Quest Failed: Chapter Two - Dev Log #139

Heya there, everyone! I hope you're doing well! We're finally approaching spring, and I'm hoping that the cold weather will finally start to subside, 'cuz gosh is it difficult to type with frozen hands. I'm just hammering away at the keyboard with giant blocks of ice attached to my arms right now, but I'm doing my best!

In contrast to the previous Sister June extravaganza, I'll be dialing back this week's dev log by a tiny bit--because I'm sure we don't need a massive novel of me professing my love for EVERY single character--but will still hopefully give a good insight into how things have been going!

So, without further delay, let's dig into things!

The bulk of my time has been spent both writing out a scene that helps bridge the gap for when a big event occurs that acts as a character's arc finale, along with writing numerous events for a character I haven't had much of a chance to write for beyond their initial quest. I've also been doing what I said I would do before, and am scripting out all the variables/conditions and sprite cues after each scene, to see if it helps to speed things up rather than writing everything at once and then going back through. And I think it's helping me to keep focused and balanced with where I'm focusing on the project, avoiding getting too absorbed in any one area. Admittedly I'm starting to feel overwhelmed with each new event I add, as they end up lined up against the various other events on the same page, and can sometimes get confusing as to where goes what, or if all the right conditional branches are in place for something to trigger--but I'm finding ways around this and utilising more tools the script text editor provides me, letting me fold and collapse various events I'm not focusing on so I don't get overwhelmed.

The event I mentioned featuring a character I haven't had a chance to write for much recently is a fun one, too--as she's a bit of an exhibitionist, more than proud of her body and happy to flaunt it in all of its bare majesty to anyone that might be looking her way. And, well, if they're not looking, she'll force them. Any guesses as to who that might be? I guess all will be clear soon enough~ Needless to say, I'm happy with how this particular set of events has turned out, as admittedly I was very light on ideas for how I wanted to portray them in between the h-scene events. It's kind of funny how sometimes, even I don't know how something is going to properly turn out, and then the words kind of just come to you, the more you get into a character's head and let them do the talking for you. I'm sure I've said it before, or multiple times at that, but characters really do take a life of their own if you embrace it and don't try to force anything too hard and know when to cut a particular scene if it's not working out, or to adjust what you've planned. Can you even imagine a Ren that isn't a raging, sex-crazed alcoholic? I know I sure can't!

Once I get this event done with--and write out a fun kissing scene, chuu--I'll be chipping away more at the main story thread, which also has an optional h-scene tied to it, depending on the choices you made beforehand. I think people are really going to be happy with the variety of things provided in this new build, and I'll be excited to read reactions as everything comes to a head!

In addition, I shared this on twitter and figured I'd show it off here, too for those that might follow me there!

While poking at, and finalising some of the existing UI assets I have--I figured a better way to handle the Progress/Relationship menu would be to use all the cute chibis I have of each character, rather than just using cropped sprite art. I was inspired by Evenicle in a way, in how they how feature cute chibis in their progress menu. And I was like, well hey, I have a bunch of cute cheebs sitting around too, it'd be a crime not to use them! The only downside I think is that some of the chibis have slightly different eye styles, as the artist that drew them refined their style over the years and since I didn't expect to be using the new chibis in the game itself, I wasn't as on the ball in regards to everything fitting together perfectly. But hopefully it isn't TOO noticeable. If you compare the eyes of say, Lucille and Cynthia (older chibis) to Bella and Anna you'll see what I mean.

What do you guys think of the chibis? Do they fit well?

Also, while I've been writing and tinkering with UI elements I've also been re-examining some of the code I have in place for some systems in Chapter Two, as the earlier parts were made before I had as much knowledge as I do now, and I'm scratching my head trying to parse what I was trying to accomplish beforehand. I don't think I'll be able to do a complete rework of the code, as everything is too tightly entwined, but I'll be doing my best to try and fix some more outstanding issues that have been bugging me and fixing some redundant elements to make the game feel like a smoother, more coherent experience. What do you guys think of the current gameplay loop in regards to exploring areas and starting new quests/h-scenes? Does it feel sensible enough so far? I know for Chapter Three I'll probably be automating some things a bit more, as Chapter Two perhaps ended up TOO open for its own good, haha. But ultimately I'm proud of the behemoth of a VN I have so far, as it's always been my dream to create something that people can lose hours to, and fully immerse themselves in the world.

That about wraps up things for this week's dev log, but I'll catch up with you guys again before the end of the month with more progress updates and image previews!

Though as always, if you have any questions or want any updates on anything I might have failed to mention, don't hesitate to reach out! I love talking to you all and always do my best to keep you all up to date on things!

Until next time~