LINEAR is a massive thorn in my side, I love my characters and story at its essence but it's a continual and at times obsessive struggle of perfection for me. At times I'm surprised by the attention it receives and although it flatters me, it also seems to pressure me even more-so at the same time, especially when I get criticisms (in all honesty, I don't get many, thankfully!) I'm at a busy point in my life, especially last year. Wedding, my trip to Europe, friends and family passing away, at times a monstrous workload, I was in a pretty bad car accident... Over December and January, I was strung out both physically and mentally.
More recently I disappeared to Japan, to clear my head somewhat... and I think I can focus once more.
I got a nifty little writing program called Scrivener, which has allowed me to compile all my fluttering notes, musings and ramblings on Linear. I've nutted out some issues the story was going to hit down the track, put more thought into the complex, dark and often twisting plot. Which frankly, can really do my head in some days.
A few months ago I'd be apologetic about my constantly evolving project here... but this is my project. Disenchanted by the anime of these days and lack of decent visual novels being translated, I decided to write this for my own enjoyment, a story I can create, control and bury myself in... and if people enjoy it, follow it, then all the more enjoyable it is. I really must thank everyone who has followed it so far, your comments and favs on the first chapter both here on Lemmasoft and DeviantART have brought me much joy... more than any of my real paid work has ever given me. ^^;
--------------
Synopsis:
Set in a ‘near-future’ on a fictional world, LINEAR follows the story of Lanis Rosenberg, a recently graduated doctor working in the Loennian military. Doubtful of her abilities to cope in the army, and lost with her direction in life, Lanis’ world is suddenly turned upside-down when she is transferred to the secretive, militaristic nation of Xian. There she is assigned to a subject named A-28 'Ash'. An emotionless, unstable, biologically engineered soldier and her opposite in every way…
--------------
This is what you can expect for 2013.
New engine! I'll be switching to the RenPY visual novel engine. (Supports PC & Mac) Flash is frankly, too slow and fiddly to work with, and provides no 'save' function. I have actually listened to fans on this one, as quite a few made the recommendation.
New style - More refined, as my art direction has improved, and I've decided to lean more towards a full 'anime' style.
New title? - I'm a fan of rebirth. LINEAR has been around since 2006 where it debuted as a little webcomic, as well as three different attempts at a visual novel. I'm tossing up whether to finally ditch its history and all that baggage and come up with a whole new name.
Chapters I & II - Chapter I will get a make-over naturally. Some elements of the first chapter will change towards the end, and there have been edits to the script in terms of character ages and timelines. Chapter II won't be far behind.
Story alterations - Most of you won't notice too much as the big changes affect chapter 2 onwards. But the story is no longer set in Loenn, as it originally was originally written. I've moved it primarily to Xian now, as Lanis is transferred there on an internship. This will make for a far more dynamic and gritty setting.
--------------
I have a new 27" iMac now too, with grunt! I got the model with the more powerful NVIDIA card, and some decent 3D software so I'll be able to produce and render out my own backgrounds instead of having to buy the royalty free images/stills/photos. These are really starting to go up in price!! O_o
New Style samples! It's Lanis and Ash, Manna and Dr. Harem, in the new style.
Ash's character has also changed a little, to help with the character dynamic.
He's nolonger so terribly emotionless, still a cold, calculating genetically engineered soldier,
just slightly more unhinged.
*Rubs hands together.*
Facebook: CERA Studios - https://www.facebook.com/pages/CERA-Stu ... 9140168727
DeviantART - http://cera-studios.deviantart.com
Website - http://www.cerastudios.com
