One to Three: Sovereignty [Fantasy][Mystery][Otome,GxB] *DEMO OUT NOW*

[diedbeforesquire]

DEMO OUT NOW ON ITCH.IO!

https://diedbeforesquire.itch.io/one-to ... overeignty

Introduction:
Hi! I've been working on this project for a while now so I figured it was time to make a page here to let people know about it. This is my first full scale VN, though I'm been writing both linear and interactive fiction for a long time. I've been very lucky to have found very talented artists to work with on this so if you like what you see here please support them as well as the project. Thanks for your interest and thoughts in advance!

Story Summary:

Rieve spends most of her days alone in the wizard, Oculum’s, ice castle. She was accidentally cursed as a child, so her internal organs melt if her body temperature rises too high. Oculum created the castle for her to live comfortably, but her curse still prevents her from living a normal life. She has long since lost contact with family and friends, only seeing Oculum and her childhood friend, Carein, on occasion. She fills her days with housekeeping, cooking, and cleaning for Oculum, and of course, reading books in his study dreaming of a different life.
One day she stumbles upon a magic mirror sent to Oculum for study, and after touching it, she is transported far from home. Or is it? The three identical men tell her she’s only a few miles from home in the capital’s prison. But they also each claim to be the crown prince? Rieve doesn’t know how or if any of them are telling the truth, but she can’t turn her back on this taste of adventure when one of the Princes asks her to help them. Can Rieve figure out which one of the Princes belongs to the world she’s stumbled into? Or which one should? Will this experience change Rieve’s life forever or help her embrace the magical life she’s already had?

Characters:

RIEVE (MC, not shown)- a curious, hard-working girl with a history of getting involved with problems she shouldn’t. She’s sheltered and lonely and hides her problems from everyone around her, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t mind learning about or talking to others. In fact, she prefers to command social situations. She plans her days, meals, and actions out meticulously. She’s never had a country’s future in her hands or even met royalty, but she enjoys meeting the Princes, perhaps one more than the others.

PRINCE ASOLEI ATERO (The 3 Love Interests)-royal prince of Escyil, only child, known to be reclusive and hard-working

LEI (yellow)- confident and conversational, says he doesn’t like people and keeps to himself, thoughtful and religious, knowledgeable on father’s family and religion, openly shows his emotions
SOL (red)- serious and passionate, radical views and aggressive personality alienates him from others, dreams of dismantling the monarchy, knowledgeable on history and politics, stands up for himself and is honest rather than kind
ASOLE (green)- nervous and shy, is scared of other’s expectations and opinions so rather stays away, intelligent but has low self-esteem, knowledgeable on law and mother’s family, responds well to positive reinforcement and patience

OCULUM:

A. The wizard who saved Rieve’s life and gave her a home when her family couldn’t. His first love is academics. His second love is forgetting everything else. Luckily, he has Rieve and Carein, his apprentice, to keep him grounded and fed. His is compassionate, despite this, and tries to help others whenever he can.

B. The new royal Wizard, Asolei’s new tutor, who get wrapped up in the royal drama when he gets too close to one magic mirror. Obviously, he prefers books to people. Is serious about his duties and responsibilities as a mage so much that he often forgets to take care of himself. Doesn’t seem to be close to others or know how to handle people.

Minor Characters:

CAREIN- Rieve’s childhood friend, who was the one who accidentally cursed her in a childhood fistfight . Spends most of her time with her mentor, Oculum and/or Rieve because most people, including her family, are scared of her magic. Was quite angry and violent as a child and has grown up regretting that. While she still struggles to control her emotions, she channels them in a more positive way, focusing on studying her magic and helping others.

CULSEM-the guard put in charge of the 3 Princes. Loyal and hardworking. Puts most of his effort into his job to provide for his family, despite others putting him down. Shaken by the multiple princes. Easily influenced by others' opinions and actions.

Features:
100k words (in first draft) but a relatively short game
3 love interests + platonic relations with other characters
8 different endings depending on who you choose to rule and who you romance
A focus on the world('s') lore including facets of religion, politics, family, and magic

Screenshots

Credits
Directing, Writing, Programming- Christine Mendiola (me)
Character Art- Remanantation
Music- Jessi Brown
Background Art- Fuura-xen
GUI Design and Logo- Milena Olivson

Progress so far:
Writing- 100%
Editing- 40%
Programming- 40%
Character sprites- 100%
CG- 30%
Backgrounds- 100%
GUI- 90%
Demo released 8/30/20: https://diedbeforesquire.itch.io/one-to ... overeignty

Questions
-There is a heavy focus on world-building through different perspectives. What do you think of lore heavy games?
-Does the mystery sound interesting? While romancing is available, the main focus is on deciding which would be the right/better king.
-What do you think of identical love interests? Do you think you can romance a character based solely on personality?
-What do find most interesting or eye catching part of this game to you?

[MasterOfDisguise]

I actually really like the idea of romancing a character based on personality only! It's not something I have seen before and I have played a lot of otomes.
The mystery does sound interesting and I am open to lore-heavy games

[Wudgeous]

Whew! I've been meaning to leave a comment on this one. I love how diverse the cast is, and the idea of getting to know them better (including the platonic friends). I've certainly never romanced triplets before.
Now, to answer your listed questions --

There is a heavy focus on world-building through different perspectives. What do you think of lore heavy games?
Lore is fine, and possibly even beautiful and thought-provoking. Excessive exposition is a turn-off. Games like dark souls do a good job of weaving lore into natural dialogue lines without massive word dumps, and I think that's really neat.

Does the mystery sound interesting? While romancing is available, the main focus is on deciding which would be the right/better king.
Yes. The premise of choosing a king is fun in itself, and especially engaging if you have a personal stake in the characters -- for example, if one of them can offer a good life for my family but isn't good with his finances, or if one of them is down for animal rights but isn't great with human politics... I'm just making stuff up, but you get the idea lol. I enjoy weighing pros and cons in games.

What do you think of identical love interests? Do you think you can romance a character based solely on personality?
Totes! Some of us love romancing monsters and aliens (for their personalities... yeah, that's it.. *cough*). In light of that, identical love interests shouldn't be a stretch.

What do find most interesting or eye catching part of this game to you?
The sprite artwork, I suppose, though my eye hasn't had the chance to "catch" many other parts of the game. I particularly like the colors of Oculum A&Bs' jackets. The body language in the hands and the princes' faces are quite attractive too, but it's definitely those jackets that catch my eye the most.
In regards to writing, the protagonist seems interesting and well-developed, and the characters seem to have a fair amount of thought placed in their personality.

Looking forward to more development!

[diedbeforesquire]

I love how diverse the cast is, and the idea of getting to know them better (including the platonic friends). I've certainly never romanced triplets before.
Now, to answer your listed questions --

There is a heavy focus on world-building through different perspectives. What do you think of lore heavy games?
Lore is fine, and possibly even beautiful and thought-provoking. Excessive exposition is a turn-off. Games like dark souls do a good job of weaving lore into natural dialogue lines without massive word dumps, and I think that's really neat.

Thanks for your interest! I'm glad to hear you like the cast. I like supporting characters to be as easy to fall in love with(platonically) as the love interests, so I was trying to make them interesting and different visually. Especially since the I had to make the prince's a little lackluster.

I agree with that with lore it can hard to find a sweet spot. I'm a bit nervous as a writer about this particular story because there is a lot of repeated information with slight differences from the three perspectives of the princes. I'm hoping that since it's the players choose whether they ask them all the same questions, people will be able to tailor the lore to what interests them (including whether they want to compare or choose different topics). As a dialogue dependent medium, there's no avoid some 'lore dump' but I'm hoping the flavor will still make it interesting.

I actually really like the idea of romancing a character based on personality only! It's not something I have seen before and I have played a lot of otomes.

I'm glad you like the concept! It's a bit gimmicky, but I was also drawn to it because I'd never seen it done before. I've been working under the assumption that I just haven't played the right game, haha. It's very interest as a writer/creator to emphasize character in different ways through dialogue, music, and lingering on different poses/emotions. My hope is players will enjoy experience that comes from that as well.

[diedbeforesquire]

I released the demo for One to Three: Sovereignty today on itch.io, so I added the link and some screenshots to the main post. I'm excited for this next step since it is my first big release! Definitely the hardest thing for me is self-promotion and marketing, so any help sharing this around, giving the demo feedback, or simply just checking out the game is greatly appreciated!

Link to the demo: https://diedbeforesquire.itch.io/one-to ... overeignty