Blackout [WIP][Mystery][Suspense][GxB]

[Kate]

Sorry for no demo up yet, guys. School and life have thrown me stressful curve-balls...

I was in a car accident. I'm ok, but my car is totaled and I'll have to pick up the job searching since my current job doesn't pay nearly enough to help replace this car... thankfully my parents are helping me, but this royally sucks. And it was awful because it was so scary, I keep seeing the car crash when I shut my eyes. Ah!!!

I'll try to resume progress and post a good chunk of writing and sprite size testing up for your enjoyment sometime soon.

[Agashi]

I'm so sorry to hear about your recent misfortune. I've been in an accident myself, and it's not something you get over easily. Hope things turn around for you soon! *hugs*

[Kate]

My goal is to catch up over the break. I would have been on schedule had the accident not happened, though I still had complications in my schedule due to rigorous education courses. I'll get back on track soon. On the bright side, I've just been offered a good position at a library so I'm very happy and excited! The job has really nice hours so it won't change my progress very much at all.

[Baky]

It looks really good! Bookmarking to stalk <3

[Kate]

Soooooo.... Semester from hell. But I'm back. I've lurked a few times lately and after finals, I'll TRULY be back. Really. *Wipes tear from eyes* Missed this place. College, guys. Soul = devoured. Had this one honors class that made us review a movie a week, write a paper on each one, AND make a film for the class (short film, but still.... that takes a ton of time!) Didn't expect that. But I passed everything so far, so once I'm done next week, it'll be the best feeling ever.

What to look forward to: Every week I'm setting aside a ton of time for myself to write. I no longer work at that summer camp.... so my summer is looking perfect for plenty of writing and programming daily. There will finally be more progress on the game!

I'm going to *try* a live program or writing broadcast on YouTube through a livestream if I can figure it out. I figure some may not want to bother wasting time tuning in, but others might see some helpful tricks to programming or organizing games that may help them- and get a sneak peak at the code (mostly just dialogue and working out points/endings logistics, ha, hate to disappoint, no top secret magic yet). Or just chat about games and stuff while I write or program. I haven't reached out to many yet from the community but I'd really like to start doing that.

Also, I'm not satisfied with the YouTube tutorials available. Many have poor audio or visual quality so it's hard to learn from them, and they don't actively give examples that you can work along. And there are only a handful of programmers who did more than one tutorial, so the style changes and there's no continuation for learners. I'm currently studying to be an English teacher... so I think I can structure some lessons in a way that really jump-start new programmers. (In case anyone's wondering, I've gotten a Blue SnowBall to do the audio- it's a ton of fun and works quite nicely for crystalline audio!) My goal is to make a video every week or two through the summer and give really good, concise explanations and examples of coding and good writing practices. (If anyone is interested in helping or suggesting a lesson theme/topic/concept specifically to help beginners on the basics and simpler "must haves" of a game, that would be great. PM me with your idea, I'll post a list later in a new thread...I PROMISE!)

Secondary goal: release "framework" tips on helping new game makers organize genre-themed games. This summer, I hope to make one on mystery games. This will ideally go one step beyond the beginner lessons and talk about what elements you can use together in a mystery game, showcase a few features in the games of others (with permission), talk about writing (it's the English teacher and writer in me), characters, and feature organization tips geared towards producing a mystery game. Basically, combo of skills and style. If this goal isn't reached, I'll do this at a slower pace through the fall. I'm way more concerned with getting a good set of tutorials out there first because they really aren't out there or available right now beyond a small handful- and they're in different languages. And many of us learn by watching rather than reading.

Finally, I hope to work out the details for the background art for my game in the beginning of the summer. That way I'll have some more to show you guys.

[Kate]

I'm making an appearance of guilt and slight shame- here's what happened to my summer:

Cleaned up my computer of gig-eating files.
Sister's Grad party. Painted a hallway and doors for like two weeks straight!!!!! (Wainscoting. Ugh.)
Job went into limbo. Stress-induced video gaming binge. Spent time with BF on break 3 weeks.
Job not in limbo. Got a car! Car had problems, but good as new now.
THEN GOT ENGAGED ;D ;D ;D ;D Up to neck in wedding planning reading materials! Forgot everything but the word "wedding".
Job back in limbo. SERIOUS Boss-tells-you-I'm-sorry limbo. Very slight, minimal chance I can keep it. No answer yet.....ugh! ugh! ugh! nerves and anxiety!
(Thanks college schedule!//sarcasm)

Now home alone whilst fam (including brother who just made it through Air Force officer training camp) goes to Holiday world without me. That means no water park break for me.

What I'm going to do to salvage the summer: Get back to writing because this job that I got into and poured everything into is probably tanked, so I might as well get my butt into gear. Not looking forward to applying for jobs elsewhere....

Adult life problems have hit me like a wall of bricks. My coping mechanism was spending as much time watching cute anime shamelessly with the bf (now fiancee) as possible and cooking. At least I'm getting back in the saddle finally. I had to remind myself of a good saying for writers:
"What is a writer who isn't writing? A bum."

[Zelan]

Awww, man, that's one roller coaster of a summer. That sucks about your job. D: I hope finding a new one goes as painlessly as possible.

Congratulations on your engagement, though! ^_^ Tell the lucky guy that a random Internet person is happy for you two.

[Kate]

Thank you
I got the official news today that I'm cut loose after three more weeks. So, it's bittersweet, but I'll survive...

I'm treating myself to The Royal Trap (via steam) - shoutout to Hanako Games - But I'm also going to download a few of the free completed games from around LSF to get a taste for good visual novels. I hit a low spot and resorted to my old purchased voltage routes to cheer me up when I was bumming last week, but I'm dying for some good protagonists and realistic dialogue. (Does anyone have a good name for the level of crazy/nosy/insanely goofy that the side characters achieve in every voltage route?) It was my "junk food" VN fix. Now I'm getting to the steak and potatoes (and veggies) of it, haha.

If anyone cares to answer,

Q: What kind of character is your favorite in VN's? You can answer for friends in the game, romantic interests, etc.

[Epiphanies]

I generally prefer romanceable characters, mostly because I'm a sucker for love stories but also because a lot more effort tends to go into their characterization. I'm alright with a range of personalities but I'll admit I'm old enough these days that drama for the sake of drama doesn't interest me much. So characters who are preoccupied with said drama tend to come off as flat and uninteresting to me.

I'm also keenly fond of characters who have their own agendas. Bonus points if those agenda items don't necessarily involve the protagonist. That adds a layer of realism and complexity that I greatly enjoy.

Generally, my favorite characters will never treat the protagonist like crap. Unless it's a specific scene, and the protagonist has the option of calling them on their behavior and remedying it.

Not sure if that's helpful or not!