Hello! Apologies for the lack of updates these past few weeks, school has been kicking my ass ;o;
[details=TLDR: Demo postponed until maybe mid-July thanks to school, personal projects, and possibly a family trip]
I haven’t been able to get very much progress done because so much of my time has just been dedicated to school and unfortunately that means the demo will probably be pushed back from April, and I have an older project that I’ve been planning for a really long time that I’ll need to work on after school is out (admittedly it’s a cosplay… But I will be working on this at the same time!) and then I have a trip to Vietnam planned with my mom in June, and while I would have wifi, it wouldn’t be very good. If I do go to Vietnam though, I would have a lot of time to work since I’ll be staying with my and and I’ll likely be spending nearly all of my time hanging out inside with the fan on because it’ll be hot and humid as hell out. With all that, I should probably be able to get a demo out maybe late June to mid July depending on when my mom books the trip and I’ll have a lot of time to work more on it throughout the summer[/details]
I just finished up my first large-ish project for school this week though, and with midterms coming up in two weeks, I just want to put out a mini progress report while I can (even though it’s 1 AM right now at least where I am and most people who frequent this forum are likely asleep or something)
All put under cuts because, wow they are wordy
[details=Story/Timeline]So I’ve determined that I do want to have the mc be a student, but I don’t know how big of a role it should play. Should it be a central part to the story, like in Community College Hero, or should it be kind of a side plot to the main spirit conflict? If it was a side plot, should the player have the option to not be a student and instead be working full or part time? My main concern about having it be a central part of the plot is how well could I have it mesh with the spirit conflict? What is the mc concerned about regarding school, other than passing their classes of course?
Also, I originally planned to have the story start in early January and end in late December. However with mc being a student, while it definitely happens irl, it feels weird, story-wise, to start with their Spring semester (I’d be using the semester system since I have no idea how the quarter system goes), have their Summer break, and then end at the end of their Fall semester. However, if I began it in the Fall, it would feel just as weird to have the story end at the end of the Summer, since I want the story to span a year. Which timeline would be preferred, beginning of the year to the end, or early Fall to late Summer?[/details]
[details=Stats]Right now I’m still not solid on what stats to do. Ones I’m considering are charisma and determination and right now I’m not sure what else may be applicable to the story
One I definitely want to use is fatigue, which will be able to rise and lower throughout various parts of the game. This stat will be affecting the mc’s success rates in both school and magic. Other than how hard or easy it makes tasks, I’d also like to have a few extra lines in some scenes describing the mc’s fatigue, probably things like “You find it hard to focus. You should probably be getting more rest” and different dialogue
With that, I may have a Magical stat and Academic stat? I’m not sure if they should be separate or ‘versus’ stats (I forgot what they’re actually called). If I make them separate, I think it would be difficult to get both of them high (I’d say above 60%) in the same playthrough[/details]
[details=Characters (SUPER LONG)]I’m still working on figuring out the names for the side characters and also the locations. For what are supposed to be the main characters, a lot of the roles have been small so far so I need to figure out ways to make their roles more central to the plot and also flesh them out more
The three primary spirits are a sea spirit, mountain spirit (changed from forest), and the spirit of the city, all currently unnamed. While none of them are old or powerful enough to be considered gods, they’re each the de-facto leader of their respective domains. The sea spirit (she/her pronouns) is mischievous and unpredictable while the mountain spirit (they/them pronouns) is very stoic. I have an idea of the city’s nature in my head, however I’m having trouble putting it into the right words and, as of now, it’s not quite set in stone like the other two are
Also, I’ve been referring to the city in my notes and in my head as an ‘it’ since, while it’s a sentient being, it’s not a person. Rather than the city being nonbinary/agender, since those are identities, the gender would be more like ‘not applicable’. Would that be appropriate at all? If not, I’d be happy to give the city spirit they/them pronouns instead
With the ROs, I’m not happy right now with the roles they’re playing. Right now, they’re rather flat and are very minor to the main story, so after working out the main storyline, fleshing them out and giving them better roles in the story is my second priority. Adding little blurbs for each of them below becauseeeee… tbh I just want to talk about them
Sam won’t be a student like the other ROs and the MC and will instead be working for xer uncle’s business (that I still need to determine) and is thinking of going back to school and starting college in the next year or two. Xe is a bit air-headed and jumpy, but hard working and optimistic. Xe cares a lot about the MC both as a friend and as a love interest and xe has been crushing on the MC for years but was always too shy to act on it
Emmet is very introverted and likes to keep to himself. The MC would see him around school, but will most likely be meeting him in his family’s shop. As for the field he’s studying, something involving biology would be an obvious choice since he’s a green witch, but I’m still undecided. Bit tough to determine his personality exactly outside of ‘shy’
Liz is outgoing and very expressive and kind of geeky (as in the cartoons + comic books + probably video games geek). She’s an art student, probably going into something like illustration or concept design. Admittedly, she’s kind of based on some of my friends and classmates. Working on making her into her own character and not just ‘generic art student’
Also, the three of them should somehow be at least be a bit involved in helping MC with the spirit conflict
Various other side characters need names, so if anyone has something they want to see used, just throw it out and I might use it. The MC also needs name examples, male, female, and unisex. The toughest name to figure out honestly is Sam’s uncle’s name because every Vietnamese male name I can find is taken by a relative or family friend of mine’s and it feels weird to have a character with the same name as a person I know[/details]
Tbh that was much less ‘mini’ than originally intended but I might as well get this info out right now before midterms kill me :,) Next update, whenever that may be, I’ll hopefully have enough story details figured out to do some real writing. Also, if any other questions come up, feel free to ask. I’ll be watching movies this weekend to get a feel of the atmosphere I want to go for since I finally have the time. I borrowed my friend’s Kiki’s Delivery Service and Ponyo (that one is mainly to get an idea of what the sea spirits look/move like) weeks ago and really should give them back soon. I’ll also be drawing this weekend since it’s a lot easier for me to do things when I have a proper image of my ideas. The game probably won’t feature much art, but I’ll be posting doodle dumps here probably
Though tbh curses may get mentioned but I won’t put an actual curse in because I don’t want to put up with anyone to go to me telling me I’m evil for it bc that’s just annoying
