The KF Visual Novel Development Thread - Gremlins 3: Big Trouble in Atlanta

[Gorgar]

4chan made Katawa Shoujo then Tumblr made Dashcon...
I think this is where we go now.



The KiwiFarms Visual Novel Thing, or as the working title, Gremlins 3: Big Trouble in Atlanta

The VN uses characters of Joel Harris's characters to create both macabre and mundane elements to create a lovely experience, with the central theme being overinclusivity and how it can out people that do not know of the system.
The purpose of this thread is to post updates on this project.

Cool, is there any way I can help?

You can help by discussing ideas. Do not suggest things that will only make sense for a typical kiwi would know; I want this to stand in its own right. I will, however, accept these ideas if it's something that your grandma would be fine understanding. You can also volunteer to cowrite, create art assets and music when I think the time is right. However, this might change as the VN gets more and more realized.

 

[Demonslayer1776]

In one route you play as muscular black mercenary. You're paid to hunt down Ethan Ralph in various countries to get him to pay his child support. As you begin to encounter him more frequently, a romance develops as he enjoys watching you bang his horse.

 

[We Are The Witches]

- Are you going to use something like Ren'Py (which I haven't used) to create it?
- Will you actually release it here on KF at some point?

---

I'm not familiar with Joel Harris characters, but they should be anthropomorphic animals in this style, right?

Spoiler: Characters

My idea is to create a horror visual novel.

First get the characters you want participating in it, and make several of them potential killers and murder scenarios/storylines depending on what actions does the player choose. It can start like one of those japanese battle-royale movies (like Kitano's), or games (Danganronpa), or in those lines.

They start living with each other for X reason (e.g: like the cliché, they've been gathered in one place for a purpose), and as things develop, horrible and grotesque murders start to happen. The more characters you introduce at first, the more variables you'll have to work with (more story paths), and of course more effort you'll have to put into it.
Also, as the developer that you'll be (and anyone that helps you), will have the plot spoiled, but it'll be fun regardless if you decide to make something elaborate.

 

[Becomemysoulreaver12]

I've actually made a little visual novel framework for unity, its not the most optimized to use and it is most likely better to use ren'py, but I wanted something that I could expand with different gameplay elements or I could use as cutscenes for an rpg

 

[Gorgar]

- Are you going to use something like Ren'Py (which I haven't used) to create it?
- Will you actually release it here on KF at some point?

---

I'm not familiar with Joel Harris characters, but they should be anthropomorphic animals in this style, right?

Spoiler: Characters

View attachment 4328147

My idea is to create a horror visual novel.

First get the characters you want participating in it, and make several of them potential killers and murder scenarios/storylines depending on what actions does the player choose. It can start like one of those japanese battle-royale movies (like Kitano's), or games (Danganronpa), or in those lines.

They start living with each other for X reason (e.g: like the cliché, they've been gathered in one place for a purpose), and as things develop, horrible and grotesque murders start to happen. The more characters you introduce at first, the more variables you'll have to work with (more story paths), and of course more effort you'll have to put into it.
Also, as the developer that you'll be (and anyone that helps you), will have the plot spoiled, but it'll be fun regardless if you decide to make something elaborate.

Anthromorphic? Yes.
Attractive to furfags? No.

One of my main goals with this is to directly punish any furry who instantly sees le anthropomorphic characters by flagging them in the code so they can get the bad ending. I don't know if Ren'Py will be able to look at your internet history, but I'll try to make it happen.

I also recognize that I'll probably need to explain a few things here and there, an author's worst nightmare.

ALSO ALSO ALSO, I'm going to steal your pic as a reference to what I want the art style to look like. Thank you, om nom nom. I wish I could elaborate more, but I got some language stuff to take care of.

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

Because of the setting: Southern food like fried chicken, BBQ, Cornbread and collard greens as food/consumables?

 

[Gorgar]

Expect a big post tomorrow morning if I don't write anything; I grant all of ye my social security number

 

[Smug]

I've actually made a little visual novel framework for unity, its not the most optimized to use and it is most likely better to use ren'py, but I wanted something that I could expand with different gameplay elements or I could use as cutscenes for an rpg

That sounds interesting. As far as I know, "Find Love or Die Trying" used unity, and the main issue it had was a lack of save slots (it didn't really do anything that couldn't have been done on Ren'Py). Is that a unity problem, or is making a larger save system for a VN framework no problem using unity?

The flexibility to expand into some more interactive gameplay has excellent potential for any big reveal or plot twist moments.

 

[Becomemysoulreaver12]

That sounds interesting. As far as I know, "Find Love or Die Trying" used unity, and the main issue it had was a lack of save slots (it didn't really do anything that couldn't have been done on Ren'Py). Is that a unity problem, or is making a larger save system for a VN framework no problem using unity?

The flexibility to expand into some more interactive gameplay has excellent potential for any big reveal or plot twist moments.

It really depends on how you want to make the save data I guess, the most common way is making an encripted json file, you could make multiple files and have each slot just load a different one, because it is a visual novel the only thing you would need to save would pretty much just be either variables or some objects if you have like "keys" to unlock areas or dialogue options.
Here is a little incomplete demo I did a while back.

 

[Gorgar]

Alright, here's the system I've decided to use.
When you see inline spoilers like so... what it is stuff that would kill me or, in other words, death of the author.
If you're absolutely committed to making this happen, by all means.

Anyway, here's the 411.
I've decided to have the VN begin in a hotel where a cherub checks you in. Why? The reason for it is simple, and games are like full experiences regardless of whether or not they are fake. When you download a game and start playing it, you're in a beautiful fantasy created by the developers, and hotels are nothing more than the same thing. As for the cherub, I wanted something to represent the love of one another rather than the lust of one another.

They check you in, and you play as a woman named Betty, a high school student who is part of the school paper and gets introduced by barfing right into the toilet. They're pottymouthed. They notice that Briar, the fox in the stories, is accused of doing something terrible in their high school, and I haven't decided what that is. But when she is about to interview him, he looks worse for wear. He's tied to a bus station outside a bar. He's about to catch the bus, death. She takes him home and starts asking questions, but he's unintelligible. Once he's home, he's nearly going to bed when he opens his closet door, finding a vast hellscape. He closes it and goes to bed.

Stuff I'm Adding In Later:
I want Briar to follow God's way of love or not have sex before marriage, so if you expect a sex scene anywhere, it sucks to be you, and by the way, I'm laughing at you. Additionally, I've considered having the banjo play a significant role in the story, and it's a misunderstood instrument that I think Howard Goldwaithe put best in his TED talk.

 

[We Are The Witches]

How much of a "fantasy world" will this be?

The "vast hellscape", if taken literally, does it hint to a Narnia style story element (the wardrobe to another world)? Or is it a metaphor? Like does he have a corpse in his closet?

Looks like you already have a decently polished idea of what the story will be, so I'm not sure how far people can help you with it (storywise).

---

Well, @Gorgar I can give you my loose ideas for what you've written:

- If it's a literal hellscape: maybe Briar stole the banjo from that world (since you want to incorporate it in the story), and demons from that place are trying to retrieve it. They don't know who took it, so they come at night (or at any convenient time of your choosing that makes sense) in order to kill the thief. This is what killed a student in the high-school, and the bullies/group suspect Briar but don't know for sure.

Briar, on the other hand, only took the banjo by accident (like he found it in that fantasy place, but after seeing a demon approaching he rushed over and exited the place, not noticing he had stolen the instrument), and now is too scared to deliver it back due to the violent demons.

It can be an adventure involving him and Betty, who eventually learns what happened and decides to help. Not only they'll need to fight off demons, but also the group in high-school, who go rogue and attempt to get rid of Briar.

- If it's a metaphor: then what's inside Briar's closet is a dead body. Since you want to make him a "God's follower" (which I assume here won't kill anyone), then it means someone framed him.
But who? It can be that high-school group who does not like him, so they decided to brutally murder another student and blame Briar. They knew when he'd frequent that bar, so they took the opportunity.

Here, taking advantage of the choices of Visual Novels, the player can decide which path Briar will take: take revenge on everyone (like he starts killing the students of the group one by one, and you as a player must do that in creative ways in order to not get caught), or you can decide to prove your innocence.

Since it's a fantasy world, Briar will be asked to look for evidence on who actually killed the student, during a limited timeframe: if he doesn't do a good job you get the bad ending and he gets unjustly imprisoned. If he does a good job, he'll need to find clues (like in the videogame "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors") and Betty will be there to help.

 

[Mr.Miyagi]

When do the gremlins show up?

 

[Gorgar]

How much of a "fantasy world" will this be?

The "vast hellscape", if taken literally, does it hint to a Narnia style story element (the wardrobe to another world)? Or is it a metaphor? Like does he have a corpse in his closet?

Looks like you already have a decently polished idea of what the story will be, so I'm not sure how far people can help you with it (storywise).

---

Well, @Gorgar I can give you my loose ideas for what you've written:

- If it's a literal hellscape: maybe Briar stole the banjo from that world (since you want to incorporate it in the story), and demons from that place are trying to retrieve it. They don't know who took it, so they come at night (or at any convenient time of your choosing that makes sense) in order to kill the thief. This is what killed a student in the high-school, and the bullies/group suspect Briar but don't know for sure.

Briar, on the other hand, only took the banjo by accident (like he found it in that fantasy place, but after seeing a demon approaching he rushed over and exited the place, not noticing he had stolen the instrument), and now is too scared to deliver it back due to the violent demons.

It can be an adventure involving him and Betty, who eventually learns what happened and decides to help. Not only they'll need to fight off demons, but also the group in high-school, who go rogue and attempt to get rid of Briar.

- If it's a metaphor: then what's inside Briar's closet is a dead body. Since you want to make him a "God's follower" (which I assume here won't kill anyone), then it means someone framed him.
But who? It can be that high-school group who does not like him, so they decided to brutally murder another student and blame Briar. They knew when he'd frequent that bar, so they took the opportunity.

Here, taking advantage of the choices of Visual Novels, the player can decide which path Briar will take: take revenge on everyone (like he starts killing the students of the group one by one, and you as a player must do that in creative ways in order to not get caught), or you can decide to prove your innocence.

Since it's a fantasy world, Briar will be asked to look for evidence on who actually killed the student, during a limited timeframe: if he doesn't do a good job you get the bad ending and he gets unjustly imprisoned. If he does a good job, he'll need to find clues (like in the videogame "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors") and Betty will be there to help.

You’re right with the ladder. It’s yet another metaphor, fighting with the complete opposite of himself. Though I like the idea of him finding a dead body. I might rewrite that a bit.
“take revenge on everyone (like he starts killing the students of the group one by one, and you as a player must do that in creative ways in order to not get caught), or you can decide to prove your innocence.”
No no no no no no.
I might play around the idea of it being both a romantic comedy in some way.

When do the gremlins show up?

I wish for them to show the minute the first player hits start but realistically, it’ll be inevitably when I get a dumb code mistake.

 

[Irrational Exuberance]

Alright, here's the system I've decided to use.
When you see inline spoilers like so... what it is stuff that would kill me or, in other words, death of the author.
If you're absolutely committed to making this happen, by all means.

Anyway, here's the 411.
I've decided to have the VN begin in a hotel where a cherub checks you in. Why? The reason for it is simple, and games are like full experiences regardless of whether or not they are fake. When you download a game and start playing it, you're in a beautiful fantasy created by the developers, and hotels are nothing more than the same thing. As for the cherub, I wanted something to represent the love of one another rather than the lust of one another.

They check you in, and you play as a woman named Betty, a high school student who is part of the school paper and gets introduced by barfing right into the toilet. They're pottymouthed. They notice that Briar, the fox in the stories, is accused of doing something terrible in their high school, and I haven't decided what that is. But when she is about to interview him, he looks worse for wear. He's tied to a bus station outside a bar. He's about to catch the bus, death. She takes him home and starts asking questions, but he's unintelligible. Once he's home, he's nearly going to bed when he opens his closet door, finding a vast hellscape. He closes it and goes to bed.

Stuff I'm Adding In Later:
I want Briar to follow God's way of love or not have sex before marriage, so if you expect a sex scene anywhere, it sucks to be you, and by the way, I'm laughing at you. Additionally, I've considered having the banjo play a significant role in the story, and it's a misunderstood instrument that I think Howard Goldwaithe put best in his TED talk.

Serious question: will there be allusions to SMT: Nocturne?

 

[Gorgar]

Serious question: will there be allusions to SMT: Nocturne?

It would be extremely selfish to insert it into this story especially under consideration with the themes. Though my feelings with it might change but from a storytelling perspective, it’ll most likely not happen.

But if it’s allusions you are looking for, I’m l thinking of ways I could be able to allude with The Birth of A Nation, more specifically with this particular scene:

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

Where will it be posted after the Visual Novel's finished? It.chio? Because I'm ready to download it; I'm not good enough to play test it though.

 

[Gorgar]

Here's the update.
I decided to go with @We Are The Witches 's idea, but instead of making it a dead body, I'm going to either try a dead baby goat or a dead sheep. He'll try to hide it for so long. Still, it will be revealed to be a woman who is hugely envious just like social justice of what Briar has that being a fantastic relationship with his seven different siblings, somehow getting stuff done through sneaky behavior, if you are faced with a game stacked against you, it is best to cheat instead, and now recently to what she thinks is a relationship with Betty.
She'll try to destroy him and Betty through force, coercion, and regulation again, just like how social justice actsbut it'll all be in vain. Why? They get around it.

Also, I'm changing Betty's club from a school newspaper to a fishing club because it can also function as the same thing.

Finally, I need some help incorporating the following:
- A stand-in for a politician who seeks to expand his power through social justice.
-What Nietzsche calls slave morality

That's all for now; any ideas, or feedback would be appreciated.

Where will it be posted after the Visual Novel's finished? It.chio? Because I'm ready to download it; I'm not good enough to play test it though.

Probably Steam.

 

[Gorgar]

Not much of a big update, but I would love feedback for this poem that I intend to play at the start.

In the once-beautiful garden,
where flowers bloomed with every hue,
laughter filled the air, and dreams came to life,

But now the weeds have taken over,
strangling the beauty and growth,
leaving the garden feeling choked and dull.

The brilliant colors have faded,
and the garden feels like it's trapped,
its beauty suffocated by bitterness and greed.

Yet amidst the destruction,
a tiny seedling stands tall,
defying the weeds and growing strong.

In this garden, now so changed,
we will find appreciation,
from what remains in this patch.

Also, I just saw Gone With The Wind, and all I can say is...

Mulholland Drive (2001) - 'This Is the girl' [HD]

I do not own the content of the video. All credits to Les Films Alain Sarde, Asymmetrical Productions, Babbo Inc. and other production companies of the movie.

youtu.be

Expect a few callbacks through this thing.

 

[Cheerlead-in-Chief]

Not much of a big update, but I would love feedback for this poem that I intend to play at the start.

In the once-beautiful garden,
where flowers bloomed with every hue,
laughter filled the air, and dreams came to life,

But now the weeds have taken over,
strangling the beauty and growth,
leaving the garden feeling choked and dull.

The brilliant colors have faded,
and the garden feels like it's trapped,
its beauty suffocated by bitterness and greed.

Yet amidst the destruction,
a tiny seedling stands tall,
defying the weeds and growing strong.

In this garden, now so changed,
we will find appreciation,
from what remains in this patch.

Also, I just saw Gone With The Wind, and all I can say is...

Mulholland Drive (2001) - 'This Is the girl' [HD]

I do not own the content of the video. All credits to Les Films Alain Sarde, Asymmetrical Productions, Babbo Inc. and other production companies of the movie.

youtu.be

Expect a few callbacks through this thing.

I love the poem. Better than what I can do. Brought a tear to my eye.

 

[Gorgar]

I am going to start writing non-stop tomorrow.
Best ye give ideas just in case of writer's block.