I am currently working on a new project in Ren’Py. It is a non-linear visual novel not unlike some others on this site. Gainesport University uses AI-generated imagery.
The released demo contains some features, such as cooking, 2 stage transitions, and 3 stages overall. You can expect many more things in the future, such as a school system, more characters, events, and weight gain stages.
I would like to encourage any criticism or feedback, especially on the writing part because this is my first real visual novel. Furthermore, I will be answering all questions you may have.
Interesting
suggestion : I would love if u put how much the character has gained and how much she weighted now and expression from the character itself in how she puts in a couple of pounds
I have no comments on your writing. It’s not fleshed out enough yet, but what you have seems fine, but here’s a few things that need fixing in this otherwise excellent set up. Some of it you’re probably already aware of.
You switched fahrenheit and celsius on the lasagna - with the current set up it should be undercooked.
If you go to sleep after midnight you sleep more than 24 hours. Losing an entire day.
School is functional on weekends
I got the picnic event in the beginning of size 2 but she’s size 3 when holding the basket, then becomes size 2 again.
Thanks for the feedback burber! I totally missed these bugs, so I am grateful that you pointed them out. I will resolve these issues in the next version.
This is a really good preview of the game! Can I ask what you plan to add in the game? More characters? More date locations/events? How will money work? Realism? etc. etc.
Great demo again! I look forward to seeing more!
I have a lot of new features planned, including new characters, events, weight gain stages, locations, and more. A lot will be done to get more variety in the game.
I wanted to implement the school system in the next update, mainly as a hub to meet new characters.
When it comes to money, I wanted to use it as a way to make the gameplay more engaging. You’d have to be able to afford to go on dates, make food, etc. If done correctly it would make the game a little less repetitive. To earn money you would have to work. It will likely be a later addition when the fine-tuning of pacing becomes important.
As for realism, I have not definitively decided what direction I want to go in so far. But I do know for sure that there will be cases of getting tired faster, limited mobility, and the sorts.
So far the possibilities are endless, and I would like to thank you for asking these questions. They help me think about the future of the game. If you or anyone has any suggestions, feel free to leave them here. I am open to a lot.
It shows potential! I’m anxious to get to know about Tamara in next updates.
I know it’s a placeholder, but I’m jealous of the MC cos rn he could just buy the whole uni.
Not much to say yet on the actual story, but I do want to say this is pretty polished in terms of transitions, navigation, UI, and the like. Assuming the story is good, this has plenty of promise.
It has been over a week since I released the first demo, and I would like to thank you for checking out my project. In the meantime I have been cooking up some new content, including events, dates, and most importantly 2 new characters. However, due to the fact that I prefer to put out more fleshed out projects as opposed to having a lot of ‘work in progress’ messages, and because my writing is mediocre at best, this update might still be some time away.
As for the visuals, I have been experimenting with different styles. For Tamara, I have maintained an anime-like style, but for one of the new characters I have been trying out some more realistic imagery. I’m quite fond of how it turned out, but choosing one single style for all characters has proven to be difficult. That is why I am asking for your input. Please check out the poll below to vote for your preference. The images provided in the examples are not of the new characters, in case you’re afraid of spoilers.
Speaking of style and the generated images, I have a request: could you make sure to find some keywords / Loras / models that push the style in some direction away from the “default AI-generated” look? A lot of works have the same AnythingV3 face, or its ChilloutMix cousin, and I still like them, but something new is of course better.
I don’t know how that effects the effort required for the three options, but if it’s much easier with one, I’ll vote for that one!
I think semi-realistic looks the best but it seems like a lot of work and I’d be totally happy with anime style. My worry is that having to do semi-realistic will burn you out
