Sounds of Her Love [Romance][BxG]

[ds-sans]

Sounds of Her Love is now on Steam Greenlight!

Something is blossoming between two students, both of whom go about their daily lives at an international school in Tokyo.

What could it be? Of course, it's love.

You have just started your new life after transferring into an international school, and to your dismay, it's the same as any other. Except for one thing... or person, rather. As your growing relationship tightens with the girl you've just met, learn more about each other as your lives intertwine in this short and sweet visual novel.

Ceri, a student of the Welsh International School of Japan (WISJ) is a warm-hearted girl, prone to being found immersed in the pages of a novel or the strings of a classical celtic harp. She has a desire to study literature, though she had been known to have had a large period of time away from school due to an illness. As stated by her.

Of Welsh origin herself, Ceri's a lot more readable than her language. Or so it might seem. Timid and docile on the outside, nobody can really tell what surprises she might have in store. As you get to know her however, the truth about her becomes much more clear to you. Learn about her past, be with her in the present, and join her in the future. That is, if she opens up to you. She's an extremely shy person, so getting her to open up isn't going to be easy.

You "play" as a half Japanese, half English transfer to the WISJ.

His second week at an international school has just started. Many students seem to be pompous in his eyes. It costs a lot of money to attend, after all. Within his first week, he has managed to make a grand total of zero friends. Socialising isn't easy, at least that's what he thinks.

Unlike his father, a well-regarded owner of a publishing company, he wastes his time daily doing nothing productive. Things change however, when he meets "someone" who piques his interest.

Current Status : Being "thoroughly" tested!

GUI -

100% Complete
Writing -

100% Complete - Chapter 1-12 Done! (Including two routes!)
Programming -

100% Complete - All chapters added, sound files and minor programming adjustments.
Artwork -

100% Complete!

(Keep in mind that the stats above do not reflect how close to release SOHL is. I need time to test it ofc)

Click images to view larger sized preview.

(Currently what is shown in this thread.)

Amber Barile - Ceri VA
Ezekuro (ezekuro.deviantart.com) - Title CG
Jun Project (pixiv.me/jun_project) - Character sprites
Joko JMC/jmc5221 (jmc5221.deviantart.com) - CGs
きまぐれアフター (Kimagure After) - Backgrounds
Mugenjohncel - Backgrounds, 3D Model for cafeteria BG
Kevin MacLeod - Background music.




The game itself will be available free to download upon release for Windows, Mac and Linux.
Aspect ratio will be at 1920 x 1080.

If you'd like to keep up to date with the project, then you can check out my twitter page @dssansVN
Any feedback is appreciated! Either leave a response below, PM me or send me a carrier pigeon send me a message on twitter.



Here are some questions I'd like to ask you.

- Who is your favourite character? (A joke, obviously.)
- Would you like to see a demo released in the future or shall I focus solely on the final release?
- Is there anything that stands out to you, that you think would improve the VN if changed?
(Don't really need these questions because development is almost done. Feel free to answer them if you'd find it fun.)

Feel free to ask me questions as well. Other general thoughts would also be appreciated. Thank you for reading.

[Zelan]

I have thought about letting the player choose their gender along side their name, (therefore B/GxG). Do you think this is a good idea?

It would depend somewhat on your vision for the story, and on the effect on your workload and whether or not your team is willing to take it on. If you wouldn't have to change much of the writing besides the pronouns, and you don't mind doing it, go for it. Any moments that are closely tied to the MC being male, though, would have to be cut or rewritten for a female MC.

Also consider your art. If the protagonist doesn't have a sprite (like many VNs), you won't need two separate sets for the same character. If you have any CGs featuring the main character, you may need two separate versions for each unless the MC has a more androgynous design.

If you're asking simply about my preference, I definitely appreciate being given the choice.

[ds-sans]

It would depend somewhat on your vision for the story, and on the effect on your workload and whether or not your team is willing to take it on. If you wouldn't have to change much of the writing besides the pronouns, and you don't mind doing it, go for it. Any moments that are closely tied to the MC being male, though, would have to be cut or rewritten for a female MC.

Also consider your art. If the protagonist doesn't have a sprite (like many VNs), you won't need two separate sets for the same character. If you have any CGs featuring the main character, you may need two separate versions for each unless the MC has a more androgynous design.

If you're asking simply about my preference, I definitely appreciate being given the choice.

Thank you for the feedback!

My vision of the story is primarily from a BxG perspective. (It's in first person so it could work either way I guess.) Though there aren't any specific scenes which rely on the protag being male. I wouldn't call it much of a hassle to edit a few of the scenes in which certain dialogue depends on the MC's gender.

As for the art, sprites aren't really an issue. The CGs mainly would be where problems would arise. Story itself isn't particularly long, so I'm not planning on having an overabundance of CGs. Though I will have to use multiple versions, as you say.

It's not really a necessity but I'd like to give the player the freedom to change the trivial details, without taking anything away from the story. Which I don't think it will. I might have to trail it on one scene first to really come to a conclusion.

[femslashfatale]

Who is your favourite character? (This one's a joke, obviously.)
Hmmmmmmm I'll go with...... Ceridwen!
I have thought about letting the player choose their gender along side their name, (therefore B/GxG). Do you think this is a good idea?
Yeah! As a girl, I'd love to romance this cutie, if you're willing to do the extra work in CGs and such.
Would you like to see a demo released in the future, or shall I focus on finishing everything instead?
If it's "short", how long would a demo be? I think focusing on finishing it is good either way, but maybe a small taste of your work could garner attention, y'know?

Looking forward to your release!

[ds-sans]

Who is your favourite character? (This one's a joke, obviously.)
Hmmmmmmm I'll go with...... Ceridwen!
I have thought about letting the player choose their gender along side their name, (therefore B/GxG). Do you think this is a good idea?
Yeah! As a girl, I'd love to romance this cutie, if you're willing to do the extra work in CGs and such.
Would you like to see a demo released in the future, or shall I focus on finishing everything instead?
If it's "short", how long would a demo be? I think focusing on finishing it is good either way, but maybe a small taste of your work could garner attention, y'know?

Looking forward to your release!

Thank you!
I'm planning on a total word count of 22-26K words, so I'd say roughly a third of that for the demo. Whether it would be worth going out of the way for it as opposed to working on getting it all done. If people would be interested in it then I'll definitely go for it.

[gekiganwing]

Most of my comments will focus on the protagonist.

Something is blossoming between two students, both of which go about their days at an international school in Tokyo... You have just started your new life at an international school...

Where is the protagonist from? What languages does the person know?

You are just starting out at a foreign school, and have managed to make a whopping 0 friends within your first week.

Is the protagonist an antisocial person? Do they avoid talking to people or attending events?

I have thought about letting the player choose their gender along side their name, (therefore B/GxG). Do you think this is a good idea?

Is the protagonist more of a blank slate character, or more of a clearly-defined person? In my opinion, if the protag doesn't have much of a personality, then it's easier to let them be either male or female. I also think that the more attributes, interests, and goals they have, the more difficult it is to let their gender be selectable.

From what I've read and played, blank slate protagonists seem more appropriate when there's an emphasis on gameplay. The protag of Tokimeki Memorial Girl's Side is just there, but since it's much more of a challenging simulation than a story, I didn't mind her vague personality. The protag of Persona 4 doesn't say much, and the player fills in details about his past through choices, but I didn't mind since the game includes quite a bit of combat, dungeon crawling, and schedule management.

[ds-sans]

Where is the protagonist from? What languages does the person know?

I appreciate the feedback. The protagonist is half British and half Japanese, and is naively fluent in the languages of both countries.

Is the protagonist an antisocial person? Do they avoid talking to people or attending events?

The story starts as the protagonist is transferred to the final year of the school, but as a transfer student they didn't have much time to make any actual "friends" before the main story kicks in.

Is the protagonist more of a blank slate character, or more of a clearly-defined person? In my opinion, if the protag doesn't have much of a personality, then it's easier to let them be either male or female. I also think that the more attributes, interests, and goals they have, the more difficult it is to let their gender be selectable.

I can understand your point of view. At the moment it's only really a possibility of whether or not I'll go with letting the player choose their gender. The protagonist themselves are a mix of a clearly-defined person and a blank slate. Though to be precise a better description would be generic. (Similar to other VN protagonists of a similar genre.) Since the main focus is on Ceri.

[ds-sans]

Little bit of an update.

The programming of the GUI is finished to the point in which it can be at the moment. (One I actually have any CGs, I'll be adding them to the gallery which is the only thing not added in yet.)

From this point, it's essentially the written aspects which need to be focused on. (That, and saving money to by CGs. The game will be released for free though.)

I've also added in a few extra features. Such as a history screen (since I'm using the old legacy ui) and allowing the player to quick save by pressing "Q" instead of using the quick menu. The history screen has been demonstrated below.

[Crazy Cactus]

- I have thought about letting the player choose their gender along side their name, (therefore B/GxG). Do you think this is a good idea?

Maybe I'm being too technical, but I feel like allowing player to choose gender would be too difficult - from a financial, story, programming, and "tone" perspective. Financial because you'd have to alter CGs as needed, even if main character is mostly cropped. Story because you'd have to go through relationships, discussions, and see if a guy and a girl would talk the same way, act the same way, which is hard to believe or pull off unless with a bigger budget. Programming wise its just more tedious for that person, since they need to do all the variations not just for the choices in a story, but for bow a male might choose versus how a girl might choose. Maybe you have same choices irregardless of gender, but again, that might be difficult. As for the "tone," it just ties back to story - the way a story evolves and develops will change drastically between a girl versus a boy and vice versa.

- Would you like to see a demo released in the future, or shall I focus on finishing everything instead?

I am only starting demo for my project now, and that's because most assets are completed. I would focus more on getting a lot of that type of work done first, before you try to jump into a demo when you don't have all the materials you need. Sure you could make a poster out of what you have lying around the house, but what if you waited and bought some extra supplies from the art store and make an amazing poster - essentially waiting a little bit and putting your best foot forward by putting out a little more cash too. Looks like you're also using some stock BGs - I recognize the one from the first post. Just hope they're free to use whether or not this is going to be free/commercial.

What I can tell you that I love is...
A) the art style for sprites (the lighting and amount of detail on her character art alone is absolutely superb)
B) GUI setup (menus are clean, crisp, simple, and very eye-appealing)
C) the simple nature of the story and that it will be short means you could leave a big impact using a small footprint (its a challenge but can pay off big if done right)

[ds-sans]

Maybe I'm being too technical, but I feel like allowing player to choose gender would be too difficult...

I can certainly understand your point of view. Financially, there'd be no point in having alternate CGs with both a male or female MC. I wasn't necessarily planning on a large number of them, but it'd still be better to preserve the money. With the story, getting the variations in gender would also be tedious, though I wouldn't have changed much anyway. Programming wise, I was only going to add variations through statements. I wouldn't have considered the relevance of gender on the choices given to the player.

It's only me working on the game (aside from the art) so if I was to add a gender choice feature in, it would definitely be an additional workload. I'll probably not add it in after all, unless I get convinced otherwise. I'd be up for pushing myself if there is a large consensus for it.

I would focus more on getting a lot of that type of work done first, before you try to jump into a demo when you don't have all the materials you need.

I agree with you. If I do decide to release one, then it wouldn't be until I have the CGs done, and a presentable draft of the first several chapters. Mainly to gauge peoples opinions on the writing style and to highlight any major changes needed before I finish the rest and release the final VN.

Looks like you're also using some stock BGs - I recognize the one from the first post. Just hope they're free to use whether or not this is going to be free/commercial.

Since it's a small project, I'm not going to be using unique BGs. Plus, they're quite expensive and I wouldn't have the money to invest in them. Everything's been financed out of money gained through offering GUI & logo services. The stock BGs I am using are free to use, with accreditation. Though finding suitable ones that don't contrast with the rest of the style, and are free to use is an arduous task at most. The VN will be released non-commercially.

What I can tell you that I love is...
A) the art style for sprites (the lighting and amount of detail on her character art alone is absolutely superb)
B) GUI setup (menus are clean, crisp, simple, and very eye-appealing)
C) the simple nature of the story and that it will be short means you could leave a big impact using a small footprint (its a challenge but can pay off big if done right)

Thank you! Both the sprites and the title CG artist did an amazing job. I'd definitely recommend them. I also think the GUI turned out splendidly. I'm certainly up for the challenge of leaving a big impact with the story.
Thank you for the feedback.

[ds-sans]

Brief update:

I've started the writing, Chapter 1 is completed and Chapter 2 is a WIP. I'm aiming for about 1500-2000 words per chapter, with approximately 12 of them to form the final script. (Not including side routes and alterations)

I've also updated the thread, so it's more aesthetically pleasing to look at and readable.

[ds-sans]

More progress has been made this past week. I've completed a lot more of chapter two, though it hasn't been prioritised. Work has also been started on the CGs.

One thing I did try was coding chapter one, and testing out close-up versions of sprites. Here's an example below:



I was planning on implementing these in scenes which are much more intimate, for lack of a better word.
Would this be a good idea, or shall I just stick to the original thigh up sprites 100% of the time?

[pinkllama]

I like the idea of occasionally having close-up sprites, especially for those intimate moments that you're talking about. I don't think it'd be too distracting if it's only done sometimes, and I think it would be a nice touch for those scenes.

[Zelan]

I like the idea of occasionally having close-up sprites, especially for those intimate moments that you're talking about. I don't think it'd be too distracting if it's only done sometimes, and I think it would be a nice touch for those scenes.

Agreed. There's not much that I can add to what pinkllama said, but I definitely like the idea. c:

[ds-sans]

I like the idea of occasionally having close-up sprites, especially for those intimate moments that you're talking about. I don't think it'd be too distracting if it's only done sometimes, and I think it would be a nice touch for those scenes.

Agreed. There's not much that I can add to what pinkllama said, but I definitely like the idea. c:

Thank you both. The real issue is what to prioritise when using close-up sprites. A lot of the scenes are dependent on one to one communication between Ceri and the MC.