Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

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GengaJupite
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Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#1 Post by GengaJupite »

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Every hundred and fifty years, a spectacular meteor shower takes place in the skies all around the globe. An old legend tells that should one of these shooting stars make it all the way to the surface, a single wish shall be granted to whoever touches it first. Of course, the stars rarely make it to the earth's surface intact, but there is one place in which they are known to fall more frequently.

Leo Hearst is a high school student living in Turena, a town in the thick of all the beauty nature has to offer. He lives alone in an apartment paid for by his parents who work very demanding jobs in a nearby city. Like everyone in Turena he has heard of the meteor shower legend, but he considers it nothing more than a fairy tale for children. As summer approaches and the school year comes to a close, Leo makes the acquaintance of five girls he has never seen before, each of whom catches his attention for being more than a little out of the ordinary. Over time, as he slowly comes to learn more about them, his skepticism and disbelief are turned upside down as he discovers that these girls may not quite be what they seem.



Children of Cosmos is a traditional visual novel in which the story unfolds based on multiple choices the player makes along the way. While utilizing tropes that VN enthusiasts are familiar with, we hope to create something that is entertaining and unique to the high school romance genre.


Characters
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Staff
Director: GengaJupite
Programmer: Droory

Writing Team:
Droory
Luxraysrock
Kinmoku2
Mag
Angie

Editors:
IronForPistons
Tin_Can
hirondelle

Concept Art: Minute Kiwi
Character Art: Naomi
Logo: Minute Kiwi

Music: GengaJupite
[Sample 1] [Sample2] [Sample 3]


Stats
While these numbers are not exact, they represent a rough estimate of where we are looking to go with Children of Cosmos.

Total Word Count: 620k-830k words
Per Route: 112k-154k words
Common Route: 60k words

Current Production Stats [November 20/18]:
Common Route Completion: 100%
Common Route Coding: 90%
Individual Routes: 5%
Individual Routes Coding: 1%
Sprites: 100%
Backgrounds: 80%
CGs: 0%


Beta Demo
If any of the above has caught your interest in any way, feel free to download the demo and let us know what you think! Please keep in mind that while this is a demo, it is currently in a beta stage and it is still missing some assets we hope to include in the future (e.g. custom GUI, custom backgrounds, etc.). What he hope to demonstrate with this demo is the style and scope of the project, as this covers somewhere between half to two-thirds of the common route.
And don't forget to leave your thoughts below or at our Discord!

For those interested, we are currently looking for some more members to join the team! More information can be found on our recruitment thread, so have a look and we hope to hear from you!
Last edited by GengaJupite on Sun Feb 24, 2019 3:04 am, edited 7 times in total.

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#2 Post by gekiganwing »

About thirty years ago, there was a prose novel called Born into Light by Paul Samuel Jacobs. I read it quite a while back, and haven't thought about it much since then. That said, your story premise reminds me of this novel. Maybe it's the meteor shower aspect, or how some of your characters have exceptional (paranormal? perhaps otherwordly?) abilities.
GengaJupite wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:16 pmHe lives alone in an apartment paid for by his parents who work very demanding jobs in a nearby city.
This is one way to have a teenage character living without parental supervision, and not in a dangerous situation. Would the story change in any way if one or both of his parents were present? Would the story be affected if Leo was living with another relative or a roommate?
GengaJupite wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:16 pmLeo makes the acquaintance of five girls he has never seen before, each of whom catches his attention for being more than a little out of the ordinary.
I started enjoying boy x girl visual novels about seventeen years ago, and I still like them. Here's a couple things to think about...

* Why are the heroines unattached as well as attracted to Leo? I can understand why Ashe would be single, since she apparently lives in isolation and has health issues. That said, consider addressing why the heroines aren't pursuing relationships with some other guy (or girl). While you're at it, think about what makes Leo exceptional as a protagonist. Is he wealthy, charismatic, talented, famous, or something else?

* Would the story benefit if the protagonist had a romantic rival who's competent and intelligent?

* Pacing: let's say the story starts during late May. How much time does Leo have to act? If he doesn't solve a mystery or develop a relationship by July, will there be any consequences? Will the story offer any suspense?

* Setting: what will make it memorable? What events and activities are nearby?

* Will Leo benefit by becoming friends with everyone? Or will he benefit by focusing on one heroine and ignoring the others?
GengaJupite wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:16 pmChildren of Cosmos is a traditional visual novel in which the story unfolds based on multiple choices the player makes along the way. While utilizing tropes that VN enthusiasts are familiar with, we hope to create something that is entertaining and unique to the high school romance genre.
I've become used to the setup of "make choices every now and then. Most of them matter, and they eventually lead to an ending." I have also enjoyed some visual novels in which the protag's stats influence what happens in the story. That said, earlier this year, I tried a visual novel that's a bit different: Minecraft Story Mode. It had an above average amount of graphic adventure game elements, but what surprised me most was that the reader could not load a previous save in order to reconsider a choice. The reader had to live with their (timed) choices.

Have you been influenced by other VNs, narrative games, interactive fiction, and so on? If so, then think about what you liked about how other creators presented their stories.
"Welcome to WhiteSnow, a town filled with snow. Enjoy the world of snow."
-Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#3 Post by GengaJupite »

Thanks for the response! I can say that many of the questions you've presented are actually answered to some degree in the demo (with the full explanations coming to light in the full version), and as such can't necessarily answer them all here without delving into spoiler territory. That said, I will answer what I can here to the best of my abilities.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm
GengaJupite wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:16 pmHe lives alone in an apartment paid for by his parents who work very demanding jobs in a nearby city.
This is one way to have a teenage character living without parental supervision, and not in a dangerous situation. Would the story change in any way if one or both of his parents were present? Would the story be affected if Leo was living with another relative or a roommate?
In short, yes, having a roommate or family member would affect things fairly significantly. In the beginning, it might not be much of an issue, but as the narrative goes along, including another tenant would complicate both the storytelling and the later events in the story.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm * Why are the heroines unattached as well as attracted to Leo? I can understand why Ashe would be single, since she apparently lives in isolation and has health issues. That said, consider addressing why the heroines aren't pursuing relationships with some other guy (or girl). While you're at it, think about what makes Leo exceptional as a protagonist. Is he wealthy, charismatic, talented, famous, or something else?
Again, with the story's basis fairly fleshed out already, almost all of these questions are either addressed in the demo or have already been solved and are being saved for later parts of the VN.
The nature of the girls' attraction to Leo (and not someone else) is integral to the plot itself and the entire reason why he even becomes involved with them in the first place. In contrast to this, Leo's somewhat unexceptional character is meant to be a building point off why each girl is drawn to him. Again, this delves quite deep into spoiler territory and revealing any more than this would be thoughtless of me.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm * Would the story benefit if the protagonist had a romantic rival who's competent and intelligent?
In short, no. There are no romantic rivals due to the nature of the girls specifically being drawn to Leo. I do hope this is clear that I by no means am saying that they are all attracted to him romantically; rather, they each have their own reasons for seeking him out.
That said, I've only highlighted the main characters above, and there are actually more characters than I have featured in this post.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm * Pacing: let's say the story starts during late May. How much time does Leo have to act? If he doesn't solve a mystery or develop a relationship by July, will there be any consequences? Will the story offer any suspense?
Again, this is a timeline based around the setting and the heroines themselves, delving into spoiler territory while also being addressed in the demo. Essentially, the time limit he has to act is by/at the next Starfall, scheduled for sometime late in the summer. I'd say the suspense aspect is most prevalent in the Common Route while he is still getting to know the heroines before it becomes more about developing relationships with them in the individual routes.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm * Setting: what will make it memorable? What events and activities are nearby?
The Starfall, Leo's club activities (choice based), events with the heroines (due to the nature of their characters), the setting itself and its relation to the characters. Supernatural is a major genre in this story, and plays an equal, if not greater role on the story to romance.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm * Will Leo benefit by becoming friends with everyone? Or will he benefit by focusing on one heroine and ignoring the others?
Neither, though I can say that (once again, due to the nature of the heroines' characters) Leo is guaranteed to have a fairly deep understanding of at least four of the heroines by the time the individual routes begin. At that time, his focus simply shifts to one of them in particular, though the others may or may not still play an integral role.
gekiganwing wrote: Wed May 02, 2018 2:53 pm
GengaJupite wrote: Fri Apr 27, 2018 7:16 pmChildren of Cosmos is a traditional visual novel in which the story unfolds based on multiple choices the player makes along the way. While utilizing tropes that VN enthusiasts are familiar with, we hope to create something that is entertaining and unique to the high school romance genre.
I've become used to the setup of "make choices every now and then. Most of them matter, and they eventually lead to an ending." I have also enjoyed some visual novels in which the protag's stats influence what happens in the story. That said, earlier this year, I tried a visual novel that's a bit different: Minecraft Story Mode. It had an above average amount of graphic adventure game elements, but what surprised me most was that the reader could not load a previous save in order to reconsider a choice. The reader had to live with their (timed) choices.

Have you been influenced by other VNs, narrative games, interactive fiction, and so on? If so, then think about what you liked about how other creators presented their stories.
This VN has actually been in the works for a few years now, but due to a wide range of circumstances, our pace has been inconsistent. We've managed to get ourselves to a point where we can work consistently again, and the basis of the VN has always been that we are simply a group of amateurs looking to create something new both for ourselves and for whatever audience will be happy to receive it. We aren't necessarily looking to innovate or push boundaries; rather, we simply hope to put something on our creative resumes and be able to say that we have collaborated on a finished product that we can all be proud of.

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#4 Post by Zelan »

The art is pretty cute.

That's an incredibly ambitious wordcount, and I could see some people actually being put off by such a long VN. Make sure that you aren't writing unnecessary, dragging scenes just to fit an arbitrary wordcount; if you only hit 500k total, that's fine as long as every scene matters. (And even that's still a huuuuuge wordcount. Some of my absolute favorite VNs have been less than 20k words. Keep that in mind while you're writing.)

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#5 Post by GengaJupite »

For sure, like you said, the word count isn't what's important, and what was posted above is simply an estimate based on the pace we've already started off with. Realistically, by playing through one route from beginning to end, you probably see about 100k words, which we understand is still fairly long for a single route, but in doing so our writers are being given the chance to fully flesh out ideas that might otherwise be shelved in stories with a word cap. How we designed this is that each route is a fully fleshed-out story in itself, related to the others but completely separate in how they play out. It's understandable that people may be turned off by such a large word count, but having already found new staff members enthusiastic enough to work on such a project, I have faith that there will be at least a handful of people willing to give it a try.

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#6 Post by GengaJupite »

We've had a slight slowdown of our workflow over the summer, but now that things have calmed down a bit we're picking the project back up at full speed! Unfortunately I have no pictures to share of what progress has been made, but the entirety of the Common Route has been coded and we're currently in the process of testing it out and finishing up some of the missing assets to be added (music, script edits, etc.). Look out for pictures coming up soon (and perhaps a website within the next few months)!

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Re: Children of Cosmos [BxG][Supernatural][Romance] [DEMO]

#7 Post by GengaJupite »

Short update with some screenshots! We've been taking feedback from people who've tried out the demo and are currently working to make it even more enjoyable! The Common Route has been playtested through to entirety, and we are in the process of making the script more concise. Our writers are currently busy working through the individual routes and things are looking pretty good right now.

We have found some artists who have expressed interest in CGs and GUI, but we are still hoping to secure some committed individuals!

Music has also been chugging along, with 30 tracks completed and all but one character theme finished!

Screens from the (unedited) CR post-demo
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