Wow, I haven’t written a post in what feels like forever! So much has happened too, game wise specifically. I’ve had more time to focus on my game development and it’s really starting to come together!
I’ve been drawing characters, creating animations and learning some new code. Two characters (Lisa and Darren) are completely finished, at least for now, though I’m sure there will be edits and tweaks later down the line, knowing me. Check them out.
These two appear at the beginning of the game. Shortly after, you will meet the protagonist’s (Zoe’s) family and then the dateables. In my last post, I mentioned I drew Tyna; she’s finished, but not animated and put in the game yet, like these two.
So perhaps you’re wondering what these animations actually look like? Well not if you follow me closely on Vine; I’ve been so excited whenever I get a character in game that I just can’t resist making a quick vine. Check these out:
https://vine.co/v/eKTPKldO2QJ
https://vine.co/v/ebJmFdQjj5g
It maybe hard to tell what’s going on here, but when the characters have dialogue, their mouths animate. Now, this animation stops when the dialogue is fully scrolled out, making it more life-like and in-time with the text. I found that a mouth that continuously moves even after you’ve finished reading the dialogue is really off-putting! I’ve no plans for voice overs, after all I’m not made of money, but I’ll have a sound effect play whilst the text scrolls out, ala retro Phoenix Wright style… In fact, this style of animation is totally inspired by Phoenix Wright (I love those games!).
Other animations featured so far are random blinks and expressions. Example: when Lisa laughs, her shoulders/ chest lift up and down. It’s pretty simple stuff but does help bring the game to life. I’ve played a few visual novels in the past and the animations are so plain, if they’re even there at all.
Otherwise, I’ve been doing some market research and gaining feedback. I got some great critique on my background art so I’ll be reworking some of those images in the next week or so. I hope to start looking at the UI too and the overall general aesthetic of the game. Also, I got some music from my buddies to plug in – It works great but there are so many more songs needed, argh! The to-do list never ends!
I still don’t have a name for this game either… The working title is Love IRL, but that is by no means final. Saying that, I doubt I will think of anything better! I’m aiming to initially release on Steam, somewhere in 2016, followed by Google Play and the App Store - Ren’py is a simply fantastic engine to use, but it’s still a lot of work for one girl to do! Ok, ok, I do have a lot of help from my music and sound buddies and very supportive boyfriend (who I’m sure is sick of playing the introduction!), but sometimes I feel like I will never finish this; it gets bigger every day! Just gotta keep chipping away, one asset at a time.
I’ve been drawing characters, creating animations and learning some new code. Two characters (Lisa and Darren) are completely finished, at least for now, though I’m sure there will be edits and tweaks later down the line, knowing me. Check them out.
These two appear at the beginning of the game. Shortly after, you will meet the protagonist’s (Zoe’s) family and then the dateables. In my last post, I mentioned I drew Tyna; she’s finished, but not animated and put in the game yet, like these two.
So perhaps you’re wondering what these animations actually look like? Well not if you follow me closely on Vine; I’ve been so excited whenever I get a character in game that I just can’t resist making a quick vine. Check these out:
https://vine.co/v/eKTPKldO2QJ
https://vine.co/v/ebJmFdQjj5g
It maybe hard to tell what’s going on here, but when the characters have dialogue, their mouths animate. Now, this animation stops when the dialogue is fully scrolled out, making it more life-like and in-time with the text. I found that a mouth that continuously moves even after you’ve finished reading the dialogue is really off-putting! I’ve no plans for voice overs, after all I’m not made of money, but I’ll have a sound effect play whilst the text scrolls out, ala retro Phoenix Wright style… In fact, this style of animation is totally inspired by Phoenix Wright (I love those games!).
Other animations featured so far are random blinks and expressions. Example: when Lisa laughs, her shoulders/ chest lift up and down. It’s pretty simple stuff but does help bring the game to life. I’ve played a few visual novels in the past and the animations are so plain, if they’re even there at all.
Otherwise, I’ve been doing some market research and gaining feedback. I got some great critique on my background art so I’ll be reworking some of those images in the next week or so. I hope to start looking at the UI too and the overall general aesthetic of the game. Also, I got some music from my buddies to plug in – It works great but there are so many more songs needed, argh! The to-do list never ends!
I still don’t have a name for this game either… The working title is Love IRL, but that is by no means final. Saying that, I doubt I will think of anything better! I’m aiming to initially release on Steam, somewhere in 2016, followed by Google Play and the App Store - Ren’py is a simply fantastic engine to use, but it’s still a lot of work for one girl to do! Ok, ok, I do have a lot of help from my music and sound buddies and very supportive boyfriend (who I’m sure is sick of playing the introduction!), but sometimes I feel like I will never finish this; it gets bigger every day! Just gotta keep chipping away, one asset at a time.