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Current Production Status

We are actively building Overdrive, an 18+ desktop-focused romance visual novel, targeting a playable vertical slice demo release during the Amare Festival!

I am Nani, the solo director, lead writer, and creator behind the project. The narrative architecture, full script paths, and system design are fully written and organized by me. Through this very itch.io board, we recently brought on our fantastic character artist, Prince, to handle our 2D character sprites and core art! Our original soundtrack/audio design and lead voice talent are also cast and actively producing assets.  

I am personally putting my own money into funding development assets alongside our team, and we are opening up our remaining slots to round out the visual and technical side for the demo release.  

PROJECT OVERVIEW

 Title: Overdrive  

 Genre: 18+ New Adult, rivals-to-lovers desktop chat sim / visual novel  

 Engine: Ren'Py 8+  

 Interface Format: 1920x1080 simulated desktop client (scrolling message logs, dynamic branching choice menus, and live video-call overlays. Early UI prototyping is actively running on Discord)  

 Production Standard: 100% human-crafted narrative, art, and programming. NO GEN AI across all assets!  

 Milestone Target: Amare Festival Demo Release

THE HOOK & PREMISE

Everyone grows up holding onto the sound of an artist they feel understands them completely. For you, it is "Juni", the faceless music sensation whose late-night drops keep your head above the noise as you navigate independent life.  

Your other constant is Cyaire. Ever since an electric collision at an underground car show five years ago, you two have stayed in a long-distance 'friendship' via a glowing screen, voice calls, and multiplayer video games. He is your competitive best friend in New York, taking absolute pleasure in beating your scores, ruining your sleep schedule, and testing your patience. But when his schedule begins to fracture, strangely familiar audio tracks leak into his calls, and his sudden disappearances line up with unannounced music drops, your online sanctuary begins to falter. You will have to decide whether to keep your defenses up or let his secrets pull you straight into Overdrive!  

The aesthetic leans into dark cybercore, alt-streetwear, and late-night lo-fi (inspired by titles like Error 143 and A Date with Death).  

WHAT I BRING AS CREATOR & DIRECTOR

 Completed Pre-Production: You are never waiting on direction or placeholder text. The full narrative outline, lore bibles, character profiles, and dialogue tracks are fully established.  

 Active Financial Investment: I work and invest my own personal funds into commissioning assets and keeping production moving forward.  

 Established Team: Working alongside active contributors across character art (Prince), audio/OST, and lead voice acting.  

COMPENSATION & PRODUCTION SCOPE

 Phase 1 (Vertical Slice Demo / Amare Festival Target):

20 to 30 minutes of playable content (~15k-20k words) released for free on itch.io. Unpaid portfolio collaboration with no obligation to stay past the demo release. Your name is credited directly in the game build and storefront page, and you retain 100% rights to showcase everything you create in your personal portfolio and demo reels. We simply ask that any showcase displaying combined team work (such as art placed over a teammate's background, or video clips featuring game audio) credits the respective creators.  

 Phase 2 (Full Commercial Release):

2 to 3 hours of total story gameplay (~60k-80k words) launched on Steam and itch.io. Backed by developer out-of-pocket funding and a post-demo Kickstarter for full-game contractor stipends. Core commercial contributors will sign a formal Revenue Share contract splitting net profits from game sales. Demo contributors have zero obligation to sign on for the commercial phase.  

ROLES NEEDED

1. Background / Environment Artist:

 Illustrate modern, atmospheric room interiors (tech-cluttered bedroom, multi-monitor workstation desk) background for CGs, and title backdrops.  

2. NSFW / Romance CG Artist:

 Illustrate romantic cutscenes, suggestive character moments, and unrated adult CGs for mature narrative branches.  

3. Co-Writer / Script Coder (Ren'Py):

 Collaborate on dialogue flow, editing, and handle branching logic directly inside Ren'Py script files. 

(Character sprites, OST/Sound Design, and Lead VA are cast and actively in production!)  

HOW TO CONNECT

Drop a reply directly to this thread, send a DM, or connect through our dev links:  

 Visual Mood Board: Milanote Dev Board

 Studio Discord: Join The Nook Network

 Contributor Form: Application Form

⋆˙⟡ *ੈ✩‧₊˚ nani ( ᴗ͈ˬᴗ͈)ꕤ .ﾟ ⟡˙⋆

100% loved the game! Super easy to understand and play; graphics ran extremely smoothly; loved the character design and diversity! Loved the vibes, the music, and overall art style! Would love to see more!!!