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Life in Helsinki. [slice of life] WIP

ianic
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 13:31:13 GMT

Hi everyone, I've been following this forum for a few months now and decided like many to learn Fungus and create my first visual novel. THE PROJECT The market I am aiming for are girls between 12 and 32 ( approx. ). The visual novels is about finding your place in the world, against all odds... I'm collaborating with an Italian illustrator and just got a proofreader on-board. I also found a great composer. Like most show-string productions teams, I wear many hats. I do the writing, implementation, prepare all the art, draw the UI and half the background art. Last, I decided to try to see if I could create something respectable in Unity3d. I already know how to get around in that tool and can do a lot without any coding using Fungus. (yeah! ) SO WHATs THE GAME? Lottie is a young adult who just finished university and goes to Helsinki to start an internship in a law firm. As you expect, nothing goes as planned and we follow her struggles from the moment she arrives...New roommates, new career, new town. PROGRESS Beside Lottie, the game offers ten more characters a nd twelve locations. All the characters are completed with different expressions. For the main character we have three poses and have created a good number of facial expressions. (see attached images )All other characters have between 2 and 5 expressions depending on their involvement in the story. --Writing. The game will last seven chapters and a good draft is done for all of them. Chapters 1 to 5 are pretty solid, the proofreading will start soon. --Characters. They are all done and in the game. I just need to export more expressions, perhaps also optimize the workflow. --Backgrounds. This is my main focus these days, and it's progressing nicely. I'm building the scene in 3D with a toon shader then in a 2d package I'm finalizing the look with other 2d elements. --Fungus The implementation is also going nicely, chapters 1 to 5 are in the engine, other are coming in at a steady pace. CAN I PLAY? Each chapter takes about 15 minutes to complete and it's possible to play chapter 1 online https://doubletongamestudio.itch.io/life-in-helsinki Password : Lottie If you have some time, please try the game and tell me what you think. [Faceset](//muut.com/u/fungus/s1/:fungus:UoL1:faceset.jpg.jpg) [Screens](//muut.com/u/fungus/s3/:fungus:eyEK:screens.jpg.jpg)

soundsidegames
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 14:11:16 GMT

I played! Nice atmosphere and artwork. I ended up in the apartment with 2 female roommates lol. Good job and good luck with the rest of the project

wolfrug
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 15:47:49 GMT

Nice! Being a Finn myself, I can't help but wonder what your relationship to Finland is :D Live here? Moved here? Visited? It was really nicely done otherwise, and I really enjoyed all of the characters and the budding drama all around. Felt very real. There were a few typos here and there, but I'm sure the proofreading will pick those up.

ianic
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 17:13:54 GMT

@wolfrug @soundsidegames Thank you for trying out the game at this early stage. Indeed some typos to fix. I'll put proofreading a priority for the next build. About Finland, I was looking for trendy cities with a hipster young culture vibe... Montreal is one of them and my first choice ( it's home) but Helsinki also made the list and for me, had a more romantic feel and mystery to it. ( I lived in Hamburg and have been around Europe...but never in Finland..) Did some research, then decided on it. Of course, I know I want to travel there, write from there...but also, I've started my own game company a year ago. ( doubletongamestudio.com )...and we have a few projects moving forward...Perhaps once all the art is completed...At least now I know someone there. ;)

wolfrug
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 18:23:41 GMT

Sweet. I lived in Montreal for about a month one summer for my 'stage'. It's a beautiful city, amazing culture, food, views...climbing up Mont Real was a b*tch, but totally worth it for the poutines on top ;) Much nicer than Toronto too. SO. A few things then: Arriving by train to Helsinki. I was going to protest that this didn't make any sense, as the only international airport in Helsinki is IN Helsinki, and there didn't use to be any train connection at all (only buses). But you're in luck: a quick google tells me there is now a brand spanking new (2017) local train connection from the airport to Pasila, from where you can take another train to the main train station. So Lottie would've made at least one switch already by the time she arrives. Here's the page with info: https://www.vr.fi/cs/vr/en/keharata_en (Lentoasema is the airport on that map). She could also of course have taken a ferry from e.g. Sweden to Turku, and the train from there, but that seems a little unlikely. Another option would be to come by train from Russia, but travelling through Russia requi res all kinds of visas and things and wouldn't make a lot of sense unless she's been visiting there for other reasons. Oh, a small detail about trains: all the Finns get up and start crowding the doors as soon as the automated train voice tells you that the next station is (whatever), so by the time the train arrives everyone is ready to get off :D It's a very civilized queueing though, but yeah. People sometimes stand for five minutes waiting for the train to arrive at the station. Also, all announcements will be in Finnish, then Swedish, then English, and most signs will also be bilingual (Finnish / Swedish) or trilingual. "Otis" as a name exists in Finland, I suppose, although I've never really heard it before. I think most Finns would associate it with elevators (http://www.otisworldwide.com/site/fi/pages/RequestInformation_Finland.aspx). If you want to check, you can always use the Population Register Center's name service (https://verkkopalvelu.vrk.fi/nimipalvelu/default.asp?L=3) - it lets you look for first and surnames to see how popular they are. Eerika and Marja are common and normal names though :D Annnnd one final thing, although you can't quite tell in the animation: dogs never go free in cities in Finland, everyone keeps them leashed. This includes parks, unless they're dog parks (of which we have tons and tons). Out in the countryside dogs will run free when out on walks, but otherwise no. We have -no- street dogs, and if I saw a dog running around without its human I'd immediately assume it's lost and would try to catch it. Just as an FYI, since I know that in a lot of places in the world (including Montreal!) walking your dog without a leash in the city is normal :) Heh, that turned into a giant wall of text. Be aware that half of the population of the Internet is Finnish, so you'll run into a LOT of us out there. But I think most of us will just be super happy to help with whatever incidental details you need or want. One not-bad idea might be to get a native to "culture proof read" the text as well, just to iron out any obvious offenders! Best of luck!

ianic
Wed, 18 Apr 2018 22:14:52 GMT

@wolfrug Thanks for the wall of text. Very insightful. Indeed, in my mind, Lottie is arriving via Russia. I'll see if I should add more details best on your comments. Great additional info, I took notes. You're welcome to join me on Discord Ian#5581 if you want more game updates or talk fungus. I'd love to have a Finn helping make the game culture proof...

ianic
Thu, 22 Nov 2018 19:20:05 GMT

Hi everyone, I finally manage to finish the game.( it was in proofreading limbo out of my hands for 3months... ) Here is the official trailer. I'll soon make it available on a site where people can buy it. Here is the trailer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJd-15zH8_c

wolfrug
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 05:41:30 GMT

Exciting!! Looking forward to seeing the final product! :)

grimork
Fri, 23 Nov 2018 20:38:09 GMT

I am from Russia. Not from Moscow, but from real hardcore Russia. I believe, for almost any Russian moving from Russia to Finland is like moving from hell to heaven. Doubt, there are much to struggle in Helsinki for Russian.

ianic
Thu, 03 Jan 2019 12:24:04 GMT

Hi Everyone, we released Life in Helsinki yesterday on steam ( Finally! ) Made with fungus :D [Lifeonsteam800](//muut.com/u/fungus/s1/:fungus:VrxF:lifeonsteam800.jpg.jpg) https://store.steampowered.com/app/989750/Life_In_Helsinki/