Edited versión:
Hi! First of all, English isn't my native language (I'm Spanish), so apologies if anything sounds a little unnatural.
I'm looking for people who might be interested in gradually forming a small team around a visual novel project set in contemporary Japan.
I want to make this completely clear from the beginning: this is currently UNPAID. I'm not asking anyone to treat it like a job or commit full-time. I'm looking for people who genuinely like the idea and would enjoy working on something like this as a collaborative/hobby project.
That said, if we manage to finish and commercially publish the game, revenue sharing would be guaranteed for the people who contributed to the project. The exact percentages and structure would obviously need to be discussed depending on each person's role and level of contribution, but I don't intend to keep most of the potential revenue myself after asking people to help build the game.
About the VN
The story is mainly romance, comedy and slice of life, with more emotional/dramatic elements underneath.
It follows two young teenagers who have recently started living under the same roof after their parents marry. Early in the story, the female lead asks the protagonist to pretend to be her boyfriend for a night out with her friends.
What starts as a stupid fake-dating situation gradually becomes much more complicated.
A big part of the story is the chemistry between the characters (including secondary characters that are essential for the story): teasing, stupid arguments, jealousy, friendships, trips, gags, drinking together, embarrassing situations, etc. But I also want to explore more serious themes, particularly family, grief, memories and losing a parent at a young age.
The current main cast consists of six young characters, plus several important family and secondary characters.
The visual direction I'm aiming for is entirely anime-style.
Where the project is now
I recently had a pretty ridiculous writing burst during my holidays and wrote 50,000+ words in a very short period of time.
I got completely absorbed in it. I found myself laughing alone while writing some of the characters' interactions, and there were other scenes where I genuinely ended up crying while writing because I was so immersed in what was happening.
That's basically what made me think: I really want to turn this into an actual VN.
I already have a fairly clear idea of the characters, story, tone and many of the scenes I want. That doesn't mean I think everything I've written is perfect. I'm completely open to criticism, rewriting things and changing ideas if someone comes up with something better. I'd actually like this to become fully collaborative rather than everyone simply following my instructions.
The script is also not finished yet (I still need to finish the story writing, though I know how to finish it)
About me
This would actually be the second visual novel I've started developing.
I'm already working on my first VN, which I'm making completely by myself, and I still intend to finish that one solo.
For this project, I would handle the Ren'Py programming/implementation (please be gentle as I'm a beginner), as well as the main writing and overall direction. I was able to perform in my first VN triggers, smartphone system, messages to the windows terminal interacting with the game, etc.
I can also draw to some extent (specially faces, but I hate backgrounds. It may sound stupid but my speciality are the eyes) and can sketch character concepts, so I have a way of communicating what I have in my head. But I absolutely don't have the time or versatility required to create all the sprites, expressions, CGs, backgrounds, UI, etc. that a full VN needs.
I'm also currently finishing my PhD, so there's no chance I can realistically do every part of a second VN by myself.
That's why I'd rather start slowly gathering people who actually like the concept.
Who I'm looking for
I'm open to talking to people interested in things like:
- Character art / sprites 1 sloth occupied, 1 free
- CG illustration 1 free
- Background art 1/2 free
- UI / graphic design (full)
- Music / audio (full)
- Writing, editing or helping develop scenes/characters (full)
- Basically anything else useful for VN development
You don't need to be a professional. I'm much more interested right now in finding people who like the project, enjoy anime/VNs and want to create something together.
There are no crazy deadlines. I'm finishing the story and my PhD, and I already have another VN in development, so I'd rather build this properly than pretend we're a studio with a release date six months from now.
If any of this sounds interesting to you, feel free to reply or message me. I can share more about the story, characters, etc.
We are already 3 writers, 2 composers, 1 audio designer, 2 developers, 1 character artist... Still need another additional characters artist and one or two BG artist