Nahilys

Good luck with your project

The first draft of the story for the demo is finished! It ended up being around 10.000 words, which will be around 30 minutes of reading time. We'll be going into editing, and drawing the first four backgrounds! 
 

Hi everyone !
 
I am starting this thread for Lekasoft Studio to discuss with the Visual Novel community about their first Work in Progress : Lost Winter Nights.
Our team is very interested in people's opinion on our current skills and direction. We do believe every comment has a reason behind it, be it positive or negative and will consider them all equally.

We would also want to make sure our opinions are well understood and do all we can to prevent misunderstanding.

You can DL our DEV.Demo on ITCH.IO (free of charges.

Also, feel free to check out a bit more about our thought process releasing this Developer Demo if you haven't yet.
 
~ Nahilys

Hi hi,
 
We finally released our DEVELOPER DEMO. You can Download it on ITCH.IO.
 
Come and discuss about it to help us improve
 
~ Nahilys
https://twitter.com/LekasoftStudio
https://www.facebook.com/lekasoft/

Really nice to have Teargirlvn as your BG artist, really love her art. I wish I could work with such a talented artist as well

Good luck with your project!

Thanks. I can already say I'm in love with Setsuko there
Her sleepy face is the best

Looking nice, good luck on your upcoming demo

I knew it! Recognized bonkiru's art very quick haha
If only he could draw boys too, I'd have worked with him on our own project

I'm not fond of the BG art but it gives a special atmosphere. I really like the character art & the writing seems pretty fun too.  Nice job there

i think they do. im in the process of acquiring a harem right now. all i need is a tsundere, a childhood friend (usually the first two are one in the same), a girl i made a vague promise to years ago, a senpai, and a girl who doesnt freak out every time i accidentally see her in her panties. i have a few candidates for the last one but ill have to keep trying to see how it goes. ill update you guys on my progress.
 
 
 
UPDATE: I got arrested.

Looking forward to the demo, good luck with it

Hey,
 
you should find some great ones here
 
Or some others from the game :


 
That one is no anime nor VN but just a personal favorite game song (Blade&Soul)
 

Well, some nice ones are Naoe Family/Clan, Play Hardball, Battle Dedicated to a Loved One, March of the Beast, Bushido and To Be your Hero from Majikoi and Majikoi S.
I myself like The Road of Hope, With You from Ourai no Gahkthun
Then Dorchadas, the OP of Sharnoth
Worldend_dominator from Umineko
And finally from the anime side, the ED of Black Bullet, Tokohana
 

(Important!)
Talked to Nay: It'll be a solid piece of work to put the IPB 3 board up for us to scour/salvage, but I got him all the files he'll need and he said he'd make time for it within the next day or so. Once that's up, we can go in and grab all the walkthoughs and blog posts which were nuked by the upgrade.

Hello,
 
I believe our writer has the talent to live up to the expectations, even though his style might be very different than what we are used to in eastern Visual Novels. As for the quality checking, we do have someone tagged for it. Even though I did give him the role of "Graphic Designer", Kia is one of the most important members in our team, working as a GUI Designer, Animator, Lead Coder, Quality/Style Checker and provides a lot of experience and councels to my leadership.
 
Although, I must admit we did not look for any editor and/or proofreader as of now as we don't really need any yet. We are mostly focusing on working out the art style and GUI since most of the demo script is already done as well as a short part of what comes after it (Around 20% of the script 1st draft has been done so far).
 
Due to recent bugs and the forums update, a big part of the original thread has been deleted, so I will have to wait a bit if it is possible to get it back. We did finish working on our True Heroine design, but I won't be posting her yet. Now that all of our characters designs have been done, we are starting to go through a huge Quality Checking phase to ensure every character do share the same style and also remove obvious flaws in the drawing. We are also planning on mixing some details to make the art style more unique which is a bit hard to do, but we believe it is always worth to take more time to improve the quality of our game.
As for the backgrounds, more sketches have been done, but nothing good enough to share.
 
I did want to ask everyone who would feel like being interested in the project if one would be interested in speedpaintings from our artists? I do know our character artist has the ability do produce some. If we do receive a positive answer, we will most likely plan several ones when it comes to drawing the Main Menu pictures (5 in total).

I'll see if we can put a temp version of the old forums up to get some of that content up (which may ease the process). I'll need Nay's help with that, however, so I can't do that on my own right now.
I apologize for the headaches, everyone.

Hello everyone,
I am Nahilys, leader of Lekasoft Studio and I am very pleased to introduce a revamped look for our first game Lost Winter Nights.
We are currently working on a 1st demo to be release to the public this summer. It will feature the whole Introductory Chapter of the game with one up to three poses with several expressions for each appearing characters. as well as half a dozen of original soundtracks and around forteen orignal unique backgrounds. We also plan to include a few CG for it.
 
- GUI SNEAK PEEK -
 
 
- THE TEAM-

 
Nahilys : Project Lead, Original Idea, Scenario.
Dave Burns : Scenario, Script Writing. (https://twitter.com/AceOfSpades_VN)
Kia : Graphic Designer, Animator, Lead Programmer.
 
Vaatry : Character Design, Sprites & CG Artist. (http://vaatry.deviantart.com/)
Alexis Ril : Demo Backgrounds Artist. (http://anirhapsodist.deviantart.com/)
Mock Off : Composer (https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207)

Grey : Assistant Programmer

 
- THE GAME -

 
Language : English
Genres : Romance, Psychological, Drama, Thriller
Rating : 18+ (Sex, Blood, Strong sujbects).
All ages version : Yes

 
Special features

- Animated Menus
- Animated CG
- English Voice Acting
- 3 Routes including variations depending on which order they are read.

 
 
- STORY TEASER -
 
Another winter passes, with nothing changing.
Ethan Wright is a 20 year old college student who lives a normal, satisfying life.
With his four best friends, he can't think of anything more he needs.
But something is wrong. An unshakable feeling that something is missing.
Until, one night, he meets a strange girl, sitting in the snow.
As weeks pass, Ethan will inevitably get closer and closer to the truth.

 
- CHARACTERS -

Full cast (Unreworked art)

 
From left to right  (REWORKED SPRITES) :
 
Aika Sokolov
Age : 20
Aika is Ethan's childhood friend. She is the very possessive type of girl but would do anything she can so she and the people she loves live happy.
 
 
 
Morgan Crouch
Age : 18
 
Morgan is a very smart girl who used to focus only on her grades but meeting Lisbeth in college made her discover real friendship. She is often treated as the child of the group.
 
 
 
Lisbeth d'Arcy [WIP]
Age : 19
Lisbeth is Morgan's best and unique friend. Quite rebel, she spends most of her time fooling around and doesn't care much about studies as she prefers to flirt with boys and especially girls.
 
 
 
Thomas Burns [WIP]
Age : 20
Thomas is Ethan's best friend. He has always been there for him, helping and counselling him about things he would not be able to decide on his own. Thomas is very adaptable to people and knows very well how to handle one's character.
 
Alice Deslauriers [WIP] [Non-demo character]
Age : N/A
 
 
- CONTACT -

 
E-mail : [email protected] / [email protected]
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lekasoft/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/LekasoftStudio
 
 
- Gallery -
 
 [Soundtrack] Mock Off – Memories Lost : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/memories-lost
[Soundtracks] Mock Off - Days : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/days
 
 
 
 
 
 

Hello everyone,
I am Nahilys, leader of Lekasoft Studio and I am very pleased to introduce a revamped look for our first game Lost Winter Nights.
We are currently working on a 1st demo to be release to the public this summer. It will feature the whole Introductory Chapter of the game with one up to three poses with several expressions for each appearing characters. as well as half a dozen of original soundtracks and around forteen orignal unique backgrounds. We also plan to include a few CG for it.
 
- GUI SNEAK PEEK -
 
 
- THE TEAM-

 
Nahilys : Project Lead, Original Idea, Scenario.
Dave Burns : Scenario, Script Writing. (https://twitter.com/AceOfSpades_VN)
Kia : Graphic Designer, Animator, Lead Programmer.
 
Vaatry : Character Design, Sprites & CG Artist. (http://vaatry.deviantart.com/)
Alexis Ril : Demo Backgrounds Artist. (http://anirhapsodist.deviantart.com/)
Mock Off : Composer (https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207)

Grey : Assistant Programmer

 
- THE GAME -

 
Language : English
Genres : Romance, Psychological, Drama, Thriller
Rating : 18+ (Sex, Blood, Strong sujbects).
All ages version : Yes

 
Special features

- Animated Menus
- Animated CG
- English Voice Acting
- 3 Routes including variations depending on which order they are read.

 
 
- STORY TEASER -
 
Another winter passes, with nothing changing.
Ethan Wright is a 20 year old college student who lives a normal, satisfying life.
With his four best friends, he can't think of anything more he needs.
But something is wrong. An unshakable feeling that something is missing.
Until, one night, he meets a strange girl, sitting in the snow.
As weeks pass, Ethan will inevitably get closer and closer to the truth.

 
- CHARACTERS -

Full cast (Unreworked art)

 
From left to right  (REWORKED SPRITES) :
 
Aika Sokolov
Age : 20
Aika is Ethan's childhood friend. She is the very possessive type of girl but would do anything she can so she and the people she loves live happy.
 
 
 
Morgan Crouch
Age : 18
 
Morgan is a very smart girl who used to focus only on her grades but meeting Lisbeth in college made her discover real friendship. She is often treated as the child of the group.
 
 
 
Lisbeth d'Arcy [WIP]
Age : 19
Lisbeth is Morgan's best and unique friend. Quite rebel, she spends most of her time fooling around and doesn't care much about studies as she prefers to flirt with boys and especially girls.
 
 
 
Thomas Burns [WIP]
Age : 20
Thomas is Ethan's best friend. He has always been there for him, helping and counselling him about things he would not be able to decide on his own. Thomas is very adaptable to people and knows very well how to handle one's character.
 
Alice Deslauriers [WIP] [Non-demo character]
Age : N/A
 
 
- CONTACT -

 
E-mail : [email protected] / [email protected]
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lekasoft/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/LekasoftStudio
 
 
- Gallery -
 
 [Soundtrack] Mock Off – Memories Lost : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/memories-lost
[Soundtracks] Mock Off - Days : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/days
 
 
 
 
 
 

I'm in love with Aika. Really amazing art imo, props to the artist.
 
I feel like this might turn out to be pretty interesting, the idea has quite the potential at least. Nice to see that you'll be trying to move away from the eastern culture in this VN, it should make things interesting - refreshing even. 

Hello everyone,
I am Nahilys, leader of Lekasoft Studio and I am very pleased to introduce a revamped look for our first game Lost Winter Nights.
We are currently working on a 1st demo to be release to the public this summer. It will feature the whole Introductory Chapter of the game with one up to three poses with several expressions for each appearing characters. as well as half a dozen of original soundtracks and around forteen orignal unique backgrounds. We also plan to include a few CG for it.
 
- GUI SNEAK PEEK -
 
 
- THE TEAM-

 
Nahilys : Project Lead, Original Idea, Scenario.
Dave Burns : Scenario, Script Writing. (https://twitter.com/AceOfSpades_VN)
Kia : Graphic Designer, Animator, Lead Programmer.
 
Vaatry : Character Design, Sprites & CG Artist. (http://vaatry.deviantart.com/)
Alexis Ril : Demo Backgrounds Artist. (http://anirhapsodist.deviantart.com/)
Mock Off : Composer (https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207)

Grey : Assistant Programmer

 
- THE GAME -

 
Language : English
Genres : Romance, Psychological, Drama, Thriller
Rating : 18+ (Sex, Blood, Strong sujbects).
All ages version : Yes

 
Special features

- Animated Menus
- Animated CG
- English Voice Acting
- 3 Routes including variations depending on which order they are read.

 
 
- STORY TEASER -
 
Another winter passes, with nothing changing.
Ethan Wright is a 20 year old college student who lives a normal, satisfying life.
With his four best friends, he can't think of anything more he needs.
But something is wrong. An unshakable feeling that something is missing.
Until, one night, he meets a strange girl, sitting in the snow.
As weeks pass, Ethan will inevitably get closer and closer to the truth.

 
- CHARACTERS -

Full cast (Unreworked art)

 
From left to right  (REWORKED SPRITES) :
 
Aika Sokolov
Age : 20
Aika is Ethan's childhood friend. She is the very possessive type of girl but would do anything she can so she and the people she loves live happy.
 
 
 
Morgan Crouch
Age : 18
 
Morgan is a very smart girl who used to focus only on her grades but meeting Lisbeth in college made her discover real friendship. She is often treated as the child of the group.
 
 
 
Lisbeth d'Arcy [WIP]
Age : 19
Lisbeth is Morgan's best and unique friend. Quite rebel, she spends most of her time fooling around and doesn't care much about studies as she prefers to flirt with boys and especially girls.
 
 
 
Thomas Burns [WIP]
Age : 20
Thomas is Ethan's best friend. He has always been there for him, helping and counselling him about things he would not be able to decide on his own. Thomas is very adaptable to people and knows very well how to handle one's character.
 
Alice Deslauriers [WIP] [Non-demo character]
Age : N/A
 
 
- CONTACT -

 
E-mail : [email protected] / [email protected]
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/lekasoft/
Twitter : https://twitter.com/LekasoftStudio
 
 
- Gallery -
 
 [Soundtrack] Mock Off – Memories Lost : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/memories-lost
[Soundtracks] Mock Off - Days : https://soundcloud.com/joshua1207/days
 
 
 
 
 
 

Okay, it wasn't very clear for me, but I'm assuming you're asking about communication between writers and artists.
 
Talking from my own experience :
 
- MAKE SURE KNOW WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE ASKING YOUR ARTIST FOR ANYTHING! I always consider the artist as the highest members values on the team, and they are those whose time should be the the least wasted. Avoid by all cost the "I don't have a clear idea about what the character should look like, so do what you want based on the character's personality / description", it's the best way to get something that will not satisfy the writer, and frustrate the artist.
 
- Ask the artist about his/her preferences : does s/he prefer to be completely guided? To have some freedom to draw the concept art? Remember that the more you guide them, the more likely it is you will obtain something that will fit your expectations
 
- Make sure to give references to the artist. At least a very complete and detailed written one, but also if the artist prefers it, some visual references. I can't stress out how much visual references are important. It gives a much clearer idea to the artist about what is expected. On the downside, visual references might also limit your artist creativity (which brings back to the previous point : ask them what they prefer to do).
 
- Try to get feedback at each step of the drawing process. The artist just finished a sketch? Share it with the writers, have them give their opinions. The sketch is the best moment to say if you're satisfied or not by the result, if you're not, the artist can draw another sketch without having wasted too much time. Don't hesitate to ask for minor modifications at this moment as well.
And repeat for each step of the drawing process after that (Linearting / Coloring / Shading)
 
- Have the writers decide about what sprite expressions they need, and have them list it somewhere. Again, good written and visual description will help.
 
- Try to warn in advance your artist if you're planning to have different set of clothes / different poses. It might help them to organize better (for example I know the artists in my projects like to have tons of set of layers on their photoshop file so that it's easier to edit if they need to change only the clothes of a character, for example.)

Project Introduction

Hello there. Here is my first ever VN project/ I have been working on a story of mine for about a year and recently decided to get involved seriously about it. I have been working on several parts of the project, being a director, developer, scenarist, writer & game designer at the same time. I like it though.
The team has been working a lot since we got together & we're lacking a GUI designer.
 
We're planning on advertising our project at Japan Expo in Paris (3 to 5 of July), and we are working on a promotional video for it.


"In a world where nuclear energy has the upper hand in everything and the sky has been obstructed by pollution, a part of humanity still hopes in finding happiness. As the country is being cracked between the military forces of the police and the mafia, a new social class is born. Neo Aristocrats, as they call themselves, pretend that the current reality exists only because of humanity's love for evolution and consumption. Imprisoned in gigantic cities made solely for themselves, they keep refusing reality and focus their whole life on studying ancestral traditions and cultures.
Ethan, an average yet shrewd Neo Aristo student, lives a happy but unnaturally repetitive life with his friends. Weeks pass with no change. Everything gets overwhelmed when he meets the likes of Alice, a beautiful yet mysterious girl. Ethan will learn that his life has never been what he thought it was and will eventually discover the true face of it."
 
Promotional Song [instrumental version - Work in Progress] - Vocal version will be released with our Promotional video ONLY !
 
-> Download it here

Language : English (French, German, Portuguese and Japanese translations planned).

Genres : Thriller, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Romance, Drama, H.

Rating : 18+ (Sex, Blood)

Lenght : Medium to long.

Music influences : Kenji Kawaii, Ludovico Einaudi, Nanase Hikaru, Kajiura Yuki...

Universe influences : Dieselpunk/Cyberpunk.

Art influences : Ergo Proxy, Black Rock Shooter, Steins;Gate, Persona 4


IMPORTANT : Kickstarter planned when the team is full.



Work in Progress - Mostly translating from french (Update 3.0) :

Project's team :

Team Leader, Developper, Scenarist : Nahilys.

Script Writers (All 3 Routes) : ThanasisK, Burnt Offering

Chara Designer/Sprites Designer/Background Designer : THE UNKNOWN ( )

Graphic Designer/Animator : In talks.

Composer : MrKapow (+ Guitarist & Singers)

Programmers : GreyWolfXx, Sylvain S.


True Route Summary (Edited) :

FULL SPOILERS OF THE STORY





 
Heroines Designs :


Total NPC : 5

Alice - Main Heroine





Aika - Childhood friend - Side Heroine 1 -





Morgan - Young Rebel Genious - Side Heroine 2 -







Gameplay :

1 True Route, 1 True Heroine.2 Side Heroines. 2 Ends with the True Heroine. Finish BOTH Side Routes to start True Route.

1 Week loop. Repetitive common route, influenced by choices every week, changing the story by adding more and more informations to get to the final conclusion.

Eh, your sprite artist is very talented! I love this sample! ^^
I am looking forward to see your kickstarter

Project Introduction

Hello there. Here is my first ever VN project/ I have been working on a story of mine for about a year and recently decided to get involved seriously about it. I have been working on several parts of the project, being a director, developer, scenarist, writer & game designer at the same time. I like it though.
The team has been working a lot since we got together & we're lacking a GUI designer.
 
We're planning on advertising our project at Japan Expo in Paris (3 to 5 of July), and we are working on a promotional video for it.


"In a world where nuclear energy has the upper hand in everything and the sky has been obstructed by pollution, a part of humanity still hopes in finding happiness. As the country is being cracked between the military forces of the police and the mafia, a new social class is born. Neo Aristocrats, as they call themselves, pretend that the current reality exists only because of humanity's love for evolution and consumption. Imprisoned in gigantic cities made solely for themselves, they keep refusing reality and focus their whole life on studying ancestral traditions and cultures.
Ethan, an average yet shrewd Neo Aristo student, lives a happy but unnaturally repetitive life with his friends. Weeks pass with no change. Everything gets overwhelmed when he meets the likes of Alice, a beautiful yet mysterious girl. Ethan will learn that his life has never been what he thought it was and will eventually discover the true face of it."
 
Promotional Song [instrumental version - Work in Progress] - Vocal version will be released with our Promotional video ONLY !
 
-> Download it here

Language : English (French, German, Portuguese and Japanese translations planned).

Genres : Thriller, Psychological, Sci-Fi, Romance, Drama, H.

Rating : 18+ (Sex, Blood)

Lenght : Medium to long.

Music influences : Kenji Kawaii, Ludovico Einaudi, Nanase Hikaru, Kajiura Yuki...

Universe influences : Dieselpunk/Cyberpunk.

Art influences : Ergo Proxy, Black Rock Shooter, Steins;Gate, Persona 4


IMPORTANT : Kickstarter planned when the team is full.



Work in Progress - Mostly translating from french (Update 3.0) :

Project's team :

Team Leader, Developper, Scenarist : Nahilys.

Script Writers (All 3 Routes) : ThanasisK, Burnt Offering

Chara Designer/Sprites Designer/Background Designer : THE UNKNOWN ( )

Graphic Designer/Animator : In talks.

Composer : MrKapow (+ Guitarist & Singers)

Programmers : GreyWolfXx, Sylvain S.


True Route Summary (Edited) :

FULL SPOILERS OF THE STORY





 
Heroines Designs :


Total NPC : 5

Alice - Main Heroine





Aika - Childhood friend - Side Heroine 1 -





Morgan - Young Rebel Genious - Side Heroine 2 -







Gameplay :

1 True Route, 1 True Heroine.2 Side Heroines. 2 Ends with the True Heroine. Finish BOTH Side Routes to start True Route.

1 Week loop. Repetitive common route, influenced by choices every week, changing the story by adding more and more informations to get to the final conclusion.

Of course, it's your project, and i'm just helping with some advices, you are in charge of everything, and i hope the best for you. 

If it's the artstyle, it's fine, it's really fine.