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On way to GDC!

3/18/2018

 
It's been months since I last wrote a blog post! It seems the only time I get to write them these days is when I'm travelling. Game development has been heavy since the start of the year and looking after Goro has been hard work! The little Shibe is full of beans and always wants to play, which is not always possible, of course, so balancing him and work has been tricky. I've been working out at coffee shops more to help the process, giving us both a break away from each other, and I'm surprised at how much more productive I've been!

Coffees certainly add up, though, and it makes me wonder about the world's view on value. One Night Stand costs less than a cup of coffee, and probably lasts just as long for the average player. It's got me thinking a lot about the worth of digital products and what we can do to change that perception. I also think about how gaming can reach a wider audience... I still meet so many women and elderly who don't bother with games. It saddens me, really. Like, in my eyes, games are media just like books or film, but so few people would say they don't bother with those. I feel like we're failing a huge audience with stereotypical titles, and I want to change that.

Anyway, I digress! I'm at Copenhagen airport, waiting to board my flight to San Francisco. It's my third year at GDC and I feel pretty calm and confident – quite the change from the last two years! At my first GDC, I was a newbie indie developer and didn't know anyone. My flight got delayed and I missed the first day of the event. Then I caught the GDC flu! But somehow I still had a great time. Last year, was potentially a once-in-a-lifetime event where One Night Stand got nominated for Excellence in Narrative at IGF, so I demoed it (for the first time) and met hundreds of fans and peers – It was incredible! This year will probably be way more mellow (at least I'm trying to plan it that way, haha!): I I hope to meet some new people, preferably other developers, programmers and musicians (if you're there, hit me up!) whilst seeing some awesome new games and attending loads of interesting sessions. Oh, I love binging on sessions!

I won't give a huge update on Memories as I'm preparing for a more official announcement in the next few months, but the script is finally finished! "Finished" in the way that the endings are in, but it still needs tweaking and probably a few additions here and there. The art style is also decided upon (hurray!), and the GUI is nearly there as well. It means that in the upcoming months, I'll be bashing out artwork, refining the script and adding some gameplay elements, most of which are half-way there and already planned out. I'm very optimistic about the project, but there is still a lot of work to be done and it's still too early to show, really. Artwork is mainly the area that's lacking, so sadly there isn't really much to see! But you can find out a little more about the game here, and I'll be updating the page with new information soon!

Until then, take care everyone!

Goro - Game Dev Doggo

12/11/2017

 
I have been super quiet recently because there's been a huge change! I am happy to announce a new member of Games by Kinmoku. Meet Goro, the game dev doggo:
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Goro is a 3 month old Shiba-Inu, and will become the communications and social media manager. If you have any queries, please contact him and he'll be happy to bork.

Haha, so he's really my moral support and personal motivator. Some people have personal trainers and the like, but I prefer a puppy that wakes me up during the night and constantly needs to go outside to pee. Nothing gets you moving faster than a puppy peeing on a rug.

Alright, in all seriousness, I was getting lonely and unfit. Walking from my bedroom to my desk (approximately 10 metres) really wasn't very healthy, and despite running 2-3 times a week and not owning a car, I still felt like a potato. I just didn't need to go outside most of the time, so I didn't. Despite always hating commutes, I think a short one is actually pretty healthy, and I wasn't doing anything like it anymore.

Getting healthy has been a priority of mine since becoming a game developer, but I never seem to get better no matter how hard I try. I've lost count of the number of colds and infections I've had this year... I guess game dev > personal health, so I needed something to give me more reason to get out and about; away from the screen, out in the weather and on my feet.
I won't lie, these first few weeks have been hard work, and trying to work on Memories at the same time as caring for Goro has been near impossible, but now we have a routine which extends my working day and fills it with puppy care and play.

When you're self-employed, I think it's easier to keep working and never break. Income and finishing projects ASAP becomes the most important thing, but at the cost of your physical and mental health. For me, I felt like a dog would fit perfectly into my life, so here he is! It took over 2 years of hard work and heartbreak to find him, but I'm sure it's because he was meant to be :)

If you'd like to follow Goro - Game Dev Doggo, he has his own Facebook page, plus I'll be posting about him from time to time on my Twitter, too! (And no, he is NOT named after Goro from Mortal Kombat, rather Majima Goro from the Yakuza series!)

Memories is still undergoing script and story changes. My plan was to get all that finished by the end of the year, but with illness and now puppy, that may not happen. I still want to try my best to hit that goal, but with Christmas incoming and family commitments, it's looking unlikely. A few scenes need to be added, gameplay needs to be improved, and then it'll need testing and further edits. Once it's ready, the ending/ conclusion scenes will be written.

Until then, I doubt I will be posting back here, so I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Enjoy the holidays, take a break, and most importantly, look after yourselves!

One Night Stand is one year old!

10/20/2017

 
Yep, the full version of One Night Stand came out one year ago today over on itch.io! Time sure flies...

I wanted to celebrate the game's first anniversary with a weekend sale. Grab the game for only $2 on itch.io right now until midnight Sunday (CEST). Please spread the word to friends and family who you think would enjoy it :)

One Night Stand is now also in Russian and the itch.io version comes with a Steam key too!

Download at: https://kinmoku.itch.io/one-night-stand
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​In the next few weeks, I'm planning on writing a larger blog post to update you all on my WIP game: Memories. It has been under-going re-drafts the last couple of months, but, slowly and steadily, it's getting there. I'm hoping that by Christmas, the story and code will be in place, leaving me with only the art and animation to do. Oh, and play-testing, bug-testing, UI and music! It's a big wish (as usual) but I like to dream big!

Until next time!

One Night Stand is now in russian!

9/4/2017

 
One Night Stand is now officially available to play in Russian! Download the latest build and select Russian from the main menu!

​Доступна официальная версия One Night Stand на русским языке! Скачайте последнее обновление и выберите "русский" в главном меню.
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This update also contains some Steam achievement bug fixes, where sometimes the achievements wouldn't register properly.

Now, I'm going to continue my work! Lengthier blog posts coming soon, I promise!

Please tell all your Russian friends about One Night Stand!

A quick update

7/12/2017

 
It's been a while! I have, once again, been pretty busy the last couple of months. Development on Memories (working title) has had its difficulties, but I feel like I am over the hurdle now which is great!

As with LoveIRL, I felt I'd accidentally bitten off more than I could chew with Memories. I originally planned it to be a 6-9 month project, but it quickly became a 12-18 month one, and I still wanted to add to it! I had to reel it back in somehow, so the last couple of weeks I've been assessing my writing style and the scenes within the game. I've decided to replace the jumbled mess I had with narration, which is a writing style I don't often use, but in Memories, it works really well. I've also cut back on the number of scenes within the game to focus on the core of the story. I thought I'd already done this, twice in fact, but there was still some fat left to trim. I've even removed a few scenes I really loved, but for now, this is best thing to do. It wasn't easy though. I think the hardest part for any developer or artist is to throw away parts of the work they love... *SIGH* it's for the greater good, I need to remember that! There's still a good chance that a couple of the scenes will make their way back anyway, depending on how healthy development is looking 6 months down the line. Hmm, we'll see.

Anyway, all the story is already programmed into the game and ready to rock. I'm just making my edits and cuts from the game's actual script. Perhaps that's a little ham-fisted, but it works for me. The game, so far, is just missing a lot of artwork and UI, so I have my work cut out for me, haha! It means I can't share too much with you all, but I can already see a vast improvement in my artwork already, which is pleasing.
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This piece is from the latest scene I've finished. From what I've shown previously, you may notice the art style is a little different. That's because I've changed it to have a more striking, retro aesthetic. The colours used in each scene will reflect the emotions that are attached to them.

These two characters are Millie's Father and her best friend, Katie. At present, I am only focusing on main character sprites and backgrounds. I'm refraining from drawing CGs and animations at the moment, until my full redraft is complete. The reason being time. I don't want this project to explode with me adding a ton of minor details when the whole thing is still being changed.

I mentioned a while back that I wasn't going to add animation to Memories but, you know me, I love animation and I feel it adds so much needed life to visual novels. So, once the game is in alpha, I'm going to reassess adding more animation to the characters. All the sprites are currently static placeholders, but I believe this will be a better way to work so that the game has a solid foundation. Artwork takes the most time, so it's best not to waste it.

Anyway, One Night Stand has had a few developments of its own the last couple of months. Russian language support is soon to be added on Steam and itch.io, and I'll be announcing a release date in the next few weeks! Stay tuned :)

If you follow me on Twitter and Facebook as well, you may have noticed I got One Night Stand running on my iPad. This is something else I have going on in the works, however, I am waiting on some more languages before bringing the game to iPhone and iPad. On that note, if anyone knows a Spanish <-> English translator, please let me know!
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​I think that just about wraps everything up. I have lots of work to be getting on with, so I'll be keeping these blog posts as short and concise as I can! Until next time!
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© Lucy Blundell / Kinmoku   
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