Recently, a good amount of work has gone into a project I call 'The Shadow Court." The title is most likely temporary, until I can find something a bit less cheesy sounding. The concept for the Visual Novel began with a conversation I'd had with a buddy of mine, while we were screwing around with a special effects software in our film class. Some of the effects were so utterly ridiculous, that we began to challenge ourselves to find situations in which they'd actually be used.
Four and a half months, and a medium shift (from film to visual novel) later, and the Shadow Court was in the process of being designed. At the moment, I'm rather green when it comes to this kind of work, although writing I've been doing for as long as I can remember. All in all, I'm a pretty decent writer, but when it comes to actually programming the Visual Novel, I'm not going to come into this trying to give anyone a false impression of my skill level; I'm still learning, mainly through trial and error. The story has already been written though, and this medium would by far be the best way for it to be presented. I'm being upfront about this because I don't want anyone to sign up for this project thinking I'm an ace with this kind of thing, only to be disappointed. I'm certainly not, so please, nobody get the wrong idea here. I assume by the end of this project, I'll be substantially better with the whole process then I am now; if nothing else, I'm set on getting this finished.
The Shadow Court (I feel rather dumb every time I type that title
) begins as a slice of life visual novel that doesn't take place in Japan. Save your gasps of shock and awe, people. As it turns out, Japan does not have a monopoly on the worlds High Schools. I know, it's a shocker, right? So after I learned that startling bit of information, I figured, you know... Why not make a visual novel taking place somewhere else then the standard?I'm hesitant to divulge too much information; when this get's released, I'd rather not have the plot spoiled for everyone who happened across this recruitment post, but I'll do my best to give a spoiler free synopsis. If you're interested in working with me after the fact, then I'll be more then willing to get more information out to my team.
While beginning as a typical "Slice of Life" Visual Novel, it shortly takes a drastic turn into a more unsettling direction. Through a series of events much to elaborate to explain in a short summary without it sounding utterly ridiculous, the protagonist, "Nicholas Boehm," begins to come to grips with an occult presence within his own neighborhood. While the rest of the neighborhood views the group behind these cult-like practices as being "slightly eccentric, but mostly harmless", Nick can't help but be unsettled by their presence. Of course, as they haven't done anything illegal, (to his knowledge, but in the prologue it's clearly established that they have) nothing can be done about them by the police. Nicholas begins his own investigation into the group, convinced that they're up to something.
His findings are shocking to him; there seems to be nothing to find at all. There are little to no records on the group, and while the town certainly has less then pleasant nicknames for the cult, nobody can give him an official name for them. There are no records on the group, and none of the members can even be named by the local population. It seems they are simply an enigma, but nobody other then Nicholas realizes just how strange the group's presence is. The only thing he's certain of; the group seems oddly fixated on his school.
As I've written this summary, I realize it might sound a bit sloppy. In context, it flows a bit better. As you can imagine, it's kind of hard to summarize these things.
From this point on, it becomes more and more involved with the occult, culminating in a mass extermination of life within the town, (this actually occurs early on,) and the few survivors being left to try and last within the cults domain. Their perceptions are altered, their senses manipulated, and they are put through all manner of trials by the cult, and the monstrosities they have summoned into the world.
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If there are any questions, or if you're interested in helping out, feel free to let me know. I'll be happy to further elaborate, or address anything I may have forgotten. Plus, you know, help is always welcome.
As of now, what is needed for the project;
Writers (Closed)
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I am the head writer of this project, and have it (at least one route through) plotted out.
It never hurt to have somebody to bounce ideas off of though, so if anybody would be interested, feel free to let me know. I'm happy to have whatever assistance anyone could offer.
Programming (Closed)
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I will be taking care of all the programming. This is more for me then for the project; I feel the need to learn how to work in depth with Ren'py, and the best way to do so is through first-hand experience.
Artwork:
Sprite Artist (Closed)
CG Artist (Closed)
BG Artist (Open)
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This is one of the few parts of the project that I would be absolutely useless for. Backgrounds, Character Sprites, and CG's are all in high demand, and I for one, can't draw. By hand, or digitally.
The art-style will alternate, between a dark, gritty feel (when the cast is within the cult's domain) and a surreal, "tripped out" feel, when the characters are having their senses tampered with.
I can give more advanced direction then that, but for a summary, it's as good as any.
Voicework (Closed for now. Will open for casting when the project is further down the production line.)
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See above.
Sound (Open, Audio Engineer needed)
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I certainly could make some of my own sounds, (it's something I'm quite good at,) and of course, royalty free sound effects are always an option. Creative commons work well too. However, all in all, I think it would be best to have somebody focused entirely on sound design.
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I'm not even going to touch on music yet. It'll be something addressed later, but not yet.
As for content, (as I don't want anybody to come into this only to realize they're uncomfortable with the subject matter);
Cult-related activities (obviously.)
Intense Language.
Sexual Innuendo. (Not like, sex or anything, but sex related jokes.)
Intense violence.
Fairly Intense Blood and Gore. (Not entirely sure how extreme as of yet. The worst written into the story was a classroom full of students with their throats cut. Or a crucifixion. It's totally subjective which one you find worse. This is before I've written in bad ends. I expect the bad ends will be worse then both of these.)
Demon-related plot elements.
As for sex, and anything sex related (other then the jokes mentioned above);
It's not something I plan on having.
Personally, I'm not a fan of when a Visual Novel has that awkward, out of place, obligatory sex scene.
"Boobs because plot" does not a good story make (I'm looking at you Fate/Stay Night. I loved the Visual Novel as a whole, but come on. Sex for Mana Regeneration? Really?)
HOWEVER
If, and this is a BIG if.
If a character relationship develops to a point where it would reasonably make sense, I'm not COMPLETELY closed to the idea.
Although I'm pretty much borderline closed off.
(So artists... Pretty much whether or not that is something you are willing to draw, is completely fine with me regardless.
If you're okay with it, then great. I have the option. If not, well... Also great. That completely removes the potential for an awkward internal debate I may need to have later on.)
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So as you can see... Adult stuff here.
I've already gotten to work on the programming aspect of it, and have begun to write it all out into Ren'Py. I am under no delusion that my idea is great enough to warrant free help from people while I have nothing to show as far as my own effort goes. At this point, my art assets are virtually zero, so a demo wouldn't be a mind boggling spectacle to show any potential collaborators. If it's necessary to get somebodies help, I could probably draw some stick figures together, or use a few stock images in order to at least make it slightly visually appealing until I can get an artist's assistance.
If that would be necessary for you, then feel free to ask. I'll work something out.
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I wouldn't expect any of the talented people here to whole heartedly dive into this without any real incentive. Doing this type of labor-intensive work "For the credit" isn't exactly an appealing prospect, I know. At the moment, however, that's the most I can offer. At this point in time, this is a project produced on an incredibly low budget, that I plan on releasing for free. It's just not feasible at the moment to offer any kind of substantial pay.
Depending on how the project progresses though, (the amount of labor put into it, the overall length of the project, the quality, how many routes, etcetera) the project may shift into a commercial project. I may also end up seeking crowd funding, (again, depending on how things turn out.)
If either of those things occur, then certainly, I'm more then happy to pay for the work. In fact, I think it's quite possible that this could get to that point eventually. However, as of now, I have no idea where this project might go. I don't want to set my sights to high, considering this is my first major project.
Don't come into this expecting pay, but don't exactly be surprised if it comes about, I suppose is what I'm trying to say.
I'd be glad to answer any questions, or address any comments or concerns. Thanks in advance for any help that might be offered. Glad to be a part of the community.
