Original Post
I am looking to create a genre-spanning title that is, at its center, a visual novel, but that incorporates puzzle, skill building, search-and-find, and shop simulation elements as well.
I'll elaborate on each individual element to give a better idea of what I have in mind.
Visual Novel: I would need to be able to incorporate all of the standard features of a visual novel. The only potential problem I foresee with this are the story-affecting choices, but this is absolutely imperative.
Search-and-Find: I would like to include several different locations that vary with the in-game seasons and contain fairly mild animations (plants blowing in the wind, etc.). Within these locations, players will be foraging for herbs -- among other things -- and it needs to be possible to vary the likelihood of certain flora and fauna being available during any given visit. For example, a rare species of butterfly that will only seldom fly onto the scene. Also, I would like for player's to be able to interact with the locations with various tools from their inventory.
Shop Simulation: This one's pretty straightforward.
Puzzle: This one's a bit complicated. Imagine, for example, that a player was attempting to prepare a potion that would induce a Romeo and Juliet-esque death-like state. The may be able to accomplish this by combining an ingredient that prevents insomnia with one that stops the heart, counteracting the latter by tossing in a drop of Draught of Immortality or some such. I'll need to incorporate some sort of algorithm for how each ingredient reacts, alone and with others.
Skill Building: Again, this one's self-explanatory.
Potion Making/Ingredient Preparation: I imagine players being able to stir their bubbling brews with actual movements of the mouse, with both direction and speed variation being accounted for. Similarly, I would like for players to be able to slice/chop/smash/etc. their various ingredients.
Note: For those who don't know, visual novels are a sort of interactive fiction. The general setup is one ore more 2D characters with interchangeable expressions atop varying backgrounds and a textbox containing the story at the bottom of the screen. Usually, important scenes contain actual illustrations. There is background music throughout, as well as sound effects and, often, voice acting. Mild animations are not uncommon. The interactivity comes in the form of decisions that must be made throughout that story which effect its direction and outcome.
I'll elaborate on each individual element to give a better idea of what I have in mind.
Visual Novel: I would need to be able to incorporate all of the standard features of a visual novel. The only potential problem I foresee with this are the story-affecting choices, but this is absolutely imperative.
Search-and-Find: I would like to include several different locations that vary with the in-game seasons and contain fairly mild animations (plants blowing in the wind, etc.). Within these locations, players will be foraging for herbs -- among other things -- and it needs to be possible to vary the likelihood of certain flora and fauna being available during any given visit. For example, a rare species of butterfly that will only seldom fly onto the scene. Also, I would like for player's to be able to interact with the locations with various tools from their inventory.
Shop Simulation: This one's pretty straightforward.
Puzzle: This one's a bit complicated. Imagine, for example, that a player was attempting to prepare a potion that would induce a Romeo and Juliet-esque death-like state. The may be able to accomplish this by combining an ingredient that prevents insomnia with one that stops the heart, counteracting the latter by tossing in a drop of Draught of Immortality or some such. I'll need to incorporate some sort of algorithm for how each ingredient reacts, alone and with others.
Skill Building: Again, this one's self-explanatory.
Potion Making/Ingredient Preparation: I imagine players being able to stir their bubbling brews with actual movements of the mouse, with both direction and speed variation being accounted for. Similarly, I would like for players to be able to slice/chop/smash/etc. their various ingredients.
Note: For those who don't know, visual novels are a sort of interactive fiction. The general setup is one ore more 2D characters with interchangeable expressions atop varying backgrounds and a textbox containing the story at the bottom of the screen. Usually, important scenes contain actual illustrations. There is background music throughout, as well as sound effects and, often, voice acting. Mild animations are not uncommon. The interactivity comes in the form of decisions that must be made throughout that story which effect its direction and outcome.
