Lemma Soft Forums

Greetings. I'm currently looking for an artist who is willing to draw sci-fi bunker-like backgrounds, as there are no characters to draw.



Due to the lack of art, the progress I have is that I have completely finished the story planning, flagging and scene-creation.
I'm also rather close to finishing the scripting, and mastering comes next!




Wake Up is set in a future where humans have inserted moral code and synthesised emotions into AI's in order to speed up their learning process and enable them to make better decisions. This creates personality- which varies between jobs. While the robots include the traditional Asimov's Laws, as you learn, tampering creates loopholes.


When I say 'short' I mean that I've been working on this for a week, and it's probably going to have maybe somewhere between 10-30 minutes of playability. I'm pretty sure everyone will skip the first five endings really easily, and get the final endings quickly- but I'll do my best to convince. (And possibly have some reward for unlocking all endings?)

Story planning: 100%
Scripting: 5% 75% as of 15/01 90% with the intent to finish 22/01 FINISHED 22/01

Background Art: 100%



Feel free to ask questions, though I don't want to spoil the entire game.

Title screen <3


(Click to view full-size picture.)

I think I have three concepts lying around that are similar to this, so you bet I'm interested. I don't think the lack of a BG artist should stop you from writing: once you have a (well-written) story, it's easier to attract people to your cause.

Thank-you for your support

I'm wondering if I should post the first scene dialoge, or pictures of it, or something, to help people get a feel for things...

Posting excerpts of your work is the surest way to fail. Restrain yourself and keep the work to you, your editor and the ones who'll eventually collaborate with you. Don't worry if people'll find an idea interesting; I guarantee you that there is always going to be someone interested, so there's no need to post excerpts or do outstanding stuff at this stage to get people interested. Do that sort of stuff when you're three weeks from releasing and you want to build some hype.

Thank-you for the advice >.>
Though can I ask why it's the surest way to fail?
Will people reject it? Copy? Make me feel like a potato?

Applegate wrote:Do that sort of stuff when you're three weeks from releasing and you want to build some hype.

To be honest this project will only take me about another week or two, especially since I have no art.
Do I just release it without art at that point?
(Sorry for being a hassle D: )

I have a tendency to speak in absolutes when it's mostly my opinion. I think it makes you likely to fail because the moment you subject your writing to the public, it will be scrutinised and criticised or, even worse, people will excitedly speculate about how it's going to continue and you'll feel limited between satisfying them and surprising them in a positive way. It's not guaranteed, but I very often see people put up their writing before it's finished, only to be stuck on it forever because they listen too much to the audience (whether positive or negative). Surprise us and keep it hidden until you're done. After you've finished writing it all, you can start releasing teasers.

This is just my personal opinion, though. I'm sure there are plenty of people who release snippets of writing and still manage to complete, but if you've not written much yet, I strongly urge you to complete writing (most of) it first.


Once you're done, post up a thread in the recruitment area looking for a BG artist. Maybe one'll pop up before you're done in this thread, but otherwise, lure them in with the promise of an otherwise fully functional VN that's just waiting for BGs: it's a guaranteed "your art will be used" gig, which for those who do it for free, is always nice to have assurance their work won't go to waste.

Applegate wrote:I think it makes you likely to fail because the moment you subject your writing to the public, it will be scrutinised and criticised or, even worse, people will excitedly speculate about how it's going to continue and you'll feel limited between satisfying them and surprising them in a positive way.

Yeah, this is what I inferred- thank-you for spelling it out. *bows 90 degrees*

Applegate wrote:After you've finished writing it all, you can start releasing teasers.

Considering the writing is now about 80% complete, and afterwards, I just need to go back over to master the music and sfx... This was pretty much my plan

Applegate wrote:Once you're done, post up a thread in the recruitment area looking for a BG artist. Maybe one'll pop up before you're done in this thread, but otherwise, lure them in with the promise of an otherwise fully functional VN that's just waiting for BGs: it's a guaranteed "your art will be used" gig, which for those who do it for free, is always nice to have assurance their work won't go to waste.

Will take this into consideration! I never thought of it like that, but now that I understand it that way- I suppose it does make a great deal more sense.

Thank-you for your great assistance Apple-sensei!
*waddles away to continue writing*

Any ideas for male names? At the moment I've just got 5.

Alex, Aaron, Ben, Iden and Jack.

If there are any you (anyone) want in the game, please comment :/

I believe the game will be complete (lacking art) in about two days (including today, if I get into gear- else, two days from now.)

Looks like a cool concept. As long as you have a strong, focused story, there's no such thing as too short.

One suggestion I'd make: You could might want to put a more positive spin on things in your original post, especially since you're looking for collaborators. I mean, you've nearly completed the writing and you've finished planning the story--that's a big positive for a background designer because it means his/her background isn't going to go unused in a half-finished game so that's definitely something you could emphasize. IMO, the current post puts a little too much emphasis on your lack of art skills.

Excited to see a version of it when it's ready!

YossarianIII wrote:One suggestion I'd make: You might want to put a more positive spin on things in your original post, especially since you're looking for collaborators. I mean, you've nearly completed the writing and you've finished planning the story--that's a big positive for a background designer because it means his/her background isn't going to go unused in a half-finished game so that's definitely something you could emphasize. IMO, the current post puts a little too much emphasis on your lack of art skills.

I second this, but I'm going to take it a step farther. You want to portray things more positively, 789. There's really no "might" about it. Are you a visual artist? Maybe not, but look at what you've accomplished so far! You have an interesting, and potentially engaging, story on your hands, and it's nearly complete. Don't be afraid to be proud of your achievement. If you carry yourself with more of that pride, it's far more likely that your project will appeal to the artists whose services you seek. You have to think, "Hey! I've got something pretty cool here! Who'd like to help me make it even better?"

I've struggled with self-confidence myself, so I know how difficult this might sound, but all it takes is a little practice and persistence.

YossarianIII wrote:You could might want to put a more positive spin on things in your original post, especially since you're looking for collaborators. I mean, you've nearly completed the writing and you've finished planning the story--that's a big positive for a background designer because it means his/her background isn't going to go unused in a half-finished game so that's definitely something you could emphasize. IMO, the current post puts a little too much emphasis on your lack of art skills.

Mad Harlequin wrote:I second this, but I'm going to take it a step farther. You want to portray things more positively, 789. There's really no "might" about it--- Are you a visual artist? Maybe not, but look at what you've accomplished so far! You have an interesting, and potentially engaging, story on your hands, and it's nearly complete. Don't be afraid to be proud of your achievement. If you carry yourself with more of that pride, it's far more likely that your project will appeal to the artists whose services you seek. You have to think, "Hey! I've got something pretty cool here! Who'd like to help me make it even better?"

Thanks for your encouragement! I've revised the post in light of your wisdoms!

Mad Harlequin wrote:I've struggled with self-confidence myself, so I know how difficult this might sound, but all it takes is a little practice and persistence.

LMAO I was also having a pretty bad day when I wrote it- I never really noticed how negative it was until I read back over with both of your words in mind.

YossarianIII wrote:Excited to see a version of it when it's ready!

Thank-you for your kind words

Due to a windows update, and an inability to save the pictures, I have lost the hard copy of my planning.

This may be a setback... >.> But I'm still planning on the two days thing.

The game should be finished by the end of today. I'm currently finishing the last scenes and mastering the music.
I drew some background art for myself, as a stand-in, so that I can just publish it and get it out of my way.

This project has been more hassle than it was worth, but I still hope that some people can get a little enjoyment out of it.

Will update later!