So, about those free games...

Lately I've been spending a lot of time talking about Kansei and Winter in Fairbrook, since both of those are very near to completion. However, I'd like to dedicate this Wednesday to talking about some of the free games we're working on. Yes. We're still working on free games.

So, what's the deal with those? Well, they're all moving along and their own paces.

hanamix2: Mugen is back on board with the background images, so that's cool stuff. The sprites for two of the three main characters are complete, and the writing is about halfway done. We've also recorded some character dialogue already. Hopefully we can get the whole thing voiced. @_@

Oneiro: We have a new background artist, so that'll help speed things up. Two of the five sprites are done, but their alternate outfits haven't been completed yet. Writing is about 85% complete. The original soundtrack is done, and it sounds beautiful. I'll probably post some samples later in the summer.

Plat du Jour: Anyone remember this? XD Yes, there are still plans to finish it, but we're still sort of on a detour. Ripples was meant as a prologue, but we've decided to write a second "in between" story that fits between Ripples and PdJ before we go forward with PdJ. Plans for that story are being drawn up as we speak, but the team is currently rather busy finishing Kansei, so it'll be a few months before we start work on it.

Overall, I hope that we'll be able to finish at least one more free game of substantial length this year. I really do love releasing games for free, but it's hard to keep up, since everyone involved has other obligations.

Kurara-rama

Meet Kurara! Or, for those of you who've been with me for the long haul, here she is again! Yes, she's still alive. Kurara is the (un)official mascot for sakevisual, and the resident lover of sweets and baked goods. This is a lovely image that Dejichan has just finished. Do expect some prints of it in the future.


And in the name of showing off Kurara artwork, please check out this wonderful gift I received from Zero Zigen! Zero Zigen is a Japanese doujin circle that is currently working on their first English visual novel. The two of us will be sharing a booth at A-KON soon (more on that later).

The Gameplan

Well, lots on the list of things to do right now, but I'm going to write out a gameplan so that I get everything finished in good time.

February:
The deadline for the two month challenge fast approaches. RE: Alistair is doing okay, but we're seriously in crunch time right now. A couple thousand more words, at least, hopefully done by the end of this week so that we can spend the last week testing and cleaning up any emergency issues.

March:
Crazy insane writing month. I intend to actually finish writing both Card Sweethearts and Moonsong this month. That's a lot, especially seeing as both have several tens of thousands of words to go, but I really want to get these done ASAP. They've both been sitting around much too long, and they'll get stale if I don't put a rush order on them.

April:
If my March plan works out, start writing three new games. Yes, three. A sequel to a game that's currently doing very well, a horror/otome game, and a personal project that I hope to be able to release commercially. @^@

In the meantime:
Ripples, Plat du Jour, and hanami x 2 will move along at whatever speed is appropriate based on the schedule and workload of the artist.

Weekend Update

I haven't updated for awhile, since all I've really been doing this past week is editing. Somehow, I doubt "did more edits today," makes for a very compelling blog post. I will tell you what's all up and cool these days, though.

Editing - Just finished editing Spirited Heart. It's getting a shiny new re-release and I'm excited. It's actually a very clever game, and I'm sure each time through will provide a very different experience. Yuza is totally my favorite guy, because I love cooking. Go figure. I'm also editing another game right now, and that should be done within a week or so. This is also a cool game, but I'll update you all when that's done.

Writing - Still clipping along with Moonsong and Plat du Jour (more on that in later posts). hx2 is on something of a break since my voices and artist are very busy right now. I wonder if it will ever be finished. >.>

Extra - Did some writing/editing/revamping of an old release of mine. Deji and I are going to re-release a game I did awhile back, and it will technically be the first release by "sakevisual." More on that later as well.

New Stuff - I inexplicably decided to join the two-month VN challenge (or whatever it's called). I have a pretty neat team, and we're going to be doing an otome romance game. Because otome romance is FUN. It'll be short and sweet, but I think it'll be fun.

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.

Let's Go!

Well, I've been off the blog for a week to reorganize myself, my games, and get new projects in order. And now I'm back. So what's in the queue these days?

Card Sweethearts - A poker-themed visual novel. I have practically zero poker experience, so I taught myself Texas Hold'em so I could at least learn the rankings of all the hands. I also understand why the game is so addictive. It's definitely a fun way to pass the time. Good thing I like writing more. XD I'm actually coming in late on this project, with a good chunk of the story already written. I've been spending the past week revising and editing everything so that it sounds kinda like I wrote it. That way, the whole game will have a little bit of coherency. I'm not making too many changes (there's no point in writing something that's already been written), but just a few here and there. I'll actually pick up writing sometime within the week.

Moonsong - More writing and tweaking the plot with people who know better than I. The current edition weighs in at 2,013 words. Still a lightweight, but so far I've only introduced two characters. XD I'm also doing art for this one, so character designs are being worked and reworked and then some.

Plat du Jour - The demo still isn't done being written, but I'm getting closer! It's currently at a pretty decent 10,905 words, and I've just begun to write the various "endings" that will lead into the respective branches. I also started work on a teaser site (see above) meant to act as the "official" homepage for the main character's school. The culture of the school is a large part of the game, so I think giving the school it's own website is a nice touch. It's also a nice way for me to brush up on my rusty HTML skills. Also working with the artist on designing a super cute logo for the game. ^-^

hanami x 2 - I actually found another artist for this! Finally. This is the third artist I've had on the project, and I hope this one sticks, because she's absolutely wonderful (then again, when have I not worked with an artist who is wonderful?).

And of course, there are a thousand other things being planned or sketched or plotted, but these are the ones I am currently focusing my attention on (especially the first two).

No Concentration

Hahaha...I only managed to dish out a couple hundred words today. My concentration was totally off, and I wound up spending most of my night thinking about how cute pandas are. They're pretty cute. I also like penguins, arctic seals, and kiwi birds. I think kiwi birds are very underrated in terms of cuteness. Long overdue Plat du Jour update.

Statistics:
The game contains 976 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 9525 words,
for an average of 9.8 words per screen.
The game contains 8 menus.

Seasalt

I'm really falling in love with my Plat du Jour characters. I think they're really interesting. But I guess since I'm the one who created them, if I'm not interested in them, that would be a bad thing.

Statistics:
The game contains 500 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 5061 words,
for an average of 10.1 words per screen.
The game contains 4 menus.

Go one more!

This past week has been hectic in terms of a lot of things in my life, but I have decided that more than ever, I love writing games, and I want people to enjoy my stories. I am trying to increase my daily word count by 1000 words to aid me in this new determination. The only thing holding me back is myself, so I will do my best to work harder and bring beautiful stories to everyone.

Statistics:
The game contains 455 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 4592 words,
for an average of 10.1 words per screen.
The game contains 3 menus.

A little bit of Everything

I wrote a couple hundred words for The Flower Shop and Plat du Jour today. In The Flower Shop, romantic relationships are starting to blossom (pun totally intended). All the girls are different from each other, so you can't do the same thing to win each of their hearts. Some don't take teasing very well, and others don't care much for being lavished with compliments. You'll have to pay attention to the girl's personality if you want to win her over.

As for Plat du Jour, we're still getting to know the girls. In fact, the character who's gotten the most attention and development so far is the "best friend" dude. I love writing his interaction with the protagonist. The girls are still a mystery so far, but I want this story to be one about life and learning, not just picking a romantic interest and chasing after her. I think it's most important that the main character changes throughout the story, and the path you choose will change the main character in different ways. It's not just about changing the other characters or saving someone, but about becoming a better person, yourself.

It rained today.

It rained today. A lot. It's been raining like crazy these past few days with lots of thunder and lightning. I'm a huge fan of thunder and lightning, but others around me are less so. Even though today should have been a fantastic shut in day with hot milk tea and lots of writing, it wound up being an outdoor excursion in the pouring rain followed by a trip to the mall with a very irate Kyouya Outori and Captain ADD. On the bright side, I finally made some potato and leek soup for myself and it was delicious. What does this have to do with anything? What I'm saying is that lots of things get in the way of a project finishing. But a dedicated writer will stay up late and skip meals just to get the job done! Or perhaps he will be smart and eat some delicious potato and leek soup so that he will be energized when he writes. In essence, writing isn't just a hobby or a side project for me these days. "Real life" doesn't get in the way because writing IS my real life. And even a project like Plat du Jour will get the attention that it deserves.

Statistics:
The game contains 347 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 3382 words,
for an average of 9.7 words per screen.
The game contains 2 menus.

Skip a day, update twice.

This week has been very busy for me, but not with much writing. Besides spending a good amount of time on my other jobs (art and voice acting), I've had to struggle with some real life blah. But daily updates are a must to keep me motivated, and I hate missing more than one day in a row.

So today it's a double update with no word count because I'm too lazy run lint. It's late, okay?

-Updated The Flower Shop with some streamlined code and a new event.

-Updated Plat du Jour with a new event.

Cookies and High Jump

Do you like my new banner? The artwork is courtesy the immensely talented M. Beatriz Garcia, who is always a joy to work with. The banner features my unofficial mascot, Kurara. Kurara is from my story Plat du Jour, and she seems to be the most popular girl already. I'm not surprised. She's super cute, and her hair is really pretty. Plus, who can resist a girl who bakes? Speaking of Plat du Jour, I wrote more words for it today. Yaaay.

Statistics:
The game contains 254 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 2637 words,
for an average of 10.4 words per screen.
The game contains 2 menus.

PdJ Update

Wordcount update.

Statistics:
The game contains 177 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 1793 words,
for an average of 10.1 words per screen.
The game contains 1 menus.

Fooooood.

Yosh~ I've finally revived my long forgotten Plat du Jour and I am so happy. I am rewriting it in its entirety because I have a much tighter and coherent storyline now. Yaaaay~

Statistics:
The game contains 90 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 862 words,
for an average of 9.6 words per screen.
The game contains 0 menus.

Productivity Never Takes a Break!

Interesting day today. I did a lot of work-related things like discussing work, outlining upcoming projects, and messing with code. But none of my word counts actually increased.

So, here's what's up in the hood these days:

-Heileen 2: I'm working as an editor for this. This is an active project that is moving along at a pretty nice pace. It's already looking to be deeper than the original.

-The Flower Shop: Writing this one based on a rough outline. The first two chapters are complete, and the third is about halfway complete. The third is really the real meat of the story, as the first two set up the story and the fourth is more of an extended epilogue. It's a nice, normal, slice of life story with normal romance and normal people. Shocking!

-hanami x 2: My own personal little project. Writing and coding this myself, as well as doing a bit of the artwork. My first forray into the dark and mysterious world of OTOME GAMES. The writing is about halfway complete, as it's not a long story. Everything else is...seriously lacking.

-Idem et Idem: Although I call it active, I've really finished the majority of my role in this. The entire first draft is complete, so revisions and edits will come as the programmer or artist requires.

-Plat du Jour: One of my really old stories that I'm finally dragging up from the depths of who knows where to bring back to life. I'm working on the outline of the entire thing, but now that the main writing for Idem is done, I'll be leaping into this one with vigor.

There's definitely more I'm up to like planning out another (otome) game, editing some other up and coming things, and such. But the ones listed above are my current active projects. Faito on!

New Tablet

Well, I got a new tablet, so I decided to give it a whirl on a sketch of Maya by strawberrybocky. Plat du Jour has been on the back burner for awhile, and truthfully, it'll probably be that way for awhile. I have more important things to work on (like Idem et Idem, and I will definitely finish another chapter tomorrow) and Cuter than Fiction (which will be completed in its entirety tomorrow). The other thing is that Plat du Jour is going to be undergoing some pretty heavy upgrades in terms of art, writing, and plot. I can hear a collective groan from the masses now as they realize that this means I'm practically starting over. I hate it as much as you do, but to be honest, my current incarnation is incredibly weak. I lost focus of my main goal, and I want it back. So I'm going to write up a much tighter outline this time around and make it a good story worth playing. And if the current sketch is any indication of the improvement over the old version, I think this is revamp is worth it.

Maya Evolution

I commented on her evolution a little bit in this post, but I'll ramble a bit more here.

Initially, Maya was meant to be the tomboy character. When I designed her, I thought her voice would be something like Mitsuki Saiga, a woman who's a lot more known for her male voices than female ones. With this in mind, her character was very tough with very few feminine traits. She was a track team star, the kind that lots of girls would have a crush on. She has a lot of male and female fans and a strong sense of justice, even having a signature "justice punch." But for being such a popular girl, she was terribly hard to actually put into a romantic situation. I wanted to show some of her vulnerability, but it didn't really turn out because her type of character was so unrealistic. The school idol type is so fake, and tearing her down and showing her weakness just seemed terribly cliche. Plus, as the tomboy, she didn't come across as a believable older sister.

And so her character and eventually her design took a pretty serious change. Instead of being the school idol and crush, she became a lot less of the "girl prince" and more of "one girl army." A tough girl, but not unrealistic and distant. She's still a track star, but not the perfect kind that always wins no matter what. Instead, I wanted her to struggle and to work hard for her victories, and even fail a little bit. Then her weaknesses would be more human and less cliched. Plus, it makes her a much warmer big sister who is closer to her siblings rather than just being the super cool guardian who they look up to. I think the change in character is a nice one because it makes her a lot more human and much more identifiable.

Maya Sketches

Maya is the first route in Plat du Jour that I'm working on, so here are a couple of my sketches of her design. The one above was her first incarnation, originally meant to be a tomboy type. She's since evolved from a tomboy sort of character to more of an "oneesan."


Her current design. Still very boyish, but she has a lot more feminine quality to her now.

--sake-bento

First Post

First post in my dev blog. I'm hoping to update daily - we'll see how that goes. I guess I'll start with my most ambitious project, Plat du Jour (working title). It's a pretty standard visual novel: one guy, multiple girls. Light romance. The theme is cooking. Here's the character card for the lead character, Trian.

Statistics:
The game contains 558 screens of dialogue.
These screens contain a total of 4602 words,
for an average of 8.2 words per screen.
The game contains 5 menus.