SideQuest [Parody, Fantasy] [ADV/NVL] !!STATUS UPDATE!!

[Giovedi]

'Sup, Giovedi here. Long story short, I've been drowning schoolwork and paid work, and thought I'd throw together a short game as stress relief.

SideQuest is a JRPG-esque fantasy that leans on the Fourth Wall, and can't be arsed to take itself too seriously. It's hardly ambitious, with one True End and a few premature joke endings. One can also unlock little extras (epilogue, character notes) by picking certain choices-- 'specially the silly ones.

This thread is mostly for reporting progress, but I'll also use it to beg for scripting help, asset collection, etc. I'm cheap like that.

PROGRESS REPORT
- LAST UPDATED: JULY 02, 2013 -

Bonus Room sample up! A scrapped CG of Flonnan, prior to her final design.

--- CURRENT ANNOUNCEMENT

I've been slow because of work. Beggin' your pardon.

--- PREMISE

Don't dress for the job you have; dress for the job you want.

This advice works as well for aspiring adventurers as it does for dead-end salarymen. When small-small-small-time demonslayers Merle and Amphelis trade in their 'cannon fodder' clothes for outfits worthy of their genre, opportunities to commit wanton acts of heroism spill towards them from every angle. Among these opportunities is a proposition from Flonnan; a young priestess inexplicably drawn to their newly-acquired fashion sense.

Flo's been having a little trouble at the temple, see. Her sister's restless soul has been plaguing her, driving away worshippers and adventurers who might otherwise consider romancing her benefit from its healing waters. Flo's done all she can to keep big sis in check, but it looks like she'll need a little outside help...


--- CHARACTERS

-- THE DESIGNATED GOOD GUYS

- Merle Lirua
The hot-blooded half of our ghostbustin' duo. He takes himself more seriously than most people take him. Without Amphelis to temper his impulses, they'd be up to their eyeballs in hoaxes. Leans quite heavily on the Fourth Wall. It's a darn good thing he isn't the narrator, or else he'd have already fallen through it.

- Amphelis Sylvais
Laid-back and glib, Amphelis plays the 'thinker' to Merle's 'doer'. Although he humours Merle's thirst for fortunate and fame, he's less materialistic than his ectoplasm-thirsty partner. Does the Brock thing and keeps his eyes perma-closed. Even he doesn't know how he manages that...

- Flonnan
A young priestess with luxurious, pink anime locks and a 'shy streak' just a few shades short of moe. Abuses her 'kawaii-factor' as best she can. Source of many a joke ending. Kind of a fujoshi. It's awful.


-- THE SORT-OF-OBNOXIOUS-BUT-NOT-EXACTLY-BAD GUYS

- Jackpot (Party Registration No. 0777)
An impractically-dressed, obnoxiously attractive trio who've got the stats to back up their vanity. Thyme, Parsley, and Rosemary are your archetypical tank/speedster/healer party, and boy howdy have they mastered the setup. Although you wouldn't know it by their attitude, they're somewhat insecure about their competence when separated from each other.

They won't tell you to prepare for trouble, but anyone who finds themselves at odds with these three better make it double.


-- AND EVERYBODY ELSE

- Yvalen
Flonnan's late 'neesan and spectral nuisance. Despite Flo's best attempts at placating her restless soul, she's none too happy with this 'undead' business. The temple Yvalen once lovingly kept has become her personal patch of haunting ground...


--- FINICKY PARTICULARS

Side Quest spends 90% of its time in NVL-mode, with adventure-style cutscenes for pertinent moments. I'll need lots of ambient music/SFX/natural soundscapes for the sake of atmosphere. Unfortunately, I don't know where to get any of these assets free...


--- 'CAPS, ASSETS, ETC.

No need to get up in her face, Parsley.

Lookit those puppy dog eyes.

[merdeamour]

I've heard a lot of people talking about Jamendo for free tracks. I haven't checked it out, though, and I don't know their terms of use (for the different artists uploading there)...

The art is pretty eye-catching, and I'm looking forward to this, since this is a parody and this looks like it has oodles of humor in it. I'll be keeping an eye on this thread~!

Sadly, I can't help you with programming or music assets ): I'll just be cheering you on xD

[gekiganwing]

First, I searched for "creative Commons music," and found the Free Music Archive, SampleSwap, and ccMixter. Hopefully you'll find useful material on at least one of these sites.

Second, I have been a console RPG fan since 1989. While my enthusiasm has been decreasing over the last five years, I'm still active in fandom. So I will be looking forward to seeing what sort of comedy you write.

Third, your cartoonish art caught my eye. Also hoping to see more of it.

[pickle131]

I love the style of this and how unique it looks! I like to use this site when looking for music for my VN. http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/

[CheeryMoya]

Make this happen. I'm in love with the idea and your art.

What types of ambient music do you want? Something nature-y or more on the side of fantasy? I second the recommendation on Free Music Archive and Jamendo (look at the license first before you get too enamored with a track though). Nosoapradio is also becoming a quick favorite of mine, the music there is more suited for action/RPG type games. I advise you to go to Incompetech last; the site is easy to navigate, but so many people have used his music in the games here that it get repetitive fast.

If you need help with programming, come to me after you've finished the script and art assets. I'd be more than happy to lend a hand on something like this.

[Geckos]

This sounds and looks really fun. Good luck! Looking forward to a demo.

[Giovedi]

REPLIES

Thanks for the support and suggestions, friendos! I'm glad to have resources that aren't TAM or Kevin McLeod, as much as I love them both.

@Geckos, CheeryMoya, pickle131:

Grateful for your interest and aid, guys-- every little thing counts when you're new to the game-making, uh, game. :'D

To be honest, I was a little self-conscious about the art style, seeing as it's not awfully mainstream in both Eastern and Western OELVNs. Happy to hear it's well-received.


NEW WIP SAMPLE: CHUNK O' DRAFT

I come bearing a chunk of draft featuring three minor characters who appear a grand total of thrice(!) over the story's course. They're the Team Rocket to Merle and co.'s Ash, Misty and Brock, albeit a hundred times more competent.

Their sprites shouldn't take more than a couple days to complete. I've already got sketches.

Behind us stood a young man, clad in a tight leather ensemble that must've been three-quarters belts and zippers. A girl in a modest white dress huddled by his right, clutching a staff; while to his left, a woman wearing the equivalent of armored lingerie stood with arms akimbo.

Inadequacy dribbled over me, thick as the fatty remnants of boiled Jellapie that I'd been assaulted with before.

T'was clear to see: These three were no ordinary adventurers.

Neither Merle nor I knew them by name, but their flawless hair and impractically stylish clothes told volumes of their status. I was willing to bet all the G in our inventory that his unnervingly obvious weapon had won him legions of groupies.

That 6-foot katana strapped to his back wasn't terribly discreet, either.

"You can stop staring now," she said...

[Giovedi]

Updated Amph and Merle's sprites. Amph got gold-er and Merle got a pimped out capey thing. His getup looked kind of plain compared to everyone else's. :'D

[merdeamour]

Oh my. They're gorgeous. -switches stalker mode to on- I'm cheering you on! (:

[Obscura]

I love your art; the style is fabulous.

[CheeryMoya]

To be honest, I was a little self-conscious about the art style, seeing as it's not awfully mainstream in both Eastern and Western OELVNs. Happy to hear it's well-received.

Psh, who cares about being mainstream. If it's polished art it's all good. In fact, it's the biggest reason as to why this WIP caught my eye.

That excerpt might be too descriptive, but if it's in NVL mode (I'm assuming it is) then it should be fine. I definitely like where this is going so far. A suggestion on the names though; you should color code them according to their hair/clothing. Amphelis's name is in gold on that screenshot you attached and since all of the characters have gold on their clothing, it'll be hard to distinguish them from each other.

[Giovedi]

@Moya:

Yes indeedly, this thing is like 90% NVL mode. Cutscenes are for flavour, because...

All right, no excuses: It's because I'm one person who can't tackle so much art all at once. :'D There'll be what, 5 CGs? Anyway, I'll keep color-coding in mind! Thanks a bunch.

Moving on. Sprite Update! What's a JRPG parody without an impractically dressed fanservice antagonist? This is Parsley, the 'James' of her Team Rocket knockoff trio. She's a direct foil to shy, sexually underconfident Flonnan.

[Googaboga]

I'm certainly sold on this premise. The characters look fantastic as well.

I can't wait to see the rest of Parsley's gang C:

[Giovedi]

Thanks kindly, Googaboga!

Team Not-Rocket's got a grand total of 3 cutscenes planned out, so I'm trying to make their designs a little more memorable(!) than Team Not-Ash's. Glad to see they're well-received... so far, aheheh.

Also, is your avatar from Flint: The Time Detective? I think I'm going to scream.

[Googaboga]

Oh great I'm glad they are getting some scenes. I love Team Rocket so I have a feeling I'll like these guys.

Yep my avatar is from Flint the Time Detective :>. You gotta love Merlock.