Idea & Premise
Nutshell:
Confused? Intrigued? Morbid curiosity? Then read on.
Story
Space is vast, and perhaps infinite; it is an endless wonder and curiosity to humans since ancient times, and even in the not-so-distant future. In a world where people — Imperiums — have celestial powers, it is a way of life. It’s the highway to other planets, an enigma to discern and solve, vastness to map and explore. Everything revolves around it.
You believe you are destined for the stars. You believe to aim not only for the sky, but beyond the realms of your planet. However, careers for the cosmos are only for the wealthy, the intelligent, the powerful. Someone as mundane as your background or skills cannot possibly hope to pursue that field of work, let alone enroll into a school for that. It’s too much for you.
Until you did, of course, because a certain bugger put you into it. Maybe it’s the worst thing to happen to you. Maybe it’s the best.
Disclaimer: You only need basic knowledge of the Western Astrology to understand this (knowing the twelve signs), and even then, you don’t really need that too much, either.
Idea
A science fantasy genre, really. I’ve never seen it before, so I wanted to add astrology elements to it, such as zodiacs and magical powers correlating to it. It takes place in a distant-but-not-really future, so there’s going to be magi-tech (as in this universe, celestial magic has been around forever) in it.
I’ve always thought magic schools are cool (who doesn’t like Hogwarts), but they’ve been used often. It’s like this, but a little different. In this world, space has become a way of life. The Universal Taxi! Scientists (of course)! Adventurers (space pirates?)! Realty! I thought, what if there’s a school which primarily orients to it? It doesn’t just educate Imperiums (folks with celestial powers), but scientists and… realtor agents! Basically everything that has to do with the cosmos. You learn the science of it (ugh), the math of it (ugh), all the academics, but also all the fantasy elements of it! Well, not you, you, but your character has to suffer through it.
Do note while astrology is a central point of magic, I also make up a few things for the magical aspect of it.
Characters (So far)
There are 5 ROs, two females, two males, one interchangeable. I might (likely?) add more, and I’m sorry for the gender-locked characters, but they seem pretty important to me. (ノдヽ)
There are lots of planned characters, they’re just not listed until they appear (save for the main cast).
Main Cast
As the premise suggests, all the characters are pretty overwhelming. They border absurdity for plot reasons.
Allistia Geheim: The daughter of a famous war general, born on the planet of Voljensky. Always wears a dress, even though it might not be appropriate, and acts amiable and kind. She has a habit of taking others as her responsibility, even if they rather she doesn’t.
Neutral Good.
Rigel Haffman: The youngest of all his six sisters in a prestigious family. He is viewed as energetic and charismatic. He also often hits on people but gets turned down often for his height (which is uncannily short). Has a large, but shallow circle of friends. Intends to become a scientist. Seems superficial and carefree at first glance. True Neutral
P3151N (Peirin): Android (Strojin) created to be the successor for their creators. Seemingly stoic, but extremely idealistic and outspoken for their beliefs. They’re unafraid to speak out against authority or defy rules they do not believe in. Advocator for Strojin universal-citizenship and equality. Childhood friend. Neutral Good.
Maya Halastus: The extremely short captain of the armed forces in Voljensky, where it’s normal to sign up for the war at an extremely young age and be a girl (manpower shortage). Ruthless and unforgiving, though may just be a child who didn’t have a proper childhood. Unfortunately, her superiors insist on her enrollment, so she agreed to it (begrudgingly). Lawful Evil.
Orion Altair: The incredibly tall and lanky son of a hero. As a fanatic for graphic novels (“not comics!”) and superheroes, he strives to be just like his mother, despite being out-of-shape. Doesn’t like attention, but he sticks out rather easily. He is always murmuring to himself, which make people a little suspicious of him (and cause rumors to circulate about him summoning Scorpio in their basement). Lawful Good.
Background Characters/Staff
Father: Well, obviously yours. Has a normal job at an insurance company, does ordinary fatherly things, and the like. He, however, does have a taste for the stars as you do.
Aries: You rather not talk about her right now.
Bellinor Vulcan: Leon Vulcan’s twin brother. The president of the Theater Club. He seems to come off as gloomy and antisocial, and is almost always mistaken as the president of the Celestial Occult Club. Oh, no no, that’s his brother’s club, not his. However, the (flashy) theater members insist on his talent.
Professor Gogg: Teaches Tehnical Machinery. Seems gentle and friendly, but some students feel uncomfortable or uncanny around the teacher. “Looks like he’s staring down at the barrel of a gun when he looks at you.”
Ms. H: Real name Ms. Houre, but will bite anyone who dares pronounce it because it sounds like… Carries a stick around her to smack around objects to frighten or startle students. Homeroom teacher who mainly teaches General Magics.
**
Tentative Features
Possible Features
This is how I’d imagine it?
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Exams, tournaments, and contests to showcase your skills and abilities. Become well-liked… or pretty much control the student population. I’m not going to stop you.
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Clubs! Who doesn’t like clubs? There are benefits, but also requirements. ∠( ᐛ 」∠)_
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Choosing your own career and path — explorer? Scientist? Damnit, a realtor? You got it. Then again, evil dictator sounds good too.
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Straight up disrespecting the zodiacs. Which you can probably already do in the first chapter with Aries. I really don’t have any objections if you do.
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Choices that come back to bite you in the butt. They might seem trivial, but I promise that they’ll haunt you in your dreams.
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Intergalactic domination.
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That being said with tournaments, how do you feel about fighting? ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
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A main cast that includes: a dictatorial and deranged little girl (who contradicts her age), a sinnamon roll (no typo), a sore thumb, a toaster, and some kid who keeps getting rejected.
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Magic! Because I can. Corresponds to zodiacs (you can always lie to get a specific one, yeah?)
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Overthrow the student council because again, YOU CAN.
If you’re interested in answering questions for me, I have a few:
Questions
Of course, you don’t have to answer all the questions, but pick the ones you want to answer.
Demo (Prelude & Chapter One) questions
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What kind of choices do you want to make, or do you think should be implemented? What changes should I make with it?
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What’s your impression so far on all of the characters?
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What are your speculations so far about the events?
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What do you think will make it more interesting, or grappling?
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Based on what happened so far, what do you think will happen next?
General questions
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What do you expect, or want, to happen in the story?
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For a beginner, how big do you think I should take the project to?
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I’m trying to add characters which avert from the norm. What kind of characters are you looking forward to, or who are you interested in, in the main cast?
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I’m unsure if I should add inter-species romance options. I feel weird doing it. How do you feel about that?
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I’m the type of person who won’t ever make villainous choices when I play games, but I know that most people (and possibly you) might want to become a villain-protagonist. How do you think I should go about it? In general, not anything specific.
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What clubs might you be interested in (including the student council)?
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For the magical aspects of the game, what do you suggest I add?
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For the technology aspects of the game, what do you suggest I add?
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Story or event wise, what do you suggest I add?
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I’m coming at odds with how I can make the MC have a personality, while letting you mold it too. What type of character would you like to be in the story, and how much freedom do you want to customize yourself?
6/2/18 (June 2nd, 2018) Playtest: https://dashingdon.com/go/2413
If you have some writing help to give, that would be awesome. Otherwise, feedback and cool ideas are welcomed (greatly)! I also attempted intense Googling and research into this, but I’ll probably overlook facts when I ever make this.
Questions you might ask don't do it fam
What kind of magic can we use?
The Western Astrology is pretty flexible; you can practice any magic you can imagine. I don’t see adding a familiar here, just because I don’t find that it really fits. Not that I wouldn’t be amiable to adding them with popular demand; it won’t actually mess up anything if that’s what you’re worried about that. Just that… eh.
How much about astrology do we have to know, and what elements are incorporated here?
I want to ensure that everyone can understand the concept. Astrology has A LOT going on, even I’m struggling with making sure I don’t forget things. Concepts like houses, moon signs, ascendant, etc. are probably not going to crop up simply because they’re too obscure and would likely confuse readers. Even then, I don’t find it overly necessary to incorporate into the story. I’m also pretty cautious about that, because I don’t want to write about those incorrectly.
Other elements? Tarot cards. They are somehow related to astrology, so I’ll add that in. If there’s anything else that might be somehow related or relevant, sure. This also involves hardcore googling though, OTL. I’m pretty flexible.
How fast do the vessels go in this time, and how is FTL travel achieved?
For the first question, it depends. The same way there are taxis, trains, and planes. The first one you ride on is a spacecraft is to a galaxy as a plane is to Earth. The ratio is plane:Earth and craft:galaxy.
FTL (faster than light) travel is assisted with residual magic and technology working together.
What is the exact time the world is set in?
To be honest, I can’t predict when these technologies are available and when they will not be, so I decided to take the safe bet of making it XX79. It ensures that it’s at least 50 years in the future (obviously), but the technicalities will be averted so I don’t have to worry about it. Maybe lazy, but practical.
Changelog
2/17(25?)/18: Interest check
3/14/2018: 0.1v Demo released - Prelude & Chapter 1
6/2/18: Added new version of Prelude & Chapter 1
Includes:
- Character customization (a prototype!)
- Added Tau Ceti e Place information in Stats screen.
- Added description for each skill in Stats screen.
- Added Information button for ease of access.
- Added People in Information (work-in-progress)
- Added Contrasts to IRL Astrology and in-game Astrology to Information > Magic & Zodiacs
- Aries will get mad 1000% so don’t screw with her
- Added easter eggs for names.