Alex has always dreamt of attending Oceanside Academy, a prestigious school well-known for its astronomy and astrophysics program. So naturally, when the opportunity for her to attend comes along, she takes it, though the catch is that she has to masquerade as her twin brother for the entire school year. Despite this Alex is willing to do anything to make it happen, and when she secures her spot there, she expects nothing but a smooth sail for the year in front of her.
But her stay at Oceanside Academy will turn out to be anything but smooth. Even though Alex is more interested in learning about astronomy than anything else, her life will become entangled with others at her school. She'll get into weird situations, make friends, break relationships, and maybe even find it in her to love someone. And not only will she have to deal with the brewing problems at her school, but she will also be forced to reconsider personal things that have always troubled her - her identity, her dreams, her future.
FEATURES
- free-to-play otome PC game
- 5 male love interests and 3 female love interests (might combine/cut down on the routes)
- character-driven storytelling, no stat-raising
- friendship routes
- seasonal calendar in a one-year timeline (fall, winter, spring, summer)
Alexandra Yang
A grumpy, introverted deadpan snarker who spends way too much time on the internet. Around people she doesn't know too well, she puts up an amicable front, reflecting the personality and interests of her acquaintance.
Ethan Cruz
Alex's roommate. Fierce, headstrong, has a short fuse. Even though he might seem a bit rough around the edges, Ethan is very perceptive and due to his empathetic nature, he often puts others over himself.
Christopher Wade
The student council president. As a natural leader and an easygoing person, Chris is well-known and respected amongst the student body. Although he is polite, he makes it a point not to be overly friendly.
Wesley Trinh
A gentle and kind basketball player who seems to be all-around perfect. Sometimes, however, he becomes very absent-minded and randomly thinks out loud in philosophical questions.
Nick Santiago
A bouncy and eager person has a lot of friends. Nick enjoys being around others and being in the center of attention, so at times he can be quite melodramatic. He also tends to be a pushover.
Jason Kimura
A stoic, silent person who is often seen with bruises and bandages on him.
Diana Weiss
Although she might seem ladylike at first, Diana is really a child at heart, both in a bad and good way, as she is moody, sentimental, but determined. She prefers 2D men over those in the real world, and is an avid fan of BL games.
Kathy Trinh
A talkative and ambitious athlete who plays water polo and swims competitively. She often enjoys challenging other people, particularly her brother Wesley, to her own little competitions.
Victoria Hart
She doesn't talk much, but when she does, Victoria tends ramble off in webspeak. Her confidence is often misinterpreted as arrogance, but she doesn't really care what people think about her.
Summer Donoghue
A thoughtful (and somewhat manipulative) girl who serves as one of the school's peer counselors.
Cassander Yang
Alexandra's twin brother.
WRITING
story outline: 15%
script: 6k/??? (planning for 70k+)
ART
BGs: 0%
CGs: 0%
sprites: 1% (working on concept art)
GUI: 5% (logo done!)
OTHER
music: 0% (0/11 songs)
programming: 0%
UPDATES
7/25/14 - LSF thread posted!
NOTES
This is a long-term project for me while I work on art for other visual novels! I've had this idea for several years but never really pushed through in terms of development. I understand the whole genderbender plot is unrealistic, but I've always found the idea amusing and wanted to create a game revolving around that genre. I also might cut down on the amount of routes the game will have, since 8 pursuables is a bit too much for me to handle.
My current plan, to get this project going, is to finish up the demo script (which will basically include the first week of autumn), and I've got prequel to that finished. After that I'll start looking for placeholder music/BGs, and work on the sprites and CGs. I'm not sure when I'll be able to release this demo, but I'll do my best to finish it. I also have the character routes figured out, but I have yet to figure out the pacing and the specific events that happen on the calendar system.
The current character images are placeholders, and their designs are subject to change (esp. Wesley).
I'm trying to handle this game solo, but in the future I will be looking for a musician (crossing my fingers for a custom OST, but I know composing music takes a lot of time) and proofreaders. I'll update weekly on my tumblr blog (http://iridescence-vns.tumblr.com/) and this thread. I made this thread to mostly report progress and keep track of what I'm doing, but I'd also like to hear some of your feedback.
QUESTIONS
1. Would you play this game? Why or why not?
2. Which character would you go for first?
3. What would you like to see in this game? What are your expectations? Any tips or comments would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks so much!