Lemma Soft Forums

Genre:
Fantasy, experimental, musical narrative
Synopsis:
Grassland Symphony takes place within imaginative fantasy realm. Our protagonist finds himself in an unknown world, with no memory, and it’s up to you to adapt (or not) into this new environment. The choices taken by you will not only change the story, but also the protagonist and the surrounding world.
Features:
- Grassland Symphony is an experimental Interactive Narrative, which uses music instead of words as a form of narration.
- The system will use two layers of music, first: a background music, and the second: 'narrative compositions', representing interpretations of characters' statements.
- Hand-drawn backgrounds
- Multiple routes
- Multiple endings

Hi, I'm Badriel, the guy behind the idea of Grassland Symphony. Working on this project is a great challenge, but I'm pretty sure the concept of 'VN stripped of text' will work out. So far I'm working on releasing the demo, and the work goes nicely and smooth.
I've got ~100 sprites done, interface nearly done, 2 cgs done, 5 backgrounds done, script ~60% done.
I am searching for musicians who might be interested in this experimental project, though I must admit - it's extremely challenging, and might take a lot of effort to finish it.
If you've got any questions, I'm happy to answer.

Characters:
Main character:


Supporting cast:






Backgrounds:



blog @ http://symphony.woogers.net/

Those are some nice backgrounds! If you're looking for composers, you should try the recruitment forum. There are a few petty awesome ones here.

Whoa, that's really interesting O: A story told by music is definitely something I haven't seen, so I'm keeping an eye on this. I know a few composers, I can point them your way. They've been waiting for something like this to pop up :3

Also, those BGs are really nice! They're really painterly and soft. Though, the sprites are a bit too glossy for my tastes (the fire fairy(?) especially) and could afford to be less shiny IMO. have you tested what they look like with the BGs? A few details on who these characters are wouldn't hurt either?

I will be watching this project for updates :V

Wowww, the backgrounds are amazing! I love how vibrant they are wtih the colors. o: Kind of worried that some of your sprites may look out of place because of the colors though.

I like the idea of narrative compositions and focusing on the combo of music+art. Sounds really interesting!
How many more sprites are you planning on making?

Welcome to the forum, Badriel.

Your game concept is intriguing, not to mention bold. I'm not entirely sure how you'll tell a story through music, but this is something worth trying. I'd like to see how this turns out, even if the VN ends up being only a few minutes long.

I'd like to understand your intentions. Is the player supposed to wait for a musical cue before pressing Enter or the mouse button? (In other words, look at a still image, and wait.) If so, what happens if the player clicks too quickly?

Also, will the characters have voices, or is the story conveyed only through music?

redeyesblackpanda wrote:Those are some nice backgrounds! If you're looking for composers, you should try the recruitment forum. There are a few petty awesome ones here.

Thanks, I'll try there.

CheeryMoya wrote: Also, those BGs are really nice! They're really painterly and soft. Though, the sprites are a bit too glossy for my tastes (the fire fairy(?) especially) and could afford to be less shiny IMO. have you tested what they look like with the BGs? A few details on who these characters are wouldn't hurt either?

chocojax wrote:Wowww, the backgrounds are amazing! I love how vibrant they are wtih the colors. o: Kind of worried that some of your sprites may look out of place because of the colors though.

I've tested them with BGs, and I'll be adjusting sprites' colors and shade, accordingly to the environment. So, they won't look out of place.
About the characters: basically, each character is an anthropomorphization of a small animal, or a plant, with specific character's features, that lead the character's route. Those which I've represented are: lily of the valley, bee and a grasshopper. I try to use the naturally existing relations between such little animals/plants, and stereotypes attached to them, to build their personalities and relationships. The only exception is the main character. You build his personality through your choices.

chocojax wrote:How many more sprites are you planning on making?

Hundreds, I'm afraid. Since there are no words, I have to make detailed expressions and gesticulations for each of the characters. And, when combined, it makes up for hundreds of possible combinations. So far I've got a little bit more than 100 graphics two of the characters.

gekiganwing wrote:Welcome to the forum, Badriel.
Your game concept is intriguing, not to mention bold. I'm not entirely sure how you'll tell a story through music, but this is something worth trying. I'd like to see how this turns out, even if the VN ends up being only a few minutes long.
I'd like to understand your intentions. Is the player supposed to wait for a musical cue before pressing Enter or the mouse button? (In other words, look at a still image, and wait.) If so, what happens if the player clicks too quickly?
Also, will the characters have voices, or is the story conveyed only through music?

Yes, the player will have to wait for the 'musical dialogue' to end and then press a button, to move forward, unless it'll be set to auto mode. The amount of sprites however won't let it to be very static, I want to provide the most dynamic experience. The player will have an option to 'rewind' back, to listen to the 'conversation' again.
There will be no voices, for the voices are represented by music.

The whole concept is still developing, and might change a bit, when the musicians come.

Your experimental idea is really interesting!
I'm sure it will be a good piece! I'm looking foward for it!
I like your art style! So simple and sweet!

Good luck on your project! I will keep my eye on this!

Oh, interesting. Interesting idea, though I even wonder if that's really better as a Visual Novel and not some little movie or something like that. Because, I mean, in the end, it will be images moving while music play. Having to click each time the musical dialogue end could break the mood also, maybe set the auto mode by default.. hmm.

Being a Musician myself (and interested by experimental things about this subject) I'll PM you about it.

Wow, that's an interesting idea! Your art is really beautiful, too! I'll definitely keep an eye (or ear) out for this! Good luck~!

There's quite a bit of mood conveyed with your artwork, I really love it. I think that even if the game play ends up not making sense people will still play it just because it's so beautiful and different.