The Lost Smile [Mystery/Noir][Spanish/English][3D][Comic][Free]
Posted: Sat Apr 27, 2019 6:17 pm
The Lost Smile (original title "La sonrisa extraviada") will be my first finished VN. Not the first I work on, since I am doing this while taking a break from another big project I'm working on for more than half a year (and that still has a lot to be done). This one should be finished, hopefully, in a couple of months, since it's an adaptation of a previous work of mine in another format and it's easy for me to get and adapt most of the assets. The biggest work left is finishing some new branches and translating it to english, since the original language is spanish.
Progress report
- Finished! viewtopic.php?f=11&t=55663
Some Features
Fullscreen 3D illustrations
Heavily processed 3D art to give it a raw visual style that suits the genre/theme. It has no sprites or backgrounds, every illustration is unique. Think in a panel from a comic or a frame from a movie.
Comic style dialogue
This goes in line with the previous one. Comic balloon style textboxes for showing the narration and the dialogue with no names shown since the balloon points to the character making easy to follow the narration (the names are indeed present for the history screen and the self-voicing system, they're just not on screen).
A clues/deductions interactive system
Through the game, you'll find clues about the case. You'll have to combine them to get deductions in order to solve the case. The deductions can be irrelevant or misleading, though. You'll need to find the right ones in order to get the "true" ending. (Thanks to philat for the code for this feature).
4-6 endings depending on the deductions you make
The exact number is not exactly determined yet, but there will be 1 "true" ending and 3-5 alternative endings. Better not think about them in terms of "good" or "bad" endings, though.
A cool vinyl jukebox
Music room with all available tracks. Much to my shame, since my contribution to this is minor, this is probably the best feature of the game. Seriously, even if you don't like the genre/style, you should download this when it's finished just to listen to the outstanding music. Mostly piano only music composed (or improvised!) and performed by a very talented guy. There are also some other songs I had from some time ago that I think suit the theme well and give the soundtrack a nice variation (sung in spanish, though). You can chose any song from the soundtrack to be the music for the main menu.
Writing
It combines 2 distinct styles. The narrator (the detective himself, close to solve the case, telling the story through flashbacks) use a lyrical, almost poetic language, reflecting on the facts he discovered and the path he took. The dialogues, though, are most in line with the classic style of dialogue of classic noir literature or movies: sharp, quick, witty and spicy. I think this combination gives the game a unique perspective and style. Also I could be wrong and be disconcerting and annoying. You tell me if/when you read it.
It will not be very long, probably around 15000 words. Good for a single playthrough of about 1 hour or an hour and a half. More if you want to explore all the options, of course.
The plot
A woman dissapears. The police find no clues. A private eye is hired to find her. All this is classic noir stuff. But the detective is no ordinary one. His methods are more based on art, philosophy and geometry than in the science of criminology. He'll have to uncover some dark secrets that may have tragic consequences. He'll have to face a strange question which holds the key to solving the case: Can oblivion be remembered? Not the forgotten thing, but oblivion itself.
Characters
The thing I am more interested to know from you is if you think that the unusual style for a VN will be too big of a hurdle for people to get interested in this kind of thing. I like classic VN stuff as a reader/player, but as a creator I'm more influenced by literature, comic or cinema, and this is the kind of work I am capable and willing to do. So, in a sense, this is a test to find if it makes sense to keep doing stuff like this or if I better stick to other creative mediums.
Edit: I should have mention something about age restriction, but I'm not sure on how/what to specify, and I would like some input from you. For instance, I have a 16 yo daughter and I'd have no problems with her reading something like this. Now, if she were 12 or 13, I'd object (probably accompanied by adults if it were a movie...? I'm not sure). These kind of limits are not that hard or relevant from where I come, but I'm aware that in other countries (specially USA) they are. The stoy has some nuddity and sex, although it's not shown in an explicit or obscene way (ie. not even a tit shown, and in the only 2 scenes with this kind of content, one is implied, not shown), there's also some violence and strong language and people occasionally drink or go to places where minors are not allowed. Any input on what kind of age restriction should I indicate?