ABOUT THE GAME
Some Context:
Like all good college students, one must eventually do that big ol' project at the end of their degree, sometimes referred to as a Capstone. That's what this is for!
Inspired by the magical girl genre of anime and Season 5 Episode 4 of Brooklyn 99 "The Box", this visual novel serves as both a sendoff to my bachelor's degree and a welcome to my master's. The project is meant to encapsulate all of what I have been able to learn and apply in my past four years at UAFS while also combining my personal tastes, styles, and loves when it comes to visual narrative.
Inspired by the magical girl genre of anime and Season 5 Episode 4 of Brooklyn 99 "The Box", this visual novel serves as both a sendoff to my bachelor's degree and a welcome to my master's. The project is meant to encapsulate all of what I have been able to learn and apply in my past four years at UAFS while also combining my personal tastes, styles, and loves when it comes to visual narrative.
The Story:
It is several decades in the future. Earth has managed to achieve extra-dimensional travel and communications, which means all kinds of shit happens to come to us, too. To combat the newfound monsters roaming Earth and the Other Worlds, the Magical Solider Initiative is formed and recruits civilians to be magically-empowered super soldiers capable of defeating these threats. It also helps that they get paid.
But with new powers comes new ways of humanity finding the worst ways to use them. Just like most other police departments across the world, the Cityville Metropolitan Area's Police Department (MPD) has created a special unit to handle crimes involving Magical Soldiers: the Magical Crimes Investigations Department (MCID). This, new friend, is where you come in!
You play as Detective Matilde "Matti" Garcia, a high-ranking plainclothes detective in the MPD's MCID. She gets called in by her partner, Thaddeus Landry, to interrogate a new witness brought in: 18 year old Serafina Jane-Young. Serafina called in the murder of her childhood best friend Arlyn, and she's currently the only witness and suspect. With Matti, you must talk to Serafina, break down her walls, learn her secrets, and find out if she committed this crime. Furthermore, you must find out why. After all, it's not every day two childhood best friends, girls who've known each other since kindergarten, end up as Magical Girls let alone dead.
But with new powers comes new ways of humanity finding the worst ways to use them. Just like most other police departments across the world, the Cityville Metropolitan Area's Police Department (MPD) has created a special unit to handle crimes involving Magical Soldiers: the Magical Crimes Investigations Department (MCID). This, new friend, is where you come in!
You play as Detective Matilde "Matti" Garcia, a high-ranking plainclothes detective in the MPD's MCID. She gets called in by her partner, Thaddeus Landry, to interrogate a new witness brought in: 18 year old Serafina Jane-Young. Serafina called in the murder of her childhood best friend Arlyn, and she's currently the only witness and suspect. With Matti, you must talk to Serafina, break down her walls, learn her secrets, and find out if she committed this crime. Furthermore, you must find out why. After all, it's not every day two childhood best friends, girls who've known each other since kindergarten, end up as Magical Girls let alone dead.
The Game:
In this visual novel, like most visual novels, you will be able to make choices throughout this interrogation that dramatically effects which ending you get. You can play good cop, bad cop, pragmatic cop, and more. There are also plenty of chances to reroute yourself if you don't like the path you're on.
As of 12/05/2022 the DEMO is the only playable version available, and it only covers Act 1 of this three act story. In it, you will be able to achieve two separate endings while also learning about the features offered. In the full version, new features such as note-tracking and file viewing will be available, but as of the aforementioned date, they are not available in the current DEMO release.
As of 12/05/2022 the DEMO is the only playable version available, and it only covers Act 1 of this three act story. In it, you will be able to achieve two separate endings while also learning about the features offered. In the full version, new features such as note-tracking and file viewing will be available, but as of the aforementioned date, they are not available in the current DEMO release.
The Developers and Their Helpers:
This visual novel is created, written, and drawn for by me, Sam Roberts! The official co-developer of this visual novel project is Elijah Whittle, a computer science and mathematics student at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. With his coding knowledge and my artistic vision, the goal is to complete the game by Summer of 2023.
Additional help has been given by the following:
Additional help has been given by the following:
- Nakata Whittle — Art Assistant
- Kate Gervey — Art Assistant
- Kip Pheasant — Art Aid
- Cole Cotta — Art Aid
- Sophie Harflett — Graphic Design Aid