Kendo Crush! [BxG][April 2014 Update - Demo/KickStarter]

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PixelFade
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Kendo Crush! [BxG][April 2014 Update - Demo/KickStarter]

#1 Post by PixelFade »

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Playable Demo (2.0 - 01/04/2014)
Trailer
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Synopsis
After moving from America to the care of his uncle in Japan, the protagonist and his sister find themselves in the calm countryside town of Isokaze. His new quiet student life is short lived as he quickly finds himself brawling with the school's biggest bully. With his freshly labeled delinquent status, the school's mandatory policy of joining a club quickly becomes an impossible task. All groups are "not accepting new members". All groups, that is... except one.
Features
Kendo Crush! is a sports themed, slice of life visual novel with elements of dating-sim. With an incredible amount of choices available, the player can truly mold the storyline and interact with characters in a much more personalized way. Kendo Crush! features:
1. Full Voice Acting
2. Original Soundtrack
3. High Quality Artwork
4. Full HD 1080p
5. Fluid Gameplay
6. Dynamic Relationships
7. All Player choices impact the game
8. Multiple Endings

And that's just the tip of the iceberg!
Artwork
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Characters
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MC
The player chooses what they want MC to say or do, so the personality will vary greatly depending on the readers' reactions. Generally speaking, he appears nonchalant to other people. The distinctive personality options allows for the player to really interact with others the way they see fit.


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Yuuna Misaki
Yuuna is calm and reserved, rarely acting out from emotion. As vice president, she's a hard worker that does her job without complaining. Yuuna is popular with both guys and girls because of her personality and physical beauty. Although asked out frequently, she politely declines because her attention is focused elsewhere than on relationships.

History:
Yuuna grew up in a relatively standard home. However, she was overweight in her younger years and was often teased for being "fat." Throughout middle school and over the summer, she went through an intensive makeover, in appearance and fitness, that 'beautified' her; including a early development of her body. Now, everyone wants to be her friend... though she still remembers how people used to treat her.

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Kaori Itami
Kaori is the captain of the Kendo Club. She's overly forward and tomboyish. Kaori isn't afraid to speak her mind. With a strong sense of justice, she is quick to help those in need. On the flip side, she is easily aggravated and absolutely hates when people with strength misuse it.

History:
Grew up in an ordinary home. Was headstrong even as a little kid. Her parents wanted to give her a good outlet for her wellspring of energy and signed her up for martial arts classes. When she went to the dojo, she also found out about Kendo. Eventually she ended up going into it after becoming fascinated with the honor that came with the sport. Because of participating in a non-girly physical sport and having smaller womanly assets, Kaori is quite self-conscious.

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Shou Shinjirou
Shou is a second year student and a member of the Kendo Club. He's loud, obnoxious, and tries to act cool, but ends up with the reverse effect. Although people see him as annoying and even perverted, he is open minded and friendly, even being the first one to reach out to the Main Character. Shou is usually scheming up some sort of crazy plan. Once people get to know him, they find that he is a simpleton and a genuine person who's fun to be around.

History:
Shou actually came from a rich family... super rich as in whose Dad is the CEO of some noteworthy corporation or another. He found that wherever he went, as long as people saw him as a rich kid, it was freakishly hard to make genuine friends. As an extrovert, he needs friends. So his family sent him to Isokaze where no one knows about his background. Since then, Shou acts like a doofus to seem more approachable.

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Mayu Akemi
A member of the Kendo Club. Mayu is very soft spoken. She was raised in a strict and noble traditional household that can trace its lineage back to the time of shogun and samurai. She does her best to meet her father's expectations and high standards. She admires Shou and wishes she could also lead a carefree life. The paradigm of traditional grace.

History:
She comes from a famous family with a long history of achieving national level in Kendo. From a very young age, she has been strictly raised by her father to become a champion. Her father was a champion himself back in the day. She rebelled for the first time by attending Isokaze High instead of a school with a big-name Kendo Club, thus disappointing her dad.

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Nikki
Sugoku kawaii! The adorable, lively, slightly mischievous younger sister of the Main Character. She has an infallible spirit, remaining cheerful even throughout the most depressing events. She's confident, but also is worried about hurting other people's feelings. She dislikes conflict and feels really bad when other people think poorly of her. She's a touch snarky around her older brother.


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Hitoshi Kaito
Hitoshi is the man! All guys wish they were him. All the ladies want to date him. being Mr. Popular all throughout his life has had a deep impact in developing his personality. He is cheerful, energetic, vivacious, funny, charming, good looking… The list goes on. You would assume someone like this would develop quite the ego, yet, shockingly, Hitoshi is down to earth, friendly, and treats everyone he meets really well. The Main Character and Nikki's uncle.


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Ken Takeo
Tough as nails, rough around the edges. Due to his upbringing, he learned to cope by being an outcast from a young age. This allowed him to naturally develop the leadership to gather all other ruffians looking to belong somewhere to feel needed and respected. He may seem and act abrasive, but that's just his bravado front. He has a hard time expressing his feelings, thus he is prone to being misunderstood quite easily.

History:
He grew up in a single parent household. A mother who is a hostess, leaving every evening for work and arriving home tipsy every morning while Ken and his brother prepares to leave for school. When prompted about the whereabouts of their father, his mother would always deflect and dismiss the question. When he started going to elementary school, he formed friendships with other kids from dysfunctional homes and they formed a "gang." Though Ken reluctantly is part of the Karate club, he tends to skip club activities on a regular basis.

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Aya Michiyo
The Main Character's homeroom teacher and the advisor to the Kendo Club. Thanks to her religious shinto upbringing, she developed a nurturing, humble, and kind personality. Everyone that knows her would unanimously agree that she is graceful, elegant, and beautiful. She is loved by the entire town: the elderly love her like their own daughter and the young look up to her as a role model.


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Jun Naoki
Serious, dedicated, charming, cares for the student body. However, while Yuuna tends to be more idealistic, he's a straight-laced realist. He's 'nice' but calculated; ends justify the means. He has a lot of foresight and is a big-picture thinker. He also is willing to sacrifice resources and people for what he believes would provide a greater overall benefit.
Feedback
Please feel free to provide any feedback you may have! Below are a few points your opinion would be of great help!:

1) What is your overall initial impression of the project without having played it yet?
2) What are your thoughts on third person / first person MC's when there are a lot of choices to make?
3) Which character seems the most interesting?
4 )Would you prefer seeing what the affection levels are with characters or let it all happen in the background?

Anything else you'd like to mention, please feel free to include!
Kendo Crush! Team:
Core Staff:
PixelFade
http://www.pixelfade.com/

Talent Coordinator - Dishu K.

Artists:
Lead Concept, Sprite, CG - Kanin
http://hinakanin.deviantart.com/
Backgrounds, GUI, Emoticons - Badriel
http://badriel.deviantart.com/
CG - Kazenokaze
http://kazenokaze.deviantart.com/
Logo - Shoji A.
http://shojiamasawa.deviantart.com

Writers:
Writer - Megan Y.
Writer / VA Scripter - Samantha C.

Music:
Composer - Christopher E.
Singer (Tracks 09 & 16) - Sabrina V.
Guitarist (Tracks 15 & 16) - Ridvan D.
Violinist (Track 09) - Sam N.

Voice Cast:
MC - Ethan N.
Yuuna Misaki - Samantha C.
Kaori Itami - Sydney P.
Shou Shinjirou - Kim M.
Ken Takeo - Christopher E.
Mayu Akemi - Alexandra B.
Nikki - Tina K.
Jun Naoki - Lee T.
Aya Michiyo - Jill H.
Hitoshi Kaito - Bradley P.
Koji Osamu - Peter C.
Youji Ozuru - Kyle B.
Takashi Kou - Miguel M.
Yoshiro / Extras - Chris A.
Daiki - Jalen C.
Extra - Michael R.
Extra - Spiral
Extra - Cedric W.
Extra - Alexandria B.
Extra - Michaela L.

QA Testers:
Tester - Dretchlord
Tester - Ryan
Last edited by PixelFade on Wed Apr 02, 2014 4:08 pm, edited 30 times in total.

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15385bic
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#2 Post by 15385bic »

woah~ - nice *A*

commercial? or free?
also what's the progress so far?
any predicted release dates?

and boy is that first cg girl forward >///>

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#3 Post by pickle131 »

YAY
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#4 Post by ofdawnandtwilight »

Kanin's art <33 And it seems Voiceiyuu's in this project as well? :3
I really like the bright and simple logo by the way, it seems so bouncy and happy =w=
Will you be adding the characters' profiles soon? And I'd definitely like to know the answers to 15385bic's questions as well.

Anyway, definitely looking forward to this! :D

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#5 Post by PixelFade »

Hi 15385bic,

Thank you for taking a look at our post! Please see the answers to your inquiries below in red:
15385bic wrote:woah~ - nice *A*

commercial? or free?
The game is currently planned for a free release.
also what's the progress so far?
The preliminary planning is complete. We are going through the process of asset creation with our wonderful talents.
any predicted release dates?
Expect a playable demo which will be about two hours on a single playthrough for Q1 2014. Final product release date is being discussed.

and boy is that first cg girl forward >///>

Hello nero279,

Thank you for the positive feedback!
nero279 wrote:Kanin's art <33 And it seems Voiceiyuu's in this project as well? :3
Kanin's artwork is spectacular, we are happy to be working with her!
Yes, there is a strong Voiceiyuu presence in the project; they've been very helpful with voicing needs and inquiries.


I really like the bright and simple logo by the way, it seems so bouncy and happy =w=

Will you be adding the characters' profiles soon?
We'll be adding character profiles in waves soon.

And I'd definitely like to know the answers to 15385bic's questions as well.

Anyway, definitely looking forward to this! :D

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#6 Post by NoJoker »

This game is so funny! And I LOVE the voice acting. I really enjoyed the teaser, and I'm looking forward to the demo in 2014. Good job!
(If you need a German translator, let me know! :D)
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#7 Post by NeumanProductions »

Looks like the perfect kind of novel to utilize the simplicity that has been awarded by the use of imagebutton GUI.
The art style makes me think of a cross behind "Yume Miru Kusuri" and "Homeward".
Also, if image two is any indicator, it appears we will be having an on-screen POV sprite which would be interesting to see as that is not the most common trait in an OELVN or VN in general.

The mediafire link is down at the moment so I will be able to give you a more detailed review after getting a chance to test your design out.
Quick question before I download, did you guys leave this as an unarchived version so that I can get a look at the .rpy scripting files? Sometimes that just reads better for me when I can see what the thoughts going in are.

*EDIT*
I do have to point out the reverse of sprite blazer-button situation. I have noticed this in several other VNs over the years where reversing the direction of the sprite in turn reverses where the buttons are located. It would require a different sprite's clothing layer but if it can be done it just helps in the end.
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#8 Post by PixelFade »

Hello NeumanProductions,
NeumanProductions wrote:The mediafire link is down at the moment so I will be able to give you a more detailed review after getting a chance to test your design out.
The Mediafire link is available at this time. If you are still receiving an error, please try a different browser or send the error to PixelFadeStudio@gmail.com; we'll investigate your issue.

We look forward to reading your detailed review!

Best Regards,
PixelFade

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#9 Post by SilverxBlue »

Holy sh*t, man... I am so sorry for the profanity, but that art... that art is just so... Can I marry it or something? Especially the backgrounds. I can't stop staring at them. It's almost on par with professional JVNs. *-*

And wow MC with voice, that is a kind of unique feature in VNs. I'd like to see how it'd work and the general feedback for that one once it's released.

Since I don't want to try the teaser, because I like patiently waiting for the games and not get too hyped up... I'll just look forward to the character profiles instead. XD

I wish you guys the best of luck~
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#10 Post by PixelFade »

Hi SilverxBlue,
SilverxBlue wrote:Holy sh*t, man... I am so sorry for the profanity, but that art... that art is just so... Can I marry it or something? Especially the backgrounds. I can't stop staring at them. It's almost on par with professional JVNs. *-*
Glad to hear it! Unfortunately, you will be unable to marry the artwork at this time :oops: .

And wow MC with voice, that is a kind of unique feature in VNs. I'd like to see how it'd work and the general feedback for that one once it's released.
We hope the unique spin on MC will give a fresh experience! To augment a personality-based MC, we are providing a plethora of choices throughout the entire game. This allows us to harness the innate storytelling benefits of having a personality-based MC while still providing flexibility for him to be relatable.

Since I don't want to try the teaser, because I like patiently waiting for the games and not get too hyped up... I'll just look forward to the character profiles instead. XD

I wish you guys the best of luck~
Thank you!

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#11 Post by gekiganwing »

Assuming that Kendo Crush is not a short story, this project seems quite ambitious. Please let us know if any assistance is needed, or if there's any need to release it as an indie game.
PixelFade wrote: We hope the unique spin on MC will give a fresh experience! To augment a personality-based MC, we are providing a plethora of choices throughout the entire game. This allows us to harness the innate storytelling benefits of having a personality-based MC while still providing flexibility for him to be relatable.
It would be interesting to roleplay the main character. Choices can be deliberate, rather than a guessing game. (And no, I'm not implying that decisions should always lead to a clear outcome. Ambiguity is fine.)

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#12 Post by Dazed »

This looks beautifully done. Can't wait to play! Love the color palette and super excited that it's gonna be fully voiced.
New to the forum. Good things to come!....erm, I hope.

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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#13 Post by Reikun »

HI I LOVED YOUR TEASER!!!!!!! Big props to Shou's VA for pulling off the BROSEF and to MC's VA for delivering most of his lines ~fabulously~!

I liked:
- the voice acting!! You're all probably aware that some of the lines are not voices yet (I'm guessing because this is still a wip)
- the art. Very capable artists you have on your team!
- The choices. Really nice to see so how varied the results of the choices are! And I love QTEs I HOPE THERE'S MORE........ (I honestly thought the catching QTE's time was too long)
- GUI! Really clear and easy to navigate.

I didn't like:
- Strange pronunciation of Japanese words. This is mostly for Kaori's lines. I know she has a lot of terms to say, but it would be nice if she pronounced them a bit better ("sheenai" vs "shih-nai," for instance).
- Sometimes the volume of certain words was too quiet or words were not enunciated well.

Sorry for nitpicking on the voices, but this game is already so good it would be a pity if it wasn't even better??? Sorry, it's 1 AM /brick'd
The only suggestion I have is that there should be at least some kind of default name in the beginning because it's kinda hard to think of a name on the spot without knowing anything about the game or what the MC looks like or anything. I resorted to naming him Tom Ba (after Tomba).

Time for me to go recede back into the shadowy depths. Know that I shall continue to watch this project from afar ♥ /meltsaway
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#14 Post by netravelr »

Played it and quite enjoyed it! Really seemed to have a Persona 4 vibe going with it (which is my favorite game, so that's a compliment)

Short, but sweet and I can't wait to see what you have working on next!

Cheers!
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Re: Kendo Crush! [BxG][Sports, Comedy, Romance]

#15 Post by fearflam »

i'm going to give this a shot, and i'm also gonna give to a friend who plays more VN's than me and give you our opinions once we finish it (may not be instantly since i work 10 hour days 4 days a week lol) hoping for good things since it looks fantastic (the art direction) and all the positive words from the other people who have played it so far.

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