Hello, I’m relatively new to CoG (started playing the games maybe 5-6 months ago) and I got inspired to try my hand at making a game of my own c: My primary inspirations are modern witchcraft/pagan practices and fantasy stories set in the modern day, mainly things like Kiki’s Delivery Service. This is currently only a working title since at least a good half of the game doesn’t take place in the physical world, let alone the suburbs, at all 
I’m unfortunately too early in development to have a demo but I wanted to get a WIP post up before I start classes again this coming Monday. My original goal for a demo was by the end of the month, but because of classes I’m not sure if that’s enough time for me to write and learn the code, so I’m aiming to get a demo of the prologue and maybe the beginning of chapter one out by April at the latest.
The premise: A young witch moves to a coastal town with their childhood best friend and their familiar, and manages to find themself in the middle of a conflict between the three ruling spirits of the region. Balance your life on the physical plane and your dealings on The Astral. Play as male, female or nonbinary and as any sexuality
The possible romances will be:
- Sam Ngo (agender, xe/xem)
- the MC’s childhood friend and current roommate; specializes in kitchen witchery (incorporates magic into foods)
- Emmet Rodriguez (male, he/his)
- a student at the local community college; his family owns a magic supply shop; is a green witch, meaning he specializes in using elements of nature, such as plants, in his magic
- Liz Choi (female, she/her)
- a classmate of Emmet’s; a sea witch, meaning she mainly uses materials from and relating to the sea for her magic
I would like to make polyamory possible, but since this is my first game and first big project, I unfortunately can’t make any promises about that because of coding 
Lore will be put under cuts. I’ve tried to summarize my world building notes as well as I could but they still came out pretty wordy
Lore: MAGIC
DEFINITION, MAGIC: the essence of a being, object, or concept
DEFINITION, WITCHCRAFT: the transfer of magic to one object or being to another; the act of transforming one form of magical energy into another
A person who performs magic may be called a witch, mage, sorcerer/sorceress, warlock (specific to men only), wizard, or any similar title. Title are generally based on personal preference, the region lived in, and/or the specific practices used. For simplicity’s sake, the most common title used in this setting is witch. Any person can interact with magic, but only some can manipulate it. The ability to manipulate magic can manifest at any age, if it manifests at all, and it cannot reliably be tracked through bloodlines. A family may have a history of having at least one magic user in each generation and then suddenly stop producing magic users with no clear reason, and a family with no previously known magic can have a magic using child. Some witches can sense other magic users, but this ability isn’t always reliable.
Magic is limited to the world around it and does not often manifest in a physical way on the physical plane. In the physical world, it is typically in the form of spells for bringing luck/calmness/misfortune/etc or divination (seeking knowledge of the future or unknown). An example of the few ways it can be made to manifest physically is in glamours, which change the target’s (usually the caster) appearance, but they are usually anchored by something, like a piece of jewelry, which needs to be charged in order to be used multiple times. Sometimes spells may give off light, heat (or absorb heat), or leave a scent behind, but only if they’re very, very powerful. A spell can be made more powerful by using an additional person’s energy (not necessarily a witch), a familiar’s energy, or amplifying objects, such as crystals or herbs. Using another’s energy for one’s own gain without the other’s consent is generally frowned upon and users are often called vampires or energy vampires.
[details=Lore: FAMILIARS]
DEFINITION, FAMILIAR: a witch’s assistant
DEFINITION, SPIRIT: a being of pure magic, may possess a solid being or object but is otherwise incorporeal
Animal familiars are essentially animal witches. Most are domesticated, but having something like a crow or an opossum for a familiar is not unheard of. Magical animals are often more intelligent and have longer lifespans than nonmagical animals. Witches usually have up to one familiar, but having two, especially if the two animals are bonded, is not uncommon. A familiar can also verbally speak to its witch, but not to other humans that it isn’t magically bonded with unless they’re on the astral plane. The exact reason for this is unknown, but it is theorized that they do this through their magical energy and their witch’s magical energy synchronizing. If the relationship ends for whatever reason and they move onto a new witch, they gain the ability to speak to the new witch and lose the ability to speak to the previous one.
Spirit familiars may be created or summoned. Created spirits are often small and weak on their own, needing frequent cleansing and offerings when first created. They are usually tasked with small chores or are used as additional energy holders for spells. They may become more powerful and more autonomous as time goes on, but it would take many years. It is not uncommon for these to be secondary to other familiars.
Summoned spirits are more powerful than created spirits and less limited than animal familiars, but they are also more unpredictable than both. They may put their witch through tests to see if they really want to stay as a familiar and are more likely to leave an unsatisfactory relationship than other familiars are.
The MC’s familiar is a house cat that will be the same gender as the MC (note: being the same gender only applies to the MC and their familiar. Other characters in the story will have familiars that don’t have the same genders as them). I’m currently debating on whether to have the cat be the classic black cat, a white cat modeled by pangur-and-grim’s Pangur, or have the appearance be chosen by the player[/details]
Lore: THE ASTRAL
The Astral Plane, also known simply as The Astral, is a world parallel to the physical world and linked to dreams. It is where spirits reside. The majority of the explored Astral is made up of ‘bubbles’ - sort of pocket dimensions. The ones in-game will include your Astral home, which is small and malleable to your needs and tastes, and the domains of the three main spirits of the game. The Astral can look similar to the physical world it’s parallel to but it doesn’t follow the same rules. For example, distances may be significantly longer or shorter than they appear and paths and doorways may not lead to expected places
I have the basic story pretty figured out, but I’d like feedback to help me with details about the actual ‘suburbia’ side of the story since I’m struggling with the MC because they’re such a blank slate. What would be your reasons for leaving home and what would you look forward to most when moving to a new town, for example? What would you be looking for there?
Any suggestions, critiques, comments, and questions will be very welcome and thank you for putting up with my wordiness
UPDATE LOG:
- 2/25/17 (post 21): Demo pushed back from April to maybe July. Separate storylines need to come together somehow. Ideas for stats being considered. Timeline needs to be figured out. Characters still need work
- 5/10/17 (post 30): expecting at least semi-hiatus early September to mid December because of school
- 6/1/17 (post 38): laptop broken, not sure how progress is gonna go now
- 6/1/17 (post 39): laptop magically fixed?? Demo will be started soon but also not sure about how long laptop will stay working. EDIT: nevermind, it lasted roughly 12 hours
- 8/15/17 (post 42): new laptop and can finally get some real work done again. Stuff has been refined since the last update but has not made it into my official notes yet because I only just got the laptop, updating notes is main priority right now. Rewriting prologue. Hoping to get a good amount of work done before school starts
For ideas on what the MC wants, one idea I have is knowledge which could be made into something like ambition? It’s vague but I will build more on it after the prologue
