Seasonal Melody ♬ [GxB]

[inhalance]

This is officially the new, updated thread for this WIP!

{Plot}: You play as Hikaru Yoshida, a 17 year old junior in high school. She is spunky, popular, and is a clarinet player in the school's band. Her best friend and sidekick is Aki Tanaka. Her best guy friend is Hayate Sasaki. Together, they face the normal challenges of high school life... drama, cute boys, and the worst thing of all, schoolwork (dun dun dun). Hikaru has somewhat of a little (or obsessive) crush on one of the most popular guys in the school, Daichi Nakamura. Will you help Hikaru find her prince or will she be single for the rest of her life? After all, band romances are quite frequent!

{Game info}: This game takes place over the course of four seasons, as indicated by the title. This game is centered around a literal band, and the game will feature concerts and rehearsals. A good anime reference for this game would be "La Corda d'Oro", which is centered around an orchestral romance. This game is rated 15+ and will be completely free.

♪ 3 obtainable guys
♪ 4 endings
♪ Estimated game length: 45 minutes per route (uncertain)
♪ CGs (number is uncertain at the moment)
♪ Band pieces and concerts

Writer and programmer: inhalance
Sprite and CG artists: TBD

{Characters}:

Hikaru Yoshida, 1st chair clarinet

She is 16 years old, popular, cheerful, and spunky. Hikaru sits 1st chair clarinet in her school's symphonic band, so she is respected as a talented musician. She is often mistaken for a middle school student because of her short height (5'1") and hair. Hikaru is not afraid to speak her mind and defend her opinions. She will always help out a friend in need and even lend a helping hand to strangers in distress. She also enjoys talking sarcastically and can easily talk to/approach anyone.

Aki Tanaka, flute player

Aki is Hikaru's partner in crime, aka her sidekick (but she doesn't like it when Hikaru refers to her as a sidekick). Aki is Hikaru's go-to whenever she needs advice, help on homework, etc. She is bubbly and energetic, with a personality similar to Hikaru's. Aki often likes to go shopping and drags Hikaru along with her, and she often likes to pick out outfits for Hikaru. She sits 2nd chair flute.

Hayate Sasaki, trumpet player

Hayate is quiet and reserved, and doesn't like to talk much. He is really smart, normally getting the highest marks in his grade, and can often be found reading a book or studying for a subject. Hikaru has known Hayate since 5th grade, which is why they have a rather close relationship with each other. Because of Hikaru's cheerful personality, she was able to get Hayate to open up to her.

Daichi Nakamura, popular guy

Daichi is your stereotypical jock - handsome, popular, and hangs out with the bigger crowd. Hikaru has had a crush on him since 9th grade, when she saw him at a swim meet and instantly fell in love with him. Daichi doesn't even know that Hikaru exists, let alone that she has an obsession with him.

Ichirou Mori, percussionist

Ichirou is cocky, rude, and can almost be considered to be a delinquent. He would rather play on his drumset or spend time with his friends than to study or do homework. He likes to pick on Hikaru due to an incident which happened a few years ago in 9th grade. He knows about Hikaru's obsession with Daichi, which he uses to his advantage to blackmail her to do his homework since he is particularly close with Daichi.

*A/N: A preliminary demo WILL be released for this game, and it will feature the first chapter of the game/introduction which takes place over the course of autumn (roughly late August - November).

Current progress:

❥Story - 5%
❥Programming - 0%
❥Music - 10%
❥Art - 0%

*As you can see from the previous thread, the progress percentages have been completely reset. This is because I'm starting over from scratch.

{UPDATES}:
06.08.15: New thread created. Currently looking for artists.

[gekiganwing]

A few questions / concerns for when you have time...

* What will set your story apart from other love polygon stories and other school romance stories?
* Is there anything remarkable about the characters and their relationships? Think about who they are, and what they want. Can you think about the characters as fictional people rather than romance options?
* If you haven't lived in Japan, or know at least one person who has, then be willing to do some research. Make sure that your story does not have factual errors that could distract the reader. At the same time, remember that it's a story, and that it should not read like a research project.
* Think if there is anything notable about the setting. Does the town have any history, or unique places?
* Having said all that... don't worry too much. Take it easy and write what you want to create. Ask for feedback when it's done, and consider creating at least one more draft of your story.

Will you help Hikaru find her prince or will she be single for the rest of her life?

This could be something that your main character worries about. It's difficult to believe that life after school can be better. That said, I'd recommend that your story reminds the reader that life goes on.

A good anime reference for this game would be "La Corda d'Oro", which is centered around an orchestral romance.

The original visual novel and its spinoffs have not been translated by fans or companies. Unfortunately, I don't know if they are better known for their gameplay or their writing.

[inhalance]

A few questions / concerns for when you have time...

* What will set your story apart from other love polygon stories and other school romance stories?
* Is there anything remarkable about the characters and their relationships? Think about who they are, and what they want. Can you think about the characters as fictional people rather than romance options?
* If you haven't lived in Japan, or know at least one person who has, then be willing to do some research. Make sure that your story does not have factual errors that could distract the reader. At the same time, remember that it's a story, and that it should not read like a research project.
* Think if there is anything notable about the setting. Does the town have any history, or unique places?
* Having said all that... don't worry too much. Take it easy and write what you want to create. Ask for feedback when it's done, and consider creating at least one more draft of your story.

Will you help Hikaru find her prince or will she be single for the rest of her life?

This could be something that your main character worries about. It's difficult to believe that life after school can be better. That said, I'd recommend that your story reminds the reader that life goes on.

A good anime reference for this game would be "La Corda d'Oro", which is centered around an orchestral romance.

The original visual novel and its spinoffs have not been translated by fans or companies. Unfortunately, I don't know if they are better known for their gameplay or their writing.

Thanks for the input! I'll be seriously considering these questions. For the time being, I'm not going to be too seriously focused on this project. It's more of a project that I'll be working on whenever I have free time (which is not often), but I will definitely keep your suggestions in mind.