This unique manga-style visual novel lets you play the story as you wish

There are original mini games and shows to play and watch

It is exam season. As students across the country try to cram up the entire year's syllabus a night before D-Day, this writer whimsically signed herself up for a JEE coaching class yesterday - except that it was for a game. Last December, two fresh graduates released a unique manga-style visual novel My First Month in a JEE Coaching, where readers can play out the story as they wish. The results at the end of the month in the game, much like in real life, are entirely based on how you choose to spend your time - studying, watching shows, hanging out with friends, or doom-scrolling.

The player (in this case, the writer) is the game's main character

The game begins with an exhaustive lecture by the institute owner on good marks and packages. Your mission is to promote from Class B to Class A; the latter has students with higher chances of clearing the exam. It also has your childhood friend Siddarth, whom your parents constantly pit you against, and a potential love interest Ananya.

The visual novel features 10 different characters. The choices you make will also affect their growth

"There are 22 different possible endings based on the answers you choose," share creators Animesh Chaubey, 22, and Shardul Chaturvedi, 23. The catch, we learned by playing the three-hour-long game, is balancing study time. "Studying too much might make you top the class, but you might lose your sanity or be sad about having missed out on all the fun your friends had. You could also rank third and still be satisfied; you could be the underdog; and so on," the duo clarifies.

Shardul Chaturvedi

How does one know that they are making the right choices? This writer learns that a bar indicating productivity and a mini game that pops up each time a professor asks you to solve a question may carry a hint. The game is engaging, has entertaining characters with punchy dialogues that make you crack up, including the ‘rizz', easy-going professor we all like, and the dull one that puts students off to sleep. You make friends, as in real life, crack a joke, study together, and take chaat breaks. The part that bemused the writer is the incorporation of mini shows within this one, that you can enjoy the same way that you binge-watch in your daily routine. If you think your character has had enough study time, you can make them watch Cow Tank (a parody on Shark Tank) and Engineering in Another World (an Indian version of a typical Isekai anime).

The visual novel has also been adapted into a webcomic that includes the same characters, shows and concept

"Adding these shows was a last-minute update that Animesh and I made," Chaturvedi, the game director, laughs. The first cousins took nearly three months to get most of the game ready. "I am a game developer and a data engineer. Animesh, on the other hand, is an artist and a software engineer. We decided to make the best of both worlds and create something that is not common in India," the 23-year-old adds. While Chaubey is a Delhiite, Chaturvedi is from Goa, and spent 15 years of life in Mumbai. Most of their work, due to the distance, was created online. The idea, the anime enthusiasts tells us, emerged from their shared experience in coaching classes.

Animesh Chaubey

The duo worked 15 to 16 hours on a daily basis for three months to make their vision come to reality. Along with the storyline, mini games, characters and shows, the visual novel has original music (over 30 tracks) created by Chaturvedi to match the mood of the different plots and turns in the visual novel. "It was a huge risk," they admit, "as there were only two of us doing all of it, and we weren't even sure how people would react to it. It was a fresh concept in the Indian anime community."

The not-for-profit initiative aims at reaching more people, and bolster the anime community of the country. It was inspired by Indian OTT show Kota Factory, similar games, namely Adventures with Anxiety and Ace Attorney, and movies like Midsommar and Hereditary.

They have also adapted the game into a webcomic - JEE Diaries, where they continue the story with the same characters. This book, which is free to read, has crossed 100 thousand views since its release in February. They assure us that this is not the end for the game and that players keep an eye out for updates. "Till then, they can enjoy the webcomic!" Chaubey , the art director, reminds us.

Log on to beacons.ai/jeediaries
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