Backstage Pass Updates

Here's a short video of Adam's intro scene in Backstage Pass. (It's also the opening scene of the game.) Although the voices aren't in place yet, you should still get a pretty good idea of Adam and Sian's dynamic.

In terms of how far along we are, nearly all the sprites are done (14/15), and the writing for the first quarter of the game is basically set. We're working on polishing the framework right now to get all those stats working and in good order.

Here's a handy dandy screen that you can look at to see how you're doing! It's handy AND dandy. For those wondering when this will be complete, we still don't have a hard date, but we're aiming for sometime this year, so please look forward to it. As usual, you can find WIP shots and mini-updates on all of our social networks: facebook, twitter, tumblr.

Backstage Pass - Updates and Answers

If you've been following twitter, facebook, or tumblr, some of this will look familiar to you. We've been posting little snippets and teasers over the past month, but now it's time for a nice, proper, update with answers to our most frequently asked questions.
 

We've been getting a lot of questions along the lines of "How far along are you?" and "When do you think BP will be out?" Short answer: No idea. The longer (potentially useful, but hey maybe not) answer is that we're aiming to get it done this year, but you never know what could happen. In total, we've completed probably 15% of all our assets. As in, add up the writing, art, music, voices, etc. and that's the meter. However, that doesn't account for putting it all together in a coherent fashion, or handling that mythical beta testing stage.

Regarding beta testing, we'll be doing the same thing we did with Yousei, as that turned out to be very successful. When the demo is complete, we'll have an open beta for anyone to play around with. We'll then open up pre-orders for early access to the whole game.

Recording has begun for most of the main cast, but we'll be holding open auditions a few months down the road for supporting cast and extras. Remember, if you want to audition, add yourself to the mailing list here. We are not accepting pre-submissions, and all open roles will be handled at once.

Aaand, some quick (but important) updates:

- We've got a fantastic opening song in the works by Junko Fujiyama. Junko's a Japanese singer/songwriter, but she now lives and performs in the United States. We're very happy to have her on board with us.

- The final price for Backstage Pass is $30. It's more than our other games, but we're pricing this based on the size of the final product and the cost of other similar games. Pre-orders will be available at a discount.

- We'll also be releasing a special edition that includes a copy of the OST and Adam Eaton's first EP. Details to come later.

Backstage Pass - Final Four

Only four more major characters left to introduce, so let’s get them out in one go. Wooo! They’re all industry related, so it makes sense.

Name: Dale
Age: 25
Occupation: Photographer
A photographer who’s grown disillusioned with the entertainment industry. He continues his work because he’s good at it and it pays the bills, but he finds actors, directors, and everyone else in the “biz” to be annoying and self-absorbed.

 

Name: Nicole
Age: 17
Occupation: Model
A carefree model with a natural beauty and a keen sense of fashion. She and Matthew were hired to do a shoot together, and she’s been interested in him ever since. Extremely territorial.

Name: Allison
Age: 21
Occupation: Actress(?)
An aspiring actress trying to break into television on her own. Energetic, outgoing, and vibrant, but not terribly good at acting. She makes friends easily, and she’s a hard worker, but it might be difficult for her to advance on nothing but enthusiasm.

Name: Madeline
Age: 43
Occupation: Manager, Mother, Pretty Much Everything Else
Former model, and original poster girl for her own line of cosmetics. Madeline had an extremely successful career, and now she expects her son Matthew to do the same. She’ll do whatever it takes to give her son a competitive edge.

Meet the Rest - Faculty

Even more profiles! Whoaaaa! Sian’s life isn’t just work and/or romance. She’s got school to worry about too, and college life is a lot more than just clicking the “study” button a few times a week on a stat chart. Here are the faculty members who help Sian through her first year of college.

Name: Professor Couvalt
Age: 53
Occupation: English Professor
A harsh teacher famously known for being unforgiving with his grading. Teaches several intro courses, so every incoming student has to make it through at least one of his classes. Also serves as Sian’s academic adviser.

Name: Professor Meridia
Age: 60
Occupation: Math Department Head
Freeform, relaxed, and encouraging. She spends most of her time with grad students, but teaches a single intro course so she can get an idea of who she might be working with in the future.

Name: Alvin
Age: 19
Occupation: Tutor, Teacher’s Aide
A professional tutor with a passion for computer science. The only time he’s not talking about programming is when he’s geeking out over his favorite TV series, Knight Errant.

Backstage Pass - Meet the Rest

 

Hey gang! It’s a double feature! Shockingly, there ARE other women in the world of Backstage Pass. Today you get two of them.

Name: Rachel Alexi
Age: 27
Occupation: Camera Operator
A confident, career-oriented woman with aspirations of becoming a professional script writer. Extroverted, quick-witted, and hard working. She’s spent enough time in the industry to make some connections, and she’s currently looking for an agent for her scripts. She has little tolerance for people who do nothing but wait for their “big break,” and she often encourages Sian to speak up for herself.

Name: Celina Harroway
Age: 31
Occupation: Actress
A former child star, Celina is slated to play the lead in Lloyd Newton’s upcoming TV series. She treats everyone respectfully, behaves professionally, and is an excellent actress, but she’s emotionally distant from everyone around her. The gossip rags speak of some wild teenage years, but no one knows if any of it is true.

Matthew Partridge Voice Sample

Just finished my first recording session with Matthew’s voice actor, so I figured it would only be fair to share a sample. Before you play it, remember that Matthew is generally shy and prone to panicking. He also has a cooler “work mode” that he uses to cope. I included some work mode samples at the end of the clip. Headphones suggested but not required.

Learn more about Backstage Pass at the official site.

Matthew Partridge Voice Sample by soymilk

Backstage Pass - Meet the Rest

Now that profiles for the four suitors are up, it's time to introduce our supporting cast! Hang on to your hats, kids, there're a lot.

Name: Lloyd Newton
Age: 35
Occupation: Director, Producer
Lloyd Newton is an award-winning director and a budding producer. He attended university in the UK where he and John shared a flat. The two grew very close, and agreed that one day they’d produce a show together. They’re currently pitching a new TV series that they hope will be a hit. He has a very loose style of directing, often asking actors to improv or try out new lines on the spot.

Meet the Boys: John Brandon

Seeing as these were all posted based on fan vote, it’s kind of a cool coincidence that the characters are being introduced in order of time in the industry. Benito’s trying to break in, Adam just started, Matt’s established, and now we have…

Name: John Brandon
Stage Name: N/A
Age: 35
Occupation: Actor

A British actor known around the world for his role as the lead character in the long-running TV Drama, Knight Errant. John’s poised, polished, and mature, but he’s grown a bit tired of a one-note career. Despite having several other credits to his name, people rarely see him for more than his most famous role. He’s decided to take a break and move to the United States for a while to work on other aspects of the industry. He’s currently Adam Eaton’s music producer, and he’s working with a co-producer to pitch a new TV series. While he has a gentleman’s aura to him, he’s quick to cut out anyone who he thinks isn’t taking things seriously.

Meet the Boys: Matthew Partridge

Informal twitter surveys are the best. Come follow us on twitter for great justice. And otome games.

Name: Matthew Partridge
Stage Name: Matthew Midnight
Age: 18
Occupation: Model

Matthew is a very successful model who’s been in the industry since he was a child. His work ranges from mainstream catalogs to avant-garde fashion shows. While on the job, he’s cold, calm, and a little bit dark, but that persona is just a facade to hide his true nature. His controlling mother has kept him from socializing his entire life, so he’s exceedingly shy and prone to panicking if he thinks he’s said something wrong. His mother is currently trying to get him to break into acting, but he’s not sure that’s what he wants to do with his life.

Meet the Boys: Adam Eaton

Magician won the informal survey, but several people also expressed interest in the muscian/singer. So tada!

Name: Adam Eaton
Stage Name: N/A
Age: 18
Occupation: Musician/Singer, College Student

Adam and Sian (MC) grew up next door to each other on a small island in Hawaii. They've been close friends ever since a particularly awkward summer incident. He's laid back, relaxed, and generally likes to take things at his own pace. He spent most of his days writing bits of music as a way of avoiding doing homework. A producer recently discovered some of the songs he posted online and offered him a contract. His first single was a hit, and the sudden flood of attention is a bit overwhelming, but he's doing his best to take it in stride.

SPECIAL BONUS:

Late Sleeper - Adam Eaton by soymilk

Meet the Boys: Benito Kouyama

After an informal twitter survey, "magician," won pretty handily, so meet Benito Zero, one of the four main characters in Backstage Pass:

Name: Benito Kouyama
Stage Name: Benito Zero
Age: 15
Occupation: Street Magician, Misc. Jobs

Benito is a genius kid who developed a passion for magic after seeing a magic show on TV when he was a little boy. Ever since, he's devoted his free time to developing his own tricks. He's intelligent beyond his years, and he excels at reading peoples' emotions. However, he's very new to the game, and he can be impatient about getting his career going. He gives off an aura of being impulsive, but everything he does is calculated and precise.

Backstage Pass

Edit: Learn more at the official Backstage Pass website.

I'm currently zapping the last of the bugs and typos in Yousei, so now seems like a good time to let you all know what's up next. If you read my New Year post, you probably already noticed this. But hey! We're working on another otome game. Backstage Pass is the first otome game in our Green Tea line, and it will deal with the ever so popular theme of showbiz. The four main guys are a musician/singer, an actor, a model, and a magician - all at different stages in their careers (and varying ages). And before anyone asks, the lead girl does not get approached by an agent who totally sees something special in her and wants her to be a model now.

The main character is Sian Goodin, a young makeup artist currently trying to balance work with her first year of college. She's smart, skilled, and generally a friendly person, but she has a mild case of agoraphobia, which makes being in crowds difficult for her. Not the ideal situation for a girl who works with celebrities, but she makes it work.

Gameplay will be similar to RE: Alistair++, although it will cover a year's worth of time instead of just a month. While there will be romantic endings with each of the four lead males, there are sixteen endings total including cultivating strong friendships with other characters, or working your way up the professional ladder.

Once Yousei is out, keep your eyes open for more updates, including character profiles and cool features we'll be adding. Until then, please look forward to it!

Status Update Times!

Cinders, by MoaCube

Pretty much everything is done for this game short of the writing. Code, art, music, everything. Tom and I are both working on the writing, but there's a lot to do. This game is kind of incredible because there are a lot of choices, and they all make a difference, so the branching is kind of nuts. The cool part is that you can play the game a second time and see a completely different story. That means a loooot of writing. But hey, it'll all be worth it in the end!

The Flower Shop - Winter in Fairbrook, by Winter Wolves
This game is late, excuses and other things here, blah blah. This year has been a complete mess for me outside of making games, and unfortunately, that's done terrible things to my ability to work on games. The writing is all complete, AND I wrote a really cute bonus scene last week to apologize for taking so long to get this out. Soon, my friends. Really, really, soon.

hanami x 2, by sakevisual (Ooh, that's us!)

Sprites are done, backgrounds are done, and the game will likely have at least some original music in it. Where are we now? Making CGs, and I'm saving up to hire voice actors for at least the boys (maybe not for the lead female, we'll see). The artist for this game is working on a volunteer basis, so getting all the art done for it will take a while because it's not top priority for her.

Oneiro, by sakevisual

This feels almost backwards. Usually, recording the voices is the last step in creation, but in this case, all the voices are recorded already, but the art isn't really that close to being finished. Again, it's because it's a really low priority project for the artist, so it's coming along slowly. We have an original soundtrack, at least!

Jisei Chapter 03, by sakevisual

Although I'm still in the planning stages for this, Deji has already started on the sprite artwork for the main cast (Kan, Aki, Naoki, Li Mei, Miko), so the art is further along than the writing (There is no writing. Ha!). I already have a rough outline of the story from the initial planning stages for Jisei, but now I need to fill in the details like how people get killed. If the government ever gets their hands on my search history, I might be trouble. My current search history includes, "how much cyanide it takes to kill a person," "can you taste arsenic in a drink," "blunt force needed to kill a person," and "how to hide a corpse." Does that mean there will be cyanide, arsenic and hitting people? Maybe. Maybe not. Probably not. I can tell you that one body disposal might make you less hungry for a while. NO, not like that.

Something Else, lalala!

It's something else! It's something you've been asking for. It's something I've been hinting at. It WILL be part of the Green Tea Line, but I promise you won't be disappointed by it, and there will be plenty of free giveaway options and stuff. bo_o

Another something else~

Deji mentioned it in her blog here, and she and I are both really, really excited about this project. There's not much I can say about it yet because we're still trying to make it work. O_< But it won't be like a normal visual novel. Yup.

RE: Alistair++ Artbook

Thursday. Curses! I was so close to Wednesday, too. I've been doing a lot of catching up this week, updating the site, putting together a con schedule (coming soon!), and finally putting the coveted artbook up for sale on Lulu. The book features art from the game, along with several original pieces illustrated by tooaya, some guest art from others, and a short story about Rui and Fiona. It's $20 USD, so it's like buying a set of art prints for less than a dollar apiece. Use the code HOLIDAY305 by Dec.12th (2010) to get free ground shipping in the US.

Get the RE:A++ artbook now!

The boys of RE: Alistair - Part 03

As the release date for RE: Alistair approaches, it's time to introduce the third and final fellow in the story. This is Derek. He's the school's vice president, the highest scorer on the basketball team, and a total flirt. You would be too with looks like that. He was the most difficult to write because he's such a flirt. It doesn't take much for him to offer to be your boyfriend, so he clearly is pretty relaxed about relationships. But that makes it harder for you to develop a REAL relationship with him instead of a shallow one. Difficult, indeed. Good luck.

The boys of RE: Alistair - Part 02

Next up on the list of boys! Shiro~ The nice guy. Because nice guys ROCK. He's your classmate, and generally just a nice guy to hang with. He's pretty shy, though, and he tends to keep his personal feelings to himself. It might be easy to get along with him, but you have a long way to go before you can get him to open up.

The boys of RE: Alistair - Part 01

It's been awhile since my last update. I've been working pretty hard this last week, but it's all been boring stuff like "I edited more stuff today," so it hardly seems worth mentioning. But I figured now would be a good time to spill a few more beans on RE: Alistair. It's moving along very smoothly, but I like being enigmatic about stuff. owo But hey, I'm not THAT mean. And since the hard and fast deadline is the end of February, it's not like I'll be making you wait that long after showing you all this nice stuff.

And with that, here's the first boy from RE: Alistair. I was going to save my favorite one for last, but I actually don't have a favorite this time around. I'm very fond of all of them. As you may have guessed from the first image, this fellow's name is Travis. He's the president of the computer games club and he doesn't like casual gamers. He considers them to be all very "low level." In terms of personality, he's wonderful and friendly with people he gets along with, but don't expect him to even bother to look at you twice if you're not a friend. He gets irritated easily, too. So don't irritate him. owo

Two Month Challenge Update

Well, it's been a week already, and the team for the whatever the snet this thing is (I honestly still have no clue what it is, but hey I've got a cool team and we're making a game, so it doesn't matter) is doing that thing that we do. Namely, art, writing, and programming. We've been clipping along at a pretty good pace, so now is probably a good time to start dropping hints. The name of the game is Re: Alistair, and it's an otome game. As for whether or not it's an otome romance...well, that remains to be seen. owo Here's a sketch of our lovely heroine, Merui (although she prefers the name Rui). Her hobbies include shopping, procrastinating, and playing Rivenwell Online. Aaaaand I think that's enough information for one day. owo

Statistics:
The game contains 269 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 2693 words,
for an average of 10.0 words per screen.
The game contains 2 menus.