Black Sands Entertainment

This Nun is fundamentally different from the Nun you're talking about. For starters, this one here is an alien - likely a robot-type of alien.

This isn't in Egypt. It is in an alternate dimension. Nun has no place of worship because no one knows him outside the rift. That is his world.

Now I can definitely see why you would be confused since you thought this was a period piece but it isn't. It is a scifi retelling. Hope that clears up any confusion.

Keep up the good work, I'll be waiting for the release

A lot of the updates I posted before the crash were wiped. I best post them now.
Nun and Rah to Scale.


 
WIP of new Background - Nun's Facility
 

 
Feel Free to critique Nun and share your thoughts on the direction we are going with Nun's Facility.

I see Rah and I imagine him with the voice of Kratos

I really like the art style of this game, you're doing a fantastic job so far and when I have the time I'm going to read up more about your project and keep my eye on it for when it's finished. Nun looks terrifyingly omnipotent! The art has very good quality to it.

A lot of the updates I posted before the crash were wiped. I best post them now.
Nun and Rah to Scale.


 
WIP of new Background - Nun's Facility
 

 
Feel Free to critique Nun and share your thoughts on the direction we are going with Nun's Facility.

We are working on that. Thanks

It does look good I must say... but I wonder if the constant heavy (exaggerated movement) breathing will seem a bit awkward after a while. When you look at someone irl you don't really notice this exaggerated movement, only after some heavy exercise. It's hard to see in this video because it's very short, but after reading a VN for an hour it might look a bit weird and off putting, but I can't say this for certain.

Great work so far!
The image quality looked very good, the style is very fine. The character facial expressions looked perfectly fine to me.
The only thing that bothered me was the unnecessary movement of the arms going in and out from his breathing. The chest expanding in and out are fine but I feel that there's a little too much emphasis on his arms moving.
Keep up the good work!

NEW UPDATE
Nun's Facility BG

Please leave some constructive criticism.

UPDATE 3: Nun Animations
 

Things to consider when replying:
Concept
Layers
Animations
Expressions
 

even the toughest guys have their soft and nice side to them just dont over use that expression, same with let's say a crying face, sure it doesnt fit that character but used in some specific moment at the perfect time and you can have one hell of scene, everything depends on the writer and the plot itself.
I mean saber (fate/stay night) was really tough and serious but from time to time you see her doing some really cute faces/expressions that make your heart melt away, why? Because it wasnt something normal for her to do, that contrast in her chracter was everything.

i like this one. It leaves room to improve. Most of the time Rah will be angry so you will barely ever see the smiles and smirks lol

I really like the concept as you already know, I must have said this a few times in the past. I like the animations and how the expression feel really human, nothing too deformed and kinda funny even, his confused face is just great. As everyone requested already: please more facial expressions. I also like the idea of the tutorial videos, they sound really interesting. 

I have to disagree here. Although the facial expressions are well drawn and all, they don't seem to fit the character very much. Some of them, like around 45 ~ 49 seconds are too moe-chan for me :c

update videos are always always a good thing during a ks campaign and the more content you can post the better it is, specially if you show a little "behind scenes" or "making of" 

NEW UPDATE
Nun's Facility BG

Please leave some constructive criticism.

UPDATE 3: Nun Animations
 

Things to consider when replying:
Concept
Layers
Animations
Expressions
 

Looks awesome to be honest, like tyrael said and this is not a critique but more like a request: more facial expressions always are welcomed 

you did take into consideration that higher resolution sprites means longer downloads, not everyone has unlimited data or fast wifi.

Love the design. I always feel like bulky guys are tricky since it's hard to emphasize the muscles without making it look ridiculous. You guys did a wonderful job here. I also like the facial expressions, they look very natural. Same goes for the shading, it is subtle enough to make everything blend in seamlessly. The animations look fine to me (I'm not used to seeing them in a VN so I'm a bit taken aback, haha).
 
Small point of critique: I'd love to see some more expressions since this is something that bothers me in a lot of VN's (things like shame/embarrassment, ...). Other than that: you guys seem to be doing a great job, keep it up!

December Update Full Production begins Monday December 7th. What we plan to do in order is make the Rah and Nun sprites, Nun's Facility BG, Impossible Challenge CG, World Map, and the implementation of the first section of the demo/game. 

We also will be simultaneously adding an encyclopedia in game as well as Rah's personal Journal which updates with every decision you make, creating your own personal story which is unique from other players.

I have seen so many users saying "I can make a visual novel with [name_engine] , its so better than [name_engine_2] because [name_reason]." Yet they forgotten that there are always bad things in a engine, you could fall for paying such engine to only discover that it has no way to make that dream game. This is why why i'm listing well known vn engines and their cons, I hope the guide will help you pick the right engine for you not the company.
renpy - One of the most known engine in the world (i'm not kidding), it uses python language to make vn. It's being updated as much as it can and also people have been able to make rpg from it. The main reason people choose this over any other engine is due to the freedom to add anything, learning python takes a while but most people have the novels stay in dating sims or storyline. Another key reason it's used is due to the fact that it can make windows, linux, mac, android, and IOS, which is very great advantage for anyone wanting to build games in a certain area or so. Finally it can be use for commercial  and non-commercial use, however the art is not free but that is another topic itself.
tyranobuilder - The main problem with this engine is the price but if you willing to overlook that it offers almost the same has renpy. HTML is the reason people have buy the game, however there have been problems with the HTML from not being able to click anything to buttons not working. It claims to be the fastest VN maker but that is something the user has to figure out. If you are able to code 2 scenes in renpy under 30 minutes thats fast progress, tyranobuilder is drag&drop meaning you have to waste 50% of your progress to clicking on a button. lastly tyranobuilder script language is javascript, almost no indie developer even dare use javascript, the reason is due to the fact it was never built for games. It's the main reason why tyranobuilder games lag campre to any other engine in this list. Also the maker of tyranobuilder fail to understand that it was Processing.js that make games work better in javascript not ECMAScript.
Novelty- its the same idea of tyranobuilder but it was first built way before tyranobuilder, also its free so there is no reason to even buy tyranobuilder other than the HTML that lags. Novelty use C++ and java to script the language, this is a huge advantage since you can use this language to get jobs faster in the world and people from unity will hire you for just knowing how to code a vn in C++. As far as i understand, the main reason no one goes there is because its only windows OS which limits everyone who is not windows.
Belle - Another VN engine that works like tyranobuilder, one big difference is that it's free. If you looking for tyranobuilder alternative for its HTML, this will be the one (again it was build first). Another advantage is that it really does run well in HTML but the bad news is that it only builds HTML which is the only thing it can build the game.
Unity plugin: Fungus - Now i dont know much about this engine (reading things off google), it does seem like it another no code engine. what really makes this one different from all other engines that i list is its ability to run animated sprites, unity build (standard build, no consoles included), and the script is whatever unity has right now. Since this is Unity you will face these problems, Poor graphics quality as compared to Unreal Engine, Unfriendly User-Interface (even if you download the plug-in you will still have a bad time on it), and lastly dependent of unity, if their web browser stops working you have to wait for them to fix it, if unity discover a hack bug you have to update, if they going to upgrade you have to upgrade.
Cloudnovel- A website browser to make VN, the reason i put this one so low is because it does a poor job to help developers. You'll find that there is no scripting language so you cant really do anything new with it. Another thing is that you cant use it outside their website so it stays in cloudnovel with no way to gain money. The drag&drop has pages that you must click and wait for the website to load your pictures, music and your gameplay. Lastly on why it makes such a bad vn maker is due to the fact that its only in english, sure it might be possible that someone might do it without reading but most of the great stuff is in english writing and in english videos.
 
Thats everything, I didnt add GM because its design to build platform games not VN, construct is way too basic gaming that offers unneeded elements in VN, RPG maker is only build for RPG, adding long dialog will not help in a rpg (only the boss does that) 80% of the game is fighting not learning about the story. I hope this little insight of what each vn engine offers and what doesn't offer will help you. If you have any questions post here or want to ask why [engine_name] is not added it's because i can't post all of them.

any game that has ethnic characters, i will support.

Well, for one they look kinda nice. It's hard to be too critical considering these are just sketches, but I can definitely say they're an improvement from how they use to look. Looking forward for that demo!

Mother Nature is dead.
And the process to find her replacement has gone horribly, horribly wrong.
With half of Mother Nature’s power stolen by the outcast, Morcant, the Seasonal Kingdom’s only chance at defeating him is to find the new, true Mother Nature- You.
Sucked into their strange world, and thrust onto the throne, you must take on the role of Mother Nature and bring the kingdom back to stability.
Morcant’s bid for the Gaia throne threatens to throw both our world and the seasonal one into chaos.
Only you can stop him!
By building alliances with the Courts of the Four seasons, discovering your powers, you can bring together an army that will rival any seen before.
But, you won’t be doing it alone! Whilst the fate of the worlds may sit on your shoulders, there are those who follow you willing to help carry that burden.
--

Courting the Seasons is a fantasy, romance visual novel. It came about from the idea of wanting a great story where the romance was a big part of it, instead of feeling like a separate side quest or bonus material.
There are no stat-raising or visible romance points/bar in this VN; this was because I hoped for it to feel as though you were thrown into a story rather than playing through a game.
The development of relationships and the story will be based much more on how you interact, rather than through building points.
 
I love Bioware games, the feeling of being a hero in a story, but I’ve always enjoyed the romance part of it too.
What I wanted to do was have something similar, but where the romance was an integral part of the story, so as it all felt more immersive and fun.
For more information or to keep updated, why not check out the links below?
Tumblr- http://seraphinitegames.tumblr.com/
Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/SeraphiniteGames
Twitter- https://twitter.com/seraphiniteVN

 

 
Romances





 
 

- Listen to those around you- Pay attention to the advice of others in order to better influence the rulers and gain the best alliances.
Will you gain strong alliances, or weak ones? Will Morcant steal their alliance from under your nose? Or will the ruler give no alliance at all?
- Each Ruler is different- Each has their own idea of what makes a good Mother Nature, and they will be judging the way you act and speak in order to decide if you are worthy of their allegiance.
- What type of ruler will you be?- The way you choose to handle situations will influence what type of ruler you will become.
Will you inspire the people to stand with you? Will the people’s needs always come first?
Will you choose to always do the right thing, no matter the consequences? Will you look to others for advice on how to rule?
Or will you rule for your own benefit?
- Use your power- How will you use your powers to help in what is to come?
Choose from 3 power types, each one giving you different options throughout the story.
- Romance routes that are as strong as main story- 5 romances to choose from (the 4 envoys, and a secret romance!).
Each romance route is  unique to the character and weaves into the main story.
- Cast of interesting characters- Get to know a whole range of characters, from the Rulers of the Seasonal courts, down to the people who work for you.
Decide how you will interact with them; will your personalities clash or compliment?
- Pay careful attention- You never know when overhearing idle gossip or having a chit chat with someone may lead to more options down the line.
- Your choices affect everything, not just endings- As Mother Nature and ruler, your choices will affect much to do with the upcoming battle, but that is not the only thing it will change.
How you act and respond to situations will affect the course of the game, some having consequences early on or may produce something unexpected later!
 
There are many outcomes to the battle ahead, and multiple, varied endings.
 
 

Why no stat points or romance bar?
I found in games with points I tended to focus only on point collecting, rather than playing through as I want (even though I enjoy those games very much!).
But in Courting the Seasons I wanted to minimise that and make it feel much more as though you can make a choice based on what you want, rather than what will net you the most points and have fun with the story than worry about building up stats.
I haven’t really put in good and bad choices or ‘true’ endings.
There are a variety of choices, which aren’t necessarily good or bad, it’s just different ways of handling outcomes, some of which will be approved of by certain people and not by others and vice versa.
Each choice won’t just add to a points bar, it will have an effect and consequence in the story, maybe straight away or maybe later on.
 
Why is this VN commercial?
Though I would love to give it out for free, I am self-employed and will be focusing full time on this VN.
I'm hoping to move into this as my main career path
 
Are there any warnings for this game?
There will be descriptions and images of blood and death, as well as non-explicit, but still heavily implied, (consensual) adult situations both in text and images.
 
When and where will this be released?
I'm hoping to have the demo released at the same time as the Steam Greenlight campaign, sometime in February 2016, but this could be later.
The actual full game has a goal of being released in mid-2016.
I am hoping to release it on itch.io, and (fingers crossed) Steam if it gets through Greenlight once I put it up.
 
How much will it be?
It will be around $15.
 
How can I get in contact or ask you questions?
You can contact me here via PM, or post on this thread.
You can also contact me via Tumblr, or email me- [email protected]  
I'm always happy to hear from people!