Looking for a team for a visual novel

[LG65]

So, I mentioned that I am making a visual novel. I, however, failed to mention that it is for school (I'm in a college for video game development), so I'm not sure how the whole recruitment thing will work (plus as a guy with autism, I am not comfortable relying on my classmates, due to my lack of social skills and my inability to convey what I feel).

So, here's the basic story:

A young high-functioning autistic man down on his luck on love and friendship... People easily misunderstand him, despite his good intentions of making friends and hopefully getting a girlfriend. But a chance encounter with seven girls at a food court in Toronto makes his confidence grow and he is willing to extend his friendship with these seven girls from a university in New Brunswick.

So, under the feedback I've been getting, I have decided to recruit the following positions to start:

1) Artist
2) Writer for dialogue and screenplay
3) Editor for my storywriting
4) Composer

Eventually, will recruit:

5) Voice actors

More details can be found here:
http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewto ... 16&t=18906

If you are interested, please PM, leave a comment or e-mail me at luise465@hotmail.com.

[Biomass]

Would a random band of internet strangers be able to meet school deadlines? Seems like a risky proposition for you.

[Tsuyuri]

Hey LG65~

First let me tell you I certainly understand how difficult it might be to feel comfortable with recruiting people in RL, especially in a place like school where you tend to be daily (I myself have Autism also so I know it’s far from easy to deal with social interactions)

But what Biomass says is indeed something quite correct. Making a Visual Novel will take time and depending on the size and complexity of it will take more than just months to complete. One thing to keep in mind is that (I might be mistaken here) that most people on Lemma soft are people who do their work as a ‘hobby’. This means that they aren't working at it literally 24 hours a day and if you look back at the difficulty of the VN the reason for the long production time starts to pop up. The artist, the composer, the writer all those people have their own lives to attend to aside from working on the project.

That aside while I think meeting a solid deadline like a school project will be difficult I’m looking forward to hearing more about the tale, especially since it’s a tale that tackles certain subjects (like people with a handicap) that are rarely done or pictured wrongly (like some movies)

[Auro-Cyanide]

Ah, if this is school then you better give people a heads up on the timeframe. Unless you have the whole year for this project, then what you are planning (7+ characters, 70 CGs) is most likely unsustainable from an artists point of view. It is correct most of us do this as a hobby, most people have school, uni, work, social stuff, that severely restricts time.

And I agree with the other guys, working with people in your class who are also trying to meet the same deadline would be infinitely more reliable than internet people. People drop out all the time here, especially if they aren't getting paid. Relying on these people for a grade is risking business. Also, if you are doing these courses as a way to get into game development, working with other people and the difficulties that come with it is something you are going to have to learn. It's one of the main reasons colleges and unis often force you to do group work, so you get the skills you need to function in a work place so that you can be hired.

[LG65]

OK... A quick update. I'm actually going to flesh out a working demo, given the feedback I got. All the listed features will likely come and/or fleshed out during the summertime.

I guess you guys are bang on about this whole school business. I'm going to try and get help from other classmates (if possible). But just in case it falls through, having "internet people" as the staff will suffice for the time being...

[CheeryMoya]

Making a visual novel for school? That's alright, except your game is too ambitious right now. 7 or so love interests, 70 CGs estimated, and a game set in school that will probably span a year? Waaaaaaay too much work if you want to do this for your class.

Let me tell you straight up: keep at that plan and you probably won't make it. You need to cut down to maybe 2 or 3 love interests, or a mostly linear game. Make sure you have back up plans for art and music (try looking here for placeholders) since people are very likely to drop out of a project if they're not getting paid. Think small, especially if this is your first step into VN devving.

[FatUnicornGames]

Making a visual novel for school? That's alright, except your game is too ambitious right now. 7 or so love interests, 70 CGs estimated, and a game set in school that will probably span a year? Waaaaaaay too much work if you want to do this for your class.

Let me tell you straight up: keep at that plan and you probably won't make it. You need to cut down to maybe 2 or 3 love interests, or a mostly linear game. Make sure you have back up plans for art and music (try looking here for placeholders) since people are very likely to drop out of a project if they're not getting paid. Think small, especially if this is your first step into VN devving.

You can always add more later too.

[Aux10]

I'm somewhat interested but first some questions before I comment further:

1.) What is the timeline for this project? Is it due at the end of the month? Semester? Graduation? the year 3000? By when to you need certain parts done?
2.) How essential is this project to your grade? Is this a sink or swim thing, or is it more like a letter grade.
3.) Are you willing to down size the game to a more manageable workload? As you are an aspiring developer, I'd recommend you start small. Don't bite off more than you can chew. What are your instructors/professors actually expecting of you? Are you over blowing it? You can always add more to the story later.
4.) How serious are you about this? Is this a project you're confident you can see through to the end?

Your instructors/professors are there to not only teach you but to guide you as well. If you haven't tried doing so already have you tried talking to them about the issues you're having creating a group with your class mates? I'm sure at least one of them would be willing to help. While face to face communication is the most effective way to get things done you can always use other ways to communicate with your class mates until you get to know them better. You have tools such as email, AIM, IRC, Skype, Phone, Text Messaging, etc. Baby steps. Once you get more comfortable working with them maybe then you can start working together in person. I'm sure there are many understanding individuals among your classmates who'd be willing to work with and accommodate you; finding them is the hard part.

[AwkwardxSilence]

may i help as an editor?