The Silent Column (Released) [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

A place for game announcements, and for people to discuss games being made.
Forum rules
Please read the sticky before creating a new topic. Linking to Kickstarter/Crowdfunded games requires a demo. Updates to Patreon-backed games may be posted once every 2 months. Adult content should not be posted in this forum.
Message
Author
User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

The Silent Column (Released) [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#1 Post by SelLi »

Image
The Silent Column is now released. You can find it on Itch, here: https://overlooked-option-vns.itch.io/the-silent-column
The free demo has also been updated on Itch. You can find it here: https://overlooked-option-vns.itch.io/t ... olumn-demo

This is all a bit much for me, emotionally, as this is my first real visual novel release.

Thank you for your interest in this project over the many years of its development - and thanks for the personal support. : )

I'm going to try to calm down, now. If you play The Silent Column - or its demo - I hope you find it meaningful.

Take care, everyone. <3
Last edited by SelLi on Fri Feb 23, 2024 8:31 pm, edited 61 times in total.

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#2 Post by SelLi »

This is basic, but I finally know how many characters I need to make sprites for. :)
This is a long story that I've been working on in some form or another for many years, so it was difficult to even make this list. Now that I have it, I'll be able to make sprites more effectively with a specific goal to reach.
I need to make sprites for 17 characters.
That's not too many or too few.
I arguably have 2 done already - though I may work on Serra's a bit more - so I suppose I have 15 to go. Or 15-and-a-half to go if I work on Serra's base sprite a little bit more.
It's nice to have an actual goal to reach. :)
Take care, everyone. <3
Last edited by SelLi on Thu Jun 23, 2022 3:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#3 Post by SelLi »

Hi everyone :) Just updated the first post. I can now update you more accurately regarding my writing progress. Also, I changed the word count goal of the entire project from 1,125,000 words to 875,000 words: The "first part" of the game is really meant to be the main part and the "second part" of the game isn't supposed to be as big, so I essentially cut the second part in half. I think that will be fine. Take care, everyone.

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#4 Post by SelLi »

Hi everyone :) I have written a little bit more for Gate (2k more words) and have further trimmed the word count goal of the project. The word count goal may may change as time goes on - it's just an estimate. Right now, the estimate is 850k words, but it may yet shrink further over time.

Also, I edited the first post to include some details about how the visual novel will be structured. I thought that could be cool and organized, and would help people understand which parts of the story I'm working on. For example, as you can see in the first post, I've been working on the main common route as well as Gate's common route, and you'll be able to see when I start working on something else - like Gate's A route, B route, or C route.

Peace, everyone...! Take it easy <3

Edit: I think, rather, 620k total words will be enough, now. I want the project to be doable...! ^^ And this will, I think, be enough to cover everything.

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#5 Post by SelLi »

Finished the first 5k in the common route. :) Tashen spent time with his sister, Kina, looking through the rubble of a small, ancient, stone building with strange writing on it in an unknown language. They also found a small, broken, glass orb, similar to one Kina found on the shore many years ago.

Before this, I also planned out a lot regarding the common route. I plan for it to be 40k words. So, I'm an 8th of the way there. This section I've finished is a more neutral section just introducing the reader to the setting and the main character's family before introducing any other elements. Now I'll be introducing the girls!

The way the game is set up is that, in the common route, you're introduced to Serra, Amy, and Thidria. Then, you choose one of them to spend time with/pursue. Then, after finishing one of the girls' routes, the reader is kind of sent back in time and will choose to spend time with/pursue April or Gate. April and Gate don't have time dedicated to them in the common route, which is why their main parts of the game are each 10k longer than the other girls'. :)

Take care, everyone!

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#6 Post by SelLi »

Image
Amy :heart:
I watercolor painted her on wood and then worked on her more in Fire Alpaca. I may do this for the other sprites, as well. In which case, I now only have one base sprite done. I think it's an improvement, though. :heart: I hope you like her.

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#7 Post by SelLi »

Hi everyone. I like The Silent Column. The idea of it being a very long visual novel is attractive to me because you would get to spend more time with the characters and in the world, but I also realize there's a danger of a long project never getting done, or taking ages and ages to get done. Also, because I like the project, I want to see it get done! If, after creating the visual novel, I want it to be longer, I can always make extra visual novels in the same continuity to expand on things... therefore, it seems reasonable for me to take the scope knife to The Silent Column to help make sure it actually gets finished. :heart: So...

The current word count goal for the project is 400k words. (This may change as time goes on.)

5k Intro
5k Amy Intro
5k Thidria Intro
5k Serra Intro
5k Confrontation

50k Amy Main
50k Thidria Main
50k Serra Main
55k April Main
55k Gate Main
50k Scaithridi Main

5k Aftermath
10k Amy After
10k Thidria After
10k Serra After
10k April After
10k Gate After
10k Scaithridi After

I just wanted to share my thoughts. Take care, everyone. :)

Edit: By the way, there are still only 5 heroines from the main character's perspective: Amy, Thidria, Serra, April, and Gate. I plan for Scaithridi's story to be important but largely separate from the main character's story.

Edit 2: Writing progress will continue to be updated on the first post. :)

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#8 Post by SelLi »

You know what...? Call me crazy, but I don't think I really need to include Thidria or April. Cutting them out, we have... 270k words as the goal for the project. My my, that seems quite doable. :)

The current word goal for the project is 270k words. (This may change as time goes on.)

5k Intro
5k Amy Intro
5k Serra Intro
5k Confrontation

50k Amy Main
50k Serra Main
55k Gate Main
50k Scaithridi Main

5k Aftermath
10k Amy After
10k Serra After
10k Gate After
10k Scaithridi After

Take care, everyone. :) :heart:

(That scope knife is no joke!)

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#9 Post by SelLi »

Hello everyone :)
I just wanted to let you know that I've altered the length of the game, once again, to be a very long one. However, since the story is planned to be so large, I'm splitting it into reasonable-sized pieces and will be releasing these acts as I complete them, focusing my efforts on one at a time.

The acts will be:
Act 1, Regrowth
Act 2, Amy
Act 2, Thidria
Act 2, Serra
Act 2, Gate
and
Act 3, Universe

So, right now I will focus my efforts on Act 1, Regrowth.

As for the lengths of each of the acts, I'm planning on this:
Regrowth: 115k words
Each of the second acts: 100k words
Universe: 260k words

Universe is planned to be the longest, by far. This is because, in my opinion, it wouldn't break up well, so I thought I'd just keep it as one act. The word counts may change again in the future... but, as a rule, I'm wanting most of the acts to hover around 100k each.

A note about the heroines!
As you can see, there are 4 heroines now! I chose to bring Thidria back! I could technically cut her from the story as she isn't strictly necessary to the plot, but she's a warm character... so I want to keep her as a love interest. I think it's important to have a heroine that just... loves you. That has value, even if the story doesn't require her. Speaking of heroines, April is still in the game, she just isn't a heroine. Contrary - in a way - to Thidria, April's role is very relevant to the story but not in a way that results in her making a good heroine, in my opinion. So, she'll just remain relevant to the plot while not being a love interest. :)

And............. that's it! :) Thanks for listening. I'll update you guys on Regrowth's progress as I continue to work on it. See you next time! ^^

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#10 Post by SelLi »

Hi everyone :) at the time of posting this, I have over 27k words written for Regrowth and will be working on it more.
However, The Silent Column can be rather difficult for me to create because it's my "baby project", so I think it's healthy for me to take time away from it now and then and work on other projects.
I'm still making The Silent Column in the background but... I only want to post updates when I've done something really significant for it, like completed all the writing for an act, all the character sprites, backgrounds, or music for an act, released an act... that sort of thing.
I still debate with myself about elements of The Silent Column, such as how long it should be, and I don't like saying things publicly only to go back on my words or change things. It's fine for me to iron these things out privately but involving other people in this process feels... silly.
I suppose I just want people to know I care about this project and am taking steps toward completing it.
Also, working on other projects will help me make The Silent Column because it will get me used to my own creative processes and get me used to finishing things more. :)
So... I don't know how long The Silent Column will end up being but the next time I update will be when I have all the writing for act 1 done. :)
And I'll only be posting in this thread, from now on, when I have something significant to share.
See you...!

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#11 Post by SelLi »

Hi you guys. :) It's been a while. I figure I should be less rigid. If I want to share updates with you guys, there's no reason I shouldn't be able to. So, I'll post when I have something I want to share with you, but on no set schedule. :)

A bit has happened in my life since my last post in this thread...

I started working on A Lily from the Lightless Water, as I may have mentioned here. When I started that project, I was wanting to get a ~19k word demo of it completed by Halloween, which seemed manageable. However, after a time, I got a full time job. This is my first full time job and, of course, it's been difficult to get used to. It's a mixed bag, but I'm mainly just glad that it seems I don't have to worry about money much, anymore. However, it's left me with much less time to myself and, as a result, I wasn't able to complete that demo of A Lily from the Lightless Water by Halloween. Now, it only really made sense to release a demo of Lily at all because of Halloween so, at this point, I'll just work on that game until it's entirely done, since I'm planning on it being a rather short VN anyway (between 80k-100k words long).
As for The Silent Column, I confess that I've been enjoying writing it lately, even though one could say I could have used that time to work on Lily. The thing is, I was enjoying writing, and the planned demo for Lily was already written. What was needed was the art and music, which take more time and commitment, in my opinion, than writing. Writing is nice and easy and I can just pick up my laptop and do it to relax, or put it back down again and stop. ^^ And I felt like being in the world of The Silent Column specifically, so, that's what I did. Also, my laptop's screen died after about 5 or 6 years of use and, thanks to the job, I was able to get myself a new one, which I'm grateful about.

Now, speaking more specifically about The Silent Column...

I spoke before about how, because this project is my baby, it can be hard to draw boundaries for it. Even questions like "How many heroines should there be?" or "How long should it roughly be?" can be tough to answer. Right now, though, I'm aiming for it to have a pretty straight-forward structure and to not be absurdly long, while still being a substantial length. There are a lot of questions and ideas relating to the story, but... I think it would be nice for the project to be a sweet visual novel. Here's what I'm thinking:
Three heroines: Amy, Thidria, and Serra.
The common route is ~50k words long: ~5k for the intro, ~15k per heroine.
After the common route, the player can choose one of the three heroines and go on their path: ~100k per heroine route.
That's all I'm thinking for the structure. I think that's quiet and sweet. I might end up lengthening some things later on, but the basic structure I want to keep the same.
As I said, there are a lot of ideas relating to this project... but, I've been thinking that it could feel nice to learn little things about the world here and there while you're with your girl. :heart: At the end of the day... I want the story to be a sweet and romantic one. That's what matters the most, not all of the many events. When I've tried to depict a bunch of the events, things started to feel scattered and misguided. So, I think the focus should be on these three sweet girls and the love the main character has with them. :heart: Some things may be learned while you're with them but the point is you being with them, not the events.

Another reason I'm posting is because I drew a sprite of Serra, today. I like it... I think she looks cute.
Image

Anyway, take care everyone. I'll see you next time. :heart:
By the way, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Either here or in PMs. :heart:

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#12 Post by SelLi »

Hey... you guys...
I've been thinking... I have nothing to show for The Silent Column and I've been working on it for so long. Some of you might have even been waiting for something for many years. A long time ago, once upon a time, I created a very rough demo and released it. However, that demo is very outdated and has been unavailable for years, at this point. Also, once upon a time, I would post a few writing snippets. But, similarly, those are very outdated by now, if you can even find them.
I want to be able to share something with you guys. :) I already have a lot of the common route written - I'll make some more artwork and some music and release a chunk of the common route. I figure that would be nice. It will be of Tashen spending time with one of the heroines.
Serra has been my muse for a long time - I'll release a little VN of him spending time with her, containing the first ~10k words of their interactions! (That's already written, by the way.)
I'm planning on doing about 15 more pictures for this little project and maybe doing 3 songs for it, at most. I work full time and this will take time! But I think it will be nice to have this project on the horizon. :)
I'm aware that it's a bit strange for me to jump from creating a little demo for Lily to creating a little demo for this. I don't mean to be odd or frustrating. (Please try not to be frustrated with me.)
... I don't want to state a release date for this little project, though. I have far less time than I'm used to having and it's important for me to take time for myself, too. So, really, even this may take quite a while, but this will be something we can look forward to. :) I just want to be able to share something relating to this project with you guys and I want to be able to enjoy something relating to this project, myself, too.
Take care, everyone.
I rather think you'll enjoy it when it's done. :heart: It's sweet. :heart:

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#13 Post by SelLi »

I did a little living room for Serra. It's simple but seems to compliment her well. The style seems to work.
Image
Image
Take care, everyone. :heart:

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#14 Post by SelLi »

Hi everyone. :heart:
I've been drawing for Serra's demo.
I prefer drawing specific moments over making generic sprites and backgrounds and I like drawing more loosely without worrying about details. Somehow, this just comes more naturally to me and I want to spend my time making the kind of art I enjoy. :)
Here are the pieces of art I drew over the weekend. The first is Serra when she first meets Tashen in the night, and the second is Serra the next morning when they're having a serious conversation. I hope you enjoy these pieces. I plan on making more! :heart: I want to spend more time polishing this post, but I have to get ready for work. This is all I really had to say anyway, though. Take care, everyone. :heart: ^^
Image
Image

User avatar
SelLi
Miko-Class Veteran
Posts: 550
Joined: Fri Apr 27, 2012 4:49 pm
Completed: The Silent Column Demo, Memory Mage
Projects: The Silent Column, A Lily from the Lightless Water, A Castle on an Island
Deviantart: SelLillianna
itch: SelLillianna
Location: Canada
Contact:

Re: The Silent Column [BxG, Supernatural, Romance, Mystery]

#15 Post by SelLi »

Serra looking at you the night you meet her. You let her sleep in your bed but she wanted you to stay in the room, so you set up a bed for yourself on the floor. She looks at you as the two of you fall asleep.
Image
I may slightly edit this picture and this picture:
Image
Her left eyebrow on the first may be a bit too close to her left eye, and the black line on her right sock in the latter picture implies that she's wearing shoes when, in fact, in both of these pictures, she's not supposed to be wearing shoes.
However, these details are very minor if they're problems at all, so I might just leave the pictures as they are.

This has been my first time drawing her in just her socks. It's kind of cute. ^^ :heart:
Have a good day, everyone. :heart:

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users