/jp/ VN Project Thread - The Warehouse

[Messy Drawfriend]

I might perhaps be interested in writing for this project, but there doesn't seem to be anything to write. I've caught a few of these threads on /jp/, and I've noticed that everybody discussing this project has consistently ignored one of the most pertinent issues: the main character. He's been drawn and his circumstances have been discussed, but his personality doesn't seem to have been set in stone. Seeing as the entire world is narrated from his perspective, this is a critical stylistic issue. If the main character's personality isn't completely decided, then the personalities of the girls don't really matter. Of course, I'm not meaning to berate anybody; I'm just pointing out what I believe to be an issue.

Thus, I was wondering if there were more of an idea floating around about who this mysterious person is supposed to be. Being homeless you might think he's inclined to cynicism, but this isn't necessarily true. Maybe his dialogue is more playful like Kurosu or Kenichi? Perhaps he's more melancholic like Kouta? Anyway, I apologize if I seem horribly uneducated about the status of this project, but I still wanted to interject.

Try to go with Kenichi for now. Keep in mind he's still depressed/extremely low self-esteem/morale in the beginning, so he will probably act differently until later part. Despite what we've done in concept arts etc, the key lies within the writings; our drawings can be changed (and probably will, to reflect the script). Feel free to redesign all the characters if you must (history, personality, hobbies, etc), then present it along your draft. If possible, I'd like to see how each route will go, events in it, etc etc, even if it is just brief notes.

[Anonymous]

No, I don't think I will be doing the sprites if there's better artists around.

This was what I was trying to point out on /jp/--the people you might consider "better artists" only drew sketches and doodles for concept art and don't actually intend to work on the project. Right now, you should consider yourself the sprite artist because hoping someone better will step in is extremely improbable.

[Messy Drawfriend]

This was what I was trying to point out on /jp/--the people you might consider "better artists" only drew sketches and doodles for concept art and don't actually intend to work on the project. Right now, you should consider yourself the sprite artist because hoping someone better will step in is extremely improbable.

I'll step in if I am needed, but for now, we still need our script before any of us can do any accurate sprites.

[Anon2]

OK... Going to work on the CG's

Just confirmation.... 1280*720 dimension right?

That's more of an HDTV resolution, isn't it? Wouldn't 1280 x 768 or 1280 x 800 be more common for monitor wide-screen resolutions?

Also, it would probably be a good idea to have a 4:3 alternative for those who still have older, non wide-screen monitors. Though something like that you can probably crop in the engine automatically, right?

[その目、だれの目？]

That's more of an HDTV resolution, isn't it? Wouldn't 1280 x 768 or 1280 x 800 be more common for monitor wide-screen resolutions?

Also, it would probably be a good idea to have a 4:3 alternative for those who still have older, non wide-screen monitors. Though something like that you can probably crop in the engine automatically, right?

Fuck yeah, I want a VN with fucking 4:3 support for once...

[Kureha]

Newer  720P/1080P capable 16:9 monitors are 1366*768, 1600*900, 1920*1080

And those will fit nicely inside their 16:10 varients, I chose 1280*720 because that would fit nicely inside the 1280*1024/1280*960 4:3/5:4 monitors out there.
I also chose 720 instead of 768/800 to factor in the extra pixels needed for the title bar when you choose to not run in full screen mode.

[asdfjkl]

For art assets I'd say it'd be a good idea to create them at a high resolution since you can always scale them down to lower resolutions while retaining quality.

A 1680 x 1050 VN would be awesome, though the safe route would be to go with a 4:3 ratio.

In the case that your art assets are high resolution you gain some flexibility and can squeeze in more detail.  It also gives you the option of being able to introduce a higher ingame resolution in the future.

[Kureha]

Um... anyone still alive?

[Messy Drawfriend]

I am, but I can't do anything until our writefriends give us a more concrete script.

[Kureha]

I don't think writefriends can write without a better idea of what kind of characters we're dealing with, why don't you take sometime and point out how each character is supposed to feel? Also give a direction and main points/events that need to be covered. Like right now we have the MC meet Lucetta on the bridge, what's next?

[Messy Drawfriend]

Well, I don't want to corner the writefriends too much by putting down restrictions. It's easier for them to write if the characters are still changeable. If you really want to put a route together, we need to explain a lot of things such as their pasts, their relationships/connection, and their job, and I guess I'll slap them together now. Feel free to suggest changes to the followings...

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Lucetta originated from a middle/upper class family. About two years ago, her mother ran away due to a dispute with her father, and her father became extremely ill. In response to the family issues, she became a bit religious and went to the church to pray for her father. Of course, months of praying didn't do anything, her father died, and left Lucetta heartbroken. Soon after, she started having delusional thoughts about herself taking actions in place of God, and was eventually convinced that she was in fact, the hands of God, and that she was to save people. She tried to join the church, but they rejected her since she acted rather unstable. After more delusional thoughts, she has decided to rescue the poor that she considered worthy of being saved, selling all the useless possession for money (like her old mansion, all the cars, staffs, etc) and renting an old warehouse and sheltering them until they can get back on their feet. With this, money for the food/rent isn't an issue, although she does expect/ask you to pay her back when you can. Despite being rich, she's bounded by her religious ideology of using/buying things that are essential only, so she does not run out of money anytime soon (and she seems a bit stingy to other cast at times). She spends the day wandering around town, lending a hand to anyone that needs it. "If they (the poor) are destined to be saved, fate will lead them to me without having me go after them."

Chris was a gambling addict (mahjong maybe). While in college, he got himself into a huge debt, his parents had to repay for him, and he was too ashamed to stay at home and left. He stopped going to school, tried to find a job, but ended up gambling again. Luckily, his sister found him, and stopped him before he get himself into another debt. After that, Alexis left home to live with his brother (just to keep an eye out for him). Maybe she was initially tomboyish and always roam around places a girl shouldn't go (like a gambling place to pull her brother out for example), but she eventually find it more comfortable to dress like a guy/refers herself as a he around others (aka started to enjoy being a reverse trap). About a year ago, Chris (behind Alexis's back) lost tons of money again, losing their apartment and much of their belongings. While they were being evicted out, they met Lucetta, who offered them a place to stay for free. Currently, Chris and Alexis works at the dock close by, just basic labor of loading/unloading (they're not going to be around the warehouse from early morning to afternoon).

Nina was a doujin artist. She was independent and moved out on her own when she was 18. She had mild success, but eventually hit a wave of harsh critics and felt uncomfortable drawing anymore. While she was in her low points, she picked up trains as a hobby, collecting countless tracks and models. Before she knew it, her apartment was filled with trains and tracks, and her money was running low. She started looking for a new place to stay -- a bigger yet cheaper place, and started checking the warehouses around the city. She eventually found Lucetta half a year ago, and made a deal with her (renting about 30% of the warehouse from her). Nina runs a model kits store/site online (she mainly makes her living by selling labors, aka "assembling and selling finished models"). Thus, she's usually in the warehouse, day to night, just assembling countless models according to orders.

Chisame... I know nothing about. Someone can do his/her past. I'm considering making him/her join in after MC.

As for MC, he graduated from high school fine, and had high aspirations in life. He applied to many schools, but his parents died shortly his graduation and left depressed and with a lot of money. He became NEET and mooches off parent's money for many years till he runs out of money and is evicted out of his place. He wandered around town like a hobo for nearly two months before he finally decides to kill himself. However, he was saved and taken in by Lucetta to the warehouse.

As for the plot/routes, I'll probably put it in the next post.

[Messy Drawfriend]

Err, yeah, I'm not getting any good ideas... I'll just gonna throw this down for someone else to work with.

1. MC is taken to the warehouse by Lucetta, Lucetta gives him a little corner. Nina is curious and came to introduce herself. Lucetta goes back to work.
2a. Nina asks MC to give her a hand on assembling some models, notices/talks about her sketchbook, but she won't show the content to MC
2b. MC follows Lucetta, wandering the city, helping people. Help someone find their wallet.
3. Alexis/Chris returns from work, Alexis is uncomfortable with a new male stranger and acts coldly towards MC. Chris and MC recognizes each other and chat up. Chris hosts a welcoming party for MC.
4. MC asks one of the other character on how he could get in better terms with Alexis. Got her a present. That night, Alexis said thanks to MC.

Jumping forward a bit... random numbers

Nina Route
20. Nina offers MC a job (to work for her)
21. Nina asks MC to go with her to pick up some inventory
...
30. MC peeks at Nina's sketchbook while she is out, get caught and had to confront her.
31a. MC encourages her to start drawing again
31b. Nina is very angry at MC. MC tries to make it up to her.
...
35a. Nina asks MC to help her draw
35b. Nina asks MC to go with her to pick up some inventory again. Had lunch together (leads to Date?)
...

[Messy Drawfriend]

Seems like me and mugen are the only ones left around here... Maybe I should move on too...

[Kureha]

I think the main problem is that there isn't a writer....

[Anon2]

I was trying to eke out a theme for Nina today, but didn't quite get it right. Waited too long before my first sketch/improv and putting it down on the computer, so I forgot most of the initial ideas. I uploaded the results anyways; one version lighter but fairly transparent, the other more full but rather messy.