of all there is [BxB...?][Fantasy][Demo out!]

[Ghost of Crux]

The demo is really lovely! It's a really intriguing world.

A couple of suggestions though: It might be worth colouring the name labels in the text box to differentiate between the labels and what's actually being said. Also a shorter transition between sprites might suit the aliased style of them: the slow dissolve between them feels a little odd with the cool hard-edged look of them.

Can't wait to read more though, this is really cool so far!

Is the world confusing though? I mean, the fact that night isn't night, mostly because they're basically space-stuffs and thus have no concept of night? I mean like if you had any confusion at first, I probably should make it clearer in the rewrite xD

Oh, right-- a very good idea there xD Or I was thinking of indenting it a bit to the middle, but not much-- just enough to make it not seem like it's part of the paragraph. I'll mess around with things and see.

I made a new transition for it that's like 0.2, but then it goes by so fast that it feels more action-packed than it is-- I'll have to mess around with the speed to get what's right, but it's honestly kind of funny to see the Skyfolk, AKA creatures who literally took centuries just to make a decision, act like they're ready to fight in seconds. For now, though, I'm setting it at 0.3. We'll see in the possible next demo.

Thank you! I'll try to get to the next milestone as fast as possible. o v o
Also thanks lots for the feedback!

[KiloTango]

Is the world confusing though? I mean, the fact that night isn't night, mostly because they're basically space-stuffs and thus have no concept of night? I mean like if you had any confusion at first, I probably should make it clearer in the rewrite xD

I'm a pretty bad barometer for 'is it too confusing' as I've got a really high tolerance for not knowing what is going on and working out world details by context. I think it'll be easier to tell if it's too confusing once there's more of it though. Especially because the most setting-complex conversation is with someone The Emissary isn't sure he understands anyway.

(Weirdly I'm especially curious why Crab has green, irised eyes rather than the full black ones the others have)

Oh, right-- a very good idea there xD Or I was thinking of indenting it a bit to the middle, but not much-- just enough to make it not seem like it's part of the paragraph. I'll mess around with things and see.

Cool. It's a really tight and classy interface so I hope you can find something

Seth is adorable, btw.

[Ghost of Crux]

I'm a pretty bad barometer for 'is it too confusing' as I've got a really high tolerance for not knowing what is going on and working out world details by context. I think it'll be easier to tell if it's too confusing once there's more of it though. Especially because the most setting-complex conversation is with someone The Emissary isn't sure he understands anyway.

(Weirdly I'm especially curious why Crab has green, irised eyes rather than the full black ones the others have)

Would anyone bludgeon me if I said that it has no actual reason? xD
I designed the characters around one core, usually, and the Crab's is that he underwent a metamorphosis from an almost cruelly apathetic character as a star into a more caring, bright person after his supernova. Eyes and horns set no standard in the Expanse-- for example, Betelgeuse and the other pulsar has irises, while the queen Andromeda doesn't. What does, though, is something that's a bit like... gems on the skin. So far, only Andromeda has it. However, I'm not even sure if Andromeda would show up. (Andromeda is a supermassive blackhole, by the way, and she overthrew her mother by chaining her to a chair that hangs upside down. Of course, she's not really a mother, and some can argue that the struggle never really happened, but is really just a part of how things were supposed to go.) (Seth the Herald is based on a blue dragonfly) (I have plans of having these character notes in the extras)

And don't worry, not everyone acts like the "white haired gnome", as a friend called him xD
Coalsack is a dark nebula, and is basically a baby. (This would get mentioned later, just to clarify what he is) His apathy is the size of Milky Way, and it's honestly a surprise that he'd even try to explain anything to the Emissary. Coalsack literally is that person who doesn't even turn when you shout their name.

The concept of the night being words is one that will be brought up again and again, and in a multitude of different ways. The story is about the night, in a sense-- it's about the Herald speaking the words of other creatures, and these words come into the Expanse in different ways. What Coalsack said about "it's easier with colours" will be the point of another character-- Betelgeuse. Seth will try his best to explain the night and the words to the Emissary, because that's really the core of what he's doing. So no, Coalsack won't be the standard fare of Mr. Exposition xD

As for the interface, I played with some stuffs:




I personally liked the one without indentation, but I can understand anyone favoring indentation-- it differentiates the parts better.

It's kind of unintentional, considering his original concept art, but uh I'm glad? xD

[Thirteen]

Do you think you can keep up with the world-building references should it continue?

Yes! I cannot understand the world, just yet, but it is also so early in the game. I am very interested in learning about the world and how it works in the context of the story~

Are the characters too vague in explaining the world?

A little yes, but I feel like since the emissary doesn't seem to know what's going on either it's okay. I'm expecting the explanations to become clearer once more context is given.
Since the demo throws you into the world and doesn't really get the time to explain everything. As long as more information is given, whether from the characters interacting with each other or the emissary experiencing the world it should be fine.

Opinions on the main characters?

They are all very cute! But other than that I don't really think I can form an actual opinion since the demo was so early in game and rather short. The emissary seems grumpy, crab seems cheerful, the nebula seems like a jerk, and Seth seems like the average cool dude. But these are all just first impressions hehe.

The art is really pretty, and the story seems very neat. I am very interested reading more of it!

[Ghost of Crux]

Do you think you can keep up with the world-building references should it continue?

Yes! I cannot understand the world, just yet, but it is also so early in the game. I am very interested in learning about the world and how it works in the context of the story~

Are the characters too vague in explaining the world?

A little yes, but I feel like since the emissary doesn't seem to know what's going on either it's okay. I'm expecting the explanations to become clearer once more context is given.
Since the demo throws you into the world and doesn't really get the time to explain everything. As long as more information is given, whether from the characters interacting with each other or the emissary experiencing the world it should be fine.

Opinions on the main characters?

They are all very cute! But other than that I don't really think I can form an actual opinion since the demo was so early in game and rather short. The emissary seems grumpy, crab seems cheerful, the nebula seems like a jerk, and Seth seems like the average cool dude. But these are all just first impressions hehe.

The art is really pretty, and the story seems very neat. I am very interested reading more of it!

Thank you for the feedback! :'D

I'll try to make it clearer soon-- as soon as after the demo ends, actually. That might have been a bad place to end that demo whoops.

I'm glad you think they're cute xD Some might not end up so cute once Mr. Expository Herald explains more about those characters, but I swear nobody's evil.

I'll be sure to work on this faster, then!

[Ghost of Crux]

Admittedly of all there is isn't my highest priority now (NaNo! So soon!) but it's been two weeks since I've given it some love so new screenshot!



I'll edit this post later (or make another post, should it take long enough) of some other minor characters. There'll be maybe 3 more.

[Baky]

The story telling is really beautiful and intriguing.

The art is also very pretty, you are very talented!

I love the demo, and i can't wait to see more! Keep up the good work, I'm bookmarking for future stalking...

[Ghost of Crux]

The story telling is really beautiful and intriguing.

The art is also very pretty, you are very talented!

I love the demo, and i can't wait to see more! Keep up the good work, I'm bookmarking for future stalking...

Thank you so much! I don't think I can convey how much this motivates me to finish it faster!
I'm writing some more right now, and I'm hoping that I can somehow finish the first part (Coast of Echoes) sometime within this week. It's unlikely, considering NaNo, but I can hope.

Thank you again!

[Ghost of Crux]

Last update for the next 30 days:

A WIP sprite of another character-- the Veil Nebula. You'll find her only in one branch, roaming around the whispering trees in trying to find things to create her many trinkets, which is also her life's work.



I've also been writing and am about 70% done with the first part, the Coast of Echoes, so yay!

[Ghost of Crux]

Fact: I like to do things I'm not supposed to do.
Here's the lineart for a scene sprites in part two, with the Herald and Baital Jauza, also known as Betelgeuse.

[Ghost of Crux]

A little tease of an ending~


I frankly have been adding two or three lines every day or so, whenever I don't have any idea of what to write for my NaNo. So this is still going on.

[Ghost of Crux]

ACT 1 SCRIPT FINISHED.
Huzzah!
The game contains 428 dialogue blocks, containing 5,238 words and 28,348
characters, for an average of 12.2 words and 66 characters per block.

The numbers above also include some parts of the endings and an intro to the second act, but the first part is roughly 5k.
I'll be putting up a demo once the first act is done, and then release the entire thing. No demos in between act 2 and 3.
No art progress for now, but here's a half finished scene sprites for act 2:

[Ghost of Crux]

look i'm not a gui designer

That said, all the menu screens are done now \o/

[Ghost of Crux]

A little drawing for my friend to use as a cover art for her pieces at Soundcloud-- Ksen Boyko made two pieces for Of All There Is u v u

And a sneak peek to one of the endings ;'D


I finished two sprites today-- namely, those two. I also finished the endcard for that ending; there'll be mini cgs in the style of the main menu accompanying each ending.

[Ghost of Crux]

Another BG (and "CG") done for act 1!
I think I have only another one before I'm done with backgrounds. After that is just sprites... more specifically, sprites of the Emissary a bit to the side, more walking than standing. The other set is them flying with Veil Nebula.