Good Tales presents
------------------------------------------------------------------
"My name is Alex Sprouse. On June 3rd, 2013, I, along with my parents and younger brother, moved from my hometown of Chicago to Smalltown, IL. I didn't know it at the time, but that move was going to be the most important thing that ever happened to me. So, please, sit back, relax, and follow me on this journey of my past. A journey that all began when I moved to Berry Street."
In the debut visual novel of Good Tales, you take the role of 16-year-old Alex Sprouse as you progress through the first year of his new life in a new town, with neighbors consisting of his childhood friend from Chicago, a tomboy who loves sports as well as dresses, a shy, pudgy girl who loves to speak up when necessary, and more. Will he find love? Will he find enemies? Will he learn to better himself as a person? That's all up to you in 'Berry Street', the visual novel where, like in real life, your actions can't be reversed.
In the debut visual novel of Good Tales, you take the role of 16-year-old Alex Sprouse as you progress through the first year of his new life in a new town, with neighbors consisting of his childhood friend from Chicago, a tomboy who loves sports as well as dresses, a shy, pudgy girl who loves to speak up when necessary, and more. Will he find love? Will he find enemies? Will he learn to better himself as a person? That's all up to you in 'Berry Street', the visual novel where, like in real life, your actions can't be reversed.
MAIN CHARACTERS
Alex Sprouse
Image currently unavailable
Birthdate: April 26th, 1997
Height: 5'10" (1.778 meters)
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Caucasian
Role: Player Character
Likes: Video Games, Drawing, Reading, Cooking
As the protagonist, Alex's actions and preferences are up to you, the player; that said, he is far from a blank player-insert. Growing up in Chicago, Alex's quiet personality prevented him from making any real friends, apart from Donald Waters. With a new, fresh start in Smalltown at his feet, perhaps Alex can change, becoming close with at least one of his new neighbors, even if it's reconnecting with Donald after all these years. But again, that's entirely up to you. No pressure or anything.
Donald Waters
Birthdate: July 4th, 1996
Height: 6'2" (1.8796 meters)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Brown
Race: African American
Role: Main Character
Likes: Video Games, Sports, Socializing, Church
Being born and raised in Chicago, Donald Waters was in for quite a surprise when he moved to the rural Smalltown at the age of 13, but that didn't stop him from trying to make the most of his situation. Quickly making friends in school, his positive attitude and mostly kind remarks earned him a lot of respect, as well as a status of being one of the most popular students in school. Being his friend wouldn't be a disadvantage, but is it possible there's more to your childhood friend than meets the eye?
Brittney Usher
Birthdate: October 5th, 1995
Height: 6'0" (1.8288 meters)
Hair Color: Blond
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Caucasian
Role: Main Character
Likes: Sports, Working Out, Pranks, Kindness
She's as tomboy as they come; she loves sports, wearing T-shirts and blue jeans, and making dirty jokes and comments. But she's not afraid to remind everyone that she's a girl, not in a feminist way, but with her outfit choices and love of jewelry. Despite her silliness and occasional inappropriate comments, she cares about others, is serious when she needs to be, and just wants to avoid any and all drama. She may be all over the place and an enigma wrapped in a puzzle, but could you be the one to solve that puzzle?
Christeena Truman
Birthdate: August 6th, 1997
Height: 5'5" (1.651 meters)
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Green
Race: Caucasian
Role: Main Character
Likes: Video Games, Music, Watching TV, Reading
Christeena is as opposite of her step sister, Brittney, as you can get; while Brittney is taller, more athletic, and shameless, Christeena is shorter, lazier, and prude. She may be shy and a bit of an introvert, but she'll happily join a conversation if she has something to contribute, although starting a conversation is a different story. That all said, she tends to have a bad temper if someone gets her riled up, and when that happens, you won't want to be in reaching distance. Maybe she just needs a friend, or possibly something more, to keep her in a good mood?
Eleanor Yellman
Birthdate: February 14th, 1995
Height: 5'8" (1.7 meters)
Hair Color: Orange
Eye Color: Brown
Race: Caucasian
Role: Main Characters
Likes: Smoking, Drinking, Tattoos, Art
Eleanor Yellman doesn't have anyone she could call a 'friend', and one conversation with her reveals why: her nasty attitude and overall inability to act kind to anyone drives everyone away from her, but she doesn't mind; she'd prefer to spend her time alone with her music and sketchbooks. Because of her lack of a social life, not much is really known about the held-back senior of Smalltown High. Some speculate she has gang affiliation, while others say it's an act to hide her problems. If you have the courage, perhaps you can learn the truth about Eleanor, yourself, by daring to do what no one has done before: befriend her.
SCREEN SHOTS
Please note that all backgrounds are placeholders, and that there are still placeholder character sprites, as well.
Author's Note:
Hi. My name is Cole Goodrich. I'm 21 years old and just love a good story. A good tale, if you will. As a lover of video games, as well, I've always wanted to create my own, but always found myself more focused on the story rather than the gameplay. But then, around a year ago, a certain horror visual novel was released and it opened my eyes to the world of visual novels. I feel I have finally found my calling as a 'game' designer.
Technically speaking, Berry Street was created when I was 11. It was originally an idea for an animated sitcom about 4 friends living on the same street and having wacky adventures. It was an idea that I had nearly forgotten, but I've brought it back to create my first visual novel.
Berry Street, the visual novel, has been in development since December 8th, 2017. A good portion of the beginning stages of development was getting used to Ren'Py and exploring what exactly it had to offer. Now that it's been nearly a year, I have a better understanding, but I'm far from calling myself an 'expert'. All the writing will be done by myself, as well as the character art, at least for now. Part of what I'm going for with Berry Street is trying to deviate from the stereotypes and tropes of both visual novels and writing as a whole, and that starts with the visuals. With so many people I know turning away and dismissing things like visual novels because of that 'anime artstyle', as well as the fact that I can't draw that style to save my life, I decided to try a different style for Berry Street.
The purpose of this forum is to introduce my VN to the community, as well as post progress as it happens. I already post progress on the Good Tales Instagram, Twitter, and Discord Server, but having another place specifically dedicated to visual novels doesn't seem to be harmful. In fact, as of September 1st, I'll be posting monthly testing builds of Berry Street via the Discord server mentioned, so for those interested, you can certainly check it out. Once I'm at a good place, I'll release a public demo for all to see, the mental goal being by the 1-year anniversary of development, but we'll see how that turns out.
Something else to note is that Berry Street is not my job, nor do I want it to be. Berry Street, as well as writing as a whole, is a hobby that I do because I want to do it, not because I feel like I have to. Progress may be slow at times due to things like personal life and issues, or even something as unavoidable as writer's block and burnout. So, I don't plan on making any crowdfunding campaigns for it, and I also plan on releasing it for free.
That's all I've got for now. Thank you for taking the time to look at all of this, and I hope you're at least interested in what I have to offer! If you want to ask any questions about Berry Street or myself, I'm always happy to answer them!
- Cole Goodrich