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@BarabiSama-- I'm glad you like his pants! I like to think his pants are even better in colour~ Witness the ostentatiousness!



I have a real love of balloon pants, and since I couldn't find any specific references for 12th century fashion outside of Italy and the UK, I decided to give him those pants and the appropriate jackets/shirts for the time and pretend it's right. He's meant to be pretty eclectic and multicultural since he used to just be a regular ol' merchant/trader before joining Porfirio in a life of crime, so I figure even if the mix isn't quite accurate, it gets that aspect of his character across.

(Bonus notes; the embroidery across waistline of this design is a (simplified) symbolic retelling of the story Shell is sharing, and the egg-shaped diamond-encrusted belt buckle is a tacky joke based around the roc section of the Arabian Nights Sinbad stories.)

@LadyOfGatsby-- Thank you for all that praise, ahh. Cafechan totally knocked the art out of the park! I really didn't want to get an anime artstyle for this, since it wouldn't have been appropriate for the story at all, but I also wanted art that'd suit the warm and bright character designs I'd come up with. I couldn't have asked for a better artist to accomodate both those aspects of things, and I can't wait to get the rest of the game done so everyone can see the fantastic stuff she did on the CGs and the other sprite assets I haven't posted. It's all so colourful and crisp and clean ;_; <3

kitsubasa wrote:@BarabiSama-- I'm glad you like his pants! I like to think his pants are even better in colour~ Witness the ostentatiousness! [image] I have a real love of balloon pants, and since I couldn't find any specific references for 12th century fashion outside of Italy and the UK, I decided to give him those pants and the appropriate jackets/shirts for the time and pretend it's right. He's meant to be pretty eclectic and multicultural since he used to just be a regular ol' merchant/trader before joining Porfirio in a life of crime, so I figure even if the mix isn't quite accurate, it gets that aspect of his character across.

Ostentatiousness for everyone! Yeah, balloon pants are great ♥ They're like oversized harem pants (which I adore / hoard). Also- Really? I thought you were using Indian references for his clothes since the colors and shapes of his alternate outfit are similar to what urban men in India are said to have worn in that time. (Although, the detailing of the buttons and hem is a little more Eastern now that I look at it.)

BarabiSama wrote:

kitsubasa wrote:@BarabiSama-- I'm glad you like his pants! I like to think his pants are even better in colour~ Witness the ostentatiousness! [image] I have a real love of balloon pants, and since I couldn't find any specific references for 12th century fashion outside of Italy and the UK, I decided to give him those pants and the appropriate jackets/shirts for the time and pretend it's right. He's meant to be pretty eclectic and multicultural since he used to just be a regular ol' merchant/trader before joining Porfirio in a life of crime, so I figure even if the mix isn't quite accurate, it gets that aspect of his character across.

Ostentatiousness for everyone! Yeah, balloon pants are great ♥ They're like oversized harem pants (which I adore / hoard). Also- Really? I thought you were using Indian references for his clothes since the colors and shapes of his alternate outfit are similar to what urban men in India are said to have worn in that time. (Although, the detailing of the buttons and hem is a little more Eastern now that I look at it.)

Italian refs for the jacket but swapping the button design/placement to be slightly more eastern, a mix of eastern European refs and Persian recreations for the pants and shoes, and the colour scheme is me cheating flagrantly for the purpose of characterisation. If I was being realistic, his undershirt and pants would almost certainly be white or off-white, but I wanted to have the outfit come off as ridiculously opulent and showy, so I added in gold and diamond embellishments, and made all the main fabrics purple, which would've been flat-out illegal for someone outside of nobility/high religious rank to be wearing around the Byzantine empire.

Depending on your level of savvy, he's meant to look positively regal, or like an utter, unrepentant con-artist. Porfirio sees him as the former, Aquila as the latter, and Mariana made this outfit for him out of what was lying around, so she's not fussed either way.

kitsubasa wrote:Italian refs for the jacket but swapping the button design/placement to be slightly more eastern, a mix of eastern European refs and Persian recreations for the pants and shoes, and the colour scheme is me cheating flagrantly for the purpose of characterisation. If I was being realistic, his undershirt and pants would almost certainly be white or off-white, but I wanted to have the outfit come off as ridiculously opulent and showy, so I added in gold and diamond embellishments, and made all the main fabrics purple, which would've been flat-out illegal for someone outside of nobility/high religious rank to be wearing around the Byzantine empire.

Depending on your level of savvy, he's meant to look positively regal, or like an utter, unrepentant con-artist. Porfirio sees him as the former, Aquila as the latter, and Mariana made this outfit for him out of what was lying around, so she's not fussed either way.

The details are definitely interesting! I appreciate seeing so much thought put into the outfit designs, especially with each character having a different opinion of it. I look forward to seeing him flaunting himself in the game with it ;3

Hellooo all!

So, everything's shaping up well on the game-- GUI is well underway, ditto for music, and I'm still hoping that I can get things wrapped up within roughly the next month or so. I'm posting today mostly to update on the writing side of things!

At the moment, I'm about 80% done with the writing-- the only things left are the alternate endings. However, I'm also hitting a bit of a wall, and I was hoping to get some feedback on the current state of the script to see what needs polishing, what needs chopping, and what makes no sense. Having this feedback now will help me with shaping the remaining endings into something more fulfilling and engaging for everyone, and ensure there aren't any major plotholes or the like. I've had one friend reading through and giving me her take on things, but a couple more people can't hurt!

So, without further ado: if you would like to read the current script (roughly 35k long, for the record), please message me and I'll offer you the link. Do note though that if you do this, it's with the expectation you will offer some form of feedback on it! Whether it's just a couple of notes saying 'this is cool, but can you explain more about Alasdair's backstory', or a full breakdown of the script-- completely up to you. But I'd be wanting some kind of critical engagement with it. Thanks all, and here's hoping someone's up for chipping in!

This all sounds very interesting and I love all the designs :]. It's great things sound to be going well.

I am terrible at providing feedback so I can't offer any help there. But I hope you find some good people to assist you with that. And good luck on getting it all finished C:.

Holy cannoli! 35K? I usually do in-depth examinations when I edit. But I can give it a shot if you're okay with it taking a while.

Just wanted to drop in and say that the arts and the character designs look awesome! And the story sounds interesting too! Good luck with the rest of the writings and other assets, 'cause I really want to play this. :D

@Googaboga-- Tris + Mariana and Sinbad (original outfit) + Alasdair also share colour schemes, if you look closely. What could it all meeean~? ;O Well, nothing much, until you read the story, but when you do, think of it as a cue on how to examine everyone's relationships. It's meant to be a kind of analytical tool to help draw some comparisons between the time periods.

@Mad Harlequin-- 35,000 isn't too much, is it? I mean, most VNs I play in that 30-50,000 ballpark take about 1-2 hours to run through, so it seems to be a pretty medium length thing, haha. But if you'd like to help, I'd be very appreciative! I know you do a bit of editing work around the place and I'd love to see what you can offer critique-wise. : D

@Chocojax-- Thank you, glad to hear it! Shouldn't be too long now, provided I get my butt into gear and finish these endings properly.

kitsubasa wrote:@Mad Harlequin-- 35,000 isn't too much, is it? I mean, most VNs I play in that 30-50,000 ballpark take about 1-2 hours to run through, so it seems to be a pretty medium length thing, haha. But if you'd like to help, I'd be very appreciative! I know you do a bit of editing work around the place and I'd love to see what you can offer critique-wise. : D

Oh, no! I'm not saying it's too much. I just like to provide extensive feedback, so a total of 35K words translates to many, many pages of corrections and suggestions and notes.

Hey all! It's been a while since I've posted an update, and since I had originally anticipated an end Sept/early Oct release for this, I figured I should provide some details about where we're at now and what the new prospective timeframe is.

I've been working on code and those endings lately, trying to get the basics programmed before I finish the script and start riding the downhill route to completion. Sprites are all working, GUI's a WIP-- currently wrangling the text boxes, then after that it's preferences and extras menus and what have you. Here's some stuff!
Morhighan's handled the GUI for this project, it's all lovely and blue/purple and ornate. : D Thanks, Morhighan! Another progress-y type thing; 4/7 of the music tracks for the game are now done, with the other three on the road to completion. Everything's humming along nicely, even if it's a little bit behind where I'd originally intended (all my fault, trust me, haha).

At this point I'd tentatively say end of Oct/start of Nov for release, depending on my schedule. It's my last few weeks of undergrad university at the moment so I'm a little busy on non-game stuff, but I'm using all my free time on this and I'm optimistic about it finishing up soon-ish! Provided none of these assignments trip me up. : I Essays...

(Also, one last thing for today's update-- I haven't had any writing feedback returned as of yet, so if anyone's interested in reading the script, please say! I understand it's kind of lengthy but feedback on it would be awesome if I can find it. As always, I'll live if I don't, but I'd be super grateful if I do!)

I can try to give feedback on the writing, if you like. ^^
Also, good job, I'm glad things are coming together!

Hey all! Here with another update: the first draft of the script is 100% done! It's clocked in at 60,000 words all up, with three main routes (Shell, Alasdair, and a bad route) branching off at the end of Day 3. All routes run the full seven days, and vary between 10k and 15k of unique written content, as well as unique CGs and BGs.

So, with that out of the way, what's left?

-Editing the script (I'm intending four edits between now and release-- general improvements, differentiating character's speaking styles, historical accuracy and final copy)
-Drawing up the BGs (I've decided to have one for each location instead of only using them for Tris' workroom, so that'll be 10 BGs on my plate)
-Finishing the code (self-explanitory; GUI and then the text itself)
-Commissioning some missing assets (logo, possibly a couple of extra CGs)
-Getting in the remaining music (3/7 tracks still need to be completed)
-And, of course, testing!

All in all, I'm confident on having the game done within the next few weeks, since I'm almost on university holiday, at which point I'll have all the time in the world to work on this. Getting very close, and I'm excited for finishing the remaining work! Hopefully everyone's likewise excited to see the finished product!

Also, just to share something neat to make this post more visually engaging. I ended up commissioning a friend of mine with a roughly similar artstyle to Cafechan's to do some extra CGs for the endings that didn't have them. Toasty, said friend, has done a lovely job of these CGs, and while I can't share the full images for spoiler reasons, I'd like to show a snippet of them just to share her awesome work.



Currently, Toasty has supplied 2 CGs for the game, while Cafechan has supplied the other 11, but I may (my time and hers depending, obviously) commission Toasty for a few more, to fill out the routes that currently don't have many.

Another feature I'm looking into adding, on the topic of the routes, is an unlockable 'author's notes' section in the extras menu for those diligent enough to get all six endings. The author's notes would discuss things such as the historical setting of the game, the queer themes included, the inspirations for the story, and where the various endings and implications of the story are headed in the future. It'd just be a fun, informal reward for your patience, since otherwise, the only prize for completing all six routes is the satisfaction of having them all checked in the menu. Would this feature be appreciated, or would it be a waste of everyone's time? I do have a lot to say about this project but I don't know if others want to read it, haha. I'm into post-text author's notes but I might be the only one. Weigh in on this, please!

Any updates? This WiP is the one I'm the most excited about.

Funnily enough, yes! I was going to update in the next couple of days but I'll just throw up the new info I've got now, since you've reminded me (and also because a dose of flattery always goes a long way-- I'm glad you hear you like the look of things!).

So, the game is pretty close to completion. All the editing is done except for the very very last scene of Shell's route, everything but Shell's route and the extras menu has been coded, and the to-do list as of now stands at:

-Editing the last scene of Shell's route
-Coding Shell's route
-Polishing the code for the rest of the game/fixing typos/etc
-Getting the logo in
-Getting the last piece of music
-Finishing the BGs (I'll be tackling this primarily while I'm...)
-Having some people beta the game (sans BGs)

I have literally nothing else to do with my time at the moment so I'm making good, fast progress, and I'll try and update again once everything but the backgrounds is done. I'm leaving them to last because I can just put placeholders in for them, so I can get beta-ing done without them in place, so I think it's better to prioritise the other aspects first.

And, to cap off... since it's become kind of customary for me to throw in visual stuff for my updates, here's a screenshot with one of my really rough uncoloured unlined placeholder backgrounds...



... and here's the same BG out of the game as a sketchy WIP. I'm currently fiddling around with the curtains to figure out what to do with the railing, then it'll be onto proper lines and colour. : D