I'm making a visual novel

[Kolph]

If any of yous can draw anime style characters to a decent degree I'd be willing to pay you (not loads) for your effort and credit you as I really need to get sprite sheets going once the characters have been fully developed and ready to be implemented. Or draw them for free and you'll have my eternal gratitude

 

[Kolph]

My friend in Brazil could probably do it for you. She's a really good artist... and your money will go a lot further with her being in Brazil. I helped her setup a paypal so I could pay her something for helping me with artwork. I'll try and get her to join the Agora Road discord.

Aw hell yeah, time to exploit economically deprived Latinos!

 

[Kolph]

Haha nah its not like that. For $10 bucks you won't get much of anything in the USA or Europe but the conversion rate for USD / British Pounds of Gold is much better for a Brazilian. She's always asking me for work but I haven't had much lately, or much extra money. I describe what I want and show a few pictures and she does the rest. Really talented and I'd rather support her and her work than some lame brain normie. She makes some cool shit.

She made all the artwork for https://bocachulastudios.com/team/

Of course of course, I was just kidding. I'll check her stuff out now. Wait, does she have an online portfolio or something?

 

[Kolph]

@MorphedSnowman makes awesome 3d art too. If he polished up his skills he could make some cool stuff from her artwork too. He made my avatar just from my simple png of a stoner. Really talented work.

Looking for more 2d than 3d but if he wants to contribute then he can

 

[Jared]

make him a character

His name is george

 

[Kolph]

@l@in is here Help me here with the genre representation, you're the VN expert.

 

[lain is here]

@l@in is here Help me here with the genre representation, you're the VN expert.

So I just read through your proof of concept and I really like it. It's an interesting idea that lends itself open to all sorts of creative directions. Which is perfect for a community project. I also think the idea is quite funny, and it plays to your strengths since you strike me as somebody who is inclined to do zany comedy.

As for the genres, as far as a western audience is concerned I think you've got a pretty good selection. Truth of the matter is, the people who like western VNs and the people who like Japanese VNs are like oil and water: the two communities mostly stay away from each other. What you have now is something I think the people into western VNs would enjoy and something the people into Japanese VNs would hate lol.

Honestly, I think playing with this tension between the two communities could be a point of much humor. Like, you could have several characters that represent the Weeb portion of the VN fanbase who have a bad tendency of being quite elitist. They could add some points of pretentious tension in this reality show context. In that case, you're going to want to get your Weeb lingo down. And VN weeb lingo is more esoteric than normal weeb lingo, but don't worry because I've got your back. For example:

"God look whose just showed up to our side of the table, that EOP who's read one normalfag Nakige and think's he knows anything about VN Kino. When I tried to redpill him on why KKK is the height of Chuunige, he got angry and slapped me in the face for trying to promote 'white supremacy'. Like, what the fuck!? This is what happens when EOP's shit up our community, they don't even know what KKK stands for!"
*KKK (Kajiri Kamui Kagura) is a Japanese language exclusive VN that has cult classic status.

 

[Kolph]

So I just read through your proof of concept and I really like it. It's an interesting idea that lends itself open to all sorts of creative directions. Which is perfect for a community project. I also think the idea is quite funny, and it plays to your strengths since you strike me as somebody who is inclined to do zany comedy.

As for the genres, as far as a western audience is concerned I think you've got a pretty good selection. Truth of the matter is, the people who like western VNs and the people who like Japanese VNs are like oil and water: the two communities mostly stay away from each other. What you have now is something I think the people into western VNs would enjoy and something the people into Japanese VNs would hate lol.

Honestly, I think playing with this tension between the two communities could be a point of much humor. Like, you could have several characters that represent the Weeb portion of the VN fanbase who have a bad tendency of being quite elitist. They could add some points of pretentious tension in this reality show context. In that case, you're going to want to get your Weeb lingo down. And VN weeb lingo is more esoteric than normal weeb lingo, but don't worry because I've got your back. For example:

"God look whose just showed up to our side of the table, that EOP who's read one normalfag Nakige and think's he knows anything about VN Kino. When I tried to redpill him on why KKK is the height of Chuunige, he got angry and slapped me in the face for trying to promote 'white supremacy'. Like, what the fuck!? This is what happens when EOP's shit up our community, they don't even know what KKK stands for!"
*KKK (Kajiri Kamui Kagura) is a Japanese language exclusive VN that has cult classic status.

Ah cool, glad to hear you like the idea.
So, what other genres do you think need representation too that I may have missed? Thinking of raising the cast to 14 so I'm looking for ideas for four more characters. Also not sure if I'm gonna use that lingo in the game as tbh I understand fuck all haha, but I want to make homage to as many genres as possible and some notable series such as Phoenix Wright in some way. I really want the 90s To Heart character for an example to have a unique 16 bit design and other characters from certain genres to have a distinctive style also if its warranted.

 

[Kolph]

We do it big at Boca Chula. First draft.

View attachment 18095

Yeah ok this is really cool. Yeah only problem I really have is TriangleHead is suppose look more like a wooden puppet so the eyes make him look more like an alien than the former, yet I still like the eyes and when he is shocked or surprised they should still be present, but normally his pupils should be black unless people think otherwise. Maybe a slightly bigger lower body but other than that this is great and would love to see more.

 

[lain is here]

Ah cool, glad to hear you like the idea.
So, what other genres do you think need representation too that I may have missed? Thinking of raising the cast to 14 so I'm looking for ideas for four more characters. Also not sure if I'm gonna use that lingo in the game as tbh I understand fuck all haha, but I want to make homage to as many genres as possible and some notable series such as Phoenix Wright in some way. I really want the 90s To Heart character for an example to have a unique 16 bit design and other characters from certain genres to have a distinctive style also if its warranted.

Yeah, I didn't think you would get the lingo that's why I said I'd be your guy for it. ;p It could add an interesting bridge between the two communities and would be a decent source of comedy. But if you'd rather not touch that kind of stuff then fair enough.

If you'll looking for characters and VNs to parody then here is a list of things that comes to the top of my head:

Sci/Fi: Have the representative character be a parody of Okabe Rintaro (Hououin Kyouma) from Steins;Gate. If you're too lazy to watch the anime, here is a scene that basically sums up his character: (scene)
Murder Mystery: You'll definitely want to parody Umineko. If you can, you should have both Battler and Erika (in fact, Battler could double as a Pheonix Wright reference since he kinda of shares some similarities with that character). But you should definietly parody the "intellectual rapist" Erika. Here's a good scene of her: (scene)
Dating Sim: To Heart is a good choice, if you go with that I would specifically recommend parodying HMX-12 aka Multi. This character singlehandedly popularized robot school girls and robot maids (she's not actually a maid, but she likes cleaning). Here's a scene from the anime, she's the green haired one: (scene)
Chuunige (aka, Edgelord shit): Eh, the standard choice to go with would be to parody Fate/Stay Night, or Tsukihime. But I'm really not a Type Moon fan. If you want to appeal to normies then go with this, but I won't help you with this choice since again, I really don't like Type Moon. If you want to show the kids on the block that you're cool though, you would parody Reinhard from Dies Irae. An immortal Nazi that harvests human lives for their spiritual essense inorder to ascend to Godhood (see, how could you get more edgy then that!?). Here's the best I could find, it's a speech of his. Don't worry it's subtitled: (scene)
Btw, I get it, even if just for parody Nazis are bad PR. So if you parody him, I recommend making him an immortal Stalinist or Maoist instead. There, problem solved.
Moege (aka Lolicon bait): This should be obvious, a 500 year old vampire that looks like 7 year old. If you want to be extra playful, make the character a 500 year old shotacon (male version of a Loli), and have that character himself have an unhealthy interest in Lolis. In fact, if this reality show is taking place on an island, have the island be owned by him with random freaky sex dungeons found throughout (Epstein reference).

This is what comes off of the top of my head. Idk if this is what you had in mind, but your request was kind of vague. I might come up with more later.

 

[Kolph]

Yeah, I didn't think you would get the lingo that's why I said I'd be your guy for it. ;p It could add an interesting bridge between the two communities and would be a decent source of comedy. But if you'd rather not touch that kind of stuff then fair enough.

If you'll looking for characters and VNs to parody then here is a list of things that comes to the top of my head:

Sci/Fi: Have the representative character be a parody of Okabe Rintaro (Hououin Kyouma) from Steins;Gate. If you're too lazy to watch the anime, here is a scene that basically sums up his character: (scene)
Murder Mystery: You'll definitely want to parody Umineko. If you can, you should have both Battler and Erika (in fact, Battler could double as a Pheonix Wright reference since he kinda of shares some similarities with that character). But you should definietly parody the "intellectual rapist" Erika. Here's a good scene of her: (scene)
Dating Sim: To Heart is a good choice, if you go with that I would specifically recommend parodying HMX-12 aka Multi. This character singlehandedly popularized robot school girls and robot maids (she's not actually a maid, but she likes cleaning). Here's a scene from the anime, she's the green haired one: (scene)
Chuunige (aka, Edgelord shit): Eh, the standard choice to go with would be to parody Fate/Stay Night, or Tsukihime. But I'm really not a Type Moon fan. If you want to appeal to normies then go with this, but I won't help you with this choice since again, I really don't like Type Moon. If you want to show the kids on the block that you're cool though, you would parody Reinhard from Dies Irae. An immortal Nazi that harvests human lives for their spiritual essense inorder to ascend to Godhood (see, how could you get more edgy then that!?). Here's the best I could find, it's a speech of his. Don't worry it's subtitled: (scene)
Btw, I get it, even if just for parody Nazis are bad PR. So if you parody him, I recommend making him an immortal Stalinist or Maoist instead. There, problem solved.
Moege (aka Lolicon bait): This should be obvious, a 500 year old vampire that looks like 7 year old. If you want to be extra playful, make the character a 500 year old shotacon (male version of a Loli), and have that character himself have an unhealthy interest in Lolis. In fact, if this reality show is taking place on an island, have the island be owned by him with random freaky sex dungeons found throughout (Epstein reference).

This is what comes off of the top of my head. Idk if this is what you had in mind, but you request was kind of vague. I might come up with more later.

Brilliant ideas but holy shit I will not touch loli shit with a nine foot pole.
I already have a lot of the ideas listed but edgelord character sounds interesting. I was considering a dystopian visual novel character too, like a masked generic soldier who is adamant in his/hers politicial philosophy and is humiliated they have to take part in this embarrassing game show than serve her totalitarian government. Hate to say it but I'm wondering if I should try to appeal to the furry audience too but I worry I will scare players away with such a character.

 

[MorphedSnowman]

But she's awesome... shes talented without pride... so you can tell her anything. She will do some cool shit. Also @MorphedSnowman Idk where he has been. But I just wanna shout it out again, he's talented as fuck. If I was rich I'd sub to his patreon and protect him in jail. I'd prtoect him in jail even if i was broke. only sub to patreon if i had big money. im broke pretty much *edit

like maybe a couple gs on reserve but then what... i gotta suck d for rent its not who i am. I understand the life of @Thermite but its not for me.

Eh sure I can give it a go. Not sure how much of a help I would be tho. I made two sketches of characters. No expressions yet cause I won't put in all the effort if the first sketches aren't liked. Feel free to shit on everything I post here. I don't mind and it will simply result in better stuff. This is just first draft.

CYBERPUNK CHARACTER: Major meathead
Just your standard edgy cyberpunk dude. He's a soldier since childhood that never took prisoners. The only thing that makes his pain go away is lifting and alcohol. He still sleeps with a plushie bear.

Ghost Woman: no name yet
Don't really have anything in mind besides her being your standard "pale creepy women". I want her to have a monster form that she has to hide from tetraphiles.

I though about animation on these characters too that would be easy to do. Horror girl could have her claws move around behind her back and cyberpunk dude could have his led go brighter and dim down.

 

[Kolph]

Eh sure I can give it a go. Not sure how much of a help I would be tho. I made two sketches of characters. No expressions yet cause I won't put in all the effort if the first sketches aren't liked. Feel free to shit on everything I post here. I don't mind and it will simply result in better stuff. This is just first draft.

CYBERPUNK CHARACTER: Major meathead
Just your standard edgy cyberpunk dude. He's a soldier since childhood that never took prisoners. The only thing that makes his pain go away is lifting and alcohol. He still sleeps with a plushie bear.
View attachment 18171
Ghost Woman: no name yet
Don't really have anything in mind besides her being your standard "pale creepy women". I want her to have a monster form that she has to hide from tetraphiles.

View attachment 18172

I though about animation on these characters too that would be easy to do. Horror girl could have her claws move around behind her back and cyberpunk dude could have his led go brighter and dim down.

Looking for something more of an anime style but thanks for the effort but have a question: can you do backgrounds? If so I might have some business for you at some future date.

 

[RIG]

My friend in Brazil could probably do it for you. She's a really good artist... and your money will go a lot further with her being in Brazil. I helped her setup a paypal so I could pay her something for helping me with artwork. I'll try and get her to join the Agora Road discord.

I want to meet ur art friend 2

 

[MorphedSnowman]

Looking for something more of an anime style but thanks for the effort but have a question: can you do backgrounds? If so I might have some business for you at some future date.

Tried monster girl again in more anime style. I don't think I got enough nipon power to go more nipon that this. If this is bad, forget about me drawing the characters.

As for backgrounds, I don't know. I never did really any that much. What kind of background would you like? I'll make something and then you'll decide if it stinks or not.

 

[Kolph]

View attachment 18194

Ok yeah I really like this, never knew he would look better as a giant dorito. Right, what are her rates? Happily buy a set off her when money comes in

 

[Kolph]

Tried monster girl again in more anime style. I don't think I got enough nipon power to go more nipon that this. If this is bad, forget about me drawing the characters.

As for backgrounds, I don't know. I never did really any that much. What kind of background would you like? I'll make something and then you'll decide if it stinks or not.

View attachment 18192

Can you do 16 bit art? If so I might have a design in mind. But yeah at the moment all characters are in beta and most I ain't thought out too much yet. Next week I'll try and get a character sheet out so people have a good idea on what I'm trying to go for with the cast.

 

[Kolph]

In bulk maybe 5- 10 bucks a character.

Does she speak English? Probably best I discuss this with her personally.

 

[MorphedSnowman]

Can you do 16 bit art? If so I might have a design in mind. But yeah at the moment all characters are in beta and most I ain't thought out too much yet. Next week I'll try and get a character sheet out so people have a good idea on what I'm trying to go for with the cast.

I think I can do that, but yeah. Give me references and stuff cause otherwise I will be filling in the blanks myself and completely miss what you wanted.

 

[Kolph]

I think I can do that, but yeah. Give me references and stuff cause otherwise I will be filling in the blanks myself and completely miss what you wanted.

So, basically one of the characters I want to be a reference to the To Heart series which really popularised the visual novel genre, especially the popular dating sim subgenre. The game wasn't 16 bit but having the character in that style pays homage to the old Famicom and PC ROMs that came before. @l@in is here suggested referencing Multi so that's what I'm gonna do, maybe take her design, age it up a bit (fuck weird pedobait shit), and maybe change the hair colour to something like red? 16-bit robot maid is essentially what I'm going for.