Undead Lily gameplay ?

Previously known simply as "Undead Lily" or "Undead Lily and The Elemental Avengers"
Troyen
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by Troyen »

*Ahem*
Troyen wrote:If you strip the cards out, perhaps you could sell a UL-theme card game as an addon? Like the base Undead Lily game is the VN, and for an additional price you can add card gameplay? Seems like a waste of all that card art.
I don't think the PSCD gameplay was bad, so ruling out a UL card game of some type seems a shame. Whether or not you bundle it with the UL VN or make it a companion release targeted at card gamers (who will hopefully like the characters enough some of them try out the VN), I think there are still ways to make it work.

Besides, the art style is totally different, so that may also have some impact.
Troyen
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by Troyen »

Hearthstone adventures comes the closest I can think of to story + card game, and people buy those (and they're priced at $25, but with an AAA brand name). So I think story and cards can work.

Though if you were to do it again, I'd suggest having the focus be on the cards in the player's deck rather than micromanaging all the cards in the team decks. Being able to choose your teammate was cool. Your ideal teammate having not-so-great cards and needing cards from a character you didn't like as well was a bit of a detriment. (And the interface for juggling cards across sixteen characters was kind of confusing.) Naturally, the player would still earn cards over the course of the game, but there's really one growing/upgradeable set instead of sixteen.
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jack1974
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by jack1974 »

PSCD gameplay was good - nobody actually criticized it. At least those who actually played it :lol:
And yes both the art style and setting are very different, and considering how many people criticized the art, that might have been the main reason.

Hearthstone adventures have NO STORY. Just a setting and maybe 10 words :lol: That's the problem, people don't want to read 100k words, they want to play a game.

And of course it's not like I can redo the story now.

Haha, decisions, decisions. No matter what I'll do, it will be the wrong one :mrgreen:
Rebly82
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by Rebly82 »

It's up to you, Jack! :)

But I was wondering, why can't you stick to your original plan? It seems the problem with PSCD was more due to the artwork than gameplay. No one really criticized the card game (most seem to find it fun), but there have been comments on the art not being the style that fits their taste (I think the artist did a good job, but it veers towards realistic and western, which might make animanga fans think it unsuitable for them). But Undead Lily has an anime style, so it will attract the correct people.
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jack1974
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by jack1974 »

Of course I could "take the risk", and hope PSCD problem was really the art. I honestly think UL would sell more just for the anime art (it has a very good quality) and the sheer amount of CGs. (and they are ahem VERY hot, some more than Loren's :lol:).
My main issue is that maybe some card game players wouldn't buy it because there's a lot to read. As posted elsewhere for RPGs is a minor problem. Sure I got people complaining that SOTW had too much text, but it was really a minority. RPG players are used to read (unless they only played Diablo or action RPGs).
So I fear that maybe I put effort on the card game, and then a lot of potential customers/card game players wouldn't play it because of the VN part.
I guess I could avoid this if I offer some kind of "battle mode" though...
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jack1974
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by jack1974 »

Nevermind, I just built a test version and started reading it. There's definitely a lot of texts to read. This can't work with anything but a visual novel. No card/rpg player is going to read 242 lines of text before a choice shows up. :lol:
Don't get me wrong, I think the story is well written, but the problem is that visual novels now sell really poorly, so I'm not sure it's worth finishing it as a VN. I need to pause everything a moment and rethink the whole thing.
Recently I've been doing too many things at once, making too many mistakes.
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Callista
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by Callista »

If I might put my two cents in... :wink:

I think making Undead Lily a pure VN could work if you have a solid enough story that customers will be interested in reading. I kind of disagree that pure VNs sell poorly. If they do, it's because the story just isn't good. I suppose that's why I place story and writing to be so important, even more so than art.

I think that people who buy and play your games are used to more of a "game play" element like stat-raising, battle mode, etc. But I think it's ok to take a risk and leave this element out and go for a pure VN if you believe that the story itself will sell well. It might be a good idea to ask for a few beta readers to take a look at it and give their opinions and all. ^^
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jack1974
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by jack1974 »

True I should probably ask the opinions of some beta readers, since it's too personal (I mean I like the story but I honestly don't know if others would like it too). Not sure though who would want to read it (and spoil a bit the surprise while playing) ?
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Callista
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by Callista »

True but you can always ask for volunteers. I think that's what Hanako is doing for the Lily Princess game. (I may not have the exact name correct. XD) Also, it isn't necessary to make the beta readers read the entire story. Just the first couple of chapters will do so people can give their initial impressions. ^^
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jack1974
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Re: Undead Lily gameplay ?

Post by jack1974 »

OK well, if there are any volunteers then, I would really like to get some feedback on the first chapters of the story, to get a better idea if my opinion of the game is the same as others... :mrgreen:
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