Hello everyone, I'm Cydewyn and am recruiting for a project for Battle Action Fantasy Jam & TM/F romance jam. The intention is to submit this project to both jams and there will be elements suited for both.

I have previously participated in over 7 visual novel jams & successfully submitted to all of them. I've held roles ranging from editor to writer to programmer and am intending to be the editor & programmr for this project (as well as being able to fill in on background art if necessary). My itch.io, including almost all submissions, is here: https://cydewyn.itch.io/

I want to be fully transparent, so I will state that this is my first time solo leading a team. We currently have all audio & programming roles filled. The project will only occur if enough people join to get a team large enough for attempted submission; I would rather avoid wasting anyone's time. We currently have open writing & art roles.

Ages 18+ heavily preferred; ages 17+ required. I will check reddit profiles to make sure that this is upheld.

Pitch

The heroes confronted the shadow lord, but, unfortunately, things went sideways. As the dust settled, only Daedelus (the one non-super-powered member of his team) and Pythagora (the “mathical” girl - as she’ll sometimes joke) remain standing. The two decide to join up. After all, anyone is better than going alone and, besides, they’ve worked together before. But things get awkward when Daedelus’s helmet falls off and Pythagora realizes that he’s actually her good friend [insert name here] - her cute math lab partner. Who she’s been crushing on for years.

At the same time, being close to Pythagora for the very first time, Daedelus realizes the exact same thing in reverse. Considering the circumstances, it’s easy for the two to put things off for a little while. But both know they can’t do that for very long... not when they’re stuck together for now.

Note: All names are alter-ego names. The characters' actual names are undetermined. Pythagora's name can also be changed (I was lazy and just wanted it to reference a famous mathematician since magical girls in this world draw magic from their passion - which hers is math).

What we are looking for: Writers

I am intending to help some on the writing, but (as this is my first time solo-leading a project) I would rather not be the sole writer/editor. Familiarity/enjoyment of magical girls, superheroes, and/or romance is ideal. Especially comfort writing teen romance (which is definitely not my strong suit). The intention is to let the reader make choices as both characters at different points (if it seems to fit). I am intending to handle most of the proofing/editing. If none of the writers are trans, I'll likely also look for a sensitivity reader. The jam requires explicit acknowledgement that the MMC is trans, which I would like to make sure is done well (it'll likely be in the flashback scenes). Overall outline I have so far:

1. The FMC & MMC meet up after their teams are defeated by the shadow lord. They decide to team up.
2. In the next battle scene, MMC's helmet falls off and they realize who the other is.
3. Flashback scenes revealing their past relationship and/or some other elements (initial thought is to have this occur in math lab).
4. The two try to ignore it, another battle. Optional: Villain taunts them for ignoring their feelings and/or being awkwardly romantic.
5. They defeat the shadow lord & ending CG (do they start a romance or just, awkwardly, continue to ignore it).

I am open to changing this to better suit any writers recruited. This was just to give an idea of how I saw this going. These are not established OCs.

What we are looking for: Artists

I do not have a full set of art requirements just yet. In terms of art styles, a style with more defined art work likely suits due to my plan for the appearance of the shadow realm (which is intended to reduce work) - think older anime like the old Yugi-Oh anime.

Background Art info: For the shadow realm, the intention is to go for a lower-effort, less-complex style because it is meant to be flat/featureless. Very low complexity. Outside of the shadow realm, there will likely be 1-2 backgrounds (one for the math classroom; maybe one for the ending). If all other roles are filled and this is the thing preventing production, I'll likely do it (you can see my skill level on my portfolio; I did one background for A Stitch in Time as well as my background asset).

The exact division of sprite art / CGs is as of yet undecided (need to see where the script goes). There will definitely be at least 3 CGs (one for the helmet falling off scene and two for the possible endings). Because the jam is the Battle Action Fantasy jam, there will quite possibly be more CGs. I am planning to try to use as many asset reduction tactics as possible (ex: panning to sections of the image, zooming into faces, showing only parts of image) which may require characters to be on a different layer to execute well. As for sprite art, there will be three sprites will full designs. None are completed (will share descriptions below). All enemies will be shadows (in the forms of the heroes' teammates) which are shown as silhouettes to reduce assets needed.

Character Descriptions

FMC: Magical girl with frizzy, curly hair & glasses. I have a body reference image for what I am thinking as a base (& a badly done, non-binding sketch). The math element should likely be brought in somehow.

MMC: No clear image set, except that he wears a powersuit / suit of armor with a helmet of some kind which falls off. Think something like Tech Jacket (Invincible) or Ironman (Marvel).

Shadow Lord: No clear plan here. I'm fully intending to just let the artists have free reign. Very stereotypical villain.