Thanksgiving

The past few days have been mostly holiday related events. Thanksgiving was yesterday, and I had a lot of fun with friends. I'm thankful for a lot of things, especially the fact that I can do what I love every day. Writing is a passion for me, and I've always wanted to make computer games. When I was young, it was little more than a silly dream. But not only is it possible now, it's my reality. I love writing, I love visual novels, and I love the community that comes with it. I'm also thankful that I get to do other things I love like art, and voice acting to go with my writing.

The upcoming season is going to be very busy, but the excitement also gets me very excited for writing. November is drawing to a close, so many novelists are likely putting finishing touches on their novels right now. That means I'll have plenty of fresh inspiration to look at soon. Today is a Plat du Jour update. I've finally finished the trunk, so I only have the three branch intros to write and the writing for the demo will be complete.

Statistics:
The game contains 1188 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 11192 words,
for an average of 9.4 words per screen.
The game contains 9 menus.

Water Damage

Moonsong update. Working on Ito's path. She's really difficult, and I'm sure her character will need to be tweaked a bit to make her more manageable. O_o

Statistics:
The game contains 334 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 3167 words,
for an average of 9.5 words per screen.
The game contains 3 menus.

Economics and why I am a Writer

I drew something today. This is rare, since I'm actually not a huge fan of my art. When it comes to art, I either ask someone else, or I have my circle do it (in which case all I have to do is color and sometimes ink). But I worked on my own art today, just to see if I could. And I guess, technically, it's not too bad. By amateur standards, it's actually decent. But it took so LONG, and I already see quite a few things that need improvement. The hands, for instance. Also, her eyes. But I digress. The point is that with some hard work and a lot of time, I could probably polish my art into something closer to professional standards. Then I wouldn't have to rely on artists all the time.

So...why don't I? Two economic principles. The first is that (all other things held equal), if someone is better at doing something than you, you should let them do it. And I know a whooole bunch of artists who are better than me. XD The second is that (all other things held equal), you should focus on whatever you are most efficient at. So let's say I'm equally good at writing and art. However, I can write a couple thousand decent words much faster than I can draw a decent picture. Similarly, I can go back and revise those thousands of words in less time than it takes to improve on the artwork. I'm more efficient at writing, so I should focus my energy on it. So, I guess to put it bluntly, I'm faster and better at writing than art, so I've chosen to put more energy into improving my writing.

Of course, this means I have to rely on artists. And being a semi-artist, I know how much work it is, so sometimes I feel guilty asking my friends to do so much for me. Then I wish I could just do it myself so I don't have to be a burden. D: Double edged sword, suppose. And in case it matters, the girl's name is Cuprum. She's from a discarded story of mine, but I like her design quite a bit.

P.S.
I also did some writing and editing today.

Liars and Cheaters

Finished editing another chapter of Card Sweethearts today. This is the end of the "linear" portion. The rest of the game uses a scheduler and plays out something like Bionic Heart and The Flower Shop (not exactly, but...you get the idea). It's a lot more freeform, and I think it's interesting because it gives the player a lot more control over the flow of the story. It feels a little less like a visual novel and a little more like an adventure game.

More like...guidelines.

Another day, another chapter edited. Lots of other things happened like research and stuff. But another chapter edited.

Small Update

Now that hx2's art is moving forward again, I've started writing here and there for it in my spare time.

Statistics:
The game contains 567 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 5344 words,
for an average of 9.4 words per screen.
The game contains 6 menus.

Poker? I barely...never mind.

Fu~ just finished editing/revising the first two chapters of Card Sweethearts. It's definitely strange coming in in the middle of something. I still feel as if I have a lot of catching up to do. People play poker in the strangest places.