NeumanProductions wrote:
This is a passion project... The final product will be free to download...
I'm glad to hear that you care about your story. Make sure that you want the world to know about your characters, their world, and their circumstances. Commit yourself to finishing it no matter how difficult its development might be. If you are dedicated to writing, then your passion will likely be noticed by readers.
Your Kickstarter page currently says the following:
What sets us apart is the fact this game will have full voice acting for a cast of over 20+ characters that you can interact with, along with a wide array of detailed backgrounds. The game itself will feature sequential nonlinear exploration as a core game play mechanic. Game play is going to be focused on allowing the player to explore the town in a way that comes naturally to them.
I'm not entirely sure how you will combine visual novel storytelling with exploration gameplay. Are the two parts of your project going to be completely separate? Or will they blend? I want to know how storytelling segments and walking through the town will seem connected. Also, please be sure to mention if your goal is to tell a story *through* nonlinear gameplay and discovering things.
Your Kickstarter page also says:
This is not an “Adult” VN; our game is geared towards a western audience and would have more of a PG-13 rating for: Thematic elements, mentions of alcoholism, violence, and strong language.
It's your story, so use content guidelines which are appropriate for it. Having a rating in mind can be helpful in writing, and in finding an audience. Also, you can consider adjusting your rating later if the story justifies a horrific or violent scene.
As I have said elsewhere, I don't want visual novels to be automatically placed in one content category. In my opinion, fans should not assume or expect that titles will be always NC-17 rated. Or always G rated. Or anywhere in between those extremes.
A couple of off-topic asides:
Because of my fandom experiences with alternative comics, fanfiction, and visual novels, my point of view might be a bit different. I have read stories which include explicit sex scenes, but which also have enough general plot content that there are five chapters or two hours of reading in between them.
When I wandered into visual novel fandom over a decade ago, it was challenging to find anything available in English other than "porn with maybe a hint of plot." It took a few years, but now it's easier to find a wider scope of content. There are professional and fan-made translations of OJLVNs which range from clearly worksafe to very explicit. There are also VNs written in English which range from clearly worksafe to very explicit.
