Jack-In-A-Castle [NaNo2019] [BxB, Fantasy] COMPLETED

[nemlei]

Hello!

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UPDATE:
HERE'S THE NOVEL!! Ahhh!!!!

https://nemlei.itch.io/jack-in-a-castle

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I'm taking on NaNo all by myself, but I'm feeling confident I'll pull through! I've already gotten the main menu working, and written/coded half (?) of the story.



~HERE'S THE STORY~

Jack-In-A-Castle is about a marionette who is looking for the missing king. To do so he becomes a servant at a warped castle, ruled by the temporary king Jack. A jack-in-the-box with a personality as delightful as a landmine. Marion will also meet a bubbly bunny plushie named Bunnie. Who is also looking for the king.



Here's Marion


Here's Jack


And here's Bunnie!


I've yet to finish any character sprites so take those placeholder sketches for now. Lol... I swear they'll be in color in the novel!

Any thoughts? This is a romance so I'm curious which route you'd go for. Jack or Bunnie?

Don't be confused by my art style. They're all dudes. All of them.

[Syrale]

This looks very good so far, I love your art style!
Both LIs seem very cute and cheeky, but I REALLY like Bunnie's design, so I think he's my favorite.
Can't wait to see what they all look like in color!

[nerupuff]

The menu! The background! The sprite sketches! They're all so CUTE! I love them, I love them all. I am so excited for this and I hope you'll be able to finish! I cannot wait for Jack to be colored (because I will definitely go for him). Those eyes just really get me.

[azaraih]

Wow, I love the art style on this! The background image of the castle is great, the colors on it are just really pleasing to look at. So far I think I like Jack the best, but I'm interested to find out more about everyone. Good luck with your game!

[Amiralo]

Jack. The fact he's a temporary ruler makes me wonder what he did to become king in the first place haha.

Love the art. Can't wait for the game to come out.

[nemlei]

This looks very good so far, I love your art style!
Both LIs seem very cute and cheeky, but I REALLY like Bunnie's design, so I think he's my favorite.
Can't wait to see what they all look like in color!

Thank you! I must admit I'm not sure myself what their colors are yet. But they're coming to me slowly. I do have some ideas but I haven't tried them out yet. Ahahha...

The menu! The background! The sprite sketches! They're all so CUTE! I love them, I love them all. I am so excited for this and I hope you'll be able to finish! I cannot wait for Jack to be colored (because I will definitely go for him). Those eyes just really get me.

Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you're excited. It makes me wanna work hard so I won't let you down!

Wow, I love the art style on this! The background image of the castle is great, the colors on it are just really pleasing to look at. So far I think I like Jack the best, but I'm interested to find out more about everyone. Good luck with your game!

Thanks!! I was juuust a little bit worried the background art was too cartoony, but now I'm glad I went with it.

Jack. The fact he's a temporary ruler makes me wonder what he did to become king in the first place haha.


Love the art. Can't wait for the game to come out.

Thank you! You shall find out soon >:D I'll do my best to get the novel out on time. Should be fine as long as I stick to my plan.


Ahhh thank you all again. Your encouraging feedback has made me feel welcome. <3

[Zelan]

Oh, wow!! Same thing that everyone above has already said but I really love the art style for both the sprites and the backgrounds! It's really unique, your VN definitely stands out with it.

It's really impressive that you've already written and coded so much of the story! Good luck on your NaNo, I'm excited to see more updates!

[Warden]

The art style is very interesting and not something seen often in VN's so I'm super excited to check it out when you release it! I'm probably most interested in Jack at the moment because there's something about landmine personalities that just draw me in. Good luck!

[LateWhiteRabbit]

Welcome to the forums!

I absolutely adore your art style. Great color and designs.

I have to say that I love any character design where the sleeves are longer than the person's arms, but I'd probably pursue the Bunnie route. Something about chasing rabbits....

Don't be confused by my art style. They're all dudes. All of them.

[nemlei]

Oh, wow!! Same thing that everyone above has already said but I really love the art style for both the sprites and the backgrounds! It's really unique, your VN definitely stands out with it.

It's really impressive that you've already written and coded so much of the story! Good luck on your NaNo, I'm excited to see more updates!

Thank you very much!
I must confess I'm only that far because I cut out a third route. It was getting a bit too big and I definitely would've missed the deadline then. Ahhhhh!

The art style is very interesting and not something seen often in VN's so I'm super excited to check it out when you release it! I'm probably most interested in Jack at the moment because there's something about landmine personalities that just draw me in. Good luck!

Thank you! Looks like we have something in common. I too, am drawn to landmines. Lol! Something about the unpredictability makes me interested.

Welcome to the forums!

I absolutely adore your art style. Great color and designs.

I have to say that I love any character design where the sleeves are longer than the person's arms, but I'd probably pursue the Bunnie route. Something about chasing rabbits....

Don't be confused by my art style. They're all dudes. All of them.

Thank you so much! I feel very welcome. <3
With your name and avatar chasing rabbits makes perfect sense!

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AND NOW FOR SOME UPDATES
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I've spent the Saturday slaving away at the code. Making sure the point system, if statements and whatnot are actually working (they are... I think.)

But I've also fiddled with color adjustments in Krita to
MAKE TWO BACKGROUNDS OUT OF ONE AHAHAHAH!!!





I hope it looks like the blue one is night-time and the other one is... All the other times.

[nerupuff]

Awesome backgrounds! It's pretty nifty to use color adjustments to make a background show what sort of time is going-on. Your BGs are so fun-looking and dynamic! Will those candles on the window sill ever light up?

[minyan]

I'm really digging this art style. I can't pick a favorite design, they're all so cute. And don't make me choose between Jack or Bunnie. I have to do both Dx

That BG looks amazing too! Keep up the great work!

[Zelan]

Awesome backgrounds! It's pretty nifty to use color adjustments to make a background show what sort of time is going-on. Your BGs are so fun-looking and dynamic! Will those candles on the window sill ever light up?

They do look like different times! I agree with nerupuff, I think it would be extra clear if the candles were lit in the nighttime BG, since that's when they're usually used. Amazing work, keep it up!

[nemlei]

I HAVE RETURNED FROM THE CRUNCHLANDS.

Thank you for the suggestion and kind words!

I went and tried lighting the candles and I think you're right. I like it better this way too.




I have the whole story down now with most of the art too. I'm still missing the main character Marion's finished sprites, and 2 backgrounds.
I have most of the audio, but I'm still mixing and matching what goes where. Turns out sound design was a whole new can of worms for me but heeeyyy. What can you do. It'll be fine.... It'll be fine... Yeah.


Heres the colors for Ronald McDonald Jack.


And Bunnie too!



Since Marion remains uncolored, here's my color map to give you an idea (HAHAHAH!!)



Here's some more bgs too.





Still with me? It's almost done!

[Wight]

Wow, I'm really digging these backgrounds! It's like a whimsical storybook, which I would say works really well with the character concepts you introduced so far and the Fantasy theme you tagged it as. Even if you think it might be too cartoony, I definitely wouldn't say it's a bad thing.
Even if they're all dudes, they're still cuties. It's a tough choice choosing between Bunnie and Jack. Bunnie immediately catches my interest for being the bigger cutie, but I really wonder about Jack's personality and how he handles being the temporary king.

It looks like you're making great progress so far, keep it up! You got this!