The GiantitpAnime Fans' Visual Novel (now planning settings and routes)

[Nerd-o-rama]

Spoiler

Show

Just a really quick sketch with the basics for the Bridge Crew of the Echo Wind ...I stopped about when I got to Rudy because there was no appearance info.


A quick fifteen minute 'paint' style of Neridia -> because I really couldn't stand how I drew her in the above

Holy crap, I'm gorgeous. And oddly moe for someone who actually looks 30ish.

ART APPROOOOOOOOVED!!

...I'm the one who gets to shout stuff like that, right?

[KnightDisciple]

Well, I'd like to see your work too

The first one was about thirty minutes all and all. The second was, as I said, about fifteen minutes.


I guess my next question is - how much is this supposed to be dark vs comedy? A lot of the ideas I've seen recently are rather...grim. But looking at the character 'personalities' they look relatively...well, comedic.

I think we're doing a mix. It also will depend, in the visual novel, on which character path the player/main character goes on.

And...30 minutes? That's very impressive, I'd have to say.

Edit: I hereby appoint Nerd-o-rama the official "Yelling ART APPROVED!" person.

[13_CBS]

Well, the current plan is this:

The visual novel is to be divded into three routes, each route telling a different story and having a radically different tone and "feel".

Route 1, starring Siela, is the idealistic one, and is an homage (Reconstruction?) of Super Robot shows that so many anime fans here seem to enjoy. I envision it as having plenty of serious moments, but also lots of light-hearted comedy and, of course, idealism.

Route 2, starring Kara, is the balanced/cynical one, and tells a much more realistic story. Good guys don't always win, bad guys get away with doing bad things...but there's always a bit of hope, and as long as the good guys persevere there's always at least a chance. This one will be designed to provide more drama and serious things, with a pinch of atrocities to darken the mood.

Route 3, starring Kamia, is the darkest one. I'm undecided at the moment exactly what this route's going to be like, though: we'll have to figure that out during the route planning stages.

Although the current character descriptions and personalities seem light hearted and funny, I believe that there's plenty to be given a darker spin. What if the cheerful, jovial character keeps running into mentally traumatizing things and slowly breaks? That's one way of taking a light and fluffy character and inserting them into a darker story, I think.

[Nerd-o-rama]

I guess my next question is - how much is this supposed to be dark vs comedy? A lot of the ideas I've seen recently are rather...grim. But looking at the character 'personalities' they look relatively...well, comedic.

Well, we're brainstorming right now. I think what we're aiming for is somewhere between comedy with black comic elements, or black comedy shifting into tragedy, depending on which of the three storylines the player picks. The "black comedy" bits are largely inspired by Warhammer 40k while the regular comedy seems to be based on Japanese romantic comedy and the traditions of visual novels.

...this is a really weird mix of stuff. Like, Cultist-chan weird.

[13_CBS]

Alright, so does anyone have any opinions on what the HERALD naming theme ought to be?

On Neuro Ratings:
I definitely like the name. But how will this interact with the "mysterious neurological/psychic phenomenon" that makes Primary Pilots what they are?

Also, how about the cultist empire being able to artificially induce high Neuro Ratings into humans, but only when they're very young?

[Prime32]

On Neuro Ratings:
I definitely like the name. But how will this interact with the "mysterious neurological/psychic phenomenon" that makes Primary Pilots what they are?

Primary Pilots supply the power, Secondary Pilots handle the calculations? Good Secondary Pilots improve accuracy and reaction time, while a good Primary Pilot makes the mech physically stronger and faster.

Also, how about the cultist empire being able to artificially induce high Neuro Ratings into humans, but only when they're very young?

Side effects may include blindness, albinism, stunted growth and feelings of fatigue.

[Kasanip]

Just testing a different coloring style (CG). Somewhere between the first and second pictures I posted. Actually, pretty much mainstream Anime style.

Took a lot of liberties, since there wasn't much color description for Kara Witte, but I felt like doing one of the pilots.

"_____Insert Flustered Dialogue Here_____"

[hanzo66]

Well, the current plan is this:

The visual novel is to be divded into three routes, each route telling a different story and having a radically different tone and "feel".

Route 1, starring Siela, is the idealistic one, and is an homage (Reconstruction?) of Super Robot shows that so many anime fans here seem to enjoy. I envision it as having plenty of serious moments, but also lots of light-hearted comedy and, of course, idealism.

Route 2, starring Kara, is the balanced/cynical one, and tells a much more realistic story. Good guys don't always win, bad guys get away with doing bad things...but there's always a bit of hope, and as long as the good guys persevere there's always at least a chance. This one will be designed to provide more drama and serious things, with a pinch of atrocities to darken the mood.

Route 3, starring Kamia, is the darkest one. I'm undecided at the moment exactly what this route's going to be like, though: we'll have to figure that out during the route planning stages.

Although the current character descriptions and personalities seem light hearted and funny, I believe that there's plenty to be given a darker spin. What if the cheerful, jovial character keeps running into mentally traumatizing things and slowly breaks? That's one way of taking a light and fluffy character and inserting them into a darker story, I think.

Interesting ideas. So basically Route 1 would be Batman: The Brave and the Bold while the third one would be Batman: The Animated Series by comparison of Lighter/Darker? The middle one would try to fit into the Gundam War Story mechanics?

[Terraoblivion]

The way i see it Siela's route is GaoGaiGar, Kara's is a sillier Zeta Gundam and Kamia's is somewhere between Victory Gundam and Ideon.

[Prime32]

Interesting ideas. So basically Route 1 would be Batman: The Brave and the Bold while the third one would be Batman: The Animated Series by comparison of Lighter/Darker? The middle one would try to fit into the Gundam War Story mechanics?

I was under the impression that the third one would be more like The Dark Knight Returns by this point...

Just testing a different coloring style (CG). Somewhere between the first and second pictures I posted. Actually, pretty much mainstream Anime style.

Took a lot of liberties, since there wasn't much color description for Kara Witte, but I felt like doing one of the pilots.

Spoiler

Show

"_____Insert Flustered Dialogue Here_____"

That is awesome.

[kamikasei]

Well, from what I can gather of the background to the conflict, I was kind of expecting Kamia's route to end with both MC and heroine dead or else one or both becoming an uplifted Elder Evil of some sort. The arc progresses from lots of superficial pleasantness to "uh oh it turns out that was a mask and I can hear the chitinous skittering of insects from behind it".

[Nerd-o-rama]

The way i see it Siela's route is GaoGaiGar, Kara's is a sillier Zeta Gundam and Kamia's is somewhere between Victory Gundam and Ideon.

That seems fairly accurate considering you haven't seen any of those shows.

Then again, I've only seen part of one, so I should probably shut up.

[13_CBS]

So...nothing on the names? If no one really objects by tonight, I'm going to stick with Halo-themed naming for HERALDs and start with the setting and route planning.

[Prime32]

Since Kasanip can translate things into Japanese, I should mention that I can do some stuff with Irish if you want to be creative with your Gratuitous Foreign Languages.

So...nothing on the names? If no one really objects by tonight, I'm going to stick with Halo-themed naming for HERALDs and start with the setting and route planning.

Well, I already gave Ila's BTS a Gratuitous German name, though it may not follow BTS standards.

[kamikasei]

So...nothing on the names? If no one really objects by tonight, I'm going to stick with Halo-themed naming for HERALDs and start with the setting and route planning.

What exactly are "Halo-themed" names? As far as I can make out they're just a little longer and more poetic than usual - we could go with names like that and just make some of them rather sinister if viewed in the right light.

Not sure we need a theme at all, might as well just go with a total grab-bag effect.

[13_CBS]

Since Kasanip can translate things into Japanese, I should mention that I can do some stuff with Irish if you want to be creative with your Gratuitous Foreign Languages.

Sounds great.

Well, I already gave Ila's BTS a Gratuitous German name, though it may not follow BTS standards.

That should be okay. However, I do still need opinions on HERALD naming themes.

[Kasanip]

That is awesome.

Thanks I'm glad you like it!

Since Kasanip can translate things into Japanese, I should mention that I can do some stuff with Irish if you want to be creative with your Gratuitous Foreign Languages.

Well, I already gave Ila's BTS a Gratuitous German name, though it may not follow BTS standards.

Irish! That's quite impressive!

And yes, should people need Japanese translation assistance, please pm/ask me

[Prime32]

Irish! That's quite impressive!

Given that it's a mandatory subject in all schools and I'm still not fluent, not really.

Do we want this to seem like it was translated from Japanese, by the way? (Avoiding English expressions and using Japanese ones)

[Nerd-o-rama]

And yes, should people need Japanese translation assistance, please pm/ask me

Yeah, can you translate the script to Super Robot Wars Alpha for me?

Thanks.

*grumble grumble Aeon Genesis slackers*

[13_CBS]

Eh...I would really, really prefer it if we avoided using Japanese language stuff, unless one of the characters speaks mainly Japanese. Japanese Stock Phrases and Honorifics popping up when uneccessary in English prose breaks immersion for me.

[hanzo66]

Gratuitous German?

Well, Zweibel is German for Onion, how's about that? I named after T. Herman Zweibel, Current "Editor" of the Onion and a man who makes Monty Burns look like Mr. Rogers.

[Prime32]

Yeah, can you translate the script to Super Robot Wars Alpha for me?

Thanks.

*grumble grumble Aeon Genesis slackers*

If this was a "corrupt a wish" thread I would say: "You get your translation, but every unit is called 'Lean Horse Jr.'. The pilots too."

[13_CBS]

Zweibel's fine, since it functions more as a name. But stuff like, "Roag-sama! The shields are down!" or "Hey b*tch, you look kawaii!" are a no-no, unless the character is speaking Japanese for some strange reason.

[chiasaur11]

What exactly are "Halo-themed" names? As far as I can make out they're just a little longer and more poetic than usual - we could go with names like that and just make some of them rather sinister if viewed in the right light.

It's basically Culture style naming. Which is the awesome kind of ship naming.

[Prime32]

Zweibel's fine, since it functions more as a name. But stuff like, "Roag-sama! The shields are down!" or "Hey b*tch, you look kawaii!" are a no-no, unless the character is speaking Japanese for some strange reason.

I'm not saying to go as far as actual Japanese words - I meant the "translation artefacts" listed on that TVTropes page like "as to be expected of X". Or we could change the spelling of things slightly, so Zweibel might become something like Zweiberu or Zubaivel. There need to be some Kanji showing up at least.

[kamikasei]

It's basically Culture style naming. Which is the awesome kind of ship naming.

I was under the impression it was more like Culture names if they had to be approved by a serious-minded committee. I have a hard time seeing "Ultimate Ship the Second" or "We Haven't Met, But You're A Big Fan Of Mine" in Halo :P

[13_CBS]

I'm not saying to go as far as actual Japanese words - I meant the "translation artefacts" listed on that TVTropes page like "as to be expected of X".

Those too: stuff like "I'll definitely protect you!", while grammatically correct (I think), just isn't something you normally say in English conversation. They don't irk me as much as "you look kawaii lol", but my veins do pop cross-style whenever I see them.

Or we could change the spelling of things slightly, so Zweibel might become Zweiberu. There need to be some Kanji showing up at least.

The only appropriate time I can think of for Kanji is when Ritt whips out the Daikaken, since it's the only real thing in Japanse that we have at the moment.

[Kasanip]

Yeah, can you translate the script to Super Robot Wars Alpha for me?

Thanks.

*grumble grumble Aeon Genesis slackers*

If I had time to play the game, I would

In relevance to the current discussion - I would also throw my two cents in and say to avoid using japanese loanwords in english.
Translation Artifacts are really more of a case by case thing in terms of the writing, I think (as they always are in translation...)

[chiasaur11]

I was under the impression it was more like Culture names if they had to be approved by a serious-minded committee. I have a hard time seeing "Ultimate Ship the Second" or "We Haven't Met, But You're A Big Fan Of Mine" in Halo :P

Probably true, but there was "Two for Flinching". Which is a good name.

[hanzo66]

I would think of how each character have a specific theme to associate to based on something of the User's choosing. For example, Roag would have a good amount of Halo Shout Outs or something and maybe Nerina has some Nanoha shoutouts with her stuff. IE, have fun with it a little...


Then again I'm just passing out a very rough idea...