KingMe: Interest Check/Ideas

After a considerable amount of time spent lurking, I’ve finally decided to just go for it and create an account here. For my first post, a true honorary honorable honor, I present to you - yet another idea thread.

A thing to keep in mind about my writing before reading:

  • I live for my characters. My games will all be character-focused and have a heavy emphasis on relationships. Not necessarily of a romantic kind, mind you. Friendships, rivalries, a tangled mess of all of them, or whatever, will be just as important. And optional. They tend to end up, by 100% complete accident, like dating sims with plots. Whoops.

Here are the ideas:

I) Romeo and Juliet - Think “kind-of-superheroes* set in an alternate history of early Renaissance Italy (a very fictional Verona)” along with “character-focused adaptation of Romeo and Juliet” and you will get a general idea of this game’s plot. In this game you take the role of Juliet (Or Julian/Julius, still deciding which name), the only heir of the noble Capulet family, as you navigate political drama and obligations, relationships, and magical abilities. *Superheroes in a more renaissance-toned game was my inspiration, but the idea kind of snowballed past the usual capes and masks.

  1. Persephone and Hades - [This one is gender-locked. Not changing it.] Almost exactly as it sounds, you play as Persephone/Core in a world brimming with conflict. It’s based off of the original story but has other Greek mythology creating the framework as well. Hades is so misunderstood and one of my favorite Greek characters, so a game revolving around him is something I have really wanted to write. Plus you get to be the Queen of the Underworld. (You don’t have to love Hades. The stats would all be personality based and adventures, intrigue, and other ROs are also the main focus. You can be aromantic or a lesbian too, no worries.)

A) Happy Endings - Whoo boy, summing up the plot on this one is kind of hard. Basically, you are reincarnated into a modern-esque world (a cross between modern, Victorian, and Medieval Age atmospheres), previously being a princess/prince, as the role of a cupid (or “fairy godparent” lol). For fairytale characters. To ensure that history plays out as it is supposed to, you have to attend Grimm Academy - an elite school for young royalty. For spoilery reasons™ your job is to get certain characters to have certain endings. This can mean playing matchmaker, endings lives, or changing the outcome of events. But of course, things never go according to plan. Murder, betrayal, politics, supernatural mysteries, and your targets falling for you instead, make your task so oh-so-much harder. | To clarify two things: The play on fairytales is just for (you) readers. In-game characters do not know the tales they’re based on or anything. Two, this description might sound lighthearted and fluffy, but I love dark themes and angst. So expect that instead.

That’s it! I know my descriptions are short and don’t cover much plot - I want to see which basic concept stands out most to you.

A demo for the chosen one will be up lickity-split.

It’s great to finally join. (And if you-know-who-you-are is reading this, thank you so much for introducing me to these games and forum. You are the best.)

  • I) Romeo and Juliet
    1. Persephone and Hades
  • A) Happy Endings

0 voters

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The second option sounds really interesting to me, and I would love to play it! The third one could also be good.

Oh, and a poll on the first post might be a good idea to get a lot of feedback. You’ll get far more responses that way, from my own experience.

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Oooh I live for character driven things :o A plot can be subpar (glances at a certain video game with a disappointing lack of dragons that I’ve made dozens of character files for but only to romance characters) but if the characters are good, I am sold

The superhero Romeo and Juliet type idea sounds really interesting! Would the Montagues simply be a rival family or would they be something like supervillains? Would Romeo (or Romana if you’d like a feminine equivalent) and Paris be the only romances or would there be more options?

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So yeah, before I posted my WIP here I was toying with a Twine game/prototype/viz nov proof of concept… thing based around Classical mythology which painted Hades in a very similar light, so personally I would be all over this like… well like Persephone on Hades come to think of it.

The other ones sound interesting, I do love me some Shakey and that third one sounds pretty unique as IF goes, I can see how playing that kind of “second stringer” might be fun BUT if it involves Greeks or Roman I’m basically up for it. So yeah, Persephone and Hades plz =3

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Thank you! I’m so glad to know you’d like playing it - Hades deserves more love. And brilliant suggestion for the poll. :kissing_cat: Done and done~

AH, you get the struggle! I basically have scripts of certain games memorized because I play them so much. (For the romance of course.)

To your second point - Hmm, I wonder? (Insert innocent whistling here) For the romances - character are set genders, but so far Romeo, Mercurio, Paris, Rosaline, and Elina (A character based off “the nurse” role) are who I have so far. I’m playing around with Tybalt, Benvolio, Escalus, and another added female character as well. (So, basically, all of them. :upside_down:) They’re already all defined and have their set roles in the story, but my characters kind of decide themselves if they are romances as I write them, if that makes sense, so even the aforementioned list might change.

LOL

Thank you for your feedback! Hades is really a great character with so much potential, it’s great to see another fan.

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Dammmit! Happy Endings is in 3rd place!! :sob:

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It’s tied for second now! :kissing_smiling_eyes: And I’m grateful to see you invested in the idea, thank you, it makes me happy.


So far the interest is pretty close to being evenly split, which is hilarious and a bit unexpected. (I am thankful for all the votes, it gives me motivation!) Originally my plan was to create a longer demo and topic for whichever idea seemed to be best received, but I might end up making three mini demos for each game and then just evolving whichever one is decided upon later. It might give you guys a better idea of the tone, plot, and writing style for each. Plus they’re already all outlined so I wouldn’t have a lot of extra work put in.

Also, this forum is so interactive. I’m in love.

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I’m buying my nails off wondering which one is gonna win.
Fingers crossed!!

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Had to go for Persephone and Hades (I’m a sucker for Greek mythology.) :blush:

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I think the Persephone and Hades one sounds really cool and I’d love to play but… I just can’t get behind a gender locked protagonist, I’m sorry, but that’s a turn off for me.

However I think all these ideas are interesting and sound like a lot of fun to play! I personally cast my vote for Romeo and Juliet (With Superpowers!) because I love me some romance with superpowers!

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It’s actually so exciting. :scream_cat: They keep flip-flopping around. Regardless of which one wins, however, I do plan on making each one into a game eventually. I just got to pick one to start with!

Yeah! :raised_hands: I’m always happy to see fellow fans. There’s so much you can do with Greek mythology, I don’t think I will ever get tired of seeing the interpretations derived from it. (Some mythos are so weird and out there too, I would love to showcase some of those “???” moments, ahaha.)

Ah, don’t be sorry! I completely understand that gender-locking is not everyone’s thing.

Thank you so much for your interest. And I concur - superpowers + romance are one of my loves in life. (Plus Shakespeare has already set out the groundwork for that level of drama, it kind of is just :ok_hand:)


So, the votes are…pretty evenly split again. lol. I’m working on one of the demos right now and I’m a bit surprised how easy it is to code. Usually, I’m kind of slower with scripting programs but this one is just so enjoyable. I’m on a roll, guys. A roll.

Essentially I’d like to put the mini-demos up at one time, versus releasing one at a time, and I’m not sure how long that will take. (Though open to counter suggestions.) Probably not very long here, though.

I’ve said it before but this forum is so much fun. Thank you all so much for making me smile!

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So an update!

It wasn’t as fast as I was hoping, but the demo for Happy Endings (that is not the permanent title at all. Still deciding on the name) will be out in December. It’s done, I am just waiting on feedback from my sister because she loves to edit things. But yeah, very soon!

I chose to release this one first because it had the most votes/interest, so thank you all. However, for others interested in the other two, there will be demos for them as well early 2018. They both are coming along nicely and honestly I have enough for a demo, but I want to make them a little longer before release. I kind of love all my stories and all the characters so they will be brought to life.

I have a question regarding this, though. My plan is to have the main project be Happy Endings and then to bounce back and forth on the other two when I need a break. (I can’t focus on one story indefinently until completion or I lose motivation. It sucks.) Now, should I post a thread for each game? Or would you prefer a thread for HE and the other two here? Or just all three smushed into this one? The updates will be regular on HE and sporadic on the other two unless you all love one of the others more once posted.

Anyways, to expand on HE:

It is set in an alternate modern world and the base of everything is Grimm Academy, a boarding school for young royalty, but there will be focus on the countries and what not. There are supernatural mysteries and elements, a lot has to do with the mc, but the original world has no magic and is based on reality. There will be a focus on political scheming as the young royals are vying for power, and relationships focused on furthering these powerful ties as well. I basically wanted to have the feel of royalty in a modern world and all the drama in that, but I also wanted to capture the awe and magic that comes from typical fairy tales. (Only a lot angstier and darker. But still, romantic.) So you get both.

Thanks again, feedback to the questions mentioned above or your opinion is lovely. Also, thanks for the patience. :kissing_heart:

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Wow!! The choice 2 and 3 sound really interesting!! I am really interested in Hades! There was a time I loved so much mythology that I read not a small amount of tales on mythology. I noticed that Hades has the fewer stories between Zeus, Poseidon and him, actually, I think I remember only 2 tales related to him. The one where he feels lonely in his Kingdom and wanted someone(Persephone) and in the one where a poet( I am not good with name) went to his Kingdom to relive his beloved who died of a snake bite . I have concluded that the reputation of him being, I don’t know… “evil”? “Bad”? Is principally him being the God of death and not for what he has done. Moreover he is quite the quiet God. For the 3, there wasn’t any game like this before so I am also interested of how it would turn out. The idea of playing matchmaker is quite a thing lol. Actually that makes me feel like one of those support character who help the protagonist. A support character isn’t bad as a position really, that keeps us mostly out of drama and danger. But the thing is that the player is the protagonist which makes thing more complicate.

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Maybe separate threads for each game? To better organize the different topics, suggestions, questions, etc.

So what I’m getting from HE (aside from the fresh and interesting take on the isekai genre) is that I can ship characters and actively work to get them to happen. I am sold.

On a another note, the numerous plots and motivations of each character is gonna be a mess to deal with as their matchmaker. I can’t just pair the two rival heirs of bordering kingdoms if they have other goals and/or plans that involve them marrying other people. Heck, they might even start killing each other - and not in the whole tsundere way but with assassins and poison.

…on second thought, I would like to see that happen.

Is Grimm Academy handled by all the particpating kingdoms who send their royalty there? Or is it considered a fully independent, neutral institution? Is there an all-powerful student council?
Can we join it?

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Thank you! I’m glad you’re interested. :blush:

Oh yes! This is a big part of the game too. Basically nobody liked to talk about him, for good or bad, because they didn’t want to draw his attention. For this reason, he is often portrayed rather altruistically when he is mentioned but actually thought of as in a more villainous role. (And this also why he is rarely ever depicted actually leaving the Underworld.) Most of his character information comes form being strict with the dead and his devotion to Persephone, and most myths with him in it focus on the two aforementioned.

And I love all of this because it has given me so much room for his character and place in the world, and to expand on a character I love with my own interpretation, as well as how other characters see him and the connection/influence the mc has over that given the role of Persephone.

It is an interesting dynamic! Happy Endings won’t revolve all around the mc in the sense that all the other characters have their own story and are the main character in their own right/life. The mc will be the protagonist of their own story, though, and still be very important in the grand scheme of things. But their story will coincide with the others instead of solely dictating them. (I like to make the mc just as interesting and unique as other characters, and someone you have a lot of fun playing and want to play, but I also like to make the world not exist just for them.)

That would keep it more navigable and much less clustered, very true.

Kind of! There are things you’re ‘supposed’ to do for the spoiler reasons, which includes getting certain people together, and less just getting any two people together. (Even though they might never be romantically inclined and yes, try to murder each other in future endeavors. Which then might have more consequences.) However, there are many ways to do this that might yield the same, or different results, or you can choose not to, or choose to do something different, change things for your favor, etc. The consequences, good and bad, (and the same thing might be ‘good’ in one play through and ‘bad’ in other depending on what kind of character you play and how you wanted/made it happen) of course are a part of the game. :wink:

This will all make much more sense in the game, I promise. Basically the role of a fairy godparent is for sure there, and you will have tons of choice and branches as far as that goes (no railroading!), but not so much a matchmaker in the sense of playing a sim where you pair people together into couples and make them fall in love. Though I suppose there a chances to try for that if you so choose. Results may vary. Just wanted to clarify so I don’t get hopes up only for it to be different than you were expecting.

It is supposed to be an autonomous, neutral party free of influence from attending lines. :innocent:

:zipper_mouth_face:


Just put the…

nvm. You fixed it :p

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Shhhhh. You saw nothing. :sushing_face:

(Formatting on a phone gives me headaches.)

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Oohhh that makes me remember something. In one of the myth I think, it was mentioned how the gods pay extremely attention to what is say about them. Like, you pronounce one God or Goddess name and they immediately know that you are talking about them. I think a example would be the one with Meduse if I remember correctly, she insulted Athena and … that is how she ends up as a gorgon… So, that could explain why they do not mention him. Or maybe it just applies to mortal.

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I was mostly kidding on the shipping anyone with anyone thing, I kind of expected that certain characters had affinities for certain other characters. How we “help” resolve these issues is gonna be a lot of fun. (Possible love triangles/dodecahedrons maybe?)

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I’ve always wondered why there weren’t more games where you could play matchmaker. The role itself, both as a formal profession and an informal role in a group of friends, is an old one.

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