Between the Lines [GxB][Fantasy][NaNoRenO 2016][Complete!]

[missxtake]

About
Bianca is living with her parents and halfheartedly studying to try to get into college. She doesn't really know what she'd want to do there, to be honest, but her parents want her to be there -- and they make it very clear that she's to start doing something about it, very soon.
Deciding to take a break and try to focus on something else, Bianca picks up a novel (with a pretty ribbon attached to its spine) titled "Sage of the Sea" at a vintage bookstore. While she's reading, though, she suddenly feels a bad headache coming on, and decides to sleep through the pain...

Characters
Pictures soon


Bianca
Protagonist. Not in Education, Employment, or Training. Doesn't want to study for exams anymore, but does so to satisfy her parents. Thinks to herself a lot, so tends to get quiet around other people. Has a curious disposition, despite everything.

Ettore

An astronomer living alone, self-studying magic and doing alchemy on the side. It's in his nature to be cynical, but tries to see the best in people, and focus on the brighter side of things. In his spare time, he likes to go stargazing. He warms up to you once you've been around for a while. Owns a collection of maps.

Cecil

A wolf. He passes through human towns and civilization with his pack every now and then, and looks upon those memories fondly. Has only ever been around wolves, so isn't used to being around humans. He has an abundance of physical strength, as all wolves do, but doesn't like the idea of fighting, and tries to avoid it.

Hey there!
Nice to meet you! I'm Joey, and I'm working on this game along with three of my friends. They're pretty swell! While I and our sprite artist, Seroft, have experience with otome games, the other two don't, and for all of us, this - making a game - is our first time. So if you have any feedback (we're still in the production stage), we'd love to hear from you! And we hope you enjoy our game!

edit 3/12: We're a bit tied up in terms of art, unfortunately. If you'd like, though, you can have the preliminary sketches for our characters, right here.
edit again, 3/12: Bianca's bust shot is up.
edit 3/15: Cecil is up.
edit 3/18: Ettore is here.

[keelan]

Eyyo, welcome! I hope you all enjoy your stay!

The premise is the common 'transported to another world (via book)' trope, but I'm curious how the characters mix up! An astronomer and wolf? Cool! I don't see much astronomers in media, and I've certainly never seen this combination before. Their personalities look pretty good, although I'm a bit biased because I like these types of characters x)

Feedback! I only have a few points to raise right now:

1) Can I assume that the NEET aspect of Bianca will be a major part of the story? Some backstory and explanation would be great, in the sense that we get some insight on how she thinks of it/what her parents think/what she thinks of her parents thinking

2.) I'm a low-key fan of astronomy (I take information as it comes and goes), so I'm hoping Ettore isn't all that gimmicky. Maybe a short lesson about stars or something? Even small references would be a fun addition, I think

3.) For Cecil, it's just a question: is he an actual wolf wolf or is it more 'werewolf'-styled? From the description, it sound like the former (how's his route going to work though?) but either way, it's a nice spin on a wolfish personality. I'm excited to learn more about him!

Other than that, I'm looking forward to more updates. Have fun with your first game~

[missxtake]

Eyyo, welcome! I hope you all enjoy your stay!

The premise is the common 'transported to another world (via book)' trope, but I'm curious how the characters mix up! An astronomer and wolf? Cool! I don't see much astronomers in media, and I've certainly never seen this combination before. Their personalities look pretty good, although I'm a bit biased because I like these types of characters x)

Feedback! I only have a few points to raise right now:

1) Can I assume that the NEET aspect of Bianca will be a major part of the story? Some backstory and explanation would be great, in the sense that we get some insight on how she thinks of it/what her parents think/what she thinks of her parents thinking

2.) I'm a low-key fan of astronomy (I take information as it comes and goes), so I'm hoping Ettore isn't all that gimmicky. Maybe a short lesson about stars or something? Even small references would be a fun addition, I think

3.) For Cecil, it's just a question: is he an actual wolf wolf or is it more 'werewolf'-styled? From the description, it sound like the former (how's his route going to work though?) but either way, it's a nice spin on a wolfish personality. I'm excited to learn more about him!

Other than that, I'm looking forward to more updates. Have fun with your first game~

Hello! Thanks for your input, hehe. Also, I feel like I was pretty vague in the OP; so I guess I'll go into more detail here on what you've asked. Let's see...

1.) Bianca's being a NEET will, indeed, be a major plot point. (I definitely should have stated that in the OP.) She doesn't feel good about it, and it's worsened by the fact that her parents make their disapproval heavy and apparent. Within their household, it's gotten to the point where it's all they talk about... and Bianca doesn't like that, either; and although she understands how they feel and why they feel it, it's still a weight on her. I feel like it'd be better for me to leave her backstory to the actual vn; hope you don't mind.

2) There will absolutely be Ettore talking about stars. I'm a low-key fan of astronomy, too; so I hope you'll enjoy what I have in mind for this!

3) It's actually a little more like the latter; he and his race are wolves in the sense that they travel in packs and live in the wild, but for the most part, their physical features/qualities are human-like. Also, thank you! I'm glad you like him, hehe.

[missxtake]

Bianca's bust shot is up! It's different from the sketch, but that's a good change.

[keelan]

Thanks for answering my questions! I'll leave it up for the game to answer the rest.

Bianca's looking good! The pastely watercolour style is gorgeous, and it suits the whole 'story-esque' thing with a hint of picture book flavour. And her hairstyle! Nice! I really really like it.

I also like Cecil's sketch. There's something about him that tickles my fancy; I think it's the boots and long hair? Dunno, I'm a fan of that xP Ettore's clothes are pretty dashing as well. I can't wait to see their finished sprites~

Keep up the great work!

[missxtake]

Logo up, by the talented toots! She's also our artist for things like backgrounds, and the UI.

[Hi.In.Ni]

Slow and steady wins the race! Don't give up, you can do it!

How long /difficult will the game be?

[missxtake]

Slow and steady wins the race! Don't give up, you can do it!

How long /difficult will the game be?

Ahhh, thank you so much. And hey, I've seen your game around. Good luck to you too!!

To answer your question, it will likely not be very difficult. There are choices to make and all, but they don't branch too much or anything, so...! Also, as of now, I'm not sure as to how long the game will be. I'm sorry!! My only hope is that it won't be too long. Right now we're at around 3,465 words.

[MimirollCookie]

The story looks...... Cool and made me cry.

[missxtake]

The story looks...... Cool and made me cry.

Thank you, I'm glad you think so! Why cry, though...??

[Harliqueen]

This sounds awesome! I'm really liking the characters, and the sketches.

Good luck with NaNo, can't wait for the finished game!

[missxtake]

This sounds awesome! I'm really liking the characters, and the sketches.

Good luck with NaNo, can't wait for the finished game!

Aaahhh!! Thank you so much! Good luck with your NaNoRenO game, too!!

[missxtake]

Oof. Having trouble getting the image in the main post, but here's Cecil's bust shot:



Hopefully I can update the main post to have this later, but for now, whoa! It's here!

[missxtake]

It's been a while, but we're chuggin' along alright.
Sorry for the wait! Here's Ettore's bust shot:

[missxtake]

Hi!! I'm sorry for the radio silence, everyone; life got in the way for a little bit, and I thought it'd be best to focus on the script. Next time I do this, if ever, I'll try to be more consistent with updates. For now, though, here's what's happened:

The script is pretty much done! A few parts of it still need to go through editing, but it's done!! (And way longer than I thought it'd be, but that's fine, I guess?) As soon as our editor comes along we can finish it up for real.

Sadly, there are no CGs. But hopefully the rest of the game makes up for it.

The sprites are done! I'm not sure if I should post them here, or not since we'll be posting the finished game and a thread for it soon.

Thank you to everyone who's kept this game in their minds despite my lack of updates. I'll do better next time (if there is one), promise. :')