Amoena Anima [Fantasy, Super Natural, Kinetic Novel]

[blueberryblanket]

Hello, everyone! The name's Blue and I'm here to pitch my studio and our current project:



Amoena Anima is a Kinetic Novel under production by myself and my associate MoEpic. We've been working on this baby for well over six months now and we thought it's about high time we got the word around. What is Amoena Anima you say? Well I'll tell you!

As he begins his adventuring career, young Vermund Dalum meets a mysterious girl in the middle of a graveyard. Once his adventure begins, he will find it hard to escape in this world where the definitions of "death" and "life" are skewed, and sometimes impossible to distinguish.

If you would like to follow our project closer, please subscribe to our blog at :http://doubleberry.blogspot.com/.

Now, is there anything I didn't go over...? Are you interested at all? Would anyone like to contribute as to how to make our little KN better? If so, please leave a comment!

[gekiganwing]

The character Vermund's appearance looks familiar... as if Stahn from the first Tales of Destiny game got a haircut, and borrowed a headband from Claude (Star Ocean 2). But I could be way off.

Your blog entries tell a bit more info about your fictional world. But we will benefit from more specific information about your plot, characters, and themes. Please provide that information when you are able.

Finally, do you intend to include sprite art? If so, how will it be used in your kinetic novel?

[blueberryblanket]

Ah, right, let's work on that then!





The game will use a mixture of standard sprites usually found in kinetic novels and 8-bit style sprites like the ones shown above.

As for themes and plot... Well think your average JRPG. The intent and aim we had when we began was to create those same story-telling elements without having to rely on a players skills to reach the next story advance. We've all felt the frustration of being in a critical moment in a game, the ultimate cliff-hanger... But we cannot beat a boss and therefor give up and never find out what happens. With AA, we hope to eliminate the frustration and instead use the KN format to tell the same kind of story.

Finally, characters will be introduced on a 4-day basis on the blog and then posted here.

Hope that helps!!!

[blueberryblanket]

Character Introduction: Vermund and Tamara

Vermund Dalum




Age: 18
Weapon: Enchanted Silver Sword
Role in Party: Basic Swordsman/Warrior
A rough-around-the-edges hero with a lack of motivation for anything. When he meets Tamara, he is (reluctantly) beginning his life as an adventurer after his mother kicked him out of the house. Seeing Tamara's ghost hunting life-style as an easy way to gain fame and glory, he joins her on her mission, despite her protests. He lacks social graces and often comes off as rude and lazy, but once he is committed to something, his resolve is unshakable. His quick wit and temper often get him in trouble with his companions, but he is loyal and treats them like family.

Tamara




Age: ???
Weapon: Double flintlock pistols w/ silver bullets
Role in Party: Long Range
A mysterious girl with an expressionless face and motives only known to herself. After her village was destroyed several years ago by ghosts, she has sworn to eradicate the undead plaguing the world. She is cold and distant, focusing on nothing but her main goal. As those who are in her company grow in number, she slowly becomes more sociable. However, forgetting about her revenge may have dire consequences....

[Anna]

I'm a little confused, as your promotional image shows elements from various settings/genres, not just fantasy and because you say you're making a KN but I'm seeing RPG sprites...? How will those be used? And the story synopsis could also use a makeover , as all I get from it now is 'Boy meets mysterious girl, boy has adventure with mysterious girl'. That's not very interesting on its own, tell me why I should be interested ! A hook, something like that.

[blueberryblanket]

Okay, sorry for no posts last week, it's jsut a little disheartening not having any comments yet OTL But we shall press on! last week we worked mostly on backgrounds and such (we have ALOT), but now let us introduce two more characters, Yuna and Alduin.

Yuna Ayim
Age: 24
Weapon: Protective magic robe
Role in Party: Arcane Mage


Self-proclaimed as one of the greatest Arcane mages of all times, she started an apothecary shop in a small city as a way to get her name well known. When a terrible plague hits, her shop becomes the only reliable source of the remedy. As soon as Tamara and Vermund arrive, she commissions them into finding a cure, and with their help banished the ghost responsible for the outbreak. Although she is quick to the fame the city grants her, when she hears the duo are headed to a town where her missing father was supposedly headed, she decides to join them. Her gambling habits and haughty attitude keep her from the best opinions of her traveling group, but her abilities in Arcane magic could not be replaced.

Alduin McCarthy
Age: 51
Weapon: Two-handed Great Sword
Role in Party: Tank Warrior


One a traveling mercenary, he mistook Vermund for one of his hits. Once he realizes his error, he uses it as an excuse to quit his current lifestyle and fight along side Vermund and his group. He comes off as brash and rude, which he is. His massive frame and booming voice are often coupled at the front lines
, beheading (or worse) any who stand in his way. He becomes a mentor to Vermund, advising him on the way of the sword and tales of the many wars he has fought. Although his gruff manner of speaking and "hack first, ask later" approach make him seem like an unstoppable force of nature, he has put his faith in Vermund as the one who can bring about an age of peace Alduin longs for.

Aaaah we're really close to putting up a demo... Maybe that will attract some attention...

Okay, Anna, to answer your question, most of the stuff you see on the screen is actually like a KN. It's two or more sprites talking through a text block on the bottom. The RPG sprites you see will be used in cut scenes. Like moving across a map. We still want a RPG-y feel to it, so we hope to incorporate things like that into it. It will still read like a KN, but with RPG-like graphics every now and then. Hope that makes sense...

As for the hook, well... Hmmm... Hahah we have a lot of twists? I can't really give too much up about the plot without spoilers.... Alright the hook will be what I've already stated. An RPG without the G... Or... The R... So maybe just the P. Yep. A P.

[blueberryblanket]

Watch out, we got a big post over here~

Desmond Mubarak


Age: 31
Weapon: Scimtar
Role in Party: Disabler

The wandering detective renown across the Bintari Desert. Wrongly accused of a murder he didn't commit, he is helped by Desmond and his group and later joins them to repay them. While not incredibly social, he does talk much more than Tamara. His deduction skills are beyond comparison, which allows him to pinpoint an enemy's weakness with relative ease. However, his lack of speed makes it hard to utilize this in battle. His past is a mystery, and because he does not wish to reveal it (or his face, for that matter), he does not question Tamara or her motives. He also likes reading and has a bit of a sweet tooth.

Cain Clarke


Age: 28
Weapon: Shortened mace
Role in Party: Rogue

A master thief and very smooth talker, known far and wide as the world's greatest thief who mysteriously vanished after his largest scheme went wrong. He retreated into the mountains and spent a few years swindling weary travelers out of any money they happened to have. When Desmond and his party become lost in the mountains, he offers to help them, but once they finally reach the other side, claims they owe him an enormous debt for his service, and tags along to collect it. His speed and flexibility are very handy in a fight, and also help him get away from Desmond, who insists that Cain turn himself in for his crimes.

Able Clarke


Age: 20
Weapon: None
Role in Party: Natural Mage (Healer)


Cain's younger brother, who is incredibly gifted in Natural magic. After his brother left the family, Able was sent to the capital to study and learn how to control his gift. His gentle and kind nature perfectly match his abilities to heal almost any wound. While wandering the country side looking to help others, he runs into Cain and enthusiastically follows. He is dejected when he learns that his brother does not support the cult that Able has joined and begins to doubt its beliefs.

... Aaaand that's it for the main party!

[blueberryblanket]

So we've done quite a bit in terms of actual writing.
The game contains 252 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 2,033 words,
for an average of 8.1 words per screen.
The game contains 0 menus.
This will be it in terms of the demo. Which means the writing for the demo is complete~ Yays! But we still have plenty of stuff to do... The art is done, but Mo is still dragging his feet on his work load =<= We still need the menu done and music created, not to mention the opening... Bah. But yes, if I have to set a release date for the demo it would be sometime in June. So assuming we have some people who would actually like to play this we might get a little traffic OTL
Also, it's too large to post here, but we have a screen shot of what the RPG elements look like in-game up on the blog, which you can find here: http://doubleberry.blogspot.com/

[blueberryblanket]

No, we're not dead. Like anybody cares *sigh*. Oh well, we've still got plenty of things to do. The menu alone is causing us both to die slowly inside. But we shall preserve! Unfortunately, we've run into several problems with the fine-tuning of animation and several other aspects, but again, it's nothing we can't handle.

Now a question to test the ages: Does anybody care?

[redeyesblackpanda]

This sounds like an interesting project. One thing to keep in mind is that people pay a lot more attention to games if they have a demo, or once they're finished (especially the latter). Don't feel discouraged! It's also important that you're having fun doing it though. You shouldn't make pleasing others a priority over enjoying what you're doing.