Like She Had Wings [action/urban fantasy][GxG/B/X]

[kitsubasa]

In 1877, a giant land mass appeared in the South Pacific. Quickly settled by Australia, China and America, it was discovered the new continent was host to a menagerie of magical creatures, previously only the stuff of legends. Moreover, something in the atmosphere of the land gave ordinary men the power to cast spells. They called the new continent Medipacifica.

… That’s not the story we’re here for. It’s December 31st 2013, and Artemis King-- member of the supernatural police department-- is overworked, just as she is every New Year’s. The night is dragging and mistakes are starting to be made. Some coworkers are grappling a rogue werewolf-- but Art and her partner Milla aren’t able to help out until they’ve dealt with an illegal busking wizard. It should be an easy case.

But, too beat to work the beat properly, Art resorts to shooting the guy-- only to discover he gives as good as he gets. He’s left with a harpoon in his shoulder, she’s left with a curse that turns her into a half-demon. Milla panics and turns Art over to the police department’s scientific research team, hoping for a cure. What Art gets instead is jail time, as a rare specimen they don’t want to give up.

It’s March 2014. Milla breaks Art out, but before they can formulate an escape plan, Milla is captured in Art’s stead. Art is left with a choice: go back in the slammer, rescue Milla the hard way, or keep running.

Features

-Five completely distinct routes (30k+ words each)
-Multiple endings for each route-- between 4 and 8. Mix and match each route's ending criteria and see what happens!
-Four romances; 2 GxG, 1 GxB, 1 GxNB
-Partial voicing
-A twisty and dramatic urban fantasy plotline tying all the routes together

The Routes

Armida: Art formulates a plan to rescue Milla with the help of a fellow prison escapee-- Armida Azarola, a silent Frankensteinian creature. However, Armida’s assistance isn’t being offered on pure altruism: What happened to her back in those cells? Why does she refuse to talk? And, perhaps most importantly-- how did she come back from the grave in the first place?

Doc: Art turns herself back into the labs, however her breakout has caught the unwanted attention of notorious demon exterminator (and assistant police commissioner) Erin Banballow. Can Art, together with some sympathetic station staff, succeed in convincing Erin out of murder? Romance: Doc.

Samir: Art successfully rescues Milla, and the pair hightail it away from their city, to a nearby village where a friend-of-a-friend has offered them accommodation. Their host: a self-loathing werewolf named Samir, who grapples with guilt over a certain incident three months earlier… Romance: Milla, Coro

Garnet: Art runs into the wilderness, where she meets two women-- Jane Fontaine, a reserved pilot with a crashed plane, and Garnet, a kindly yet introverted witch. Garnet offers to help return Art's humanity, if Art can just lend a hand with Jane's plane... Romance: Garnet.

Finale: With all four routes completed, the story will be resolved in a grand finale, where all the major characters gather to take down the enemies they've made along the way, and save a friend one last time. Romance: Garnet, Doc or Milla

The Main Characters

(note: some of this is my own doofy placeholder art; the nice, painted sprites are the in-game ones, obviously!)

Artemis King: A 28-year-old Kiwi expat, Artemis left home young and never really grew up. In the wake of her father’s death at age 18, she fled to Medipacifica and immediately joined the police academy-- starting a habit of running from personal problems that would last her whole adult life. Despite Art’s maturity issues, her youthful energy does serve her well when it comes to relationships and work, enabling her to tackle issues put in front of her with no shortage of pep and enthusiasm. Actually, that said, a little less enthusiasm might be better-- she’s prone to acting without thinking and putting herself and others in danger. Damnit, Art.

Milla Crescent: If Art is a woman-child, then Milla is her begrudging parent-- picking up after messes and apologising for rude interactions, left and right. Milla is righteous, independent and driven, with a strong desire to do her work properly and in a humane fashion. It disheartens her to see how lazy her fellow officers are, both in morals and in practice, and she pushes others to do the right thing as often and as well as she can.

Armida Azarola: Armida is serious, almost impossible to squeeze personal information out of, and emotionally absent as a rule. Mute by choice but not biology, she writes all communication down on a notepad, and uses the slow medium of writing as an excuse for short, evasive responses. What secrets lurk behind her patchwork facade?

Doctor Dock Marina Yuen, PhD: Do not disrespect them by dropping the PhD, they know people like to ignore that part after the Ig Nobel prize win two years back. Doc is a gung-ho scientist whose unconventional methodology won them management of the ‘unusual biology' science team at the police department. They don’t like the implications the job title holds, considering some people would say their biology is a little unusual too-- it feels a little like they’re being classified as one of the specimens sometimes. Snarky, intelligent and very Australian, Doc is the perfect foil for Art’s low-brow New Zealand-y sass. And who knows, maybe if they can tolerate each other’s accents long enough to have a conversation, they could become something more…

Samir Petrov: Samir is a poorly-veiled enigma; the kind of man who claims he has a lot of secrets, but easily spills them offhand. Ask him outright, he’ll deny any and all of his mysteries, but let him bring them up by accident, and he’ll tell you tales-- of expeditions hunting vampires, of surviving against incredible odds… and, most importantly, of how he became the world’s loneliest werewolf; lurking in the woods, deep inside his own uncertainty and self-loathing. Melancholic at best, Milla and Art’s presence in his home can do nothing but good for him, as they (intentionally or not) begin to reawaken his old adventurous identity once more.

Garnet: Garnet lives out in the wilderness, where she wears high-fashion clothes and tries to comprehend humanity at a comfortable distance. For reasons she doesn't care to explain, she is a witch of far greater power than any other human in recorded history-- capable of brewing potions and lifting curses, fields of expertise usually restricted to fae (which she is obviously not-- or she would be green, or blue, or some other candy-bright skin colour). She offers to help cure Art, in exchange for Art investigating the forest's only other human resident, Jane, and finding out how she got there. Why does Garnet have an interest in the girl... and moreover, why is Garnet so afraid of socialising with other humans?

Structure

The game has a set route order-- Armida, then Doc, then Samir, then Garnet, then the finale. Once you've unlocked a route you can replay it at any time for a different conclusion, and while the order is fixed, there are a lot of endings and choices within the routes so you're not tied down too much. Most major characters show up across all routes (for instance, Milla is in every route you play through), so if you love a particular major character you should be seeing a lot of them even when you're not on their route. Mix and match your endings, follow the plot through, and see how everything pans out when the routes converge for the ending!

Current Completion

Writing:

First draft: approx 45%

-Armida: 80% (just need to finish some of the branches)
-Samir: 55% (2/4 of script finished)
-Doc: 90% (endings ahoy!)
-Garnet: 5% (scene-by-scene breakdown/planning doc WIP)
-Finale:5% (scene-by-scene breakdown/planning doc WIP)

Second draft: 0%

Final draft: 0%

Art:

Sprites
-Basic sprites: 88% (24/27 characters done)
-Alternate outfits: 0% (0/22 alternate outfits done)

Character designs: 93% (46/49 characters+outfits done)

BGs
-Basic BGs: ?% (2/? done)
-Recolours: ?% (0/? done)

CGs: 0% (0/?-- to be confirmed as writing is finished)

GUI: 100% (thanks Morhighan!)

Logo: 100% (thanks Cafechan!)

Other stuff:

Coding: 0% (trying to get writing done first)

Music: 0% (likewise-- writing is taking top priority, then I’ll suss music)

Voicework
-Casting: 33% (8/24 characters cast)
-Recording: 0% (need writing done, etc etc…)

SFX: 0% (I’m intending to just dig these up from royalty free SFX places, though)

Credits

Directing: Kitsubasa
Writing: Kitsubasa
Sprites: Anna Fitzpatrick (http://annafitz.tumblr.com/)
CGs: Anna Fitzpatrick
BGs: Kitsubasa
Logo: Cafechan
GUI: Morhighan
Editing: Whimsical Conductor

All other jobs are currently unfilled. Time will tell whether I handle code myself, and all sound aspects are being ignored until writing is done.

[Broodelin]

If you'd like, I can implement the GUI for you. I love seeing new creators on the WIP forum!

Also, I can set up some basic groundwork coding if you need it.

This looks like a really awesome project. I think it's interesting to draw parallels between this fantasy world and the Australasian part of the world. I think it could be incredible if you connect the right dots.

[kitsubasa]

Ah, any coding help would be really appreciated! I've experimented very, very lightly with Ren'Py before but I think I'm going to need to learn a bit more than the basics to make working on this intuitive.

Also; I'm glad you think the setting is interesting! If it wasn't obvious, one of the core ideas is that Medipacifica is just another island dealing with colonisation and the modern fallout from it. Samir's route, Doc's route and the secret route will deal quite thoroughly with the issues the continent's magical societies face thanks to human interference-- meanwhile, Jane and Armida's routes are about the dangers posed to humans who run into the continent willy-nilly. Suffice to say, a lot of the groundwork I've been laying for the past seven months has been worldbuilding and fleshing out the parallels between Medipacifica and real-world Australasia. : )

[Broodelin]

Well, should you need any help on this project, just PM me! I'm really interested in how this all pans out.

[kitsubasa]

Whoo, okay! I didn’t want to include them in the first post, since it was already getting pretty long-winded, so here’s a look at some of the minor characters. This set features primarily in Doc’s route, but they also appear in Armida’s route to a degree.

Jun-Young ‘Duke’ Bai: Duke moved from Seoul to Medipacifica when he was 20, intending to become a doctor for magical creatures. After his first year of study, however, he failed to gain acceptance into medical school, jeopardising his future on the continent. With healing magical creatures ruled out, he decided he’d instead take his earlier MMA training and apply it to hurting them; becoming a cop in the Victoria Police Department. He advanced through the ranks with Art, until the pair hit their current rank and got split apart-- paired with Cecil and Milla. Duke is a sensitive and uncertain man who respects rules and regulations and tries to keep the peace where he can.

Cecil Jameson: Cecil is Duke’s police partner, a brash American whose overconfidence leads to a lot of botched operations. There’s speculation throughout the department that the only reason Cecil’s negligence hasn’t gotten him fired yet is because his dad is the world-renowned monster hunter Noah Jameson; and this might be completely right. While Cecil hasn’t inherited his father’s talent for sending magical creatures to meet their maker, he has inherited his dad’s choice of weaponry-- he hefts sniper rifles along with him to all his jobs, and pairs them with Duke’s fists to mixed success.

Lazare Juste Chevalier-Hebert: Laz moved to Medipacifica from Tahiti when he was in his late teens. After losing one of his forearms in an accident, his parents realised he could get a perfectly functional magical replacement if they shifted there-- since magic only works on the landmass, however, he would never be able to leave again without losing functionality of his left arm. No worries. He used the opportunity to train in magic, join the local police force, and become a renowned wizard-cop. Now, he fights injustice in all its forms-- magical, institutional, and interpersonal.

Erin Banballow: Erin was, in her teens, a promising baseball player who gained a scholarship for her local university after leading her high-school through a season-long win streak. Little did she know, she would soon be applying her batting knowledge not to balls, but to brains. Coming home one day, she discovered her reclusive father had been possessed by a demon, and she was forced to fight him to the death with the only weapon she had on hand. Her grudge cemented and her future settled, she skipped university and entered the police force. Now, at age 48, she is the assistant commissioner, and her hatred of demons hasn’t settled. She carries her baseball bat at all times, ready to defend herself from her lifelong foes at any instant.

Edward ‘Wolfgang’ Clarke: Wolfgang is an Englishman who came to Medipacifica to try and become a wizard. Upon arriving, he discovered getting a degree in wizardry would be a bit more expensive than he initially assumed, and decided to start busking illegally with magic to try and fundraise for his education. This, as you may guess from the main plot synopsis, ended poorly for him. What’s he up to now, and will he ever find a less hazardous way of learning and practicing magic? It’s all a mystery~

[kitsubasa]

Alright, time for the third set of characters! These guys are from Samir's route. The crux of Samir's route involves a trip to a vampire town, Skykeep, to attend a ball. As the trip progresses, motives for attending the ball start to tumble out, allegiances are formed and broken, and Art is given a choice of two romances to pursue-- her old friend, Milla, and the new (quite literal) hotness, Coro-- a fire-elemental dragon man. Things are gonna get... steamy. BD

Lord Moses Ocasala-Dargin: Formerly an impoverished human, Moses became a vampire in his late 30s, intentionally sired as the heir to a small township. The vampires of Medipacifica live primarily in a frozen mountain range around the central plains of the continent, where most rule over a village, town or city all of their own as a sort of feudal lord. Where many choose to be dictators or monarchs, Moses took to his human roots. He decided to try and abolish the system he’d been bitten into, and started building a democracy for choosing the next ruler after he dies. However, his new system is fragile, and he must work to ensure he isn’t killed off before his careful planning comes to fruition. Resourceful, compassionate and diplomatic, Moses tries very hard to be hard to dislike.

King Wilhemina Mountaincrowner: As a second-generation vampire, Will was created without a kingdom to her name. Killing off Caelestis Skykeeper, the ruler of Skykeep, she claimed his throne for her own-- placing the town under her iron fist and taking his daughter Lucretia captive. Will is brutal and selfish, having spent her unlife fighting for survival in a world that raises most vampires with a silver spoon. Cross her at your peril.

Lady Steward Lucretia Skykeeper: Lucretia is a dhampyr, the child of the late King Caelestis. Lacking the physical strength and abilities of a full vampire, she is forced to rely on her wits for survival under Will’s rule. If she is to be human by blood, she cannot be human by brain-- any sympathy or sorrow she might feel is kept under tight lock and key while she works to reclaim her father’s throne.

Yuri Yukie: No-one knows much about Yuri. She’s Japanese, she’s got an eyepatch. She likes cashmere cardigans. She’s missing two limbs which both have curiously metallic replacements, in a world where magical-organic ones would be more conventional. She says that she and Samir go way back. Why is she in Skykeep? How did she lose all those limbs? Why is her hair so big? (Is it full of secrets?)

Coro: Coro is a zmeu, a shapeshifting draconic humanoid. Actually, he’s one of only three-- there were originally eight of them, but the other five have been hunted and killed over the century and a near-half since human settlement. While Coro was originally brash and destructive he has started to turn over a new leaf. He sees that he can either become peaceful and spare himself the fate of his brothers, or continue wreaking havoc and run the risk of being offed. Meeting Art in Skykeep, the pair quickly grow attached…

Noah Jameson: Noah goes wherever there’s a rare catch to be found. After performing a solo kill on one of the zmeu in the 70s, he has been an international legend-- the greatest monster hunter of the era, if not of all time. Today’s target: Coro, another notch for his zmeu-skin belt, if he can take him down successfully. Fingers crossed that he hasn’t gotten rusty since the last one. It’s been a while, after all.

[Broodelin]

All these character reveals are making me super excited!

Yuri has to be my favorite so far. That reference in her description was the lynchpin, though.

[kitsubasa]

I've got about four characters left to introduce (the side characters for Armida+Jane's routes; Clarence, Emma, Sunshine and Garnet), but I'm trying to space them all out since yyyyeah, there are quite a few!

Glad to hear you like Yuri, since she's a bit of a scene-stealer and some parts of the story could get tedious quickly if people don't enjoy her. She's a juxtaposition between cool schemer and bubbly life-coach. She always knows what's going down, and she'll use that knowledge to cheer you on as best she can. Whether she's helping to further your interests or her own, there's the mystery.

[kitsubasa]

Whoo, we have a logo now! Thanks to Cafechan for making it for me. Also, Milla has been updated to show her in-game sprite-- Art's demon sprite and Jane will be coming next. So, while I'm here, might as well post up the final four supporting characters. These guys appear in Jane's route and Armida's route.

Clarence Taihoa: Clarence is an Anglican chaplain, who owns a small old church near the central city. While a very pleasant and charitable man, he struggles with the fact he lacks practical skills for supporting his congregation and his wife, Emma. The Taihoas met Art in 2009, when Emma was attacked by vampires. While Art saved the day in the end, Clarence constantly fears that monsters will once again come for his family, and all his social and spiritual talents will be unable to stop them.

Emma Taihoa: Emma, like her husband Clarence, is frustrated by her inability to protect herself from the dark underbelly of Medipacifica. After her vampiric ordeal, she developed anemia, chronic fatigue, and PTSD-related insomnia-- a cocktail which keeps her terrified and awake into the night, and knocks her out during the day. Unable to hold down a conventional job or fix her life into any regular schedule of events, she feels useless and wasted-- cheated out of her aspirations, which had once included becoming a fashion designer and having a family. She now takes any chance at agency and independence she is given; no matter how illegal or inadvisable it may be, in an effort to feel a sense of self-determination again. This effort has recently seen her aid a certain blue-eyed criminal in escaping the law...

Jane Fontaine: Jane is a peppy young aviatrix who likes adventure and old-timey aesthetics. Flying an antique biplane, living out of a cosy wooden bungalow, and traipsing around in pseudo-1910s clothing, it's almost as though she skipped right out of a silent film… well, aside from the piercings and blue hair, at least. Having crashed her plane, and lacking the strength to fix it on her own, she enlists Art to help rebuild it-- but, as they work together, it becomes evident that there might be more broken here than just the machinery.

Sunshine Fontaine: Sunshine is Jane's mother, often discussed but rarely seen. A scientist of some renown, she has spent over a decade working on building artificial hearts-- a reaction to the death of her husband in Jane's youth. Running from her home in New Orleans, USA all the way to Victoria, Medipacifica in search of funding for her work, she has been rather absent from Jane's life since their move, giving her daughter money and flying lessons and even a plane, but barely any time or attention. What is she working on, and where is she now?

[Haze]

Hey, thought I should give you a heads up, there's a game with the same title on itchio.

[kitsubasa]

Hey, thought I should give you a heads up, there's a game with the same title on itchio.

Aw heck-- thanks for the heads up. I searched around when I started it in November last year but I didn't find anything then, so I figured it'd be fine to use, but I guess either in the time I was working on it or thanks to some issue with the search I did, this happened.

Not quite sure what I'll do from here but I guess it's time for a brainstorm.

[Cafechan]

Yiiiiikes!!!! Hey, hey, if you need the logo redone, I'll change the words, no worries. Accidental name doubles are such a bummer.

[Haze]

Accidental name doubles are such a bummer.

Agreed! Sorry I had to be the one to let you guys know...

[kitsubasa]

No, thank you very much for telling me-- it would've been embarassing to keep going on with this title, with that in mind. I've drafted up a few possible alternatives, and I'm just testing them out with a few people now to see which one is most well-liked/most appropriate/least goofy. Once I've got a new one, I'll start updating the thread and everything with it.

[kitsubasa]

Okay! I spent today experimenting with different options, and the title is being changed from She Who Fights Monsters to Like She Had Wings.

I did a very thorough search to make sure this title isn't shared with anything, and in searching 15+ pages on Google as well as a few game DBs, nothing has come up, and nothing too similar has come up either, so hopefully this one works. : I