Terminal Love [Aromantic] [Flash VN]

[MoPark]

TERMINAL LOVE
An English-language visual novel developed for Flash in ActionScript 3.

Expected Rating: Teen (13+)
Expected Release: 25 August 2012
WEBSITE: http://www.mabdulra.net/

Screenshots

Title Screen

http://www.majhost.com/gallery/yoropa/t ... llove3.png
Introductory Dialogue Screen

Premise
You turn on your computer, the XAVIER-256, to discover that it has suffered a staggering 2,602 online attacks, rendering your internet access completely non-existent. Equipped with little more than a low-level computer and your own volition, you must journey throughout the realm of kindred AI and rocking chiptune in a terminal-based “visual” novel adventure to discover who, or what, wants you offline.

Brief Demo
The title screen is actually an audio visualizer that reacts to the main title theme for the game, I hear the sound of waves by 4mat. You can see this in the first screenshot, but a screenshot doesn’t do enough justice for it, which is why I hosted the file online. There are a couple things to note about this though. First, I did not code a pre-loader for this demo, so it may take a bit to load. Second, the actual title message will not display, this is just a demo for the visualizer.

http://www.mabdulra.net/terminal/

If the visualizer is not working, please close all applications in your browser that use Flash.
If the problem still persists, please let me know so I can go fix that!

Development Discussion
This is where I'll post semi-frequent updates.

8 August 2012
My current progress:

* 8 endings confirmed
* Script is almost complete, finishing up the final portions of it right now]
* Fully coded and debugged early portions of the game, coding will continue later today
* All art assets have been made and are ready for implementation
* All mini-games have been debugged, coded, and implemented
* Title screen and certain other in-game graphics require a recoding, will work on that near end of development
* Obtained trustworthy playtesters who are on hold as I complete this
* Majority of required music has either been found (royalty-free) or is in the process of being made

Starting the Conversation
This is mostly for me to post development updates, but I also would like to know how people are reacting to this. It isn't like most visual novels in that this is more text-based than anything, as you can see from the graphics, and I'm curious what people's reactions to that are. I always welcome comments, questions, and concerns. So please, don't be shy!

[MoPark]

It's a couple days later and I've made tremendous progress. I realize this game doesn't fit the standard expected by lovey-dovey visual novels, but I'll be damned if I ain't working my hardest on this. Let's just confirm some things I suppose for today:

11 August 2012
* The script that I fully wrote is about 30k words and I wrote that in under 2 weeks.
* Today and today only, I coded 21 frames of the game.
* When I last posted, my progress on the final beta was at 0% It is now at 37.5%
* My playtesters have been selected and they are awaiting my final beta, which I expect to have done on 13 August or 14 August.

Here's an example of artwork that will appear in game, since it DOES have graphics, surprisingly enough:

The image is 16 colors total.

I'll post again after the beta is sent out, probably just to say "hey guys, beta is out!"
This is rapidly approaching release, so I do hope there's at least one person on this forum who is semi-excited.

If not, I'd like to hear comments why not, since that would help me greatly. Thank you!

[chocojax]

I'm excited! I just forgot to comment on this earlier, haha. Sorry, orz.

I tested out the demo for the visualizer thing, and it's pretty cool. So fun to watch.
The background beats(??) from the beginning kinda make my heart pump in a strange way, but that was mainly because my volume was too loud, haha. The song sounds really good once it starts going through! I loved it.

I really like the idea of having the old-kinda look of the text and everything else, and trying to find out who sent all of the attacks. ): Interested in the way that you find out and how the gameplay/reading will be like.
Also, the artwork+screenshot is cool. Sorry for not saying much, no idea what to say! Just that I'm looking forward to the beta.

Good luck with finishing the beta!

[saguaro]

I am automatically in favor of anything not-Japanese-highschool-teenage-romance and I'm interested in playing this.

I think the lack of response is because the details are so scant at this point. The concept is interesting because it's different, but it's also very vague. I know there are mini-games (yay) and multiple endings, and that sounds good, but I don't know much else. (I actually didn't post before because I was interested but didn't have enough information to respond to.)

If this is a non-commercial game (I assume it is) you don't have to be too protective of details. Even if most of the game is text screens, adding those screenshots gives us a feel for your writing. The ss you linked tells us more about the game's personality than the game blurb does, IMO. I expect more buzz when you release the game and people can actually see what it's about, but you can probably get some early buzz now if you release a demo or at least some more screens and summary info.

[TheTourist]

Chiming in to support any VN that explores non-Japanese high school environments; the neat-looking GUI and the irreverent AI only add to the appeal. As Saguaro said, however, with few additional screens and excerpts, it's hard to make much of a comment.

Of course, the visualizer alone gets my attention, so I'm definitely going to try out the demo.

[MoPark]

Thanks for your feedback, and I think you're right in that I tend to be protective of details a lot more than I should with these WIPs. : P

In good news, the game's beta is at 100% and we are in the playtesting phase! I made a website for the game as well:
http://www.mabdulra.net/

This includes a couple more screens of writing, which I know isn't much, but it's at least a tad more informative on how this game reads and whatnot. Most the game is talking with AI and snooping about various online websites, including forums and FB-like profiles, all with the intent of figuring out what exactly happened to your computer during the initial attack.

Also as a fun little thing, try resizing the browser while on the site!

[saguaro]

I think the website really helps sell the concept. Looking forward to your release. Drop by post-release and update us on how things are going. I think people that enjoyed Digital: A Love Story will be drawn to this just by the aesthetics alone.

Also as a fun little thing, try resizing the browser while on the site!

I see what you did there sir.

[Victoria Jennings]

Woah, this looks awesome! 0:

I'll be watching this thread intently.

[MoPark]

I think people that enjoyed Digital: A Love Story will be drawn to this just by the aesthetics alone.

I had a small talk with Christine Love, the maker of that VN, regarding this one in terms of whether or not it is too similar and all that, and she seemed pretty okay with this project and all. She's actually in the Special Thanks section of the credits!

I'm glad there's people here who seem interested. : )

[MoPark]

Game comes out tomorrow.

Just a friendly fyi!

[Victoria Jennings]

Oh my gosh, seriously? Awesome! Can't wait to play! :'D