Off topic: New graphics

Speaking of making your own project, what I am currently working on that is taking up all my time, is a resource pack for RPG Maker. It will be sold through the RPG Maker Web store, the price I’m still unclear about, but probably around $15.

To those not familiar with the term; a resource pack, is a pack that contains graphics of a certain theme, and you can use it to create your own game.

My previous pack, the Futuristic Tiles, I didn’t particularly like to make, but hey, it’s money. So now I’m working on something that I actually like, and I think loads of people want as well.

They’re farm tiles.

It will include all the things you need to make your own farming game – and even life/dating simulation game. From animals, to crops, to mineral ores, to trees, to furniture, to characters. It will all be included. For those that love Harvest Moon, or dating games, will probably love to have this resource pack as well, since you can create your own game with it (provided you’re using RPG Maker).

ETA will probably be late June, or August – though I can always take longer if I want to add more graphics to it.

Here’s a small sneak preview of what it’s looking like so far:

If you want to be kept up-to-date on this resource pack, you can follow my personal blog.

Tailor Tales fans…

I never really understood just how popular Tailor Tales had gotten, how much word has gotten out of it, how many people knew about it.

And it’s not even finished – I only had a few betas out, and right now it’s on hiatus.

But seeing people try to make copies of Tailor Tales, lifting mechanics directly from my project, using only my own resources (resources I don’t even host anymore because they’re so old!), it’s really odd. And weird. And it kind of creeps me out because it’s super obvious what it is a clone of.

I know copying is a form of flattery, but when taken to the extreme (in another case, a person is completely emulating my own personal avatar/signature on the forums), it’s just freaky.

I encourage people to make projects, and that essentially, copying from projects that inspire you is what we all do – but try to not make a Tailor Tales 2.0, make your own project :)

In which I seriously consider a new project

So I’ve been thinking a lot, with Tailor Tales on hiatus, I feel the urge to somehow continue anyway. Call it a side-project other than Tailor Tales. It will be a lot less complicated than Tailor Tales, no open world, no walking around giving gifts, no making clothes – just date some (new) boys.

Yeah, I think I might do it, but who knows.

On a side note, let me pimp out this cute visual novel that I just played. It’s called Summer Found Me and it’s pretty cute. Try it out!

Romance elements

Thinking of starting an entire new project, with new characters, new art, new gameplay etc. etc. I’m such a terrible person, wanting to hop over to something shiny and new.

But I guess it’s better than not doing anything Tailor Tales related at all, no?

I’ve been thinking a bit about the clear differences of dating games and visual novels with romantic elements. In this case, you could compare Tokimeki Girl’s side VS Hakuoki. The former is strictly a dating game with stat raising elements. The latter is a visual novel that gives you a few choices to make as the plot progresses.

Then there’s Harvest Moon, which barely focuses on the aspect of dating, but does give you the freedom to do whatever you want (including ignoring the entire part).

So as someone who enjoys romance, and wants to date people – which of the styles appeal to you the most?

Tokimeki?

You can go on dates with the guy of your choice, and are also able to touch them.

Hakuoki?

You follow a storyline that is influenced by your choices, you might end up romantically with one of the characters.

Harvest Moon?

Give gifts to guys and to gradually make them like you more. You are able to do more than just date, and walk around.

There’s something to enjoy in all three, in my opinion. I like the plot in visual novels, but I hate that’s all there is to do. I like dating games to touch people and get to know them, but aside from dates, there’s not much else to do. I like the open world and being able to walk around and go inside houses and talk to other people besides guys, but this ends up diminishing the romance aspect.

Tailor Tales, as it stands now, is a mix of an open world + dating game. I realize that the open world part is actually quite a difficult task to achieve, so I’m reconsidering my tactics.

Off topic question

This has nothing to do with Tailor Tales, though it’s slightly related.

So the reason people want to play Tailor Tales is because they want to date virtual boys, correct? Of course there can be more reasons, but that is the primary reason. Considering I’ve said from the very start this won’t ever be completed, and currently it’s hiatus, I’m wondering if there’s another way I can accomplish this.

I’ve been recently getting into roleplay, and I’m playing this romantic line, and it’s just so sweet, and even better than any of the dating games I’ve played.

Which is why an idea popped up in my head. How about an elaborate Harvest Moon roleplay? Most Tailor Tales fans are also Harvest Moon fans, so they’d fit right in. There are some active Harvest Moon games out there already, I know that. But hey, I can make it much more invested (being an artist and all), and can attract a crowd.

Roleplaying is done by taking on a character (say Claire from Harvest Moon), and then writing with another player (who also has a character, say Jack). You write what your character is doing, and they write what their character is doing, and then you just keep writing in turns to create a story. A lot of roleplaying is done to create romantic plots between characters, so in essence, a responsive dating game.

I’d host the game on LiveJournal, it’s easiest to manage, and people can have journals of their characters and even comment in-character on other character journals. Obviously everything hinges on the players, so I was wondering if people would be interested in this.

I would have a few ideas for the game, such as earning a weekly amount of money from your current job, and then being able to buy upgrades for your house with this. Your house will be an image I create, since I have created (and still can) all these cute resources that would fit right in. This would attract a lot of players :)

Though I’m sure a lot of people would want to play their OCs (original character), and that can get quite messy (I would not tolerate Mary-Sues or self inserts). So which one would you play? Your own character, or one from the Harvest Moon universe such as Nami, Gray, Jack etc.

Note: I want to attract people who have never roleplayed before, instead of veterans of the roleplaying scene, hence why I’m posting it here.

Just thinking

To clear things up right away: yes TT is still on hiatus. That won’t be changing anytime soon when 1. I am working to get money and 2. what free time I do have I do not spend working more >_>

Anyways, I was wondering if I should scratch the entire Affection Mode system. I’ve done a lot to it already, mainly setting up a backbone, but it’s not as if it’s finished. It’s just a mountain load of work left to do. So I was thinking about simplifying it, so that I can actually have a reachable goal of completing it.

I am not sure how I’d simplify it, but I want it to be more fluid and integrated into conversation. So perhaps when you’re on a date and the bachelor follows you around, you can talk to him, and then choose to touch him, without going into AM for that. How I want to add this touching, that’s something I’ll have to come up with (probably a simplified menu to choose actions), but I guess less is more and it applies to games as well.

It would feel more natural too, to touch the bachelor as he’s talking to you. Which is something I had come up with years ago, but scratched it. But you can only do it during dates. I guess you can lure him into your (or his) bedroom if you want to go for sexytimes. And if there’s someone else in the room and you try to be too intimate … hilarious results will follow. Hmm, yeah, sounds good to me.

And here’s a random sketch of Eddie I had lying around. He certainly ended up looking like Hiccup from How To Train Your Dragon … though Eddie was created before I saw that movie.

Chop chop

So, remember dating activities? I had like, 23 you could do while you were on a date with a guy. Well, that’s a lot of dialogue, and that’s a lot of stuff to work out.

Which is why I’ve decided to chop it down to four. Yes, only four. These will only induce the regular questions you can ask them, and nothing else. The four activities you can do are:

1. Diner
2. Watch sunset
3. Love Hill
4. Sleep over

You can start going on dates when the bachelor reaches the 2nd heart level, and only 1 dating activity will be opened up. This is the first one; eat at the diner. You will only be able to unlock the first 5 questions, before it recycles again. When they are at the 3rd heart level, you unlock the ‘watch sunset’ activity. These will unlock the next 5 questions you can ask him before everything gets recycled again. The 4th heart level unlocks ‘Love Hill’ which gives you another 6 questions, and the last heart level unlocks ‘sleep over’ (only at your place), and gives you the last batch of questions you can ask him.

You do not need to be at a certain location to get all the questions. For example, if you are at a red heart level, you can still unlock all the questions by watching the sunset.

If you are at BFF status, you unlock different questions, and you cannot do anything else but eat at the diner and watch the sunset.

It’s a lot less, but I can actually make this work and get it done, and that’s what’s important.

Also, on a completely random note, if I ever get to the point of Tailor Tales 2, this would probably be the artstyle I’m going to use, just to shut everyone up about bachelors looking like kids.