If I was to make a bishoujo game myself

Visual Novel Community Archive, 2000-2009
#1

Hi guys,

I’m a big fan of Season of Sakura. If I was to make an amateur version of it – and that’s a big if – which of your favorite anime girls would you like to see in it? I’ve sketched a few of my favorites on this page. I’m aiming for a total of about 7 girls, with whom you can date.

While you’re at it, please give me any feedback as to whether my sketches look anything like their anime inspirations.

One other thing: Would you consider playing a non-adult bishoujo game, or do you demand a bit of consummation to go along with the romance and drama?

Thanks.

[This message has been edited by BigRocket (edited 04-02-2002).]

#2

The likenesses look really good to me. A lot of them looked dead-on compared with the animated series. Wonder what they’d look like colored.

#3

Making a game from scratch is pretty much damn near impossible to due for one person. But you might ask around and form a group of people to work on it, or if your interested this project,

http://www.starfire-programming.net/ihgd/index.html

might be something your interested in joining. Just a thought.

#4

Nice drawings, no trouble telling who they’re supposed to be. I’m especially enthused to see Aeka because of, ahem, that one music video with her. But then I always tend to like ‘dominant’ type women…

Would you consider adding girls from a video game? Say, FF7? Just a thought.

As for the “non-adult bishoujo game”…Sounds like you’re describing Tokimeki Memorial, right? Sounds good to me.

#5

Hi guys,

Thanks for the feedback so far.

Sharpe: Yup, I’m going to continue working on them – different facial emotions, different dresses, and coloring. I just needed to find out from others if the sketches are any good.

Bigdog: I have a shortcut up my sleeve. Instead of doing a proprietary game engine with lots of C++ programming on my part, I’d just do the game (if I end up doing it, that is) with html programming. In other words, instead of getting an executable file after you uncompress the download, you’d get something like start.htm. The choices you make in the game are really links to other pages.

Reason: Yup, I have the song, “Call me Princess” in my WinAmp playlist . I don’t mind videogame characters, but I’m not familiar with FF7, so I don’t think I can do a good parody of FF7 girls. I have 5 girls so far, and I’m thinking of adding a Sasami look-alike, as a parallel to the innocent Kumi from Tokimeki Check-In – imagine, Aeka, Sasami, and Ryoko as the terrible trio! Right now, I’m undecided about the last girl (I was leaning towards the ultimate drop-dead sexy anime babe, Lum, but I don’t think many Americans are familiar with her character.)

[This message has been edited by BigRocket (edited 04-02-2002).]

#6

I can only imagine you’re talking about Lum from Urusei Yatsura. In that case, I think most anime fans in the U.S. are familiar with her; I believe those were among the first wave of animes to make it over here. Even though I haven’t seen any of them, I know who she is.

The HTML coding sounds pretty clever. Sure it’s not high tech, but for a pick-a-path type of adventure game it would certainly be functional.



#7
quote:
Originally posted by Bigdog:
Making a game from scratch is pretty much damn near impossible to due for one person. But you might ask around and form a group of people to work on it, or if your interested this project,

http://www.starfire-programming.net/ihgd/index.html

might be something your interested in joining. Just a thought.

Normally this is true, but not always. Good text-based adventure games are routinely designed and coded by single authors, with help from established game engines such as TADS and Inform.

For an AVG, I don't think it would be too hard. You need graphics (not difficult- most AVG girls have one pose onto which clothes and facial expressions are drawn, after which the rendition is superimposed over a background) music (not too difficult either- you can find a lot of free midis, or a decent composer who works cheap, on the internet) content (easy if you can write), and coding to pull it all together. That's four specialists, or fewer if you dual-class.

And I'd think the coding would be pretty simple as well- your basic AVG is more or less a linked list with forks. If you can do DirectX, no problem. And you could reuse the engine for future games, if you can modularize it enough.

#8

I agree its not impossible to do a bishoujo game solo, but what I was getting at is it will still be a tremendous amount of work. And most who aspire to do so end up quitting early in the project when they realize just how much work it will be. Especially if you want to do more than just a basic bishoujo game. That web page I listed was just one of many such projects but is one of the more intriguing I have looked over. And they are in need of good artists, which from what I see you are a pretty good artist. The biggest downer is you might not be able to make the game exactly like you would want. But they supposedly have a working engine built and some starting artwork… Your choice either way I look forward to the results of any such projects. Good luck!

#9

Bigdog, that is a dead project - I tried to E-mail the author of that site about helping with the music in that project a while ago, but I never got any response.

#10

It’s not impossible, although for me it’s hard not to get sidetracked into other, simpler projects… I’ve written a whole bunch of small things on the side while still working on my current full h-game…

Part of the problem is that I have a full-time job, and in my limited free time it’s a lot easier to put some effort into a bite-size project than it is to get into the mindset of writing all my girls’ personalities. I made huge progress on Co-Eds when I was off for a week over the xmas holiday. I don’t think I’ve done as much in the months since then as I did that week.

But I would generally encourage you to do as much yourself as possible rather than relying on other people… the more busy people, the more exponentially difficult the whole thing gets!

#11


i dont agree with fans emulating bishoujo games

this brings up the question of why you enjoy these games?
is it just the drawing style?
or is for the culture; the fact that is from Japan?
when a fan from someplace outside Japan emulates these games, you lose the second aspect.
and then all you are left with is a borrowed drawing style
(think of Powerpuff Girls and shudder)

id like to think that there is more value to bishojo games than just the pretty drawing style, if not then how is it any different from porn?

#12

try not to take anything personally…
im just an extremeist
have fun

#13

Is it the girls or is it the story? That’s the question.

#14

actually, the Ijima High bishoujo game they are working on is not a dead project…i’m one of the staff for it now, working on character designs and other such input…it is just a very slow-moving project as nobody is getting paid and we are all working when we can in our spare time…i know for a fact we could use more artists, so give it a try!

#15

Okay, in that case LadyPhoenix, can you please tell the guy who recieves the e-mail to check his e-mail? I’ve sent one as I’d like to help with this game.

#16

Hi guys,

I’ve been out of town for the last couple days, but I’ve some new stuff to show – same link as before. Basically, new sketches of Rei in bandages, Asuka in a dress, and Sasami. BTW, I had to draw Asuka’s hips to correctly posture her (hands on hips), but when it comes time to CG the picture, her dress won’t be see-through anymore.

I’ve also started doing CG for some of the characters – I’ll show those after I finish coloring them.

BTW, I also want to reiterate that I’m not sure whether I’ll end up making a game out of this. Right now, it seems like I have what it takes, but until I sit down and complete each stage of the process, I’ll never know what hurdles I might have to face.

#17

Just in my humble experience, the writing is the most time-consuming. (I draw fast.)

#18

Hi everyone,

New pictures at the same link . Basically, 3 extra EVA characters, and a new sketch of Aeka. Any feedback is welcomed, but I’m especially eager to know what you guys think about the new vs. old Aeka sketches. I want to nail her just right. Thanks.

BTW, I’m also looking for reference pictures of fashion clothing for women. I went to gap.com, target.com, etc., but they only show pictures of garment laid out flat, whereas I really would like to see how the garment would look on a female body. Any links please? Thanks.

#19

Big Rocket wrote:

"I want to nail her just right."


I won’t comment on that remark.

In regard to the picture, I like the eyebrows better on the new pic, although I thought the original was really good too. You’ve got her likeness nailed really well.

#20

I believe I like the new Aeka picture better. (The one marked “A2 New”, right?) Her eyes somehow look more alive (maybe it’s the eyebrows). Also her hair looks better detailed. Basically it just looks like you spent more time on her. Sorry I can’t offer more comments, but I’m not good at visual art stuff.

quote:
Just in my humble experience, the writing is the most time-consuming. (I draw fast.)

Personally, I can write fast, but I can’t draw at all…