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Tailor Tales has been my baby project since 2009, and has now undergone 3 revisions. What would first be a Harvest Moon like game, with an open and free overworld to roam around in, turned into a strictly Visual Novel game with elements of designing your own fashion. In Tailor Tales, you assume the role of Joselina, an aspiring fashion designer that just opened her boutique to sell her own clothing line, taking place in a fictional European country. While you design your own clothes and dress up your character, you can also read and experience her romance with other boys. Pick any of the bachelors to read his story - each one has his own unique plot.



Credits:
List here.


Download.

Beta 1.4 is out now!
Tailor Tales beta v. 1.4



Feedback is very much welcomed!

Which character are you most interested in?

None, I'm here strictly for sewing shenanigans. Haha. Actually, I love dress-up games, so I am definitely looking forward to the dress-up aspect and I'm wondering how it'll contribute to the story. If I had to choose, James because he's brown because he reminds me of the Kyle character from Harvest Moon: Magical Melody (who was also a carpenter ayeeee lol txt it.)

Are you okay with following a single character's story, without the appearance of the other main characters?

Yeah, that's fine. I do think glimpses of the other characters are a good idea though, since they tend to make a reader think 'ooooh, who is THAT hottie' and thus you've got advertising in your own routes before the player even gets to them!

Are you okay with two endings, none of them which are a bad ending?

Yep. I hate bad endings. In fact, I don't get them unless there's some kind of "achievements list" where there will be an empty square for the bad ending. )^: But yeah, neutral and happy endings are best for me!

Are you interested in making clothes, or do you just want to read the story?

*chants, bangs spear shaft on the floor* MA-KING-CLOTHES! MA-KING-CLOTHES! MA-KING-CLOTHES!

No, but as aforementioned, I love dress-up games. I would only suggest them be turn-off-able after initial playthrough IF the dress-up doesn't contribute to the story, or any comments from the love interests or anything.

Is it important the main character looks like you?

Depends. If the character is their own person, then no. If they have a very strong personality, then to me, I like to just play as them. But if they can be renamed and their personality or actions are strongly guided by me as a player, character customization is an added bonus.

I'm personally not a fan of non-descript characters that have a set skin color or hair texture or look a very specific way. If they have all those things, then IMO, they shouldn't be non-descript! But if they do... then I don't see why they should look a certain way.

Do you think the design of the menu is clean and clear as to what each option means?

I do! It's p straightforeward.

Are you okay with having one guy released at a time, instead of waiting a long time for all of them to be finished?

It's funny that you say this because I was considering releasing a VN this way (except I was intending to release the routes in pairs) So basically, yes.

Do you want to be able to romance your own best friend, Sarah?

Personally, nah. I'm good.

- Which character are you most interested in?
Actually, Neil is probably the one I'd be most interested from the profiles

- Are you okay with following a single character's story, without the appearance of the other main characters?
I think whatever is best for the game is the better way to go. Having small appearances can be nice, but it's not necessary to enjoy the story.

- Are you okay with two endings, none of them which are a bad ending?
Personally, I'm not a fan of bad endings. I much prefer knowing I'm gonna get some kind of nice ending, without worrying about which options might accidently put me on the bad end.

- Are you interested in making clothes, or do you just want to read the story?

*joins in with pyopyon's chant*
Yeah, I am seriously excited for the story and clothing side of things!

- Is it important the main character looks like you?
Not really- I tend to pass over the MC sprite a lot of the time if I'm really invested in a VN anyway.

- Do you think the design of the menu is clean and clear as to what each option means?
I think all of it looks lovely- clear, clean, and simple enough to look at, but still very visually appealing.

- Are you okay with having one guy released at a time, instead of waiting a long time for all of them to be finished?
I think, again, whatever means the game will get finished it best. Better to release a route at a time, rather than getting bogged down with trying to finish the whole thing in one go.

- Do you want to be able to romance your own best friend, Sarah?
She seems interesting as a character, so either way it'll be good to learn more about her and why the MC and her are besties.

--

Very excited for this Looks so good, and the clothing part is something I can't wait to have fun with. Good luck with it all!

pyopyon wrote:Which character are you most interested in?
Yeah, that's fine. I do think glimpses of the other characters are a good idea though, since they tend to make a reader think 'ooooh, who is THAT hottie' and thus you've got advertising in your own routes before the player even gets to them!

I admit, you raise a great point, because I do the same thing. I'll play a route, and then I see another character in them, and wonder if I can romance them instead. Unfortunately, most of my characters have zero relations with each other, there's no 'common route' in my story. You pick a guy, and that's the story you'll get, with their own supporting cast.

Yep. I hate bad endings. In fact, I don't get them unless there's some kind of "achievements list" where there will be an empty square for the bad ending. )^: But yeah, neutral and happy endings are best for me!

Then you'll like my game at least! There's two endings, and they are based on the heroine's personality, determined by the choices you make. Are you outspoken and not afraid to pick a fight? Or are you softspoken and prefer to be kind instead?

No, but as aforementioned, I love dress-up games. I would only suggest them be turn-off-able after initial playthrough IF the dress-up doesn't contribute to the story, or any comments from the love interests or anything.

I am considering an option so that people can simply read the story without bothering with the clothes. The way it works, is you have to earn money to 'purchase' the next chapter of the story, you earn money by making clothes for clients. It will be a continuous playthrough, so you don't 'start over' each time you begin a new story, you keep the clothes you've made, and simply get more and more options each time.

Harliqueen wrote:Not really- I tend to pass over the MC sprite a lot of the time if I'm really invested in a VN anyway.

That's a shame, customizing your character will be a huge part of this game. I was toying around with the idea of showing her during cutscenes as well (example) but people voted against it because she wouldn't have any expressions.

Very excited for this Looks so good, and the clothing part is something I can't wait to have fun with. Good luck with it all!

Thank you! I am currently working with a programmer that will bow down to all my wishes about the clothing system, so that's currently in the works. I hope I can make it as complex as I have in mind, and that people can make loads of fun designs with it. I really want to see screenshots from people

Celianna wrote: That's a shame, customizing your character will be a huge part of this game. I was toying around with the idea of showing her during cutscenes as well (example) but people voted against it because she wouldn't have any expressions.

Oh man, I totally didn't see that you could customise the MC (I did get rather drawn in by the clothing system!) It's definitely something I will utilise if it's a feature, it's really nice to be able to change up the MC for the different routes!

I am so into this for the clothing design (squee!) and character customization (more squee!)! Yes, yes! It will be interesting to see how it meshes with the dating and story--I am most curious to try it out! You mentioned in a comment that you are considering a story only mode: will you also make a gameplay only mode? I'm not as interested in the dating aspect, but I have a feeling I would love to just have a free-play with character customization and clothing design to mess around with. (Dress-up game lover. )

I hope your game production continues in marvelous fashion! Pun was not intended.

This looks absolutely amazing! The only thing that bothers me is the screenshots of the game due to the fact that the writing goes "Blahblah" he says. When you should deleted that last part since we know he's saying it, I see it in some other screenshots too. That being said glad to see this project on here, it's awesome how much we can customize MC and outfits

AntiquedFae wrote:I am so into this for the clothing design (squee!) and character customization (more squee!)! Yes, yes! It will be interesting to see how it meshes with the dating and story--I am most curious to try it out! You mentioned in a comment that you are considering a story only mode: will you also make a gameplay only mode? I'm not as interested in the dating aspect, but I have a feeling I would love to just have a free-play with character customization and clothing design to mess around with. (Dress-up game lover. )

I have definitely thought about this as well, and will leave a 'gameplay only' mode for those that just want to mess around with the clothing options instead. Actually, it's not even necessary to follow the story to get to the gameplay in the first place, so a gameplay only mode would be a little redundant haha. I am currently working with a programmer to set the system up, it's still early stages, but at least the player can now use colours and patterns on their clothes, which is a huge part of the system I am hoping, that once it is finished, people can also use it to create their own character, you should be able to make school uniforms for example.

LadyOfGatsby wrote:This looks absolutely amazing! The only thing that bothers me is the screenshots of the game due to the fact that the writing goes "Blahblah" he says. When you should deleted that last part since we know he's saying it, I see it in some other screenshots too. That being said glad to see this project on here, it's awesome how much we can customize MC and outfits

I'm sorry this bothers you - it was a conscious decision to leave this in. I know VNs don't do this, but I wanted to add it for more immersion as well as being able to write more gestures/movements or subtle ques the reader wouldn't have picked up on if I left them out. I hope you will get used to this format and not even notice it anymore once you're engrossed. It's sadly not something I'm going to change at this stage.

Update: I have finished adding the first 6 chapters of Neil to the game, and I'm ready to upload it and let people beta test it (clothing system not included). There's only one small issue: there's a bug in the program that I've asked someone to take a look at, and I haven't heard back from them yet. This bug makes it so that my sprites mess up when there's two characters on the screen - this only happens during one small and brief scene, so it won't further impact the reading experience, as it's an isolated moment. My question: do you want to play the beta with this bug in it, or would you rather wait until I've got a fix? It doesn't impede the story, it just ends up looking like this.

If you're using Ren'Py, you would need to set it so that the sprites show up in two different spots. So, you'd want something like this:

show sarah at right
show neil at left

If you're not using Ren'Py, I can't help you. Sorry!

Haha no, I'm using RPG Maker MV to create this, definitely not a visual novel engine

Ahh, gotcha. I wish you the best of luck getting that figured out!

Hnng, I wish I have time to respond to the questions but I just want to say I'm so glad to see you're working on this again!! I have been following the game since the old days, always the lurker though but I'm so happy to see it back. I'm a bit sad that you're not going to stick with the Harvest Moon-motif anymore but it's still lovely this way. Wish you best luck with the game, everything looks wonderful I can't wait for the release!!

Celianna wrote:Tailor Tales has been my baby project since 2009, and has now undergone 3 revisions. What would first be a Harvest Moon like game, with an open and free overworld to roam around in, turned into a strictly Visual Novel game with elements of designing your own fashion.

I remember it from previous Player's Pavilion threads. At the time, there were few cute 2D movement-based life simulation games for computers. Then I was surprised when the indie game Stardew Valley got positive reviews. (I have tried not to cynically describe it as "the OEL version of Harvest Moon." I might try it someday, but it requires more video RAM than my computer has.)

Celianna wrote:- Do you want to be able to romance your own best friend, Sarah?

Yes. If you want the characters to stay friends, then I would also be open to that.

Happy to announce that the bug is fixed, and I can now upload a beta!

Tailor Tales beta v. 0.1
(click to download)

What can you do:
- You can customize your character
- You can read Neil's first 7 chapters

What you can't do:
- Click on any options in the menu besides "continue"
- Create any clothing

What you don't need to pay attention to:
- Unfinished art (mainly Sarah here)
- Character creation is temporary and will be different and polished

Feedback I'm looking for:
- What are your first impressions after reading Neil's first few chapters?
- Do you think your choices reflect what you would personally do?
- Are you hooked enough to continue reading?
- If you find any typos or grammar errors, please take a screenshot of it, or recite back the exact line of dialogue.
- How many fierce points and how many kind points did you score at the end?

What OS's is this for, I can't see that information anywhere? Sorry but my internet connection isn't the best so I don't want to download it if I can't play it....... looks fun though, the customization aspects are what catches my attention personally....