Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

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Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#1 Post by ds-sans »

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Between two girls hearts lies a rift. One of misunderstanding, conflicting views and deceit. Each having a dream far too different from that of the other, but somehow keeping themselves ever so similar.

Struggling to keep up with your own responsibilities, you stopped being a dreamer long ago. By chance, the lives of these two girls engrosses your world as you unwittingly form new bonds with them whilst trying to mend the broken ones they once held so dear. Maybe then, their dreams can come to fruition as you learn more about them and what matters the most to you.


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As an aspiring scientist, Kiyoko prides herself on her ability to control her emotions through the use of logic. At least, that's what she believes. Despite having an overly emotive personality, she's often mistaken for the quiet type despite having a lot to say. Her inquisitive nature usually leads to chaos, as despite enjoying an experiment or two she has no concern for health and safety procedures.

Kiyoko is the founder and currently sole member of the "science club" and tends to keep to herself, being known around the school for her outstanding intellect.

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Naomi is a girl with plenty of passion, most of which she puts into her attitude. She isn't afraid of conversation, however despite her
forwardness in one on one situations her social circle is quite limited. She is the captain of the athletics team when she isn't having her say over every sporting club in the school. She'd be considered a tomboy by most outsiders, but those who know her well are privy to her innermost girlish quirks.


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The following are responsible for what is currently shown in this thread:

Jun Project (pixiv.me/jun_project) - Character artwork
mB0sco (artstation.com/artist/mb0sco) - Background art


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The VN will be released commercially with an aspect ratio of 1920 x 1080 for Windows, MacOS and Linux.
Planned features include an interactive phone mechanic, encyclopedia with the possibility of voice acting for Kiyoko and Naomi.

More information on the project will be released through Twitter (@dssansVN) as it takes shape. This is where the most up to date announcements will be made. All feedback is welcomed either here, in PMs or on Twitter.

I'd also like to hear your opinions on the visuals for the project, in terms of the UI and Logo. Currently, these are subject to change over the course of development. Similarly, I'd love to hear peoples opinions on the usage of character side images. I know it's kind of pointless to have two of the same sprites on screen, but I think it's easier to see the characters expression whilst reading the dialogue with the side images on screen.
Last edited by ds-sans on Tue Aug 01, 2017 10:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#2 Post by Graff »

Fantastic artwork, and the spritework blends very well with the backgrounds.

Personally, I'm not too much of a fan of character side images. I feel the narration does a good job of portraying the emotions (well at least it should!) but I suppose it really depends. I followed you awhile back so I'm looking forward to a demo!

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#3 Post by ds-sans »

Graff wrote:Fantastic artwork, and the spritework blends very well with the backgrounds.

Personally, I'm not too much of a fan of character side images. I feel the narration does a good job of portraying the emotions (well at least it should!) but I suppose it really depends. I followed you awhile back so I'm looking forward to a demo!
Thank you for the feedback! Both the sprite and BG artists did a wonderful job, so I'm glad you like their work.

With the side images, I'm considering on making them optional. It really depends on the actual coding aspect though since I'm not using the usual side image code built into Ren'Py since the transitions between expressions weren't clean and were stalling the dialogue. Currently I have no plans for a demo, since the main promotional work would be done through other outlets as opposed to breaking forum rule #13. It depends on how much I can get done though, since I do recognise the benefits of releasing a demo.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#4 Post by ds-sans »

Update #1

So it's been about a month since I announced the project, so I thought I'd outline the progress that's been made.
Since the actual VN is a much broader project, as opposed to previous works a lot of the work done has been for the project rather than on the project. Things such as planning out campaigns, earning money to fund preview assets and recruiting and promoting awareness for the project.

Writing wise, I have a clearer aspect of what will occur throughout the story, but nothing final has been established.

The real significant difference is that I've finalised a UI design and a base for the project. It's very similar to my last one, however I like it and that's all that really matters. Here's a preview for the animations on the screens:

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As you can see I've labelled the main menu with the likely date of release. All the other typical features of VNs are working properly, so all that's left is to add in the additional features I have planned. Hopefully throughout august I can make some more meaningful progress. However with commercial VNs there's a lot more aspects to focus on, as opposed to using royalty-free assets and hiring people under a non-commercial basis as I did with my previous two VNs.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#5 Post by TheJerminator15 »

Looking forward to this game. The art is beautiful as well! Good luck!
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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#6 Post by ds-sans »

Update #2

So it's been another month since my last progress update, and nothing much as happened in terms of development admittedly. More so on the planning and preparing side of things, since I've been working with a lot of people to get assets sorted and a team together to develop the project. As mentioned before, this is a much larger visual novel than anything I've worked on before, so I want to be assured that everything is workable.

On a much lighter note, there has been great developments in the 'planning' aspect. The entire story is essentially scoped out, routes and everything, all it is now is a case of writing the story and getting assets produced. The fun side of producing visual novels.

Chemically Bonded will now also have voice acting, as with my last VN. I've been happy to welcome Nikki Marie Beyer as Kiyoko Ishikawa and Amber Barile as Naomi Sato. Samples of the characters can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMo11_Tu-ro

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#7 Post by Kokoro Hane »

This game looks absolutely stunning! I am loving the UI design as well as the character art, and the implementation of voice acting is a huge bonus for me as I love voice acting. I was fairly impressed with the quality of "Sounds of Her Love", so I am excited for this project and it is something I would consider buying since not only is it pretty, but voice acted, and I LOVE seeing more BxG games which I think we are currently lacking (I love Otome, even my main project is such, but I also have a love for a good Bishoujo title too).

Both the girls seem like excellent heroines, so it's going to be hard for me to choose whom I want our lead guy to be paired with since both embody some of my favourite traits.... a really smart, intelligent girl who is adorable and enthusiastic and a tomboyish atheletic girl with an inner girlish side. So tough to choose between the two, but I must say I think I really like Kiyoko the best. Hearing her voice sample, I am slightly skeptical as it was higher than expected, but the more I think about it the more it grows on me and comes off more adorable than annoying, so I am giving her CV the benefit of the doubt and I won't fully judge 'till I see the game in action! Amber's voice was PERFECT choice for Naomi, great to be able to hear her voice work from her again!

Anyway, I am excited for this project. I am assuming you'll be using Kickstarter, and I must say your project is one of the few I wouldn't mind donating to the campaign for. Good luck~!
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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#8 Post by ds-sans »

Kokoro Hane wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2017 6:07 am This game looks absolutely stunning! I am loving the UI design as well as the character art, and the implementation of voice acting is a huge bonus for me as I love voice acting. I was fairly impressed with the quality of "Sounds of Her Love", so I am excited for this project and it is something I would consider buying since not only is it pretty, but voice acted, and I LOVE seeing more BxG games which I think we are currently lacking (I love Otome, even my main project is such, but I also have a love for a good Bishoujo title too).

Both the girls seem like excellent heroines, so it's going to be hard for me to choose whom I want our lead guy to be paired with since both embody some of my favourite traits.... a really smart, intelligent girl who is adorable and enthusiastic and a tomboyish atheletic girl with an inner girlish side. So tough to choose between the two, but I must say I think I really like Kiyoko the best. Hearing her voice sample, I am slightly skeptical as it was higher than expected, but the more I think about it the more it grows on me and comes off more adorable than annoying, so I am giving her CV the benefit of the doubt and I won't fully judge 'till I see the game in action! Amber's voice was PERFECT choice for Naomi, great to be able to hear her voice work from her again!

Anyway, I am excited for this project. I am assuming you'll be using Kickstarter, and I must say your project is one of the few I wouldn't mind donating to the campaign for. Good luck~!
Thank you! I'm really glad you're looking forward to it. It'll be slightly similar to Sounds of Her Love, in terms of build. Hopefully with improved assets it'll make the experience a lot more enjoyable. I think the BxG genre is lacking slightly in tamer stories, since a lot of them feature prominent adult content which isn't what I tend to go for in my stories. Similar to SOHL, this will be an all ages release since I prefer to focus on the actual romantic aspect of their relationships.

It's great that you like both the characters, they'll both feature prominently in the story rather than being totally separate for their own routes. I'm really happy with their VAs too. You'll be able to hear more lines soon, as I'll be releasing a promotional video in the next few days. The story won't be as airy as Sounds of Her Love, so hopefully the range of themes will demonstrate both their vocal talents to you once the VN is released.

I will be doing that too, but I won't be posting about it here. (Since I don't have a public demo.) However, if you'd like to hear more about it then I'm doing most of the promotional work through Twitter (if you're not already on there). It's set to go in a few days.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#9 Post by Kokoro Hane »

ds-sans wrote: Mon Sep 04, 2017 7:14 am Thank you! I'm really glad you're looking forward to it. It'll be slightly similar to Sounds of Her Love, in terms of build. Hopefully with improved assets it'll make the experience a lot more enjoyable. I think the BxG genre is lacking slightly in tamer stories, since a lot of them feature prominent adult content which isn't what I tend to go for in my stories. Similar to SOHL, this will be an all ages release since I prefer to focus on the actual romantic aspect of their relationships.

It's great that you like both the characters, they'll both feature prominently in the story rather than being totally separate for their own routes. I'm really happy with their VAs too. You'll be able to hear more lines soon, as I'll be releasing a promotional video in the next few days. The story won't be as airy as Sounds of Her Love, so hopefully the range of themes will demonstrate both their vocal talents to you once the VN is released.

I will be doing that too, but I won't be posting about it here. (Since I don't have a public demo.) However, if you'd like to hear more about it then I'm doing most of the promotional work through Twitter (if you're not already on there). It's set to go in a few days.
I totally agree with you about BxG games lacking in the "All Ages" department, so I am happy that you are contributing such stories of not only high quality but that will have a wider range of audience. And I am definitely looking forward to more voice demonstration! I don't have a Twitter account myself, but I can always check back on your page for those said updates!
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Piece By Piece [COMPLETE][Spooktober VN '20]
RE/COUNT RE:VERSE [COMPLETE][RPG]
Since When Did I Have a Combat Butler?! [COMPLETE][NaNoRenO2020+]
Crystal Captor: Memory Chronicle Finale [COMPLETE][RPG][#1 in So Bad It's Good jam '17]

But dear God, You're the only North Star I would follow this far
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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#10 Post by ds-sans »

Update #3

After successfully procuring funds to develop Chemically Bonded, we have made significant progress with development since the last update! Those who are aware of the project know we are posting frequent updates through other means, however here's a brief summary of what we've been up to since the last update!

Our character artist has been at work on the CGs for the project alongside further character additions for the game (which will be revealed in the near future) similarly, our BG artist has worked on new backgrounds for the various scenes within the VN. Below are some examples for you to enjoy!

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In addition to these developments, we've also progressed further with the final script! The entire story is broken into three separate acts and currently we're about half way finalised with Act 1 and further ahead with draft documents. Our estimated word count is around 100,000 for the final game.

We've also worked mildly on some coding, the user interface is 100% complete however we've added custom features such as unique transitions and milder details that we hope you'll enjoy when reading the VN.

Thank you for reading!
For further updates on the project, we have a Twitter page where smaller but frequent developments are posted. @dssansVN

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#11 Post by ds-sans »

Update #4:

The past few months we've further worked on the game, however various setbacks have stalled certain aspects of development. These issues have been addressed for the most part, and we look forward to showcasing more of the game as it reaches further towards completion.

In the meantime, we'd like to show more of what's beneath the hood and what to expect when playing the game itself. This is really more of a post showcasing what's been done in the past couple of months in more detail, with a lot of samples having been minimally demonstrated on our Twitter page.

One of our main goals with the project is to include more unique elements and traditional, but not so common features found in visual novels. Firstly, we had worked on a protagonist naming system a while ago. Rather than sticking with a generic input box, we had decided to spice things up slightly by incorporating it into the story, as to not separate the reader from the events within Chemically Bonded.

This has been done through the use of a 'chalkboard', where you write your name in front of an (empty) classroom.

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(Calling your character 'Chemicals' won't make Kiyoko love you more, by the way.)

Of course, a player-named protagonist isn't anything unique to Chemically Bonded, however we're mildly content with the implementation of it. (If you look closely, or click the image above, you'd notice it actually stays on the board throughout that scene? Neat, huh?)

Another feature that we're currently working on, is an in-game 'phone system' used to make choices as opposed to traditional style choices in VNs. (However, these will still be included throughout the VN.) The graphics for these is complete, however the feature itself is being worked on. The phone system will also be used as a semi-pause menu, where the reader than interact with the phone with basic functionality.

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Artwork wise, our CGs are still being worked on however the majority of backgrounds are complete.

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We've also had the pleasure of having both heroines in the project voiced by two talented voice actresses. Nikki Marie Beyer stars as Kiyoko Ishikawa and Amber Barile as Naomi Sato. You can hear samples of them below.



Thank you for reading our update on the project! We hope to showcase more outside of backer-only updates every so often. Fun fact: Kiyoko is roughly the same height as Naomi (160cm to 163cm).
Last edited by ds-sans on Sun May 20, 2018 9:29 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#12 Post by Zelan »

The chalkboard name input is definitely cool. I've seen some games incorporate character naming well - I think Cinderella Phenomenon has the protagonist signing a document - but incorporating that into the background is new. c: Phones are always fun as well, hope it's not too much of a nightmare to program.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#13 Post by Knight_of_Ni »

Thanks for pointing me towards this project :) It definitely looks more complex, I love the backgrounds and character design, the art style is more constant as well. Great idea with the name on the chalkboard, having it stay there is a neat feature which stands out. As to the side images, personally I find them too distracting and it's annoying to see a duplicate character obscuring the background. Sometimes in stories it's hard to make out who's saying which line and side images help in those situations, granted, but some games just give the text a specific colour (f.e. a character's hair colour) to indicate who said it, maybe that's the way to go? Just a thought.
I couldn't believe that the person voicing Ceri in "Sounds of Her Love" and Naomi are one and the same - Amber is a chameleon! ^^ Well, I always was a sucker for a tomboy girl with a hilariously hidden moe center, so...looking forward to see more :)
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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#14 Post by ds-sans »

Knight_of_Ni wrote: Thu Mar 22, 2018 4:21 am Thanks for pointing me towards this project :) It definitely looks more complex, I love the backgrounds and character design, the art style is more constant as well. Great idea with the name on the chalkboard, having it stay there is a neat feature which stands out. As to the side images, personally I find them too distracting and it's annoying to see a duplicate character obscuring the background. Sometimes in stories it's hard to make out who's saying which line and side images help in those situations, granted, but some games just give the text a specific colour (f.e. a character's hair colour) to indicate who said it, maybe that's the way to go? Just a thought.
I couldn't believe that the person voicing Ceri in "Sounds of Her Love" and Naomi are one and the same - Amber is a chameleon! ^^ Well, I always was a sucker for a tomboy girl with a hilariously hidden moe center, so...looking forward to see more :)
Thank you for your thoughts! Our artists have done a wonderful job so far on the projects! With the side images, we've created an in-game option to disable them so they're not compulsory throughout the game, but they'll be enabled by default. I think for now, both of our voice actresses will distinguish who's saying what. Within the game, there aren't really many scenes where Kiyoko and Naomi are together either, so it shoudln't be a problem. And yes, Amber and Nikki are providing brilliant talent for the project! Amber will also return as Ceri in the game as a cameo character!

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Last edited by ds-sans on Sun May 20, 2018 9:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Chemically Bonded [Romance, Drama, BxG]

#15 Post by Knight_of_Ni »

Awww, thank You for this unexpected treat! She looks adorable! ^^ Does that mean she switched schools or went on student exchange? ;)
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