Aquatic Heartbeat [BxG/B] [Mermaid] [Slice of Life/Romance]

[piaalit]

*SAMPLE*

Deep in the sea, there are civilisations of Merpeople, older than human civilization. The underwater life is not much different from life on land, it's just that the underwater world began to face the globalization of the sea where the population choose to disembark and leave the sea.

Bathypelalagic Oceantechnic Institute is the best university underwater for marine works which produce world's most influential marine alumnus. Here, we play as the Protagonist, a freshman with ambition to fix the problems of the sea. The protagonist will meet with fellow faculty friends that has the potential to be a solution to the problem of marine.

Can the protagonist save the existence of sea creatures with his potential? Could it be that someday there will be personal feelings that would disturb Protagonist main purpose?

Characters

PROTAGONIST (editable name)

Student with ambitions of finding a solution for the future of marine life.
Reliable and has a good analysis to look at the good and bad side of people.
Always think before acting. Sometimes he can be really naive.

MILCH OPAL

She is an impulsive and goofy marine environmental activists.
Sometimes she has an odd way of thinking and somewhat pessimistic about relationships.
She keeps her feelings to her own, especially towards the Protagonist who she thought as a best friend.

VACHA VīvTīvMeīya

Campus band vocalist who loves to eat.
She came from the gulf of Siam and sometimes using her Thai accents.
She is bubbly with cheerful nature and very motherly. Even so she was rather clumsy and stubborn.

MERIDIAN MEREDITH

Quiet, loner, and famous for the chill of an intimidating stare.
She often did not attend college.
Many say that she is an ocean's mafia who often oppressive fellow sea creatures.
Oddly enough, she has fairly good academic grades.

KALISYA TRITON

Royal princess of Bathypelagic Kingdom.
Beside her graceful attitude, she has a perfect scores in academic.
Calm and friendly nature. Her mind is very straight and firm.
However, she has another unexpected side.

RISSA CARISSA

Ordinary girl, owners of the sea goat ranch who often follow the opinion of others rather than her own.
Timid and doesn't like to travel alone.
She is very dependent on others in making life decision

CELESTA RENO

Ace of water polo sports that is loved by many women.
He is very friendly and charming. Really competitive in sports.
He has a great life secret.

TIO FRIMINT

Grandson of the renowned pharmacist in Bathypelagic.
An eccentric figure who has childlike stature with flirtatious behavior.
Likes to tease the Protagonist with his nasty joke.
His hobby is drawing.

---

Features:

1. 5+ routes
2. 20+ endings
3. Mini games (possibly)
4. 40+ CGs
5. CG Gallery
6. Original soundtrack and GUI

Team

GALORE CIRCLE
Story concept - GALORE team
Writer - Astrinisuika
Artist - Palpal
Programmer - Ninare
Music - Putichitara

Progress

For more detailed updates please cheek out our Facebook page.
We will post updates in this thread too.

Writing
Outline: 100%
General route: 30%


Character Art
Main Characters: 100%
Side Characters: 60%

CGs
Prologue CG: 0%
Main route CG: 0%

Backgrounds
Prologue: 10%
Main route: 0%

GUI
Logo: 100%
Icon: 0%
GUI: 0%

---

About

Hello everyone, we are new in this forum ^^ We are from Galore circle and currently making a VN project called Aquatic Heartbeat. This project has already been our mind for almost 6 years and only started recently. We planned to release the demo in this year. We are currently struggling to decide which program we would like to use, Novelty or Ren'py (pardon me for my bad grammar, I am not the writer lol)

Your support and feedback would really help ^^ Thank you very much~

Aquatic Heartbeat mainly use an under the sea theme, combine with modern technology. It tells the story of Protagonist for 3 years as university student. The event gameplay will occur every month with variant of activities.

FEEDBACK QUESTIONS

1. Are you interested to play this game?
2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
4. Which character stand out to you the most?
5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!

Illustrations

[gekiganwing]

You got my attention because of three things. 1) A story about intelligent ocean dwelling creatures. 2) Drawings that I like. 3) Both male and female romance options. Therefore, I'm interested.

I recommend reading, watching, and/or playing other stories which involve merpeople (or similar creatures) interacting with humans. Afterwards, think about them. Consider which parts of the story stood out. Ask if there are plot devices you would rather avoid. I write this in order to encourage your group to be creative. You will benefit if your story is not too similar to a work of published fiction. At the same time, you will benefit by studying stories so that you don't repeat other authors' mistakes.

One of my plotbunnies is "Main character meets two girls who seem eccentric. He soon discovers that they are selkies -- creatures who were considered mythical. Then he learns that they were sent to start infiltrating human society."

Deep in the sea, there are civilisations of Merpeople, older than human civilization. The underwater life is not much different from life on land, it's just that the underwater world began to face the globalization of the sea where the population choose to disembark and leave the sea.

1. How long have humans known that merpeople are real?
2. Have the merpeople known about humans for thousands of years?
3. If that's true, have the merpeople chosen to remain hidden until recently?

PROTAGONIST (editable name)
Student with ambitions of finding a solution for the future of marine life.
Reliable and has a good analysis to look at the good and bad side of people.
Always think before acting. Sometimes he can be really naive.

I'm curious as to how you will portray the main character. How much of a personality will he have? Think whether he leans toward "blank slate," whether he learns toward "individual with clear traits," or somewhere in the middle. How much of his character is defined by the reader's choices?

1. 5+ routes
2. 20+ endings
3. Mini games (possibly)
4. 40+ CGs
5. CG Gallery
6. Original soundtrack and GUI

These are ambitious goals. As I have said elsewhere, I respect people who plan to create expansive visual novels with high production values. Having said that, please consider the following...

* Do you plan to release Aquatic Heartbeat as a free VN? If so, that can present a challenge. It's difficult to recruit people to help your group unless you can pay them.
* If your writer becomes bored or frustrated, will the project continue?
* How do you plan to deal with conflicts among people in your group?
* How long do you expect that your story paths will be? In other words, if a person reads your visual novel from its beginning to *one* of its endings, then how much time do you think that will take?

We are currently struggling to decide which program we would like to use, Novelty or Ren'py...

Ren'py and the Novelty Engine are both free. The latter has its fans, but it has not been updated since 2010.

TyranoBuilder is commercial software for visual novel creators. You can find a thread about it here on Lemma Soft.

There are other visual novel engines, as this Teacup thread from 2010 shows. Before choosing one, make sure it has a reasonable amount of documentation in English. You will likely benefit if you can talk with other people about how to use a VN engine's features, and how to deal with problems.

Aquatic Heartbeat mainly use an under the sea theme, combine with modern technology. It tells the story of Protagonist for 3 years as university student. The event gameplay will occur every month with variant of activities.

How much emphasis will there be on reading, and how much emphasis on gameplay? Would you describe your visual novel as a story with occasional choices? Would you describe it as a story with quite a bit of statistics management, puzzles, minigames, or other forms of interaction?

4. Which character stand out to you the most?

Kalisya Triton. It seems she is a princess among the merpeople. As far as I can tell, she has goals, intelligence, and skills. Also, it seems she is not a tomboy or rebellious. I expect she will be easy to distinguish from characters such as Ariel (the Disney version of The Little Mermaid), Shirahoshi from One Piece Fishman Island, Madison from Splash, or Story from Lady in the Water.

[Baky]

1. Are you interested to play this game?
Yes yes yes!!! Mermaids that are hot?! Yes please.

2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
The title caught my attention and I wanted to check it out. I was sold when i saw the art and then I read the description -gasp- it's interesting! i always have this worry deep down in my heart because when artwork is so good that the story wont be as good, because trust me I have played my fair share of vn's with really, really bad plots... I don't think that's the case hre, though!

Another thing, I really, really, really like the name choices (they're beautiful). I notice a consistent trend in fics, games and etc. in choosing generic names for not generic characters (ex: Ava, Eve, Nathan and etc...). I'm so happy the names you (or your team) picked are original!!!!!

3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
Yes yes yes yes yes ye-

4. Which character stand out to you the most?
Tio. I not only like his personality but I also dig the pink hair >wo)b

5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome
I'm only curious whether this will be free or not? And when do you plan on releasing the demo? Either than that, keep up with the good work! <3

[Hi.In.Ni]

1. Are you interested to play this game?

To be honest, I 'm not sure. It's interesting, but I feel like it lacks something. I'll try re-reading again and finding what it is that makes it feel a little empty.

2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?

The character designs are really interesting, and since appearence is really important, having those is great!

3. Does the arts look appealing to you?

So far, yes. I like it and I feel like really good things can come from that style!!

4. Which character stand out to you the most?

Probably Kalysia. Her design is super OP compared to everyone else. As for which one is more appealing to me, Opal's white hair is always a good choice. There s something about Rissa that makes me want to look at her more than once, in the good way. Reno is a nice bishie, which is nice too and Tio's tentacles ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY. Why tentacles? Why? Why tentacles on a SFW VN...!! Make it NSFW!!! -cries- (I'm not complaining tho, I love those tentacles)

5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!

I want to see what the outcome for this is! It's pretty interesting and I really want it to be finished and playable!

[piaalit]

I recommend reading, watching, and/or playing other stories which involve merpeople (or similar creatures) interacting with humans. Afterwards, think about them. Consider which parts of the story stood out. Ask if there are plot devices you would rather avoid. I write this in order to encourage your group to be creative. You will benefit if your story is not too similar to a work of published fiction. At the same time, you will benefit by studying stories so that you don't repeat other authors' mistakes.

Thank you for your suggestion. We have done our research and hopefully our story would not be too generic. Our aim is to make stories with fun and unique plots and avoid complicated and heavy plots, therefore this VN could be enjoyed by many.

1. How long have humans known that merpeople are real?
2. Have the merpeople known about humans for thousands of years?
3. If that's true, have the merpeople chosen to remain hidden until recently?

In this game, human civilization originated from the sea, so let's think of it as Darwin's theory of evolution. The theory is widely known, but not everyone embrace the theory.

I'm curious as to how you will portray the main character. How much of a personality will he have? Think whether he leans toward "blank slate," whether he learns toward "individual with clear traits," or somewhere in the middle. How much of his character is defined by the reader's choices?

The Protagonist will be leaning towards individual with clear traits. The choices will be based on Protagonist's personality.

* Do you plan to release Aquatic Heartbeat as a free VN? If so, that can present a challenge. It's difficult to recruit people to help your group unless you can pay them.

We haven't decided whether it will be free or not, but we are planning to release a demo beforehand. Our team consists of people who are willing to work based on the same passion, so profit is not our main priority.

* If your writer becomes bored or frustrated, will the project continue?

Of course it will, no matter how long it takes, the story will continue to be written.

* How do you plan to deal with conflicts among people in your group?

The people in this group have known each other for quite a long time, so we are used to deal with any conflicts by deliberation.

* How long do you expect that your story paths will be? In other words, if a person reads your visual novel from its beginning to *one* of its endings, then how much time do you think that will take?

Minimal 2 hours play through per route.

Ren'py and the Novelty Engine are both free. The latter has its fans, but it has not been updated since 2010.

TyranoBuilder is commercial software for visual novel creators. You can find a thread about it here on Lemma Soft.

There are other visual novel engines, as this Teacup thread from 2010 shows. Before choosing one, make sure it has a reasonable amount of documentation in English. You will likely benefit if you can talk with other people about how to use a VN engine's features, and how to deal with problems.

Thank you for your suggestion. We have decided to use Ren'py.

How much emphasis will there be on reading, and how much emphasis on gameplay? Would you describe your visual novel as a story with occasional choices? Would you describe it as a story with quite a bit of statistics management, puzzles, minigames, or other forms of interaction?

There will be a lot of emphasis on reading, approx. 80% on reading, 10% on choices and 10% on mini games.

Thank you for your input, we appreciate your interest in our game and we will try our best to finish this game.

[piaalit]

I'm only curious whether this will be free or not? And when do you plan on releasing the demo? Either than that, keep up with the good work! <3

We are not sure whether it will be free or not, but surely we will release the demo first. We are currently woking hard to be able to release it as soon as possible.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm towards our project. ^_^

[piaalit]

To be honest, I 'm not sure. It's interesting, but I feel like it lacks something. I'll try re-reading again and finding what it is that makes it feel a little empty.

Tell us what you think it lacks! It will help us a lot ^_^

Probably Kalysia. Her design is super OP compared to everyone else. As for which one is more appealing to me, Opal's white hair is always a good choice. There s something about Rissa that makes me want to look at her more than once, in the good way. Reno is a nice bishie, which is nice too and Tio's tentacles ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY. Why tentacles? Why? Why tentacles on a SFW VN...!! Make it NSFW!!! -cries- (I'm not complaining tho, I love those tentacles)

Just wait for it, we have already planned many surprises in this game!

I want to see what the outcome for this is! It's pretty interesting and I really want it to be finished and playable!

Thank you so much for your interest, please look forward to it!

[Hoosha]

which boy is the romantic route!!!?

[piaalit]

which boy is the romantic route!!!?

Characters mentioned above have their own routes and multiple endings. Lol

[Konoi]

This game looks so lovely and has an intersting concept! I'm looking forward to it!

So, about your questions:
1. Are you interested to play this game?
Yeah, very - it seems very cool!
2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
I like games with multiple gender romance options - and I'm especially fond of BxB, so that only is intersting for me. I also love stories with ocean / aquatic settings.
3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
Yes, it's very pretty and polished, I like it.
4. Which character stand out to you the most?
To be honest, I think it's the main character! In otome and BL games, the main character is often cute, naive and not too bright, or very strong and aloof, while the main character here is more on the thinking before acting side, while still being nice wich is a change of pace.
5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!
I think you need a proof-reader. My english is far from bad, but I still see some errors in your original post, so I guess it may be some in the game too. But well, this is a minor thing, as long as you find someone willing to read your script.

[CosmicFan]

1. Are you interested to play this game?

Surprisingly, yes. Mermaids are something I never thought much about/never a appealed to me but the art is something else.

2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?

Again, the art.

3. Does the arts look appealing to you?

YES!

4. Which character stand out to you the most?

Tio. He seemed like the most out-there character with his pink hair and purplish skin. By his flirtatious pose you can already tell he has a lot of character. I look forward to meeting him the most.


5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!

Does every character stay as a merfolk through out the whole game? Or is it a spoiler and you can't answer me?

[piaalit]

This game looks so lovely and has an intersting concept! I'm looking forward to it!

So, about your questions:
1. Are you interested to play this game?
Yeah, very - it seems very cool!
2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
I like games with multiple gender romance options - and I'm especially fond of BxB, so that only is intersting for me. I also love stories with ocean / aquatic settings.
3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
Yes, it's very pretty and polished, I like it.
4. Which character stand out to you the most?
To be honest, I think it's the main character! In otome and BL games, the main character is often cute, naive and not too bright, or very strong and aloof, while the main character here is more on the thinking before acting side, while still being nice wich is a change of pace.
5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!
I think you need a proof-reader. My english is far from bad, but I still see some errors in your original post, so I guess it may be some in the game too. But well, this is a minor thing, as long as you find someone willing to read your script.

Hello!
Thank you for the proof-reading offer, but I can assure you, our writer is very fluent in English and the post above was not written by our writer, so I apologize for my errors since I am not very good in English ^^ Thank you so much for your interest, please look forward to it!

1. Are you interested to play this game?

Surprisingly, yes. Mermaids are something I never thought much about/never a appealed to me but the art is something else.

2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?

Again, the art.

3. Does the arts look appealing to you?

YES!

4. Which character stand out to you the most?

The art is what really grabbed my attention.


5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!

Does every character stay as a merfolk through out the whole game? Or is it a spoiler and you can't answer me?

Thank you very much for your interest! For your question, it might contain a spoiler so I cannot answer it for now. ^^ Please look forward to it!

[sakurakimuchi]

1. Are you interested to play this game?
I don't usually play BxG games, but I love mermaid stories and the plot of yours is just too interesting! It's like college life but with mermaids, how awesome is that? I love it!
2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
The story/general plot of the game and the art!
3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
Of course!
4. Which character stand out to you the most?
Celesta looks like a total bae! Tio looks so sassy and Vacha looks so funny and nice! So far these are my favorites.

Good luck with the game, I'm excited to hear more about it!

[LizardRobot]

1. Are you interested to play this game?
Yes, definitely!

2. If so, what makes you consider to play this game?
I like the idea of the undersea setting with merpeople, and the art is very nice, and I like the looks of the characters.

3. Does the arts look appealing to you?
Very much so. I think the art style has an appealing elegance to it.

4. Which character stand out to you the most?
Meridian, because of her beautiful color combination and cool-looking attitude. But I think I'd want to play to see the romances with most of the characters just based on appearance!

5. If you have any question or criticism you are most welcome!
I really like your logo, it's so gorgeous, except I don't know that I love the font of the word Heartbeat. It feels okay, it's just, the rest of the logo is so incredibly gorgeous, it doesn't feel like it's on the same level as that beautiful frame and the lettering for "Aquatic."

It looks like the game has been under development for a while now, since 2015, and then some years of planning before that. Is it nearing completion? Or are you still deciding on an engine?

Three years of story with play every month seems like a lot of game! How do you think it compares to, say, Princess Maker or Magical Diary in terms of game length? (Or is it not far enough along to say yet? I'm just really curious 'cause I like your merfolk! ^^)

[MilanaWalters]

the art looks cute, but 5 female and only 2 male routes...unfair:(