Re: [WIP] Maid of Midsummer - updated JULY 11, 2012

[Shelly]

Um...hello. ^_^ I had to comment on here and see if this is still alive. It seems like it's been a while...

Anyways, just wanted to say that it all looks amazing. Your art is really beautiful. I would love to help proofread, although it seems like you already have plenty of help with that. Have a great day.

[BubzlyRose]

been checking up on this game since last year. hope its still going on love the story and the artwork for the characters are great so far it looks good excited to see it come out

[LadyLylalie]

This game looks really great. I don't know whether it's been temporarily or permanently discontinued, but I sincerely hope it's the former. I hope it's still going.

[FatUnicornGames]

Out of any seemingly dead project on this site, this is the one I keep coming back to. I really hope you are still working on it! Good luck!

[babyfish]

*waves flag from underneath a pile of rubble and stuff*

Just wanted to let people know that I'm still alive, been busy with work and school, but I'm going to make a serious attempt at getting back into the game-making gear once again.

Again, thank you so much for following this thread for so long. Sorry for disappearing! <3

>( ') babyfish

[spiritsongtress]

WOOOT! ITS ALIVE! FISHIE IS ALIVE~
Maid of Midsummer LIVE ON!

Can we get some Yuri-action in the game enough (I mean its only fair to allow both genders open for crabs I think)

[Hiddlestoners]

Woo! It's still active!
Just to say, the art is amazing *A* It's so purdy it makes me want to cry at my own lack of artistic skills xD
Also, are beta-tester spots still open?
Good luck for the future also!

[spiritsongtress]

I would like a Beta tester spot in addition to proof reader!

Also the Art is like S+ (there for higher than A)

[Veniae]

Aaah, I'm so glad that you're alive and willing to work on this again! <3 I'm really looking forward to updates and stuff, but don't push yourself too hard!

[LadyLylalie]

Yay! I'm so glad it's alive! But don't worry about disappearing, your life is more important than pleasing random people you've never even seen the faces of.

If you're still taking betas I'd love to be one!

[babyfish]

*hugs everyone* Thanks so much for the support~ Added new beta testers and proofreaders to the list.

Okay so, just to show that I'm really back, I decided to show a few more screenshots of the interface. Plus if I ever hope to get a demo (or at least a teaser) released, the main thing I should absolutely be focusing on is getting all of the schedule functions down. Especially "Meet People" and "Practice Skills"



A selection screen featuring a list of some of the areas you can visit. Certain places will also be 'unlockable'




A sample of the interface for the skill practice selection screen.

Again, as always, I'd like your honest opinion on the interface, especially as far as layout and appearance goes. =3 If people clamour for change, I'll usually go ahead and change it. My main concern is the skill practice selection screen, namely, how does it look with the bars and values for each skill underneath each option?

More on the different schedule functions later =3

~babyfish

[FatUnicornGames]

Looks fantastic! I am excited you're back on the scene.

[Explosions&NickCage]

That is superb interface. I have seen expensive commercial games with worse interface.
The only thing I would think is maybe seeing if you could find an icon that would fit courtesy better. It's a fan, right? And fans are connected to courtesy and elegance, but it looks sort of out of place with all the other icons. Maybe a different style fan?
Anyway, it looks great.

[Obscura]

This looks amazing.
You're doing the work of about three or four people, and it all seems of very high quality. Mind=blown!

[babyfish]

@Obscura: @_@;; Three or four people? Sounds about right. Working this project solo pretty much requires me to be a jack-of-all-trades, I'm doing just about everything short of music composition. But I'm glad that you think I'm doing a decent job so far =3

@Explody: Thanks, I'm glad that you like the UI. =) Currently I'm trying to find a way to get people to test the UI without revealing too much of the game content. I'll try to see if I can make the fan icon more 'fanlike' haha~

Okay. Now onto skill development. The MC gets Saturday Evenings off and Sunday Mornings off, which she may use to build her skills if she so pleases. After literally months of dithering, I've finally come up with an idea as to how to make this work. Below is a demonstration of how the 'practice skills' selection screen works. On the screen is a list of your basic skills. Suppose I want to focus on increasing the 'Cleaning' skill.



...So I click that button...



...and it opens up to another, smaller list of 'activities' pertaining to the cleaning skill. Each action here will obviously increase cleaning, but will include some added effects as well (or none at all).

Also, doing some of these special activities will possibly come with their own special events. ...Okay sure, maybe cleaning might not be terribly interesting, but let's look at a few examples of activities related to other skills.

Charm - 'Flirting' with the various people around the mansion will earn you plenty of charm, but your reputation will take a hit. (And your love interests, if any, will be pissed)

Cunning - Attending a class in the city will cost you money, obviously, but your stats will increase greatly.

Cunning(again) - How about playing cards with some of the staff? Behind your boss' back, of course. Reputation may take a bit... but you might earn (or lose) a little money.

Courtesy - Practicing your manners by engaging in conversation with the higher-ups will increase your reputation, but will increase your stress.

Culture - There's the arts and literature. There's also fashion and sewing. If you build enough skill and you have the sufficient funds, you might be able to sew your own dress for the ball.

Cooking - Practice your skills in the kitchen, learn different recipes, and create something delicious (or disasterous) for that special person.

Huge ideas, for sure. I'm thinking that each skill will have no more than three 'actions' each. If anything, I think this might be a fun system for people to just explore and go crazy with. This idea is still in development, and very much open to change.

Let me know your thoughts =3 On the system and the interface that is. Or anything in particular, haha