Hi there!
I'm Chanda and I've gotten permission to use assets from a game that I've never finished before or even fully put in the works until now. This will be the first game jam I am entering. The game is going to be otome visual novel. You, the player, will be playing as Reaki Harim who many assume is an Akeen. Some backstory to the original game:
Markings
Reaki was always fighting. On the front lines, she was a monster, but because she was a monster, she was able to unite the country together. On a night of celebration, Reaki was brought to her knees with powerful magic and put in a coma. Through this time, that person has fed everyone lies for eight hundred years and now, the people of Yardrill believe their history is eighty centuries long. A power struggle emerged while Reaki was induced into a coma between Ingads and Akeens. Ingads came out on top while Akeens suffered. When Reaki finally wakes up after her slumber with the help of the Queen of Akeens, she is more than a little displeased with what has happened to the country. She feels it is her responsibility to restore balance and it all starts with enrolling in Yoorluk Academy in search of her lost swords. Rumor has it that her weapons lie in stone somewhere there and only the true owner can whisper its name.
It is still a WIP synopsis where Reaki builds relations within the school while also having her own internal struggle. The focus for the visual novel is mostly about redemption as well as overcoming the past whether for Reaki or her partner. Here are the characters who will be appearing in Winter Fever:
This is Ajeel Koron. He will be Reaki's history teacher and yes, he is a playable character. He gets along well with his students, but he sets a boundary. He always seems to have something against Reaki, though she can't put her finger on it. However, he doesn't take kindly to the people who bully her. He'll protect her, but he won't be nice to her himself. Why is that?
This is Akhil Ochien, the school's principal. I'm still deciding whether or not to make him a playable character given the background between him and Reaki. Reaki walks on egg shells with him. She's scared of him finding out her identity and what that will mean. Even so, Akhil does everything within his power he can to help Reaki.
Meet Guilen Luinta. He is a playable character as well as pivotal character to the game. Although we won't see that in this side story or maybe we'll catch glimpses of it. Originally, I had him set as Ajeel's older brother, but I thought they really looked nothing alike, then I got the idea of him being someone else who I also needed. He looks like the person I envision as Guilen as a matter of fact. Guilen is the school's nurse. He acts as Reaki's confidant and always lends her an ear when she skips class. He's usually the one who catches her in the act by saying, "Shouldn't you be in class?"
The next two will be closer to Reaki's biological age...I realized while making this game that the other characters are older and when I thought about changing their ages to college age, my artist reassured me that it was fine.
This is Sunir Ciscon and Reaki's classmate. They met on the wrong footing, but have since become closer in this side story. He is the embodiment of the friendly guy, aka the guy who never gets the girl or the guy who never chases after the girl. Reaki was very harsh on him at first and can still be depending on the situation with him. When I was first naming characters, he was originally called Keventry because I was walking to class with a guy named Kevin and we were entering the door......the second name was Toralka, but I think Toralka fits the guy below more!
As I said above, this is Toralka Gorgion. He was originally named Prestonal before I learned Prestonal was a muscle relaxing drug......
Anyway, Toralka is in the grade above Reaki and Surnir. He's always teasing and making passes at Reaki. Whether he's joking with her or not is still unknown since Reaki only ever outright rejects him. He's always calling her a 'Princess' because Reaki is always so formal be it her mannerisms or the way she takes someone down a peg. Not many people confront Toralka, so Reaki was a first. The two interact more than Reaki would like because they're locker mates.
Side Characters
The only side character I have planned for this side story right now is Ellie.
Ellie Mynto is in the same grade as Reaki and Surnir, but not the same class. She is Surnir's best friend and she may want something more from him. However, Surnir doesn't feel the same way. She has never liked Reaki and I don't think she ever will to be honest because ever since Reaki came, Surnir seems happier without her. That doesn't bode well with the Alpha female. She'll come across as sweet to those around her, but she's actually quite manipulative.
Finally, I do have a character reference for Reaki. You'll see the difference between Ingads and Akeens. The biggest being animalistic features as I didn't say this before, but it's a fantasy genre. In this side story, you won't see other Akeens like Suisen who is posing as Reaki's mother.
This is Suisen Kariyata. As you can see, she has two sets of ears. She will not be appearing in this side story unfortunately, but already there is a visible difference between all the characters and her. This is her final design, but before I had a character reference from GattoAdopts.
Reaki is currently a character reference made by GattoAdopts which I bought from DA. I was never able to convert her into my artist's style because I'm unemployed right now. However this is what she looks now:
I do plan to change her color scheme around to maybe a purple or midnight blue as it fits the theme of what I'm going for. I do have permission for this. Reaki is the stubborn type who takes on a lot of burdens in the beginning. She is thrown in an unfamiliar setting and rejects help from those around her. She wants to do it all herself because she feels she doesn't deserve anyone's helping hand. However as the main game progresses, she realizes that's not the case. She hasn't gotten to that point in the side game yet.
Now, since the theme is Cold, I had the idea to create a side story with my characters. The concept of cold has to do with Reaki's personality at this time being reluctant to receive help, but also to do with the point in time which is Winter. I think it will take place in the middle of the story line when Reaki is having an internal conflict. Where she wants to do the country right, she's content with her school life as she's never had a normal life. Who wouldn't want a break from the stress and responsibility? However, it eats away at her up leading up to the winter field trip. Those around her have taken notice and want to help her, but she pushes them all away. I'm still working on what to do, but this is what I have so far:
The game will be coded in Tyranobuilder. I'm very new to coding, but I am trying my best with this platform. The plot for Winter Fever is not set in stone, but it is something that I am leaning towards so far. A majority of what I will work towards are making sure the buttons works and everything is in order because no one wants a game that can't run properly.
With that said, this may end up being a short side story because of that. I will keep everyone updated though!
