Hello! If you are a prospective playtester don’t read don’t get spoiled !!!!
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Premise:
You are a formless being that doesn’t understand feeling, or what it’s like to perceive. At some point in time, you are transmigrated into the body of living creatures. At first, you become a goat and explore the world. Then, you jump into the body of a farmer in a village undergoing food scarcity. The farmer Opimia wants to healthily raise her daughter Lucilla, but cannot manage to make ends meet under the new emperor’s harsh levies. Through choices that she makes, her own family’s wellbeing and the village’s prosperity are drastically affected. After a few years (where you choose certain key decisions), you enter the body of a young vagabond. He longs for a place that he can settle down and call home, but villages on the frontier are too wary of outsiders to let him stay. He comes back to Opimia’s village because he heard that a crisis was underway and wants to help. What he discovers there, and who his allies and enemies are, depends on what Opimia and the other villagers have created.
Map:
I created a quick story map to mark out some of the key choices in the game. The game physically takes place in one village, so a story map I think is more helpful.
Project Plan:
I plan on implementing the key choices first to see if there is the right number of events, flags, and meaningful choices. Then I will return to add fluff — meaningless choices, better descriptions, better sprites, etc.
10/19: RenPy project has already been made, quick playtest to test system and darkness intro.
10/21: Playtest externally with prologue version. This version has the introduction written and the flag/transitioning logic written.
10/23: Finish implementing major storylines, and see if the map and premise above needs any revision.
10/24 or 10/25: Start looking into art, visual character design, and scene design. Come up with the number of sprites that is reasonable to produce in this time. I will use AI if necessary, but if I do I’d like to cover up the AI-isms, such as making the artstyle of the game more pixilated, so that it’s not so uncanny for players. If graphics are super doomed I can also migrate over to a pure text Twine setup.
10/26-10/28: Gather more playtests, revise story points based on player feedback.
- 10/26: Should playtest a completed-story version with no polished graphics, at least
- 10/28: Hopefully playtest the completed story with feedback incorporated, and some polished graphics.
10/29: Writeup, final visual touches. Ideally final playtest with a friend.
10/30: Buffer day to carry out previous day work if needed.
The biggest challenge I anticipate facing is having to draw sprites and scenes for the game. I have no art experience whatsoever. We will see how that goes, but at least I have backup plans.
