"It is clear we have our answer. Surely you will finally admit that I have won?"
"If they could only hear you, I'm not certain which of us would be more offended. Do not expect me to concede defeat so easily."
"If they could only hear you, I'm not certain which of us would be more offended. Do not expect me to concede defeat so easily."
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Welcome to our very first WIP thread! Not too long ago, I was feeling a bit uninspired and decided to overcome this by casting my net out into the wonderful world of Lemmasoft. More specifically, I had the somewhat novel idea to combine 7 unrelated narrative prompts into a single, cohesive story. Seven amazing folks responded to my request with prompts of their own, and the result is what you see here today!
While each prompt is listed below in its original form, my interpretations are likely a bit different than what some of the contributors were envisioning. This was meant to be a challenge, though, so I did at least endeavor to keep as close to the spirit of the ideas as possible!
Without further ado, continue below to discover what DOMINO is all about!
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DOMINO largely takes place in the year 2360. This timeline is a basic rundown of a few major events that shaped the world as our MC knows it. Further details will be revealed through the course of the game!
2064 CE (Common Era)
The International Confederation of Peacekeepers has failed. Despite their desperate attempts to mediate between nations, warfare breaks out on an unprecedented scale. Decades-long allegiances dissolve overnight. Massive skirmishes erupt on city streets. Across the world, a seemingly endless barrage of biological and nuclear weaponry rains from the sky. Countries no one thought would be a threat wield horrifying technologies previously unknown to the rest of the world. Eventually, widespread planetary devastation forces what remains of humanity to retreat underground...
2076 CE
The world's population is dropping at an alarming rate. Fearing extinction, any scientists who haven't yet succumbed to radiation poisoning (or worse) pledge to set aside their differences in massive collaboration. Their goal is to perfect a process by which memories can be transferred into bio-synthetic bodies.
2093 CE
'Genesynths' -- a portmanteau of Genesis and Synthetic -- have shown great promise, each possessing a near-perfect copy of a single subject's memories. Perhaps even more importantly, initial testing appears to indicate a strong resistance to all known illnesses and radiation. Humanity finally has hope for the future, though it is bittersweet.
2114 CE/1 AE (After Era)
For several years, Genesynths have worked tirelessly to restore Earth to a livable state following the extinction of nearly 85% of all life on the planet. Humans are finally able to join them on the surface, and both groups bid farewell to the underground bunkers one final time. This event would eventually come to be known as Transcendence Day, marking the beginning of a new calendar era.
2133 CE/19 AE
The last remaining human dies.
20 AE - Present
The next two centuries would be spent re-building and re-shaping the world from the ground up, advancing technology far beyond what it had been in the Old World. Even the very idea of war would become nothing more than a footnote in history; an archaic concept dreamed up by their savage ancestors who were simply too primitive to know any better...
In 249 AE, a Third-Generation Genesynth named Jupiter receives a letter from someone he never expected to see again. It's one week before Transcendence, an elaborate festival that happens on the exact same day every year no matter what. Yet now, with an unopened envelope clutched in his shaking hands, Jupiter's future is looking a lot more uncertain...
Three years before that letter mysteriously appeared in his bedroom, Jupiter was a different person. In this world where birth and death are foreign concepts, nearly everything is artificial, and one can choose a life path for their child before they're even off the assembly line, he wonders why more people don't share his disillusionment with society.
It's still three months before Transcendence, and Jupiter has taken to spending his days wandering aimlessly around the city to delay going home as long as possible. On one such walk, he happens across a bizarre shop selling Human trinkets of all things. His encounter with the eccentric proprietor will set off the chain of events that leads to finding that envelope...
(DISCLAIMER: Animations may not be final.)
Below is our current list of planned features! As development on DOMINO progresses, this section will likely be updated from time to time.
◘ Protagonist whose worldview, knowledge, and abilities change based on experiences (i.e. YOUR choices)!
◘ Journal that updates as you progress through the story, learn, and get to know people!
◘ Partially animated sprites and backgrounds!
◘ Original soundtrack!
OUR TEAM
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Offworlder -- Writer, Programmer, Art Consultant
Lucas Schneider -- Character Artist, Background Artist, Graphic Designer, Story Consultant
CONTRIBUTORS
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These are the folks who breathed life into this project by responding to my request for prompts. Thank you all again for dragging me out of the dreaded Writer's Slump™! ^-^
ComputerArt.Club
Cyberpunk, AI
Applegate
"You just received a love letter from someone you hate."
fleet
Vampire
Inksword
“Main character has a past where he's killed before...whether they were justified or not is not immediately clear...”
Curtid21
“A supernatural nomad goes on a series of adventures. His ability - his subjectivity and senses can change, at will, based on the peoples he's met across his journey. He uses this to deduce truths.”
morinoir
Cat
Lucas Schneider
Spirit
QUESTIONS?
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Nothing specific just yet. Since this will be our first visual novel, we're interested in any feedback you're willing to dish out! Let us know what you think of the art so far, if the setting appeals to you, whether or not the plot grabs your interest, which characters you're most excited to learn more about, any questions/concerns that popped into your head while reading through everything, or absolutely anything else you can think of!