"The Duke Wilhausen" Visual Novel Project
Project Overview
"The Duke Wilhausen:" a dark fantasy Visual Poem experience
"The Duke Wilhausen" is an upcoming Visual novel in development by the writer of the poem, Skye, and her small women-led team of indie devs. This epic narrative poem centers on the titular Duke, whose journey epitomizes the human struggle between the desire and fear of changing oneself. It is a work of philosophical and environmental literature, which encourages the role of natural reflection in human lives.
The story follows Wilhausen, who dwells in an old castle until a traveler appears, prompting him to resolve his conflict between fealty and wanderlust. It is set in a fantasy world with curses, dark towers, and mythical nymphs. The main conflict is in the form of internal struggles between the characters and their natures.
This poem was inspired by media such as the classic point-and-click adventure game ‘Quest For Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness,’ the movie adaptation of ‘The Last Unicorn,’ Romanticist poets like Wordsworth and Coleridge, and other similar literature and art.
VA Casting Details
Our team is now looking to cast Voice Actors for the project! We are looking for 100% human-created work. No AI music, no AI art, no AI voices. We want to work with real people who want to create a work of art.
YOU MUST BE ABLE TO READ POETRY NATURALLY. The text is written in verse, with dynamic line breaks in iambic pentameter.
The text should be read with natural pauses at commas, periods, and other punctuation, rather than pausing at line breaks.
All team members will be required to read the manuscript before beginning the project to familiarize themselves with the themes, characters, and style. The text is about 45 pages of poetry. If this does not appeal to you, then it's probably not the right match.
Example Poem Formatting:
The Gate of Wendempfang creaked in protest,
‘Why do you raise me at such an hour?’
While he worked the Duke answered its behest
And said, “Someone has come to my tower.”
If you’d like to know more, please check out "The Duke Wilhausen" website: https://thedukewilhausen.mystrikingly.com/.
Voice Actor
This is the bulk of the lines. The narration is the core of the work, where all the rhythm, meter, and rhyme are on full display.
Voice style: solid male voice, thoughtful, not too slow or fast on delivery, no guttural or raspiness, think of him like an audiobook narrator.
Reference: the voice of John Rhys-Davies as Narrator in Quest for Glory IV.
[photo by eberhard grossgasteiger on Pexels]
- english
- visualnovel
- audiobook
- male adult
- video game
[Expository, Desolate] An old castle stood on a rocky edge/ Balancing over a chasm’s ledge/ On the brink of a land where green things grow,/ Where mountains rush forth breaths of winter snow./ In these dim days of old this castle stood/ At the end of a trail-less, frightful wood,/ Rebuking passage to faraway lands./ Long ago rain renounced these once-rich plains—/ Only the brambles and castle remained--/ All else withered to a desert of sand.
[Dramatic, Fearful] At once something loosed, some frightening thing/ Turned in Wilhausen, like the ruined bells/ In his bell-tower that refused to ring./ Yet he helped the man down, and with a bow/ Welcomed him to the castle anyhow./
[Wistful, Amazed] The Duke Wilhausen stared, mind open wide,/ Captivated by the traveler’s tale,/ Eyes sparkling with dreams of faraway sails,/ Of faraway ships on faraway tides./ A pulsing energy surged in his veins,/ As if in hearing of what he might deign,/ He could regain a shred of his lost youth.
Voice Actor
Wilhausen: pronounced “will-house-en”
Wendempfang: pronounced "ven-dem-fahng"
The protagonist: he is a cursed man who has lived alone in a castle for almost 100 years. He is cold, distant, and conflicted. The Duke looks like an OLD MAN, that is part of his curse. Sometimes, he appears YOUNG. It has been 100 years since he has met and spoken with another person.
Voice style: as an old man, the Duke should sound deeper, weary, disinterested, but not full-force ‘old man voice’.
As a young man, the Duke should sound commanding and assured with a tinge of anxiety.
- visualnovel
- video game
- audiobook
- male adult
{AS AN OLD MAN} [Sorrowful, dignified] “In his bed with labored breathing he died, /Leaving me the last of the Dukes inside /An unfamiliar dark I’d never known /Until then. Finest robes I dressed him in /And brought him to the Wellaway alone…”
{AS AN OLD MAN} [Offended, Terrified] “I’d not just be abandoning a place. /I’d be slighting, deserting kin of old, /Without fairly leaving a single trace /Of my lineage. Though our goals were duds, /Castle Wendempfang is as much my kin /As my own departed flesh and blood!”
{AS A YOUNG MAN} [Wistful, Conflicted] “I’d much rather imagine brighter lands / Like the ones you described to me last week; /I’d much rather think that I too could stand /On a shining beach bordering the sea. /Or climb up a peak without clouds to blind; /My heart yearns to break these inherited binds, / But how strong are the ties of fealty!”
Voice Actor
Alden: pronounced “all-dehn”
The secondary protagonist: he is a high-spirited wanderer who leaves his small farm life in order to explore the world, before discovering the Duke’s castle and befriending the Duke. He is passionate about nature, animals, and has a sense of devotion to the Duke.
Voice style: mid-range and rogueish, not raspy or guttural. Clear and bright.
- visualnovel
- male adult
- audiobook
- video game
[Passionate, Urging] “Fidelity and unbound wunderlust,/ You can realize both if you adjust./ I think of my sister and my brother,/ Always, of my father and my mother,/ And our acreage providing food and wealth,/ Always of the state of their aging health—/ They know how I feel when they think of me;/ I did not forsake them…but was set free.”
[Ecstatic, Vibrant] “I’m alive!”/[...] “Alive as if life has only begun.”
Voice Actor
This is the voice for the Chorus sections which occur in-between the Parts and follow the Nymphs activities. This is a smaller narration role, as it is broken up by a lot of dialogue between the nymphs. These are written in a Greek meter, without rhyme, so just focus on reading it naturally and not forcing a rhythm.
Voice style: pensive female voice, not too slow or fast on delivery, lower pitched.
Reference: not to be cheesy, but Galadriel’s narration at the beginning of the Lord of the Rings.
[Photo by Gu Bra on Pexels]
- video game
- audiobook
- female adult
- visualnovel
[Expository, Wise] The nymphs knew not time as worldly men knew time/ but loved and flourished in the garden’s safety,/ long 'til the house housed only one, the Duke Wilhausen, last in his line.
[Somber, Thoughtful] Wilhausen’s withdrawal and Alden’s aging concerned her,/ drawing her gaze to the vines of/ ivy winding down the wall. How long for it to wind to darkness?
[Pleased, Vibrant] The limestone eaves sparkled with seasonal rain/ and the little pond refreshed its old waters./ The sisters kept busy with weeding and planting for summer.
Voice Actor
Pronounced “eye-corn-ee-uh”
The eldest sister of the nymphs. She is a wise soul, protective of her sisters and her garden. She holds a secret wish: to meet the Duke, and spends her nights watching him from her tower.
Voice style: wise, lower-voiced, compassionate yet stern.
- video game
- visualnovel
- female adult
- audiobook
[Firm, Experienced] “Elodea, don’t be so harsh. Remember /a descendant doesn’t inherit the guilt /of the past, lest one’s burdens never wither,”
[Tender, Knowing] “But now you’re here and I won’t mask my fondness./ Come sit here, my lord. A bad storm must have raged /for you to seek me. It must be about Alden? You know no others.”
Voice Actor
Pronounced “piss-tee-uh” or sometimes “piss-tyah”
Second eldest nymph. She is quick to state her opinion, unafraid of judgement or etiquette.
Voice style: a bit of a rasp/scratch, mid-range register, short and quick pronouncement.
- female adult
- video game
- audiobook
- visualnovel
“Still, he spoke as if Baumalric didn’t claim /the prairie like a tyrant,” [...]/That man started everything, and Duke Wilhausen venerates him!”
"We wanted to plant it when we settled,/ But the right time to plant, we did not find,/ So the seed stays with us ‘til we presume/ To do so, one day when the desert blooms./ And newfound life will spring from its petals!”
Voice Actor
Pronounced “ell-oh-dee-uh”
Third eldest nymph. She is coy and brash. She’s the trickster, stirring up gossip and romance.
Voice style: playful, coy, mid-high range, bold and teasing
- female adult
- audiobook
- visualnovel
- video game
[Overdramatic, Playful] “Oh, my striking Alden, now wilting instead! /Where’s your beauty gone? And why?”
[Sarcastic, Teasing] “Pssst, I thought we were supposed to be kept/ In hiding,” [...]
Voice Actor
Pronounced “can-uh”
Youngest nymph. She is shy and reserved. Quiet and often hangs back, but occasionally speaks her mind.
Voice style: soft, quieter, not too breathy, on the cuter side
- female young adult
- audiobook
- visualnovel
- video game
[Innocent, Wondering] “Do you think the sea has lily-pads? Or blooms /trailing its edge, like our own pond?”
[Quiet, Reassuring] “Together in suffering we’ve both grown./ It’s for neither to condemn nor condone./ The past is far removed by miles and miles./ Your line has persisted, and so have we./ Let old transgressions be as they might be.”
Audio Engineer
I am seeking an Audio Engineer to help with the coordination and organization of both VAs and audio files. This includes working with Poetry, that is, rhymed and metric verse. The text is 3,500 lines of poetry. But when measured into actual sentences is less lines than that. Pay-rate is flexible, but looking at an overall audio budget of $2500-3000 (including VAs and audio engineer).
Looking for help with the following:
- formatting script for VAs
- scheduling and planning of project timeline with me and team
- coordinating auditions, casting, retakes, and recording of VAs
- editing audio files for consistency and quality
- formatting/naming audio files to be input into Ren'py
- basically someone to manage the audio element of the Visual Novel
- english
*Say something you think would fit*
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