July is here, and it’s time for another development update! Hope everyone had a happy 4th! Let’s get started on detailing the progress over the past month. Relatively speaking, it’s been quite eventful. 

Voice Acting Auditions Ongoing

I recently opened up auditions for the roles of Maikah, Ravia, Crescia, Alphi, and Rika. The turnout has been insane so far, with over 450 auditions (through Twitter as well). Thank you so much to everyone out there who submitted their auditions. I’m very happy with the candidates for Crescia, Alphi, and Maikah, and was quite blown away by their performances. That being said, there is still a week left, before auditions close. 

Arctia Interventions

A new gameplay mechanic will be introduced during night-time segments. Arctia will transpose her will upon Rayen’s bedroom and contact him telepathically. During these scenarios, you will have the option of choosing one of two “routes”, where she will teach you dating-related “lore” and terminology. I’ve mentioned this several times before, but the self-contained “lore” present in this game is a premise I mean to push quite heavily. With the in-game glossary working as intended, these terms can be unlocked during gameplay for future reference. Choosing between “Wolf” or “Moon” paths will present you with a different lesson and unlockable terms. The good news is that you will be able to revisit these scenarios easily if you so choose. This ties into the next segment. 

A minor related note: I’m integrating avatars for on-screen characters, similar to when Rayen is speaking out loud to someone (example shown with Arctia above). This will allow me to introduce more dynamic elements during conversations, such as scrolling backgrounds that liven up the presentation a bit. 

Scene Selection 

Going forward into the next version, you will now have the ability to select any scene at will. Note that upon starting the game, you can freely jump to any scene before Chapter 3, which covers all of the previous content. With this newfound flexibility, I feel it will be less irritating and more convenient to access missed insight/reflection points and the previously mentioned intervention segments. “Continue” in the main menu will be replaced with this new scene select. 

Game Engine Update

The software I use for development has received a significant update (specifically, the engine transitioned from nw.js to Electron). The game engine should be snappier overall, with less loading time, smoother performance, and similar functionality updates. Though, there are likely to be a few kinks left around due to such a large overhaul. Desktop-centric app-like software seems to use Electron, taking inspiration from the UI and functionality often found in mobile phones. To my knowledge, I believe the Itch.io app (on PC) uses Electron, and similar apps such as Discord could use something similar. Speaking of the itch.io app, that brings me to my next point. 

Itch.io App Integration 

For the longest time, I have struggled with actually updating this game. My only course of action was to delete prior versions and reupload everything in its entirety each time. Naturally, this means each player has to re-download the game from scratch, as well. As you might imagine, this would lead to low retention and frustrations with the client software. 

The good news is that every update from now on will be compatible with the itch.io app, which you should download if you haven’t already. It’s similar to the Steam client, but obviously, it mirrors itch.io and its functionality. I’m still testing the upload process, but in a dry-run (test upload) things went smoothly, so I’m pleased with the progress so far. Each time I update the game, you will receive a notification. 

A small clarification. Due to a change in plans, I don’t foresee our game hitting Steam before the Kickstarter. I have amended future plans and have decided to upload to Steam during the final phases of development (post-Kickstarter). 

Pre-Kickstarter 

There has been a handful of individuals who signed up for our Pre-Kickstarter. Thank you so much for your confidence in our project! I should mention that if you sign up, you will get access to our 3.0 build 2 weeks in advance.

Status of Related Development

It’s been a hard month, financially. Damn you, AC unit breaking down! Funny thing is, I never used window units until now, but fortunately, I was able to install 2 in my home. They work quite well, despite my earlier skepticism. The depressing news is, that there’s been a “slight” setback in final assets. Despite this, I was sure to schedule the Kickstarter far enough in advance to have a cushion for any possible bumps in the road. 

Every time I turn around, it seems I am adding additional features rather than completing the final programming run. However, I feel these additions will be a boon overall and have been worth the time investment. Programming is still somewhere in the middle stages of Ravia’s introductory route, but we are inching closer to the finish line, slowly but surely. I’m not very good with percentages, but surely I’m over 50%, which would equate to over halfway done. The caveat? This is only a rough draft of the programming, without the polish. This is like the foundation or “skeleton” base which includes all dialogue and general flow. While Ravia’s scenario is the primary focus, there will be unlockable scenes (after completing 3.0) that offer a mini-preview for the other girls (Maikah, Crescia, and Alphi). 

That’s all for now, everyone. Time to get back on the development grind! Enjoy the rest of your July (I hate the heat)!