***Update 7/7/2013
Update, y'all! While the jury is still out on the script itself, I've managed to get a complete working template of the menu system and text formatting of the visual novel. (So, you can think of it as a no-spoilers beta test, though there are some places where I put in some passages for the rough draft because they're small and don't really give away anything major). There is currently only one image for each character; I have different expressions prepared, but they're edits of the base image and I'm not entirely sure of the ones I'll end up using yet (as the script isn't finalized).
Download here as well as in 1st post:
https://www.box.com/s/mkxpmhhweysoezfiuzad
I would really appreciate it if people play around with it to be sure that there aren't any errors or whoopsies that I missed! Other questions for y'all include:
* What do you think of the artwork and graphics?
* How about the interface, particularly with the pair-picking menu and the NVL-style epilogue? (Also, do you think I should voice the NVL portion, or leave it text-only and only do dialogue text?)
I would be grateful for any suggestions you might have!
The characters' personalities are as follows (the art is also drawn by me):
Sydney Blacker
A quiet, sophisticated young man recently moved from Australia, it is not an uncommon occurrence that he is mistaken for the opposite gender, much to his resigned exasperation (though one wonders then why he wears a pink bow on his collar to class). It seems that the move revolved around something troubling regarding his older brother, who is now deceased...
Alex Greggory
Easily classified as a 'geek' by his classmates, he is fairly fanatical about Pokemon, sometimes evidenced by making analogies involving it even in his daily verbal usage. He is an earnest and passionate learner though, curious about many other things besides that, and in fact seems to hide a somewhat more inspiring persona beneath.
Lucy Jaskiewicz
A cheerful, kindhearted girl with an unfortunately impossible-to-pronounce last name. It signifies her ties to the country of Poland, where the rest of her family apparently resides. She might seem bubbly and carefree, but she's also an intelligent and thoughtful young woman who just needs people to take her a little more seriously.
Michael Lee
Michael is a sporty young man, and his athletic talents are outmatched only by his competitive spirit. When he goes for something, he goes for the win. Strangely though, outside of the basketball court, he is a fairly sardonic personality, usually intimidating all but the most strong-willed of kids around him. One wonders, considering this, what his relationship with his very shy younger sister is like.
Trixie Oswald
One might have thought that her parents must have known what kind of personality their daughter would develop in her childhood, because Trixie is certainly a tricky little girl. She has even personally claimed that she takes almost nothing seriously, and is usually the class clown of any given classroom. Take everything she says with a good pinch of salt: her favorite way of interacting with people is screwing with their heads.
Ella Quintieri
This young woman is soft-spoken and reserved, not one to get too hyped up or upset over much. She is from a very well-off family and thus even rides a limousine to and from school, which of course catches much of the classroom's attention. Though it may seem like she has everything a girl could want, apparently her parents are always busy with work, and she's an only child, so she's usually the only one at home besides any hired hands to take care of the house. Seems like a pretty lonely life, if you ask me...
Ms. Julia Anderson
The teacher of this sixth grade classroom. She is calm, warm, and easygoing, but she takes her job seriously and can be quite stern when the time calls for it.
A quiet, sophisticated young man recently moved from Australia, it is not an uncommon occurrence that he is mistaken for the opposite gender, much to his resigned exasperation (though one wonders then why he wears a pink bow on his collar to class). It seems that the move revolved around something troubling regarding his older brother, who is now deceased...
Alex Greggory
Easily classified as a 'geek' by his classmates, he is fairly fanatical about Pokemon, sometimes evidenced by making analogies involving it even in his daily verbal usage. He is an earnest and passionate learner though, curious about many other things besides that, and in fact seems to hide a somewhat more inspiring persona beneath.
Lucy Jaskiewicz
A cheerful, kindhearted girl with an unfortunately impossible-to-pronounce last name. It signifies her ties to the country of Poland, where the rest of her family apparently resides. She might seem bubbly and carefree, but she's also an intelligent and thoughtful young woman who just needs people to take her a little more seriously.
Michael Lee
Michael is a sporty young man, and his athletic talents are outmatched only by his competitive spirit. When he goes for something, he goes for the win. Strangely though, outside of the basketball court, he is a fairly sardonic personality, usually intimidating all but the most strong-willed of kids around him. One wonders, considering this, what his relationship with his very shy younger sister is like.
Trixie Oswald
One might have thought that her parents must have known what kind of personality their daughter would develop in her childhood, because Trixie is certainly a tricky little girl. She has even personally claimed that she takes almost nothing seriously, and is usually the class clown of any given classroom. Take everything she says with a good pinch of salt: her favorite way of interacting with people is screwing with their heads.
Ella Quintieri
This young woman is soft-spoken and reserved, not one to get too hyped up or upset over much. She is from a very well-off family and thus even rides a limousine to and from school, which of course catches much of the classroom's attention. Though it may seem like she has everything a girl could want, apparently her parents are always busy with work, and she's an only child, so she's usually the only one at home besides any hired hands to take care of the house. Seems like a pretty lonely life, if you ask me...
Ms. Julia Anderson
The teacher of this sixth grade classroom. She is calm, warm, and easygoing, but she takes her job seriously and can be quite stern when the time calls for it.
And here's a group picture to get a better idea of what the sprites look like with the background:
I have finished the script for all paths, a total of around 10,600 words, but since you only get three mutually exclusive interactions each time, multiple playthroughs would be needed to see each interaction, thus making a basic use of the choices function. While there are no 'bad ends', some interactions are more involved than others, and there are some 'dark secrets' that a few of them have that are only revealed in one of the numerous possible groupings.Therefore, while I'm waiting, maybe one of you guys would be interested in giving my script a look through and any comments or suggestions for it? Since this is a finished draft but before any coding, if you have suggestions format-wise as to how I should arrange dialogues and passages, this would be right time for me to hear them. Or, if you would download the menu template and let me know what you think of it (works well, seems messy, etc. etc.), that would really help too!
As aforementioned, this is my first time doing anything in this forum or writing for visual novels, so if I'm 'doin' it raong' in some way, please feel free to politely let me know! I'll try to fix whatever I can. XD;;
