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MAKING A VISUAL NOVEL - WHERE TO START?
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CloseSo I've got an idea for a game. I've got the characters thought out, an epic plot, a unique idea that separates it from most other games, etc. So, why don't I just go ahead and start work on this project?
Simple. I have no idea where to start. The game that I'm thinking of wouldn't necessarily have a lot of gameplay elements, so it would better be described as a visual novel, I suppose. Most of my game making experience is with RMVX, and I know the platform inside and out after using it for more than a decade, so it could work for this, but I get the feeling it would be better to use a different platform. In addition, I've never actually drawn any settings or characters myself, and I have this compulsive desire to never compromise on visuals if I can avoid it. Especially for a project such as this. So I could learn how to draw this whole thing myself, or I could hire it out, but then I'd need to figure out exactly how I'm going to put it all together. Frankly, it's burning me pretty bad, because this is a story I feel NEEDS to be told, and I don't know how to share it.
So with that said, my question to the community is, how do you start a visual novel? What platforms do you use? How do you put together the visuals? Maybe this has already been addressed somewhere, but if so I can't find it. Anyone who can offer any perspective gets a virtual high five. Thanks!
Simple. I have no idea where to start. The game that I'm thinking of wouldn't necessarily have a lot of gameplay elements, so it would better be described as a visual novel, I suppose. Most of my game making experience is with RMVX, and I know the platform inside and out after using it for more than a decade, so it could work for this, but I get the feeling it would be better to use a different platform. In addition, I've never actually drawn any settings or characters myself, and I have this compulsive desire to never compromise on visuals if I can avoid it. Especially for a project such as this. So I could learn how to draw this whole thing myself, or I could hire it out, but then I'd need to figure out exactly how I'm going to put it all together. Frankly, it's burning me pretty bad, because this is a story I feel NEEDS to be told, and I don't know how to share it.
So with that said, my question to the community is, how do you start a visual novel? What platforms do you use? How do you put together the visuals? Maybe this has already been addressed somewhere, but if so I can't find it. Anyone who can offer any perspective gets a virtual high five. Thanks!
When I first did custom content for Heartache 101 - Sour Into Sweet, my main concern was the writing, and what story I wanted to tell with the character. While that very first content I made might have had a character design in mind, I started with one of the built-in characters as graphics. It wasn't until much, much later that I tried messing with the graphics myself, and even then, I used the same PSD that the build-in characters used to make it. However, I will note that Heartache had it's own setting, with an array of backdrops to use, and had it's own psudocode for content creators to use to assist in the creation of their content. So, like, literally the only things I needed to worry about was the writing, the character graphics, and how to fit that character into the established setting.
In a certain sense, Uchioniko MZ has visual novel elements in it insofar that the game advances through dialog, with minimal player interaction. However, while that project started with a concept that I had worked on previously, the writing (or, re-writing as the case was here) still came first, and applying that writing into the engine came later. I even jotted down "stage notes" that concern move-routes, emotion bubbles, map transfers, and so on. Though, by using an older concept, character design was more or less already solidified, so, one could make an argument that that came before the writing.
In a certain sense, Uchioniko MZ has visual novel elements in it insofar that the game advances through dialog, with minimal player interaction. However, while that project started with a concept that I had worked on previously, the writing (or, re-writing as the case was here) still came first, and applying that writing into the engine came later. I even jotted down "stage notes" that concern move-routes, emotion bubbles, map transfers, and so on. Though, by using an older concept, character design was more or less already solidified, so, one could make an argument that that came before the writing.
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Interesting, so basically your focus was more on the story content than on customizing the actual visuals yourself, at least at first. I do have character designs in mind, but I suppose I could start with generic resources to build a framework for the game and use placeholder graphics until I can create original materials. The tricky part about that is the method of storytelling I'm planning on using. Think along the lines of the Fire Emblem series, and the cutscenes they use. Yes, there are often times when the characters move around on the maps and there's interaction there, but more often the dialogue is portrayed through character faces and graphics, and there are occasions when a full-screen parallax portrays everything that's happening in that scene, with limited-sized text boxes for dialogue. Like this:
Spoiler for a big image
That last medium is more of what I'm going for, but it's going to require a lot of scenes, and may be more of a challenge that what I'm capable of doing myself. In addition, the idea behind this game is that there are three main characters who you can choose to follow, and the story will be told from their perspective, and how they interact with each other. So it might not be enough to create one scene for each interaction.
Either way, creating a template and a framework seems like as good a place to start as any. And more than anything, I just need to do something. Start. Otherwise I'll sit on this idea for years and do nothing.
Anyway, I appreciate the perspective. You get a high five.
Spoiler for a big image
That last medium is more of what I'm going for, but it's going to require a lot of scenes, and may be more of a challenge that what I'm capable of doing myself. In addition, the idea behind this game is that there are three main characters who you can choose to follow, and the story will be told from their perspective, and how they interact with each other. So it might not be enough to create one scene for each interaction.
Either way, creating a template and a framework seems like as good a place to start as any. And more than anything, I just need to do something. Start. Otherwise I'll sit on this idea for years and do nothing.
Anyway, I appreciate the perspective. You get a high five.
While not a visual novel, the mention of having specifically three perspectives to write from, my head goes to my written let's play of Suikoden 3. Retreading events from different perspectives was certainly among that game's strengths, and might be a point of research for you.
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