Talk:Lain Visual Novel Project

AMG, you are a goddess amongst men. If you are the artist, I have confidence that this could be done well. Were you the person that initially suggested this? Bytor

I think 3, 4, and 5 are very doable, and are short enough they shouldn't be a big deal. I think we could perhaps do those to get the system down, and then tackle 2. I presume 4 and 5 will not have any choices in the paths? Personally, I don't have a huge interest in the dating sim as I haven't actually played one before, but if there is interest, I would certainly be willing to help with it. If the guys in Welcome to the NHK can make one, then surely we can, too, right? Bytor 14:54, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I'll look into how wiki software can help us with this; I'd like the pages related to this to be semiprotected, so only logged in users can edit, and potentially some pages that can only be seen by approved users. Bytor

Indeed I was. Thank you; I don't have as much confidence in my drawing ability as you seem to, but I'll certainly do the best I can. User:Amysteriousgal

I don't believe I've seen any of your work fully colored, but your general style and skill level are definitely good. Bytor

I really only work with chunks of flat colours. The shading is usually built into the lineart. Never quite worked out how to do things any other way. I'll see if I can put something together by tomorrow, maybe a title screen illustration. Amysteriousgal 16:07, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

3, 4 and 5 would probably be linear. 5 might need a menu to let users select different sections. That's pretty easy to implement. 1 and 2 could work with simple branching (which I've used) or with flags and/or points (which I haven't, but doesn't seem hard). They probably won't be too long, either. The dating sim could potentially take up about half the entire VN, if we choose to write it seriously. If it's a comedy, like the day in the life, then it could be extremely short. Amysteriousgal 15:03, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I would like to offer help, if needed. I'm not much of a visual artist nor programmer, but could help out with GUI design or basic Ren'Py code. In addition to that, I could perhaps provide a Japanese translation (I'm the Japanese studying mebby weeaboo) or provide sound FX and other help with audio (I have a decent large diagram microphone and some audio hobbyist background). Or whatever else you might need help with. Let's make this happen! --アラベスク 15:13, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

Project management platform?

What sort of setup will we need for the software? Should we have subversion repository, or would something simple like google drive be enough? Also, I think it might be best for us to use an Agile-like process for working on this. (can you tell I'm a programmer :(? ) Since this will be several short pieces, we can work on one, and start with a bare structure, and then flesh it out as the pieces are created. Bytor 16:15, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I've been using Dropbox with success in some other online projects. I'm fine with Google Drive as well though. I would imagine one of us (AMG probably) creates the 1st draft in Ren'Py, archives its contents, and uploads to a cloud we use. Then we can create and discuss new revisions as we go. That's probably something similar to the Agile-like process you described? --アラベスク 16:21, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

edit: It could even be an FPT folder @mebious.com I guess, in case you have sufficient amount of drive space available and you're willing to make one. Visual novels archive quite neatly, especially if we keep the music files local. --アラベスク 16:55, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I can volunteer space. it will probably be on a subdomain (likely m.mebious.com) and a non-80 port, but computer resources are not an isssue. Bytor 19:57, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

Regarding the music

By the way, should we want to make this project comply copyrights (not that I really care, but it'd be nice), we could consider using available open music out there. For example, Nine Inch Nail's "Ghosts" has been released under a Creative Commons licence. While of course not identical to the SEL soundtrack, I personally think it comes really close to the thematics described at the planning page, and to those of SEL in general. Do give it a listen if you have the time, and let me know what you think. --アラベスク 15:27, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I like it. It's probably easier to use than the Lain soundtrack is, actually. We'll probably run with Creative Commons music in the end. Just make sure not to mix CC-BY-SA with CC-BY-NC-SA, since that would lead to messy licensing things. Amysteriousgal 15:38, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

Yes. One big thing to note though would probably be that using the aforementioned NiN album would require us to release this game with a similar, open licence, including all our own intellectual content put into it. I would personally have no problem with this, but it's worth pointing out. --アラベスク 16:03, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I have no problem with it, either. Being attributed is nice, nobody is in this for the money, and spreading Creative Commons is a worthwhile cause. Amysteriousgal 16:07, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

I'm cool with it being open, as well. Bytor 16:15, 15 December 2012 (UTC)

Alright then! In case we need more music, CC Search with Jamendo and SoundCloud selected is handy. (I'm thinking especially the dating sim part might need at least a few "less serious tracks", if/when implemented.) --アラベスク 16:50, 15 December 2012 (UTC)