What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama] [Romance]

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missxtake
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What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama] [Romance]

#1 Post by missxtake »

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Ruri Fukuyama is an average Japanese high school girl; good grades, some capability in sports, a passing interest in pop culture... and also constantly surrounded by a harem of stereotypical guys that want to get in her pants. Her problem? She’s a lesbian and in love with her best friend, but just so happens to be the protagonist of an otome game. As she struggles against her contradictory fate, she finds herself constantly dealing with the whims of a universe that just doesn’t want her to be gay.

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What the Heart Wants is a subversive take on both the otome and yuri genres that asks a simple question; what if the protagonist of a stereotypical high school reverse-harem romance game was a lesbian? In running with this concept, the game explores common tropes to both genres, melding the two together to create a unique experience. Will this poor girl ever escape her otome hell, or is the yuri life out of her reach?


Characters

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Screenshots

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Hello! I'm posting this on the behalf of newly formed indie visual novel production team PJ Productions. I'll be updating this thread periodically, but for quicker news you can follow us on twitter for updates about the game's progress.

We've been working on this game for about five months now, and have since then completed the script for the demo (and then some--our writer is still at it). This will be crowdfunded via kickstarter, and though neither the demo nor the kickstarter have launched yet, the demo will come as soon as the rest of the assets are done and coded into the game.



The demo is about 16,000 words long, and features, notably, full voice acting and four CGs. As of now our progress looks something like this:

Script: 100%
Art: 60%
Music: 100%
GUI: 70%


Credits

Writer: Christian Simon (Twitter)
Programmer: Joey Ryanna (Twitter) (that's me!)
Character Artist: Xenvita (Twitter)
Composer: Dan Halley (Twitter)
Background Artist/UI Designer: Jessica Halley (Twitter)


Questions

1. Does the concept of this game interest you? Are you interested in a more meta look at these genres?

2. Is the usage of the term "otome" acceptable here? Is there any other term you think would fit better?

3. What do you think of the characters so far? Do you have a particular favorite? Do their looks, poses, and expressions give you a good impression of what they're like?

4. Would you back this on Kickstarter? If so, are there any particular stretch goals or pledge rewards you would like to see? If not, why?


Thank you for reading!
Last edited by missxtake on Sun Jun 03, 2018 8:46 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#2 Post by 78909087 »

I love it!!!!

I've been a fan of this concept for a long time, and stumbled upon this, intrigued by the GxG tag, since I'm expanding my own work in that genre... And here it is!

1. Does the concept of this game interest you? Are you interested in a more meta look at these genres?

As mentioned before, the concept does appeal to me. I am curious as to if this is a self-aware game, and if/how you'll deal with the 4th wall. Making a definitive choice on how to handle it will be important.

2. Is the usage of the term "otome" acceptable here? Is there any other term you think would fit better?

Otome fits, yes- if you mean to market this at women. In terms of stereotypes, this contradicts them, so it's not definitely going to fit any.

3. What do you think of the characters so far? Do you have a particular favorite? Do their looks, poses, and expressions give you a good impression of what they're like?

I like the art, definitely; it suits the game. They do all fit their stereotype- except for Mashiro Tanaka. He looks more like the mystery/too-good-for-you character, but he's set up as... Literally an asshole. That's fine, since I suppose there's no way to reverse the 'I'm not interested' character to be attached when the main isn't interested... But I was a little surprised.

4. Would you back this on Kickstarter? If so, are there any particular stretch goals or pledge rewards you would like to see? If not, why?

I don't make a tonne of money, but if there were more examples of playstyle, cg, language and story I'd be more inclined to. Maybe a short demo movie highlighting the best points?

Stretch goals and pledge rewards work great if they're personal. Unfortunately, I'm not the person to ask about these things, though.

This comment is also being used as a way to keep updated on this thread :)

Hope to see more of you.
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#3 Post by Philiard »

Writer for the game chimin' in real quick - Mashiro is meant to be a representation of the 'smug intellectual'/'insufferable genius' archetype; think Kent from Amnesia, or, for a non-dating sim example, Byakuya Togami from Dangan Ronpa. He's not just an asshole; he's a smart asshole.

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#4 Post by traineroflegend »

You mention progress on your demo, but do you also have an idea of what you'll need for the full game?

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#5 Post by Philiard »

I have a pretty good idea of what we'll need for the full game.

- The full game is expected to take about 10-12 hours to complete.
- In the demo, all of the main characters have two outfits (sans Kayo and Mashiro, who have one). In the full game, each main character is expected to have a minimum of four outfits, to account for the changing of seasons.
- In the demo, every character has one pose. All of the main characters should be expected to have at least two poses in the main game.
- The demo only has sprites for the main characters; the full game will have sprites for certain side characters as well, with their own poses, expressions, outfits, etcetera.
- The demo has eight backgrounds. Considering these cover the majority of the locales that the full game will take place in, the full game won't need very many more. I'd estimate around 4-6 additional BGs, with changes to existing BGs to account for the changing of seasons and time of day.
- The demo has four music tracks. The main game is expected to have around 11-13.
- The demo has four CGs. The main game will have significantly more, though I can't say how many for sure. Expect around 20.

I know this is a lot of estimates, rather than concise numbers, but it should give you a rough idea of our scope.

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#6 Post by Asgardian4 »

Love your style ^_^

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#7 Post by ZanthosAC »

Art/Concept looks appealing and unique. As a male and traditionally into shounen/BxG, this is one of the few "otome" titles that seem interesting to me. Though I wonder if the title branches into G x B or does it simply tease at the possibility. The reason I state this is because it might alienate people who are not interested in yuri content (If it is simply labeled G x G at first glance.)

Looking forward to future developments.

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#8 Post by Zelan »

Between the Lines was one of the really early visual novels that I played and loved, so just that fact that missxtake is involved in this is already a huge plus for this game in my book. :D I also absolutely love the art and concept of this game! I'm definitely looking forward to your future progress.

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#9 Post by parttimestorier »

This sounds great! I love games with LGBTQ characters and also meta/parody type plots. For your second question, if you were to just to call it an otome without any more detail I think it might confuse some people who would be hoping that means they can date the guys. But calling it an "otome parody" or something makes sense. I've been trying to spend less money on kickstarters lately, but this is definitely one I would consider backing. One thing that's helped get me more interested in kickstarters in the past is when they have an "early bird" tier that's a bit cheaper than the standard get the game tier. Then it makes me want to pledge right away to get the discount!
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#10 Post by missxtake »

Zelan wrote: Sun May 27, 2018 2:23 pm
Thank you for your support! And I'm really, really glad to hear you enjoyed Between the Lines! It was my first game, so it's got a special place in my heart, haha. I'd like to come back to it someday, but for now, I hope you enjoy What the Heart Wants!
ZanthosAC wrote: Sun May 27, 2018 12:00 pm
It's less of an otome title and more of a parody on otome tropes, so there's no GxB here--it's GxG all the way. I'm happy to hear this interests you, though, despite it not being the type of thing you usually consume.
parttimestorier wrote: Sun May 27, 2018 3:59 pm
I'm glad you like the premise! I can see what you mean in your answer to our second question, but we think (we hope) we've been pretty up-front that this is a GxG game/an otome parody already. We're still trying to come up with kickstarter pledge rewards, but I like "early bird" tiers too, so I'll keep your suggestion in mind when we hash the rewards out. Whichever way things go, thank you for your feedback!
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#11 Post by missxtake »

Here's the game's first CG, again courtesy of xenvita!
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama]

#12 Post by Knight of Hearts »

hi hi!!! The title of the game is so nice! it's simple but it's sincere and gives a really good indication of what the game's message will be about.

I really love the premise and the idea of the main protagonist having to go against the norm of otome settings. I'm curious about the different endings that could take place (if that's even the intention).

Personally, not sure about the usage of otome. But in terms of marketing a product I'd think that if it was marketed as otome, it wouldn't probably be reflecting the main idea of the game.

I would back the game on KS if I really like the way the campaign is executed and there were samples of voice actor voices (I'm a sucker for well voice-acted VNs)

I also think the logo is really cute. Love the gentle colors and flower shapes!

Good luck!
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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama] [Romance]

#13 Post by alfdale »

So basically https://dynasty-scans.com/chapters/im_t ... ell_for_me but with the yaoi substituted with yuri?

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama] [Romance]

#14 Post by Taffyhead »

I think marketing this as an otome should be fine. If I recall correctly, otome doesn't necessarily have to mean "a story where a girl romantically peruses a guy", that's just a common plot within the genre. Otome just means "a story aimed at a female audience". If this game is meant to be aimed at a female audience, then marketing this as an otome (even if it is actually a parody) shouldn't be too misleading.

With that being said, this game seems pretty interesting. I'm looking forward to it!

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Re: What the Heart Wants [GxG] [Slice of Life] [Drama] [Romance]

#15 Post by Philiard »

I think the otome question was a little poorly worded. We don't intend to market this game as an otome VN; never have, never will. Rather, what we're curious about is your first instinct upon seeing the word 'otome', as the way we use the word in the game's description hinges on the player thinking of an otome game as "a dating sim VN with a girl pursuing/being pursued by one or more guys". If that description isn't applicable or fitting, we'll need to reevaluate the way we describe this game a bit.

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