Magical Boutique

[monele]

Since a few people were curious about it, here's some more info about it :

Magical Boutique is my parallel project (so, parallel to Utsukushii Planet) and takes place in a fantasy world that is more bent on magic than mechanic.
I just wanted to make a gameplay-based project to counterbalance the story-heavy UP. I wanted it to be some sort of management game, but something a bit more original than the usual "deal with trains, cars, bus, towns, stuff...".

Magical Boutique lets you be the manager of a magic shop. You start with an assistant, have her gather plants and other various ingredients, which you then use to make potions or experiment and find new recipes. The potions made can then be sold to customers.
As the game progresses, and your reputation grows, more workers will ask to work for you, each with its own specialities. You will also get unique clients with unique missions for you. Can you make the hundred Force potions to shape up the royal guard for when a foreign minister visits ? Can you find the recipe for the Memory Back potion and help this poor lady remember where she hid her precious belongings ?

Further along the way, your workers will have to visit more dangerous places... Fortunately, you can team them up with bodyguard-type workers who will keep the monsters and thieves at bay.
Other workers will be better at promoting your products... Equip them with a caravan and send them to other locations to sell your potions !


That's pretty much the whole concept ^^;.

This project is not my main one, as I said. I work on it when I'm fed up with UP or when I just feel more like coding than making up stories. I discovered how much Ren'Py lets you do with its interface... it's quite the thrill ^.^.

For now, I only have the basic interface that lets you see various stuff about your shop (stocks, staff...) and also assign tasks to your workers. It also lets you go through each turn, but it doesn't make anything (no potion production, no gathering...) in-between ^^;... So it's not playable, just... clickable .

Here's a video showing the whole interface as it is for now :

http://monele.clearlyseen.net/Divers/MagBou.avi

[Watercolorheart]

It's ... interesting, I played some of it. I like the idea of it .

I don't think I've ever played a game where I managed a magic shop before.

[PyTom]

So I was on the phone with my friend Chris, and pointed out this video out to him. He downloaded and watched it as I was on the phone.

The result was minutes of gushing over it, and he asked me to mention it on the board. So I am.

(I liked it too, but how can I beat this story?)

[monele]

Wow o^^o;... Well now, that's motivating feedback X3. I'm really glad to see this being well received with just the bare interface demo ^.^

[Alessio]

I'm not a management/simulation fan, but it looks absolutely great. Very professional. Amazing. BTW, you've changed the interface so much it's nearly impossible to guess you've used Ren'Py for it...

[papillon]

Neat! As you can probably already guess, I'm fond of management sims, especially if there's a plot involved as well...

[yummy]

Hehe sounds interesting.
It seems like a fine mix of RPG and management so I'm waiting for the released game
Here's my short review about this short intro game:
There are great CGs, even if these might not be the final ones.
It seems there is an intuitive game architecture (good use of menus) so that the player wouldn't be easily lost.
Good job anyways.

[monele]

Alessio : and yet, it's mostly a matter of changing the regular roundrect frames with something else. You can see that the preferences screen is still using the same layout. But maybe you're talking about the in-game part ^^;... In that case, yes, it's more than just a few configuration changes.

papillon : there should be a plot, yes, but as I said, I'm focusing on the gameplay. So it will probably be something rather simple, with occasional event scenes to learn more about the characters and the surroundings.

yummy : release could take quite some time... Even though this part was done quickier than I expected (a few weeks I guess ?) there's still a lot to add . And even when it'll be playable, I'll need to add *content* in the form of missions, characters, events, ingredients, and all that stuff @_@
Not sure which CGs you're referring to : there's only the title screen (which I'm not proud of) and the manipulated photo in the main menu (which I have no rights to use and will have to change...) ^^;...
I'm glad you find the menus intuitive. I don't want to make the game a pain to navigate. Especially since you'll spend a lot of time in this interface.

[musical74]

I like the idea of running a magic shop =)

Small problem, but I think it's on my end...I can't get the AVI to run I use WMP and it complains about needing a codec, or not being compatile. I'm POSITIVE avi is compatible with WMP, so it needs a codec...but don't know how to get those...anyone know how to get it so I can comment on the avi?

Once I figure out how to get the codec needed, I'll let you know my thoughts on the game, monele =)

[monele]

You can either get one of the Xvid codecs

(http://monele.clearlyseen.net/Divers/xvid103.exe is the one I'm using right now)

... but if you don't want to "pollute" your machine, I strongly suggest getting the VLC player (http://www.videolan.org/vlc/) which is a standalone solution including all the codecs you'll need. It should play pretty much any video WMP can't

[mikey]

It's wonderful!!!

As you know, I don't like statistics, or RPG or anything of that sort, but I do have a weakness, and that's chemistry. I love it. So mixing ingredients and gathering green things... you have to finish this game and give it to me...

As one would expect, the interface is just beautiful. This is now easily #2 on my most wanted list (as I'm still kind of hoping for eclipse's Blind Love...)

Good luck with it.

[monele]

Meep ! Pressure!
Well I finally added a part of the resolve phase. Now your little workers can brew potions and gather ingredients. Next step is either graphic-up all this, or start working on the sell system.

Btw, anyone's heard of eclipse ? It's been a long time ô_o;

[mikey]

Btw, anyone's heard of eclipse ? It's been a long time ô_o;

Indeed, there's actually a finished translation waiting for her approval.

[musical74]

Think I'll add to your presuure, monele...MUST...GET...THIS...GAME....

Thanks to your codec suggestion - THANK YOU - I was able to see the video, and here's my comments on it.

Interface: 10/10. This was very easy to navigate =) Please keep it this way...it was very easy.

Music: uhhhhh no sound...

Style: 9/10. Not a 10 because I'm not much for this style overall, but it was very well done, and I am looking forwards to the finished product.

Innovation: 10/10. I like the idea of a mix between RPG (almost all my console games are RPG!) and management, and it looks to be a good mix.

Regarding eclispe: Sure, I know of her. She's sweet, she's helpful, and she's working on Blind Love...Oh? you wanted to know where she is? Ummmmmm.....I've got it! She's hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce on us unexpectedly!

[monele]

No sound yet. Not as important as for a story game I think ^^.

Glad you think the interface is good. Why do you think the style isn't, though? Personal taste or is there something I can improve?

Innovation : I'm just scared it will get boring... but then, these games *always* get boring... So buh ;o;

About eclipse : ohh, this sounds like something she could do XD.


Alright, for those who want to play around with MagBou, here's the last version :



Magical Boutique v0.00001 (1.43Mb)


It's just the "game" directory so you need to fetch the last Ren'Py (5.6.1) and replace the game directory by this one.

All you can do is brew potions with the hero and gather ingredients with Framboise. You can't sell the potions and you can't access the laboratory.

The game ends when you're bored