*NEW ART* foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

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sicklesium
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*NEW ART* foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#1 Post by sicklesium »

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foxfire -狐火-

Setting
Set in the middle to late Meiji Period of Japan. In Momiji Village, a small, snowy one high on the mountains, it isn't rare to see strange sights. Outsiders speak of the village as if it were cursed, and that may very well be true. Parents warn their children of the yuki-onna in the deep winter. Travelers are wary to pass through because of the stories of tsuchigumo. But none will dare name anything more dangerous, more mysterious than the kitsune that rule the mountain.

All in all, Momiji Village is quite a risky place to live. Despite all the warnings and short-comings, however, the humans that live there are quite peaceful, hardworking and festive. Every year, they pay their dues to Inari Ookami, the deity they believe protects their village, with two festivals. During the first, that takes place in early summer, they spend an entire night in the shrine, praying for good fortune, health and wealth, while the shrine maidens perform sacred, ritualistic dances. In the winter, just a few days before the new year begins, they recreate a "fox's wedding" with paper lanterns and kitsune masks, dancing jovially about, much less serious than the first.

The winters are harsh, though. Perhaps the yuki-onna of the legends are simply the mothers being nervous that their child may freeze to death in the abnormally freezing weather.

Plot
You play as Ryoutarou, a resident of Momiji Village, as he encounters the kitsune that more or less rule the land surrounding the village. After he has a near death experience, he becomes wary of the village itself and although he wants to move away, urged by his childhood friend who's returned to check on him, he can't bring himself to leave behind the last memories of his late family - nor can he leave the side of the kitsune that saved his life.

Characters
(Art by sharkmittens)

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Progress
Planning: 65%
Assets: 20% (planned: 70%)
Writing 5%

Screenshots
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Other
Hey! This is pretty much still in concept stage, though I did start writing. I really enjoy youkai and I thought this would be a really fun thing to do! I hope others like it eventually too.

The story is a kinetic story, meaning there will be no choices. It will also place a heavier focus on sounds and text rather than visual elements (of course, though, sprites are still there!).

I actually plan for there to be two "episodes" in the "series". This one is, obviously, the first one. The second one will be a retelling of the events from another character's point of view with added background information that can't be found out from Ryoutarou's POV.

Although romance IS a central plot point, it's...different. I'm not quite sure how to explain it. The relationship itself is more important than what occurs in it, if that makes sense. But, of course, things are not as they initially seem.

*NEW* Originally written for Ren'py. May change to kirikiri depending on my mood. Screenshots are from Ren'py.

Here are a few questions:
  • Is youkai overdone yet? Is the story unoriginal?
  • Does the fact there are no choices throw you off? Would you prefer there to be some?
  • *New* Do you think the Meiji Period is a good point in time or would you prefer a different time period (i.e., Sengoku, present day, etc)?
  • And finally, would you be interested in playing a game with this concept?
Thank you!
Last edited by sicklesium on Wed Sep 07, 2016 7:08 am, edited 6 times in total.

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Re: foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#2 Post by FonaCall »

Whoo, that took a while...

I've seen this topic a while before, but I haven't quite gotten to answering it lol.

Japanese folklore is pretty interesting (for us, anyway) but seeing as there are a lot of stuff about them already, it may be a bit boring for some. For those who still want to tell fictional stories about it, there is always the challenge of putting a twist on it.

Anyway, here are my answers to your questions:

Based on the limited information I've presented, do you feel the story may be too predictable or trope-y?

I've read/watched stories about kitsune, but not much about their weddings, so I think this story can still work. Also, the BxB and GxG element is pretty intriguing. Like, is it the norm in your version of fox weddings?

Do you think the size of the cast is too small? Should I add any other (major) minor characters?

I find this a pretty focused-on-a-few-people kind of story, (I mean, short stories don't have that many characters in them, right?) so I don't think the cast is too small. Besides, if it doesn't help with the story, don't add any more characters. Makes it easier to tell the actual story.

Is youkai overdone yet? Is the story unoriginal?

As I said earlier, there's already a lot of stuff written/told about youkai, but I don't think it's overdone quite yet. For one, there are still a lot of kinds of youkai that haven't been made a focus of anime/manga/VNs before. That alone provides a lot of material. Also, with the popular youkai, like the kitsune, there may be aspects of them that are not touched upon that much. You can still make an original story based on that.

Does the fact there are no choices throw you off? Would you prefer there to be some?

I'm not a kinetic novel kind of person in general, but this story interests me somewhat, so I'll still give this a read even if it is a KN, since for me, it would work better as a KN.

And finally, would you be interested in playing a game with this concept?

Why do you think I am taking my sweet time answering this?! Of course I am interested! Hahahaha! (I think that an idea/concept on this forum fails if no one answers the thread. Or messages you about it. o_o)


With that stuff done, I wanna ask you a few more questions myself:

1. Why the name Momiji Village when it's snowy as fuck? Just curious, cause I know that momiji means Japanese maple, and is pretty much the symbol of autumn (and is also the name of one of those Iroshizuku fountain pen inks.... hehehehe)
2. A bit related to the above, I find it amusing that most of the kitsune have some form of red in their name, but are white in fur color. Is there any special meaning behind the contrast of red and white in this story?

- Piet
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Re: foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#3 Post by sicklesium »

FonaCall wrote:Whoo, that took a while...

I've seen this topic a while before, but I haven't quite gotten to answering it lol.
That's fine! Thank you for taking the time. Sorry I took so long to reply back!
Japanese folklore is pretty interesting (for us, anyway) but seeing as there are a lot of stuff about them already, it may be a bit boring for some. For those who still want to tell fictional stories about it, there is always the challenge of putting a twist on it.

Anyway, here are my answers to your questions:

Based on the limited information I've presented, do you feel the story may be too predictable or trope-y?

I've read/watched stories about kitsune, but not much about their weddings, so I think this story can still work. Also, the BxB and GxG element is pretty intriguing. Like, is it the norm in your version of fox weddings?
Like you said earlier, I have to give it a twist somehow! I've only seen 1 other piece of media about fox weddings, which isn't very well known in the first place (or well, it is, but very niche, I suppose), now that I think about it.
Do you think the size of the cast is too small? Should I add any other (major) minor characters?

I find this a pretty focused-on-a-few-people kind of story, (I mean, short stories don't have that many characters in them, right?) so I don't think the cast is too small. Besides, if it doesn't help with the story, don't add any more characters. Makes it easier to tell the actual story.
This is correct! But some people enjoy lots of characters. I tried to add in only the essentials (though there will still be unnamed characters that make appearances and serve their purpose as they should...). And it's a good thing that I asked this question, because I'm realizing I need to add a few very minor, named characters.
Is youkai overdone yet? Is the story unoriginal?

As I said earlier, there's already a lot of stuff written/told about youkai, but I don't think it's overdone quite yet. For one, there are still a lot of kinds of youkai that haven't been made a focus of anime/manga/VNs before. That alone provides a lot of material. Also, with the popular youkai, like the kitsune, there may be aspects of them that are not touched upon that much. You can still make an original story based on that.
The story so much doesn't focus on them being kitsune so much as it does how kitsune interact with the local village, really. I'm realizing a month later that my questions weren't very well thought out, were they?
Does the fact there are no choices throw you off? Would you prefer there to be some?

I'm not a kinetic novel kind of person in general, but this story interests me somewhat, so I'll still give this a read even if it is a KN, since for me, it would work better as a KN.
Haha, I'm a KN person, so I think that's the reason why I've chosen this format. I've also been inspired by various other famous KNs. I tried to think of adding choices but all the choices would be completely minor and not affect the overall story, which I think kind of defeats the purpose of certain choices - especially if they are few and far between, it ruins the atmosphere, in my opinion. Any choices that would greatly affect the story, however, would make the second episode completely useless, as they would give away the information presented.
And finally, would you be interested in playing a game with this concept?

Why do you think I am taking my sweet time answering this?! Of course I am interested! Hahahaha! (I think that an idea/concept on this forum fails if no one answers the thread. Or messages you about it. o_o)
I'm glad it still remains interesting to you!! (And yes, I agree with that, too... Even concrit helps in my opinion, as long as you know people are seeing!)

With that stuff done, I wanna ask you a few more questions myself:

1. Why the name Momiji Village when it's snowy as fuck? Just curious, cause I know that momiji means Japanese maple, and is pretty much the symbol of autumn (and is also the name of one of those Iroshizuku fountain pen inks.... hehehehe)
Momiji Village is spelled 紅葉村, including the 紅 in the kitsune's names. That's really it, though it does provide some funny symbolism when you put it that way haha.
2. A bit related to the above, I find it amusing that most of the kitsune have some form of red in their name, but are white in fur color. Is there any special meaning behind the contrast of red and white in this story?
The only one with white fur is actually Guren! It's said that kitsune only gain their white fur upon reaching nine tails. However, the naming conventions among the kitsune do come into play and are an important plot point, as odd as that seems.

Thank you again for answering! I really appreciate it.
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Re: foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#4 Post by sicklesium »

This is still going on! I've included a new character (Jouhei) to compensate for the changed setting to the Meiji Period/Restoration. Other changes to the story have been applied too but those are either spoilers or not worth mentioning.
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Re: foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#5 Post by sicklesium »

- Updated logo
- Updated progress
- Updated summary
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Re: *NEW ART* foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#6 Post by sicklesium »

Update ~
I added screenshots. Here's also some art of Kouen so that you can see his design!

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By Mae!

More art assets are in the work. Mae is NOT the artist for this project however!
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Re: *NEW ART* foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#7 Post by FonaCall »

Oh cool! Can't wait to see the others too. This is looking good man.
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Re: *NEW ART* foxfire [Suspense/Drama/Horror/Mythos] [BxB]

#8 Post by sicklesium »

An update~ I'll be looking into getting this thread moved into WIP rather than Ideas!

But first, I've decided on an artist for this project: sharkmittens! I really recommend them~

Here's Kohane!

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FonaCall wrote:Oh cool! Can't wait to see the others too. This is looking good man.
I'm glad you're still interested~!! Thank you!!
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