Hello everyone! I'm starting this thread to find some people who'd like to work on a passion project of mine. I've been developing it on-and-off for the past ~3 years. And have decided that the best medium for it is a game. What kind of game? Well, at first, I thought a straight-up visual novel would be fine. But, as I kept thinking about it, it became a bit more ambitious. All-in-all, this game is planned to have elements of; a visual novel, business management, and a social sim.
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To describe the project a little, I'll divide it into two parts, the gameplay and the story.
Gameplay;
The primary gameplay loop follows a three-part system. First, story is presented to the player in a par-for-the-course visual novel. Then, the game moves into a business manangement section. In this, the player chooses various options for producing a film (as the in-game business is a porn studio.) They can choose;
- Length of Film
How long the film will take to produce in in-game weeks, which also sets a minimum budget [explained below] and a minimum Quality amount that must be met to get a higher rating. A higher rating = more viewers = more money.
- Star and Co-Stars
Which of the studio's cast will be in the film, thus providing their unique perks to aid tehfilm with bonuses (extra viewership, higher quality, etc.)
- Budget
The length chosen will set a minimum budget to be taken from the studio funds, but the player can put addittional funds in to gain tokens which can be used to deal with events and issues that crop up during the film production.
These films are the primary way for players to make money, gain fame, and increase viewership. Money can be used to make more films (and is used as one of the gates for further story progress, further explained later). Fame allows for higher viewership and, thus, higher income per film. Viewership determines how much money each film makes and provides a smaller, passive income.
The production of a film can be hindered by "Department Issues", which are ongoing issues related to departments within the studio (admin, editing, lighting, wardrobe, etc.) and require Funds or Favors (explained below) to solve. They can even be convereted into bonuses by spending more money than required.
As well as Issues, there are weekly Events that occur. They offer opportunities for boosts to the film's production (gaining bonus Quality, higher income per viewer, etc.) by spending budget tokens. More tokens can be spent to increase the bonus (if the player really needs the boost), or no tokens can be spent (but, this will give the event a chance of causing a minor detrimental effect to the film production.)
The third part of the loop is; Social.
Similar to Persona 5, the player can have the main character bond with other in-game characters by spending time with them. After the story section and the studio management section, the player will be presented with certain cahracters to spend time with. When doing this, they will increase (or potentially decrease) their bond with that character. By increasing it, they unlock further story for side-characters or unlock further progress in the story (major characters bond level can also be a gate for story progress). It can also unlock 'Favors', which can be used to solve Issues and Events for free, but have a finite amount that can be obtained in-game.
And all of this takes place in the; Calendar.
Again, similar to Persona 5, the game would take place in a day-by-day process. Each day, the three parts of the loop take place. (Though, story is paused when a gate -- a goal to be met by a deadline to continue the story -- is met.) And the calendar alsohas an effect on the two interactive sections. Certain characters are only available on certain days, so bonding with them requires some planning. And some Issues/Events in the studio only occur during specific times of year.
Story;
The story follows Dexter Reed, a NEET who has been isekai'd into the afterlife. As is part-and-parcel for new arrivals, he is given a stipend of money based on how much he seized the day during life. Despite not quite doing that, he ends up with a huge amount of money thanks to a mistake by his processor. When put out into the city of Nova Vitae, he meets a demoness named Lucia, the owner of a failing film studio. She is desperately trying to keep it open, but her debts and floundering sales are tanking it fast. Dexter offers to invest in her studio and she agrees. When he goes to visit the studio, he finds out it's a porn studio and (given the extensive library of porn he kept when alive) he provides criticism of a movie in progress, the insight of which gets him appointed the head creative for the studio. From there, he meets the cast and crew of the studio; a collection of various cryptids and monsters (zombies, werewolves, mummies, shadowpeople, mothmen etc.) and forms friendships with each over time. All of this as they try to make the studio the best in the city, while facing pressure from another demon (Corvus) who wants to buy up the studio to secure one of his many monopolies.
In case you'd like an example of the story, I have provided the script for the opening of the game
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Ideally, I'd like to develop a prototype/demo of this game and then start up a Patreon for further development. For the prototype/demo phase, the work would be unpaid. Then, it shifts to a revshare/paid basis (percentage of revenue) when the Patreon opens and brings in enough funds.
The people I need, currently, are:
Character Artist
Someone who can design/create character assets.
For the prototype/demo, there are 12 characters who need art made. For the prototype, there'll be a single sprite made for each character, based on designs I'll provide in a design doc -- including references and further information -- as well as input from the artists themselves.
BG Artist
Someone who can design/create backgrounds for each location.
For the prototype/demo, there will be 15 backgrounds required. The designs will be based on designs I'll provide in a design doc, including references and further information, as well as inpou from the artsits themselves.
CG Artist
Someone who can take the character designs and be able to create full-screen CGs for use in the visual novel sections.
For the prototype/demo, I don't yet know exactly how many CGs will be needed. As placement of CGs are still being tweaked. A good idea of scale is the opening provided above (or also
For the characters, BGs, and CGs, I do have a style in mind. Something that is a mix between the styles of Monster Prom and
UI Artist
Someone who can design various UI elements and menus across the game.
For the prototype/demo, the UI will be fairly simple. But, as the game is largely menu-based, they will be fine-tuned and polished to ensure that it is pleasant to look at for full playing sessions. A lot of freedom will be given to the artist (and any artist on the team that wishes to assist) for this section, as this is the most important part of the game's art to get right, imo, as it's the part the user will interact with the most.
Programmer
I'm looking for 1-3 programmers who are knowledgeable in, ideally, Godot or RenPy. I am open to other engines, however.
As I put above, this will be an unpaid/revshare project. I just do not currently have the money to invest in this project, sadly. But, once the Patreon opens, every participant in the project will start being paid. And, if you know how to promote a Patreon page, awesome! Do get in touch.
To contact me, you can PM me on here and we can talk details, discords, etc.
Thank you all in advance!
------------
To describe the project a little, I'll divide it into two parts, the gameplay and the story.
Gameplay;
The primary gameplay loop follows a three-part system. First, story is presented to the player in a par-for-the-course visual novel. Then, the game moves into a business manangement section. In this, the player chooses various options for producing a film (as the in-game business is a porn studio.) They can choose;
- Length of Film
How long the film will take to produce in in-game weeks, which also sets a minimum budget [explained below] and a minimum Quality amount that must be met to get a higher rating. A higher rating = more viewers = more money.
- Star and Co-Stars
Which of the studio's cast will be in the film, thus providing their unique perks to aid tehfilm with bonuses (extra viewership, higher quality, etc.)
- Budget
The length chosen will set a minimum budget to be taken from the studio funds, but the player can put addittional funds in to gain tokens which can be used to deal with events and issues that crop up during the film production.
These films are the primary way for players to make money, gain fame, and increase viewership. Money can be used to make more films (and is used as one of the gates for further story progress, further explained later). Fame allows for higher viewership and, thus, higher income per film. Viewership determines how much money each film makes and provides a smaller, passive income.
The production of a film can be hindered by "Department Issues", which are ongoing issues related to departments within the studio (admin, editing, lighting, wardrobe, etc.) and require Funds or Favors (explained below) to solve. They can even be convereted into bonuses by spending more money than required.
As well as Issues, there are weekly Events that occur. They offer opportunities for boosts to the film's production (gaining bonus Quality, higher income per viewer, etc.) by spending budget tokens. More tokens can be spent to increase the bonus (if the player really needs the boost), or no tokens can be spent (but, this will give the event a chance of causing a minor detrimental effect to the film production.)
The third part of the loop is; Social.
Similar to Persona 5, the player can have the main character bond with other in-game characters by spending time with them. After the story section and the studio management section, the player will be presented with certain cahracters to spend time with. When doing this, they will increase (or potentially decrease) their bond with that character. By increasing it, they unlock further story for side-characters or unlock further progress in the story (major characters bond level can also be a gate for story progress). It can also unlock 'Favors', which can be used to solve Issues and Events for free, but have a finite amount that can be obtained in-game.
And all of this takes place in the; Calendar.
Again, similar to Persona 5, the game would take place in a day-by-day process. Each day, the three parts of the loop take place. (Though, story is paused when a gate -- a goal to be met by a deadline to continue the story -- is met.) And the calendar alsohas an effect on the two interactive sections. Certain characters are only available on certain days, so bonding with them requires some planning. And some Issues/Events in the studio only occur during specific times of year.
Story;
The story follows Dexter Reed, a NEET who has been isekai'd into the afterlife. As is part-and-parcel for new arrivals, he is given a stipend of money based on how much he seized the day during life. Despite not quite doing that, he ends up with a huge amount of money thanks to a mistake by his processor. When put out into the city of Nova Vitae, he meets a demoness named Lucia, the owner of a failing film studio. She is desperately trying to keep it open, but her debts and floundering sales are tanking it fast. Dexter offers to invest in her studio and she agrees. When he goes to visit the studio, he finds out it's a porn studio and (given the extensive library of porn he kept when alive) he provides criticism of a movie in progress, the insight of which gets him appointed the head creative for the studio. From there, he meets the cast and crew of the studio; a collection of various cryptids and monsters (zombies, werewolves, mummies, shadowpeople, mothmen etc.) and forms friendships with each over time. All of this as they try to make the studio the best in the city, while facing pressure from another demon (Corvus) who wants to buy up the studio to secure one of his many monopolies.
In case you'd like an example of the story, I have provided the script for the opening of the game
You must be registered to see the links
. I can provide more of the story, as requested.------------
Ideally, I'd like to develop a prototype/demo of this game and then start up a Patreon for further development. For the prototype/demo phase, the work would be unpaid. Then, it shifts to a revshare/paid basis (percentage of revenue) when the Patreon opens and brings in enough funds.
The people I need, currently, are:
Character Artist
Someone who can design/create character assets.
For the prototype/demo, there are 12 characters who need art made. For the prototype, there'll be a single sprite made for each character, based on designs I'll provide in a design doc -- including references and further information -- as well as input from the artists themselves.
BG Artist
Someone who can design/create backgrounds for each location.
For the prototype/demo, there will be 15 backgrounds required. The designs will be based on designs I'll provide in a design doc, including references and further information, as well as inpou from the artsits themselves.
CG Artist
Someone who can take the character designs and be able to create full-screen CGs for use in the visual novel sections.
For the prototype/demo, I don't yet know exactly how many CGs will be needed. As placement of CGs are still being tweaked. A good idea of scale is the opening provided above (or also
You must be registered to see the links
, again.) This will be the general amount of CGs that will be implemented into the game. These will be made more via direct collaboration, with myself and the artist exchanging sketches, ideas, etc. to figure out the best form for each CG.For the characters, BGs, and CGs, I do have a style in mind. Something that is a mix between the styles of Monster Prom and
You must be registered to see the links
. Of course, I am open to other styles, if I think they'd suit the character/world/etc.UI Artist
Someone who can design various UI elements and menus across the game.
For the prototype/demo, the UI will be fairly simple. But, as the game is largely menu-based, they will be fine-tuned and polished to ensure that it is pleasant to look at for full playing sessions. A lot of freedom will be given to the artist (and any artist on the team that wishes to assist) for this section, as this is the most important part of the game's art to get right, imo, as it's the part the user will interact with the most.
Programmer
I'm looking for 1-3 programmers who are knowledgeable in, ideally, Godot or RenPy. I am open to other engines, however.
As I put above, this will be an unpaid/revshare project. I just do not currently have the money to invest in this project, sadly. But, once the Patreon opens, every participant in the project will start being paid. And, if you know how to promote a Patreon page, awesome! Do get in touch.
To contact me, you can PM me on here and we can talk details, discords, etc.
Thank you all in advance!
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