Lemma Soft Forums

All right, I think it's about time I put this up. Maybe it'll motivate me to keep up the work I've been doing recently on it!

This game is based off of characters and a plot described on a roleplaying site--and I'm not sure how well that's taken here, but I guarantee you it's not completely foppy. The story has Pokémon in it, but that's not what the plot revolves around, so if the player isn't familiar with it, it's not a big deal. The plot revolves around a 20-year old boy, White Koriame, who runs an organization called Absolution with some of his close friends. They combat Rapture; the typical "evil" organization found in most plots everywhere. Rapture and the characters involved in it aren't important until the end of the game. The game involves you playing as White for around fourteen days, with a possible extra three days depending on how you play. You can choose places to go each day, encountering one of White's friends in each place (with one each day that won't have any of his friends present). You earn points towards each friend each time you visit them, buy them a gift, or make a correct choice. Likewise, you can lose points for making incorrect choices during dialogue. You must have a certain point value in order to progress to a character's "date" day, as well as some extra things that may be triggered during said date. You start out having a girlfriend, but this doesn't earn you any extra points for her. I tried not to make it too heartbreaking if you choose someone else, haha, although one has to bear in mind that every possible candidate to date is actually in a relationship of some sort or another.

Main Characters:

White Koriame: (Who has no portrait! D:) Male. 20 years old. Cares for his friends, who he's known since his high school years, and is a little overprotective. Currently dating Emerald.

Emerald Tenkuun:

Female. 19 years old. Is really in love with White, though it'd be hard to tell--she has a tough outer shell and seems unapproachable at times. Her and White's extreme dislike for each other in high school blossomed into romance. Currently dating White.

Rose Momokane:

Female. 16 years old. Playful and immature, Rose is constantly bursting with energy and emotion. She loves most everybody, and has a persistent, optimistic outlook on life. Has a crush on every boy, but is incredibly loyal. Currently dating Black.

Blue Arashi:

Female. 19 years old. Tranquil and much more mature than the other girls at Absolution, Blue is a peaceful girl who loves the ocean. She cares deeply for those close to her, and is determined to do anything to protect her friends. Currently "it's complicated" with Diamond.

Black Omikami:

Male. 19 years old. Very relaxed, and a little quiet, but a master of the blade. Black is respectful and will not stand for injustice. He has a hard time resisting a challenge, but will be reluctant to fight if he deems the challenger a waste of his time. Obsessed with soap operas. Currently dating Rose.

Ruby Kyuusu:
(Image is being reworked)
Male. 18 years old. Ruby is a mess. He is shy and generally confused, and will do just about what anyone tells him to. He runs the shop that Absolution uses as a cover, and doesn't often wander past the shop doors, or even the counter, for that matter. Currently sort-of dating Yellow. (Ruby is dateable, but only if you complete a certain objective first.)

Other characters are pretty minor and only show up once or twice. Diamond, Blue's love interest, is one of these. Yellow may or may not show up at all. I'm still working out the kinks of Ruby's storyline. It's likely to be entirely separate; a kind of bonus feature.

Here are some screenshots of the current game:

(Click to fullview.)

These are (in order) an imagemap for the choices you can make during daytime, a CG with Black and Rose, talking to Emerald, and talking to Rose.

As for the thread, I'm kind of reporting progress and I'd also like opinions on the game; whether it be the art, or if you have suggestions on something in particular, I'm open to it. I can pull up screenshots if anyone needs to see something. You can also check a more often updated progress by clicking on the Key Lime logo in my signature.

As of right now, I'm kind of thinking about changing the dialogue box. I'm not sure I like it. I like the colors and the style, but it's a little...chunky. I'm not good enough with graphics like boxes to know how to make anything *too* ornate, but suggestions are welcome. Another thing I've been debating is making the characters different levels of difficulty. That is to say, because it's cannon, it's going to be easier to cozy up to Emerald than it is to cozy up to Black. But, I'm not sure if it would be fair to players who only like the characters who happen to be more difficult. On the other hand, it would give a little bit of a challenge to more experienced players. I'm not really keen on making two versions, so I'm trying to settle on one decision. Even though it won't be a really long game, I'd like to make it enjoyable, and I'm a little stuck on what to do here.

This is my first time putting up a progress thread, so if there is anything else you'd like to know (or anything else I should be putting up), just give me a holler and I'll be glad to fill you in or put pictures up :3

You stated, "The story has Pokémon in it, but that's not what the plot revolves around..." Since my knowledge of the Pokemon universe is limited, I'm not sure where or when your game is taking place. If this is a necessary part of the setting, include it. Otherwise, consider making this an original game.

I wasn't sure if your main character is bisexual, or if he just has two important male friends. Either option is viable, but I would like to know what you're intending to create.

Finally, you said, "...I've been debating is making the characters different levels of difficulty. That is to say, because it's cannon, it's going to be easier to cozy up to Emerald than it is to cozy up to Black..."

It sounds like your game will have simulation gameplay. If you want, you can add romance options which are more challenging. It could become frustrating... it's probably best if you provide hints as to which pairings are easy or difficult. (For instance, if there's a friendly girl who is close to the main character and seems to be single, then she would probably be an easy romance option. The girl who seems to linger in the background until halfway through the story? Probably more difficult.)

gekiganwing wrote:You stated, "The story has Pokémon in it, but that's not what the plot revolves around..." Since my knowledge of the Pokemon universe is limited, I'm not sure where or when your game is taking place. If this is a necessary part of the setting, include it. Otherwise, consider making this an original game.

I wasn't sure if your main character is bisexual, or if he just has two important male friends. Either option is viable, but I would like to know what you're intending to create.

Finally, you said, "...I've been debating is making the characters different levels of difficulty. That is to say, because it's cannon, it's going to be easier to cozy up to Emerald than it is to cozy up to Black..."

It sounds like your game will have simulation gameplay. If you want, you can add romance options which are more challenging. It could become frustrating... it's probably best if you provide hints as to which pairings are easy or difficult. (For instance, if there's a friendly girl who is close to the main character and seems to be single, then she would probably be an easy romance option. The girl who seems to linger in the background until halfway through the story? Probably more difficult.)

I'm gonna be straight; this is my first dating sim and I'm pretty much doing it on my own, with a little collaboration on some of the artwork. Originally this was supposed to be a project for the people I knew on the forum from whence it came, and it developed into something I thought other people might enjoy. That's why the whole issue of the Pokemon universe is there, and why I've toned it down. I think it works in game; it's not very prevalent even at the end, and it's only mentioned a few times other than that. I have considered taking it out, however, I don't think I could strip it completely. It's too intertwined with the characters, and though I've got permission to use them, they're not all mine.

White is supposed to have two really good male friends; he's not bisexual as far as canon goes. I've played games before where you have a same gender option, even though you might not be bisexual--romance happens. Or can happen, in any case.

The game is meant to be a light dating sim, so yes, there is simulation gameplay. I wasn't sure if "dating sim" was a category I should have put up in the topic or not, so I decided against it. I thought it would be a little obvious as soon as I mentioned that you can get a date out of any of the main characters I listed, but I'll gladly edit the title if that needs to be added.

Thanks for the opinion on the difficulty levels, I'll certainly take what you've said into consideration.

Sorry for the double post. Just wanted to say that I've updated the game a little more, and also added a new feature. Before, you had to guess where each character was spending the day, but I've had a few complaints about it so I decided to change. Instead, you'll see a chibi version of each character by the place they'll be spending the day. Like so:



I think this system will prove to be a lot better. While I'm working on the script, I think I might add in an imagemap for the shop, too, but I don't know how worth the effort it'll be, so I'm still thinking about it.

I decided to update this again, just in case anyone was interested and didn't say anything x3;;

I'm really close to being done with the scripting; I've got all of Rose and Emerald's stuff done, and half of Black and Blue's. All of the gift giving sequences and daily events and the like are finished. I just have to wait on the CG art when that's done. So, yeah!