This is my first Visual Novel, but not my first game concept. I've graduated with a bachelor's degree in Game Design.. and well.. I'm trying to put that expensive sucker to good use!
You (the player) take control of Carl, a young boy who moved away from his friends in the summer after middle school, due to his father's career. His father's position dissolved years later, and the family decided to move back to The Town so Carl can attend the high school that has flourished in their years away. He soon notices that not much has changed over the years though.. there's a few new houses that have sprung up, shopping centers, new and shiny cars litter the streets of town. Not much has changed.. that is, until he meets his friends from all those years ago! As children Carl and his best friend played around, having fun.. but now they were grown and not (as) childish as they once were (both in terms of physical appearance and attitude). Carl has to pick up the pieces of where he left off all those years ago, and gets to make brand new friends (and enemies.. and frienemies) and adventures in his last year of high school.
Genre: Romance, Slice of Life, School Drama
Rating: PG-13 and/or 18+ (There will be an all ages version, and 18+ with added mature content)
Romance Partners: 6 main options with two side characters
Resolution: 1280 x 720px
All 8 romance options will be fully voiced. Background characters MAY be in the future.
Choose your childhood friend : In the beginning of the game, you're able to choose 1 of the six (main) romance options as your 'childhood friend' character archetype. This will drastically change the story, and you will still be able to romance other girls besides your chosen childhood friend.
'Social Networking': All of the students at The School are connected to an educational social networking website (something like facebook). As the PC gets to know the girls, he's able to friend them and find out more about 'em. This will give the player a bit of insight on the girl he is going to attempt to get to know better. Also, the PC and romance option will be able to communicate over the 'social website' at certain points in the game.
'Ecchi' / H-Scenes : The 18+ version of the game will have at least 3-4 (per romance option) full CG scenes that are mature in nature.
Harem mode: When you finish a girl's path and get a good ending, you can add her to a "Harem mode" that unlocks. It's basically a very tongue-in-cheek comedy story line, where you're just meant to have fun and not worry about maintaining relationships. (This feature will not appear in the All Ages version)
Each girl will have a Young and normal version. The prologue and childhood friend sequence happens when they are 14/15(last year of middle school,) and the main story takes place during the last year of highschool, so they're 18/19.
Rima Danielle
Rima Danielle is a rough and tumble adventurous girl, always doing her absolute best to enjoy life to the fullest and be the best at anything she tries. Extremely competitive, she never shies away from a challenge or dare, making her easily drawn out by such. Rima especially loves to race and compete with others in general. Often seen with brightly dyed hair, she pays little attention to her outfit and doesn't particularly care about fashion…causing her to often draw Renata’s ire. Rima often has trouble understanding Fiona due to their opposite natures. Rima respects daring and speed, and won’t respond to timid approaches. While difficult to win over, She will be an extremely loyal companion…unless that loyalty is betrayed. Fiona Samson
Shy and timid, Fiona lives near the edge of town alone where her family runs a small veterinary clinic. She’s very straightforward and open to the animals, but with other people is often unable to explain herself well. Tabitha is her best friend though she is also very close with Renata, and often helps her with her fashion projects. She is one of the kindest and most caring people around, but is extremely hard to draw out of her shell. She respects those that are kind and gentle.
Renata Blanchfleur
Renata is a fashion conscious girl who has spent much of her time since she came of age as a fashion model and designer, and is not shy about her body or what she wears. She is well off financially and lives in a large home and comes from a rich family, but she never tries to brag about it…though sometimes her mannerisms can be seen as a bit snobbish. She is very generous and respects those who are not greedy, and especially those that dress well.
Alison Jennings
Alison is a farmgirl whose rustic charm only helps complete her country look and her attractive persona. Hardworking and dedicated, she is an honest girl who expects others to be honest with her. She’ll be more open if others are open with her, but if you are caught in a lie to her she’ll never trust you again. She enjoys hanging out with Rima, but often fights with her, and finds only some common ground with Renata.
Penelope ‘Penny’ Patricks
Penny is a rambunctious young lady with a sense of innocence that is only broken by the fact that she seems to always be up for trying anything at any time, provided it doesn’t hurt anyone, and especially if it feels good. Her jovial and easygoing nature mean she can get along with almost anyone, though she is attracted most to those who want to have fun. Penny gets along easily and quickly with everyone, though sometimes annoys Rima a bit.
Tabitha Strall
Tabitha is a somewhat nerdy girl who has always spent more time with books than with friends or dating, and she is generally a good person. Extremely curious and always eager to learn, Tabitha approaches new opportunities and actions with a zealous sense of adventure. She is extremely prone to stressing out over every small detail, having a large case of OCD. It's always about schedules, rules and regulations with her. Always top of the class in both academics and stress level, Tabitha will always help those in need.
The last 2 romance options are currently SECRET.
Prologue Story: (in revision) 4k word count
Rima childhood path: (in revision) 7k
Fiona childhood path: (in revision) 8k
Penny childhood path: (in revision) 7.5k
Allison childhood path: (rough draft) 2k
Tabitha childhood path: (rough draft) 1k
Renata childhood path (in revision) 8k
Art Progress
We had to (unfortunately switch our artist just recently, so we've gone back to square one)
Young Rima (concept/color finished)
Rima (concept finished, color 90%)
http://haihovothan.deviantart.com/ Our artist's deviantart page
http://www.harmonythegame.com Our website (under construction)
http://harmonyvn.tumblr.com Tumblr, probably best way to keep track of the game.
Feedback/Questions
Is there enough time to delve into a deep story with only one year of highschool to go through? I don't want something to seem like it goes on FOREVER, but it's only four days or something. I don't know if it's easy to 'fall in love' in only a year. I'm kinda on the fence about this.
When you choose a childhood friend, due to the crazy amount of scenarios, you'll only have 5(or so) romance options other than your childhood friend. The two 'side' girls are available on any path though. So, say you choose Rima as your childhood friend. You can then only romance the 2 (side girls), Allison, Fiona and Tabitha. The question here is: does that feel limited and restricted to you? 4-6 available paths on a single playthrough should still be enough, but I want other people's opinions.
Looking for Help!
We're looking for a few more people to help our vision be complete within Harmony.
VOICE ACTORS: We’re looking for three characters: Alison (AppleJack), Rima (Rainbow Dash), and Renata (Rarity). Here is the link to the lines to record for us: Harmony Audition Lines. You can send them to me via email; harmonyvn@outlook.com
COLOR/SHADING ARTIST: We are looking for an artist who is good with coloring and shading, they will be working with our current artist to color/shade in his finished line art. You can show us some of your work, and we’ll have you color in some finished line art to see how things go from there. Send in your work to our email: harmonyvn@outlook.com
BACKGROUND ARTIST: Looking for someone to work on background art for the game. Again, submit your work to our email: harmonyvn@outlook.com
Random Info:
I've been working on this game since like.. last December, and around 2 months ago, I was finally able to start branching out for other staff. It was just my writer friend and I for the longest. Now we have two sound designers, five writers, three editors, character & CG artist, a background artist, a hand full of voice actors and myself. I'm our only programmer (been learning Ren'py for a few months now) and I do all of the online promotion and merchandising. I feel I have a very strong team to handle this ambitious project.
EDIT: 10/13/12 Added the Rima color concept art.
EDIT: 1/3/13 Added a few more pieces of art, and the looking for help section