A Town Called Shanty [WildWest] [Romance-optional] [DEMO]

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Zelan
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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#16 Post by Zelan »

LizardRobot wrote:Completed a new concept essay on the subject of Death.
That was a great essay, and I love the four points that you put forward as your guidelines for character death in A Town Called Shanty. I remember that being one of my pet peeves with books, even as a kid. I remember once telling my dad something like: "It kinda doesn't matter if the main characters are in danger. Even if you don't know how they'll survive, they always do." It's a relief to see the characters that you care about safe, of course, but the stakes are sort of taken away.

On the other hand, even though it's sad when a favored character dies (I usually cry and hate the author <:), I also love when a book/movie/VN/whatever is able to make me feel something to the point where I start crying. (Fun fact: Thus far, the only two VNs that I've cried at are Those Without Names and A Little Lily Princess.) So if a death is written well, my respect for the author and love for the story and characters will increase dramatically.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#17 Post by LizardRobot »

I'm actually known for being the person who, if there's only one character that dies in a TV show, it will be my favorite. It sucks! But when it happens, I always think, "If only I could go back and change things so that character lives." Thankfully, in VNs, you can do just that!

Hopefully deaths in ATCS will pass your muster. I think it will partly be a question of balancing game length. I don't want playthroughs to be excessively long given the intent for replay, but they need to be long enough to provide the player time to interact and get to know a few characters each playthrough so you actually care what happens to them. That's something that's just not gonna be clear until the game enters beta and other people get a chance to really meet the characters.

I will have to check those two VNs out! I did cry like a baby at Katawa Shoujo (Rin for life!), but then, I cry all the time. It's not the first VN I've cried playing, and it probably won't be the last.

I cried at a movie preview last week, and then I cried during the actual movie. Twice! (In my defense, Hidden Figures was extremely moving.) What can I say, I'm an emotional consumer of media!

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#18 Post by robovelociraptor »

1. What do you like so far?
It's been said before, but the art for this game looks amazing. Sometimes I tire of the usual anime style of (most) VNs, so it's nice to see something different for a change. It's not only the art style, but the theme and story as well that's different from a whole lot of VNs that I've seen. Maybe I'm just saying that because I have a soft spot for Western themes, but it's nice to see a VN take place outside of Japan. (Which has been becoming more common as of late, I'm happy to say.)

Not to mention, I can tell that I like your writing style already. I don't know how to really describe this part other than by saying that it's very fluid and natural; your character descriptions are great!


2. What do you dislike?
Really, I've yet to see anything that I don't like about this so far. It'd probably be easier to answer this question once you've got a demo out.

3. Which characters interest you or appeal to you?
Personally, I like Lorne, Romero, and Elaine the most, but like I said, it'll be a bit easier and more accurate of me to give an answer to this after I've played through a demo or read parts of the script. Obviously, these favorites are just picked mostly because they're the types I like the most lol. That said, I'm interested in all the characters, not just these ones.

4. Would you every consider becoming a patron? Why or why not? Do you think the patron rewards are satisfactory?
I can't do Patron because I have no method of payment available at the moment, but I do think Patron rewards can be satisfactory. At the end of the day, though, it really just depends on the person. I wouldn't support someone just because of the rewards; I would support someone because I want to see more of their work/see what they can do with the money given to them.

If you want more Patron supporters, it'd probably be best to release a demo and then market like there's no tomorrow. Obviously don't be annoying, but consider sending your demo to VN oriented Let's Players, set up social media accounts wherever you deem necessary and stay active on them, and figure out where those niche little groups are. This, from what I've seen, is how you build a fanbase. Is it time-consuming and requires a LOT of maintenance? Yes, but if you can successfully market your game it can do a lot for you. I'm not some sort of marketing genius, though, so it'd probably be better to do some additional research into successful marketing as well.


5. Any questions? Other thoughts or feedback?
Man, the amount of time and dedication you've put into this game is inspiring and I really hope the best for you. I want to see this game, and I would definitely buy it, providing you can get it on Steam. You deserve to have more Patrons and supporters, and I'm sorry I can't provide the former for you. Just hold your head high and don't lose hope!

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#19 Post by LizardRobot »

I disappeared to do some paid work, sorry for not replying to anything in a while!

I am currently LIVE STREAMING my artwork, please do come and join and chat with me or at least tune in and watch:

https://www.twitch.tv/lizardrobot

EDIT: The stream is now offline. Thanks to those who joined me! I might stream again tomorrow.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#20 Post by LizardRobot »

Live streaming again! Free sketch request available, see the front page for details. :) Going to go until 7:30pm

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-optional][Commerc

#21 Post by LizardRobot »

So sorry for the late reply to this! I left my reply open in a browser tab and forgot to finish writing it.
robovelociraptor wrote:1. What do you like so far?
It's been said before, but the art for this game looks amazing. Sometimes I tire of the usual anime style of (most) VNs, so it's nice to see something different for a change. It's not only the art style, but the theme and story as well that's different from a whole lot of VNs that I've seen. Maybe I'm just saying that because I have a soft spot for Western themes, but it's nice to see a VN take place outside of Japan. (Which has been becoming more common as of late, I'm happy to say.)

Not to mention, I can tell that I like your writing style already. I don't know how to really describe this part other than by saying that it's very fluid and natural; your character descriptions are great!
Thank you so much! Art style is something I keep wibbling on... make it more anime or less? I don't have a usual or set style, so I don't have anything to fall back on. I've always enjoyed exploring multiple styles and just sort of going where the moment takes me stylistically. When it comes time to finalize the character art, I'm going to have to standardize things a bit more. Hopefully I'll have some feedback by that point as to what people think works best.

This probably helps explain why I've always pursued my writing professionally instead of my art!
3. Which characters interest you or appeal to you?
Personally, I like Lorne, Romero, and Elaine the most, but like I said, it'll be a bit easier and more accurate of me to give an answer to this after I've played through a demo or read parts of the script. Obviously, these favorites are just picked mostly because they're the types I like the most lol. That said, I'm interested in all the characters, not just these ones.
I guess you favor the quieter or more mature ones then? They're definitely the three most likely to behave like adults, despite Elaine being youngest in the cast! ;D
If you want more Patron supporters, it'd probably be best to release a demo and then market like there's no tomorrow. Obviously don't be annoying, but consider sending your demo to VN oriented Let's Players, set up social media accounts wherever you deem necessary and stay active on them, and figure out where those niche little groups are. This, from what I've seen, is how you build a fanbase. Is it time-consuming and requires a LOT of maintenance? Yes, but if you can successfully market your game it can do a lot for you. I'm not some sort of marketing genius, though, so it'd probably be better to do some additional research into successful marketing as well.[/color]
Social media is definitely one of my weak areas. It's not really a thing I know a lot about or engage in myself. I'm hoping the public alpha will bring in support, and then I'm going to engage someone who does know social media once I'm in the beta phase and preparing for the Kickstarter. For now, slow and steady is the name of the game I guess? The alpha is coming soon!
5. Any questions? Other thoughts or feedback?
Man, the amount of time and dedication you've put into this game is inspiring and I really hope the best for you. I want to see this game, and I would definitely buy it, providing you can get it on Steam. You deserve to have more Patrons and supporters, and I'm sorry I can't provide the former for you. Just hold your head high and don't lose hope!
Thank you so much! Your words mean a great deal, I truly value the feedback and thank you so much for taking the time! I hope you enjoy the alpha. I'll of course try to be more on top of posting here when that's ready. ^^
Last edited by LizardRobot on Sat Mar 18, 2017 5:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western] LIVESTREAM 3pm PST

#22 Post by LizardRobot »

General update time:

I've updated the first post of the thread! How does it look? I have a hard time judging because I'm working on a giant screen, so... are the images too big? Or do they work? Is it of value to see more of the cast? Should I throw some of the backgrounds in there, too?

I will be livestreaming at 3pm PST! (That's in half an hour.) Probably doing some more character arts. I do have a special free sketch request code just for you guys if anyone wants to claim it:
expired

Post that into the twitch.tv chat and I'll draw whatever you want, live! (No adult content.) First come, first serve!
Image
Click anywhere above to view LizardRobot's stream.
I also modified the questionnaire slightly. Now that all romance options are revealed, who's your first pick to explore?
Last edited by LizardRobot on Wed Apr 26, 2017 12:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-Optional][Commerc

#23 Post by JBShields »

Oooh! A western! Sounds interesting!

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-Optional][Commerc

#24 Post by LizardRobot »

Thanks! I never thought I'd end up finding the western setting so interesting, but I'm learning a lot during research. I think it's really helping inform the game in a positive way.

Also, I realize I haven't shown the livestream rewards here yet. So, here's what I've been doing for the people who turn up and claim free sketches on the livestream!
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livestream request - NotSideEffect.png
livestream request - NotSideEffect for RainbowWarrior_.png

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-Optional][Commerc

#25 Post by LizardRobot »

Have continued livestreaming, adding color to characters and working on the alpha demo in TyranoBuilder (siiiiigggh Degica whyyyy). I stopped announcing here because it seemed no one was coming from LSF, but if anyone wants me to resume announcing the livestream here with a free sketch code, just let me know.

Meanwhile here are the two latest free requests from the stream.
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livestream request - wheresmyrobot.png
livestream request - RainbowWarrior_ for GGLionguard.png

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [Western][Romance-Optional][Commerc

#26 Post by LizardRobot »

It's only available to patrons so far, but the first alpha demo preview has been released! https://www.patreon.com/posts/alpha-demo-ver-0-8829585 The next demo release will be a public one. (Still, good time to become a patron if you've been on the fence.) Once the public demo is released, I can finally request to move this topic to the WIP forum! Yay!

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [WildWest][Comm][DEMO]

#27 Post by LizardRobot »

The demo is out! You can get it here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/9141709
I have not been able to test the Mac version yet.

There is also a lovely little feedback survey. Anonymous unless you're interested in prizes.

I was racing to get the demo up in time to livestream a playthrough, so I didn't have time to 100% test through every option in a couple of the scenes from the day 1 afternoon phase (Lorne and Julius are most likely to have issues), but errors and glitches should be minimal. Still, I would appreciate any help in rooting out and eradicating any problems.

Alternately, just any feedback in general, with the understanding there are some rough patches. This is an alpha version, and a lot of stuff isn't there yet, but will be coming soon. (Patrons can attest, great strides were made between v.0.0.1 and v.0.0.1a, so hopefully many more great strides will emerge in v.0.0.1b.)

Also, the front page of this thread will be getting another graphics overhaul this week, as characters have received a layer of base color. I've just been focused on the demo to the exclusion of all other things (like social media graphics) this past week.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [WildWest][Comm][DEMO]

#28 Post by LizardRobot »

Front page of thread updated. Still have a couple more graphics to do (I'd like to make some pretty buttons to link to the demo and livestream), but unfortunately have other things to attend to this evening. Still! It's got color now, that's an important step.

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Re: A Town Called Shanty [WildWest] [Romance-optional] [DEMO

#29 Post by LizardRobot »

Full character profile graphics now on the front page, so it looks much spiffier!

Next stage is to add some screenshots from the demo (possibly replacing character lineup?) and icons for the various other social media outlets (Facebook, Twitter, devART, Patreon). Of course, demo comes before all that!

The game now has a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TownCalledShanty/

I'm pleased to announce I've implemented a fix for the resolutoin issues some people were having which will be live in the next demo release, v.0.0.1b

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