Red.
Everything had been colored red.
The sky. The walls. The trees. The soil.
Everything was either covered in fire or blood.
A name was cried out as a burning tree fell.
A final cry pierced the sky before--
The continent of Soluterra had faced a tragedy when Eosos fell over the course of one night in flames. The land was ruined, a majority of its people were dead or missing, along with its monarchy. Since then, the Occiden monarchy has been picking up the pieces of their fallen ally, doing its best to keep their people from plunging into a civil war. The monarch's heir, Siegfried, hasn't been doing so great either. Being close to the children of the Eososian monarchy, the deaths of his friends still haunt him in his wake and in his sleep. From time to time in the past five years, he's experienced vivid nightmares of Eosos's fall. But for the first time, he dreams a possibility that his friends are still alive. Surviving. Now needing his help.
In the darkness, the light shines the brightest. Et lux in tenebris lucet.
Siegfried said the words of his people to himself, always searching for hope. And now, dawn was about to arrive.
--
Formerly titled "Swan Lake".
Ren'Py | Development Est. June 2014 | BxB
Fantasy / Adventure / Romance
Irregular Updates.
--
Warnings.
Mild violence. Mention of the death of minor characters. One of the characters is in an abusive relationship with their father figure.
--
Background.
Eosos, before its fall, lived to the East of Occiden. They specialized in the education of their people's magical powers, and would had been a formidable ally. If they had knowledge of the ambush, they would have been able to put up a better fight against them.
While Occiden is known for its intimidating military, they prefer to use their diplomatic skills to resolve issues instead. When Eosos fell, the monarchy took in the surviving Eososi people. Some of the refugees have moved on to neighboring kingdoms, but those who have remained in Occiden have had some trouble with the people because of overcrowding. The arising tensions worries the monarchy.
The forest served as a border between Occiden and Eosos. While it was officially neutral land, Eosos unofficially had sovereignty over it because of the magical properties it holds.
--
Progress & Development.
As of.
12/4/16
Words
66121 words
{PROLOGUE + ACT 01: 13446 | ACT 02 + INTERLUDE 1: 15750 | ACT 03 + INTERLUDE 2: 24392 | ACT 04 + EPILOGUE: 12536}
As of.
4/3/16
Words
42005
{ACT 01: 6647 | ACT 02: 12513 | ACT 03: 16582 | ACT 04: 5445 | EPILOGUE: 818}
Writing is more or less completed!!!
-Still needs to be proof read to check for any spelling and grammar errors as well as any plot holes, since I changed some things in the middle of writing.
The Official To Do List/Progress Spreadsheet
Character Sprites | BGs | CGs
Only sketches so far. Thumbnails are made for BGs.
~9-12 Sprites | ~20 BGs | ~21 CGs
--12/4/16
Words
66121 words
{PROLOGUE + ACT 01: 13446 | ACT 02 + INTERLUDE 1: 15750 | ACT 03 + INTERLUDE 2: 24392 | ACT 04 + EPILOGUE: 12536}
4/3/16
Words
42005
{ACT 01: 6647 | ACT 02: 12513 | ACT 03: 16582 | ACT 04: 5445 | EPILOGUE: 818}
Writing is more or less completed!!!
-Still needs to be proof read to check for any spelling and grammar errors as well as any plot holes, since I changed some things in the middle of writing.
The Official To Do List/Progress Spreadsheet
Character Sprites | BGs | CGs
Only sketches so far. Thumbnails are made for BGs.
~9-12 Sprites | ~20 BGs | ~21 CGs
I want to note that I've been wanting to make this a thing since 2014 but actual progress on it was an on-again, off-again situation, so I'm really glad that I'm making bigger strides! I liked putting my own spin on fairy tales when I was younger, so it feels almost nostalgic working on this? Otto, Odile, and Rothbart's designs have remained pretty much since the same from the beginning-- mostly because I liked the way they looked. Siegfried's however, has changed so much in the past two years, mainly because I was super indecisive on how he should look like. It either didn't feel right or felt too similar to my previous characters.
I officially started working on the timeline on 2/15/16 as well as Act 1. I started writing Act 2 the next day.
Since the story of Swan Lake is commonly known, I feel like I can explain how the acts without spoiling everything since I did take a lot of liberty in tweaking various aspects of it.
ETA (1/1/17) I've re-written the story for NaNoWriMo since I was really unsatisfied with how I approached... mostly everything... in the first draft: plot holes, the rushed and anticlimactic ending, and some of the dialogue. I've added more backstory and world-building information in the re-write as well as tweaking some of the personalities of certain characters. I will be looking for a beta-reader some time in the future, but I have to add in some information before I feel okay sending it out to be read. Old information in this forum will be kept, but will have a strike through so my progress is documented in some way.
There is now a prologue to set the events of the main story up as well as interludes in-between each act to include information that couldn't have been added in the acts, but needed to be there. The epilogue will r
ACT 2: Continues off from Act 1, ends a little after they arrive at Eosos. (COMPLETED)
ACT 3: Continues off from Act 2, ends a couple days before the ball. (COMPLETED)
ACT 4: Picks up from Act 3, wraps up the story. (COMPLETED)
EPILOGUE: A small afterward to see what everyone's been doing a few years after the end of the main plot. (COMPLETED)
EDIT (3/6/16) Act 2 ends differently, but Act 3 picks up from where it ended. Act 3 should end as stated.
EDIT (4/3/16) Act 2-4 started differently, writing is completed. Thinking about changing a few things in Act 4, though.
I've also played around with the programming a little!
The images used as the backgrounds are just placeholders and will not be officially used in the game once it's released.
(click the image for a larger view!)
Soundtrack available!
*tracks are subject to change over time | album art will be cleaned up later
(spotify) | (post)
Characters.
Siegfried Reynaldo Hertz-Ortiz
The Prince of Occiden. He’s known for his good judgement of character, and is equally notable for his poor navigational skills. He's fallen into a pit of depression ever since Eosos fell. The nightmares that haunt him from time to time impede his ability to move on, even though his friends, family, and therapist all support him. Although Siegfried feels like he hasn't done much for his people, his efforts have been effective in preventing a civil war to break out between his people.
Additional Notes:
- While Siegfried likes to practice archery the most, he doesn’t like to hunt animals.
- He has really tried to improve his navigational skills, but has shown little to no progress on it.
- A talented speechwriter and speaker. Has traveled around Occiden to encourage his people to remain civil and has been pretty successful.
Otto
A strange boy that Siegfried meets in the woods. He gives off an intimidating presence with his aloof attitude, and refrains from disclosing any information to someone unless he knows that they can be trusted.
Additional Notes:
- He transforms to a swan during daylight.
- Dancing has relaxed him ever since he was little.
- Is very friendly towards people he trusts.
- Currently one of the most powerful living magic users.
Crow
Rothbart’s underling, is often called a “crow” by him because of her drab appearance and bad luck. She is not fond of Rothbart as he tends to berate her, but stays with him out of contractual obligation.
Additional Notes:
- She gets irritated whenever anyone, especially Otto asks why she doesn’t just flee from Rothbart.
- She gets even more irritated whenever Rothbart insults her.
- Her design is based on a crow.
- She is almost always seen wearing a mask.
Rothbart
A sorcerer who only wants to watch the world burn. While he believes in keeping messes to a minimal, he does not mind getting his hands dirty if someone is in his way.
Additional Notes:
- His design is based on the peacock.
- Calculating and patient.
- Resents Crow, but keeps her since she's of use to him.
- One of the most powerful living magic users.
Wolfgang Johansen
Siegfried’s tutor, close friend, and his potential adviser. He is very intelligent for his age and by extension, is a curious person. Even though he doesn’t mean to, he often eavesdrops overhears conversations around the castle and kingdom and is keen on most of the gossip, whether it’s true or false. He also has a deep interest in Eososi culture, and was enlisted by Siegfried to come along with him on his journey towards the former kingdom.
Additional Notes:
- He and Benno often banter with each other, but it’s all in good nature.
- Moved around a lot when he was younger. Before he lived around the area near the forest and moved to the castle when he was thirteen, he immigrated to Occident from another kingdom.
- His homeland is unknown.
- Regularly has tea with Queen Alethea since he's her confidant.
Benno Sonnen-Vogel
Siegfried’s main guard and close friend. He takes pride in his position as Siegfried’s trusted guard, with his strength and skill backing up for it. However, he lacks experience and presence as one. A notable characteristic of his is that he is not afraid to show his emotions, which Siegfried notes is a double edge sword.
Additional Notes:
- He taught Wolfgang how to defend himself in exchange for his tutoring.
- He resides in the Occiden Castle because he’s Siegfried’s main guard, but he likes to visit his family often since they’re in the capital.
- His mothers have been running an orphanage in the capital ever since he was little, and as a result, he considers many of the children there to be his own family, even after they're adopted.
- Wanted to become a guard because he was curious about the kingdom’s affairs and to support his family.
Queen Alethea Hertz-Ortiz
Siegfried's mother and the Queen of Occiden. She was formerly King Gerald's main guard before they married, but now, she rules the kingdom with her husband. She loves her family and kingdom to the point where she can be a bit overbearing, even though she means well.
Additional Notes:
- In addition to being the King's former guard, she also helped him learn how to fight.
- She is in charge of overseeing Occiden's army, trade, alliances, and other external affairs.
- She believes that smiling in the portraits gives off a more intimidating feeling.
- Often has tea with Wolfgang where they discuss current affairs, both social and political around and outside of the kingdom.
King Gerald Hertz-Ortiz
Siegfried's father and the King of Occiden. He succeeded the throne many years ago, being the eldest out of his siblings. Compared to his wife, he is not as overbearing as she is.
Additional Notes:
- He is in charge of overseeing Occiden's economy, the requests of his subjects, and other internal affairs such as the civil court.
- Before his coronation, he was hesitant in succeeding his parents, but Queen Alethea assured him about his position.
- Hired a therapist for his family to help them with their loss since they were close to the Eososi monarchy.
- Is very proactive in the needs and wants of his people.
Lazarus
The leader of Aurora Village. Under his leadership, he gathered the Eososi people to a safe spot in the forest and has kept them safe since.
Additional Notes:
- He suffers from PTSD after seeing his family's deaths during Eosos's fall.
- He took in and raised Otto since the fall since they were both without family.
- Even though he worries over Otto, Otto worries over him as well.
Queen Katerina Reyes
The former Queen of Eosos. She was the kingdom's most powerful magic user until the kingdom was ambushed. At first, she succeeded the throne alone, but later married her guard and close friend in order to produce an heir. Despite her stoic demeanor, she loved her family a lot.
Additional Notes:
- She was never interested in marrying anyone, but did so anyway for the sake of her kingdom.
- She was in charge of internal and magical affairs.
- Her stoic demeanor was a result of how she was raised.
King Raleigh Reyes
The former King of Eosos. He was the Queen's guard and also her close friend before they married. He felt weird marrying the Queen for purely political reasons, but went through with it anyway.
Additional Notes:
- At first, he attempted to have a more romantic relationship with the queen, but they had agreed to remain on platonic terms.
- He was in charge of the external affairs of the kingdom.
- He worried over his involvement in Eosos' affairs.
--
Production.
- Everything from the script to the art to the programming will be done by me.
- I want to use the ballet's music in this game somehow.
- Will use royalty free music if I can't afford to hire a musician/composer.
- I'm open for commissions!!
- -> Money will be mostly used towards VN investments!
- I will ask for beta-readers/testers in the future.
- Completed game will be available on itch.io
--
Risks & Challenges.
-
- First (and a half?) time working on a VN.
- I have a lot of work from school that takes time away from working on this but I try to get something done every week anyway.
- Programming is a first for me. It gives me a headache, but I really want to see how far I can go by myself.
--
Notes.
- I've never written an abusive relationship before, so I really wanna treat it with care. If you couldn't tell yet, it's between Crow and Rothbart. It's not physically abusive, but rather mentally and verbally. I don't plan on romanticizing it, but I want to know if there's anything I should know about writing this type of relationship.
-
- Re-written during NaNoWriMo 2016 to fix certain issues I had with the first draft.
- This is most likely not a kinetic novel anymore. Price is yet to be determined but is around $5-15.
- May be mixed in with RPG maker?
--
Questions.
1. Which character interests you the most?
2. What do you think makes a successful retelling of a known story?
3. If there was a kickstarter for this, would you support it?
--
Goals.
-
- -> (4/3/16)
- -> (1/1/17) Re-written version has 66121 words overall!
- If I have the money to commission musicians for the soundtrack, I want to incorporate the ballet's music on to it. I've been listening to it while I've been writing so far, but I feel like there's something missing.
-
- Currently focused on Kiss Me X. This project may not be completed until 2018 or later.
-
- -> (4/3/16) Script is more or less finished! Currently working on the sprites. I may work on the BGs and CGs with the sprites, but the sprites are my priority right now. Programming will take place once the art assets are completed.
- (4/3/16) Contemplating on making a side story on how Siegfried, Wolfgang, and Benno met.
- -> Will most likely be an unlockable side story once main one is completed.
- A preliminary demo will be released, but will only go up to the end of Act 1.
- -> Will most likely go up once the assets for that act are completed.
- -> It will contain what I've worked on without any of the help I hope to gain from a kickstarter campaign.
- If the kickstarter is successful, a second version of the demo will be released.
- -> It will most likely go up once the whole VN is almost completed.
- -> Will also serve as a demo to see if it's worth purchasing.
- -> It will include the help I would receive from a kickstarter.
- I'm not sure how much the kickstarter should be, but I don't want to go further into it until I finish the script. For now, it's something I feel is worth noting, but not something I would like to focus on. I would like to show you what I can bring before I can start assuming things.
--
Closing Note.
I look forward to working on this as well as completing it! Thank you for your support and looking on this thread!
--
Progress Log.
(follow my development blog for more updates!)
6/14: Sketches made for Otto, Siegfried, Odile, and Rothbart.
6/15: More sketches for Otto and Siegfried.
02/15/16: Outline completed. Act 1 Completed.
02/16/16: Act 2 started. About halfway through it.
02/18/16: Progress on Act 2 continues. Very little, but still something.
02/21/16: Act 2 is still being written. Currently 7778 words for the act, and 14425 overall. New main image for game!
02/29/16: Act 2 is still being written. Currently 9903 words for the act, and 16550 overall. Two potential sprites and a lot of sketches.
03/06/16: Act 2 is completed with 12513 words. Act 3 is currently underway with 955 words. Currently 20115 words in all. Re-did the character designs for Siegfried's parents.
03/13/16: Act 3 is still being written. Currently 3060 words for the act, and 23175 overall. Prelim sketch for an event cg and an adjustment in the GUI. Added more character bios.
03/20/16: Act 3 is still being written. Currently 6160 words in the act, and 25320 overall. Title screen design updated and amount of art to be made estimated.
03/27/16: Act 3 is still being written. Currently 11021 words for the act, and 30181 overall. So... many... sketches this week...
04/03/16: Act 3 is completed! Act 4 and the Epilogue were both started and completed today! The overall story totals up to 42005 words. Sprite creation is underway. Thinking of doing spoiler free streams every week?
04/10/16: Sketches for the first set of sprites are done! Currently editing Act 2.
04/17/16: Sketches completed for the main set of characters. Still editing Act 2. Hope to get most of the line arts done by the end of the week! Will be super busy until after the 2nd week of May, so progress may slow down a little...
04/24/16: Outlines for Otto's sprites are completed. GUI is updated. Made a preview video of what I have so far.
05/01/16: Soundtrack pulled together. Twitter up. Spreadsheet of To Do List/Progress Chart available.
05/15/16: Will start streaming Saturdays 8PM EST. Open for commission for VN investments. Started to clean up album art.
05/22/16: Participating in YaoiJam! Starting to get back into groove. Made progress in sprites & BG sketches. Made some changes in character bg info.
05/29/16: Finished the outlines for the sprites that'll appear in the demo! Finished the album art too.
11/01/16-12/04/16: NaNoWriMo 2016. Re-wrote the script.
01/01/17: Forum edited to accommodate new information in light of the re-write.
