Plot:
Hundreds of years ago, the kingdom of Aurora was the bountiful capital of the Eastern Kingdoms, trading with its neighbouring vassals and helping the land to flourish. But because of the King and Queen's foolishness, the kingdom was cursed by a daayan and fell to ruin, leaving the Eastern Kingdoms powerless. The citizens of the Eastern Kingdoms sought sanctuary with the kingdom of Wesceter (name to be changed), whose corrupt King welcomed new workers. Wesceter seized the dead kingdom's trade routes and flourished, becoming greater than the Eastern Kingdoms ever were by exploiting their people.
It is now a time of peace. Averting their eyes from the ruin of Aurora, Wesceterans look to the conflict in their own land. Despite the land's economic prosperity, most of the citizens are displeased with the nobility. The royal court is seen as lazy and gluttonous. The royal advisor is regent until the crown prince comes of age, and a coup at such a vulnerable time would be catastrophic. At the urging of his regent, Wesceter's crown prince ventures to Aurora in an attempt to inspire the people, hoping to find the mythical queen who has been trapped in eternal slumber. Instead he finds the princess Talia, the only Auroran who did not wither into dust. Talia is brought back to Wesceter for reasons she does not quite understand.
Descendants of Eastern Kingdom immigrants see Talia as a hope to overthrow Philip's rule. An ambassador from across the sea is clamouring to wed Talia to their king. Philip's thoughts wander from his approaching coronation to the princess he rescued. And beyond the dust of the forest crossroads, a thick-plaited woman sits, spinning flax into strings of fate.
Characters:
Talia, the forgotten princess.
Talia was raised near Aurora, but her memories are too fragmented for her to recall where, or even by whom. Just before her eighteenth birthday she visited the castle, causing the daayan's curse to come into effect. She alone survived the years of slumber. Talia's mindset and personality depend on user choices made during interactions with others, and what Talia writes in her journal.
Prince Phillip, crown prince of Wesceter.
Reminded constantly of his people's disappointment by his regent Alfred, Phillip feels lacking in the bravery expected of a prince, so he often seeks out danger and glory to remind himself of his capabilities. In doing so he has failed to develop the political acumen expected from a future ruler. He enjoys theatre, singing and dancing, horseriding, and generally flamboyant regal activities.
Princess Caroline, second in line to the throne.
Caroline dislikes getting involved in politics or courtly intrigue. She is utterly unambitious and finds pleasure in simple pursuits like embroidery, dancing and prayer. Unlike her brother, Caroline is sheltered from the critiques of the lower classes, so she assumes that the people care for her as she cares for them. In the private sphere Caroline has little regard for those around her. She possesses a thoughtlessly exclusive nature, pleased enough to read by herself. Talia's arrival in the kingdom is mostly inconsequential to her.
Edmund, the palace librarian.
Edmund is assigned to tutor Talia in decorum and history. He has a soft heart and tries to help Talia piece together her memories. He bears a quiet resentment towards Aurora's misrepresentation in historical texts. Being able to ask someone who lived through the period questions about it is exciting, but he doesn't want to make Talia feel more like a sideshow than she already does. Edmund doesn't find himself a very interesting topic for conversation, but leaps at any chance to express his fondness for animals.
Sophie, a young servant girl of Auroran descent.
Ostensibly Sophie is there to attend Talia and ask no questions, but she has hungry eyes that hint at an unexpected cunning. Her sly manner doesn't mean that she isn't capable of remarkable loyalty, and she is empathetic to Talia's troubles despite the difference of position between them.
As well as a bucketload of side characters who we'll hopefully be able to show you soon!
Why episodic?
Briar is episodic because after outlining it as a full game we realised the various plot points and variations couldn't be properly realised without it being too long and rushed. We plan on releasing four episodes. We understand the risks of our first VN being episodic, so the first will likely be free. Each episode deals with a separate conflict while following the overarching plot. The last three episodes are already outlined in detail, with a few scenes written here and there. The first episode focuses on the re-emergence of Auroran patriotism amongst Wesceter's citizens, Talia's struggles to regain her memory and her establishment of position.
Progress for episode one:
Outline: 80% Only romance scenes left!
Writing: 11% (looking to be around 110k)
Sprites: 0%
Backgrounds: 35%
GUI: 0%
Progress for the other episodes is harder to estimate, but it's safe to say the entirety of the overarching plot is done.
Staff
Aurélie: Writer, programmer
amaranthined: Writer, sprite artist
Carol Santos: Background artist
We're considering a modest Kickstarter to hire another artist, to alleviate the pressure on our current sprite artist. It'll depend on how Briar as a WIP is received, and wouldn't happen until we were further along in the dev process.
Briar is a fairly large project, but we've been working on it for the better part of a year and are confident we can see it through. The purpose of this thread is to announce the project (obviously) and also gauge reaction to the VN as a concept! We're really open to all kinds of feedback and questions.
