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

[LizardRobot]

The v.0.0.1a demo is out!
If you've played it, please consider filling out the demo survey.

Hello forums! I am Lizard Robot, an artist and writer currently hard at work on my first full VN project, A Town Called Shanty.
I hope everyone will join my on this exciting journey towards finishing my first major game project.
There's lots of development content to enjoy over on my blog.
I'm also running a bonus sketch promotion for my first five patrons!

Questionnaire at the bottom!





A Town Called Shanty is a traditional VN game with a western theme in which the player directs the actions of town sheriff June Jameson.
Shanty is under threat from a predatory developer, and it's up to June to save the town, and maybe find love in the process.

GAME CONCEPT ESSAYS: Romance, Death, Origins - more soon!




Diverse cast of 13 characters
7 potential romance interests
Totally romance-optional!
Dynamic story changes significantly based on player choices
World rich in character backstory
Creative problem-solving opportunities and challenges
Plenty of game achievements
Wide variety of endings




The gameplay takes place during the course of several action days.
Each day provides the player freedom to choose 2-3 characters to interact with from among the cast, and each interaction offers 1-4 different outcomes.
The player can also draw upon June's knowledge by accessing her insights to learn more about the town's history and denizens,
or her observations on current events.

It all culminates in a final showdown with the villains, where the actions taken by the player will determine if the town is saved, and how.
There are multiple solutions and possibilities!

MAXWELL VAN NUYS, mercenary - "Max" (40)
Leader of the mercenaries, a strict and unforgiving man who is as comfortable shooting things as he is beating them into submission with his fists. He's not interested in June or Shanty. All he cares about is fulfilling his job contract with Wilcox and forcing the townsfolk out, through any means necessary. He takes a great deal in of pride in his ability to best lawmen, evidenced by his collection of posthumously claimed sheriff and marshal badges.

WILLIAM BOSFORTH, mercenary - "Bos" (37)
A man of very few words, Bos prefers to let his knives do the talking. The pelts and hunting trophies on him display his prowess as a hunter and convey a sense of the savagery of nature and the primal instinct of survival. He enjoys carving, whether it be wood, leather, or human flesh.

HAROLD LYONS, mercenary - "Harry" (24)
Boisterous and loud, Harry's laugh precedes him by miles. What he lacks in skill, he makes up for with cheerful exuberance. He seems to have fun no matter what he's doing: riding, drinking, cracking skulls... It's all in good fun to him. He isn't the smartest fellow in the world, so he tends to follow whatever he's told to do by his boss. In this case, that means squash all opposition to selling land to Wilcox.

1. What do you like or dislike so far?
2. Which characters interest you or appeal to you?
3. Who would your first romance choice be?
4. Would you every consider becoming a patron? Why or why not? Do you think the patron rewards are satisfactory?
5. Any questions? Other thoughts or feedback?

If you played the demo, please consider filling out the feedback survey! Otherwise, here are a few short questions:

• What was your favorite moment?
• Did you like the level of choice?
• Did you like the insights?
• Do you intend to check out future versions of the demo?

Thanks for looking! I welcome any feedback and discussion.

[LizardRobot]

Today I finished and posted the next two character sketches! These are two of the six romance options.

There's a full write-up on my blog.

I also posted a colored mockup of these sketches and June as game sprites for my patrons!

[LizardRobot]

Fourth character sketch done!

Full writeup here

I also got my second patron! At the Champion level, no less! That's $35 in pledges now, minus the Patreon/Paypal fees. It seems to take a few days before the pledges show up on the total.

If anyone has been considering supporting me, or just likes my art and wants a piece of it for their own, you could potentially get two sketches for $1 right now. Neither of my current two patrons are participants in the monthly sketch raffle, so anyone supporting would be eligible not only for the early bird sketch perk, but also stands a decent chance at being the only entrant in the raffle.

[LizardRobot]

I know it's just me talking to myself like an echo chamber over here, but I made a post about the game's governing philosophy regarding romance:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/whats-love-got-7111454

It also contains a full list of the characters you can romance! I upgraded from six to seven, just because the seventh isn't going to be a tremendous amount of work to implement (he'll have a shorter route because he isn't in town as much), and it was conceptually interesting to me to do so.

I have another of these posts planned covering life and death in the game. This is a game with guns and villains... death can play a part, depending on the player's choices.

[gekiganwing]

The gameplay takes place during the course of several "action days." Each day provides the player freedom to choose 2-3 characters to interact with from among the cast, and each interaction offers 1-4 different outcomes. The player can also "reminisce" and learn more about the town's history and denizens, courtesy of the sheriff's knowledge. It all culminates in a final showdown with the villains, where the actions taken by the player will determine if the town is saved, and how. There are multiple solutions and possibilities!

A few questions...

1. Will the reader know ahead of time what sort of ending they can expect? In other words, will there be accurate indications about how close the protagonist is to reaching her goals? Or do you want the reader to be surprised as to how the story progresses?

2. What will the "reminisce" feature contribute? Does it just fill in backstory details? Does it have another purpose?

3. Any particular inspiration for this story? There are a lot of wild west stories in multiple media formats. Please state if you found one or more of these genre stories to be helpful.

[LizardRobot]

Hi!!! Thank you so much for the questions! Here go my answers:

1. Will the reader know ahead of time what sort of ending they can expect? In other words, will there be accurate indications about how close the protagonist is to reaching her goals? Or do you want the reader to be surprised as to how the story progresses?
To a certain extent, ending elements will be obvious. What happens at the end depends on your standing with the other characters. Since your choices determine that standing, you'll likely be aware of whether certain characters like or dislike you. The game won't pull a blindside on the player where suddenly, something comes out of left field and you're left wondering, "what did I do that caused that???" If something happens at the end, you should be able to figure out what caused it or how to respond to it, and adjust choices for the next playthrough accordingly.

There is still surprise in that how a character (ally or enemy) changes the ending won't be clear until you bring them to the end game and find out. Different combinations of allies/enemies can result in very different endings.

Personally, I get really frustrated when I've made what I thought were good choices in a game, only to get a bad ending without much hint beforehand that it would be bad. That's when I head to the walkthrough and auto-skip through an entire replay just to make the one set of choices that were correct. I don't want that to be the case for ATCS. This game doesn't have a "one set of correct choices" setup. Each choice affects your standing with the other characters, and your overall standing changes what the other characters do in the endgame. Making one misstep won't cost you a victory. Choosing different allies will result in different endings.

It's worth nothing there are "bad" winning scenarios, and "good" losing ones, for lack of a better word. I'd say that every ending has some merit to it! Even a "lose" ending can be satisfying, if it's the ending you wanted to get and tried to make happen.

2. What will the "reminisce" feature contribute? Does it just fill in backstory details? Does it have another purpose?
Primarily backstory. I really love worldbuilding and character development and backstory, but I know not everyone wants to sit through lots of text about stuff that doesn't directly impact what's happening, so I wanted a mechanic that would make it optional. If you just want to focus on what's going on in the moment and the general problem-solving, you can ignore the backstory and still enjoy the game.

To me, the information offered by these asides is really interesting, though, so I hope players enjoy reading it as much as I've been enjoying writing it! Since you really only need to learn the information once, the mechanic also means you don't have to sit through the information again on future playthroughs.

I'm actually considering changing reminisce to "contemplate," so I can also use it to also provide commentary on current events, and maybe offer players a little extra insight into their choices if they need it.

3. Any particular inspiration for this story? There are a lot of wild west stories in multiple media formats. Please state if you found one or more of these genre stories to be helpful.
I'm not a huge Western fan and I can't really identify particular sources. I'm aware of various Wild West stuff being around, and I've seen a number of old western films over the years, but nothing springs to mind.

I admit the whole oil/railroad threatens the town isn't the most unique plot. After I chose this scenario, I watched a bunch of old western films for reference and inspiration, and probably about half of them featured a variation on this theme. I do love the movie There Will Be Blood, which might be why I picked oil instead of railroad, but there isn't really any resemblance to the film.

There are two specific reasons I chose the old west, but I'm planning a blog post explaining the game's origins, so if you don't mind, I'll hold off on stating the reasons for now! (The game origins post is slated for the week after next.)

Any other questions? There's nothing in the universe I love more than talking about this project, except maybe actually making it!

[LizardRobot]

Another day, another character design done!

Full writeup: https://www.patreon.com/posts/george-7128196

I'm not sure, but I think it still might be possible to pick up a sketch reward (or two) by becoming a patron before the end of today? Otherwise, it'll be next month before rewards are available again. I'm very excited to draw my first reward sketch this week! The patron gave me a really cool idea to work with, and I think it's gonna be a great sketch.

[LizardRobot]

Completely revamped the first post, added brief bios for the whole cast, and spiffed it up with some images! Also added a questionnaire.

[EppleBloom]

What do you like so far?

I really like the art style! Cute, but it fits well and the designs fit really well with the character bios. Kind of a weird thing but I also love that the characters are all working adults. Just makes it easier to sympathize with, I guess? The wild west setting is nice too.

What do you dislike?

That Elaine isn't a romantic option lol

Which characters interest you or appeal to you?

Romero and Elaine. Defrosting ice kings/queens are my favorite and facial hair is an added bonus~ ("Romero is mai waifu" )

Would you every consider becoming a patron? Why or why not?

Probably not. I'm not big on crowdfunding, Patron especially, because of some bad experiences. It requires a lot of trust and more often than not the amount of money you put out isn't anywhere near what the final product is actually worth... That being said, I wouldn't mind buying the final version depending on the price.

A questions? Other thoughts or feedback?

I have a couple things:
You mention your Patron, but you'll be selling the final product afterwards right? How much are you thinking of charging? (Maybe you said this somewhere and I missed it?)
The gameplay consists of interaction and investigation, so my mind immediately goes to Phoenix Wright. Will it be similar? How so or how not?
The romance is optional but characters are listed as mercenaries and the plot sounds like it'll go in a murderous direction, so what kind of a rating are you aiming for? It doesn't need to be specific but in general will it be more of a situation where murders are implied or do we get to deal with the bloody details? And similarly, are we in for a sweet chaste romance or something more R rated.

Sorry if this post is a little cluttered! It's really interesting so far though and I want to see where it goes.

[LizardRobot]

What do you dislike?

That Elaine isn't a romantic option lol

Ha! Funny you should say that, I'm a huge fan of Stardew Valley and I remember my intense disappointment when Shane and Emily weren't initially romance options in that game. ConcernedApe added them in a later update, and now people are calling for the option to romance Krobus! Which I wouldn't have thought to do, but now it's like, "Yeah, why not!"

In light of that, I have been considering a romance plotline with Elaine. There is admittedly a reason why Elaine isn't an option at present, but I think I can write a way around it. At the moment, it's sort of a "pie in the sky, potential Kickstarter stretch goal" thing. If the rest of the writing goes smoothly, it could end up being a bonus goal towards the end of the game's regular development. Because I share your values of "GIVE ME THAT CHARACTER, I WILL MAKE HIM/HER MIIIIINE!"

Defrosting ice kings/queens are my favorite and facial hair is an added bonus~ ("Romero is mai waifu" )

You have made my day!!

You mention your Patron, but you'll be selling the final product afterwards right? How much are you thinking of charging? (Maybe you said this somewhere and I missed it?)

I totally understand the wariness about Patreon. I've had some excellent experiences on there, and some not so good ones. My hope is that I'll have proven my update consistency and project commitment after a couple months, so people feel less wary of supporting me. (It's crazy to me how many people are supporting content creators on a monthly basis when those creators haven't been active!)

The intended retail price point is $5 without voice acting, and $10-ish with (dependent on potential kickstarter next year). The game itself doesn't take a huge amount of time to play through once, so I want the price point to reflect the length, and be small enough that it has a low entry barrier to help introduce people to my work.

The gameplay consists of interaction and investigation, so my mind immediately goes to Phoenix Wright. Will it be similar? How so or how not?

I've never played Phoenix Wright, so I couldn't say! On the Wikipedia page, it says the designer didn't want multiple endings, so the choices are sort of illusory. That's definitely counter to my intention, because there are a lot of different endings in ATCS, so player choice really matters a lot. The whole game is sort of me indulging my enduring affection for writing "what if" scenarios!

Also, it's a little more "what tools do I choose to survive the apocalypse" than an investigation. I do have a future game planned that is a criminal investigation (The Silence and the Snow), but for now it's on the back burner while I focus on ATCS.

The romance is optional but characters are listed as mercenaries and the plot sounds like it'll go in a murderous direction, so what kind of a rating are you aiming for? It doesn't need to be specific but in general will it be more of a situation where murders are implied or do we get to deal with the bloody details? And similarly, are we in for a sweet chaste romance or something more R rated.

Ha, well, there is definitely violence in the game, so it's aimed at a 16+ audience. The violence isn't super-gory, but you can end up in situations where you have to deal with the aftermath of on-screen deaths. There is a game concept essay coming later this week specifically covering death and how it's handled in the game.

Graphically, no nudity will be shown, but some of the romances feature clothed physical contact, and may imply further activities. I think there's at least a kiss CG for everyone, and some routes feature groping. How sweet or physical the routes are really varies by character. I'd describe the various romantic routes as tragic, passionate, desperate, endearing, funny, serious, and yes, even one that's sweet and rather chaste!

I may do an 18+ patch that adds a couple hardcore scenes down the line, because I personally enjoy adult content.

Sorry if I rambled a bit much! I just love putting thoughts to paper.

[HeavyDevy-kun]

Hey! Nice progress!

1. What do you like so far?

I've actually never been into the western theme haha! It's too brown with too much wood for me...where do they even get that wood? There's nothing out there! Don't listen to me But I think what I like is the art style. It's realistic to the fullest but its not to the point where I think people would just disregard it. That's hard to do!

[*]What do you dislike?

Western themes ha! No but seriously, its probably the slightly cliched plot but even that isn't too bad. In the wild western themes, there really isn't much to go by unless you start adding other things in that aren't your typical cowboy murderers and sheriffs with fancy hats and revolvers saving the little cactus town. However its possible to create something very unique with it, I don't know what though. Shanghai Noon is a pretty good example I think. I'm not saying change the plot entirely, the oilman is certainly interesting! but maybe you could mix slavery or the native Americans within the picture somehow. Especially since its considering land. The answers I think would be in American history. Maybe some documentaries while you continue with art might help. Up to you though. I'm saying its not bad, just needs more oomph maybe.

Maybe the town gets so poor, your thugs drive off June for a while and she stays with couple of natives who are under strict regulations on their land owned by someone else. Just throwing stuff out there. Ideas take time.

[*]Which characters interest you or appeal to you?

Well first off, this is where I think that this is probably the strong point of your concept which makes me want to check it out even though I hate western themes. I think Wilcox would be the most appealing since there aren't many visual novels that can romance one of the antagonists. I also love how you direct towards both audiences but knowing me, I like all visual novels with a good story. I'm passionate and deep with that sort of stuff.

[*]Would you every consider becoming a patron? Why or why not?

I don't got money dude! Haha! Plus I need to upgrade my music software and save up for East West Quantum Leap. I have orchestral instruments but need better quality...and I want a choir that can sing!

[*]Do you think the patron rewards are satisfactory?

I would say so. But I have no interest in patreon, sorry

[*]Any questions? Other thoughts or feedback?[/list]

I'm out of words. That's all I got. Good luck!

[LizardRobot]

It's too brown with too much wood for me...where do they even get that wood? There's nothing out there!

I can answer that!! Depending on where you were in the west, you might have had logs available. If you didn't have logs, there might be stone available, so you'd use that. If no logs or stone, then you would make the building out of sod! Just slap it together with sod bricks.

These were temporary solutions until real wood could arrive. (Or if you had a bunch of logs, a sawmill or carpenter could also solve your problem.) Initially, you might not have enough wood to erect a whole building, so what you would do is make a false front. Just put a wood wall on the front of your building so it looks nice! You might even make your false front two stories tall with fake windows.

Eventually, false fronts because a stylistic choice, because while it might sound silly to use a false front once your whole building was made from wood, merchants could use the space for signage and advertisement, and the false front might still disguise a single-story building as a two-story one, or just make it look fancier. Everyone knew they were fake so you weren't fooling anyone, but it looked nice.

When you see buildings that have obviously fake front walls in movies, it's not because they didn't have the budget to build the whole structure. That's really what people did!

but maybe you could mix slavery or the native Americans within the picture somehow. Especially since its considering land. The answers I think would be in American history. Maybe some documentaries while you continue with art might help. Up to you though. I'm saying its not bad, just needs more oomph maybe.

I suppose my main concern would be adding in more plot themes could detract from the main story, which is that this is a small, quiet town that could be wiped off the map, and what a tragedy it would be to lose this place and how special it is. Which isn't to say nothing happens besides saving the town -- there's gambling, criminal, romance, and potentially murder subplots to explore by interacting with the characters. But I want to keep the story in the town, with the townspeople, and hopefully have the player bond to those people so they actually care about the town's fate.

I will say that slavery and Native Americans are ancillary elements, connected to certain characters in their backstory. The game does take place post-1865, so slavery has been abolished, and Shanty is located in territory that was free even before that, so I can't see slavery really factoring in, but I could bump up the Native American connection a smidge without much trouble, to put it on the same level as the connection to the Chinese railroad workers that's already present.

I want to keep the focus on the town, but I really appreciate knowing the vantage point of desiring a more grandiose story! It just might be too much additional workload. Keeping the game smaller doesn't just jive with my sensibilities as a writer, it also helps with the goal of making the project one I can actually finish. I also worry about turning the game into a checklist of stuff that happened in the late 1800s. I want the story and characters to feel organic, not like I've smushed them together just so I could touch upon every element of history in that time period. I don't want the story to turn into a Western kitchen sink.

I am super glad that my art potentially trumps a dislike of Westerns! That's just the best compliment, thank you! And thank you so much for the feedback and comments, I really appreciate that you'd take the time to do so when Western's aren't your cup of tea. Seriously, you gave me some really good thinking points.

[LizardRobot]

So, not that many people are actively following my status, but I was on a sort of forced hiatus due to computer issues which have now been solved. Despite not posting here, I've been making steady progress on the game!

- Fresh graphics on the Patreon, including updated logo.
- Finished first design pass for Lucy and Julius.
- Posted some background previews.
- First early bird sketch reward got an upgrade to a lineart.

I still gotta figure out some way to increase patreon support. Hopefully the graphics revamp will help, because it makes everything look more polished and professional. At this point, someone supporting for $3 over 3 months would have received 4 sketches, but no one seems interested in that, so maybe I have to rethink that incentive. I don't want to do an incentive that will take up a lot of work because that would get in the way of me making the game, but maybe more focus on stuff like the wallpapers? Adding avatars/icons?

Do I need to put less emphasis on having patron-only additional content? Would more people support if more stuff were public instead of behind the patron access wall? Or do I just need to get to the point of having colored character art before people will support?

Ah well, back to the grindstone for now anyways! Gotta post some Wilcox art this week.

[LizardRobot]

Still drawing away! This time finished first pass character art for Wilcox.

[LizardRobot]

Completed a new concept essay on the subject of Death.