Coming Out On Top (BXB, Dating) - Updated July 2012

[Obscura]

The game is up in the completed game forum!!! Check it out here--->

http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 11&t=16307



COMING OUT ON TOP


You.
College senior.
22 years old.
Just came out of the closet.

Him.
Tall, blond, and perfect.
Wants your number.

But wait...
It's complicated....

Category: boy/boy, comedy, romance
Rated: Occasional language and references to sex, and alcohol. Some adult themes and humor. No sex, no nudity.
Release Date: July 2012 (so close!)
Story, Sprites, BGs by: Obscura
GUI, Logo, Objects & more by: Nuxill

Screenshot:

- This is my first visual novel!!!
- The game is about one relationship (approximately 25k in dialogue). If there is enough interest in the game when I release it in July, I would love to make a full version of the game with 4 additional relationship options.
- The full version would also have a rated-R/risque option.
- Unlike a lot of VNs, this one uses the 2nd person voice used in Western choose-your-own-adventure style games.

Stayed tuned for its release in July! And thank you to all the lovely people here who offered their advice/support/feedback! And especially Nuxill who is using her wizardry to take this to the next level!

If you have any feedback, comments, or criticisms about the demo above, please feel free to share them. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Always looking to improve!

Old demo here:
[removed...please download the completed game in the thread posted above! Thank you!]
It's got all the old, unpolished, unfinished art, so please excuse the mess. Dialogue, artwork, and GUI have all been revised, updated, improved.

[gekiganwing]

- This style is different than the usual dating style vn, given that the art is less anime and I use the 2nd person "you".

I'm trying to remember what sort of POV was used in the romance visual novels that I've read. How much first person limited have I seen? And how much use of third person limited / omniscient? I should think about this more.

I'm also really interested in ultimately seeing if any people who don't normally play vn's would find this fun (just because the number of people who play b/b non-anime vns seems sooooo miniscule.)

As you may well already know, there are some people on this forum who have already created (are still creating) BxB stories. And there are certainly fans of the genre here. I don't know if any people who read untranslated BxB games are active here. Anyway, if you're looking to branch out and seek new fans, then go for it. I'm not sure what sort of people you want to read your story, but definitely consider posting on other forums if you want feedback from other people.

Finally, in regards to art style... many of the projects I've seen on Lemma Soft have art which is similar to modern anime/manga. Though keep in mind that there is no singular ani-manga art style. Here and there, you'll find a person who uses a distinctly different visual style, such as ones inspired by retro cartoons, 3D polygon games, anthropomorphic fiction, or indie/alternative comics. If you're looking for some context on art used in current Japanese BxB games, then look over some of Koorinokokoro's reviews. The pictures she uses are worksafe, but many of the VNs are definitely not!

[Arcanum]

A very refreshing game! I loved it. The art style is super cool (some more shading/stronger shades would add to it, but it's still pretty cool!) and the story is exciting and funny. I think it's the kind of game that wouldn't be limited to the VN community due to its realistic approach to the theme (not only the writing, but the art as well come as to something less… anime and fantastic-ish, and more down to earth - it really fits the tone of the story). The characters are all adorable and I immediately longed to know more about them. For a best friend, though, I think Ian had his interaction a bit toned down… But I supposed that it's only because it's a demo and, at that time, things were awkward between the MC and him. Penny felt like the most proheminent character for me, for the moment (and gosh, she was hilarious!). The twist in the plot involving Alex was fun - because I didn't see him as being too old, so I never saw it coming. I was particularly fond of the "bad" endings, and laughed at lot at the Twilight fanfiction writing XD

[Obscura]

Thanks for your feedback, gekiganwing! It sounds like there is enough variety in the BXB market that my game wouldn't be too far out in left field? I guess I've had a handful of people already tell me "I don't think anybody is looking to play a game like this", so I've already felt slightly defeated in that respect.

Also, that site you linked is great. I had no idea a BXB review site even existed. Will be going back there, I'm sure.

[Obscura]

OMG my first review! Thank you so much Arcanum. I have a GIANT SMILE on my face knowing you've played the demo and OMG, even had positive things to say about it! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I can't convey how gratifying your feedback is! Best feeling, ever!

Thanks for the feedback on the character Ian. Things like that are important to know as I continue editing/writing this!

Glad you liked the characters...I'm trying to keep the whole thing very lighthearted. There is actually an entire story planned out that will unfold over Mark's semester.

A very refreshing game! I loved it. The art style is super cool (some more shading/stronger shades would add to it, but it's still pretty cool!) and the story is exciting and funny. I think it's the kind of game that wouldn't be limited to the VN community due to its realistic approach to the theme (not only the writing, but the art as well come as to something less… anime and fantastic-ish, and more down to earth - it really fits the tone of the story). The characters are all adorable and I immediately longed to know more about them. For a best friend, though, I think Ian had his interaction a bit toned down… But I supposed that it's only because it's a demo and, at that time, things were awkward between the MC and him. Penny felt like the most proheminent character for me, for the moment (and gosh, she was hilarious!). The twist in the plot involving Alex was fun - because I didn't see him as being too old, so I never saw it coming. I was particularly fond of the "bad" endings, and laughed at lot at the Twilight fanfiction writing XD

[Nuxill]

I just started playing and already I've laughed out loud a couple of times. I'm also really fond of the art style you're using and the fact that these characters are in college (since most bxb games I've seen are anime style and always take place in highschool for some reason...).

As for adding the "bells and whistles", a lot of that stuff is pretty easy to add! I've just figured out how to do blinking/lipflap sprites myself and most of it is a lot easier than all that big scary code makes it out to be. If you need any help I'd be happy to help you how to do it (if you haven't learned it already!)

[Obscura]

Glad you enjoyed it so far, Nuxill!!! Your words are so very encouraging. I'll let you know if you I get stuck in code (which I usually do).

I'm way past my college years, so I don't even think I could set it in high school if I tried.

I just started playing and already I've laughed out loud a couple of times. I'm also really fond of the art style you're using and the fact that these characters are in college (since most bxb games I've seen are anime style and always take place in highschool for some reason...).

As for adding the "bells and whistles", a lot of that stuff is pretty easy to add! I've just figured out how to do blinking/lipflap sprites myself and most of it is a lot easier than all that big scary code makes it out to be. If you need any help I'd be happy to help you how to do it (if you haven't learned it already!)

[Obscura]

Update: Redistributed the game after playing around with variables. New demo with slight alteration in dialogue, but not worth replaying if you played the first version.

[Joey]

Another BxB game! >w<

I have to say I really adored your writing -- it's very effortlessly humorous and I think it really fits the subject matter and the setting. I for one have no problem with the 2nd-person perspective, it's used in IF and since you provide a large spectrum of choices I think it's quite fitting. And I really like the design of the protagonist *-* and I loved it when Penny held her arm out and took a photo of "you", it was pretty cool!

Great work, I'm definitely going to follow this!

I found a bug (?), though.

After "My name's Mark." -> Alex says "So, I hate to cut and run, %(name_given_prof)s"

Not sure if you intended it or not, because if I'm not mistaken that's used for custom input of the protagonist's name, right...? Er. :X

[Obscura]

Wow, thank you for the feedback, Joey! I'm delighted you enjoyed it. Yup, I'll be trying to involve the player character as much as possible, to try and help him/her feel immersed.

Yes, that's a bug! I mistakenly used the older format for variables...and for some reason it worked okay on my version. Reuploading now.

[Obscura]

Updated link on 4/9/12 12:19 pm for variable related error.

[Obscura]

Well, I'm writing away at the moment. Main script is 40% done.

I think this game is going to have a rated G, rated R, and rated NC-17 version. I'm working on the rated R version first. The G version will be perfectly innocent and hopefully be somewhat reminiscent of the G version humor in the Leather Goddesses of Phobos. (Am I showing my age, yet?!? ) I guess once I have the game completed I'll be moving to the Hentai section of the boards? (Not sure exactly how risque something needs to be to be "Hentai.")

Not addressing anybody in particular, but I figure I'll just post a couple of deadlines here so they stick in my head (and hopefully motivate me to get this thing out before 2029 AD.)

May 8th: deadline for finishing the script. (I'm a pretty slow writer, and write about 500-1000 words a day.)

May 22nd: deadline for learning more GIMP and sprite making techniques (my handle on GIMP is still pretty shaky and there are a bunch more tutorials I feel I should do)

June 6th: deadline for sprites

June 13th: deadline for backgrounds and GUI

Rest of June: music, additional coding and testing.

So "Coming Out On Top" should be ready July 1st. It is incidentally also my very first visual novel. I don't know yet if I'm giving myself too much time, or too little time, but it might be amusing to see how different this schedule ends up being from the reality.

The game only has one relationship, and depending on how popular the initial story is, I would be adding more relationships in the game one at a time, so it becomes a full fledged harem game. Or maybe I should make it episodic? Not sure what would be best yet.

If you have any feedback or criticisms about this schedule, let me know. I work on this game anywhere between 3 and 8 hours a day.

[trepiechick]

I've only played LGOP2, but I'd consider the humor to be more PG/PG-13 than G just because I don't think a G mind set would get it if that makes sense. I'm definitely looking forward to the full game; the demo was fantastic! With a little more fleshing out, the characters will be even easier to relate to, which for me is paramount. Good luck on reaching your goals, I'm rooting for you!

[Obscura]

I've only played LGOP2, but I'd consider the humor to be more PG/PG-13 than G just because I don't think a G mind set would get it if that makes sense. I'm definitely looking forward to the full game; the demo was fantastic! With a little more fleshing out, the characters will be even easier to relate to, which for me is paramount. Good luck on reaching your goals, I'm rooting for you!

Thanks for the correction about LGOP...it's been a while since I played it...I admit a true G rating would have been impossible. PG-13 definitely.

Thanks for playing and I'm happy you enjoyed it. I appreciate the feedback about the characters. My goal is to have people adore them...so it's good to know whether or not they are relateable.

[Obscura]

So, busy working on music, revamping artwork, and learning GIMP.



Working screenshot of intro which shows some changes to the art style of the game. Perhaps this is looking more manga-ish than I thought it would?

Wonderful Nuxill has stepped in to help out with the GUI and possibly backgrounds! Yippee!!! She valiantly offered to color my sprites but unfortunately I am the worst when it comes to handing over a line drawing and not fiddling with it from that point forwards.

Well, my schedule is completely out the window now, but I am still looking at an ETA of July 1st. *bites nails*