This is the first visual novel I've ever made, and it's been in the works for over a year. I freelanced art, voices, and music for it and I finally have all the content in. The last step is to build it and I'm currently in the process using Tyranobuilder. I'm hoping to sell it on Steam, but need to figure out how to maximize my chances of getting greenlit. This will also be the first game I've made that I'm trying to sell on Steam. Here's more info about the game:
Genre: Slice of Life, Romance, Humor
Point of View: 3rd person omniscient (mostly focuses on main character, though)
Main Character: Keitaro Soseki (Male). A little shy and under-confident, but strong-willed and level-headed.
Romantic interest: Keiko. Sweet, caring, cute/girly, wholesome, somewhat sly, more confident than Keitaro.
Setting: A small suburb near Makurazaki, Japan in the spring of 2025, but story begins in the summer of 2021 and transitions to fall 2024. Keitaro moves to Asahikawa in the summer of 2025.
Plot: Keitaro grows up with his friends and siblings in a town in southern Japan. They bond and have a lot of fun, and then Keitaro is forced to move to the other side of the country to live with his cousins. Through them, Keitaro meets Keiko, the love interest. Keitaro, his cousins, and their friends (including Keiko) all hang out and go on adventures, revealing their characters and bonding. Keitaro and Keiko slowly open up to each other and eventually fall in love. The second half of the story intentionally mirrors the first half somewhat, to symbolize how sometimes after great change, with enough time it’s almost as if nothing changed at all.
Here are some characters (not all):
Ayuna: Friend of Keitaro's sister Yuri. Mature, well-rounded, gamer, has a romantic interest in one of Keitaro's friends, Noriyuki.
Kasumi: Friend of Keiaro's cousins and Keiko. Bubbly, cheery and always in a good mood. Sharp intellect but almost never reveals it. Is very aware that Rinji likes her, and likes him back.
Michio: Keitaro's uncle. Goofy, awkward dad. Comic relief character.
Rinji: Keitaro's cousins' friend. Doofy/silly, tries to show off a lot in front of Kasumi.
And backgrounds (not all):
Title screen:
Front of school:
Spa:
Keiko's room:
Orange store:
Here is an example voice file. The dialogue is all in Japanese: https://soundcloud.com/matt-stanton-3/d ... io/s-aMGMN
What I want to get out of this thread: I'm reporting progress, but I was also advised to make a post here to get the name out there, since as of now no one knows about the game (I've done no advertising since the game's not done, but I've been told I should). Where do you guys normally advertise? Are there any rules of thumb to follow? How do I maximize profit? xP haha. My preferred method of communication if someone wants to talk in real time is discord. My username is Rektumsempra#3727. Thank you for taking the time to read this
let me know if you have any comments/questions.