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Whispered Voyages
(A banner/logo artist is one of the few things we still need.)

This is going to serve as the hub for Whispered Voyages. The individual episodes will be put in the completed games section, but anything regarding the series as a whole will be placed here.

Plot: Anton Rogers, a fiction writer, has spent the last four years fighting against forces who wanted nothing more than to kill him in a world that started out as a short story. Now with the wars ending and peace settling into the world, Anton wonders what will happen to his life, wonders if he will ever see home again. Trying to make the young officer happy, Intelligence Director Sora Doichu named him commander of a special investigation team tasked with rooting out corruption from their ranks. On the day of the promotion, Anton discovers a nasty secret that has been hid from him. An artifact that radiates a deadly signal has been discovered. When a trusted friend succumbs to the device, Anton goes into the lab where the device is held.

As he steps into the lab, a white light whisks him away to a desert world. When he awakes, he discovers that he has taken the form of Monk, a young female monk who has been tasked with the containment of the same artifact that is threatening his world. Facing threats from those who want him dead in both worlds, it is up to Anton to find a way to contain the device before it destroys every thing he loves and claims his life.

Features:
-Plot driven; two worlds, two lives
-A kinetic novel, except not quite. At the end of every episode will be a choice. The readers will get the chance to vote on what Anton/Monk do and shift the story for the next episode!
-15 planned episodes
-Multiple CG per episode
-A blend of that modern slice of life with the excitement of a desert adventure
-Some of you may recognize this as the merger of Anton's Vacation, Anima, and Echo Disks. While there was a merger of an eroge game into the mix, THIS story will not be any higher than 16+ for themes and language. No hentai. I can't write it.

Progress for Episode 1:
Script- 99%
Character art- 100%
Backgrounds- 100%
Music- 100%
Coding- 100%
CG art- 0%
Expected release is Dec 31st, though we may move it up sooner based upon external factors.

How can you help Chief?! By answering some questions
- Of the Modern/Desert characters, which character interests you the most?
- Do you like the KN with audience vote option?
- Which world would you like to see more focus on?
- Slice of Life or epic adventure?
- Anything that jumps out at you that you are interested in?
- Are you the one who is going to rig my voting? I know it is you. Just admit it!

CAST:
Real World:
Anton- A fiction writer who spent years working on and developing an alternative universe. After a car accident, Anton awoke in the universe he had been developing. Now, he serves as his government's highest ranking, lowest respected official. Numerous attempts have been made on his life, but through luck, skill, and a talented team, Anton has managed to keep alive to assist the government he formed in what feels like another life.


Yoi- half-elven mercenary ranger assigned to protect Commander Anton Rogers. A spunky, energetic girl with an eagle eye on her sniper rifle, Yoi often charges headlong into danger to protect those she is charged to defend. While she worries that she isn't doing a very good job, she continues to do whatever it takes with a smile on her face. However, there are times when all the sadness that she keeps bottled up can be seen. Anton personally wonders just how two-faced Yoi really is and which the true face is.


Syl- Anton's bodyguard. She's a very quiet, observant character who prefers action over words. However, she is a very caring person, often putting herself in harm's way to help those in need. Syl was ordered to protect Anton from harm and "terminate" any potential threat to the young leader. In the course of service to him, Syl found herself in love with him, but couldn't tell him her feelings for fear that he might reject her, as she was a former government assassin.


Name- A former Space Sector tactician who joined Anton after a series of adventures. Unlike Syl and Yoi, Name has no combative experience to speak of. She won't even wield a firearm for fear that it will only encourage someone to shoot at her. Nevertheless, she will plunge into any investigation with a single-minded determination, no matter what the danger. Many people call her cold, calculating, and rude, but her attitude comes from her tendencies to focus on a single objective and push all other distractions out.


Sora- If her husband, Komi, is calm and mature, Sora is the polar opposite. Her brash and brazen nature often put her, and Komi, straight in the middle of danger. For years, she pursued adventure and mystery in order to climb the ranks. While she is very protective of her friends, she can be harsh and sarcastic to even them. Sora means well, most of the time, but can easily offend, leaving Komi to clean up after her.


Komi- Current Space Sector Director. Komi has little patience for the red tape of bureaucrats that he has to deal with to get anything done. Unlike his wife, Sora, he will take the time to uncover what he needs to do to make his objective possible before plunging in head first.


Olivia- Olivia is publicly the Katajion Special Investigation Squad's executive officer and public relations officer. Privately, she is one of the world's most infamous hackers and an android. She finds most things in life humorous and nothing more than jokes on a galactic scale. To her, life is nothing more than a short flash before fading to darkness, so why not play around with what little light there is. Her co-workers worry that her daring and unflinching behavior is what will end up with her either dead or in jail, but even that is only temporary to her.


Kef- Kef went to college to be a architect. He helps out the Katajion Special Investigation Squad with all of the menial tasks, all the while wishing he could be back home studying.


Rivet- A major computer nerd, gaming and computers are pretty much the only thing she cares about. Every now and then, Olivia manages to her to do work for KSIS.


Adm. Bulsar Trigin- A gray-haired fighter pilot who now serves as the senior most fleet officer in the Katajion Space Sector. He has no love of politics or politicians, often being told that he is overstepping his boundaries in managing his forces.


Ian- A junior researcher for the Katajion Air Sector.


Dr. Elise Miyagi- A senior researcher for the Katajion Air Sector.


Mallace- A young security officer who is posted at the command center.


Ai- The assistant who has the unfortunate job of working for Sora. Easily excitable and constantly nervous, Ai often does everything she can do to prevent the chaos that Sora rains down upon the directorship.


Gregory- A duke of the Raltin Empire, he seeks to complete his mission and further the cause by all means necessary. Unlike many of his colleagues, Gregory has a flair for the dramatic and often gives his foes chances to escape, only to lure them into more traps. Naturally, this has caused him to have a very bad record of actually succeeding, hence why Kari was assigned by the emperor to keep him in line.


Kari-The imperial princess of the Raltin Empire. A calm and reserved woman who believes in peace in the universe.


Lenna- A Space Sector pilot who was caught up in a conspiracy involving the assassination of several high level officials, including Anton. While they managed to clear her name, she left the force to pursue a music career. Sadly, this failed horribly, leaving Lenna back on the streets trying anything to get by. Lenna blames Anton for all that went wrong in her life and stripping her career from her. While a little paranoid, Lenna is still a bright woman with a determination that has kept her going even during this unending rough times.


Mina- Yoi's younger sister and fellow Trilani ranger. While both sisters say that they are nothing like the other, the hyperactive Mina is almost a carbon-copy of Yoi, whom she secretly idolizes. Mina hasn't had a lot of exposure to the rest of the galaxy and clings to her Trilani “mission first, mission always” mentality like a life jacket, even when it comes to facing her older sister.


Desert World:
Monk- Anton's desert world form.


Chandra- A young archer from the west who was hired by Issac to protect the caravan. Lazy, messy, and disorganized, Chandra is more of a burden on the caravan than a boon. When she is on guard duty, she is openly cowardly, going as far to say that she wears the garb of a local gypsy so she can flee when they are attacked. Only her constant kissing up to Issac keeps her employed.


Cina- A local and the caravan's navigator. While she hates Iella and Issac more than they hate her, gold keeps her tongue silent...mostly. Highly opinionated and outspoken, Cina has no problem speaking her mind on local issues and often mutters about the exploitation of her people by the caravans.


Issac- The lead driver of the caravan and a prominent merchant. Issac hates the desert, hates the sun, hates the locals, and hates pretty much everything you can think of. The only reason he leaves the frigid mountains is because of the money he can make transporting food and other supplies to the outposts.


Iella- Issac's daughter and the secretary of the caravan. Iella takes care of all of the inventory of the transport and arranges clients. Very sharp and shrewd, Iella shares her father's hatred of the desert, but understands the potential better than anyone. Iella doesn't wear the lightweight, brighter colored garbs of the desert dwellers, but prefers to keep to her western style merchant clothing.


Lancer- A mercenary who was hired to protect the caravan along side Chandra.


Adapt- A man who claims to be the disciple of Monk's. He is always very reverent of Monk and does everything to protect her.


Ruby- Argued as one of the greatest assassins of all time. Egotistical, demanding, and cold to everyone, Ruby believe in herself and nothing else. While her job and attitude has earned her enemies in every part of the world, Ruby still manages to evade her rivals.


Sariah- A former princess turned thief who is stalking the convoy. There is nobody who knows the sand dunes better than her, nor do they have her expert with breaking locks and cutting throats with her scimitar. While she has little need of gold, she spreads the wealth she steals among the poor children at the various outposts in the desert.


Lios- A ladies man who has a love for beautiful women and jewels. How he acquires those is often left up to... devious methods.


Staff:
Writer: Chief Editor K. Tsuku
Proofreaders: EldaTaluta, harleesayshey
Musicians: INU-GOYA ONLINE, Bastet tail, Kannazuki
BG: QQQnoQnoQ, FalyneVarge
Sprite Artist: Shadilyn

Having read through all of this I feel I only have one appropriate reaction.


That's a lotta STUFF. But at least it kept my interest. Now onto questions.

- Of the Modern/Desert characters, which character interests you the most?
Anton (I am a sucker for writers, sue me) and Sariah (what can I say, I wanna know more about her).
- Do you like the KN with audience vote option?
Oh yes, it makes things more interesting. I just hope you keep it up and don't tire out with the votes!
- Which world would you like to see more focus on?
... I am a flat even for both, actually.
- Slice of Life or epic adventure?
For both but leaning toward ADVENTURE.
- Anything that jumps out at you that you are interested in?
THAT CAST OH MY. That's... that's a big cast son, jeeze.
- Are you the one who is going to rig my voting? I know it is you. Just admit it!
... I hope not?

Blane Doyle wrote: - Do you like the KN with audience vote option?
Oh yes, it makes things more interesting. I just hope you keep it up and don't tire out with the votes!

Put this down in the record books, but there is a detailed work schedule that I'm following right now. I have a detailed schedule of what needs to be done and how it needs to be done. The development of this series is a LOT more regimented than my usual stuff. I'm pretty stoked about the votes because it means I can't overthink the storyline. I decrease my chance of getting bored because I've read it so much in my head. I've got ideas on how I'd do the next piece, but I'm still going to be thinking on my feet.

- Anything that jumps out at you that you are interested in?
THAT CAST OH MY. That's... that's a big cast son, jeeze.

It is an entire season's cast. ^.^ Their roles and prominence are going to shift up and down depending on the episode. Besides, more cast, more wacky side stories! All the sprites are done, so there's also no risk of it delaying our releases.

Monk- Anton's desert world form.

Gender Bender?

wererat42 wrote:

Monk- Anton's desert world form.

Gender Bender?

Yes and no. Yes, because it appears that way with what has been shown. No, because of a lot of spoilers and plot stuff I'm not at liberty to talk about this early in the series. Expect that to get updated as we move along.

An interesting game with beautiful art and good writing.

However, I noted an error: architech should be architect.

See, I love proofreading manuscripts, and have done as much for papillon (Hanako Games), JackNorton (winterwolves), and Clayton Barnett (3-AR Studios), all for free. So if you want some editing done on the script, feel free to PM me and we can work out how to get in contact. I cannot get it done very fast (due to this being a spare time hobby), but I guarantee that I can improve the script at least somewhat.

lemuel wrote:However, I noted an error: architech should be architect.

Totally intentional! He wants to work for The Architectural Association of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, aka Architech. That's EXACTLY what I meant... right... *goes off to correct*

Ya know, I'm just putting this out there, but this doesn't seem to be a good idea.

The cast size is way too huge and you're putting together genres which really shouldn't be merged together. No matter what, your readers are probably going to read less than 50% of your game, meaning 50% of your assets will probably be wasted. I expect this will be another repeat of Rising Angels, with a huge cast of characters which people can't keep track of. Except you're probably abandoning all the work you did for Rising Angels to make this, which is a huge waste.

Also, the problem is that the cast is huge, but they all look the same. There's essentially no variation in body shape or age. The only thing different about them are their hair styles!

This is too good! I love stories with a different world in it, I'm making one right now
Good thing you were able to provide lots and lots of (Cool)characters for your story, It'll really feel like a virtual life in there!
Stories with lots of characters are bound to be famous! Good luck! I hope this finishes soon, and well!

Samu-kun wrote:Ya know, I'm just putting this out there, but this doesn't seem to be a good idea.

The cast size is way too huge and you're putting together genres which really shouldn't be merged together. No matter what, your readers are probably going to read less than 50% of your game, meaning 50% of your assets will probably be wasted. I expect this will be another repeat of Rising Angels, with a huge cast of characters which people can't keep track of. Except you're probably abandoning all the work you did for Rising Angels to make this, which is a huge waste.

Also, the problem is that the cast is huge, but they all look the same. There's essentially no variation in body shape or age. The only thing different about them are their hair styles!

First off, thanks for the time posting. You've got valid concerns that I've been working hard to address. Rising Angels isn't getting abandoned. >.<; I've been alternating days of work. Monday is RA, Tuesday is WV, Wednesday is RA, Thursday is WV, Friday is assisting my protege, and I mix up the weekends. One of the key reasons that this is going to be short episodes is because Rising Angels is still my show horse. As for the cast size, look at your average movie (or The Walking Dead, for an example I'm watching). Notice how many minor characters there are. Not every character is going to have a major role. I don't expect to force down all 28 characters every episode. I doubt we will get over 6-7, with the other characters popping in and out depending on what the story/theme of the episode is. Rising Angels does the same thing past the intro. You get hit with a fair amount of character to start, but once you get into the character route, only a couple characters were really constantly there (Ex: Lenna's revolved around Lenna, Yoi, and Sol.) As for the only playing less than 50%, well, I hope I write an interesting enough story to keep people playing. If not, at least I will be playing the whole thing. That's a win in my books. ^_^ I've accepted the fact that it might not appeal to others. I'm doing that thing people keep quoting at me; making the game I want to make.

Yeah, they do look fairly similar. Then again, I say the same thing about most anime characters (and it is notoriously bad in VNs). Clothing styles are also different, as most of the main characters have 5 outfits.

zankizuna wrote:This is too good! I love stories with a different world in it, I'm making one right now
Good thing you were able to provide lots and lots of (Cool)characters for your story, It'll really feel like a virtual life in there!
Stories with lots of characters are bound to be famous! Good luck! I hope this finishes soon, and well!

Thank you for your support. The first episode is coming out next month.

KomiTsuku wrote:I've accepted the fact that it might not appeal to others. I'm doing that thing people keep quoting at me; making the game I want to make.

KomiTsuku - opening post wrote:-A kinetic novel, except not quite. At the end of every episode will be a choice. The readers will get the chance to vote on what Anton/Monk do and shift the story for the next episode!

So... which is it ^^;? How much will people be able to influence and why do you need that kind of thing if you want to follow your own interests? Will it be something like three choices of actions at the end, which you would like to use anyway?

Anna wrote:

KomiTsuku wrote:I've accepted the fact that it might not appeal to others. I'm doing that thing people keep quoting at me; making the game I want to make.

KomiTsuku - opening post wrote:-A kinetic novel, except not quite. At the end of every episode will be a choice. The readers will get the chance to vote on what Anton/Monk do and shift the story for the next episode!

So... which is it ^^;? How much will people be able to influence and why do you need that kind of thing if you want to follow your own interests? Will it be something like three choices of actions at the end, which you would like to use anyway?

Both? The options will be at key points where the story could go either way. Very few (if any) of these options will be "pick the girl/boy" you want. I'll give an example from the first episode. I'm flying the plane, but you all are sitting navigator. You point where we go next, I figure out the route of flight and just how many barrel rolls I want to do on the way.

Can't wait to play. ;D

Hino wrote:Can't wait to play. ;D

You won't have to wait too much longer to play the first episode. ^_^

Wow ;D The art is amazing and the story line interest me. I'm glad this will be out soon! Like Hino said, "I can't wait to play!" ;D