The Silent Column [BxG][Supernatural][Psychological][Mystery][Romance]

[isobellesophia]

Wow! Your artwork style is good! I kinda honestly say that your character are too creepy and cute for me, and i think you used a bit of a watercolor, it is very suited in your novel, keep up the good work!

It will be great if you show more of the images of the characters, that'll be great!
Keep going.

[SelLi]

Wow! Your artwork style is good! I kinda honestly say that your character are too creepy and cute for me, and i think you used a bit of a watercolor, it is very suited in your novel, keep up the good work!

It will be great if you show more of the images of the characters, that'll be great!
Keep going.

Thank you very much - that's very encouraging...! When I make new art, I'll share it here~! Unless it's a spoiler, of course. ^_^

[SelLi]

This sprite of Serra's pretty cute.
It was also done pretty quickly, which I appreciate because I tend to be overly serious about this project. Being less uptight about the artwork helps.

[drinkerofmilk]

Still loving the artwork. How is the game coming on?

[SelLi]

Still loving the artwork. How is the game coming on?

The game's coming on. Work with this particular project seems to most always be very slow, though.
I've recently been writing from the perspective of Lisa as she interacts with her friends. I have a choice where Lisa can either go for a walk, or not, and I've been writing what happens if she does go for a walk. While it seems like a mundane choice, it's very significant.
The "world" of The Silent Column is a multiverse, and so, while certain choices may not seem like much on their own, the choices "represent" following characters in different parts of the multiverse.
What happens when she goes for a walk I won't give away, but... well, for a while I've been wanting to have an element in the story that I refer to as dimensional decay (or melding) or something of the sort, where other universes blend into each other. Something intense happens if Lisa goes for a walk but even if the player chooses for her not to go for a walk, I'm wanting to incorporate elements of dimensional decay (or melding) and have been thinking of other ways to implement that. For example, because things are melding together, characters may have multiple sets of memories when thinking about various things, and each one is valid. And perhaps landscapes and other physical things will turn out some way that people aren't completely sure about... things like that.

I'm also thinking about having some sort of protagonist select option at the beginning of the game that would unlock characters as you play. I have some interesting ideas in mind... but yes, things have been very slow going.
I did a new picture of Serra, though:

A long time ago I had an early demo of TSC out on itch.io, and the demo featured really close up sprites (similar to the picture I just shared, here) and NVL text. I'm thinking of doing something similar to that, again. (The top of her hair will be cut off by the top of the screen.)
Thanks for liking the artwork. I'm sort of a scattered person and I can be a big perfectionist, but I don't want to do something, scrap it, do the same thing again, scrap it, and do the same thing again over and over. I hope I'll get more traction and "spin my wheels" less.

Also, having a protagonist selection screen sounds like I'm biting off more than I can chew, but a lot of story elements are pretty scattered and take place in different places in the multiverse. I can see having a protagonist selection screen helping with that as long as I keep the choices each protagonist makes to a minimum, especially as in early iterations I was following multiple characters anyway, and as I was already talking about implementing various dimensional decay elements so I don't have to worry about, say, Lisa's stories differing from her friend Maielle's stories.
As for the protagonists I'm wanting to follow, I can see following a few. Namely:
Lisa, Maielle, Tashen, Alix, April... and perhaps others, like Serra, Nithi, and Lockette.
I also want to follow Allen after his interaction with Gate, being transported to a certain character's domain far, far before the fall, where he will meet triplets, the character whose domain it is, and a fireworks enthusiast. Maybe I could also follow Zaikrady - I do have several things planned for her... oo, and perhaps Risa, as well.

You see, the protagonist selection thing is sort of like the traditional "follow the protagonist and branch off as you follow a main heroin" structure, but without the need for the one protagonist to be a through-line throughout the entire story, and without the need to have flashbacks as much, as I can just show you what happened in the past. All of this said, though, I can see some of the "protagonists" being more "protagonists" than others as I may focus on particular characters more than others in practice...

This post has likely been quite scattered, but I wanted to share my thoughts, especially since you asked how development was going. See you in the next update, and I'll try to not simply post an image or two, but also tell you what progress I'm making on the story, itself, and on its structure.

Edit: Also, as the story is quite fractured, I can see splitting The Silent Column into several chunks rather than just releasing it as one game. We'll see. For now, I'll just try to structure things more and continue writing and making artwork.

[SelLi]

I did some pictures~ ^_^

I've also written a scene from Josephine's perspective about meeting Lockette.
I'm happy with all of this progress. ^_^
To be honest, though, it still feels to me like I'm groping around in the dark in terms of specific story structure.
I've been working on this story for many years at this point~! So it's not like I'm "coming up blank". Rather, I have a million possible directions to take the story and am having trouble narrowing it down.
When I sit and think about what directions to take the story, there are often a few recurring directions, but during each of these planning (or even scene-writing) sessions, there are also a bunch of random directions that are there one session and replaced with completely different ones the next.
For example, the CG I posted here of Serra going through snow, broken ice, and water in a blizzard: this CG is for a very specific scene that I've had in mind for years regarding Tashen, Serra, and Amy. I even have a - by now very old - draft of the scenes surrounding the CG in a drawer, somewhere~~~~
I wasn't even thinking of including that scene when I was most recently planning a structure, and yet, without planning it, I felt drawn to make this CG, and I think it turned out quite well.
In fact, I feel that all of the art came out quite well. Making it is simply fun.
... I think simply having fun is the key, here. I've been working on this for so long that it seems daunting, and I feel like nothing's "good enough", whether it's art or writing.
But that artwork was just fun. I wasn't thinking about anything or worrying about quality, I was just drawing, and I enjoyed it. And I think they turned out good. I think I should approach the writing in the same way - think less and just have more fun.
After all, all this time I've been galvanizing my art and writing skills, anyway, and I already know many, many, many parts of the story inside and out, so what's there to worry about? If I just let myself have fun, I'll enjoy making this art and writing much more and, hopefully, actually get to release the VN ^_^
Also, because there are often some recurring directions, I should probably try to isolate them: doing so will likely help me form a structure.
I also feel that it's telling that, when wanting to make a CG, I automatically tend to make certain CGs regardless of any plans I do or don't have. This tells me that I subconsciously find some scenes to be meaningful, important, action-packed, and interesting, and I think should follow those feelings.

I don't know if this post made much sense. ^^;

Her, for those who would like to read it, here's the scene between Josephine and Lockette that I wrote. I won't always post writing snippets, but please enjoy.

There, in the yard, lays a girl.
She's a delicate being, and seems to be asleep...
She's so tranquil and still that she seems to be part of nature: as though she belongs where she lays.
However, I soon find myself thinking of her safety.
How long has she been here?
If she stays like this, rattids could make a meal of her when night comes.
Then it occurs to me that she's so pale and still that she may have passed away.
Cautiously, I approach her.
As I do so, I watch keenly for the rising and falling of her breath.
Unfortunately, however, I see no breathing.
At this realization, I stop where I stand and feel my hair stand on end.
It takes me a time to gather myself as I watch the scene, still keenly waiting for her to breathe.
Still, however, no breath comes.
I find myself sitting in the grass, still a fair distance from her and, sitting there, I think of this poor girl.
And I think of how curious this is... for, her skin is very pale, which would suggest to me that she's been gone for a long time.
Therefore, I find it odd that her body hasn't been disturbed by rattids in the night.
I think more on this... and conclude that, if her body's this pale, there should be traces of blood around it, in the grass.
I bring myself to my knees and carefully crawl toward her.
As I do, I notice one strange thing followed by another.
Firstly, there seem to be pale ribbons leading from the house to her and, secondly, on inspecting the grass around her, I can find no traces of blood.
I'm baffled...
In investigating further, I see that the ribbons seem to be the color and texture of her skin and they... seem to have been ripped from her feet, at some point, as though her feet and the ribbons were one, and as if the ribbons were made of her flesh.
I look to her face at this realization but, again, her body has a most tranquil expression.
After pausing and looking at the body, I tentatively smell.
Not it directly, but I smell from where I am... and it strikes me as strange that nothing smells particularly bad.
I kneel, looking at the body, puzzled.
Until, after a time, I decide to follow the ribbons from her feet.
They've broken from her feet and lead to the house, but they stop a fair distance from the door.
Attempting to open the door, I find it open into a quiet, peaceful place.
I see no traces of the ribbons from the doorway, and a delicate, ornamental vase of now-dead flowers sits on a stand near the door.
I close the door and sit on the step.
How can any of this be?
Everything here seems so peaceful, and those ribbons don't seem to enter the house.
The lack of blood and smell, the look of peace on her face, the strange ribbons, and the pristine condition of the extremely pale body...
I feel that I truly don't understand.
Then again, nothing about the fall made much sense.
But then again, again, surely she didn't die any time near the event.
I just don't understand, and the fall was even more insane: the bodies and blood of that event are simply out of my sight, so I've been thinking of that strangeness far less, as time has been passing...
But this is fresh, and the body's right here.
After a time, I resolve to look at the body once more.
It's as still and peaceful-looking as always.
Nothing about it has changed.
Why did I want to look at it, again?
Nothing's different, and nothing can be done to help her.
She's simply gone, now.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry that I couldn't be there for you, and I'm sorry that I don't understand."
As I look over the body for a final time, I see that her eyes have opened.
My own eyes widen, and my heartbeat quickens.
She's still not breathing.
"H-hello...?"
She doesn't answer, but not only are her eyes open, but I swear she's looking at me.
Still afraid, I slowly kneel down beside her and, as I do so, her eyes stay locked on mine.
I-is she really alive?
What in the world do I say?
Before I can think, she reaches toward me with a pale, clammy hand.
With hesitation, I reach for her hand and hold it.
She's cold...
She closes her eyes for a time in a painful-looking way, but soon opens them once more and, when she does, she sits up in the grass.
At the grand movement from what I so recently thought was a dead body, and after looking her over and seeing no apparent injuries, I let out a sigh of relief and slowly find myself smiling at her.
"This is nowhere to sleep, little one."

Thank you all for your interest. I'll see you in the next update.

[isobellesophia]

You did a very hard work for this, might as well playing it sooner when it is finally released.

Keep up the good work and bless you.

[SelLi]

You did a very hard work for this, might as well playing it sooner when it is finally released.

Keep up the good work and bless you.

Thank you... <3 And bless you, too.

[SelLi]

Hi you guys. I feel that I have new perspective, and I've made an outline for chapter 1 of The Silent Column.
I've been toying with all sorts of ideas lately, but much of what I've been toying with doesn't feel like the actual story to me.
As I've said before, this story has been in my head for quite a long time and there are always story beats that I feel make up the story. I feel that this structure for chapter 1 stays true to what The Silent Column actually is.

Here's some information about chapter 1:
It follows Tashen. He really is the main character of the actual story.
The chapter will have 2 sets of 2 choices.
The characters you will see in this chapter are:
A doctor (name undecided as of yet. I've always just thought of him as the doctor, lol)
A humanoid monster
Amy
April
Josephine
Kieth
Kina
Nithi
Serra
Thidria

Chapter 1 will have:
30 written scenes
24 base sprites (I don't know how many expressions these sprites may end up having)
28 CGs
19 backgrounds

This is what I'm going to be working toward. When chapter 1 is completed, I'll release it for everyone to see, but whether it will be released as the first chapter of an episodic visual novel or simply as the demo for the rest of the non-episodic visual novel, I have yet to decide.

Thank you everyone. I'll see you next time.

[SelLi]

Chapter 1 background 1/19.

[SelLi]

I made a new sprite of Serra that I feel is more in line with the style I'm doing, now.

Chapter 1 base sprite 1/24.

[SelLi]

Oh, I forgot to post this background. The inside of the burnt building:

Chapter one background 2/19

[SelLi]

Hi everyone. Life has been a bit of... a roller coaster lately. I have been working on The Silent Column, though.
I am trying to stick to the structure that I previously outlined, but those numbers are subject to change. (For example, I might end up making far fewer CGs, which I feel is understandable as I was talking about doing upwards of 20.)
I'm finding it a little bit weird to update "like a progress bar" - this feeling I'm having is hard to describe... but I guess it just feels weird because the structure is a bit flexible.
The writing is a little bit over 4000 words at the moment, and I've done a new background:

I don't know if I'll go back and edit certain art assets or not. I want them to look good but loose, and easy enough to draw that I can draw a lot of them.
I've been editing the writing a little bit, and have been inserting a little more text in places. I feel like it's coming along well...
What's happening in the story so far is that...
Tashen stands near the edge of the light barrier in thought about various things such as the fall and how rattids are kept out of the city by sunlight, then walks to where his sister Kina is at the hospital. The two of them talk about various things including about how they would skim the shore of the lake looking for treasure and how they ended up finding a small, ancient-looking find that Kina still has in her room. Tashen gives her some of her favorite candy that he found for her earlier in the day. They also talk about how Josephine has been trying to read a book written in a strange language. As Kina is sick, she stays at the hospital as Tashen departs for home. At home, Tashen finds the treasure that he talked about with Kina - a damaged, glass orb decorated with beautiful lines of metal - and puts it into his backpack safely to take it to her the next day. Tashen then falls asleep and wakes up at night. At night, he talks with Josephine about the strange book she's been trying to read and about other things, as Tashen eats the delicious soup that Josephine hand made for him and reheated for him.
This is all I have so far. I figured, it would be nice to share a vague description of what's actually going on instead of just sharing a word count. I'll see you all, later.

[isobellesophia]

Your backgrounds is very detailed alot, and i like it. I was also thinking if this is some sort kind of a horror visual you've been making so keep going and i like the story.

[SelLi]

Your backgrounds is very detailed alot, and i like it. I was also thinking if this is some sort kind of a horror visual you've been making so keep going and i like the story.

Thank you.

Since last posting I've been editing the structure a bit, writing a bit, and have been making some more pictures.
The structure is now a ladder structure: the common route goes on until the player chooses a character for Tashen, the protagonist, to focus on. Then, the player goes down that character's route. I'm planning on all of the characters' routes being linear.

There is one particular character's route that, after it ends, takes the player to a new, mini ladder. After a common route there, the player can focus on one of two or three characters.

After the player has gone through every character's route, I'm planning on having a linear story take place. After the player reads the linear story, I'm planning on having a linear "true ending" unlock. Of course, this structure might change over time as these things sometimes do, with me, but it's such a loose structure that I can pretty much write whatever I want for each character's route and conclude the story however I want. I do already have things in mind, though, of course.

Anyway, here are the pictures I've done. They're in a more loose style. I think they look nice in their own way. They're fun to make, not much trouble to do or repeat, and I think it might be nice to see a game in this style, so this style is what I'm aiming for, now.

As for writing, I wrote a little bit within Serra's route and a little bit within Amy's route. The total words I've written since my last post is around 4000.