Before cohost goes read-only, I thought I'd make a summary post of the game I've been working on since 2011.
HERO is a mecha science fiction visual novel set in the near future, 2048. In 2040, an alien invasion wiped out a third of Earth's population (~3 billion people) in the space of ten days before vanishing as suddenly as they appeared. In the eight years since the attack, humanity has been working tirelessly on both rebuilding what was destroyed, as well as preparing to fend off a second invasion, if one were to happen again.
One of the efforts to protect the future is the development of large, twenty meter tall robots with human pilots (very much in the vein of other mecha stories). Since this project is just getting off the ground, training pilots is critical. In addition to training existing soldiers as pilots, preparations are also made to pre-train students in high school to get them to a position of being easier to fully train after graduation.
The story takes place at one such high school, where the student body, in addition to their regular classes, trains in piloting these giant robots, the HERO (Human Enhanced Robotic Operants). The story follows Kuroto Hiroshi, a second-year, along with eleven other classmates, including his two sisters, as they learn how to pilot the HERO along with all the other travails of high school life.
This visual novel has seven routes, each one focusing on a different "heroine" though the main plot of the story remains the same regardless of route. The story is split up into three acts, across 49 chapters, with the script currently sitting at about 8.1 million words (approximately 1 million will be seen on a given playthrough).
There are 369 background locations, with time of day and weather variations as is typical. Being an architect, setting is very important to me, which is why I started development by creating a full 3D model of the entire city from which to render out background art, as well as inform how the story unfolds.
In addition to the main cast of twelve, there are thirty-six supporting cast members that will be getting character art. Sprites will have up to five poses, one for each of the main emotional states (happy, sad, angry, afraid, and neutral). Main cast members have an average of sixteen outfits, while supporting members have just a couple.
There will also be about two dozen giant robot models featured in the story, each built on the same skeleton, but with different design elements making up their armor and armaments.
The visual language draws on Celtic mythology, and will employ the use of illuminated manuscript style artwork in certain situations (e.g. chapter title cards, pause menu, etcetera). Celtic myth also informs aspects of the story, and is the main inspiration for the design of the HERO themselves, each one named after a famed hero and connected thematically to their legends.
Being such a large and dense project, this summary only touches on the surface. Check out more information on the official website.