Zodai

I don't post here often, so I'm not really very familiar with stuff.

I'm a writer by trade. I don't have anything published, but it's nothing to scoff at. Not to mention I don't have to worry too badly about the quality with something like this - my initial instincts should suffice.

I'll consider it. I doubt too many people will get mentioned, but I'll do what I can. We're at about 1.7k so far, and about 1.4k of those seem to be mine.

So...are people still here?

I think I've gotten more than half of what's written so far, and I'm still going strong, believe it or not. None of the other writers are online aside from Cole, it seems...

I would rather wait until Tay comes along to edit that in, so we can get the rule clarification, but I would rather not have it simply exposit the information as it currently stands. Though it'll certainly be useful for guiding the story more accurately. A simple essay of the history not only isn't very fun/entertaining/'good' (Even if it's well-written, a simple essay usually doesn't stand up in the fact that they aren't meant to entertain.) but doesn't fit the fantasy-ish setting we've already got set up. So we'll probably adapt it in some way or another.

Does anyone know how far I am so far?

I'm on a roll right now, actually. Just this fight alone might be a whole 5k words. Though I can't actually check it in google docs itself; I'd have to copy it over to Word Doc to check that.

A few hundred? Oh, no. You could finish half the crisis with that scene alone. If my current rush seems to be a bit too far from the goals of the crisis, we could always use it to inform things later, and we might be in need of a big fight scene regardless.

Fair enough. I'm not entirely familiar with the history myself, so I suppose I just went with it. We'll have to wait for Tay's feedback to know for sure though ><

He's still technically the admin, at least. Clarification can probably be sent to him. Efficiency in management is also important, and it feels like Tay could answer it well himself.

I suppose. In the meantime I guess I'll ask Tay in particular how much historical accuracy actually qualifies, though the tone of the opening post suggests it isn't much. Everyone seems to be on-board with the first one anyway.

That would be me. I just ended up grabbing someone important I saw on the first page. (Actually, assume the entire second half so far is mine.) Truth be told I can't tell how important historical accuracy is in terms of the context, but so far it seems like the answer would be 'not much', according to what's been seen so far. A rote essay doesn't really seem to fit the tone of the Coliseum, which seems to be more light-hearted in general. Though I'm still hoping Tay can give us some specifics...

If Umineko's visuals are an issue for you, go for the PS3 patch. It's available on Fuwa and gives a massive boost to the art in case it's too severe. If NVL is an issue it swaps to ADV for Chiru, so it shouldn't be much. The other thing that comes to mind when you say 'epic' would be Fate/Stay Night, something I'd recommend to just about anyone. It's really good and it has a much wider audience than Umineko. It's in NVL but the art is good enough that it shouldn't be too bad. Frankly it gives a lot of freedom to the writing, which actually makes it quite good.

I wouldn't say off-topic, it certainly seems to fit the bill. 'Epic for the ages' seems to be the more defining aspect than simply the history - Even Tay himself stated that it would be alright with him being the Dark Lord, and since he doesn't have a severe role in the thread history as far as I know, it's safe to assume accuracy isn't entirely the point, nor does it fit the theme of this thread in the first place. (I still can't see the doc. Set it to public please, or the chances will be even less.)

Actually, this one requires permission to access. Set it to public to we can see. That said, the 'other one' actually seems to be doing quite fine. I've already put ~400 words into that one so far.

*knocks on door* Hello? Is anyone here? I'm currently a sleep-deprived man trying to stay up another five hours. I apologize in advance for anything that may or may not happen. Please don't kill me ;_;

Aye. I'll be wishing myself luck as well. Thanks.

Thank you for the reply. Yes, I've already read the guide, though I don't remember it much in-detail. I'll have to re-read it a few times to remember things in further detail. 1°) If you have an idea about the plot of your story, what about writing a short synopsis in the presentation? It is more appealing than a list of events, faster to read, and it's easier to figure what do you want to focus on as a writer : Plot? Emotion? Reflection? Romance?... I don't have any fancy tagline that would work for marketing purposes, but I suppose I can think up a more effective manner than what's already up there. As for the focus, I usually find myself as a Character-focused writer, but this story in particular seems like it would be better with a Plot focus, especially considering the small scope we're going for. 2°) While your post is very neatly and professionally written, remember that you are dealing with amateurs and people that never tried to participate in this kind of project in the first place. You're the one asking for help, so it might be a good idea to have a little more encouraging tone, even though I totally understand that you're worried about the quality of the work that can produce the artists / writers / composers. It's true that it may be more efficient in terms of simply gaining members, truth be told giving people an ideal gauge of what I expect from them is something valuable as well. I will say that I may have gone a bit overboard in the writers section (Mostly because hiring someone severely underskilled might actually make things harder to progress, in which case I'm better off doing it all myself) and the manager section (Since I'm communicating that there's a lot more to it than just 'bossing people around.') but in-general I feel it at least paints a somewhat accurate picture. I'll have to consider looking over those ones again sometime... 3°) I'll be honest here, if you're going with a 6-8 hours VN, you probably won't have a team with more than 10 members (if it approaches that number, than it's a bad sign for you), and if that'ts the case, you don't need to recruit someone solely for the purpose of managing. I actually think that you would make a good manager yourself, seeing that you're the one that started the project in the first place, and as a result has an idea about the general direction you want your VN to take, and seeing that you seem to be quite the organized guy as well! Truth be told ten sounds far beyond my current estimate of about five, maybe six. I'm not 100% confident in my own manager skills yet, but if you think it might be good, then hopefully it is. ( I feel like my position would be closer to 'head writer' or something similar, maybe 'director' if you want to get all fancypants about it. ) Into consideration. 4°) Are you envisaging the possibility of starting a kickstarter? Quite opposed to it. I don't trust my ability strongly enough to hold the weight of a ton of people like that, but I'm both without the connections to spread it, nor do I have any idea where in particular it would be spent. We're already under the assumption of a low budget, and we can make due with what we have. 5°) Because you are starting this thread on Fuwanovel, doesn't mean you need to recruit only on Fuwanovel. For artists, I'd recommend skimming through deviantArt and pm artists yourself, especially since you seem to have a precise idea about what style of drawing you want. For composers, you should try either Lemmasoft or directly try your luck on Soundcloud (or Youtube). I've certainly considered it, but I'd like to get more substantial progress before hopping onto something like Lemma. My thoughts on any specific art style aren't really set in stone, as there's only a general field of stuff that might fit the tone of the game as a whole. Not very familiar with DeviantArt, but since most people there seem to be commission-based I feel like I'd rather steer clear until we have more progress. 6°) I'm not exactly sure if more than one writer is a good idea for a short length VN, especially since it doesn't seem like there will be routes or anything like it. It might bring you more conflict and work than what you'll expect in the end. Another reason the bar for additional writers is set so damn high. Probably won't be going for three, but if there's someone exceptional who I think has the skill I'll certainly consider it. I have confidence in my writing ability but I don't know how high the workload I've put onto myself is with this yet. So it'll take some trial and error, and having another body on the field can assist with that. 7°) If you're interested in an alternative for ren'py that doesn't require a programmer, I might be of help^^ I'd much rather stick with Ren'py. It's one of the more familiar VN engines out there, and since it's free everyone can grab a copy without too much issue. People are a lot more likely to have some experience with it starting out anyway. ~~ Apologies if some of the responses are a bit rushed, I'm feeling tired ><

Thank you for your input. It's certainly true to ask as many questions as you can, as otherwise the discussion is incomplete. Truth be told I'm aware of how often projects tend to peter off before they get rolling, and to be honest I've had a few of those experiences myself already, usually which I've come to take as learning experiences. * What experience can you bring? In other words, have you already finished work on one of your own stories, a number of drawings, or something else? I have experience running around in both game design and traditional writing, though I haven't gotten stuck to a project long enough to hit completion. It's something that worries me personally, but I'm working through things and gaining experience as I go along. I'm at least passable in terms of knowledge with Ren'py, but I consider my writing skills to be at least among the top 5 on the board, though I haven't taken to comparing myself to the likes of Nasu or a published author yet. I have a collection of drafts in another thread on the board ( https://forums.fuwanovel.net/index.php?/topic/7653-looking-for-feedback-on-writing-drafts/ ) though they haven't been updated in a while as I'm waiting for confirmation on the exact rules behind bumps and double-posting. They're more for feedback, and only drafts 3 and 5 among those have the kind of quality something like this is going to need. It's alright to write something bad for experience if you don't actually put it into the work - it's actually quite a common method. * How much do you care about the story? I believe that you should commit to helping only if you're very interested in seeing it get finished. Otherwise, your disinterest will show. In the words of a rock band, "If you don't care then we don't care." I'm certainly quite committed, I'll say that much. When people only get started when that burning passion exists, the progress ends as soon as a single falter kicks in. We can't always assume that the passion will be there for us, but we push forward regardless so we can be ready when it comes back. Otherwise, nothing ever gets done. Just keep working on it every day, until the day hasn't been finished until you work on it. If it becomes habit it's no longer tedious, even without the passion. And then when the passion turns up, you haven't stopped getting better, so you burn through a third of the work in a single night, or while you're waiting at the airport because you have nothing else to do. * Are you concerned about money? If the answer is "yes," be careful. Not many indie games make money. Also, even if it manages to get released on a popular service such as Steam or Gamersgate, it might get ignored. I would say I'm half-concerned. Whether or not it will sell is secondary, but if we do end up profiting off it sorting through what portion of the funds goes to what team member is something I have very little experience in. I'm much more inclined to say I would consider the experience gained from creating the VN as more valuable than something like getting a whole bunch of sales, though that would certainly be a nice bonus as well. * It's your decision how you categorize your story. In my opinion, you will benefit by using words that represent it accurately, and present it in a positive light. You could call it "a porno dating sim" if you wanted. However, that phrase would be completely inaccurate if your story is completely worksafe, if it does not have simulation gameplay, and if it does not include any romance elements. Right now, it seems much more action-oriented than most others in the genre, so Action-focused Visual Novel would work. Though that in particular is quite long-winded and might not work well for marketing terms...a phrase that would work more easily might have to be thought up at some point in development. * It's your choice what art style you use. If you ask me, I'd say "Whatever makes sense for the story." Sometimes a distinct type of art is appropriate. For instance, consider what the creators of Club Shuffle and Tell a Demon are doing. Discuss this if you believe that you will benefit. My gut says that an anime-ish style would do well, even if some of the main reasons would be because it's familiar to both the devs and the main audience. Could help streamline development in that regard. That said, color palette and tone are quite important. In particular I asked to stay away from HoshiMemo and Clannad because their styles are much more suited for their own stuff as opposed to something more action-y/grittier in terms of tone. Steins;Gate and Inganock still aren't quite as action-heavy as this, but their stories are certainly quite 'gritty' or at least 'dark' in some sense of the word. (Please note I'm not referring to grittiness in the AAA development world such as Call of Duty. That just seems to be grittiness for grittiness' sake. Not a fan of that.) It's something we'll have to think through. Shikkoku no Sharnoth actually might be kind of similar to this in terms of when it takes place. Perhaps we could look to that for inspiration? Aside from that, thank you for the comments. I'm sure they will be quite helpful.

Just 'writers' would do. It's already implied that it refers to VN writers in particular, since 'translators' in this case probably wouldn't be mistaken for someone translating something non-VN. If you still think it's not specific enough, VN writers works just fine. Developers would work as well, though that implies something closer to the coding side of things.

What about those involved in OELVNs? They're included in the main CPR thread, but I don't see them here specifically. Shouldn't they be added as well?

(Note, this hasn't been updated in a while. If you wish, you should probably consider it dropped, but if it still interests you, shoot me a PM anyway.) -AT THE END OF A SUMMER'S KNIGHT- Many salutations, esteemed forum-goer! Thank you for your visit. I can assure you that we will be having a splendid time here. Seeing as how the OELVN community has just been hit with a severe blow, both with the cancellation of Dysfunctional Systems and the announcement of a sequel to Sakura Spirit, which no doubt must be causing severe pain to our fellows, I have taken it upon myself to take up the developer's banner once more, and bring victory to Fuwa-kind! At the End of a Summer's Knight, is a short 4-6 hour Visual Novel, mostly kinetic with the exception of a single choice halfway through the final act. The story takes place in Europe, in an undecided/fictional country, during what may or may not be the period of the French Revolution or something similar. Somewhere around the enlightenment period. Anyway, political turmoil, fancy suits, badass assassins, lots of swords and lots and LOTS of fighting. Oh, and if we're ever short on music, I think most of the music from that period has entered open-source by now, so we might just be able to use that, which would be ab-sol-utely splendid! Art is probably going to be our weak point, so I'm assuming this will likely be presented in NVL mode, to draw more attention to the writing as opposed to the art. Engine will most likely be Ren'py. For now, there are about seven to eight characters who would need some sprites, though this is subject to change. (I certainly don't plan to add any more, at the very least.) I don't believe many individual sprites across those will be necessary though, as we're trying to keep this minimum to low budget, if money is involved at all. Best-case scenario, either we're able to release for free or we can put the funds towards a 'next project' if possible. --CHARACTERS --Protagonist's daughter (7-9 years of age.) --Rebellion Leader (Older than Protagonist by about 5 years. Charismatic, not afraid of killing, strong and dies about halfway through.) --Fellow Rebel (Otherwise known as 'Genderbent Battler'.) Bad guys --King (Dies in the opening sequence. Might not even need a sprite, just a CG or two if we can manage it right.) --Prince (Damn good with a sword. Personality would usually be that of a rival character if we're following standard shonen fare. A year or two younger than the protagonist.) --Bumbling other prince (Prince's fancypants cousin from god-knows-where. Installed as a figurehead by the prince after the king's death. Arrogant and not very bright.) --Genderbent Beatrice (What, you can't have Battler if you don't have Beatrice, can you? Originally a rebel member, stayed behind during the opening sequence and got captured. Then he goes half-insane as time goes on, eventually turning 'full-on evil' for the sake of bloodlust.) --Guard Captain (Not easily aggravated, and actually quite calm. Uses a bow in a world where guns are just starting to become more commonplace.) Note: Genderbent Battler/Beatrice are only referred that way for humor's sake in addition to that being their origin, and will probably be quite different as things develop. Please don't consider those the most important parts of their character. Remember, Battler is female and Beatrice is the male. After that, there would be the outline. Consider this a less-detailed flowchart. It should cover all of the major events in a summarized fashion. Names will be given for the characters, but these are not thought through and are more of a placeholder/inside jokes. >>> marks indicate that it has moved to the next scene. This will only cover the very basics, so don't expect it to be in-detail. NATURALLY, THESE WILL HAVE SPOILERS IN THEM. JUST LETTING YOU KNOW. --ACT I --ACT II (The summary is taking a bit long to write, so I'll finish it later. Act III is the last one.) --WORKLOAD As for the writing itself, if I'm the only one like I expect, I'll likely write them in traditional novel format in a Word Document, then move them over to the Ren'py engine on a scene-by-scene basis, regardless of whether or not the art/sounds are finished by then. They will be added in as they are completed. Other writers are welcome to come if they are interested, however I will most likely require a sample of former work. Artists and sound people are in the highest priority, followed by managers and programmers, and then additional writers. They all have a chance, but the lower you are the higher-quality work it might take to get accepted. Larger teams take much more work to manage. --ARTISTS --SOUND GUYS --MANAGERS/PRODUCERS --PROGRAMMERS --WRITERS --Epilogue Now that that's done, I have one last thing to say. While the possibility of this being sold exists, do not come into this expecting to get paid. Should this be of high quality enough I will do what I can to make sure those with the effort and willpower get what lies at the end of the tunnel, but I will make damn sure that you put out the effort if you want this to happen. Half-assed work, and that goes for any of you, won't be worth a penny in the commercial market. I'm sure we all want this to go as far as it can, and I will make it happen with all of my strength. But do not think you can make something so much as a physical reward without putting out every last fiber of your being into this. And with that, I suppose that's everything. Should we get some examples of art, writing, etc created, we shall put it up. Maybe a demo or two as well if we're able to. But until then, I ask of your patience. I estimate a release around August 2015 if everything goes smoothly. Maybe later. Good luck, everyone. If you're interested, please PM me or make a post below.

I'm not very familiar with Kancolle in general, as I've never played the game myself, but this certainly seems interesting. Are we calling girls/ships now or do we wait until later? Also, do the stats on the cards have any hard mechanical meanings, or are they just references for 'roleplaying' purposes, as I've decided to call it. Simply put, how substantial is their effect? The phrases themselves don't seem very intuitive either, such as the difference between Stamina and Fuel.