NaNoRenO is underway!!

[PixelWrangler]

As you may/may not know, I came in halfway through this contest, which only left me with roughly 14 days (including two weekends) to complete the game. As such, I had been relying heavily on this past weekend to take care of a lot of game-related business.

However, I did not get anything done on Friday, had Saturday taken up, and was only able to get about half of what I had hoped done on Sunday due to a lack of energy/inclination, partially from Saturday (helped with a move).

Had I found out about the contest earlier and had the full 30 days, I have little doubt that I would have been able to finish on time. However, at this point it is BLOODY unlikely (possible, but unlikely) that my game will be done in time for the end-of-month NNRO deadline.

Here's what is done so far:

Characters: 90-95%
Backgrounds: 95-100%
Planning/Story: 90-95%
Writing: 10-20%
Coding: 10-15%
Testing: 5-10%
Music: N/A

Considering the fact that I probably won't be able to much/anything with the game on Tuesday as well, it's looking like it's pretty much not going to happen.

However... I do not plan to let the game die. I like the concept, the story, and the characters, so I will most likely continue to work on it after NaNoRenO. My original thought was to see if I could complete it by the end of 30 days from the time I joined, but there will most likely end up being a lot of backed-up real-life stuff to take care of, so I can't really commit to that.

The plusses are that I can now plan to include full-screen "special" graphics, and even include sound - two things that I really wanted to do, but which time constraints pretty much made impossible.

I may continue to use Ren'Py, but I may also move it over to the system I had been planning to develop/use to create the much larger Ren'ai game I'd been planning before I found out about NNRO... we'll see.

A big "thank you" to everyone for their support and encouragement on this project (especially PyTom... see the Ren'Py support forum for details). I look forward to trying out the games that are completed, and will continue to cheer for those still in the works.

Ganbatte yo!

P.W.

[mikey]

However... I do not plan to let the game die. I like the concept, the story, and the characters, so I will most likely continue to work on it after NaNoRenO. My original thought was to see if I could complete it by the end of 30 days from the time I joined, but there will most likely end up being a lot of backed-up real-life stuff to take care of, so I can't really commit to that.

But you can try to! I think the concept of your "own" 30 days is great, keep yourself motivated and don't do more than you would if it were a March NaNoRenO game, so that you don't have delays. Delays in the fan-made ren'ai world almost equal cancellations, sadly.

[Megaman Z]

It looks like it's almost time for that last stretch home...

*Cheerleader outfit. DDR music : B4U Speed Mix*

Goooo, Ren-ai developers! One two! B4U! Three four, lay-it on the floor! Five six! You're in the mix! Seven eight! Now lay em straight!

*changes music behind his back to "Legend of MAX" played at 0.5x normal speed*

PW>> go ahead. there's a hungry Ren'ai game audiance right here.

[chronoluminaire]

However... I do not plan to let the game die. I like the concept, the story, and the characters, so I will most likely continue to work on it after NaNoRenO. My original thought was to see if I could complete it by the end of 30 days from the time I joined, but there will most likely end up being a lot of backed-up real-life stuff to take care of, so I can't really commit to that.

But you can try to! I think the concept of your "own" 30 days is great, keep yourself motivated and don't do more than you would if it were a March NaNoRenO game, so that you don't have delays. Delays in the fan-made ren'ai world almost equal cancellations, sadly.

Superb words, mikey. I couldn't say it any better. Go for it in your own 30 days, PW! Deadlines help

And to continue my tradition of throwing in my own status announcements to posts to other people: My script is now FINISHED!! After a marathon 4-day weekend of writing. Playtime looks to be 20-30 minutes. 4 endings. 20000 words.

Still to do: Title screen, finish the omake, expression checking, tweak a couple of graphics, fix the icon. Chance of release by April 1st: 98%

[PixelWrangler]

However... I do not plan to let the game die. I like the concept, the story, and the characters, so I will most likely continue to work on it after NaNoRenO. My original thought was to see if I could complete it by the end of 30 days from the time I joined, but there will most likely end up being a lot of backed-up real-life stuff to take care of, so I can't really commit to that.

But you can try to! I think the concept of your "own" 30 days is great, keep yourself motivated and don't do more than you would if it were a March NaNoRenO game, so that you don't have delays. Delays in the fan-made ren'ai world almost equal cancellations, sadly.

Superb words, mikey. I couldn't say it any better. Go for it in your own 30 days, PW! Deadlines help

Deadlines do help... but I basically dropped a lot of stuff I really should have been doing to start working on NNRO in the first place, so I'll need to take care of all that before going back into the game full-bore.

And delays may almost equal cancellations in the fan-made ren'ai world, but at this point, there are no plans to drop this project. Even if it does get dropped, it will most likely be in favor of resuming work on the larger ren'ai project I was planning to do before I learned about NNRO... kind of similar to PyTom's NNRO situation.

Funny thing... when you spend 3-4 solid days of meticulously drawing, digitally inking and coloring characters, you tend to not just let them sit around collecting digital dust. Plus, having a supportive ren'ai community like this really helps keep up enthusiasm for a project.

My only regret (barring a miracle stretch) is that I wasn't able to pull through on the "underdog" 2-week deadline. However, I would strongly encourage any other developers who joined late to give the "extended 30-day" deadline a whirl.

P.W.

[qq]

Here's my latest status
Character art 2%
BG 100 %
Story 43 %
Programming 0 %
I can't make the deadline mostly because I started revamping the story this week, but because I did I like my story more now. I had fun and good luck to those who are still going for the finish line.

[bookie]

Hrm, I guess I started a little late to be part of the official Mo, but if I can get my game finished by the end of next month that'll be great! Lemme see how far I am..

Characters: 0% T_T
Backgrounds: 100% Yay Stock photos!
Planning/Story: 100%
Writing: 25%
Coding: 0%
Testing: 0%
Music: Maybe?

If I can get writing and coding done quick, I might have enough time for the characters.

[Grey]

Well done on the marathon chrono!
And the *gulp* completed game mikey.


For me though probability of a release on time is about 30%

I haven't managed to be as productive as I hoped storywritingwise, and even if I could sit down and finish it all in these three days then there's still other things that have to be done.


Still, NaNoRenO's given me the motivation to get up to this point on my game, ne?

[chronoluminaire]

For me though probability of a release on time is about 30%

Waah, I'm sorry to hear that

I haven't managed to be as productive as I hoped storywritingwise, and even if I could sit down and finish it all in these three days then there's still other things that have to be done.

I know what you mean about other things that have to be done. I was scared to realise on Thursday how much of that there was. There's so much beyond the story, for all that the story is the heart of it.

Still, NaNoRenO's given me the motivation to get up to this point on my game, ne?

It's a real shame that you're not that likely to make it within the 'Mo. But do keep going... I loved Kasuka, and would really like to see your next game. Yes, NaNoRenO providing the motivation to get this far is plenty cool enough.

[Gloranor]

Bad news first... well, my artist didn't draw the character (I can't really blame her, it's the first time she tried drawing manga style), and the writing... well, thanks to engrish-translations of some animes and H-games there are actually worse texts ...I believe...
Seriously, if a.) english isn't ones mother tongue, b.) one hasn't written anything in english for a long time, c.) one's writing was never good to begin with, one shouldn't d.) try to make one's characters sound like they are from the dark ages... esp. when one rules out just using "Thy" etc. because it doesn't fit the characters... (I guess that sentence says enough about how bad my writing is, even without taking its content into consideration...)
Of course it didn't help that I couldn't find the "right" level of internal monologue...

Well, I will draw the char myself (meet stick girl amatire... just joking... well, maybe ) and finishing the script shouldn't be a problem, as a.) I have written the bulk of it already and b.) I think I have resolved the worst problems. Neither should assembling everything.
So the good news... chances are pretty good that I will release my game on time, tough it should be renamed "How not to make a Ren'Ai game".


That being said, despite all the problems it was really fun

[PixelWrangler]

That being said, despite all the problems it was really fun

Still, NaNoRenO's given me the motivation to get up to this point on my game, ne?

Reading these posts, it occurs to me that I haven't mentioned either of these two things.

Finding NaNoRenO and deciding to jump in mid-stream got me motivated to get farther along in a project in two weeks than I (most likely) would have otherwise. The time constraint caused me to think small-scale, and come up with a concept that I might not have otherwise.

And, despite not making the time limit, working on my NaNoRenO project has verified what I already thought: that I really enjoy making games. Ren'ai, FPS, RPG, DDR... whatever the game, it's fun to come up with a concept and drive it towards completion.

Whether or not your NNRO project makes the March 31st release deadline or not, whether or not you ever even finish your project, hopefully you will have gotten something out of NaNoRenO - be it a fun time, experience making games, meeting new people, or even coming to the realization that this really isn't your thing.

When it comes right down to it, the true spirit of NaNoRenO isn't found in the completion... it's found in the process. To all who have participated, regardless of your project status, a heartfelt "congratulations" and a tip of the proverbial hat to you.

P.W.

[mikey]

Gloranor>> Well, it's surprising what a tidy and clear workspace can do for your project. Also, clear relationships help immensely. This is not to say that you have to be like me, as I don't really threaten people who work with me, but they understand, that when the deadline comes and they are not finished, I have a backup plan which will be executed instead, no matter how good the excuse. My musician-to-be (who is really really very good) got pulled off two projects already because of this, still I will give him more and more chances, but he understands that's the way I have to do it. My current soundtracks are not nearly as good as his music, but that's a trade-off I have to make when I want a game to be finished.

The other thing is that you really WANT to finish the game. I see absolutely no point in working on a game like Transfer Teacher (Milk Swim, etc...) for more than 3-4 months. Because there are many other ideas I have and I can't afford to get stuck. If you ever get stuck, it sucks out your enthusiasm and it will sometimes show in the game. Also, with long delays often comes one or two redesigns, which may make the game feel inconsistent.

Chronoluminaire>> 20.000 words?? *faints* That's much more than TT! Are you sure it's only 30 minutes of gameplay?? But it's great! A plot like that must have a fair amount of text to back it up. Can't wait, really.

Grey>> Oh no, to say it with the newly-found latin trend... Et tu, Brute? Unless some SWAN pulls off a surprise release, does this mean... there's going to be only three musketeers? (me, eclipse & chrono) - we could use an Aramis ^_^. Anyway, good luck and release soon!

It's too bad all the others like bookie, qq or PixelWrangler won't be able to meet the deadline. It's going to be even more difficult for them now, I would say, because there isn't that omnipresent pressure, even though it seems that the hardest thing of actually committing is behind them, but the days/months ahead aren't going to be much easier. Still, we will support you, so come back here for some energy whenever you need it

[Albie]

Hello, my friends.

I am one of the people that will not (probably) make the deadline, at least with my game in full version. The "finishing work" is going to be made on the weekend. I will probably not have it throughly tested...

I've read in some previous posts about a "extended deadline"... What is it? Is it in action already? What are the plans?

It would be so good if I had discovered this community a week earlier!

Anyway, I and my team will not stop until the game is finished!

Regards to you all,

Albie

[mikey]

That's good news Albie, keep it up, if you say the finishing work is going to be done during the weekend, does that mean a release next week? Good luck in any case!

[Albie]

Thanks for the encouragement, Mikey!

Anyway, I just realized one thing: Nanoreno ends at April 1st, my time zone, right?

Well, since I've been so busy lately, feeling that my days have more than 25 hours, I am also starting to believe that I live in a "Twilight Time Zone" My April will start probably right after March 40th... Therefore, I think I will make the DEADline

Regards,

Albie