[WIP] Recruiting for VN game "Never Once"

[cloudyssky]

Good evening everyone. Names Cloudyssky and I am recruiting. First let me give you the plot here of what you'll be working on:
Title: Never Once
Genre: Drama/Adventure
Synopsis: The People's Government of Romania is one of the sole remaining communist nations in all of Europe, following along with Albania, Finland, and Southern Italy. Romania holds a military might that rivals that of the rest of the world. In 1996 there was an armed conflict between Romania and neighboring Ukraine over a section called the 'Kazan Strip'; a strip of land that ran along the Romanian-Ukrainian border. The conflict lasted 2 months with the end result of Romania gaining a small piece Ukrainian land which was renamed Kyrina-a new providence which held a population of over 500,000 Ukrainians. Shortly after the annexation months of revolt take place in the providence as thousands prayed the Ukrainian government would take them back. The violence died down eventually as the people realized this was false hope.
10 years pass and the people of Kyrina have become use to the abuse they face from their communist ruler. Famine, murder, and rape have been a part of daily life for the average citizen living in Kyrina as the Romanian army and military police rule with an iron fist. And one day hope comes when word begins to spread about a new group taking shape in the heart of all Kyrina-a small revolution the capital city of Yugansta. Change is on the horizon. And Misha Shikov is about to become the heart of it all.

Character List:
Misha Shikov (the protagonist)-A 20-something resident in the small town of Omski, Misha lives a quiet life working at his uncle's local butcher shop. His Ukrainian parents were both killed during the Kazan Strip conflict, and his uncle took him in since. However one day Misha meets the leader of a small guerrilla group called the Kyrina Liberation Army Squad, or KLAS. He his thrust into a world he didn't know existed, and shown horrors he could never imagine.

Andrey Chirkoff-Leader of KLAS, he has a split personality. When it comes to daily life, Andrey takes a casual approach to things with a lazy attitude. However when it comes to his work as a rebel, he takes it very seriously to every inch and knows that he has a job to do to liberate those who are being mistreated by a blood thirsty government

More to be announced (or if requested)

Purpose of the game: To take the player on a political journey through a revolution. Think of it as like putting someone through the French Revolution, but with bigger guns, and tanks. I'd like to create multiple paths along the way and give the player a wide variety of choice in what political parties or groups he/she wants to join.

Who I'm looking for:
-Music Programmer/Writer
-Character Artist.
-Background Artist (If I can't find one I'll use google and mess around with GIMP, but I would love to have a BG artist. Character artist could double as one if they want)
That's all I need for people. If I can get the music and art done for the game, then I can do all the programming on my own time and finish it up with what I have given to me.
I'm also thinking of getting voice actors, as I know a good forum for some, but I won't get them on board until the VN it's self is finished-it wouldn't make sense to do other wise as character lines will be constantly changing during production.
And a note for the character artist: The drawing style will me manga/anime (duh), but the tone with be dark. ie; heavy use of dark colors when drawing characters. Also, you'll need to be able to draw characters with guns, as this will be a war. And you will need to be able to draw uniforms as well (military not school ).

No, I can't pay anyone (yet). I suppose I could possibly in the future, but don't count on it as I'm poor. But it's a possibility.

Thank you. Questions or comments are welcome. I think I made this look all too more serious than this actually is, but whatever

*All information is subject to change because I change my mind a lot because let's face it-I'm indecisive

[fortaat]

keep in mind you said "Questions or comments are welcome", as some of my questions might sound offensive:

1. you said on another thread you never been to Romania. I find the historical background the strongest selling point ( it's unique compared to other VNs). what do you know about that background? what life were like in the former soviet satellite states? was Russian an official language, was it spoken? was economy based on barter, as well as currency?
right now it seems like you could have easily picked Evil Fantasy Dictatorship X. does the setting matters to the story?
without in depth knowledge of Romania, this will end up being a shallow caricature of an east European country.

2. the protagonist sounds like the generic Gundam hero "my parents were killed, i'm angsty, let's revolt!". why should the reader care about him?

3. how long do you think VN will be? how many words? specifically, how many BG?

3. what past experience do you have with writing? you didn't say you need a writer. have you written a VN before? could you please provide a two page scene, so we could evaluate your skill. it's not very rewarding to help a project doomed by a bad writer.

4. "The drawing style will me manga/anime (duh)" - why, really? I see no reason to associate this novel with the Japanese art style.

[cloudyssky]

keep in mind you said "Questions or comments are welcome", as some of my questions might sound offensive:

1. you said on another thread you never been to Romania. I find the historical background the strongest selling point ( it's unique compared to other VNs). what do you know about that background? what life were like in the former soviet satellite states? was Russian an official language, was it spoken? was economy based on barter, as well as currency?
right now it seems like you could have easily picked Evil Fantasy Dictatorship X. does the setting matters to the story?
without in depth knowledge of Romania, this will end up being a shallow caricature of an east European country.

2. the protagonist sounds like the generic Gundam hero "my parents were killed, i'm angsty, let's revolt!". why should the reader care about him?

3. how long do you think VN will be? how many words? specifically, how many BG?

3. what past experience do you have with writing? you didn't say you need a writer. have you written a VN before? could you please provide a two page scene, so we could evaluate your skill. it's not very rewarding to help a project doomed by a bad writer.

4. "The drawing style will me manga/anime (duh)" - why, really? I see no reason to associate this novel with the Japanese art style.

Thanks for the questions. Don't worry, I don't take them offensivly. I gladly will answer any that come up. So to answer them in order...

1. I've never been to Romania as said, but I think plenty of VN writers have never been to the places their games take place in (ie; so many take place in Japan, but I doubt many VN writers have actually been). In the VN, I do plan on telling more about Romania's fictional history. At one point in time it was a communist country and I've done a good amount of research on that history, but am putting in my own twists and takes on history. Most of the historical things that will be discussed through-out the game will be relavent to Kyrina's history, as well as some historical references to Romania as a communist nation. Russian and Ukrainian are fully spoken in Kyrina as the citizens refuse to speak Romanian. They economy differs in the region. For example, in the large cities the economy is based off currency, while in some smaller towns the basis is barter and trade as you said. The setting very much matters to the story, but note much history talked about will be fictional, as this is a fictional setting after all. There will be good amount of depth into Romania history however, both non-fictional and fictional.

2. What I want to do is provide the player with choice. And lots of it. In the start, the protagonist does not care for revolution. However the player is given the choice to revolt, stay silent, or to even support Romania. This will create multiple paths. I want the player to have control, not me. Thus, the player will develop their own character in a sense with each action.

3. I want the game to be pretty long. I'd like it to take the player about one week time to complete. Word wise (this is probaly a large over estimate) maybe 10,000~30,000. As for the number of backgrounds I need, no more than 25, no less than 10. Though I would like a good amount of CG art.

4. (you miscounted, no biggie ) As for writing experience, this will indeed be my first experience with making a VN, but not writing something. I've been writing short stories and such for years and years, and always finish them no matter what. I also have taken a summer course on free-style writing. I'm actually in the process of transferring the script I have from paper to computer (I've hand written most of the script because I'm more comfterable with putting my thoughts on paper first). You can PM me your email and I'll have the script ready by the end of the week.

5. I suppose I missused the language there. Think of the character style as Front Mission or Advanced Wars: Days of Ruin http://cache.kotaku.com/assets/resource ... leadin.jpg

If you have any more questions, or if I missed anything, please don't hesitate. Yours were very forward and needed to be answered, so don't worry about putting some pressure on me.

[fortaat]

1. "I've never been to Romania as said, but I think plenty of VN writers have never been to the places their games take place in (ie; so many take place in Japan, but I doubt many VN writers have actually been)"
Which is why many of them look less like novels, and more like silly weebo games. though the story lacks any real connection with japan, the authour decided he wants to place the story there, and screwed the reliability of the story.
despite that, it seems like you are on the right track. keep studying.

2 + 3 + 4
"this will indeed be my first experience with making a VN"
+
"Word wise (this is probaly a large over estimate) maybe 30,000~50,000"
=
Extremely high chances of being an over bloated project. sorry, but it's true. your first VN should be around 5000 word, if only to learn what stylistic limitations VN writing imposes on you, and how to utilize writing to enhance the game play.

This sounds like an interesting project, but I doubt you are capable of doing it. if that will change in the future, I might be your BG artist, but right now you are aiming way way too high.

[dstarsboy]

Maybe there's a way you can make the game in episodes, that way it's more likely to get done and you can see how everyone likes it so far.

Topics like these are very interesting, for example... North Koreans... does anyone know anything about the daily lives of North Koreans? Probably not, but there are some pretty shocking books out there by people who have been able to get out of the country. Of course, it would be much less shocking if it was all made up and poorly researched, so I'm with fortaat on that.

I'm definitely curious to see where this goes.

[cloudyssky]

1. "I've never been to Romania as said, but I think plenty of VN writers have never been to the places their games take place in (ie; so many take place in Japan, but I doubt many VN writers have actually been)"
Which is why many of them look less like novels, and more like silly weebo games. though the story lacks any real connection with japan, the authour decided he wants to place the story there, and screwed the reliability of the story.
despite that, it seems like you are on the right track. keep studying.

2 + 3 + 4
"this will indeed be my first experience with making a VN"
+
"Word wise (this is probaly a large over estimate) maybe 30,000~50,000"
=
Extremely high chances of being an over bloated project. sorry, but it's true. your first VN should be around 5000 word, if only to learn what stylistic limitations VN writing imposes on you, and how to utilize writing to enhance the game play.

This sounds like an interesting project, but I doubt you are capable of doing it. if that will change in the future, I might be your BG artist, but right now you are aiming way way too high.

Alright, you're right fortaat, I did over shoot. However I like dstarsboy idea-putting it into episodes.
I'll tell you what, let's put it into episodes, and the first episode will have no more than 6000 words.
I agree that I was aiming to high, as I often do But hey, reach for the stars as they say.
So fortaat, if I limit the word limit as I just did, will you jump on board?
I'm willing to compromise to get some extra hands on board.

[cloudyssky]

Maybe there's a way you can make the game in episodes, that way it's more likely to get done and you can see how everyone likes it so far.

Topics like these are very interesting, for example... North Koreans... does anyone know anything about the daily lives of North Koreans? Probably not, but there are some pretty shocking books out there by people who have been able to get out of the country. Of course, it would be much less shocking if it was all made up and poorly researched, so I'm with fortaat on that.

I'm definitely curious to see where this goes.

I'll definitely be doing research when needed on some topics. Ex: Romanian and Ukrainian phrases, culture, history, and food. And hey, if you ever want to jump on board feel free. :]

[Samu-kun]

If you're fictionalizing the history of the Romania, then why not just set it in an alternative universe all together? It's a lot easier and more engaging to write the story that way, since the player's political preconceptions don't interfere with the story that you're trying to tell as much.

[cloudyssky]

If you're fictionalizing the history of the Romania, then why not just set it in an alternative universe all together? It's a lot easier and more engaging to write the story that way, since the player's political preconceptions don't interfere with the story that you're trying to tell as much.

Well, basically, it is an alternate universe. I mean, if in the current story concept Romania is communist, the game being in an alternate universe is a given, don't you think?

[Chansel]

Hmm... Perhaps you're aiming a bit too high, perhaps you're not.
Personally I'm working on my first real VN (I've written a few short examples for myself and my friends that lasted a grant total of 5 min, but they don't really count).
I've only got one scene fully written out in the game and it already has 4000+ words!

I know that 30.00-50.00 words sounds impossible. But once your writing it, It'll be more difficult to keep the story to 6000, which is relatively short. I'd say around 5-6 word pages, depending on your writing style. Or 7 times this topic's first post, which had 727 words . Do you think you can make a whole episode with 7x the words of your first post? Personally, I think THAT is aiming to high (or low, whichever you prefer).

So, basically, what I'm trying to say is this: don't fret too much about the word count and focus more on telling the story properly. If that takes you 6000, good. If it takes you 50.000 words, that's fine too ^^

Besides, in the end it's all about having fun in doing what you do, right? =D

[cloudyssky]

So, basically, what I'm trying to say is this: don't fret too much about the word count and focus more on telling the story properly. If that takes you 6000, good. If it takes you 50.000 words, that's fine too ^^

Besides, in the end it's all about having fun in doing what you do, right? =D

Right on. I really don't care for the word count per say, but do have an idea of length I want to reach (even though I can't exactly spell out what that length should be). In any case, all I want really is a finished project that I can be proud of

[Chansel]

In any case, all I want really is a finished project that I can be proud of

I couldn't agree more =D

[fortaat]

If you're fictionalizing the history of the Romania, then why not just set it in an alternative universe all together? It's a lot easier and more engaging to write the story that way, since the player's political preconceptions don't interfere with the story that you're trying to tell as much.

it's a lot easier, but less interesting.
take "As I Lay Dying" and change the background to a fictional la-la land - you'll end up with boring story. much of the characterizations are driven from the demise of Old South. it's a very crucial part of the story.
If the writer feels he is capable of creating a rich image of Romania (which has many interesting facets other than the history), let him try.

However - cloudyssky, you are doing a mistake. you are putting a lot of efforts into a dream project, which you have a very small chance to complete. you might know that new guy, who comes in to a writing course with an idea for the BEST fantasy novel ever. He wastes a lot of time over, instead of small projects who will train him to write a good novel.

Writing episodes is a bad habit, as they don't require an ending, or properly setting and resolving conflicts.
for the first VN, you should focus on the good old formula of:
1. exposition
2. turning point
3. small peaks
4. climax
5. resolution

I'm not saying you can't do better, but the task of setting and resolving a conflict in VNs is very different from what you did so far:
short story: conflict set up----> ending, conflict resolved
visual novels: conflict set up----> ending 1
ending 2
ending 3

all three ending should resolve the conflict differently, and still feel hull with the general story. this is without detailing the possibility of more than one conflict set up.

Do a practice project first, get the basics of Renpy programing and multiply choice writing, than ask the community for help on a big project.

[Samu-kun]

It's probably not a good idea to specifically mention a country if you're going to fictionalize its history. I'm sure if someone were to make a story where America annexed Mexico and then conducted a eugenics campaign and forcibly sterilized all Mexican women in the year 1972, people will either be too offended or unable to accept the implausibility of the situation to understand whatever message you're trying to convey with your story. That's the entire reason why a lot of political satire relies heavily upon symbolism.

[fortaat]

... yeah, i guess you're right:

10 years pass and the people of Kyrina have become use to the abuse they face from their communist ruler. Famine, murder, and rape have been a part of daily life for the average citizen living in Kyrina as the Romanian army and military police rule with an iron fist.