Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free]

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Rainbow Wavedash
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Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free]

#1 Post by Rainbow Wavedash »

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Price: $0.00 | PWYW


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"Welcome to Starswirl Academy: one of the most prestigious high schools in the country. Classes and
extracurricular activities cater to the needs of each individual student. At Starswirl, we feel that an
emphasis on a person's special talent is what sets us apart from the rest. While enrolled, the use of the
campus' facilities is not only allowed, but encouraged to aid in the pursuit of honing your own skills."


You'll play as a new transfer student, Tom Stone, at a school that specializes in helping students
find their talents and paths in life. Since he's a senior, it seems as though every one of his classmates
knows exactly what their talents are. He couldn't be more directionless, but that's why he chose to
come here, right? It's time to find out exactly who he is. Look out! Here comes Tom!

Starswirl was loosely based on a popular show that some of you have probably guessed by now. The
idea behind the game's creation was to craft a story that could be enjoyed by fans of the source material
as well as people who've never watched any miniature equines before.


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(Listed from left to right)

Tài Saito
A bookworm through-and-through, Tài is dedicated to her studies for the sake of knowledge. She's been
Tom's friend since they were children, and that can sometimes mean that they get on each-other's nerves.
She'll always be his friend no matter what even at her own expense. Tài will always put
herself second to whatever problems her friends might be having.

Tài is the one that convinced Tom to transfer to Starswirl with her.

Annabel-Jean "Anne" Smith
Anne is an honest, hard-working farm girl from just out of town. She manages her family business while she
attends Starswirl with her little sister. Anne often finds herself shirking school responsibilities for her work
responsibilities, but you'll never see her slacking off. Best friends rivals with Robin.

Robin Douglas
The technicolor-haired Robin lives to race. She's not in it for the running. She loves to win. She's captain
of several of Starswirl's student teams. Robin has a long-standing rivalry with Anne. They try to outdo
each other at every turn, and it's made them the best of friends. Loyal to a fault, Robin tends to charge
in, guns blazing, when her friends are in trouble.

Paulina "Polly" Parks
The self-appointed party queen of Starswirl. Polly is head cheerleader and it shows. She'll never miss an
opportunity to spread some laughter and cheer to her classmates (whether they like it or not). Polly tends
to put on a goofy face most of the time, but she can be serious when she needs to be.

Rosylin Montgomery
Rosylin (or 'Rose' if you want to get under her skin) is a sweet girl who spends her time studying the art of
the dress. She's president of the fashion club and has connections to almost everyone at school, but she
also might be the most generous person on campus. Never hesitating to give help or assistance to anyone
who needs it, Rosylin is the girl to know if you need something done.

Rosylin took a liking to Tom on his first day. She does seem to tease him an awful lot, though. Is she toying
with him, or does she see something that others overlook?

Faith Summers
Faith is a bit of an introvert, preferring to keep mostly to herself. The exception is her close friends and the
animals on campus. Faith is the president of the garden club and she takes her responsibilities very seriously.
She may be a kind heart, but do not ever cross her friends. She will make you regret it. That goes for
the animals, too.

Thomas "Tom" Daniel Stone (Not pictured)
Tom is a diamond in the rough. He just knows he's got some potential for something. He just needs to find
out what that something is. Tom packed his bags at Tài's suggestion and transferred to Starswirl ready to
make something of himself. For now, he's just a blank slate, ready to be shaped into something great. He may
be a little thick-headed at times, but when it counts, he's a solid friend who'll never hesitate to help out.


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Now, we're looking for feedback. Tell us what you think! We're eager to find out what the outside community
thinks of the world we've created. What do you like? What didn't you like? We want to hear it all!


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Last edited by Rainbow Wavedash on Wed Apr 01, 2015 12:17 pm, edited 6 times in total.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#2 Post by thelovebat »

Visually it seems very enticing, and it's clear you guys put a lot of work into the technical facets of the game. The art and audio qualities in the trailer seem quite nice, and that 'start screen' screenshot looks very cool as well.

Now for the more critical part. For all of the work put into the game, it seems a bit disappointing (for me anyway) that the premise isn't something a bit more original to work with considering all the other things that have had so much work put into it. Obviously you guys probably have gotten this sort of thing already, considering how you acknowledge it's like a borderline fan work of MLP. But I think at some point it would be better to differentiate into a more original sort of concept with characters that (at least visually) don't look like their designs were ripped straight from the show (or looking like humanized fanart of sorts). It also makes me wary that side characters and other characters not featured above will have the same thing done with them. You do have the multiple girls and the male transfer student thing going on, so it makes it hard for me to know if friendship seems to be a prominent theme or if (based on the Romance topic title tag) friendship or finding your way in life takes a backseat to the guy being able to pick from all the girls (which isn't really a bad thing, it's just been done plenty of times before).

It'll be interesting to see how this game plays out, I'll see about downloading the demo sometime later and get to seeing what it plays like. It's just something for me personally where I think it would be nice to see something with a bit more originality on the design front, since originality is more refreshing for me and shows me possible indications on how much effort is put in on the writing side of things too. The game does look good though so don't be discouraged by my post, think of it in the sense that I liked what I saw enough to tell you what I thought about it, and what I think would give me more enjoyment out of it. Just because I don't think it stands out on the originality front, doesn't mean it couldn't still be a great game to play based on the other things it seems to do well.

Best of luck with the project. If I get around to playing the demo sometime I'll let you know additional thoughts if I remember to get around to it.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#3 Post by Rainbow Wavedash »

thelovebat wrote:Now for the more critical part. For all of the work put into the game, it seems a bit disappointing (for me anyway) that the premise isn't something a bit more original to work with considering all the other things that have had so much work put into it.
Sometimes it takes a common hobby to draw a team together with this much talent. Original content can come later. We've got nothing but time.
thelovebat wrote:Obviously you guys probably have gotten this sort of thing already
Yes. Let this be the only time someone mentions it in the thread. I know everyone means well, but there's something infuriating about hearing a variation of "it's a shame your time and talent is wasted on this particular project" every couple days.
thelovebat wrote:It also makes me wary that side characters and other characters not featured above will have the same thing done with them.
If I'm understanding right, you're wary that the side characters are going to have designs based on the show? Our philosophy is entirely the opposite. We decided right off the bat that we were going to stick with characters from the show and not shoehorn new ones in. The show has something like 200+ side characters to choose from. We don't need to force anyone else into the mix.
thelovebat wrote:it makes it hard for me to know if friendship seems to be a prominent theme or if (based on the Romance topic title tag) friendship or finding your way in life takes a backseat to the guy being able to pick from all the girls
You'll find out fairly quickly in the demo that your school year is going to revolve around finding yourself. Whether that's with friends or with a partner, that's up to you. Dating is nice but friendship, as they say, is magic.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#4 Post by thelovebat »

thelovebat wrote:It also makes me wary that side characters and other characters not featured above will have the same thing done with them.
Rainbow Wavedash wrote:If I'm understanding right, you're wary that the side characters are going to have designs based on the show? Our philosophy is entirely the opposite. We decided right off the bat that we were going to stick with characters from the show and not shoehorn new ones in. The show has something like 200+ side characters to choose from. We don't need to force anyone else into the mix.
In a way what I meant was having original characters in the game (like side characters) that didn't have their designs based on anyone from the show. Original characters with original designs.

And don't worry I'm not trying to push your buttons or anything like that. That's why I mentioned in my post not to get discouraged by my criticisms, I still think it looks like a good game. I'm just giving my opinions about what I liked and what I didn't like which is what you said you wanted at the bottom of the post, though I suppose I should also mention I'm not a brony or a fan of the show. I'm trying to help you guys out by voicing my honest opinions so don't feel like I'm hating on the project, it looks like it'll shape up to be a pretty nice looking project overall. :)

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#5 Post by gekiganwing »

Originality is usually something worth pursuing, and it's better than trying to outright imitate a popular work. But at the same time, it's also really difficult to achieve. TVTropes has a useful article on the topic called "So You Want To: Be Original." If you ask me, originality should not be a creator's #1 concern.
thelovebat wrote:... though I suppose I should also mention I'm not a brony or a fan of the show. I'm trying to help you guys out by voicing my honest opinions so don't feel like I'm hating on the project, it looks like it'll shape up to be a pretty nice looking project overall. :)
Don't worry about it. I've tried to give feedback on a variety of fan games, including projects where I know nothing about the source material, except maybe the main character's name.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#6 Post by pickle131 »

I'll definitely give this a try when I can, the overall presentation style seems very impressive! May I ask who the voice actor in the trailer was? She sounds very familiar so I'm curious C:

EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice it was in the video description.
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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#7 Post by DeletedUser160413 »

I love the look, wow! The graphics look great, the backgrounds and the sprites are so beautiful! I will definitely try it out! :3 Good luck!

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#8 Post by MaiMai »

I guess, I'd have to ask why this isn't just outright called an MLP fangame? When I look at the summary of the plot and the character descriptions, it doesn't deviate too much from the source material in terms of concept, character personalities and theme and I doubt MLP fans and NON MLP fans will stop mentioning it. Humanized Ponies have been a thing for a long time in the MLP fandom so aside from the different names and the BxG element, what's stopping you from calling it a fangame exactly? I read your FAQ before asking and it wasn't there, so is this going to be a free game or commercial? I think it's important to mention that in your title or at least in the OP post

On a technical and art side, this looks really, really, polished and I give you guys props for that; a lot of time went into these assets, so I say go for it and whatever you decide to stick with, I'm sure you'll have an audience for it.
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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High school | Romance] [D

#9 Post by Rainbow Wavedash »

MaiMai wrote:I guess, I'd have to ask why this isn't just outright called an MLP fangame? When I look at the summary of the plot and the character descriptions, it doesn't deviate too much from the source material in terms of concept, character personalities and theme and I doubt MLP fans and NON MLP fans will stop mentioning it. Humanized Ponies have been a thing for a long time in the MLP fandom so aside from the different names and the BxG element, what's stopping you from calling it a fangame exactly? I read your FAQ before asking and it wasn't there, so is this going to be a free game or commercial? I think it's important to mention that in your title or at least in the OP post.
Hasbro asked us nicely to not mention the show. That's all. The price is listed at the top of the post. It's free. I'll add that to the subject line.
pickle131 wrote:I'll definitely give this a try when I can, the overall presentation style seems very impressive! May I ask who the voice actor in the trailer was? She sounds very familiar so I'm curious C:

EDIT: Sorry, didn't notice it was in the video description.
No problem. Meredith Sims did the voice, but she was emulating Tara Strong, who you'll recognize from every single one of your childhood TV shows.
thelovebat wrote:I'm not trying to push your buttons or anything like that.
No no. I get it. I just thought I'd nip that in the bud before it became the most common complaint here.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#10 Post by Ipskies »

This game looks ridiculously polished, I can't wait to check it out! I also really like the choice of protagonist, and the design for the headmaster. This is definitely something I want to take a look at.

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#11 Post by PyTom »

For the record, I reviewed the demo before the name changes. There are a lot of ways in which this game is really subtly polished. Take a look at what's missing, and what's different between each of the dialogue-based screenshots above:
Character names and Click-to-continue indicators, respectively.
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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#12 Post by philip »

Is this project still alive and viable? It's been over a year since the last post. I downloaded the demo and went through it almost a year ago; found it interesting, filed it away hoping that there would be another release. Well, I came back to it today, and apparently nothing has happened. Too bad!

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#13 Post by gekiganwing »

philip wrote:Is this project still alive and viable?
If you're looking for recent updates, check the Rosin Entertainment blog. (I'm not involved with Starswirl or its website, though I've occasionally posted on its forum.)

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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#14 Post by Haze »

gekiganwing wrote:
philip wrote:Is this project still alive and viable?
If you're looking for recent updates, check the Rosin Entertainment blog. (I'm not involved with Starswirl or its website, though I've occasionally posted on its forum.)
@philip
They've also posted a new demo, if you're interested. :D
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Re: Starswirl Academy [BxG] [SoL | High School] [Demo] [Free

#15 Post by philip »

@gekiganwing-
Thank you for the info, I checked out the website.

@Haze-
Thanks also, however I was unable to find a download for a new demo there. If they are proud of what they've done why don't they post on the thread that they started here?

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