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[melelisun]

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[Akitsuki]

I always love mystery VN, so I'm pretty sure I'll like this one too! The art looks pretty nice as well!
Just kinda curious how the comedy will come at the beginning, but good luck with it!

[dreamy]

Ah I've been watching your wordpress blog for quite a while and the story and progress looked really nice. I wonder how the entire game will be like, especially how the game revolves around the mystery. Also, corrwct me if I am wrong but is the tag at the title GxB or BxG because it looks like the protagonist is a male? If not then just ignore this question I'm also curious to see how the other characters will look like. I'll be looking forward to hear more from this project. Good luck!

[Mad Harlequin]

A few things:

I've never seen "Yama" by itself as a given name in Japanese. (It is, however, the name of the lord of death in Hinduism.) Mitsuko is also a given name, and so I'm not sure it should be used as a last name.

[melelisun]

@ Akitsuki - Thank you for your interest! The visual novel will begin in a school setting as per the synopsis, hence the Comedy at the beginning.

@ Dreamy - Thanks for your support! Good catch, that was a mistake from me x)

@ Mad Harlequin - Yama's (山) unusual name is chosen for a reason. Mitsuko is usually a first name, to be sure, but there are instances of it being a surname (三古).

Thank you for the comments and questions! It's great to see that there's interest in our project.

[Mad Harlequin]

@ Mad Harlequin - Yama's (山) unusual name is chosen for a reason. Mitsuko is usually a first name, to be sure, but there are instances of it being a surname (三古).

Fair enough! Thanks for the information. I learn something new every day.

I'm looking forward to more!

[Noire]

Looks great so far! I like that character

[gekiganwing]

Your story involves some murder mystery elements. That could be interesting. And yeah, I kinda still like boy x girl pairings, even though I'm somewhat insecure about enjoying them. Having admitted that, here's a couple questions and concerns...

* Comparisons with Persona 4. It's a game that I happen to like. The story involves a small town in Japan that's surprised by a few murders. Supernatural elements are involved. ...I believe that your VN will be considerably different. Just make sure you're familiar with the game, so that there's no coincidental resemblance.
* How realistic is your story?
* Research: I recommend doing at least a decent amount, especially if your story takes place in modern day Japan. You want to make sure your setting doesn't come across as a theme park version of the real world. On the other hand, you don't want research to overwhelm your story. It should be entertainment, and it should not read like a term paper.
* Do you want to sell the final product as an indie game?
* You mentioned that you're using your own custom engine. What advantages will this provide?

Also, I took a few minutes to look through your group's blog entries. The one about passion and motivation caught my interest. Why do I say this? Because if you can't sell (or you're not planning to sell) your final product, then you need something to motivate you to finish and release your story. Possible motivators can include things such as "you deeply care about your story" and "you really want to experiment with different forms and presentation."

Also, creating an indie or freeware project can lead to something genuinely different and fascinating. Innovation does not always indicate quality, and it isn't always the most important thing. But it can help your story stand out. For just one example, read the positive things that Hinano said about the free untranslated game Watashi no Real wa Jujitsu Shisugiteiru.

[melelisun]

@ Mad Harlequin - Thank you! The thread will be updated when more assets are finished, and there will be weekly updates on our blog

@ Noire - Thank you for your support!

@ gekiganwing - Thank you for your constructive feedback:

• Persona 4. This is an understandable concern, as Persona 4 is one of the defining games for visual novels. Our team is familiar with the game (and many love it dearly), so we can assure you that Lucid9 will be unique. That being said, it IS a murder mystery game, so depending on how closely you read between the lines, you’ll always be able to find similarities. If you’re concerned about a blatant rip-off, though, that will never be the case.
• Realistic. I’m sorry, I’m not quite sure what you mean. Are you asking if there will be supernatural elements involved?
• Research. This is a very, very high priority with our team, and we’ve been very meticulous in our worldlore and research. Any inconsistencies or issues found with the setting of the VN are immediately discussed until satisfactory resolution. Without spoilers, all I can say is that we’re making the world our own, but with good rationalization. So don’t worry about either reading a really dry academic paper, nor banging your head against the wall at the inaccuracy of our portrayed Japan. (This is, however, an OELVN, so certain details such as honorifics will be omitted. No ‘onii-chans’ or ‘Character-kuns’ here.)
• As stated, the game will be noncommercial, but if we gain the resources to do so, we may seek to distribute it via Steam (for free).
• Custom engine. Creating an original engine allows for more flexibility regarding the features of our game. As for logistics, our programmer is highly experienced; we’ve done basic tests of the engine and it’s on a smooth start. Sorry, I can’t digress more without spoilers
• Passion and motivation. Related to #4, we are, first and foremost, fans of visual novels, and are making this game for other fans (or newcomers) of visual novels. We are also passionate about quality storytelling. I also wish to personally say that it is an amazing experience working with a team of such motivated, talented people, and challenges me to be even more diligent. Again, it’s hard to expand on this without spoilers, but basically, it’s the fact that we’re making an awesome story with awesome people.

Thank you for your comments and questions! It’s truly encouraging for us to see interest in our project.

[melelisun]

Some big news!

- Rui's sprite has been created, courtesy of our fine artist Dizzy.
- Several new people have joined our team, including a background artist, animation/logo/GUI designer, and a beta writer to help enhance and supervise our plot and characters! More details can be read on our blog.

And the really big news:

We're planning on releasing a short demo! That's right. We are planning for Day 1 of Lucid9 to be available within late Fall 2014, approximately late September or November. This would be around 20 minutes of reading content. Hopefully, it will serve as a good indicator of our world, story, and characters!

Get hyped! (Or... don't. It's up to you.)

[RosyInk27]

Ooh, this looks great! I must admit that I'm a sucker for the sleek presentation here and the music demo you guys have available on the website definitely hooked me in. Fingers crossed for the Mac version, because I definitely don't want to miss out on playing this!

[melelisun]

Ooh, this looks great! I must admit that I'm a sucker for the sleek presentation here and the music demo you guys have available on the website definitely hooked me in. Fingers crossed for the Mac version, because I definitely don't want to miss out on playing this!

Thank you! The graphics are actually placeholders; with an official GUI artist, we will soon be able to have a finalized logo

The Day 1 demo will be created using a different engine than our final product—an online engine that is playable on Mac, PC, and mobile devices. (Also, as a fellow Mac player, I totally understand )

Thank you for supporting us. Your words of encouragement really mean a lot to our team.

[Kate]

This looks great! Going to stalk this topic I like the premise, I think more creators should consider trying mystery as a style in their visual novels. But I'm not biased or anything... *guilty! currently working on a mystery game* I really like the art, can't wait to see more!

A note on the themes- comedy, slice of life, transitioning to Romance and mystery? With serial killings? THIS I MUST SEE! It sounds refreshing and fun!

[netravelr]

Already told you how much I'm looking forward to this , but just to reiterate it here, I'm totally looking forward to this!

[melelisun]

@ Kate - Thank you so much! Wishing the best of luck to your VN as well Yeah, I'm a fan of mystery myself.

@ Netravelr - Thank you for your support! We're working hard to release the short demo by the end of this month, so stay tuned!