Grace's Project Idea/This Thread Doesn't Have a Witty Title

[Amazing_Grace]

Everyone else is posting about gameplay. Haha. I don't have gameplay, but I WILL post about how to go about reading the story once it's published.

There are four main components to the story: Communications, Lessons, Auditions, and Story Events.
Communications kinda make up the bulk of the story. Just like how there are tons of different options for promotions in SP, I intend for there to be multiple options for communications in this story. The reader can glance at the title of the communication and decide whether they want to read through that one or skip it.
Communications will be written much like a visual novel, except minus the "visual" part, but not just a "novel" because it's different, but it isn't really a choose-your-own-adventure novel because it's more like a VN even though it isn't visual. What was I talking about again...? Oh, right. Communications.
The producer will think over up to three possible things to say to his idol at various points during the communication. Each option leads to a different communication: Perfect, Normal, or Bad. Example:
"I really like pie!" Idol Name exclaimed.
I thought about how to react to her random statement. She looked like the kind of girl that would like blueberry pie, but her personality screamed peach. Maybe I should just say, "Oh," or something like that.
Reader will then decide what they would say in that situation out of the options given and will scroll around until they find the ending that uses the option they would. Perfect communication is written using the best option, Normal communication the so-so option, and Bad communication the worst option. Example:
I decide to assume she likes blueberry. "Is blueberry your favorite, Idol Name?"
Idol Name gasps. "Producer! How could you possibly think that?! Do I just LOOK like the kind of girl that likes blueberry! It's peach, Producer! Peach is my favorite!"
Whoops. She doesn't seem happy. I guess I should have gone with peach after all...you really shouldn't judge based on appearances.
*BAD COMMUNICATION!*
Obviously, the actual communications won't be that AWFUL, and the idols (most of them) aren't that touchy, but that's basically how it's gonna go. If the reader would have chosen the correct answer (peach in this case) they would read through the Perfect communication example.
Every option will be explored, though not necessarily in every combination. In some cases, it will be up to the reader to decide how they think they did based on the way the idol reacted to what they said.

Did that make any sense? More to come in a minute.

[Amazing_Grace]

Lessons time!

Lessons vary from communications in that they are written out only twice: a bad lesson, and a good lesson. Though theoretically your lessons can be bad, normal, good and perfect, that's just a bit too much work for me considering my work ethic and the enormous amount of other stuff I'll be doing.
Due to this, I will also only write out EACH lesson ONCE PER IDOL. For instance, Performance lessons will be written out once for each idol, and each idol will have their good and bad lessons written out. I really hope that makes sense. I'm sorry.
While the producer/reader doesn't have to only give their idols lessons once throughout the whole story, any other time they wish to train their idol, they'll just have to go back and re-read the lesson they choose (or not, if they just want to say they took their idol to lessons and remember how everything went).
Good and Bad lessons obviously can't be decided by actually playing out the lesson. I would leave it reader's choice, but...what kind of person would deliberately CHOOSE a bad lesson? If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, I'd appreciate it.

Hopefully that's not confusing. More in a bit.

[liza94]

"I really like pie!" Idol Name exclaimed.
I thought about how to react to her random statement. She looked like the kind of girl that would like blueberry pie, but her personality screamed peach. Maybe I should just say, "Oh," or something like that.
Reader will then decide what they would say in that situation out of the options given and will scroll around until they find the ending that uses the option they would. Perfect communication is written using the best option, Normal communication the so-so option, and Bad communication the worst option. Example:
I decide to assume she likes blueberry. "Is blueberry your favorite, Idol Name?"
Idol Name gasps. "Producer! How could you possibly think that?! Do I just LOOK like the kind of girl that likes blueberry! It's peach, Producer! Peach is my favorite!"
Whoops. She doesn't seem happy. I guess I should have gone with peach after all...you really shouldn't judge based on appearances.
*BAD COMMUNICATION!*

Is it Uane's communication? I think she would say something like that.   May I produce this IdolMaster, please?

Lessons time!

Lessons vary from communications in that they are written out only twice: a bad lesson, and a good lesson. Though theoretically your lessons can be bad, normal, good and perfect, that's just a bit too much work for me considering my work ethic and the enormous amount of other stuff I'll be doing.
Due to this, I will also only write out EACH lesson ONCE PER IDOL. For instance, Performance lessons will be written out once for each idol, and each idol will have their good and bad lessons written out. I really hope that makes sense. I'm sorry.
While the producer/reader doesn't have to only give their idols lessons once throughout the whole story, any other time they wish to train their idol, they'll just have to go back and re-read the lesson they choose (or not, if they just want to say they took their idol to lessons and remember how everything went).
Good and Bad lessons obviously can't be decided by actually playing out the lesson. I would leave it reader's choice, but...what kind of person would deliberately CHOOSE a bad lesson? If anyone has any ideas on how to do this, I'd appreciate it.

Hopefully that's not confusing. More in a bit.

Why don't you make lessons a part of the story? It's a fanfiction, after all!

[Amazing_Grace]

Auditions!

Auditions depend on how your idol is feeling at the moment. If you got lots of bad communications and bad lessons throughout the story leading up to that point, obviously your idol will be in bad shape. Perfect/normal communications and good lessons will leave your idol feeling pretty good. Each audition will be written out as a pass or a fail. If you pass the audition, obviously you move on. If you fail, depending on the audition, you will either just be done right then and there or will re-do it starting a week back.
Auditions are decided based purely on your idols stats as you remember them. Of course, it's a book, so people can always just ignore this and read on as though they pass every time no matter their idol's status, but those who really want to feel like they're playing iDOLM@STER will want to keep track of the lessons and communications they achieved with their idol throughout, and choose which option to take dependent on that.
Stats will be told to readers as soon as they choose which idol to produce. As you get good lessons, stats will increase by a set amount. Bad lessons, contrary to SP, will actually DECREASE your idol's stats (I think in SP, a bad lesson just meant your stats remained the same). If your idol's stats are below ten in every area during an early, easier audition, she will fail. The higher and more difficult the audition, the higher the idol's stats need to be for her(/him) to pass. Stat requirements will be given at the beginning of the audition.

Auditions will be held against various other existing idol groups depending on how difficult it is, which introduces an important part of the story I will talk about later (haha now you're in suspense). These other idol groups (and by groups, I really mean individual idols) include 876 Pro, Jupiter, 765 Pro, and the All-Stars' old agencies 331 Pro and Dreamland Pro. The level of difficulty of the audition determines the agencies taking place (DP and 331 appear during relatively easy auditions, 876 appears during relatively hard auditions, and Jupiter and 765 appear during very difficult auditions).

Well. Next I'll be going over story events and then that special thing I mentioned earlier that I just thought of recently but really liked. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, critiques, let me know.

Still looking for votes on how to write it. I'm leaning towards twenty separate books.

[Amazing_Grace]

Is it Uane's communication? I think she would say something like that.   May I produce this IdolMaster, please?

Honestly, if that were going to be anyone's communication, it would probably be Uane's. Or maybe Benima's. They're the two most touchy.

But yes! Once everything is published, I'll let everyone know where, and you can get started on "producing" Uane. :3

Also, thanks for your support thus far, it really means a lot.

[Amazing_Grace]

Alright, story events!

Story events are just events that take place between the All-Stars and their families/friends/rivals throughout the book. Producer usually isn't involved, so story events are written in the third person, unlike communications/auditions/lessons which are written in first person from Producer's POV.
Story events don't really have any effect on the idol's idol life, but they help the reader kinda see how their idol of choice interacts with others when she's just being herself and isn't busy trying to impress Producer (or in Kenchi's case, trying to become a top idol so he can make money). They usually have something to do with the idol's personal dreams (Chiharu wants to have a skateboarding-shark-jumping-bull-racing-skeeboarding contest with Hibiki, Uane wants to please her mother, Soumin wants to show the world she can be a great idol, etc.), but sometimes are just random moments of funny because I got bored and needed to do something to get my mind back on track.

So yeah. Pretty easy to understand. Next I'll explain that special thing I mentioned earlier.

[Amazing_Grace]

Why don't you make lessons a part of the story? It's a fanfiction, after all!

Ah, just noticed this~

Well, technically, they ARE part of the story, I just don't know how to let people choose whether to have a good or bad lesson.

I could go through and write them out every time there was a possibility to do one, but as it is I already have to write out six different lessons two times for twenty different idols (OK, technically nineteen since Nami and Natsu count as one). That's 228 lessons to write. Yikes. You can see why I'd want to limit this as much as possible.
So yes. Lessons are part of the story. XD

I'm so sorry, I'm so bad at explaining stuff. I have it in my head, I just can't translate it into words.

[Amazing_Grace]

I spam the "recent posts" way too much with this thread.

Special Thing Time!

This special thing is the All-Stars' interactions with other idols.
After every audition, whether pass or fail, your idol of choice will spot someone she(/he) knows who competed against them. Producer/Reader can choose to either make his idol ignore this person or allow them to go speak to the other.

This has a HUGE effect (affect? I always mix those up~)  on your idol and whether or not her True Ending can be reached (I keep saying "her" because Kenchi doesn't even count anymore, you all know he's a dude), depending on which idol you choose and who you choose to let them talk to.
Some idols don't care about interacting with others. Some of the others don't have any effect on your idol of choice. But some combinations of All-Star and other idol will cause big changes in the way the idol behaves.

For instance, say you're producing Nami and Natsu, and you've just gone up against Jupiter in an audition. Nami is going nuts because, hey, Jupiter's hot and she's Nami. Natsu is feeling a little bit down for reasons Producer doesn't know. Natsu asks if she can take Nami to go talk to Jupiter.
Producer decides to let them.
Nami squeals in excitement and charges over to the trio, then eagerly begins telling them how obsessed she is and how much she adores them. Natsu follows her, and Producer watches.
When the twins are done, they return to Producer. Turns out Natsu was feeling upset because all the boys at her school treated her like one of them, and she wanted to be recognized as a girl. A chance to chat with the Idol Prince, Hokuto, was just what she needed--after all, a dose of Hokuto can work wonders on a wounded girl's soul.
Nami is thrilled too--she's always loved Jupiter and is ecstatic that she got a chance to say hello. Maybe next time she can chat with them too.
Congratulations! Both girls are satisfied, Jupiter seems OK with them, and everyone's happy.

Now, say your idol of choice is Benima. You've just finished going up against 876 in an audition and have lost. Benima spots the winning 876 idol and asks if it's alright to go speak with them for a moment. You decide to say no. Benima accepts this easily and agrees to go home with you. No change is made.

Conversely, let's say you're using Byakura, and you've just finished going against 331's Izuni, Byakura's best friend. Byakura won the audition, but for some reason she's feeling really down in the dumps. She asks if she can visit with Izuni for a bit. You say no.
Byakura is a bit surprised, but she's alright with it. Still, she seems really upset.
Say you go against Izuni again a few more times--sometimes you win, sometimes you lose--but every time, you refuse to allow Byakura to talk to Izuni.
Izuni seems upset. Byakura seems upset. In fact, Byakura is so upset that she barely has time to see Izuni, that her True Ending is negated completely, and she suffers from a mental breakdown from all the pressure of being an idol and the negative things that happened throughout.

Eventually, I plan to post profiles of the nine extra girls (six from 331, three from DP) that appear as friends/rivals in auditions for the All-Stars to talk to. After that's up I'll post a quick layout of the best way to achieve each All-Star's True Ending as according to their interactions with others.

As you see, for some of the girls, regardless of how great you treated her throughout the story, her True Ending can be negated just by the amount of times you do or do not let her speak with others.

[liza94]

Ah, just noticed this~

Well, technically, they ARE part of the story, I just don't know how to let people choose whether to have a good or bad lesson.

I could go through and write them out every time there was a possibility to do one, but as it is I already have to write out six different lessons two times for twenty different idols (OK, technically nineteen since Nami and Natsu count as one). That's 228 lessons to write. Yikes. You can see why I'd want to limit this as much as possible.
So yes. Lessons are part of the story. XD

I'm so sorry, I'm so bad at explaining stuff. I have it in my head, I just can't translate it into words.

Just describe lessons when you mention them for the first time, so does for auditions. I thought this project would be more like actual book rather than describtion of the game...

I spam the "recent posts" way too much with this thread.

Special Thing Time!

This special thing is the All-Stars' interactions with other idols.
After every audition, whether pass or fail, your idol of choice will spot someone she(/he) knows who competed against them. Producer/Reader can choose to either make his idol ignore this person or allow them to go speak to the other.

This has a HUGE effect (affect? I always mix those up~)  on your idol and whether or not her True Ending can be reached (I keep saying "her" because Kenchi doesn't even count anymore, you all know he's a dude), depending on which idol you choose and who you choose to let them talk to.
Some idols don't care about interacting with others. Some of the others don't have any effect on your idol of choice. But some combinations of All-Star and other idol will cause big changes in the way the idol behaves.

For instance, say you're producing Nami and Natsu, and you've just gone up against Jupiter in an audition. Nami is going nuts because, hey, Jupiter's hot and she's Nami. Natsu is feeling a little bit down for reasons Producer doesn't know. Natsu asks if she can take Nami to go talk to Jupiter.
Producer decides to let them.
Nami squeals in excitement and charges over to the trio, then eagerly begins telling them how obsessed she is and how much she adores them. Natsu follows her, and Producer watches.
When the twins are done, they return to Producer. Turns out Natsu was feeling upset because all the boys at her school treated her like one of them, and she wanted to be recognized as a girl. A chance to chat with the Idol Prince, Hokuto, was just what she needed--after all, a dose of Hokuto can work wonders on a wounded girl's soul.
Nami is thrilled too--she's always loved Jupiter and is ecstatic that she got a chance to say hello. Maybe next time she can chat with them too.
Congratulations! Both girls are satisfied, Jupiter seems OK with them, and everyone's happy.

Now, say your idol of choice is Benima. You've just finished going up against 876 in an audition and have lost. Benima spots the winning 876 idol and asks if it's alright to go speak with them for a moment. You decide to say no. Benima accepts this easily and agrees to go home with you. No change is made.

Conversely, let's say you're using Byakura, and you've just finished going against 331's Izuni, Byakura's best friend. Byakura won the audition, but for some reason she's feeling really down in the dumps. She asks if she can visit with Izuni for a bit. You say no.
Byakura is a bit surprised, but she's alright with it. Still, she seems really upset.
Say you go against Izuni again a few more times--sometimes you win, sometimes you lose--but every time, you refuse to allow Byakura to talk to Izuni.
Izuni seems upset. Byakura seems upset. In fact, Byakura is so upset that she barely has time to see Izuni, that her True Ending is negated completely, and she suffers from a mental breakdown from all the pressure of being an idol and the negative things that happened throughout.

Eventually, I plan to post profiles of the nine extra girls (six from 331, three from DP) that appear as friends/rivals in auditions for the All-Stars to talk to. After that's up I'll post a quick layout of the best way to achieve each All-Star's True Ending as according to their interactions with others.

As you see, for some of the girls, regardless of how great you treated her throughout the story, her True Ending can be negated just by the amount of times you do or do not let her speak with others.

That's a good idea!

[Amazing_Grace]

Just describe lessons when you mention them for the first time, so does for auditions. I thought this project would be more like actual book rather than description of the game...

I definitely will, don't worry. :3 Everything will be described at least once. Each audition will be written out in it's entirety.
It's kinda like what would happen if you wrote out iDOLM@STER as a book with OCs and then added in various extra story events and...
Yeah.
I'm sorry if I disappointed you, aha...I think I mentioned somewhere near the beginning that it was going to be very much like iM@S: The Fanfiction. Did I...?

That's a good idea!

I'm glad you think so, because I'm actually quite proud of it. XD Helps distinguish this from other iM@S games so it's not like I'm just copying iM@S.

[liza94]

I'm sorry if I disappointed you, aha...I think I mentioned somewhere near the beginning that it was going to be very much like iM@S: The Fanfiction. Did I...?

You did, but I was afraid you had thought better of it.
You don't have to mention lessons in each chapter, if they don't important for the story. I don't think lessons are so special for me to decide if they go well or not. After all, idols also have days when nothing goes well (but Producer is always here to cheer the girl up ).

By the way, I want to produce Byakura too, and Enra, and all my favourites! Ah, I can't decide!

[Amazing_Grace]

You did, but I was afraid you had thought better of it.
You don't have to mention lessons in each chapter, if they don't important for the story. I don't think lessons are so special for me to decide if they go well or not. After all, idols also have days when nothing goes well (but Producer is always here to cheer the girl up ).

By the way, I want to produce Byakura too, and Enra, and all my favourites! Ah, I can't decide!

Nah, don't worry about it, my plan is still the same as it was before!
Thanks for the support.

Don't you worry, that's what this is all about! You can produce any idol you want! ...Once the books are out!

[Amazing_Grace]

Going to get started on the profiles of the eight extra girls and one extra boy you'll encounter in the book. When the whole thing is over, I might include a bonus book about them, kinda like...how you can unlock Project Fairy in Office Mode in SP.
Pictures will eventually be updated, but for now, just use your imagination. I've drawn them, but only a head, and it's not colored, and it's not good. XD So.

Name: Yamaguchi Gin
Age: 17
B-W-H: 79-55-76
Hobbies: Smoking, Driving
Image Color: Bronze
Gin is that kid your parents warned you about. She's the kid that smokes, skips school, drinks at parties, is disrespectful...you name it, Gin's probably done it. Truly, the only reason she became an idol was because her parents and everyone around her told her she couldn't, or that they hated what the idol world was turning into (in the case of her parents). In an act of ultimate defiance, Gin became an idol. Thankfully, she, like Yori, had just enough natural talent to get her into 331 without her having to work too hard. She tends to skip out on lessons, but proves to be a worthy competitor. Still, her natural talent wasn't enough to gain her consideration for the All-Stars.
Gin's dance stat is her highest stat. Despite her bad habits, she's actually very athletic and is able to pull off difficult maneuvers like backflips and handsprings onstage.
Gin's visual stat is below average. While she's decently attractive, she's almost always scowling and her face is littered with piercings (on her nose, ears, below her left eyebrow, and on her bottom lip). Her appearance is only detracted from as time goes on, as her bad habits begin to make her age faster and take a large toll on her health.
Gin's vocal stat is average at best. She can sing, but whether or not she can sing WELL is up for debate.
Gin may have the worst character of any idol ever, even Uane. Her soft spot exists, but is buried very, very deep. She tends to hang out by herself in the agency, skips out on lessons and jobs frequently, and is well known for doing everything as wrong as possible, even finding a boy and a paparazzi, and giving said boy a long smooch just to get herself in trouble. Poor boy. Honestly, it's a wonder Gin hasn't gotten fired yet.
Best Match: Tamura Yukari
Rival: Everyone
Best Friend: None
Fun Fact: Gin's name is meant to be pronounced “Jin”, but I decided to just start it with a “G” to represent the Chinese alcoholic drink because of Gin's habit of drinking. Gin is also the only idol under age 20 with a driving license (though whether or not the license is REAL is a point of debate among people she hangs out with).

[Amazing_Grace]

Name: Iruno Miyuzaki
Age: 18
B-W-H: 90-57-87
Hobbies: Eating, Wrestling
Image Color: Burgundy
Miyuzaki has long been known for her nice figure and her pretty face, but in reality she's a tomboy through-and-through. In fact, Miyuzaki is so much of a tomboy that she has made it her mission to make herself appear as manly as possible. Unfortunately, her search landed her in about the most girly career imaginable: an idol. Still, Miyuzaki chooses to do her best to achieve a great voice and give people something else to love her for.
Miyuzaki's dance stat is quite high, though not nearly high enough to be even a rival for more talented dancers. She's very athletic and flexible, but her moves often come across as too sharp, and people tend to worry that one day she'll break someone's arm while dancing or something.
Miyuzaki's visual stat is her highest stat, much to her disappointment. She has a pretty face, a good figure, and a nice style. In fact, her visual stat alone was almost enough to make Grace consider her for All-Stars, but in the end, Enra and Natsuki beat her out. She's also the only idol she knows of (besides Guru) with freckles.
Miyuzaki's vocal stat is her lowest stat. Despite the fact that her voice is pretty, it's also a bit out-of-control and can be a bit awkward sometimes. Still, she works hard.
Miyuzaki's character is quite high. She's hard-working, but is also very gruff and a little awkward to be around due to her weird balance of Manly-Man and Girly-Girl.
Best Match: Yuuki Aira
Rival: Ryo, in a friendly way. She likes to exchange tips with him about how to be manly.
Best Friend: Haru
Fun Fact: Miyuzaki likes to be called “Miyu-kun” since it makes her sound manly.

[Amazing_Grace]

Name: Nakamura Kyou
Age: 23
B-W-H: 88-84-85
Hobbies: Flirting, Having perverted thoughts, Calligraphy
Image Color: Turquoise
Kyou is the perverted older brother of Kenchi and is likely where Kenchi himself learned about a lot of the things he often mentions wanting to do to poor Makoto. Kyou was the first of the Nakamura children to notice Kenchi's talent and at last decided to become an idol with him and Kyoko. His main motivation was that it would help him appear to more women around the world, but he also hoped to help Kenchi support his family since he's the Nakamura child that spends the most money (I'm not going to tell you on what, but you might be able to guess). He was quick to encourage Kenchi to join the All-Stars, instructing his little brother to “bring me back the one with the giant hooters, alright?!” He tends to conflict with his sister, Kyoko, who is not only very pro-feminist and greatly discourages Kyou's dirty behavior, but also considers herself the most mature member of the family and is quick to reprimand Kyou for spending his money on things he shouldn't (despite her own laziness and tendency to waste money on food).
Kyou's dance stat is his lowest stat, purely because, much like Hokuto, he doesn't really care about his dancing and figures it really isn't all that important. While Kyou can pull off choreography when he's given it, the challenge is getting him to actually do something.
Kyou's visual stat is his highest stat, mainly because it seems all he ever wants to do is try to make himself look as handsome as possible for all the women of the world. Unfortunately, when placed next to Jupiter (just...all of Jupiter), Kyou's appearance pales in comparison.
Kyou's vocal stat is decently high, but not stunningly high. He can certainly carry a tune and really sings quite well, but he's also a bit awkward and doesn't put nearly as much effort into improving as he ought to.
Kyou's character depends on who he's talking to. He's very blunt and tends to really irritate people like Kyoko (who is annoyed by his constant flirting), Chihaya (who is annoyed that he's constantly making some sort of jab at her bust size), and Yukiho (who is very distressed that he seems to really enjoy talking about her body as much as possible when they're together). Still, Kyou really is a great big brother to Kenchi and is always there for his siblings when they need him, even going so far as to leave a date to help them out (which is really pretty huge for him). When placed with a girl he likes, Kyou can prove to be quite the gentleman. The problem is placing him with the right person—the wrong person will surely find him irritating, but the right person (i.e. Hiromi or his siblings) will really appreciate his sweet side.
Best Match: Ishida Akira
Rival: None
Best Friend: Kenchi, Kyoko...and all girls.
Fun Fact: In Kyou's own true ending, he marries Hiromi, a move that shocks his siblings who claim they thought he would never get married since he seemed like the type that “couldn't be tied down to one woman”. Kyou is also the polar opposite of Kenchi in many ways, like Kyoko: he's immature, loud, and boisterous, not to mention the fact that he throws his love around like a toy (until bonding with Hiromi) and prefers a girl with a nice body to a girl with a nice attitude.

((ISHIDA AKIRA HAS A VOICE FROM HEAVEN OKAY. Seriously though, I just couldn't resist choosing him to voice the resident bishounen pervert of the group.

...HNNNNGGG~ <3 *fangirl spaz*))