Need help for making the game?

[tyson123g]

Okay, I'm a newbie in Renpy. Just downloaded it 1 week ago. But I've understood the basic functions of renpy. I've tried making some small games in it and they work. I've not understood the animation part all that well, but I'm willing to give it time. And skimming through Renpy help corner helps answering lots of questions.

Now, after making all the small games for testing purposes, I intend to make a proper one. I'm a fan of sports/romance genre, particularly soccer. So, my game would be based on soccer genre with BxG romance. Now, I have some ideas, but I would need a lot of help.

In a nutshell, my plan for the basic plotline is, of a highschool (I haven't decided whether to make him freshmen/sophomore/senior) guy who loves soccer, participates in highschool championships (regional and then national), faces strong rivals and finally going professional. I might try further, but that only if I get time. And meanwhile, he will find romances in this journey.

I've tried thinking of some basic facts regarding the character. In terms of skill, I don't want him to be a some kind of genius. Perfect characters are boring. But I won't also make him a novice. He has moderate skill, and of course, he will improve his skills throughout the story. In terms of personality, I don't want to make an exaggerated character. He won't be an extremely passionate person who goes off the rocker and becomes hot-headed, but he won't be a dull character as well. He will have a sarcastic edge to his personality though (a bit based on me )

Now for romances, I have tried thinking of the roles, the girls could have in the life of the protagonist.

1) The overused childhood friend/ The girl next door since childhood but not friends/The girl next door who just moved to be your neighbour

2) A girl in your class, who might be the silent, shy one no one notices/strict class representative/miss popular

3) A fan of your's from matches - A junior from your school itself/a girl from a different school, but not a rival one (reason : 4th point)

4) Girl from rival school. You either bumped into her before playing the match/she watched your match and was impressed or both.

5) Soccer club manager

6) Girl's soccer team member/captain

7) Some random girl you met (ideas appreciated)

I know some are overused types, but till now, these are what I've got. The traits can be intersecting too though, for ex - the childhood friend could be captain soccer team, etc. (You get the gist)

Now, I'm not really sure which ones to choose but I hope you can shed some light on this.

I want the theme to be balanced out. Not too much focus on soccer and not too much on romance.

The other thing, which I do want to add in my game, would be a sort of mini-games, which can be used as the name suggests or would decide the outcome in matches. I mean, it'd feel weird if it's a sports genre and all we do is read through text and make choices. I don't want that.

So, this is how it shaped in my mind. I know, I'm not having the advanced skills to make this, but I have time and patience to learn. So, I'd be very obliged if someone could suggest on how I should go on making the game. (Technical stuff)

And of course, plot is overused in animes. I'd want deviations, even if little. So, I'd really appreciate it if you can suggest me some stuff. I promise, I am not trying to pick up minds, I just want to get the general idea formed in my mind before I go on making this.

If there's a reference, I could use, then I'd love to have it to study it.

And thank you for reading this, even if you couldn't come up with new suggestions.

Edit : Since there has been a bit of confusion, I just thought of 7 ideas for heroines. I am not trying to make a 7 heroine game.

[Greeny]

Let me give you a sincere piece of advice: Stop right there.

This is too much for a first project. It's very ambitions. You've only been at it for a week. It's a good idea, and it'll be wasted if you jump into it without any experience. Write it on a sticky note and forget about it for a few years. Then you'll be ready.

Of course, I'm not saying it's intirely impossible for you to make this to your own satisfaction. If you can make a 7-girls+mini-game+balanced-theme+all-the-way-from-novice-to-pro-progression Visual Novel from the get go, then props to you. Become a legend, tiger.

I'm not trying to discourage you. This advice is sincere and honest, and I hope for your sake you will think about it.

I know how hard it can be to come up with a premise simple enough that you can finish it for your first. It's really hard not to dream about your perfect project. But you need to keep in mind that practise makes perfect.

[shwippie]

I think what Greeny said is really smart. If you're dead-set on continuing with the scenario you have, then you might consider making a short game about it and later be able to reuse some of that material for a longer game

[clannadman]

I don't think you necessarily need to put it off. You can always start it but just keep it going as a continuous project for a year or two. Minigames can be handled through PyGame and the multiple routes are easy enough to handle. What I recommend is fleshing out your characters a bit more. Only you know what it is you really want to write and I'd suggest only starting with 3 girls and going from there. What do these characters think? What do they want from the MC? What do they want from life? In essence, 'who are they?' shouldn't be answered with something simple like 'childhood friend'. They should have a backstory and feel real. Even if we never learn of their backstory, it helps your writing immensely if you know yourself what it is that makes them who they are. I recommend getting a decent programmer and experienced member on your team before pursuing further. If you can't find someone with the time to assist you then I would backshelf this, however there's nothing stopping you from handling the basic stuff, such as your story and script.

Good luck!

[tyson123g]

Okay, I did think that doing all this for a first time won't be easy, nearly impossible for a fact.

But I think I mentioned two things wrong :

1) I'm not having a 7 - girls scenario. Lol! I just wanted to get the different types of girls as possible and then choose the best 3-4 girl types.

2) I'm not going to start make it right away. I'll try making small games to practice first before going for the big one. It's just I wanted ideas. And as I said, I'm prepared to wait for 1 year to even start making this.

For the small games (for testing), I was thinking about making one route only game for one of the girls. Then finally when I'm pleased with 3-4 games with each having a different girl, I plan to merge it later. Is that okay?

And don't worry, I don't plan to go into this, overestimating my abilities or anything. I know my limitations for the time being. I just wanted ideas. So, like I might use them in future. Leave the part about mini games. I'd learn python later and then try thinking about that.

For the plots, I did need bit of advice. Anyway, if you still think that I shouldn't do this, then I'll try putting it on a hold.

And thanks for replying.

[Samu-kun]

The idea sounds like it has a lot of potential. Now, it's time to pick one thing you want to do with the game and cut out everything else that's unnecessary. I think a soccer love drama with those kinds of characters would be pretty cool.

[tyson123g]

The idea sounds like it has a lot of potential. Now, it's time to pick one thing you want to do with the game and cut out everything else that's unnecessary. I think a soccer love drama with those kinds of characters would be pretty cool.

Thanks. I always watched those animes and felt unsatisfied in the end. I loved those shows but there was always something nagging me in the end. So, I wanted to create my own script. I didn't want to do it, with one girl only. So, while in anime, the story writer chooses one girl and in the end, the protagonist goes with that girl, a visual novel is much better in that aspect as you, yourself are making your own world, you get your choices. You have the freedom.

[shwippie]

Whoa definitely don't put anything on hold! If you have the passion, go for it while it's still fresh
Breaking it up into different parts sounds like a good idea ^^
I'm sorry I don't know much about soccer, so I can't be of much use for plot ideas D:
I think any of those choices for girls could work nicely, but my personal favorites are 1, 2, and 3 XD everyone is different in what they like, though!

[tyson123g]

Thanks.. Let's hope that this does work out in the end.

Thanks for the pointers.. When I re-read it, I did get some ideas formed in my mind. On another note, I'm the programmer myself and storyteller too. But, I come more from a programmer background. So, I have the basic knowledge regarding languages. What I'm much more worried about is art and music. I suck at art. I have a 2 years experience in using photoshop as a hobby and that can't be called art. Besides that, I have tried searching for royalty free music (from sites recommended in renpy forums only), it's pretty difficult to understand which music is going to fit in my game. But I don't think, putting music is entirely necessary at the moment. I can always complete the game first and then according to the scenario, try searching for the music.

[Dream9]

Hello! Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents, haha.

Okay, so first, here are some suggestions on females he could meet:

* A fan - to further divide this, it could be a girl who secretly likes another team member but you start to fall for her (this could cause some interesting drama). OR the girl could already be another team member's girlfriend who drags along her best friend to all the soccer games. This girl, of which, happens to think soccer is boring... maybe the protagonist could make her think otherwise.

* Another athlete of a different sport that plays in an adjacent field. Maybe a softball game is going on at the same time and you meet at the snack stand during a break.

* Your friend's sister or sister's friend? (This always has interesting results)

* Since soccer is such a big part of his life, maybe one day he skips practice/a meeting/sitting with his soccer buddies at lunch, to go around and see what other clubs are offered at the school. Maybe he sits in the auditorium and sees a cute chorus/band/orchestra/actress girl. Maybe he heads to the field to see another cute athlete. Maybe he sits in the hallway and sees a cute girl waiting for the nurse, or a bad girl type waiting to see the principal.

* A girl who tutors him in school

:]

As I was thinking of these, it kinda gave me an idea that might make the plot a little more complex and less stereotypical:

* The protagonist is obsessed with soccer. He's been playing it all his life and he beats himself up SO hard if he makes a mistake. He's a great player with lots of potential, and he loves the game, but lately, its become the most important thing in his life. He'd rather die before missing a practice, work out session, or game. As a result, he's starting to drift away from hanging out with his friends and his grades are dropping. It takes SOMETHING to make him realize this... whether it be a girl, a friend, himself... what will save him from the self-destructive path he's on? When he finally does come to his senses, he feels a lot better, but just can't concentrate on the game! It turns out to be the week before the championship too! Will anyone be able to help him find the perfect balance between loving the game and having fun?



Also, I think a simple mini-game to determine the outcome of matches would be cool! I feel like a game of pong would fit well, as the BG could look like a soccer field and the ball could be a soccer ball. Or maybe a timed clicking game, trying to hit the soccer ball as many times during the time limit... kinda like whack-a-mole. I'm no good with Pygame, but I'm sure there's probably a way to fake these games easily with ren'py code... maybe. Even if it was just for the effect of a game.

So yeah, those were my thoughts ^_^ I hope some of them are helpful. My first game was an rpg, stat raising, fruit growing, smoothie making, dress up, complete challenges, evolving game... so I'd say go for it! It's going to take a while to make, and the code will frustrate you at times and you may put it down for a few months at a time, but just keep trying and you'll be able to make it!

Good Luck!

[RemnantDream]

Also, I think a simple mini-game to determine the outcome of matches would be cool! I feel like a game of pong would fit well, as the BG could look like a soccer field and the ball could be a soccer ball.

That would be amazing :o
I love soccer been playing it for 5 years, so I'm already interested :D It would be better to start small. Maybe later, after the one with three or four girls has been released and you've gained more experience, you could make another version with the seven girls. It'd be interesting.

[xelacroix]

nice idea!! i will posting mine now!

[tyson123g]

Those are lots of awesome ideas. Thanks a lot! =)

I'd try starting with something when I get the time.

Well, It'd be great. Now, it is time to try..

[curry nochi rice]

dude, take it from me too.. this is basically what happened to me and why I'm stuck dead with my first project.. almost like yours... with that much of ambition

> april-may 2009, the "summer" vacation here at the phils.
> boring summer, log-in at crunchy roll, watch anime
> watch indie anime 'Time of eve'
> BOOM It got me inspired
> watch more movies on Crunchyroll
> get active on forums
> "creative" forums found
> starts writing, with ideas grabbed from a number of series and movies
> story is like a distant fan-fic of Code Geass
> write 32 chapters more
> classes start again in June
> hiatus
> hiatus
> before graduating HS... I said to my friends "Let's go make a h-game"
> gets classmates to work for me in-case I start doing a game
> graduate, march of 2010
> bored...
> while writing chapter 33, I realized... "if I make this a into a game, somebody might make it into an anime."
> Grabs elements from my old-stories
> Removes the "fanfiction" label and re-write the history/background of the story
> gets classmates of the original protagonist
> 4 heroines, 6 secondary characters, 1 protagonist
> at least 90k words in length
> now dead stuck with a lot of art-assets undone

my points is, start small, don't start-up like me... at least 2 heroines first... or even just a kinetic novel with one heroine... then when your team gets bigger, you can add more heroines in your story and form a continuity of sorts. I've been with my project for two years dude... xD... if you have patience.. then you should continue.

btw.. I like your concept... reminds me of kimikiss (for that soccer part)

[tyson123g]

[quote="curry nochi rice"][/quote]

I don't think I'd ever be able to think like that..

And no, I am not thinking about making 7 heroines. I said I had 7 ideas for the types of heroines I wanted to make. I am going to make only 2-4 heroines at max.