Zeta Wolf Chronicles [BxG][Romance][Slice of Life][School Life][Demo v.2.02][Kickstarter Q1 2023]

[ZanthosAC]

Zeta Wolf Chronicles | Boy x Girls/Romance/Drama/Slice of Life/School Life/Adult Life

Twitter| Pre-Kickstarter | itch.io (New Demo Coming Q1 2023)

Our Kickstarter is launching in Q1 2023! Check out our Pre-Kickstarter page! You'll be instantly notified when we go live upon your follow! Check out our itch.io page for character profiles and more!

Any comments or suggestions would be appreciated.

[ZanthosAC]

There's been significant progress over the course of 3 months, and slowly but surely, we're making progress toward the demo (check the OP). We will provide everyone a chance to see full size artwork and renders in the future, so be on the look out!

We also have a very special promotional trailer planned in the future! We're trying to get this trailer out by Late July or August. Note that the demo itself is REALLY far out, probably in the summer of next year, but we're trying our best.

I'll answer a quick question that might explain the layout/scenario of the game more.

Is this game a harem? Can you romance multiple girls?

First off, the game is not a harem. I am personally not fond of their unrealistic approaches to romance, so as the developer, it is not the route I want this story to take. If anyone is familiar with Amagami SS, I took a lot of inspiration from that anime/VN. Imagine the scenario that you can only romance one girl at a time. This is basically how ZWC is setup. However, unlike Amagami SS, each heroine is presented at a different point of the protagonist's life instead of bombarding all of the girls at you at once. So, in order to romance the 2nd girl you have to "go through" or "experience" the first girl and so on. There will be routes that allow you to focus on the girl in each story arc or ignore her. However, once each girl has been passed she cannot be romanced after that point.

I'd love to field any other questions you may have about the story/premise, art or anything regarding this game. I'm not sure if the brief snippet above did much justice on giving a sneak peak. One reason why demos exist, but it is rather far off at the moment.

[Zelan]

However, unlike Amagami SS, each heroine is presented at a different point of the protagonist's life instead of bombarding all of the girls at you at once. So, in order to romance the 2nd girl you have to "go through" or "experience" the first girl and so on. There will be routes that allow you to focus on the girl in each story arc or ignore her. However, once each girl has been passed she cannot be romanced after that point.

This is actually super interesting, I don't think that I've ever seen a concept like this in a visual novel before. Are you saying that the visual novel will basically cover the protagonist's relationships and subsequent breakups/separations as he ages?

[ZanthosAC]

However, unlike Amagami SS, each heroine is presented at a different point of the protagonist's life instead of bombarding all of the girls at you at once. So, in order to romance the 2nd girl you have to "go through" or "experience" the first girl and so on. There will be routes that allow you to focus on the girl in each story arc or ignore her. However, once each girl has been passed she cannot be romanced after that point.

This is actually super interesting, I don't think that I've ever seen a concept like this in a visual novel before. Are you saying that the visual novel will basically cover the protagonist's relationships and subsequent breakups/separations as he ages?

Thanks for your comment. Yes, that's pretty much how the game is planned to be structured. Reason for this is I wanted the story (true path atleast) to be more kinetic in the sense, but also allow the player to make different choices with their preferred girl to change the route of the story and outcome. I should reiterate that following the true to route will unveil the canon/true story, so it's up to the player.

Example: You can only romance one girl at 18 y/o another at 19-21, another at 23-25 and so on. If you make the right choices you can steer yourself on each girl's path. However as stated, it's often the case that the second girl, third girl etc are not even present in the story until you get to that point (playing through the game in linear fashion and the story progresses).

[ZanthosAC]

We have our first beautiful background created and a nice little promo banner that will be view-able at full resolution soon enough. You can get a "larger" peak at the character sprites of Rayen and Siona as well as a glimpse of the background for Renden High School.

In other news, we're excited to have cast the voice actress for Siona! I'm sure that everyone will like what they will hear, so stay tuned for a demo of her voice. The reason she was cast early is because we planned a promo "visual" demo that highlights some progress on the game. I can't give a firm ETA on the debut of this trailer, but I'd like it out by September of this year. Interested parties can also help our development in exchange for a greater glimpse of game assets behind the scenes work (and other special perks).

[ZanthosAC]

So, we've finally gone public. We have our "announcement" trailer posted live. We'll also be holding a livestream on our youtube channel, talking more about the game on Friday, August 17th, at 9PM EDT

Announcement Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obfHVj_ju8w

Youtube Channel (Livestream 8/17/18 at 9PM EDT)
https://www.youtube.com/aniclashnetwork


Patreon Page (if you're interested in supporting us)
https://www.patreon.com/aniclashstudios

[ZanthosAC]

Hey folks, we have recently updated the first post (check above) with the following:

- Announcement Trailer
- Question and Answer Livestream
- Our Twitter (https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios) Follow us for more updates on development and art assets.
- We have a survey for a chance to receive a beta key for the demo (when released). We appreciate everyone who takes some time out to answer the survey and leave feedback. Survey ---> https://goo.gl/forms/7CKAoBQ7r7nCIM1q2

In other news our third character is currently in development. This character will be an integral part of one of the routes. I hope everyone will like her design! Updates will likely come out to our twitter first, so please follow us there for immediate updates.

[ZanthosAC]

OP was updated above with new artwork/expressions and bios for the main characters! We are teasing our third main character which will be revealed first on our twitter at: https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios. Her name is Arctia and you can read some of her bio above.

Progress on the game has advanced nicely, artwork and programming is coming along as well as other drafting and revising work (progress bar above is not updated). We're currently in the progress of casting for the MC Rayen, so hopefully you guys can hear him soon. We do have a gameplay "trailer" in the works, showing you more of the systems and interactions between the main characters, so look forward to it!

[Sayuui]

Hi! I know it's been a long time since you made a post, but have you found a promotional artist/ chibi artist yet?

[ZanthosAC]

Hi! I know it's been a long time since you made a post, but have you found a promotional artist/ chibi artist yet?

Yes, we have recently filled the position for chibi artist. We may be looking for promotional art in the future, but not at this direct moment.

In today's update we have the 3rd main character of the game, Arctia. She is Rayen's mentor and life adviser who helps him through difficult situations. Though it's important to note that, depending on your route, you will not encounter her. Playing through the game multiple times will give you a different experience each time, so this title emphasizes replay value.

The first CG art is nearly complete, I'm sure everyone will end up liking the final result.

Next time we will post the first screenshot from the alpha build.

Remember, updates will hit our twitter account first, so if you're interested in our game, please follow there!
https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios

[ZanthosAC]

Development has been slow and steady over the last few months. We're pleased to announce that the first CG has been completed, marking a pivotal moment in the game. This is Rayen's first meeting with Siona (pictured). He will be faced with a decision, and the outcome of his choice will shift the game dramatically. You can see the full version on our twitter: https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios

For those of you confused on the general direction of the story and its premise, please stay tuned for our alpha gameplay video THIS month! This will offer a small slice of what you can expect as far as gameplay goes. Fortunately, we have progressed far enough in development to show some things off, including a fully voiced 5 minute scene between the two characters.

Stay tuned! Remember updates hit our twitter first! I wanted to personally thank each and everyone who did follow us on twitter. Every follow is really encouraging, and I must personally say that I appreciate it. The community following this game has grown from a scant 10-15 during the opening months to the 60+ now. It's really encouraging to know that there are people out there anticipating and looking forward to Zeta Wolf. This sort of reception gives motivation to me, as the lead and main driving force behind this project.

[ZanthosAC]

Hey there. Just wanted to update you guys on our progress. We have released an alpha gameplay video (debuted about a month ago on our twitter). This video highlights one of the opening scenes in the game completed with voice acting for Rayen and Siona. Check the opening post for the gameplay. I wanted to mention that our GUI is definitely rudimentary and placeholder atm, but the finished product will likely build upon our foundation.

Some twitter first exclusive updates that will be hitting there include the following:
https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios

- A new character just revealed
- Updated Character Profiles
- OST Previews and Concept Art

Thanks for everyone who has followed us and shown support so far. Development is churning, one piece at a time.

[Elric Atchison]

I am deeply interested to voice act in this.

I am Elric Atchison, I am currently a 3rd year voice actor.

[ZanthosAC]

I am deeply interested to voice act in this.

I am Elric Atchison, I am currently a 3rd year voice actor.

Thanks for your interest. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that we are hiring male voice actors for the demo build. This may change in the full game.

First off, an update for everyone on Lemmasoft! Rika Bailey is a character that was introduced several months ago on our twitter. You can see her full bio in the OP. Unfortunately, she is not a love interest/NPC in the demo build, but she will have her our routes in the main game.

Script is 75% Complete!

75% done on writing. This means the basic foundations have been completed including dialogue scenes. The demo will have a simplified route system, having only a normal route a new game+ route. As thus, it is recommended to play through the game twice.

Script is at over 15k words for the demo so far. This includes normal and ng+ route but it does not include flavor text such and glossary and bios. It's expected to run over 20k in the demo as outlined. There are just a few more scenes to finalize and the writing for the demo will be 100% complete.

Unfortunately, even though the writing is nearly done, art assets are far from finished. This will be the largest delay in getting the demo out the door. I would put a rough estimate of summer of 2020 for initial demo release. Things could easily be pushed back, likely for art.

We will be experimenting with real time outfit selections and an inventory for collecting them. This is something I truly hope will be implemented.

Demo will amount to 2-4 hours of playtime (assuming +-200 words per minute reading time).

Things to look forward to in the full game:
Siona's Extended Route
Rika's Route
New Character Route
"Arctia's" Route

Other goals depending on Kickstarter Success.
Otome Route as mentioned, is one of the goals.

Music for the demo will include 6 to 7 custom tracks for the OST. Currently the main menu music is finished. A preview will be posted in the future.

Demo will be partially voiced. Expect "snippet" type quotes for dialogues.

New Character will be officially revealed in late May/ Early June. No spoilers right now, but she (it's a female character) will play a heavy role with Arctia and Rayen in the dream world. She's only introduced in the demo and is not romancable.

Any questions or comments, are appreciated! Thanks everyone who followed us on twitter!

Remember to follow AniClash Studios on Twitter https://twitter.com/AniClashStudios for the latest development updates as soon as they are posted!!

[ZanthosAC]

Hello everyone. After some months, we finally have an update on our progress.

The good news is that programming of the game has finally seen some significant progress. Due to the way things are organized, the script entered(programmed) in the game can vary from the script written in documents. Due to this estimation, roughly 23.15% of the demo script is programmed. This comes to 6250 out of 27000 words programmed. Programming in this sense means the structuring of the playable portion of the game. While this is mostly data entry, it also entails the layering of events/commands that translate to what you view/play. This number can fluctuate especially if the script comes to 30k words in the end, which it very likely could.

There's some missing scenes to be written for the script as well as some final polish that could be implemented in the writing. That said, I'd put the writing at about 80% complete. The alternate route is WAY longer than the standard route, being more elaborate and drawn out, especially with more character dialogue. Even though programming has a long way to go, the standard route (demo-wise) is probably 50% completed. The way ZWC handles routes is that there will be 2 main routes, and a number of branches from there depending on your choices. The "branches" can open their own routes and so on. My plan for the "true" route is to be something players least expect and to defy typical VN conventions (sort of like how romance is handled from a boy->girl perspective over the whole game). Originally, the demo was suppose to only encompass the standard route (only about 13k words) but then I decided to get a little ambitious in the development process. This ended up being more work true, but it allowed me to brainstorm additional scenarios for the game and character interactions.

ZWC at the onset was more of an introspective game, with only the protagonist and main love interest. It was aiming to be different by minimizing the MC's interaction's with other characters. You'll still experience this on the standard route, of course. On the alternate path, you'll meet Arctia and our new character, which shifts the tone/focus of the story dramatically. I wanted the first playthrough to be as emotionally gripping as possible with very little comedy elements. As described, the alternate path can only be accessed on a New game+ run (beat the game/demo once).

Speaking of, our new character, Arctia's assistant, is almost ready to show off. Her sprite is pretty much 90% done, but I have debated on the proper
color scheme for her. It's really aggravating in this sense, as I never really had this problem with the rest of the cast. Rayen/Siona follow color schemes appropriate for their high school as their defaults, and Arctia's just sort of worked with her wolf theme. Arctia's secondary costume will also borrow heavily from new girl's default, hence the dilemma I'm currently in. I wonder if light or darker colors will look better on them? Leaning toward dark, as that was the original design from the artist.

Actually, in other news, the GUI and logo will be getting an overhaul by another talented artist. I'm hopeful that these elements turn out great. I was never happy with the original logo (made it myself) and it was always intended to be a placeholder. We'll see how things turn out.

If you've been following our twitter (@AniClashStudios), we've posted a few non-canon skits with the characters. Yes, there'll be a sort of popularity contest to vote for your favorite heroine/female character in the game. The choices will be Siona, Arctia, Rika and our latest character to be revealed. Speaking of new girl, she'll have 2 different (and interesting) sides to her personality that essentially makes her two characters in one. The winner of the poll will get an extra alternate costume!

Speaking of costumes, I have done some testing for our costume-equipment system, and I believe I have laid the groundwork for things. In theory, you'll be able to switch any character's costume in real time (for the main girls atleast). By reaching various goals or achievements, you can earn various costumes. There will be a default switch (costume according to scene) or player controlled costume (which character "x" will be wearing such and such depending on what you choose). Due to this design decision, most characters will only have 1 pose. I'm not personally a fan of different poses, since I think the collectible aspect of costumes will enhance the gameplay of ZWC (where there is usually a barebones amount on basis of being a VN).

Likely we'll have lots of little things to show off on our twitter, so stay tuned!

-Zanthos