The journey of the characters begins a couple of years ago in a 300k word strong FFXV/Kingsglaive fan fiction set in an alternative universe and a law and order style crime story setting.
From there, they made their way into my Dungeons & Dragons and Shadowrun worlds as player and non player characters. They do have a story to tell, so I wrote a D&D campaign for them, which is still unplayed and unpublished. Just the story needed to be told. They still have their place in my gaming sessions.
Yet, they have grown on me and started to live their little lives for free in my head. A challenge on NightCafe eventually gave me the inspiration to start this visual novel. Funny how an image can spark ideas. I love film noir and the distinct style of noir graphic novels. The rendered images of my characters in a noir setting with a cyberpunk twist, that moved something in me, sparked my fantasy.
At the same time I started to prepare a cosmic horror campaign setting for my D&D group. That still has to be played, but it gave the ingredient for the Lovecraftian horrors in ‘Before the Rain’.
During our family vacation in Upper Adige, where my mind could wander freely, I just started to write. I am still in Discovery Writing, exploring the routes and choices the characters make. For I am just the storyteller, the one who notes down their endeavour of saving their lives and their city.