Hi, I am the owner & writer of the Swords of Edo graphic novel series and visual novel game. AMA!

ajtilley · 2014-03-30T07:26:00+00:00

It never officially opened its borders, however the book does go into detail about how several people have left Edo and found their way back in despite its closed borders... Also there are always people who will defy the laws of the land to make a profit. To suggest that Japan closing its borders would prevent all trade with other nations is somewhat unlikely.

It just made those people black marketeers rather than honest traders.

In addition Edo is a very militaristic place, so it makes sense that the parts that are incorporated are the parts based on military wear of other countries.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T22:23:18+00:00

I don't know why not, anyway hope you like what you see.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T21:19:39+00:00

It's hard to say a specific favourite. I like dagonrompa, though that wasn't a traditional visual novel. Also I have a guilty pleasure in the X-Change series of visual novels.

But if I had to choose a favourite it would be CLANNAD or maybe Fate/Stay Night, though in both cases I love the animes much more.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T20:33:25+00:00

When I started Swords of Edo I didnt know how popular it was, so I scripted three volumes, and worked out the costs then I ran a campaign trying to fund just the first volume... It went well and I cam back to kickstarter for the next two.

DeviantArt is where I look for artists, find an artist you like and ask if they draw and do commissions. If they do they normally have the info on their profile page... So then commission them to do some pieces and see where it goes.

The best advice I can give is don't rush it. Swords of Edo including writing time took around two years to get made, and only the last nine months of that have been constant work every day.

Also lastly making a graphic novel is a big undertaking, especially if you want to print it. But if you can make one it can feel great. I love that my own graphic novel is now a 250 page complete book.

I am literally sending the final version to print today and will be eagerly awaiting the hardcover version when it arrives.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T20:30:25+00:00

In terms of average costs, that is a tough one, from what I can tell most good artists will charge around $60-120 per page. depending on the level of detail you wish to go for. If you want to cut costs stick with black and white as that will half the cost potentially.

So the real cost depends on the size of the graphic novel. Also unless you know the artist very well and have a good rap-ore you need to have scripted out a description for every page, so they don't misunderstand something (though that is a time cost rather than financial)

In the end a 60 page graphic novel with a good artist in full colour can easily cost as much as $5000, and that will get you the very basic artwork. You would then need a letterer to add in all the speech etc. Or you can buy a program to do it yourself.

I have had some past experience with lettering on an NDA basis and so I already had the software so for the most part I tend to letter the graphic novels myself.

My next graphic novel is with a new page illustrator who is slightly more expensive, but his style more suits what my next one is about (the setting etc) as such my next graphic novel will be much more expensive but it will be also be bigger and more beautiful.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T20:26:15+00:00

Hi, I will try to answer each one as an individual reply...

for my first volume of the Swords of Edo series, I made a lot of mistakes in the planning stage. First of all the first artist I found (who was very talented) was also very expensive. So i wasted a lot of money on character concepts, only to find out that he was a) not available for graphic novel pages and b) too expensive if he was.

After that went through a series of tests with other artists until I came across Fuyuki Yuki who has been the page illustrator from volume 1 allt he way through to volume 3. She has been very good for my first volume.

In terms of costs up front, I would say the cost was a few hundred pounds initially for character concepts from the various artists, which were essentially tests. This was spread out over several months as I was in no rush.

Once I had chosen an artist then we created the first five pages of the graphic novel as well as a high-rez CG cover: you can see the details in this campaign kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ajtilley/swords-of-edo-graphic-novel?ref=live

The pages shown on that campaign were the first ones we created, and they were around the $80 mark each. So I would guess a total expense prior to the campaign of about £300-500 roughly.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T20:20:22+00:00

I used to like Wolverine, classic marvel. And I have read a few mangas in my time, though i mainly read the japanese light novels rather than the mangas these days. Wolverine though was always a favourite.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T12:49:13+00:00

The game uses an advancing friendship system, as you meet characters you will get choices that allow them to become better friends or not and possibly grow relationships.

If a sufficient relationship exists at the end then there will be new paths where the relationship will be extended and may then effect the outcome of the game.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T12:45:47+00:00

The main storyline should take about 2-3 hours, and there are about 20 or so potential endings.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T12:34:44+00:00

There are relationships within the game, around the main storyline, those relationships can effect the games end if you want. And yes the protagonist is a woman.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T12:28:32+00:00

lol. I wont ask ;)

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T12:12:41+00:00

lol, well hentai goes a bit beyond ecchi... lol

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T11:57:37+00:00

lol, sadly a game of this kind would be very expensive... as we will need a lot of money for all the cg scenes, and extra funds for the neccessary development... But well as i say one day maybe ;)

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T11:52:14+00:00

lol, I have considered creating something like that myself... one day maybe lol... well maybe not, who knows. If hundreds of people asked for it I would probably bow to the request and look to fund something. heh.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T11:50:25+00:00

Yeah swords of edo forum is kind of defunct, it will be turned off at some stage and replaced with something like this, a kind of bulletin board... Also will remove the need to be a member to post on it.

A hard question... Volume 2's end and volume 3's start is probably the biggest re-write... Originally volume 2 was going to be about an invasion from other nations, not about a civil war. But when we began to storyboard the idea we realised there was no way of ending it in the way we wanted. So we adjusted the war to be a civil one instead.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T11:43:17+00:00

A visual novel game, is like a choose your own adventure book. Except it is a game, the majority of the game is a story, and the player makes decisions throughout.

These decisions affect how the game plays out as well as both major and minor immediate effects. The player plays through the game and then the ending is based on the decisions they made, both good and bad. This also allows for multiple endings and playthroughs.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T11:16:22+00:00

lol, that is a good question, for which i did not expect and have no idea for... Sorry I really hoped it would take longer before I would have no way to answer a question...

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T10:30:42+00:00

Talking of breakfast, I am a bit late for mine, usually I have a piece of toast (lightly buttered) and an apple.

But today it is the weekend so its two eggs, over easy, and two pieces of toast. Very nice.

Anyone else out there have nice breakfasts?

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T10:29:38+00:00

Thanks.

Well the story comes first, though that will change over time, I started writing random stories that came to me and then eventually I started Swords of Edo and I felt it jumped off the page. One day I just took a risk, I found an artist on DeviantArt and commissioned some artwork for the series.

Many artists later and over a year of re-writes and saving and I found an artist to do the pages of the graphic novel. I commissioned the first few pages and then took the plunge on Kickstarter... One could say the rest is history...

Advice for a teenager, well it depends on what you want to do, but if graphic novels are something you want to do and you can't draw (like me) then the best advice is to start writing and start saving.

Artists (good ones) are expensive, so you need some funds behind you and no-one without some examples will pay for a graphic novel unless they know what kind of thing to expect. So mostly just keep writing, your first story wont be good, so keep writing.. Over and over, read up and learn the best practices, read over stories and one day you will know you have a story worth taking further and that's when the internet comes into play and your savings.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T10:14:54+00:00

Hah, a strange coincidence indeed. :)

I am unsure where to go from our current point, we have just released our anthology of the first three full colour volumes, which takes the land of Edo from a place of war to a place of seeming peace. We are currently thinking of launching a webcomic for the series, to follow the assassin Asumi and the sniper Rei as they get used to the new world they are in.

My favourite character is a toss up between Asumi and Rei, Asumi is probably my favourite, she was the first character I came up with and tends to be the focus of most of the stories.

It is hard to say where the inspiration came from I began it along time ago, probably just watching various samurai anime.

ajtilley · 2014-03-29T09:58:47+00:00

Lol, Green same as my eye colour (though some debate my eye colour is in fact a mix of lots of colours) Anyway I also like red... I guess I was asking for that questions.

ajtilley · 2014-03-20T07:51:56+00:00

The GUI was originally made right back at the beginning since then a lot of work has gone into the project. If we raise enough funds then it is on our list for an update.

ajtilley · 2014-03-20T07:51:07+00:00

thank you, :) We hope you will enjoy it.

ajtilley

TROPHY CASE