TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

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ameliori
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TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#1 Post by ameliori »

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"A deal with a demon goes wrong when You, the medium, wake up in the middle of the summoning. "
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Features:
This project is on-going, and here are the features planned for this game:
• Realistic but expressive anime style, with themes like mystery, strategy and psychological thrillers reminiscent of shows like Doubt, Death Note and Liar Game
• Cinematic use of CGs, using different angles of backgrounds and sprites to create a sequential feel
• Eight (8) stand-alone endings + minor variations. Each ending is unique and a complete story, but contain hints to the mystery of you and your captors’ identities.
• A mystery to be solved through character interactions
• Unlock character backgrounds to learn more about their motivations.
• 2-4 hours of gameplay
• Target release date is mid 2018

--

In-depth Progress:
STORY : 78%
PROGM : 25%
SPRITES : 23%
BACKG : 40%
GUIs : 30%
SFX : 0%
MUSIC: 0%

--

Questions (please be brutally honest!)
- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?
- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?
- Would you be interested in playing this game?
- Are there any features you want to see?
- Would you like to see added features like voice-acting, original soundtracks, etc? Would you support a KickStarter that offers these features? (Thank you for the feedback! I have enough info!)

--

UPDATE LOG

Week # 1 | Week # 2 | Week # 3
Last edited by ameliori on Thu Oct 19, 2017 10:56 am, edited 6 times in total.
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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#2 Post by TheKiwi »

I really love the overall look of this and how it's coming together! The art style looks like it'll be super interesting too.

- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?

I love mystery stories, especially ones that deal with the more psychological/human part of horror. I'm definitely intrigued and would love to read it!
- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?

I think it's interesting how we don't know anything about the characters, but it also makes it hard to pick a favorite. Out of all of them, the one who can change memories seems the most interesting!
- Would you be interested in playing this game?

Definitely!
- Would you like to see added features like voice-acting, original soundtracks, etc? Would you support a KickStarter that offers these features?

I think an original soundtrack might be nice, but I'm not a fan of voiceacting. It depends on the Kickstarter size, but for a VN that has 2-4 hours of gameplay I'm not sure it'd be worth it. If it's commercially released, a remastered version/update that has those features might be a better bet.

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#3 Post by seirrehc »

- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?
The story sounds really interesting and intriguing! It makes me think of those riddles that tells you one is telling the truth, one is a liar, and one never lies (or somewhere along those lines).

- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?
I really love the devil's interpretation of each of the characters; it's makes it seem like there is more to the eye about them. If I have to say who I'm most interested in now, I'd say Dumah and Glasseye.

- Would you be interested in playing this game?
Yes!

- Would you like to see added features like voice-acting, original soundtracks, etc? Would you support a KickStarter that offers these features?
Original soundtracks would be nice and adds originality on the game music. I'm not really keen about voice-acting but if there is, then I think what's important is that the voices can convey the characters well (and preferably suit the characters).

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#4 Post by Mikomi »

- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?
I really love the art aesthetic, I think it looks nice and fits the tone of the story better than a more anime style. The story also sounds very interesting- there have been stories about teens doing demonic summonings, but this is seemingly afterwards, and frankly sounds very intriguing.

- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?
Abel sounds the most interesting to me, as it sounds like she has a lot more going on that meets the eye.

- Would you be interested in playing this game?
Yes, definitely!

- Would you like to see added features like voice-acting, original soundtracks, etc? Would you support a KickStarter that offers these features?
I don't really care much about voice acting being in shorter VNs (as this is around 2-4 hours long), but I know some people do. I'd consider supporting a KS even without voice acting.

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#5 Post by Zelan »

- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?: I loved Who is Mike and CUPID, and this story seems to have the same focus on psychological elements, so I guess I expect something that surprises me.

- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?: They all seem like bad people considering they kidnapped me and tried to make a deal with a demon... but I guess Dumah since her age and story make it seem like she's the most likely to have been dragged into it and/or regret it later.

- Would you be interested in playing this game?: Heck yeah.

- Would you like to see added features like voice-acting, original soundtracks, etc? Would you support a KickStarter that offers these features?: Original soundtracks are always great. I only like voice acting if it's full and not partial. I probably wouldn't be able to support a Kickstarter, unfortunately.

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#6 Post by ameliori »

TheKiwi wrote: Thu Sep 28, 2017 9:34 pm
Thanks for the feedback! You're right, 2-4 hours of gameplay doesn't merit a KS. I'm not too fond of voice acting either, but I was wondering if people would like to see that feature. Your suggestion on remastered versions is great, though! Thank you so much!
seirrehc wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2017 10:31 am - Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?
The story sounds really interesting and intriguing! It makes me think of those riddles that tells you one is telling the truth, one is a liar, and one never lies (or somewhere
I love those things seirrehc! This game certainly has that feel of that. Who is lying and who's telling the truth?
Mikomi wrote: Fri Sep 29, 2017 1:59 pm
Thanks for the feedback Mikomi! Abel's one of my faves too.. And maybe that's... bad... cos I'm the writer lol! Another thing I plan for this is the teenagers not being stereotypical cliches. They certainly know what they're getting into and have prepared a lot for it (except for the main character waking up, I bet lol).
Zelan wrote: Sat Sep 30, 2017 1:28 pm
Wow! I'm so happy you played Cupid and Who is Mike as well Zelan! I need to... give you... a hug ;;;v;;;

Seems like num of people have pointed out that a shorter VN might not benefit from voice acting, and I'm not too keen on it either. Thanks for the awesome feedback guys!

++

UPDATE

The story structure is now done and I'm ready to start writing the endings!

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Also, a sketch of the bg

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#7 Post by ameliori »

Weekly Update!

Finished four drafts out of the nine endings so far, and I have started creating the programming branches and organizing renpy labels. I hit about 30k+ words now! Find out more on our devblog!

For everyone who's following this thread, thanks so much for your patience even though there's not much art. It's not very flashy right now, cos I'm still working on the drafts, but rest assured, once we get the ball rolling, there'll be a lot more eyecandy!

While I'm developing the story, I'd love to know any specific expectations you have for this project. For example, Do you expect blood? A really scary demon graphic? Certain gameplay? Etc. Feel free to leave your thoughts!
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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#8 Post by Pinlin »

The concept looks promising! Mystery remains my favorite genre, although this setup leans towards horror. So far all characters sound interesting.
Usually I'm biased towards appearance, but they are hidden here, which pokes my curiosity. The artstyle fit your concept so well! I like the details
and sketch style.

I would absolutely play this game. Looking forward to your progress!
There aren't specific features I want to see, as I've mostly played 'traditional' VN style games with minimum features. Anything extra is a bonus.
Original soundtrack is a bonus too. Random soundtracks of internet often doesn't match well.

Good luck!
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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#9 Post by ameliori »

Pinlin wrote: Thu Oct 12, 2017 4:02 pm The concept looks promising! Mystery remains my favorite genre, although this setup leans towards horror. So far all characters sound interesting.
Usually I'm biased towards appearance, but they are hidden here, which pokes my curiosity. The artstyle fit your concept so well! I like the details
and sketch style.

I would absolutely play this game. Looking forward to your progress!
There aren't specific features I want to see, as I've mostly played 'traditional' VN style games with minimum features. Anything extra is a bonus.
Original soundtrack is a bonus too. Random soundtracks of internet often doesn't match well.

Good luck!
Mystery is my favorite genre too! There might be horror elements in this one, but they take second priority to the suspense. I plan to bank on mind games and psychological atmosphere here so I hope you enjoy it once it's out! I'll also be uploading some character sprites once the art is done so you'll be able to pick out your fave! ^0^

Oh please do monitor our progress Pinlin! I'd love to hear your thoughts about it!

WEEKLY UPDATE

Here's what we've accomplished:

• UI Draft for Preference Menu, Save, Load submitted; design concepts approved
• Finished character design for Dumah, Locksmith, Glasseye and Hidari
• First Draft of Main story (excluding endings) submitted for alpha test; working on revisions
• Programming story into Ren'py: including text styles, narrative pacing and choice branching.

Find out more about it here!

Also, sketches for our two dashing dudes, Locksmith and Hidari:

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Locksmith, as is his namesake, is pretty good at keeping secrets locked. Getting to him will reveal more than you’d ever like to know. He won’t make it easy for you, but maybe with the right “motivation”, he’ll have no choice but to show his cards.

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Hidari’s name came from the Japanese term for “left”, and the adage “Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth” to hint at the duality of Hidari’s nature.

These two guys are always at odds with each other because they are at the separate ends of a spectrum. One’s cold and one’s warm, one’s as blunt as a hose pipe, while the other’s as charming as pie. One of them will always lie, one will always tell the truth.

But when it really comes down to it, who is more trustworthy? It’s up to you whose words you’re going to believe.

Next week, we’ll get to know our two other lady characters, Glasseye and Abel. Hope you stick around!
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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#10 Post by Pick_One »

Yessssss.... I played your other two games before and commented with glee on Cupid. By the end, I was really looking forward to seeing another game from you. The plot sounds full of good darkness and full of questions, it's all good stuff. I really like that last line, to me, it implies possible mess up with possible dire consequences there. I know this isn't label as horror but it seems it will overlap into that, and I remember Cupid had some moments that made me tense or gave me goosebumps, which I really like. You set up that dark, trapped life and death atmosphere really well. Shady and flashing danger. Love all these warnings especially what is warned about each character's advantages/powers and what danger each one holds. I will trust nothing, even the character that the player is playing as. XP It does have the feeling of those shows you mention but I'm really glad it's pretty different from those. Also this feels like I don't know how to say it...I guess tightly focus so every character interactions are really important and it feels like the playable character will also be more trapped and enclosed. Like scaled down to pretty much the most juicy parts for me? Uh... don't know if conveyed my thought that well but hope you understood that. ^^;;

Background looks good, so far when I see it, I instantly think abandoned. I remember commenting something like the CGs in Cupid had this movie still quality and I can't wait to see those in the game. The 8 unique endings, each one revealing a piece of information, sounds exciting. Like slowly unearthing the 'truth'. Lol. Sprites look good; wonderful drawing and expressions. Locksmith looks tired and maybe sick so that fits him. Hidari looks like a cheerful dashing devil. Lol.


Questions:

-Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?

Hoping this will be intense, like feel a moment of relief but then quickly something goes wrong or jerks you back in the darkness again. Really want more horror visual novels or one that is an intense and dark psychological story. Elaborate death game/traps are fun but there's a lot of them, and awhile I will check it out if the synopsis and characters pique my interest, it's also seems hard to concoct these traps effectively. Also I'm currently looking more for something relying heavily/focus on words/character interactions that can result in either helping you slowly get out of a predicament or fast track terribly off into danger zone.

-What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?

Very fun, each one sounds sinister and have like strong distinct personality. And each of their 'special' skill seem to fit them awhile adding more to their personality at the same time. I guess if I had to choose a favorite character it would be Hidari although Glasseye is a close one. I'm very interested in seeing the character interactions among them.

-Would you be interested in playing this game?

Like the first word of my post: Yessssss....

-Are there any features you want to see?

I can't think of anything at the moment. But I'm more interested in what you got planned.


Random but what happen to the legs on that one desk on the right. Lol. Someone was angry.

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Re: TRUTH:VN [Supernatural | Thriller ]

#11 Post by try10 »

- Your first thoughts and expectations about the story?
I think it's brilliant.

- What are your impressions of the characters? Who is your favorite?
The MC of course :D

- Would you be interested in playing this game?
YESSS! I love these type of games ( horror, mystery, supernatural)

- Are there any features you want to see?
Unlockable memories, lots of mystery, twisted endings and a bit of romance even if it's dark.

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