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Talk To Me is a Western-style Visual Novel. It’s a Dating Sim--kind of--but also, maybe you shouldn’t play it like that.* The game deals with mature themes and has very mild R18 content (no R18 content is currently in the demo).

You play as Ordell Harrison, a guy in his twenties who is just trying to get through the day. After his mother dies, Ordell moves to a different town to start over, but things don’t seem to be getting any better for him.

*Talk to Me is a Visual Novel about grief, mental health and friendship. This can be a hard game to play if you’re depressed or have just lost someone close to you, so please be aware of that, along with the trigger warnings that have been posted at the end of the post. These can be spoilery, so please skip them if you would rather not know what they are.

Features

• There are no good or bad endings in this game. You won’t get a bad ending. There’s no true ending either.
• Over 85k words of story. One story line can be completed in one sitting, but can also be saved for your convenience. One full story line can take anything from 1 to 3 hours, but playing every story to completion can take up to 20 hours depending on reading speed
• Nearly 600 unique encounters. Different encounters will be available to you depending on the choices that you make
• Explore up to 20 different outcomes of the game. See how your choices have affected Ordell’s lifestyle
• 30+ CG's
• This game is both BxG and BxB

We'd love your feedback! Let us know what you think by replying to this thread, leaving a comment on the itch.io page, or filling out our Google Form. Your feedback will help us make a better experience for you.

"My name is Ordell and I am good at libraries."

As soon as I read that I immediately thought, "Yeah? What makes you think that?"
Aside from that, I like how you can choose to go down the yaoi route. (He's looking so adorably fresh, right there.) I also think that the variety in your choices is a plus. I also think that that's quite a bit of encounters (o___o over 600? I'm never going to complete it)

There's a lot to be said to be said about the story. I know he's good at libraries, but what else is he good at? Why is "being good at libraries" the first thing that came to his mind?

The art is interesting. There are very dark backgrounds with rather light characters. The contrast is really noticeable and I can't say whether I like it or not. It has a different, nitty gritty look that I think really appeals more towards a Western audience.

Quick questions: Will this game feature voice acting? What kind of music will be used? How often will I be making choices? Are there any supporting characters? Can I sway/woo these supporting characters?

Overall, I hope that the demo will bring in a lot more information! I hope that the project is green lighted!

(Also, I like the name "Summer Holiday." Hah! Will I be seeing more of that snarky humor in the game?)

Dubisek wrote: Due to a recent tragedy in Ordell's life he fell to the "emotional bottom" and he needs help, your help!
It's up to you to help him on his journey through life and maybe even find the love of his love. Or maybe not.

It sounds like your main character starts the story being traumatized or depressed. Meeting other people and improving his relationships could help him cope. What sort of specific events might happen during the story? What conflicts will the characters face, and how will they deal with these problems?

Be sure to state if there will be Friendship Endings as well as romantic endings.

Also, is there a chance that Ordell might not succeed? What if the main character fails to form a relationship, or if he sinks into despair? If there is a possibility for a negative or bittersweet ending, then think about what it means for your story. Consider what you want to say to your audience.

Dubisek wrote: Over 85k words of interactive fiction.

Some interactive fiction includes puzzles and related forms of complex gameplay. Therefore, let us know if you plan to create a story with choices, or whether you plan to create an experience that requires learning game mechanics.

Dubisek wrote: We are currently working on a demo for our crowd funding campaign, which should come at the beginning of July, full release is then scheduled for November on [Steam]. What is your first impression ?

I am definitely not an expert regarding crowdfunding. That said, I believe that you will benefit by becoming prepared before you launch your project. Look at attempts to fund fiction on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other services. Think about why specific ones succeeded, and why others failed. Consider what compelled people to back visual novels, video games, and other forms of media.

I like the characters' 2D drawings. I've been asking myself if they remind me of a comic or illustrated work, but I have not yet thought of any examples. Was your artist inspired by one or more specific artists?

Sigma wrote:"My name is Ordell and I am good at libraries."

As soon as I read that I immediately thought, "Yeah? What makes you think that?"

Sigma wrote:There's a lot to be said to be said about the story. I know he's good at libraries, but what else is he good at? Why is "being good at libraries" the first thing that came to his mind?

I added one more line to make the quote a bit smoother. At the beginning the character starts depressed and only thing he finds comfort in is the library as he feels like nothing has changed there and it's basically like home to him. That's why he is so "certain" in "being good at libraries".

Sigma wrote: Quick questions: Will this game feature voice acting? What kind of music will be used? How often will I be making choices? Are there any supporting characters? Can I sway/woo these supporting characters?

We would like to add voice acting (both partial and full) as stretch goals in the kickstarter campaign we are preparing. We use custom made music, made by professionals, we will be giving a sneak peek in few weeks. Choices are quite frequent and there are rarely long stretches of text without one. Yes there are supporting characters (we would like to add them into character cast you can se above in next few days) and yes you will be able to woo them ^^.

Thank you for your kind words and questions! If anything else comes to your mind feel free to ask, we are happy to answer what we can.


PS: If you want answer to your last question, you will have to play and see

gekiganwing wrote: It sounds like your main character starts the story being traumatized or depressed. Meeting other people and improving his relationships could help him cope. What sort of specific events might happen during the story? What conflicts will the characters face, and how will they deal with these problems?
Be sure to state if there will be Friendship Endings as well as romantic endings.

Yes, MC starts the story off quite depressed and meeting other characters can help him to get through. All characters have their own difficulties and backgrounds, and player can choose to help them overcome these. The conflicts are mostly internal/external adulthood issues related to identity and other coming of age themes.

gekiganwing wrote:Also, is there a chance that Ordell might not succeed? What if the main character fails to form a relationship, or if he sinks into despair? If there is a possibility for a negative or bittersweet ending, then think about what it means for your story. Consider what you want to say to your audience.

I will write following as a spoiler since it's information on how the game might end.

gekiganwing wrote:Some interactive fiction includes puzzles and related forms of complex gameplay. Therefore, let us know if you plan to create a story with choices, or whether you plan to create an experience that requires learning game mechanics.

We are not planing to add mini-games/puzzles or any other complex form of gameplay at this point.

gekiganwing wrote: I am definitely not an expert regarding crowdfunding. That said, I believe that you will benefit by becoming prepared before you launch your project. Look at attempts to fund fiction on Kickstarter, Indiegogo, and other services. Think about why specific ones succeeded, and why others failed. Consider what compelled people to back visual novels, video games, and other forms of media.

I am personally looking in to it to create balanced and well made campaign to make it beneficial for both parties.

gekiganwing wrote: I like the characters' 2D drawings. I've been asking myself if they remind me of a comic or illustrated work, but I have not yet thought of any examples. Was your artist inspired by one or more specific artists?

I'll ask them and get back to you ^^

Thank you for the questions and kind words, if there is anything else you would like to ask we will be happy to answer.

gekiganwing wrote: I like the characters' 2D drawings. I've been asking myself if they remind me of a comic or illustrated work, but I have not yet thought of any examples. Was your artist inspired by one or more specific artists?

I am going to quote the answer ^^.

Thank you! I tend to pick up things here and there from different artists. Like, "I like that nose, I want to try it" and if it works for me I keep doing it. But there've been so many artists over the years I couldn't really name one in particular.

I also updated character's cast with two side characters, added music sneak-peek and one gif ^^.

Hey crew, thank you for all of your support during the kickstarter. As of now, we're only about $400 from being funded!

Still on the fence on whether or not to pledge? We've gotten demo reviews and features from plenty of places, so you can see what they're saying.

• +10 To Fire Resist
  Cliqist
  Pablo’s Poppin’ Podcast - Interview with L.M. Langley and Matthew Mahoney
  Indiellect
  @EvilGuacamole's LP of the demo, Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Some concept previews of the GUI I'm doing:
Some extra things:
Need one more thing to convince you? This is a CG in the demo.

Sorry for the double post so soon, but I wanted to let everyone know that we need ~$100 now to get fully funded! The project means so much to the entire team and those who have gone through similar experiences in life. Please help us reach our goal!