Dream Route (Skyshift)

[Counter Arts]

Premise:
You are a student who recently got accepted to a high profile elite high school despite not being the top of your class. As you ponder what will happen to you in this school you find out various secrets that change your world.

Note: This game probably won't come out for a year and a half. That would give me time to return home from Japan (international work-study), get money to buy the programs I'll use to make this game and then actually make it. Yeah yeah, I should start out small and not say something so early. However, once I actually get some of those programs for commerical use, I can help you guys out with various stuff like music and maybe intro movies.

Features:
About three different game styles in one! Something for everyone!
A battle system (that I will be asking people to test soon)

I am currently writing the script for this.

I'll write more because I am posting from work... in Japan.

Edit: Significant Details follows

This game I am writing has 3 main concurrent storylines. A normal everyday-life and two others. However, this is not a point of view style game where you can switch between them whenever you want. When you get on another storyline (wilfully or unwilfully), you're usually there for awhile before you are given the option to change again (or something else happens that forces you back on to another one).

More some specifics of the nature of the storylines. They are highly connected and related despite the fact that you would be completely obivious to what is happens in the others except for things you might hear on the news. Also, the timing of tension in the plotlines largely differ at several points in time.

On top of all that, the level of danger differs in each one. Of course in the action-filled storyline, the chance of dying is pretty much everyday. In the normal path you'd probably die by not being prepared when you choose to do something that could be dangerous. And in the other one you would die probably from an unexpected event and failing to survive from it.

And to add even more details, time is organized into anime episodes! Each episode is a month game time. There will be two seasons. One will be 24 episodes and the second one would be either 12 or 24. (Still haven't decided whether or not to make high school 3 years or 4 years.)

As for number of characters, I'll put in however many "dateable" girls that seems natural for the storyline. So far it looks like 8.

[DaFool]

Did someone say, "epic"?

Hmmm, is it possible for you to save money instead and use free programs which are usually better? Like Ren'Py, Gimp, Virtualdubmod, Audacity, etc etc. Check the resources threads.

A factor why I got into Visual Novels is because they run on crappier hardware, and I didn't think spending money on professional software is worth running them on a very unprofessional computer.

The reason I mentioned saving money is the issue of scope vs budget. You can do longer works but only if you spend less time or money on each aspect of that work. If you were to do for example, a one minute and 30 second short for an opening, you can pour all your production resources and produce a Makoto Shinkai opening. But then you won't have enough resources left to produce your epic game.

So while I'm not trying to discourage you, you must think of budget cutting right now. It's the only way for the project to become most feasible. Then you can spend time to write and script away to your heart's content.

[dizzcity]

Just curious... which programs are you thinking of buying?

-Dizzy-

[Counter Arts]

I'm talking Sibelius for music and a 3d model/rendering program for backgrounds. Adobe After effects perhaps much much later. Yeah, I'll be trying to make a movie that is half as crazy as some mad movies out there. But that's probably only when I actually hit anime conventions.

Besides, those things are far ahead into the future. Now is the time for writing and game mechanic testing.

I am considering selling my game at $10 CDN each. Probably among the cheapest significant thing that you can buy at an anime convention. Even if it does flop, it's more stuff to needlessly put on my resume (not that I really need it).

In any case, there would be other uses for the programs that I would buy.

[Counter Arts]

Alright, got the three overarching plotlines in order. Now it's time for me to make all the character plotline outlines.

I am making characters based on the plotline as opposed to making a plotline based on the characters.

It's also kinda interesting seeing what possiblities pop up when I was making the plotlines. I realized that the main character could end up in a supporting role and you'll see things from that point of view. An example that isn't in my story is becoming the token "info" person who has all the information on the girls.

It also looks like the tension for a mid/end point of a section of storyline will change based on the main character's previous expriences (i.e. what he actually knows about what's going on).

It looks like there will have to be ablities given out.

[Counter Arts]

Alright, made a little piece of music in ogg format. One is epic, one is a mystical-ish loop.

These songs were made by selecting a key and randomly-ish adding notes making sure to start with the "I" note.

[Counter Arts]

Oh man, I just spent most of my free time today and yesterday programming a battle engine. While it's not completed quite yet... it looks like it could become pretty powerful and flexible for people who can program a little bit of python.

Just got a dynamic action menu working that changes depending on what you have equipped. But the most annoying thing is that I still don't know how to convert a number to a string easily directly in python code.

[PyTom]

You convert a number to a string using the string formatting operation:

"%d" % (number)

You can convert multiple numbers at once by using a tuple as right-side argument:

"%d %d" % (number1, number2)

[Counter Arts]

Yep, thanks! Yay!

Oh yeah, when I'm using renpy code and try to put in an attribute of an object into a string, it doesn't work right.

Example:

Code: Select all

"%(user.name)s hits %(target.name)s for %(damage)s"

The last one works fine through.

Oh btw, the comparision "==" is for identity not equality right? Still new to python. And in case you're wondering, yes, my battle system requires me to exploit the difference between the two. For when you try to reload your gun, you don't want your enemy's gun to be mysteriously reloaded.

[PyTom]

Oh yeah, when I'm using renpy code and try to put in an attribute of an object into a string, it doesn't work right.

It works correctly, insofar as using attributes here is not supported.

Oh btw, the comparision "==" is for identity not equality right? Still new to python. And in case you're wondering, yes, my battle system requires me to exploit the difference between the two. For when you try to reload your gun, you don't want your enemy's gun to be mysteriously reloaded.

"==" is the equality comparison operator. "is" is the identity comparison operator.

I really doubt you need to exploit the difference between the two... Usually, you'd write:

mygun.rounds = 6

[Counter Arts]

Oh yeah, when I'm using renpy code and try to put in an attribute of an object into a string, it doesn't work right.

It works correctly, insofar as using attributes here is not supported.

Understandable as there is an easy workaround.

And I suppose I might not actually need to exploit the differences to that extent. However, I am doing bunch of somewhat complex (i.e. easy for programmers) stuff in the engine. Stuff like passing in methods in constructors and stuff I can't remember.

On that note, I'm probably going to make a short prologue to Dream Route called Dream Route: Skyshift. Why? Just to get the battle engine working with a decent interface and test it on something. It's not going to really be a dungeon romp as I will be putting a related story in.

[Counter Arts]

Yays! I made a custom main menu screen with buttons that slide in from the right!

But man, a time warped move with a dissolve does not transition smoothly. Is that dissolve an operation on the entire screen? That's what I'm guessing.

So hooray for non-default main menu!

[PyTom]

But man, a time warped move with a dissolve does not transition smoothly. Is that dissolve an operation on the entire screen? That's what I'm guessing.

Yes, it is.

[Counter Arts]

Alright, made a cleaner version of my battle system thanks to the motivation I got from the interest in my battle system.

I can see what would be the main events of my storylines for this prequel of sorts. Hmm... I guess it would have to be a simple plotline structure then.

However, I can create my own music however boring that may be as I bought music creator 3.

I guess I should just work on the storyline now.

[Counter Arts]

Alright, resorting to using a d20 damage system.

Oh and I got a website up. http://www.sakuramaple.com