Quick updates:
New website
here.
AIdol specific part of the site.
Also, I may have two new team members! BG art by Badriel and Music/SFX by afterworldStudios. Hopefully that works out.
And I'll transcribe some of the blog posts here so you can read them easily.
AIdol Setting
AIdol is set in the not-too-distant future, in Japan. Specifically, it is set in an alternate reality where technology has advanced enough for there to be AIs. The big thing right now is Idols, both virtual and real. Idols are based on the Idol culture of Japan, with pop stars like Hatsune Miku–who doesn’t actually exist in the physical plane. We’ll take a look into some of the inspiration and work I have done on creating the world.
The largest company with the most popular idols is Lyric (リリック).
Lyric sponsors two social sites that are important to the plot. One being IdolBoards (アイドルBBS) and the other being Idolfaire (アイドルフェア).
In this world everyone has mobile devices, but not many people actually use them as phones, but rather use instant message systems out of convenience and social awkwardness. One of the top used IM systems is PakuPaku (ぱくぱく).
I don’t know if this will make it into the game, but computers and phones run on AmethystOS. The commonly used browser is called Viola.
The town that AIdol is set in is based on Fukuoka. I’ve never been, but I’ve been doing a lot of research to try to stay faithful to the town. Of course, being that the game is set in an alternate reality, some things will be different. However I am still basing some of the game’s locations off of actual places.
Hana lives in Jonan-Ku (城南区). From Wikipedia:
Located southwest of the downtown area of Tenjin, Jōnan-ku is a primarily residential area. Despite its proximity to downtown Fukuoka, Jōnan-ku has suffered from a lack of transport infrastructure, leading to congested roads and difficult access to the rest of the city. The Nanakuma Line of the Fukuoka Subway opened in 2005, improving traffic flow in the area.
Hana will use the Nanakuma line to get to various locations throughout the game. For ¥600, she can get a day pass to explore the city. I’m hoping to actually implement a map system based on the actual subway system.
Hana will take the Nanakuma station (七隈) and can stop at the Tenjin-Minami station (天神南) as well as traveling to Fukoka Kokusai Center (福岡国際センター), where the convention is held.
The Tenjin-Minami station is the closest station to the Lyric Office Building. Nearby there is a cafe, Virtual Cafe, which I based on Paloma, where the temporary Optimus Cafe was located. You can find Paloma on google maps using this address: 福岡県福岡市中央区今泉1-3-13.
The Fukoka Kokusai Center is a real place, and I’m super glad they have floorplans available to view online, as well as tons of pictures. Below is a gallery of some reference materials I’ve gathered.
Crowdfunding Platforms?
I’m debating crowdfunding platforms right now. Indiegogo or Kickstarter? Something else?
I have a sprite artist who is willing to work for free but her work is so beautiful I want to fairly compensate her. I also will be hiring a superb background artist, whose rates reflect the quality of his work.
Because I want to ensure the quality of this game, which I plan to release as pay-what-you-want, I will need funding, or this will all come out of my pocket. Making games isn’t cheap, so contributors will help me bring this game to life, a goal I’ve had since 2011.
I’ve heard it said that the minimum cost of producing game is made up of the Cost of Living x Time Taken x Team Size.
I will pay for my own cost of living, however, I feel I must pay my artists.
What do you find attracts indie gamers more as a crowdfund platform?
Which do you feel more comfortable supporting on?
Which Platform have you seen the most success for indie devs with in the past?
I will be doing a crowdfund once the script is done so I can pay my artists.
Let me know what you think. Thanks!
Cost of Production
It is my intent, what with wanting to eventually crowdfund for this game, to be completely transparent with production costs for this game. For my personal records as well as the example/education of other devs starting out.
Anyone with
this link can read my Cost of Production spreadsheet. I imagine I will add income reports to it as well. I plan to make end-of-the-month income and spending reports for this game.
Thanks for reading.
