Stars in Their Eyes [Slice of life][2013][Complete]

[Goblin Maiden]

I'll be updating this first post periodically with my abridged progress... For those who want to follow along more closely, I'll be posting on my Tumblr.

3/25: COMPLETE! It's done, guys! I'm happy to be able to share this with you and I hope you get something positive out of it. You can download it here:

Stars in Their Eyes Game



It’s free, and should work on Mac, PC, and Linux.

I’d appreciate any constructive feedback you might have to give. I hope you get something positive out of it, and thanks for checking it out!

3/21 Update: Okay, here's some more info on the game! It will be a slice of life linear novel, and playtime is about 5 minutes long. Here's a summary for the story:

Stars in Their Eyes
"Rena has always been a “Jill of all trades;” dabbling in one thing and getting bored, then moving on to the next. Though she’s majoring in business, it’s only because she has no idea what else to do with her life. On a day like any other, while on campus she spots a piano, and, remembering the days when she used to enjoy playing, decides to try it…"

I've finished the writing and coding for the main game itself, and am now trying to add an Extras gallery. Unfortunately, that's kind of kicking my arse. If you'd like to try helping me out (I'd be sooo grateful), I posted about it in more detail here.

3/19 Update! So Amy (the artist I was working with) and I both got caught up with our individual work responsibilities and as a result the writing and art for the otome/fantasy game did not get done. Amy is still busy, but things have calmed down for me a bit as I managed to get my productivity more systemetized and now I want to try this NaNoRenO thing again.

I scrapped my original idea and am now going for a far shorter, less complicated one. It's going to be a linear novel with 1,200 words, give or take. The script is all written out, and music, backgrounds, and sprites have been sourced from royalty-free sources. I have a new rough schedule to keep me on track.

I'm really having fun with this now that I've gotten back into it. This storyline has more meaning to me than the original idea, so that helps motivate me, as well.

First plan: Unmask! Keep my Secret
Okay, so! I have written stories before, but I suck at finishing them. I've drawn a bit before, but again, I suck at motivating myself to clean up said drawings, etc. And I have never made a visual novel before.

So what am I doing trying to make one now? In the space of a month?! o_O Have mercy.

Basically I didn't know about NaNoRenO going on until... uh, today. XD And now I've decided that it would be a glorious adventure indeed to attempt it. Because deadlines and accountability and whoo! I have no idea what I'm doing and I don't know if I'll be able to finish, but it seems like it will be a fun challenge. Worst case scenario, I crash and burn and have no VN. Best case, I have a VN!

So I'm already one day late in getting in on the shenanigans. I've browsed around the other threads a bit, and here's my gameplan:

Story (aka figure out what the heck I'm going to make this VN about): 1 day.
Writing: 7 days.
Art: 7 days.
Music (as in finding free-use music): 3 days.
Programming (this is where I basically blindfold myself and jump in headfirst): 7+ days.

Take note that this is a rough estimate from a total VN beginner.

3/2: Rough plot summary and characters.
3/5: Now collaborating with obsessionaboutillusions (Tumblr username)! She'll be handling the art and also helping me with the story/characters, and other things. :3
3/19: Totally scrapping the fantasy/otome game idea. See the top of this post.

[rock_an9el]

I too have a problem with finishing what I start. Well, at least I'm not the only one! ^^''
I would like to know more about the story, so I'll wait patiently until the update.
I whish you luck with finishing the project!

[Goblin Maiden]

Thank you! I really appreciate you wishing me luck. Right now I might be collaborating with someone on the story/characters, so it may or may not change a little. We'll see!

[rock_an9el]

You're welcome! I would love to help you, but I'm a beginner myself ^^''
But I really hope you will succeed

[Goblin Maiden]

Hi everyone! Just updating to say that I am now collaborating with a lovely person whom I found through Tumblr. We're both fans of otome and she's kindly taken over the art aspect, as well as helping me with finding free resources and scheming up the story/characters, etc. I'm really excited because this will take a load off my shoulders, as well as being super fun and exciting to work with someone so nice with the same interest in otome games/visual novels.

I think she'll pop in to introduce herself in person sooner or later, so I'll shroud her in mystery for now (except not really because if you go on my Tumblr you can totally figure out who it is through there XD).

Anyway, I'm really excited to be working with her and I think there's a better chance of this VN getting done within the month, now. YAAAAY!

[Goblin Maiden]

Hope this post doesn't count as unwarranted bumping. I just wanted to tell you all that I significantly changed my NaNoRenO project idea from the initial concept; the first post has been updated with the story behind that.

How are you all doing with your games? I'll be checking out some threads just to get to know what others are up to and comment if I feel it's suitable, but please feel free to let me know what you're up to yourselves.

[blahblah0625]

You should make a complete thread for this, not just in the WiP
But I'll be reporting back with my feed.

[Goblin Maiden]

I did, it's right here. Thanks for your future feedback!