~Nakajo! [BxG][Drama][Slice of Life]

A place for game announcements, and for people to discuss games being made.
Forum rules
Please read the sticky before creating a new topic. Linking to Kickstarter/Crowdfunded games requires a demo. Updates to Patreon-backed games may be posted once every 2 months. Adult content should not be posted in this forum.
Message
Author
User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

~Nakajo! [BxG][Drama][Slice of Life]

#1 Post by Lachez »

UPDATES
[6/21/18] Lauched a new Development Blog!

[7/3/18] Pair Sprites and Bubble Emotes
[7/10/18] Updated Sprites Part 1
[7/17/18] Writing: The Service Club
Image
Image


Demo Progress:
Writing - 45,000+ words (100,000+ goal)
GUI - 50%
Sprites –100%
BG - 40%
CG - 20%

Synopsis
Nakajo Sanematsu lived in the United States for 5 years before moving back to his hometown. Living in the U.S. as a delinquent and not giving a care about anyone else but himself, he plunges into a deep depression and attempts to take his own life. After the failed attempt at suicide, he is offered to move back to his hometown in the Ibaraki Prefecture of Japan and takes the opportunity to make a fresh start at Ibaraki Second High.

Before starting classes at his new school, he saves Motoko Yuki, the class introvert from the school bullies. As a punishment for getting into a fight, his teacher, guardian, and cousin Miyako Sanematsu, assigns Nakajo to be the President of the school’s Service Club, a club dedicated to providing help and service to improve the livelihood of everyone at Ibaraki Second High. As the members of the Service Club bond, it seems that some of the other school clubs and students are in need of their service.

Nakajo has an eye for seeing people for who they truly are and sees that there seems to be some sort of unspoken tension between all of his classmates in Class 2-D. Clueless as to what that tension may be, the six members of the Service Club - Nakajo Sanematsu, Motoko Yuki, Tatsuya Sugita, Sumiko Tomori, Daisuke Matsuoka, and Ai Kamiya - set their own problems aside to offer their service to their peers!


Service Club
"The Service Club is dedicated to help improve the livelihood of all students at Ibaraki Second High by offering their quality service at request."



Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image



Image

Hello everyone! I'm LaChez and I've been working on this project since 2013. I was struggling with personal issues between 2014 - 2018 so development was stunted for quite some time. After a long struggle we're back in full swing and we're aiming for a demo later this year! I'll be updating this page as we continue to work on Nakajo, for consistent updates follow me on Twitter!

Questions

1. Does the premise of the story interest you? What sort of plot points would you expect of this VN?

2. Nakajo will pay homage to other genres such as comedy, romance, and action. Are there any other genres you would like to see?

3. What is your impression of Nakajo's characters? Is the roster too big? How would you expect to interact with such a large cast of characters?

4. Would you consider backing this project on Kickstarter? This would include stretch goals such as animation and voice acting. What other stretch goals or pledge rewards would you like to expect?

Team
LaChez: Writer (Twitter)
Background/Visual Artist: anirhapsodist (Deviantart)
Lead Character Artist: lordofelemental (Deviantart)
Last edited by Lachez on Thu Jul 19, 2018 8:54 pm, edited 114 times in total.

User avatar
Kato
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 649
Joined: Tue Jan 15, 2013 4:45 am
Projects: Memories of Summer Winds
Organization: Blue Sphere Group
Location: Perth, Western Australia
Contact:

Re: Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#2 Post by Kato »

There... THERE'S SO MANY CHARACTERS! :o :o :o

I'm too busy to take up a programming role but feel free to throw me a message if you need a helping hand here and there.

EDIT: The song you composer did is incredible. It's so sad, started to get teary eyed :S But I'm a man goddammit!
Image Image
Kato, Producer & Programmer for Blue Sphere Group. Current Projects: Memories of Summer Winds

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#3 Post by Lachez »

Kato wrote:There... THERE'S SO MANY CHARACTERS! :o :o :o

I'm too busy to take up a programming role but feel free to throw me a message if you need a helping hand here and there.

EDIT: The song you composer did is incredible. It's so sad, started to get teary eyed :S But I'm a man goddammit!
I'll keep that in mind thank you, I probably will sooner or later! :D :D

And a big thing i want to do in this is the music to be a key thing in the themes of the story, for the player to actually feel the emotions of the characters as cheesy as that sounds.

gekiganwing
Lemma-Class Veteran
Posts: 2473
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:38 pm
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#4 Post by gekiganwing »

A few questions to start out this post:

* How many endings do you currently plan to create?
* If there are more than one, do you plan to include official pairings? Will they be an important aspect of the story?
* If your visual novel were graded by a movie or video games rating organization, what sort of rating would it get?
* Have you, or someone you know well, lived in Japan? If not, have you already done a decent amount of research?
* Would your story work just as well if the main character moved to some other nation? (For instance, would the story be similar if he lived in France, Singapore, or Costa Rica?)

LaChez, I don't know if you're familiar with Samu-kun's visual novel Homeward, but yours sounds a little bit similar. (You'll find the 16+ rated version here, and a thread about the 18+ version in the adult games section of this forum.) It also features a main character who has lived in multiple nations, and who has been away from his friends for many years. Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of copying. But I believe you'll benefit by making sure your story has several things which make it clearly distinct from Homeward.

I enjoy boy x girls stories and school-centered stories. But I have to admit that after reading quite a few, it's easy to get burned out. To be more specific, I've read several of the visual novels named in the Wikipedia entry for nakige ("crying game," or stories which tend to have slow pacing and an increasingly serious tone). It sounds like you're aiming to make a relatively serious story. Again, don't worry. I am not claiming that your VN lacks innovation, and I do not believe that innovation is the most important part of a story. I believe that it's still possible to create an interesting story in contemporary Japan with teenage characters. It's just that I currently consider almost any other setting to be refreshingly different.

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#5 Post by Lachez »

gekiganwing wrote:A few questions to start out this post:
* How many endings do you currently plan to create?
* If there are more than one, do you plan to include official pairings? Will they be an important aspect of the story?
* If your visual novel were graded by a movie or video games rating organization, what sort of rating would it get?
* Have you, or someone you know well, lived in Japan? If not, have you already done a decent amount of research?
* Would your story work just as well if the main character moved to some other nation? (For instance, would the story be similar if he lived in France, Singapore, or Costa Rica?)
*If i do stray away from this being a Kinetic Novel I shall implement more than 5 different ending with the current ideas of letting it be more interactive.
*There are other pairings and the way how they affect the relationship of the two main characters in their experiences, in and outside of their school lives.
*I don't plan on it having many ecchi-type scenes, but will have some sort of violence in fights. 16+
*I have done my research on Japanese schooling and how the schooling system works as well as a lot of study into Japanese culture.
*It could, but the way Nakajo was living in America, more specifically California and how he had gotten involved in fights with gangs to get away from his problems living there.
gekiganwing wrote:LaChez, I don't know if you're familiar with Samu-kun's visual novel Homeward, but yours sounds a little bit similar. (You'll find the 16+ rated version here, and a thread about the 18+ version in the adult games section of this forum.) It also features a main character who has lived in multiple nations, and who has been away from his friends for many years. Don't worry, I'm not accusing you of copying. But I believe you'll benefit by making sure your story has several things which make it clearly distinct from Homeward.
I actually have not heard about it. It was only recently that i became interested in visual novels actually. I read into it when you posted about it and could see the relation. The way i posted the summary of it here does give it away that it seems it could be a typical school drama. I am confident with the highlighted themes of this story can make it distinct from other novels.
gekiganwing wrote:I enjoy boy x girls stories and school-centered stories. But I have to admit that after reading quite a few, it's easy to get burned out. To be more specific, I've read several of the visual novels named in the Wikipedia entry for nakige ("crying game," or stories which tend to have slow pacing and an increasingly serious tone). It sounds like you're aiming to make a relatively serious story. Again, don't worry. I am not claiming that your VN lacks innovation, and I do not believe that innovation is the most important part of a story. I believe that it's still possible to create an interesting story in contemporary Japan with teenage characters. It's just that I currently consider almost any other setting to be refreshingly different.
I can see why you could get sick of these types of stories because they are done quite often and yes the story will be quite on the serious side of things. It can be possible that it could be in a different setting, but I have implemented things relative to the clubs, festivals, etc.. in Japanese culture.

What kinds of things would you like to know in the story itself with the characters and why it would set it apart from other stories that could be similar to this one such as the one you showed me, Homeward?

User avatar
inhalance
Regular
Posts: 162
Joined: Mon Nov 26, 2012 3:40 am
Projects: Seasonal Melody ♬
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#6 Post by inhalance »

I love the art concepts! The amount of characters is also a big plus for me as well. I just hope their names and faces won't get confusing later on in the game ^^;

I have to admit I've also seen the same general plot outline multiple times already, but I'm curious to see what will make your VN distinct and apart from the crowd. I can't wait to see what you come up with! Good luck :)
Offering proofreading help and writing assets.

Current WIP:
Image

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#7 Post by Lachez »

inhalance wrote:I love the art concepts! The amount of characters is also a big plus for me as well. I just hope their names and faces won't get confusing later on in the game ^^;
You will get to know all of the characters and each of their distinctive personalities :D

User avatar
ShippoK
Veteran
Posts: 348
Joined: Wed Mar 28, 2012 8:59 pm
Projects: Eyes of Gold (In-Progress)
Organization: (Red Moon)
Location: Glorious Nippon (A.K.A the USA)
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool]

#8 Post by ShippoK »

This will probably be the first novel that I see use Artificial Academy for it's character. (I like to use that game to give me character design ideas... I-I swear!)

Not a big fans on these type's of stories, but it'll interest a lot of other people out there.

Good luck to you and everyone who is helping you work on the project.
Much Appreciated for those who took the Survey!

Image Image
Eyes of Gold [BL (Suspense) (+18)] IN-PROGRESS
Alternate Online [(Friendship) (+10)] ON-HOLD
DeviantART• •[Honest critique] - 'Honesty is its own reward.'

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][Drama][HighSchool][Nakige]

#9 Post by Lachez »

<Sample under revision>
Last edited by Lachez on Tue Apr 02, 2013 4:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#10 Post by Lachez »

Kinetic or BxG Dev journal posted! Let me know your opinions on the subject please!

User avatar
Roseus Mirabili
Regular
Posts: 85
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2012 10:55 pm
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#11 Post by Roseus Mirabili »

I love all the characters. The variety is just so nice. And as for what kind of game you want to make this, I love Motoko, but I also loved the other girls you had lined up for Nakajo so I would have to say I'd like it to be a bishoujo game just for the many other possibilities you could come up with. And even if you don't make it that kind of game, I still believe you've got a good creation in the making.

Either way, I'm gonna be looking forward to your game ^^
Last edited by Roseus Mirabili on Sat Mar 09, 2013 8:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
Image

gekiganwing
Lemma-Class Veteran
Posts: 2473
Joined: Wed Sep 29, 2004 1:38 pm
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#12 Post by gekiganwing »

Thanks for replying to my earlier comment. Now regarding the topic of "kinetic novel or branching story with multiple love interests"...

* Scope: are you currently able and willing to write a large story with many potential endings? Or do you want to reduce its scope, and just focus on the story of two of your characters? (A lot of freeware games/VNs die part of the way through development. Sometimes it's because the creator can't commit the time and effort needed to work on it, or they get distracted by real world concerns. This is a good reason to think about the scope of your project.)

* Do you find the other relationships genuinely interesting? If you think only the main couple's story will be compelling, then either write a story with no choices, or a visual novel with only a single heroine. (If you're not sure what I mean, then browse through this list from the VNDB of "one person x one girl" stories in English. Caution -- some are not safe for work.)

You can always compromise and create both. That's what Samu-kun did. The 18+ version of Homeward was created first. It has decisions and three love interests. The 16+ version ("One Story") is a kinetic novel. All the other characters are still in the story, but there are no decisions and just one ending.

Video games, interactive fiction, VNs, and gamebooks make it much easier for a person to create a work that has multiple endings. It's possible to do create multiple endings with prose, comics, and film, though it's relatively rare.

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#13 Post by Lachez »

* Scope: are you currently able and willing to write a large story with many potential endings? Or do you want to reduce its scope, and just focus on the story of two of your characters? (A lot of freeware games/VNs die part of the way through development. Sometimes it's because the creator can't commit the time and effort needed to work on it, or they get distracted by real world concerns. This is a good reason to think about the scope of your project.)
Scope: As of right now I do work quite a lot, so it is going to be quite hard with how far I already am in the script with Nakajo and Motoko's story. It is going to have a bit of a reduced scope because of the focus on those two characters. I can understand why someone can stop through development but from what's going on right now this project might take until the end of the year and am prepared for the long development.
* Do you find the other relationships genuinely interesting? If you think only the main couple's story will be compelling, then either write a story with no choices, or a visual novel with only a single heroine. (If you're not sure what I mean, then browse through this list from the VNDB of "one person x one girl" stories in English. Caution -- some are not safe for work.)
I do feel that I won't need to use the other four females as different paths in the story with how far I am in script with just Motoko already, but I do have a different way to approach it.

Have the main characters interact with the other minor characters and their relationships.

This is where the scope can expand with the other relationships in the class not involving the four main characters; Nakajo, Tatsuya, Motoko, and Sakako. At this point in the script I can already create different paths with those minor characters that are influenced by the main couple which in turn can affect Nakajo and Motoko's relationship near the end game.

For example: Past high school they may run into some of the certain characters or couples they had the choice of helping or not which can affect the character's view on their relationship and create a minimum of 4 endings already. Such as a perfect ending, good ending, neutral ending, bad ending.

The main plot isn't just about the fixing of the two main characters lives, but it also involves the bond with their other classmates. Some of the bonds seem to be broken and the class' atmosphere eventually starts to feel more artificial to the main characters. Is there something that the main characters don't know about some of their classmate's pasts with one another? They eventually start to conflict with one another and the two try to understand and help them resolve their issues.

User avatar
Lachez
Regular
Posts: 79
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2013 5:17 am
Projects: Nakajo
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#14 Post by Lachez »

New blog update!

User avatar
DeeKay
Veteran
Posts: 486
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:25 pm
Location: France
Contact:

Re: ~Nakajo! [Romance][HighSchool][Nakige] Kinetic or BxG?

#15 Post by DeeKay »

Oh, how could I miss this ? ^^''

Consider me hooked ! I especially like your idea of about bonds with several characters which may influence the main story at some point.
How to describe this ? It feels like you're going for "side" arcs which are still connected in some way to the main arc, pretty much a "each act has potential consequences" scheme in regards to the overarching plot. This, in turn, makes the other characters a part of the world and not just an afterthought. Cool stuff indeed ! :)

Anyway, looking forward to more news on this ! ^^
-- No longer active --
Image
-- English/French Translation topic here
-- Hope~ - Symphony of Tomorrow alpha demo playthrough here (1h35mn long video !)

-- Current avatar by SilverHyena => her DA account

Image
-- Check out this project if you have some time !

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Bing [Bot]