Citrus Baton [Social Sim/Sports Management Sim] [BxB/G] [Early Development]

[TheCoda]

"Do you have a life goal...?"

✦Plot Summary✦

"Citrus Baton" is an upcoming [Dating Sim/ Sports Management Sim] that puts you in the role of an apathetic private school student who's (begrudgingly) been thrust into the fast-paced and dynamic world of "Varsity Track and Field." Your schools Track and Field team has had a bad reputation, mainly due to the fact that the school has never won a single meet in years... And as it stands right now, with the Head Coach often opting to spend his afternoons elsewhere, It seems as though this half-baked group of athletes isn't going to be attending any Meets, let alone winning one... But, that's where YOU come in-! As the assistant coach, you'll need to whip your athletes into shape through a variety of interactive means-!

✦Gameplay✦

Being assistant coach means you're going to have to spend a LOT of time with your athletes, which in turn means you're going to have to become friends with them for this to work in your favor. Your goal in "Citrus Baton" isn't to date all of the possible love interests, then restart and follow a different route... Your main goal is "Friendship." While it will be possible to date, the platonic bonds you make with your athletes (and other various students around campus,) are at center stage in this tale of teenage redemption. Through Afterschool Training Sessions (Minigames) to Midnight Rendezvouses (Dates,) It's up to you to build your lazy team of student-athletes into the track stars they were born to be-!

✦Screenshots✦

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✦Features✦

~ 12+ Characters ~
~ 24 Possible Routes ~
~ Stat Raising Minigames ~
~ Platonic & Romantic Date Elements ~
~ Aesthetics (Not a real feature, but you know... )
~ "Passion" is an unlockable mechanic that would let you know a variety of things. "Passion" can be used to distinguish various things like "Who is the most passionate player on the track team right now?" to "Who's mind have you been running around?" Yellow/Orange Passion lets you know that this person is the most pumped up for the next competition, and it's probably best that you focus on getting them ready so they can take home a gold. Purple/Pink Passion lets you know that this person has been thinking about you a lot, and that, If you were to go on a date with them, or hang out with them, you'll gain double the amount of "relationship" points than if they weren't passionate. The person who shows the most passion tends to vary from time to time.

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✦Character Bios✦

(I only have one so far... More will come soon-!)

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✦Concept Art✦

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✦Questions✦

"What would you like to see added in the future?"

"Do you appreciate the Friendship-Over-Romance Aspect? Why or why not?"

"What type of characters would you love to see added?"

Suggestions/Critiques Accepted-!

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[WILL BE UPDATED SOON-!]

[Zelan]

"What would you like to see added in the future?": I can't think of anything in particular, this seems like a pretty well thought-out idea.

"Do you appreciate the Friendship-Over-Romance Aspect? Why or why not?": I do! There are an awful lot of VNs that equate friendship with 'bad ends.' The indie VN scene as a whole is getting better about this, but more is always welcome.

"What type of characters would you love to see added?": This is a really open-ended question, especially considering that there's only one confirmed character so far, but I'd be interested in seeing a typical 'nerd' character, aka someone who hates physical acticity, who ends up begrudgingly enjoying being a part of the track team.

I adore the art style that you used for the sprite, but I feel like it clashes with the art style of the background art used in the screenshots.

[gekiganwing]

If you choose to set your story in contemporary Japan, be sure to do research. Talk with a person who's lived there. Ask someone to check for errors.

A couple things to keep in mind with minigames:

* "Are they worth programming?" Only commit to creating as much content as you can handle. If your project is 90% story and 10% gameplay, then consider whether it's worth your time and effort to include interactive elements.
* "Are they fun?" In other words, playtest them as much as possible. Make sure they aren't tedious or frustrating. Make sure they don't distract people from your story.

Do you appreciate the Friendship-Over-Romance Aspect? Why or why not?

I like it, since I've grown to appreciate stories about characters who bond together to achieve a goal. An emphasis on platonic relationships is also a point of difference. Friendship routes are uncommon. It's also unusual to see a friendship ending -- in other words, the story ends on a positive note even when there is no protagonist x NPC romance.

12+ Characters... "What type of characters would you love to see added?"

I don't recommend including characters because they check off a box. In other words, I think a fictional person should be interesting on their own, and equally compelling when they interact with other people. Make sure the character does not seem like a "token __ person." Don't emphasize their ethnic origin, disability, religious affiliation, or sexuality above everything else.

On a similar note, I recommend emphasizing that your characters have multiple facets. There are at least ninety-nine archetypal characters which exist across the world, some of which have existed in fiction for centuries. There are at least a few dozen archetypal characters which originated (or are common) in Japanese media. That said... if the character has a major role, then they should grow and change. Ask questions such as "how did they become a tomboy?" or "who are they, aside from being a manic pixie dream girl?"

"Passion" can be used to distinguish various things like "Who is the most passionate player on the track team right now?" to "Who's mind have you been running around?"

I like this idea. It sounds like a correct choice indicator that will appear before the reader makes a decision.

[TheCoda]

@Zelan: Thank you for your kind words-! I'll take what you said into account. I'm not good at BG's at all, and I'm not spending any money working on this, so hiring an artist is not something I'm looking to do, BUT I'll definitely try and find a way to make the BG's mesh better with the sprites, as I do see what you mean when you said that they clashed-!

@gekiganwing: I've already been looking into articles and boards that deal with contemporary Japan, so I'm positive I'll be giving a decently accurate depiction, save for a few liberties here and there. And as for the character thing, I know Lol, I'm not going to use any token characters, that's not what I meant when I asked what kind of characters you'd like to see. It's more of question based in pure curiosity than development ideas. But thank you for your thorough response-! I appreciate it-!