generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

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watchfob
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generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#1 Post by watchfob »

Hello all my friends. I am here to present my upcoming project Generic Otome the Otome.
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It's under ideas because while I am 100% committing to this (it's my senior thesis, as it happens), I don't currently have any "production quality" assets yet, just character sketches.

Basically there are some stereotypes and tropes present in a lot of anime/otome and I'm sort of poking fun at that while at the same time trying to subvert those tropes and have a generally enjoyable dating sim experience. So, without further ado, here's the character lineup!
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Here is Our Illustrious Protagonist (also known as Addie, but her official name is what's written on the pic). She's just your average college student trying to make her way through the world and pass her finals.
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Our first bachelor, Green Boy! His defining character trait is being green and also more or less the Nice Guy. Whether or not he actually is a Nice Guy™ is yet to be seen.
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FlirtMan, who has since been renamed Le Flirt for reasons undisclosed, is, of course, the one who flirts and is popular with the ladies.
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Aloof and Slightly Rude is... aloof and slightly rude. Who would have known.
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...I think by now you get the idea.

There's also the unlockable route, The Route Where He Kills You, in which you are killed by The One Who Kills You:
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I have until the end of May to complete this project, so, realistically, I'm probably going to have to focus on only completing one or two routes, since I am doing literally everything myself. However, looking beyond a get-the-grade standpoint, I'd like to complete all the routes and possibly add a few more characters & routes, including The Cute One, Your Best Friend, and... anything else I come up with.

Anyways, thanks for listening! I'm excited to start working because even though it started as a joke and it still sort of is, I'm going to do my best with it and make something that's actually got some substance to it. Cheers!

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#2 Post by FonaCall »

Cheers man! I hope you get to make those one to two routes and make the grade too. Curious, what are you studying as to make a poking-on-otome-games-otome-game your senior thesis?

I actually want to play it just so. Hehehe.

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#3 Post by Lyhra »

This sounds cool and like something I'd love to play, good luck with this project ^^

PS: The One Who Kills You is hot, really hot :D

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#4 Post by gekiganwing »

watchfob wrote: I'm excited to start working because even though it started as a joke and it still sort of is, I'm going to do my best with it and make something that's actually got some substance to it.
It's encouraging to hear that you have goals with your story, and that you want to say something genuine. I say this because because I have had some negative experiences with comedies and parodies. *If* it appears that the writer has nothing to say other than "I think superpowers are ridiculous" or "I don't like science fiction nerds," then I will not be inclined to pay attention to their story.
watchfob wrote: Basically there are some stereotypes and tropes present in a lot of anime/otome and I'm sort of poking fun at that while at the same time trying to subvert those tropes and have a generally enjoyable dating sim experience.
I believe that comedy should be more than a series of crass jokes, or watching characters do things that would be out-of-character. Also, I believe that parody should be more than telling the audience "We made a pop culture reference!" For instance, look at Ouran Host Club. If you're not familiar with it, the story is a spoof of '90s-2000s girls romance comics, but at the same time, it is also a genuine example. Think about why people like it, and what it did well.

Maybe the main character will see things in terms of her favorite stories, kind of like the comedy character Roman Saotome from Sket Dance. Sometimes it helps to be specific -- one of the guys routinely says "it's just like that one scene from Kimi ni Todoke that I read last week," or one of them aspires to become like Chiaki from Nodame Cantabile. Likewise, it might be wise to let at least one character be genre savvy. Whether this helps or hinders them is all up to you.

Unexpected realism might be worth considering. What if it turns out that three of the four heroes are interested in other girls, and all of them have had girlfriends in the past? Show that the characters have more layers under their surface. Perhaps the story could go a comedy of "main character thinks she has a reverse harem" into a drama of "main character decides to win one guy, and tries not to lose the friendship of her rival."
watchfob wrote: I have until the end of May to complete this project, so, realistically, I'm probably going to have to focus on only completing one or two routes, since I am doing literally everything myself. However, looking beyond a get-the-grade standpoint, I'd like to complete all the routes and possibly add a few more characters & routes, including The Cute One, Your Best Friend, and... anything else I come up with.
Plan how to use your time effectively. Set some priorities, and make sure that you have enough time for studying and writing.

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#5 Post by watchfob »

Thanks for the responses, guys!

@FonaCall: I'm a digital design major, and our thesis was pretty open. There was a game track available, so that's what I chose to do. :D

@Lyrha: Thank you! The One Who Kills You is a favorite among the people who've seen progress so far, as is Green Boy. To be perfectly honest the two of them are my own personal biases as well, haha.

@gekiganwing: I definitely want to do something that isn't just making fun -- I love anime and otome and there's a reason people keep coming back to these tried and true tropes. I just want to mix things up a little. :D I really enjoy Ouran, but I'm unfamiliar with some of the other titles you mentioned. I'll be sure to check them out! As far as scheduling, one of our requirements is to have a solid outline of what work gets done when. Historically I've not been the best at this on my own, but since we're checking in every class (which is 3x a week), I think this time it'll be more manageable.

Thanks again, all!

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#6 Post by FonaCall »

watchfob wrote: @FonaCall: I'm a digital design major, and our thesis was pretty open. There was a game track available, so that's what I chose to do. :D
Ooh, cool. So, aside from the character designs, you'll be focusing on how the whole thing looks too, from the art assets to the interface layout, am I right?

That sounds fun.
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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#7 Post by watchfob »

@FonaCall: Yup! The whole package. Which is why doing more than one or two routes is a little out of my scope at present. But then again who knows how quickly any part of the process will go, right? :D

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#8 Post by FonaCall »

watchfob wrote:@FonaCall: Yup! The whole package. Which is why doing more than one or two routes is a little out of my scope at present. But then again who knows how quickly any part of the process will go, right? :D
Yep, who knows?

Anyway, yeah, focus on what you need to get done first. If the interest still remains, the people here can wait.
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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#9 Post by Alcor »

D'awww, the characters are so cute!

I'm really looking forward to seeing how you handle this concept! I'm often drawn to games that, in some way or another, subvert otome tropes. :D

Good luck with your senior thesis!

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#10 Post by watchfob »

@ALCOR_etc: Thank you!

I had to give a presentation to some critics for "approval" (it wasn't quite approval but more an initial critique of concept) and it went alright, so I'm going to begin production as of Monday! I would start now but this weekend is Game Jam, which I'm sort of required to do as part of my studio track, and -- clearly -- I can't really do much in a single weekend. That being said, I am going to do a separate, super quick vn for Game Jam, so look out for that, maybe, if all goes well. :D

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#11 Post by watchfob »

I'm not going to do any art assets before I start writing the script, I said, and then proceeded to do the exact opposite.

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Moooostly done with Green Boy sprite... the base, at least. I've got two expressions so hopefully tomorrow I'll render out some more real quick and then I'll pretty much be done with him. Also, incidentally, this is the best hair I've ever rendered.

"So why DID you start art before finishing the script?" Well, I quickly realized showing my professor words on a screen isn't very impressive. But I've got the outline done, at least. Yay?

Oh, also! Dev blog is up! http://genericotome.tumblr.com/. I guess I'll post more polished updates there and less formal ones here? Tho I think I might need to either start a new topic or migrate to the WIP section soon, and at that point it'd probably be pretty even. We shall see.

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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#12 Post by Ghost of Crux »

The names are pure gold. This will be something I'll watch closely-- it's pure, pure gold. Love it. My favourite has to be "We Needed a Megane". It helps that the art is G R E A T, I can't wait to see it finished.
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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#13 Post by FonaCall »

The hair looks GREAT! I can't art for shiz.

I think it would be best if you did do the art first, since you're focusing on design, right? (And that's gonna be a lotta work too.)

Also, congrats on the dev blog!
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Re: generic otome the otome [gxb][gxg]

#14 Post by watchfob »

@Ghost of Crux: Thank you! (If I weren't trying to keep it cool there'd be about seven extra exclamation points.) I'm doing my best to take things slow and not rush so it looks good. I just hope that I can write a story that holds up, too! :)

@FonaCall: You know, you're right. The final critique isn't going to involve crits actually spending however long to play through it (not to make any excuses for skimping on writing) but if the deadline comes and I've got more visuals than story I think it'd be more forgivable than the reverse. Of course, getting everything done and done well is my top priority, so hopefully the order in which it's done isn't too consequential regardless. :D

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