Untitled Project

[CypressDahlia]

Thanks for the input. Though, that particular design has already been approved for finalization, sadly.

redesigns of the first post, third chara:



Went for something more stealthy (as opposed to athletic) and bandit-like. Also less ornate except maybe the right hand one.

[Kodos]

Spoke to the other mods, and yeah, this is going in video games. So as a heads up to anyone else reading this who might have similar projects - mangaworks is for manga projects. And, I guess, if you were really crazy ambitious and working on an anime yourself, that would go in mangaworks too. If you're working on a roleplay or a story, that's creator's corner, and if it's a vidya game, it's video games.

[CypressDahlia]

Ah, okay. Thanks for clearing that up.

[deadpool6365]

Nice work. I like the latest character designs, reminds me of Vincent from FFVII a bit though. Still, lovin' what's in progress. Can't wait to see more of it.

[CypressDahlia]

Thanks. I will keep this thread updated as progress is made.

A rough outline for the beginning sequence:

SPOILER! :

We follow the main character as he wanders through the forest, all bloodied up after an implied, almost fatal encounter. He seems to be desperately trying to get away from somewhere, though his wounds slow him down significantly. He's basically on the verge of collapsing. As he's wandering, he crosses paths with a stranger who, after looking him over, runs to his aid. They have a quick exchange before the main character is struck by a powerful headache and faints.

This whole time, a third character has been silently stalking the main character. He is a notorious thief/bandit/whatever and obvious opportunist, seeing the injured MC as a prime target for mugging. When the second character enters the picture, he figures he might aswell kill two birds with one stone. At this point the "stranger" has already begun trying to drag the main character's body to safety, but is having a lot of difficulty because the MC is physically larger than him. (Of course there are ulterior motives here, but those are revealed later for character development purposes)

So, our thief dude hops out of the shadows, confronts the two (one KO'd main character and one character struggling to assist him) and does the entire "give me your money and you can leave here alive" spiel. Of course, the second character doesn't take kindly to this and they have a small squabble before they're interrupted by some authorities who seem to have tracked the main character into the forest.

So the head of the authorities says, "hand that man (MC) over peacefully, he's wanted for murder." Of course, the second and third characters are surprised by this and give each other confused looks. Then, one of the police subordinates chimes in, "Hey, that one (second character) is covered in blood, he must be an accomplice." Naturally, the second guy contests that the blood is from attempting to help the MC. They ignore his pleas. Then, another subordinate chimes in, "...and isn't that one (third character) wanted?" The chief pulls out a wanted roster and confirms this, listing charges for "thievery and vandalism". He calls for backup and now our cast is surrounded on both sides. So, seeing as they're all inextricably fucked, the two conscious characters decide "well, we might as well stand and fight."

[Insert Tutorial battle]

At the end of the tutorial battle, the beaten chief calls for backup once more and two [big boss enemies] enter. The two characters are like "fuck, we don't stand a chance, what do we do." Just then, the MC exhibits some strange power that eliminates both of the large enemies almost instantly. Of course, the two conscious characters are both impressed and highly confused by this. The second character takes a sudden interest in the MC and decides he will stick around to help him (insert ulterior motives). The thief decides to do the same, not only because he now owes the MC his life, but because he figures wherever the MC was going, it's away from any authorities. He also likes the temporary security of traveling in a group, and figures he could ditch them anytime if things get too hairy.

So, together, the second and third characters form a very shaky pact and drag the MC to the next town.

[End scene]

IMO, it's p. standard RPG fare. It's supposed to seem rather bare bones. The scene will be revisited later in the game during character development sequences, and you learn the real motives of the second character, etc, etc.

As far as battles go, the system we decided on is a turn-based, grid-based tactics system. The twist is that the combat is primarily combo-based, meaning the key to winning battles will be arranging your characters and ordering their attacks in a way that will cause enemies to be caught in successive attacks.

[jubeh]

Sounds like hoshigami which was fucking rad so looking forward to seeing how it pans out.

[CypressDahlia]

Yep. It will be a lot like how sessions work in Hoshigami, except the entire system will be based around that concept. You move all of your characters in one turn, queue up all of their attacks and use reaction commands to execute the successive blows. We're also thinking about implementing inverse proration and special finishers, and possibly interactive objects on the battlefield. Like being able to kick your enemies through rocks and walls for added damage.

[Rio]

The girl with the red plaid skirt - she looks shapeless around the waist area. I suggest either a) you really make the skirt/dress? into a real baby doll top (i.e. the shirt goes away from the vest instead of coming in a bit and then flaring) or b) redesigning it a bit like adding a belt or other clothing.

[Sylux]

Spoke to the other mods, and yeah, this is going in video games. So as a heads up to anyone else reading this who might have similar projects - mangaworks is for manga projects. And, I guess, if you were really crazy ambitious and working on an anime yourself, that would go in mangaworks too. If you're working on a roleplay or a story, that's creator's corner, and if it's a vidya game, it's video games.

Actually, thanks to Jaidurn and I, Rio retitled it to Manga & Anime Works. :3

Cype, for the bandit, I like the first design's headwear mixed with the third's clothing.

[CypressDahlia]

Thanks for all the input as far as the characters are concerned. Sorry I can't use it all tho because the character designs were already finalized by the production team. I'm sorry. =[

But I do need your help deciding on a design for a scientist-type character. She is meant to be more mature than the other female characters. She is basically going to be our male fanservice, to counter the female fanservice the rogue is meant to provide. I have until Sat. for the production meeting, so I can tweak designs based on your guys' advice. Personally, I'm partial to the left one.



She is a gimmick character, BTW. I believe she won't ever physically fight. Instead she built a mech in the shape of a bear to fight for her. You can suggest changes to this design as well, tho I'm fairly confident in it:



Clearly inspired by some of the Maverick designs, mixed with some MMZero sensibilities.

And here are the official lines for all the finalized characters:



Since he is meant to be a character that appeals to girls, I and another production team member asked girls we know for their opinions. They went with the (sleeveless) middle design. Oh, and NWAP, too...randomly.




The finalized design for the caster of the group. Originally she was color schemed pink but to suggest ambidexterity in offensive and healing/support magic, we went with white and black. We couldn't decide on the hat so I picked the one that was most unified with the general aesthetic. I hope it was a good decision.


Oh, and one of our background artists uploaded some battle assets, so hopefully I can share those with you with his permission.