My Cup of Coffee [Romance][Slice of Life][Conversational]

[Steamgirl]

This game is COMPLETE; thread here.
I am working on a SEQUEL; thread here.

My Cup of Coffee
The Trouble with Earl Grey

Short Interactive Story







You are L Latte, the owner of Cafe Latte. When two of your regular
customers seem in a bit of relationship trouble, will you be able to
uncover what is really happening? Will you save their relationship?

Word Count: 9000

Setting
The whole game is set at the cafe. The cafe itself is located in Teaside, Lemonshire, in a kind of pseudo Steampunk/Victorian world.

Characters
L Latte - The cafe owner, nameable by the player, is a likeable member of the local community. Various people seek out their help.


Earl Grey - The Earl is a regular who likes a strong coffee. He has been married to his wife nearly 37 years, but lately things haven't been going so well between them.


Lady Grey - The Lady also visits Cafe Latte regularly. She likes to read romance novels.


Maria Darjeeling - Miss Darjeeling works for the Greys. She often picks up takeaway coffees for her masters.

Interaction Dense
Anyone who is familiar with my style of writing will know I like to pack in plenty of choice and interaction. As it stands the game has 23 menus, which means an average of 1 menu every 400 words! It's not everyone's cup of tea, but I personally think the more involved you can get the better. That's the beauty of using an interactive medium.

Endings
There are 3 possible endings, one happy, one unhappy, and one in between.

Current State
Writing: 100% Finished!
Art: 100% Finished!
Polish: 100% Finished!
Bug Testing/Fixing: 100% Finished!
Music: 100%?

Future Releases
I'm considering doing other short stories using the same setting and protagonist. If I do any others I might pack them all together at some point and release it as a commercial game, but at this point it's more a fantasy than anything else.

Thanks for reading!
Here are a few questions if you've got time...

1) Would you like to be a tester?
2) Are you normally interested in short stories, or do you tend to skip those?
3) Would you pay to play a short story like this? (It's okay if not, I won't feel insulted)
4) If yes to the question above, how much?
5) Which platform do you prefer - PC or mobile? Why?

[Suika]

I think Earl Grey maxed his level of sex appeal o.o
I'm really looking forward to this game ^.^


1) Would you like to be a tester?
It isn't often I get this excited over projects like this. I'd love to be a tester.

2) Are you normally interested in short stories only 9000 words long, or do you tend to skip those?
I tend to prefer short stories. It's easier to find the time to get engrossed in them.

3) Would you pay to play a short story like this? (It's okay if not, I won't feel insulted)
This particular story: absolutely. In general: it depends.
I'm more likely to pay for a game if I feel like it will lead to more content that I enjoy (I'm selfish like that >.<)

4) If yes to the question above, how much?
I don't know enough about the story or game yet to answer this accurately.
I'd throw $5 at it without a second thought, but I'd probably pay more for something like this.

[Steamgirl]

Thanks Suika for your thoughts! I can drop you the game tomorrow if you like - though not all the artwork will be finished.
Speaking of which, do you prefer PC (Windows/Mac/Linux) or mobile? Not that I have a mobile version at the moment, but curious to know what people prefer these days.

[Suika]

Great! Personally, I prefer PC. Mobile games are convenient, but playing on a full machine is more enjoyable for me. I can't speak for anyone else though ^^;

Just curious, is the word count exact or approximated?

[Mad Harlequin]

I really love the concept of a tea and coffee-themed world for some reason.

Would I test this? Certainly! And I like short stories.

I don't mind mobile games---I found a program not long ago that lets me play mobile games on my computer---but I'm more likely to just use my PC.

I don't know yet whether I'd pay for something like this. I try to make such judgments based on a complete product, or something as close to complete as possible. But if I enjoy a story or a concept, there's a good chance I'll pay for it, even if I can only spare a few dollars.

[yoshibb]

This is a really interesting concept. It kind of reminds me of the game facade that came out a few years ago.

1) Would you like to be a tester?
Sure, as long as I'm not too busy with work

2) Are you normally interested in short stories only 9000 words long, or do you tend to skip those?
Yeah, the length doesn't matter so much as the story is good.

3) Would you pay to play a short story like this? (It's okay if not, I won't feel insulted)
If I'm interested enough in it and if it wasn't too expensive.

4) If yes to the question above, how much?
It's really dependent on the game but usually 1 to 2 dollars.

5) Which platform do you prefer - PC or mobile? Why?
It doesn't matter to me. I think mobile would be more convenient but I like to be able to play it on PC when the art is really nice

[Laiska]

Oh, a new project, congrats!

1) Would you like to be a tester?
Yes

2) Are you normally interested in short stories only 9000 words long, or do you tend to skip those?
I actually prefer shorter stories, because I often don't have a large amount of time to devote to a single game.

3) Would you pay to play a short story like this? (It's okay if not, I won't feel insulted)
Maybe!

4) If yes to the question above, how much?
$3-5 probably

5) Which platform do you prefer - PC or mobile? Why?
PC. Mobile games can be finicky to run.

[Steamgirl]

@Suika - it's 8,716 words at the moment, but given that I found a few bugs which will require additional writing I rounded it off at 9000.

@Harlequin - I'll send you a copy in a bit. Regarding paying if you like it - it's tricky though isn't it? If you have to pay up front it can stop people playing, but once you've consumed something, even if you've enjoyed it, there's little incentive to pay for it. So you're left with trying to hype people up so they take the plunge - which for 9000 words (15-30min gameplay) seems a bit unnecessary.

@yoshibb - Ah Façade. Classic. I really enjoyed it although the things I was trying to do they often didn't understand (for example I tried to draw comparisons between the girl and her mother). It's funny you should mention it because I was trying to find some way of describing the kind of gameplay I've created - romantic investigation sounded too much like a crime drama with romance. But then couples therapy is also not quite right. So yeah, I guess it's a bit like Façade only a bit less serious.
As for testing, I don't want to bother you if you're busy (as I imagine you are with your game/KS at the moment!!) I think I'm good with 3 testers anyway.

@Laiska - Hehe, thanks! Nice of you to drop in, D! Thanks for all your answers. I'll bat you a copy as well.

[Mad Harlequin]

@Harlequin - I'll send you a copy in a bit. Regarding paying if you like it - it's tricky though isn't it? If you have to pay up front it can stop people playing, but once you've consumed something, even if you've enjoyed it, there's little incentive to pay for it. So you're left with trying to hype people up so they take the plunge - which for 9000 words (15-30min gameplay) seems a bit unnecessary.

Yeah, it is tricky, especially for a shorter work.

But I'll generally pay for something (as in PWYW) if I see a lot of effort has been put into it, even if I have to take a risk, or if I've played a demo that makes me want to support the full project.

[Steamgirl]

New screenshot available!



Also - big thanks to Suika, who tested the game and gave some terrific feedback!

[Steamgirl]

I'm finishing up polish before the final round of testing. But I just realised - should I add music to the game? I never thought about it until now? What about sound effects? I often turn them off in visual novels, but I don't know about everybody else?

[Steamgirl]

Beta has been sent off to testers. So we're ready for the final round of testing!

I put some music in the intro, but left the rest silent. Anyone got any thoughts on that?

[Steamgirl]

Game is released! Woohoo! Thank you all for your contribution!

http://dreamgate.itch.io/trouble-with-earl-grey

What should I do next? Another episode in the same setting or would you prefer something different?

[Mad Harlequin]

Game is released! Woohoo! Thank you all for your contribution!

http://dreamgate.itch.io/trouble-with-earl-grey

What should I do next? Another episode in the same setting or would you prefer something different?

Do what motivates you!

[Steamgirl]

Do what motivates you!

Good answer! Though I'm equally motivated either way, haha!