Candyfloss [LGBT Drama/Romance]

[BulimicSpacePug]

Development Blog

 

Hello! I'm one of the writers and founding members of a small indie VN team currently composed of transgender and non-binary devs dubbed Jockstrap Penguin Studios. We've recently begun development of our first visual novel, entitled Candyfloss, which is centered around the lives of several trans and non-binary teenagers living in central Florida.

Notes:

• Ten (10) "romancable" characters
• Multiple routes and endings
• No adult content/NSFW planned
• Written, illustrated, and programmed entirely by trans and NB individuals 

The main cast has been fleshed out and writing for the main route is underway, though we've decided to hold off on releasing the characters' bios in full until the appropriate concept art is finished; our sprite artist has already produced a number of preliminary sketches and is in the process of digitizing them. Needless to say, we'll be updating both here and our game dev blog at the soonest opportunity. We also have a Discord server where members can nag the devs keep up with our progress and ask any questions they may have for the team. (In an attempt to curb trolling/harassment, I ask that you message me privately to request an invite link.)

Progress:

• Art — Beginning stages
• Writing — First draft of the main route has been started; all characters are fully fleshed out
• Programming — 0%
• Music Composition — Beginning stages

Edited January 10, 2019 by BulimicSpacePug

[Metaparadox]

This sounds great! Looking forward to seeing more of this! There is a need for more trans and/or nb characters in video games! 

[BulimicSpacePug]

Update: Our writing team is just about done fleshing out the main cast, so we'll be gradually releasing information about our characters here and on our VN development blog. In the spoiler below is today's post on our character, Leigh.

Spoiler

Name: Leigh Durand
Age: Eighteen
Gender: Agender (Masculine presenting)
Assigned Sex @ Birth: AFAB
Pronouns: He/him or they/them interchangeably
Race/Ethnicity: Of mixed Asian and European descent

Height: 6′0″ / 183 cm
Weight: 130 lbs / 59 kg
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Blue
Skin Tone: Fair
Scars: Burn scarring to both forearms, typically covered; scar on abdomen from appendix removal 
Tattoos: None
Piercings: 00ga gauges in both ears; two rim piercings on left ear
Misc. Marks: None
Outfits/Clothing Style: Leigh’s fashion sense is generally an awkward hybrid of functional, athletic clothing and dark, emo- or grunge-esque pieces. Their wardrobe consists of basketball and cargo shorts as well as leggings and torn jeans; leather, denim, and varsity jackets; muscle shirts, oversized T-shirts, and the occasional crop-top; and a myriad of bracelets, pins, and sweatbands from both the men’s and women’s department. He rarely goes anywhere without combat boots, even if they clash with the rest of his outfits, leading to many unfortunate cases of boots with shorts and knee socks.

Grade: 12th
GPA: 4.2
Languages (★★★ = Native, ★★ = Somewhat Fluent, ★ = Random Words and Phrases): English (★★★), Korean (★★), Italian (★), French (★)
Extracurriculars/Clubs/Sports: Game Development Club, Chess Club, Track Team, Basketball Team, School Newspaper

Personality Traits: Short-tempered, insecure, self-righteous, protective, antisocial, somewhat reserved, resentful, stereotypical “jerk with a heart of gold”
Hobbies: Chess, climbing trees, walks in the woods, clothing design
Dislikes: Small spaces, feeling physically trapped, public speaking, sitting still
Occupation: Designs and sells their own clothing and jewelry in their free time; works part time at a local ice cream shop
Upbringing: Raised by their divorced parents and maternal grandfather in a typical middle-class American household and a low-income apartment, respectively. Their mother and grandfather are generally accepting of them, in contrast to their conservative father.
Misc.: Leigh previously suffered from a restrictive eating disorder, though they are more or less “recovered” and working towards putting on weight by the start of the story. Until they’ve reached a healthier BMI, they are unable to pursue top surgery and, as such, wear a binder and sometimes double-bind or use other unhealthy means to achieve a flatter chest. They have a black-knobbed map turtle named Billie, though how they were able to obtain one as a pet is beyond anyone, two birds, and a dog named Molly. When they were younger, they burned their hands reaching for a toy that fell in the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park while on a family vacation; miraculously, they sustained minimal nerve damage.

An update to the update: A second character, J, is below.

Spoiler

Name: J or Jay (preferred)/Jason (legal) Tinner
Age: Fifteen
Gender: Questioning demi-girl
Assigned Sex @ Birth: AMAB
Pronouns: She/her or they/them
Race/Ethnicity: European (Polish/Russian/German)

Height: 5′7″ / 170 cm
Weight: 142 lbs / 64 kg
Hair Color: Chestnut brown
Eye Color: Hazel
Skin Tone: Light
Scars: A few on her inner thighs that are always covered up; one on her right knee from falling out of a tree when she was younger; one behind her left ear from surgery as a baby that is typically covered by her hair but not actively concealed
Tattoos: None that are permanent, but she’s a fan of temporary tattoos that can be applied with a wet rag and stickers (especially Lisa Frank or other feminine stickers with sparkles and the like); these are often put in places that are easy for her to cover up
Piercings: None (yet!)
Misc. Markings: None
Outfits/Clothing Style: J tries to appear as “normal” as possible in public while still being their gender. This consists of wearing skinny jeans and a pastel hoodie with flowers or other feminine designs on them during the winter or pastel shirts and a plain pastel shirt with similar feminine patterns in the summer. When in private or in the company of those she finds accepting enough, she likes to dress in cute outfits such as dresses and skirts. Occasionally, she wears cute hair clips in her hair while in public, but that is a rare occurrence.

Grade: 10th
GPA: 3.1
Languages (★★★ = Native, ★★ = Somewhat Fluent, ★ = Random Words and Phrases): English (★★★), Japanese (★)
Extracurriculars/Clubs/Sports: Bad Movie Club, Anime Club, GSA, Culinary Club

Personality Traits: Adventurous, loud, bubbly; she tends to be a little selfish and annoying from time to time due to her excitable nature and can be reserved and cold when not in her comfort zone; she tries her best to acknowledge her flaws but can be sensitive
Hobbies: Watching anime and cartoons, sculpting, cosplay, singing, butterfly knife tricks, watching cooking shows
Dislikes: Gender roles, bugs, rodents, anything to do with medicine (ie doctors, needles, etc)
Occupation: Mostly just a student; takes commissions for clay figurines she makes by hand
Upbringing: Lives with and raised by her mom, dad, and uncle in a townhouse. Since she has been around two prominent male figures in her life, she has been brought up to be a “man’s man.” While she doesn’t mind family outings consisting of fishing, hunting, camping, and doing other traditionally masculine activities, she has always secretly adored more feminine things such as dressing up and the color pink. Her mother knows about her identity and tries to understand as best she can to be respectful of it, but her father and uncle are still unaware. While her mother is okay with her gender identity, she doesn’t quite know how to relate to her “son” anymore, so they have grown a little distant recently despite J eagerly wanting to be taught more feminine things such as cooking and baking, which her mom excels at. However, because of the distance between them, she finds it hard to ask her mom to teach her such things. 
Misc.: Unfortunately due to feeling a little trapped in her family life J has started to struggle with her self-esteem and as a result self-harms from time to time. She has no intent to medically transition which makes her feel even more insecure, and as a result since she does not feel like she truly belongs to the trans community. She doesn’t have any pets at the moment, but one day she wants a bird named Melon. Although she’s not a huge fan of hunting, like her dad and uncle are, she still likes going camping and fishing with them. Always carries a Swiss army knife, a lighter (which she decorates with stickers), and a butterfly knife on her when not in school. The Swiss army knife and lighter are because she thinks it’s practical to always have those on one’s person, and the butterfly knife is because she can do some tricks with them and it’s named after butterflies which she thinks is cute. Technically she hasn’t decided on a name yet, so she uses J as a placeholder. 

 

Edited July 1, 2018 by BulimicSpacePug