What’s up, everybody! Hope you’re having a great weekend. Today, I’m laying down the groundwork for the future of my blog with a couple of announcements. I am excited to introduce a project that is near and dear to my heart. I am creating a new ‘

OELVN’ game called
Project GB!  The project is in its’ infancy, so I will be blogging the entire development process, from start to finish, right here on Creating Visual Novels.

Creating Visual Novels Logo | biancakhidme.comWhat can I expect from Creating Visual Novels?

Unlike Did U Know? which provides information on OELVN game development, comics, digital art and more; Creating Visual Novels, is a monthly report on Project GB’s current status and updates with what has been done to move the project forward. Creating Visual Novels is also a place where I share everything and anything revolving around VN game development from the perspective of a one woman dev team. There will be a lot of errors, mistakes, crying, hair pulling and moments of utter triumph, . . . and all of it, dear friends, will be shared right here on this blog.

 

Why blog about Creating Visual Novels?

 

I have something to confess. I’ve gotta come clean and be completely honest with you. I am a complete and utter novice when it comes to game development. A noob at that. Never went to school or took classes for creating games. I do, however, have a background in graphic design and have a lot of experience in video editing and sound design. I love creating character designs and enjoy learning new things. I’ve spent lots of time extensively researching visual novels and their development. I have learned quite a bit of useful information but still have further to go before I become completely savvy in it.

What I really want to do with Creating Visual Novels, is share all of my experiences on a monthly basis (or more), of my game development process with whoever wants or needs it. I have a blog space that needs more attention so why not put it to good use. Thus, the decision for creating, Creating Visual Novels. This way, others can learn from the experiences I have had and hopefully they too won’t make the same mistakes I made. Plus, they will have a documented basis of info to use for their own game’s development.

 

So, what is Project GB?

 

Project GB, is a murder mystery visual novel set within a paranormal world. Even though there will be romance in the storyline, romance is not the core game mechanic. Project GB is not an otome style game where you get to choose between several guys to romance. The main focus of the game is to solve the mysterious murders and finding the perps responsible. That is the main focus and goal of this game. You play as Celestia Okiro, a college-bound necromancer, tasked with figuring out a series of murders plaguing Nol City.

 

What are your current plans?

 

Currently, I am in the planning stage of development and I am doing the following:

  • Outlining the entire story from beginning to end
  • Game’s scope – Figure out how long the game will be?
  • Decide on what the game’s core mechanics will be.
  • Decide how many characters to include in each case.
  • Figure out all possible story endings.
  • Character Design – Developing character personalities, themes, etc.

So far, I am planning for 5-6 major cases for the player to really sink their teeth into. The game mechanics I have decided to use so far are point and click, deductive reasoning and stealth mechanics. There are other game mechanics I am looking to add to the game but my main concern is making sure that I’m putting together core mechanics that are best suited for the game and for the player’s overall experience. I will have it all narrowed down to what I want to use fairly soon.

 

Hmmm, is there anything else?

 

Oh yes! I’m creating videos of my illustration process on Youtube! It’s not ready yet but it’s in the works as we speak. You will not believe how long I have been trying to get this project going. The migraines and stress levels are real. (-_-);; It’s pitiful really. (I must update my PC soon.)

Each video will have commentary over segmented speed paint sections. In each section, I walk you through the entire creative process from start to finish. Each video will provide useful tips and tricks for digital illustrations. I’m a huge fan of speed painting!  I’m so thrilled to join the YouTube community and I hope you guys are looking forward to the videos as well as Project GB!

So that’s about it for the first installment of Creating Visual Novels. A lot of ground was covered today, but there was also  a lot of great things to look forward to as well. If you have tips of your own that you want to share or have questions, leave it in the comments below. Until then, I wish you happy designs and stress-free coding!