Of Ice & Snow [Drama] [Fantasy] [Romance] [Complete!]

[pyopyon]

SYNOPSIS

Once upon a time
there was an icy land, the doors of which
could only be opened by a broken heart, full of despair.

When an island girl loses her sister, she crosses over and enters a land
memorialized by her people's songs and stories. She is well aware that it is
filled with snow, ice, wolves, and most importantly...

The Ice Prince.

Some songs call him a monster, said to eat the hearts of maidens
Others call him a master of wolves,
judging by the faithful horde he's rumored to rule
Others still, a youth,
thousands of years old but
frozen in time by the coldness of his own heart...

CHARACTERS

Lalao.

The MC. Lalao has tried her best to keep her small family together,
but as the mainland and the deep, dark sea pull each member away, she is eventually
left only with her younger sister, Veni. When Veni decides to leave too, Lalao's lack of
closure opens the door to a world of ice and snow, as foreign and far from her island
homeland as she can get.



Veni.

Lalao's younger sister. Veni is young and yearns for the mainland.
Unlike her sister, she is modern and can barely comprehend Lalao's attachment
to the Isles. What Lalao finds refreshing, Veni finds stifling. After their grandmother's
passing and the rites that require her to be be returned to the sea,
she feels no need to stay.



Gran.

Lalao and Veni's grandmother. She passed away and was given to the sea
per funeral rites of the Sister Isles. As the last anchor the island, her passing is
the catalyst for Veni's pulling away, as well as the person who passes down
the stories of a mysterious icy land.



???. A figure shrouded in mystery. Said to live in the land of Ice and Snow.

MINOR CHARACTERS

One-Eye. The leader of the horde of wolves said to obey the ruler of the land of ice and snow.

SCREENSHOTS:

FEEDBACK:

1. What do you think of the characters?
2. What kind of story do you expect?

RELEASE DATE: 14 February 2017

Right now, there are no CGs but I am looking into getting some created for the game. I'll be releasing a version with the CGs in the future. The only other thing that might be added is One-Eye's character so please be on standby for that!

DOWNLOAD THREAD

[Hazel]

1. I feel I don't know enough about the characters to judge them. I have more of an idea of their circumstances than their temperament. I do like the concept of the conflict between the two sisters, modernity vs. tradition.
2. My first thought was that this seemed like a portal fantasy and I'm wondering how old the protagonist is. My second thought was about whether the wolf was supposed to be an antagonist or a love interest.
3. It does not seem to bear any particular resemblance to Frozen. It's not like we have to quit writing about icy landscapes because they're all derivative of Andersen's The Snow Queen. Nor are stories about sisters overdone, if anything I'd like to see more of them. There's nothing new under the sun, as they say, and it seems from your synopsis that your story has just the appropriate amount of originality.

[rito]

1. Like Hazel, I feel like we don't know enough about the characters, but the conflict between the sisters seems interesting and believable.
2. I want to know what will happen to Anita, although the summary feels open. I think adding a goal, even if it's just going home, could make it more compelling without needing to change the story itself.
3. Frozen didn't cross my mind until you mentioned it--and I love Frozen. I'm a sucker for sister stories so by all means, please continue.

[pyopyon]

@Hazel ~ 1. Good and intentional! Anita's temperament is actually decided by the choices the player makes along the VN and Mariah responds in kind. These choices also decide the ending. I wasn't sure how to add that in the description but... there it is. // 2. Anita is twenty-two, while Mariah is sixteen. One-Eye is actually neither. (^: // 3. You know... it doesn't but when I was working on it, I felt worried anyway because when I tried to describe it, all my brain could come up with is 'it's about sisters... and there's snow... and [a few other themes that on their own might sound like Frozen but are spoiler-y]. It's definitely not like Frozen at all, but a derivative of the Snow Queen... you could argue for that (even though that wasn't intended either, The Snow Queen is my favorite faerietale, so that feels like a complement! >w<)

@rito 1. Ditto the above as far as Anita's personality. What happens to Anita is largely due to the choices. It's kinda of... a story about Anita coping with Mariah being gone, so how well (or badly) she seems to be coping lends to how she ends up with the creature, in the land, etc. // 3.... Maybe I'll remove this question until the game comes out. There are other things that made me think of it, like aside from snow and sisters,

ice royalty, ice kingdoms

and things along those lines. Anyway, if you didn't think of it, I'll get rid of the question XD My worries seem to be unfounded.

[wyverngem]

I'm really drawn to some of the screen shots you've posted. I like the art style and the story is enough to peek my interest. Hazel's name seems to fit the world of going modern, but if you want to make it a contrast perhaps a different name for Anita.

I'm curious as to what separated the two sister? Was Anita the one who really left her and what of this place. Is it more fantasy or just feels more like it.

Also what is Anita's purpose? She's on the island because her heart's broken, but what are her goals? Does the player get to choose them?

[pyopyon]

@Wyvern -- Thank you! ^^ I also love the art style.

Hazel's name? I'm not really sure what you mean... are you suggesting I change Anita's name to Hazel to make it less modern? If so... I know Anita's not really a fantasy name but the story is set at the turn of the century. Not that it impacts the story much because the Isles are pretty isolated, but it is a bit of the reason Mariah wanted to leave so badly. But only a bit of it.

Those questions will be answered in the game. (^: Genre-wise, I think this could be like... urban fantasy, only not in an urban setting. Basically, I just mean that it's set in the real world, sort of, except the Islanders believe that the land of ice and snow exists. (And it does.)

Anita's purpose is to get closure and to deal with/confront her grief. How she manages it, or if she manages it is dependent on the reader's choices. To give an example... I updated the screenshots to show what the choices look like. Through events in the game and Anita's memories, you mold what kind of person Anita is/was, and therefore how she would deal with her grief. If she's more aggressive with her sister, she'll deal one way, but if she's uncertain then it'll culminate in another way.

I should clarify though-- Anita lives on the isle because she was born there, not because her heart is broken. (^: Same with Mariah and the rest of their family. They are from the Sister Isles.

[pyopyon]

Update on the progress: all the existing sprites are in and there will now be a sprite for Gran and maybe One-Eye (sprite artist has never drawn wolves before so we're gonna try our luck.)

[gekiganwing]

I like the art style. 2D drawings, not too realistic or exaggerated, and reasonably distinct.

I'm not really sure what you mean... are you suggesting I change Anita's name to Hazel to make it less modern? If so... I know Anita's not really a fantasy name but the story is set at the turn of the century.

According to what I found on Behind the Name, the name Anita is a form of Channah (or Hannah), which dates back as far as the Old Testament. People have used the specific name Anita since at least the 18th century.

[wyverngem]

^_^ I hope I didn't confuse you. Hazel is fine. I was commenting that Anita could be changed to something more to her island heritage. When I saw your images I thought of the Island Pacific and also the Inuit tribes with the northern lights. There was a comment about how Hazel is modern and her sister is clinging to tradition.

Anita isn't a bad name. Keep it if you really like it. I was just trying to say that a way to show more of a difference between the sister is by giving them names that don't sound similar. For example if her sister is Hazel. She could simple be Nita.

[pyopyon]

@gekiganwing -- Thank you! The artist is on tumblr under 'littlestpersimmon' and as soon as I saw their style, I thought it was PERFECT for the original faerietale concept I was going for. I didn't know all that, so I can't say I really chose it, even if it is accidentally legit. XD I've just always wanted to use it in a VN. TBH it doesn't even have to be this one. >__>;; But technically, it would period date her, even if it doesn't culturally date her so much.

@wyverngem I was confused a bit. Ahhh, but you cleared it up nicely. It's true that neither Anita nor Mariah are names that reflect the Sister Isles heritage but the original, original, ORIGINAL version of the Ice Prince had Anita and Mariah in the modern world and they were both black girls. As the general message of the story I wanted to tell changed, so did... well, everything else. XD I think you mixed a bit is where the confusion lies-- the LSF member's name is Hazel. Mariah is the name of the modern character and Anita clings to tradition.

I actually am considering changing it now, solely because Anita can be used for another VN for sure-- but the sisters would still have the same kind of name. Mariah's interest in the mainland has more to do with... hm... romanticizing people who are different from you but she really is an island girl. There's another reason for her interest but that's explained in game so I'll leave it there. (^: But the official consideration for changing their names has begun! Thanks for getting the mental cranks goin'!

[pyopyon]

Lots of updates! New screenshots, new sprites, new synopsis (that reveals a little more but not much) and new names!

Anita > Lalao
Mariah > Veni

I think they suit their names and I have officially put Anita back in my back pocket. (^:

[rito]

Gran is so pretty! This might be a weird comment but I just had to say it.

[pyopyon]

@Rito -- Not a weird comment at all! I'm sure Gran was a looker in her hey day >vo Lol, but lots of rich colors on her part since (what you see of) the island is rich in color scheme anyway.

[pyopyon]

So, I've decided to release today-- I might re-release a version that includes CGs (and maybe even a sprite for One-Eye!) but for now, it'll be without those things. I hope people enjoy it anyway. I'll be posting the download link soon!

[pyopyon]

It's released. I've included a download link in the first post.