Hi, I'm a 22 year old software and web developer a year out of college looking to create a high-quality VN. Already involved are a 32 year-old writer, an 18-year old writer, and a 23 year old hobbyist programmer. The first few scenes are done, up to the point where the protagonist meets the heroines, though it still needs further proofreading and editing.
Story
This project is a visual novel about a young adult male protagonist with an interest in web and software development. After a year of struggling to find a job in his field after finishing university with a degree in Computer Science, with the help of his old friend from university, he's hired by a small business as a junior programmer. He's put on a team of 3 young women who are also the heroines of the story: a front-end programmer, a back-end programmer, and a UX/UI Designer. The story encompasses a web-development project that they work on over the course of a year, as well as the relationship between the protagonist and the heroine that he falls in love with.
Genre
Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance
Scope
This is a small to medium sized project and will probably include between 5 and 10 hours of total gameplay (possibly longer if everything goes better than expected). With that, this will almost certainly take over a year and possibly 2 (maybe even longer). If you cannot be sure that you'll be available for the entirety of the project, I'd rather you didn't apply. This is not including temporary absence of course; vacations are fine as long as they aren't 3+ months long since that would definitely put you far behind schedule in your role in the project.
The Heroines
Note: Traits are subject to change
関口・純子 Sekiguchi, Junko
- UI/UX designer
- Outgoing
- Very social / extroverted
- Otaku
- Can be a little demanding
- Has a dream of starting her own business
久川・志月 Hisakawa, Shizuki
- Backend programmer + database manager
- Very experienced
- Started programming at a young age
- Has equivalent of master’s degree
- Somewhat shy (towards non-friends)
- Pure-hearted
- Soft spoken
- Very invested in her work and easily absorbed by it
- Introverted
- Hates lewdness and perversion
- Lives with her mother and stepfather
(No, we don't have a 3D artist, this was created using the CM3D2 character creator)
高町・香 Takamachi, Kaori
- Frontend programmer
- Childish appearance
- Insecure about said childish appearance
- Easily irritated
- Has her head easily in the clouds (can be a little quirk that helps her design skills)
Positions
If you can assume more than one of these roles, expect a bigger revenue cut and a bigger say in the development of this project.
Looking for a modern anime style that's polished and cute, but not overly cute (see the 3D mockups). The sprite artist will be in charge of all in-game sprites including all expressions and outfits. There will likely be around 10-14 unique characters with between 1 and 3 poses each (1 for minor characters, 3 for most important), but this can change depending on budget. Minor characters might have between 3-5 facial expressions while major characters may have between 8 and 12. You must be willing to make changes to your work on request, but I am reasonable and will not attempt to take advantage of you to try and squeeze free work out of you.
Looking for a polished style with a character style similar to the sprite artist that can also draw accurate and aesthetically-pleasing backgrounds. If you can also do backgrounds, that's definitely a plus. There will likely be between 20 and 40 CG's, depending on the budget. You may also be asked to do promotional artwork including the cover of the game.
Looking for a polished style good at drawing scenes of realistic subject matter (suburban, urban, office) that wouldn't look out of place in modern Japan. As long as they're high-quality, I'm not pick in regards to style as long as it doesn't clash with anime-styled sprites. There will likely be between 10 and 20 backgrounds in total, depending on the budget.
Looking for someone to design a high-quality logo that fits the theme of the project.
Looking for someone to design a high-quality UI that fits the theme of the project. Includes message window, title menu, backlog, gallery, possibly others.
Looking for a composer that can compose a soundtrack for the game. As long as it's high quality music, I'm not too picky, but I'm looking for background music that fits a VN, that's catchy with unique and memorable melodies, and that has a subtle techy vibe to go with the programming theme. The number of tracks may vary depending on the budget, but chances are there will be 8 at the very minimum.
We already have 2 writers, but neither are native English speakers and I, the project manager and one of the programmers, am the only native English speaker doing editing to make sure dialogue and expressions are natural from an English speaker's perspective. I'd like to find another writer that is especially well-versed in English and has a fair amount of writing experience. I'd also accept a proofreader or editor who can spot unnatural dialogue and opportunities for better wording or even jokes.
Financial Compensation & Funding
As a young adult working an entry-level position and working towards buying a house in an area with ridiculous real-estate prices, I could probably only afford to put at most a few thousand of my own money into this projects in its entirety. Other members may also contribute, but it currently doesn't seem like this would add much extra. We are very likely going to start a Kickstarter for this project for the majority of the funding, but we would be relying on its success for the success of the project. If you are applying as an artist, I can pay you out of my pocket for the promotional art required for the Kickstarter page, as long as you plan to stay for the duration of the project. If you're alright with taking a risk and doing work on the project for free or for reduced rates, then you can get a cut of the profits of the final product with a rate that factors in the amount of time and effort you put in. This would also reduce the required Kickstarter goal and make it more likely to succeed.
SFW or 18+?
Actually, this hasn't been decided yet. We're currently leaning towards SFW, but there is a possibility of adding adult content as an add-on or option in the configuration. If there is adult content, it will not be overly extreme, perhaps comparable to Katawa Shoujo. If you're a CG artist thinking of applying and you're uncomfortable with drawing adult content, that's fine, we'll probably just forego adding it altogether if you end up as our artist.
Does this project have a name?
We currently have "Syntactic Sugar" as a working name that may change in the future.
How much will the final product be sold for?
Probably around $5 USD. If it turns out better than expected, and we believe it's worth it, maybe up to $10 USD.
Communication
All communication is currently done through Discord and the shared Google Doc that we're currently using for the script.
The discussion of the project in Discord is currently located in role-specific channels of this server. [link removed] Please state your intentions in the initial channel and you will be provided with the proper role to access and post in the VN-related channels.
If you don't have Discord at this point, you can also pm me.
Applications
For your application, please use the following template:
LSF username: (Self explanatory)
Role(s) being applied for: (Self explanatory)
Name: (Doesn't have to be your real name, just what you want to be called)
Age: (If you feel comfortable sharing this, you can leave this blank. Though, if you're under 16, you're probably too young to join this project)
Previous experience: (State your experience doing what you're applying to do for the project)
Notable works: (Profile link to Pixiv, DeviantArt, SoundCloud, etc.)
When are you available: (Include your timezone)
Notes: (Anything else you feel to add)
You can apply through the Discord server above in the general channel of the VN category once you receive the required role (this will be public to other staff), or you can PM me here for a private application. I have access to Discord and internet all day so the longest you'll probably ever have to wait for a reply is 8h. Applications will be accepted until we've filled every role.