"Magic Mirror" is a unique little indie game. It combines match-3 mechanics with RPG elements and gal game-style multiple endings, which makes the game quite engaging and stimulating. (although stimulation only last for a min or 3)
As for the match-3 gameplay, it's essentially an extension of classic tile-matching games like Mahjong, which are already popular in this world. So, I'm not worried about players accepting it.
But "Magic Mirror's" selling point isn't just the match-3 mechanics.
The real charm lies in the story and the CG illustrations. Cough ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )
But I wasn't worried because I knew that Ruan Ningxue had this strength, and so did I.
I quickly completed a GDD-related setting, focusing on Match-3 gameplay with different upgrade routes. Afterward, I started writing the story.
In the first story, the female character is a drow thief who sneaks into a lord's treasury to steal and help the poor, but she doesn't expect that the lord is secretly a devil. She falls into the hands of this devil. Later on, the player can choose one of two paths: a pure love warrior or a tauren warrior.
(˵¯͒〰¯͒˵)
In the second story, a female general from ancient times accidentally travels to modern society and meets an otaku. However, due to the time travel, she loses her powers and becomes nearly helpless. Depending on the player's choices, the story can end in a happy conclusion as a pure love warrior, or a darker but emotionally moving ending. In the latter, the modern-day otaku commits evil acts against the female general as a punishment they both travel back to ancient times. Despite the war nearing defeat, the otaku sacrifices his chance to return to the modern age, choosing to die alongside her.
I also thought about stories involving zombies and dragon knights of reincarnation. For now, I decided to focus on these four stories, mainly because of the lack of funds. Match-3 gameplay, voice acting, and purchasing BGM rights all require money.
Money was too much of a problem. Sure, a deposit of more than 10,000 yuan wasn't reliable, but loans from payment bars, credit cards are unmanageable.
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The next morning, Ruan Ningxue sat beside me in my flat, looking at the brief storyboard of a hand-drawn story I had worked on it overnight. She had her digital control board and laptop open, and she wore an odd expression.
"I didn't expect you to make this kind of game!" she exclaimed.
"You're a talented game designer and cartoonist, but I still think you'd be better off drawing books with me! With both our talents, we could definitely make a name for ourselves. Many well-known cartoonists followed this path, starting with book illustrations and then gaining fans."
Ruan Ningxue looked at the document I'd put together. Her strategy was clear—she thought I was wasting my talents by working on games. Her biggest weakness was storytelling, and creating fan fiction was her way of improving. But now, after seeing my short stories, she was impressed. I had pure love, dark, and reincarnation themes all in one.
"Thank you for the compliment," I said politely, "but I'll pass."
"Okay," she responded cheerfully.
"Next time, I'll create an illustration in order. But unlike comics, these will need to be fully coloured and more detailed."
"Exactly. The plot doesn't need to be shown through the pictures, though. It will come out mainly through dialogue," I explained.
"I get it. So, we'll make the pictures more detailed, and focus on the charm of the female characters, like the homepage of a fan book. Don't worry, I've got this!" she replied enthusiastically.
"Yeah, that's one way to think of it," I nodded.
"If everything's clear, we can start today."
Ruan Ningxue smiled, gave me a thumbs-up, and opened her software.
The development of "Magic Mirror" went smoother than I expected. Most of the non-critical art assets were outsourced, allowing me to focus on the black-skinned elf, the dragon girl, the female general, and the zombie girl—our four initial characters.
As for the soundtrack, while I could've done it myself, it was time-consuming and exhausting. It was more efficient to purchase rights for one. The only things I couldn't compromise on were the drawing and voice acting. These were the two most important aspects of "Magic Mirror."
"Perfect!" I exclaimed, though I noticed Ruan Ningxue's illustration needed some tweaking.
I couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. In my previous life, I wasn't a complete nobody in the gaming industry. I'd met some of the industry's biggest names at summits and even exchanged ideas with them. Naturally, I knew a thing or two about art, and the inspiration I got from concept designers in my past life was invaluable.
For example, Yang Qi, who produced *God of War*,
and Sejima of the *Persona* series,
along with Tefa Nomura, the art concept designer for Tina in *Final Fantasy 7*, are well-known figures in the industry. I had a deep understanding of their designs in my previous experiences.
However, when it comes to character design, Ruan Ningxue really gave me an amazing feeling, and her talent should not be underestimated!
Of course, it's not without its shortcomings. After all, the artistic performance in games is different from that of comics.
Even as illustrations in a gal game, the style is different from comics.
"That's it! It's really not the same as the fan art book," Ruan Ningxue said thoughtfully after hearing my explanation.
"Yeah, even in a visual novel game, the illustrations in the middle are completely different from comics," I nodded slightly and added.
Inside our rented house, I continued chatting with Ruan Ningxue about some of the key details.
The game as a whole was basically finished.
The only thing left was the voice acting.
For this kind of beautiful girl game, voice acting is one of the most important aspects.
In fact, the budget allocated for this part is one of the largest portions of the entire game.
Of course, I didn't plan to dub the entire game. That would overshoot the budget. Dubbing just the more important lines would suffice.
As for the male protagonist in the story?
Voice acting for him? Definitely not!
(╬⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾ Д ⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾)