Driftwood (BxG) -- Now on Kickstarter

[wakagana]

Driftwood

Driftwood is a fictional bi-shoujo visual novel (in short, a text-based ‘dating sim’ game) that follows the life of adolescent Marcus Feick, who lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

In his junior year, (2020-21) after asking the girl of his dreams out on a date, he finds himself caught in a catastrophic accident that leaves him physically and emotionally wounded and scarred.

Because of the incident, as well as complications with his newly formed relationship, his overprotective parents decide to transfer him to a fictional high school south of Boston and nearly a hundred miles away on the island of Martha’s Vineyard, relegating his old life to nothing but sour memories and broken promises.

At the new fictional boarding school on Martha’s Vineyard, Marcus is introduced to a variety of cultures and personalities.

The game and story focus primarily on four main female characters that can affect Marcus’s life positively or negatively based on the player’s choices. Each character is designed to teach Marcus deep life lessons, helping him understand the world and aiding him in the customarily difficult process of becoming an adult.

(If the images aren't showing up than it's a bug with the image hosting site. check back in later or refresh a few times, that might help :\)

The Protagonist


Marcus Feick, the protagonist of the story, is a 17-year-old going into his senior year of high school. He has dark brown hair, green eyes, a calm demeanor, and a multitude of interests ranging from anime to history.

Marcus is the son of a successful game designer and a stay-at-home mom. His personality is mostly fashioned by the reader’s choices.

Main Characters

Taryn Rivard

Age: 16
Height: 4'11
Grade 11
Likes : critiquing movies, browsing the deep-net, and getting into fights.


Taryn Rivard is a short, hotheaded, tsundere (a character who is initially unfriendly but reveals a nicer side over time) who feels she has a hard time fitting into society. She never had many friends as a young child, and after her mother perished due to sickness, Taryn became very upset and frustrated with the world, blaming other people and other things for her problems.

Afterwards, Taryn’s father, the only role model she had left, turned to drinking, which caused him to become very distant and thus remove the guidance figure of a father in Taryn’s life.

Taryn’s route revolves around depression, drug abuse, and the fragileness of childhood.

Yuko Beaumont

Age: 17
Height: 5’6”
Grade: 12
Likes : coffee, foreign languages and cultures and shopping.


Yuko Beaumont is the only child of the multi-million dollar Beaumont family, owners of the Beaumont hotel franchise as well as a less popular Korean clothing brand. Because of her family, she has become somewhat spoiled and generally expects to get what she wants. Nevertheless, she is sweet, caring, and hard working.

Yuko is a constant A+ student who makes it look effortless. Her well-groomed looks and style cause many of the students at the school to ogle at her, but she either doesn’t pay any attention or doesn’t even notice.

Yuko’s route revolves around becoming one’s own person and learning how to resist the mindset he or she may have had imprinted by his or her parents (e.g., thinking he or she has to go down a certain career path or hold a certain opinion).


Ellen Saroya

Age: 17
Height: 5'3"
Grade: 12
Likes : piano and rain/snowy days.


Ellen Saroya is one of the school’s most timid students. She appears to lack the social skills to carry on a conversation for more then a few seconds without looking away or becoming uncontrollably nervous. She has an enthusiastic interest in music and is very talented at playing the piano.

Ellen’s musical talent is overshadowed, however, by her shyness. Despite this, Kyrie was able to befriend Ellen because of the former’s passive and easygoing attitude.

Ellen’s route revolves around the beauty of music and learning to love what’s on the inside instead of the out.

Kyrie An'durel

Age: 17
Height: 5'6"
Grade: 12
Likes: gaming, RPing, writing.


Kyrie An’durel is one of the exceptions of the common stereotype of “girls don’t play video games.” She spends nearly all her time using a computer or doing something related to computers. She isn’t a social butterfly, but she has a relaxed, sarcastic, and dry humored attitude towards life.

Kyrie dislikes crowds and tends to keep to herself. Because of her accepting attitude and easygoing personality, she has become a very close friend of Ellen.

Kyrie’s route revolves around the confusion of being a teenager, sexuality, and online relationships in addition to the frustration of finding something one is good at and passionate about.

Other/Alternate Characters :

Matt

Age: 18
Height: 5’7”
Grade: 11
(Concept Sketch)


Matt is Marcus’s dorm neighbor living across the hall. He is an eccentric, loud, and slightly obnoxious goofball who was unable to graduate due to his bad attendance record and so must spend another year as a senior. However, it may be more of a punishment to the teachers who decided to fail him.

May

Age: 15
Height: 5'3"
Grade: 9
(Concept Sketch)


May is simply what you would call a clueless teenage girl who is just pushing through high school so
that she can graduate and later on get a crappy job that she can complain about, she doesn't spend much time thinking
about her future, or of the future of the area she lives. She dyes her hair pink for what ever reason, and usually she wears
ditzy summer cloths even if its cold out, and of course complains about it.


Elric Oliviara

Age: 17
Height: 5’6”
Grade: 12
(Concept Sketch)


Elric Oliviara is one of the school’s many students that Marcus ends up befriending. He has a laid back and “chill” personality, and he is fond of wiseass remarks. He also tends to be a slob while eating—unintentionally, of course—and spaces out quite a bit in class. At first glance, he appears to dress like a mix between a ‘gangsta’ and a surfer, always wearing something over his scruffy blonde hair. He also has a firm interest in music production.

J Denzel

Age: 17
Height: 5'9"
Grade: 12
(Concept Sketch)


J Denzel is a quiet and stoic type, usually hanging out around Elric and just living life day by day. He doesn’t say much, but when he does speak, it’s usually of pure kindness or wisdom. J dresses in baggy clothing, making him appear rather casual and relaxed. J and Elric are known to work together on music tracks.

-More Characters will be given outlines once their art is completed.-



People working on this project:
Wakagana - Team Lead - (Programmer, Writer, Producer, Developer)

Malta - Visual Art - (Sprite and CG's)
Izu - Visual Art - (CG and Main Menu Art)
100puro - Visual - Art (CG art)
Saso - Visual Art - (Concept Drawings)
D - Visual Art - (GUI Designer)

Turel - Audio Art - (Music/SFX)
Alec Richman - Audio Art (Music/SFX)
Izze Rose - Audio Art (Music/SFX)
Alice Greene - Lyricist
Zac Smalley - Audio Art (Music/SFK)

Progression:
Story - 100%
Script - 45% (Act 1 is complete) 650 Pages. 130,000 + Words.
Audio/Music - 5%
Sprite Art/CG Art - 5%
Programming - 0% (No need to program because we don't have our assets yet ... >_> - A demo should be out by Spring of 2013)

If you have any questions, or would like to donate, please email me at wakagana16@gmail.com

Note :

Big Changes to the storyline - Most of the comments below this post are in response to the older storyline we had set up for the game, after a good deal of critical thinking and criticism, we've decided that the setting of the game should take place in a more modern time period, and with less conflict. (This conflict of course is still the main reason for Marcus leaving his home and going to the island.)

Another Note :

As simple as some of the characters may seem, their is quite a lot more to them than what is shown on this forum post. There would be no point of wanting to play the game if I spoil what the character's stories are truly based around/on. So, I do hope that with that knowledge in hand, you watch this game grow and develop as time progresses.

It's been a long 8 months. 12/16/2012. And I'd like to thank everyone on the forums, my co-workers, and my (mostly-non existent) fans and onlookers for all the help you've been able to give me and my goal is that I will be able to pay you all back with an enjoyable story.

Thank you! - Wakagana


Our recruitment/members list forum post - http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 38&t=15311

[gekiganwing]

You provided a detailed description of your plot. I thought of several questions. Consider them as you continue writing and coding.

1. Your setting sounds like a bleak future. But is it technically post-apocalypse? The Wikipedia article on apocalyptic fiction states that the genre is defined by civilization collapsing due to a catastrophe.

2. I have this odd feeling that the environment of your story might be much worse than today. Are the characters dealing with global warming or mass extinction?

3. I haven't been to Martha's Vineyard, so I don't know much about it. Is this small island a place that can realistically be self-sustaining? Would it be able to defend itself? Unless its revolt is considered trivial, or the future US government is barely able to hold itself together, I would find it difficult to imagine that a island this small could survive as an independent nation for long.

4. It sounds like Marcus is essentially a draft dodger in the future world. Does his entire family openly encourage him to avoid becoming a soldier? What do his friends think?

5. You stated in your header that your game will include BxG pairings, and you mentioned "6 Descriptive plot-lines for each of the characters..." Will Marcus have six potential romance options as he attends a school on Martha's Vineyard? Any possibility for friendship endings? Any alternate pairings such as BxB? Will the love interests all be around Marcus' age? (A more personal question which you don't have to answer: what sort of fictional relationships do you enjoy in your fiction, and what types do you like to write?)

6. I don't know if you intend to use any science fiction characters. Do you imagine your world will have androids, clones, or genetically altered people?

Thanks for reading this. Hopefully your game development will go well.

[wakagana]

@ gekiganwing

Thank you for bringing up a few of these topics, I overlooked a bit of them when doing the overall summary of the story, I didn't plan on dumping everything inside my head out onto the first forum post about the project, but I will go more in depth now that you point out the lacking juice to the smoothie.

1. Because of the war, The United States has mismanaged the proper use of its tax dollars, and many sections of the country are dealing with severe famines and a lack of outside and inside resources to collect from. This has of course is in the run of many years, and in the story their are hints as to what happened and more story development on the 'over looming' plot. So, in summary, A very drastic economic imbalance due to war, and government mismanagement/corporation based decisions have caused many rural area's such, as smaller towns and cities being forced to take care and fend for themselves. (( Keep in note, I will also be adding a map of North America with borders and a little bit more info on everything. ))

2. The weather in the future is much more unpredictable and a little less forgiving, although, luckily enough the gulf coast hasn't changed to much, much of the East Coast's weather and climate comes from the gulf stream. But due to aspects of change like global warming, and the PH in the oceans rising, weather has become a tad more drastic, a simple shower now would possibly end up being a rain storm that lasts two days.

3. The reasoning behind Marthas Vineyard becoming a non-aligned state is due to the fact that in the early 2050's the tourism to the area died off, and it left most of the islands enterprise with it. The island as of 2080's is now a secluded small plot of land that the United States doesn't care about. It is strategically, and economically useless and is a harmless speck on the large scale map of what The United States needs to retrieve and re obtain and is a very long way down on their to-do list.

4. The story goes in depth of how Marcus leaves, as he has personal thoughts about his, and his parents decisions for him to avoid being drafted. As the story gets farther and farther along, more and more of his past life will be revealed, and the bitter feeling of having to get over the fact that he will never have that again will be present. (Unless of course the over-looming plot changes, which may be based around the choices you make in the game. Alternate endings are always fun? No ;P)

5. Once the basic art for each character is up, I will have a simple little summary of what each character is like, and will add it to this post, or the previous. At the moment their are 5 possible female 'romancable' characters, and another plot line where Marcus ends up with none of the girls, but does how ever lead him down a plot line that looks more into the over looming plot, and giving more information on the whole of the world in the time period the story is set.

6. In a way, I thought of this as being an option, but as I thought to myself I came to the conclusion that if the economic growth of these outlying cities and towns was so poor, I don't think there would be much extra money to tinker around with science. Imagine what the world will be like in thirty years, and then freeze it, after that point there is no technological growth or innovation due to various reasons.



To go more in depth of how these un US. aligned states are what they are, large groups and communities have come together, mostly along the east coast to create the "Allied States" the Allied States is considered a Terrorist group by the United States, The Allied States overruling goal is to recreate the United States in their members image. 'AS' as they are introduced into the story are mostly a support-group for outlying cities and towns which are no longer being governed by the US.

So, If you can imagine a group of freedom fighters who attempt to ship food and supplies to outlying areas, while sometimes being hunted down by the United State's military/border control, then that is the basis of the Allied State's current operations.

Thank you for submitting the questions! They have in fact made me think more in depth as to how I am going to explain the over looming story and how the 'freedom' of Marthas Vineyard will add to the story of Marcus. I hope for anyone reading this as well it has given a little more insight to what the project is about. Art, and more info/glimpses will be up soon. ~ Wakagana

[Auro-Cyanide]

I would like to know more about the war. What could possibly cause China, America and Russia to go to war? If these countries went to war, it wouldn't just be them. All allies would be dragged in as well (I have no idea where that would sit Australia, we would be in trouble), so it would literally be WW3 (or 4 or 5 if there are other wars prior). How does this effect the rest of the world? There is also the problem that if America is internally falling to pieces, it would unlikely be able to sustain war with the likes of China and Russia. Internal unrest will ground most war efforts to a halt, it certainly did for the Russian's in WW1. It's simply impossible to keep troops going without the support of civilains to produce food and weapons (and man power). That is why so much effort goes into propaganda on the home fronts during war. I am also curious about what warfare will be like in the future, especially on the scale you are talking. What place will atomic bombs play? Where will the war be taking place?

I really do like the general overview of your plot, it sounds very interesting. The idea of the world going to war (again) is intriguing, especially if you tie it in well with reality. I find 'what-if' future tales very exciting, when you can imagine them happening. Kind of like Brave New World serving as a cationary tale for the use of technology in the future. I wish you luck on your project

[wakagana]

@ Auro-Cyanide

This is a good point, and I thought about it when I first came up with the idea of the it being a WW3 scenario. And I came to the conclusion that NATO and other world-wide organizations have mostly fallen apart. If the United States cant handle its own citizens and are forcibly drafting and possibly brainwashing kids to become soldiers for the war effort I don't think that their foreign policy would be at all good, or be able to maintain a collection of countries willing to deal with the United States acting like a toddler in the sandbox.

So, with that being said, we can assume that the United States is a lone-super power against Russia and China. Russia and China have become very close nations and have to an extent gone back to their 'grassroots' of communism, although its not really 'communism'. But for the time being I can tell you China wants their money, as the United States is still in debt with them at this point in time. I hope the over-all aspect of the story line continues to intrigue you and you visit this page again when more info is posted! ~ Wakagana

[wakagana]

Bumping to notify the updated changes and more outline as to what the game is actually about. ALSO. ANSWER THE POLL QUESTION. I CANT MAKE UP MY MIND. ARUGHUGFH -foams at mouth-

[gekiganwing]

Is your poll still active? Then I guess my answer would be "2. Grapes vanishing off a vine." But to be honest, a loading screen icon seems trivial...

In your other topic, it appears you're still trying to recruit people for this project. Are you active on other forums and communities? If you, are you able and willing to recruit help there?

[Lumen_Astrum]

About the war, Philippines is US's ally. Right now actually, there's a threat hanging over Philippines against China due to the Scarborough Shoal, and I had heard Philippine people are asking for Myanmar's help about the dispute.

Lots of countries can be connected to said war, since a lot of countries are in alliance and against with those three countries (say, like the blood between Japan and China, if I'm correct).

The poll? I vote number two. But it sounds kinda unnatural... maybe make the grapes drop one by one instead of vanishing?

[wakagana]

Is your poll still active? Then I guess my answer would be "2. Grapes vanishing off a vine." But to be honest, a loading screen icon seems trivial...

In your other topic, it appears you're still trying to recruit people for this project. Are you active on other forums and communities? If you, are you able and willing to recruit help there?

I have been actively looking about to see if anyone was interested in joining the bandwagon, and I've found a few potential candidates. I will be closing the application process of our team down soon now that I have key members of it, which I will update on said forum post.

About the war, Philippines is US's ally. Right now actually, there's a threat hanging over Philippines against China due to the Scarborough Shoal, and I had heard Philippine people are asking for Myanmar's help about the dispute.

Lots of countries can be connected to said war, since a lot of countries are in alliance and against with those three countries (say, like the blood between Japan and China, if I'm correct).

The poll? I vote number two. But it sounds kinda unnatural... maybe make the grapes drop one by one instead of vanishing?

Indeed, there are many aspects of the present and the worlds history that will make a war like this very unpredictable and hard to follow, but the over-all storyline is not based around the war, more so of Marcus during his 11th year of schooling.

[wakagana]

Extra Bump to showcase the new character art. Enjoy! ( The sprite art are first drafts done by Malta, I personally think she did a great job and I look forward to the finished product. :3 ) Your thoughts?

[Graph]

Good sprite style, simple but it works. But, there's a few things you should watch out for before you actually use them in your game.

1. Matt appears a good deal closer to the "viewer" than Yuko. You can see this from how the bottom of the image cuts off at his waist, while you can see Yuko's legs. Matt's head also shows up larger. I don't know how close or far away the characters prefer to be, but keep it in mind so you can have some sense of consistency.

2. If you put the sprites over a dark background you'll see some white fuzzies. I guess the artist will fix that when going to the final draft, but be sure to check for it.


Also... can you do something about the Photoshop-checkers background behind your logo? I assume that was supposed to be transparent, and as is it makes your watermarking look kind of tacky.

[wakagana]

Good sprite style, simple but it works. But, there's a few things you should watch out for before you actually use them in your game.

1. Matt appears a good deal closer to the "viewer" than Yuko. You can see this from how the bottom of the image cuts off at his waist, while you can see Yuko's legs. Matt's head also shows up larger. I don't know how close or far away the characters prefer to be, but keep it in mind so you can have some sense of consistency.

2. If you put the sprites over a dark background you'll see some white fuzzies. I guess the artist will fix that when going to the final draft, but be sure to check for it.


Also... can you do something about the Photoshop-checkers background behind your logo? I assume that was supposed to be transparent, and as is it makes your watermarking look kind of tacky.

Thank you for the Insight, And yeah. This is all just first draft stuff. Once more is completed we'll work out the fine details of how they'll show up in game from each angle and configure all of that. (( And yes, the Logo was supposed to be transparent but wasn't...Ugh. has to fix that. ))

[wakagana]

Bumped for the Update!!!

[Victoria Jennings]

OMFG, Taryn and Ellen are so cute! ; 0 ;

And Kyrie... amg. ; w ; <3

[wakagana]

Updated finished draft for Taryn. =)