Jean Townsend's writing blog

preliminary concept sketches for Guenevere

Before I say anything else, I should say that Guenevere is still a looooong way away from commercial publication. I estimate that if all goes well, it will take me a year to write each book. (I’ll make the beta of each book available as I finish it.) That’s the drawback of having a demanding day job. The advantage is that, since I’m not writing with a deadline or a need to support myself financially, I can take the time I need to produce the best-quality game I’m capable of.

Even though publication is a long way away, it’s still fun to think about. I’d like to give people who played the beta a reason to buy the final product. I don’t plan on withholding the last chapter or anything mean like that – if you stick with me over the next few years, you should be able to play the whole thing for free before I publish it. But if possible I’d like to add some extra content for the commercial version, maybe a few more side-branches or another romance path – nothing essential to the main plot, just more things to play around with. Another way to add value to the commercial version would be to include some artwork, which is an option I’ll think about seriously when the time comes.

Not long after I posted the beta, I got some really nice feedback and great ideas from professional illustrator and author Joanne Renaud. She asked if I’d be interested in commissioning some concept art for Guenevere, and I couldn’t resist! Since it’s going to be years before I’d need finished illustrations, we settled on doing just a few sketches for now.

I know that I don’t ever want to produce “official” character portraits. One of the great advantages of a text-based story is that readers can picture the characters however they like. I love seeing hugely different interpretations of a character in fanart. So the game won’t include character illustrations (other than the fae pet), but that doesn’t mean there’s no room for artwork. Small spot illustrations could add a lot to the mood and immersion of the game. The game could even display different illustrations depending on variables and choices, so if Guen casts a spell the reader sees swirly magic lines, and if she uses a sword the reader sees a sword. And, of course, the fae pet could appear as a cat or a dog depending on what the reader chooses.

So Joanne and I came up with a few things to try out. At some point I’ll play around with including these sketches in the game and see what happens. And then, I hope, years from now when the game is closer to publication, we can think about some finished, full-color illustrations.

Joanne has produced all kinds of gorgeous art, and you should check her out on DeviantArt and tumblr. I’m really honored that an already-established professional has taken an interest in my own work, and I’m looking forward to seeing how we might be able to work together to make the finished game a truly unique experience.