations instead of just random sayings. Dragon Age has inspired me to completely redo all my scenes and to have a conversation module or sorts, so you can actually learn more about the character. Random sayings worked well for Harvest Moon because, to be honest, the romances weren't all that deep. It was just about getting married and making babies. This game, on the other hand, is a VN. Some people (*cough*Aleema*cough*) apparently expect characters to have actual depth.

Also inspired by Dragon Age, I plan to have a series of dialogue options for nearly every time the character speaks. The main character will still have a unique base personality - that of an eccentric inventor who has his/her head in the clouds - but you'll be able to adjust how he/she is portrayed with different dialogue choices. However, unlike in DAO where you always have a nice choice, a not-so-nice choice, and an evil choice regardless of past choices, I plan to keep track, much like how other Bioware games incorporate a morality meter of some kind (or so I've heard). This scale won't be on a good-evil basis, obviously; rather, there will be a few different scales representing different personality dichotomies (classic ones, like shy-outgoing, studious-athletic, grumpy-cheerful, etc.). This will allow characters to react to you differently according to how you portray yourself, and future choices will depend on where you are on a particular scale. This is in place of the trait system I was originally planning, because honestly, I think this way will be a lot more fun (and only slightly more work). That's the plan, anyway. I guess we'll see if I can pull it off.


Yes, yes, lots of talk and nothing to show for it.
Once I get my computer fixed, I'll make some real progress, I promise. C:

[Aleema]

This game, on the other hand, is a VN. Some people (*cough*Aleema*cough*) apparently expect characters to have actual depth.

No I don't! This is a complete misrepresentation of me and I'd like to file a formal complaint against this senseless slander!!
Wait, you said DEPTH? Oooh. Yeah. Totally. Gotta have depth.

Glad you've returned work on the game, and I'm glad Dragon Age inspires you since it did characters and gameplay well. I've always been curious about the multiple reactions to every line of dialogue system, so I look forward to seeing it in action.

I will also ... uh, never critique your game again. I'm very sorry.

[broken_angel]

I can't possibly hope to compare to the awesomeness of Dragon Age, but yeah, I can certainly take inspiration from it. ^^

Haha, don't worry about it, really.
As much as I like giving you a hard time about it, I really do appreciate all the feedback you gave me. In the end, it helped me get some things straight that I wouldn't have otherwise. I mean, it had completely slipped my mind that I hadn't established the main character as an inventor. Of course I knew she was, but how would the player know that? Just stupid stuff like that that I missed or forgot about or was too lazy to add/fix. A rewrite was in order, regardless of what critique I got; even before I released the demo, I felt that it was lacking story-wise. I was just discouraged for a while because I didn't know how to fix a lot of the things that were pointed out, or felt like it was more trouble than it was worth. But now I'm over it. C:

[selenity136]

Wow, this actually sounds alot better now. I feel like there's substance (in the makings) now. I'll be looking forward to this =D

[broken_angel]

Yay, I'm glad you think it's starting to sound better. C:

Though...the more "substance" I try to add in regards to the main storyline, the more it loses the "light-hearted" feel. ^^;;
Ah well...it can be serious with some humor every once and a while, I guess.

[selenity136]

Hmm, I think, from the summary, it wouldn't be light-hearted in the first place. But, random klutz/humor acts will take some of that out . I hope you introduce the doctor rival in the demo

[JamesH]

Yay, I'm glad you think it's starting to sound better. C:

Though...the more "substance" I try to add in regards to the main storyline, the more it loses the "light-hearted" feel. ^^;;
Ah well...it can be serious with some humor every once and a while, I guess.

will there be several paths in the story?

[broken_angel]

will there be several paths in the story?

There won't be several very distinct, separate paths necessarily, but there will be different endings and such, and ways that you can affect the story as you along. This is namely in the romance/friendship portion; I'm still debating whether there will be any major plot-changing choices within the main story, other than those that affect how you go about things (such as how you choose to deal with your rival).

Selenity - Haha, true. I started this game as a way to cheer myself up after writing the various depressing endings of my last game, so that's why I had planned for it to be light-hearted. But now that I'm actually trying to make it into something, I'm realizing that there's really nothing funny about losing your life's work in an explosion and having to start again from scratch.

[JamesH]

will there be several paths in the story?

There won't be several very distinct, separate paths necessarily, but there will be different endings and such, and ways that you can affect the story as you along. This is namely in the romance/friendship portion; I'm still debating whether there will be any major plot-changing choices within the main story, other than those that affect how you go about things (such as how you choose to deal with your rival).

Will there be parts were you make choices though?

and i liked the demo apart from if you played as Ein, when James turned up at the bookstore the second time it crashed, though I think this game is great

[broken_angel]

Yes, there will be many choices. C:

Ah...sorry about that. I never fully tested it playing as Ein.
I'll make sure I do that next time. ^^;

[JamesH]

if it helps the nameerror was called: 'latebirthdayevent' is not defined

[broken_angel]

Ah, yes, that does help...though I'm not sure I'll keep that event around, so it may not matter.


On another note, my computer still hasn't been fixed. I called today and they said it'll be at least another week, maybe two or three.
I just seem to have really crappy luck with technology; this is, after all, the second time I've had a computer die on me while working on this game.

Anyway, even though progress is at a stand-still until I get my computer back, here's something to cheer everyone (read: me) up. ^^
Heheh, James and his "Why did I let myself get dragged into this again?" look.

One possible couple drawn by the awesome Kiwi-San on DeviantArt~
It won't be in the game or anything, though it may be promo art...or something. That was my justification for spending the money on it, anyway. xD

And now I want to make even more massive changes to the storyline. >.>
I should just stop posting things, because I just keep changing them. xD