Melody☆Prelude! (BxG, Slice of Life, Romance, High School)

[nashisoft]

Hi there! I represent nashisoft, a North American Based company. I am here to announce a project we are working on called Melody☆Prelude!



Melody☆Prelude! Is currently planned to be a SFW galge with NSFW content to be available in the future. A preview video can be seen here for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8-Cf6_v8gU

Some features include:
-Full English story with 10 endings.
Explore the story lines with four heroines and surprise characters
-Higher level user controlled character development.
Input your own preferences and help shape the story
-Original Character design.
Here you can preview 2 of the heroines along with a snippet from one of their routes.



Plot:

Kazuo Sakamoto has been an only child all his life, which to him has been heaven. He had it all, good grades, good friends an easy life for the most part. Once graduating middle school and getting accepted into his city's top high school with no problem, his life seems to be set for a while, at least that's what he would prefer. Shortly after his high school acceptance his family has news for him, his father's promotion just went through so they're moving closer to the school, what luck! But one more thing not quite so lucky, their family will have a new addition in the form of one future female classmate that he's never even met before. Who is she? What will she be like? Will the get along? And what about the other girls in this school?
How will he handle the new living arrangement?



Heroine Preview:

Here, I'll introduce you to two heroines, though the others are still mysterious for now!

Toriko Abukara:

Age:16
Height:155cm
A childhood friend of Kazuo since elementary school. She lived in Kazuo's neighborhood and attended a nearby girl's middle school. Fairly short, she has a big personality to make up for it. Luck would have it that she would get into the same high school as him. Why can't she move in?! Of course, her family is fairly wealthy, so need for that.
Her hobbies include painting and archery.
She loves dogs but hates cats, and her favorite food is cobb salad.

Reniko Nakazawa:

Age:15
Height:162cm
Kazuo helped her out find her way home in middle school after getting lost in his neighborhood. As a thank you, she visited him with a gift of homemade bread from her family bakery. Thereafter they became acquainted due to Kazuo's mother sending him to shop at the bakery more often. Smart for her age, she got into the same high school with no problems as well.
Her hobbies include baking and collecting miniatures.
She's allergic to pets, but has always loved hamsters, which she has a soft phone charm of, and her favorite food is omuraisu.

Other character profiles to come soon! As well as a progress chart!

You can also visit the indiegogo page to help things along, as we need some funding for full potential!
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/melod ... /x/3223691


I am aware that this is a fairly standard/run of the mill galge, however you have to start somewhere.

Thanks for your support!

[Boomsickle]

The game isn't the problem. It's those indiegogo prices. At 50 bucks a pop i doubt you'll sell one let alone the only 22 actual copies that you would be able to receive from the indiegogo. Not only that but the $10 perks aren't even worth it especially since those "exclusively designed" backgrounds are clearly from dlsite. I think there needs to be a different approach to this because this seems very rushed and appears as if you're only in it for the money.

[nashisoft]

The game isn't the problem. It's those indiegogo prices. At 50 bucks a pop i doubt you'll sell one let alone the only 22 actual copies that you would be able to receive from the indiegogo. Not only that but the $10 perks aren't even worth it especially since those "exclusively designed" backgrounds are clearly from dlsite. I think there needs to be a different approach to this because this seems very rushed and appears as if you're only in it for the money.

I actually didn't set up the indiegogo, and I think that by backgrounds the person who did meant like a specially designed cg desktop background. Anyway, I agree that the prices are pretty high, thanks for pointing that out(I hadn't even looked at the indiegogo page tbh). I can fix them myself probably since I have access to the account. I'm not actually working on my own in this, so I am only responsible for part of the work.

EDIT: Also, as the artist/writer I'm somewhat bothered to hear that you believe I'm "only in it for the money" I really love the moege genre myself and I find that many of the translated versions are usually only sex-based, so I wanted to bring something onto the market that wasn't exactly that. It's only myself and one programmer working on this, and while I will admit I am the only person with previous business experience, it is something I really would like to see actually work, so I would appreciate more constructive criticisms if you don't mind.

[DestinyFailsUs]

I'm just curious, but what engine are you using? Every time I see the black/gray gradient background in your video it instantly gives me the vibe of Novelty, and it's default blank background.

This easily could just be a coincidence, of course (and I'm sorry if it is, I just couldn't shake this feeling), but if you are using Novelty, you should know that you are not permitted to sell a game made with the current version of Novelty.

[nashisoft]

I'm just curious, but what engine are you using? Every time I see the black/gray gradient background in your video it instantly gives me the vibe of Novelty, and it's default blank background.

This easily could just be a coincidence, of course (and I'm sorry if it is, I just couldn't shake this feeling), but if you are using Novelty, you should know that you are not permitted to sell a game made with the current version of Novelty.

We're actually using Ren'Py for the full game. I started out with novelty myself, and I actually got quite a bit done before my friend who is doing the programming joined me, and I did use it for the preview video myself as well(by that I basically used it as a powerpoint) And I know Novelty can't be used to sell games, but I figured I would use some of the work I already did in the preview movie. Thanks!

[PyTom]

A couple of things here:

* Isn't this a BxG game - a male protagonist pursuing female characters? I think you might have the tag backwards.

* It seems kind of early to be crowdfunding a game like this. We've recently - after this was posted - updated the forum rules to require a game demo before you can request crowdfunding. I'll strongly suggest that you port what you have already over, and release it, as that's the best way to let potential funders know what they're getting into.

[Sexy Yuri]

You might want to add more information to your campaign also. It still feels a bit empty and looks like you made it in five minutes. Not saying you did but with a couple of sentences come across like that. I think you need to add character bios on your page so people know who are the characters are. What makes your game different from the rest of English bxg games?

*Edit: I'm not too sure of $30 tier since I don't know what the other two games are. xD

[Sapphi]

I just wanted to comment that I think your art is cute so far! Even if I'm not too sold on Reniko's design (her hair and eye colors are both very light providing little contrast, and I think you forgot to color in the whites of her eyes?) I think that Toriko is adorable. It's her face ratio or something...

Anyway I'm looking forward to seeing the other designs

[sake-bento]

Hey! Glad to see more galge getting presence in North America. If it seems like there's some pressure here, it's because we've had a lot of crowd funding projects come through the doors, and not all of them have been positive.

I'd strongly suggest having a working demo up so that potential backers can see what sort of game they're funding. Since you've not completed a project yet, many people will shy away from funding you because they don't know how the final product will turn out. Complete a demo, and make sure it's a good representation of what the final product will be like. Do your best to polish it up so that people will be impressed and want to see it finished.

The IGG page could probably use a little more prettification. People are attracted to nice looking things, and having pretty pictures will give people a good feeling that you have the "visual" part of "visual novel" in the bag. Sprites, screencaps (that are from the current build, not the old version), and CGs (especially CGs!) will really catch the eye.

At the very least, people will want to see a breakdown of where the money is going. For example: $20 per sprite for five characters ($100 total), $500 for a custom opening song, and $100 for a background image packs = $700. Knowing where the money is going will make people a lot more confident, and it won't give off the incorrect impression that you're in it for the money.

As for pricing tiers, prices for VNs in North America are a little different from Japanese ones. Check out MangaGamer for a rough idea of price points, then come up with a price that takes into consideration the quality and length of your final game compared to the games listed there.

Overall, I'm confident the two of you have a great project in the works - it's just that the impression you're giving off right now doesn't show it off very well. I am looking forward to seeing more of your work~

[gekiganwing]

What makes your game different from the rest of English bxg games?

I read the thread so far, and in my opinion, this is probably the most important question. If you're learning how to write, create art, and code, then creating an average school love triangle story with placeholder art is fine. Unfortunately, you might have a difficult time getting feedback. And unless you can sell it on a device that barely has any games, it might be difficult to convince anyone to pay money for it.

A decade ago, there were a small number of boy x girls stories already available in English, and very few I could honestly recommend. Now there's quite a few, and I can make recommendations based on style and design. Therefore, can you assure people that Melody Prelude will have outstanding qualities? Will it have one or more of the following:

* Art from people who have an extensive portfolio
* Music from an experienced composer
* Writing from respected individuals who have made similar stories and/or games
* Unusual pairings or endings
* Interesting tone, pacing, or point of view
* A lot of complex gameplay
* Story-relevant NSFW content (after the characters turn 18)

I can't provide much advice with crowdfunding. I know that some visual novel creators have successfully funded their projects with Kickstarter or Indiegogo. There's no magic formula. It seems that if a person promotes their works and appeals to an audience that has been ignored, then that could be quite helpful. (I'm specifically thinking of Coming Out on Top, as well as Gender Bender DNA Twister Extreme.)