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[Rosstin]

Thanks Rebus! That's really helpful, I'm working on screen comp now :-)

[DrSchizo]

Indeed, it is easier than most frameworks but it still makes updates rather difficult. If there are many paths available to the player, it can be hard not have a global view of everything.

I actually asked you this question because I'm currently working on an online application that will allow people to make HTML5 visual novels really easily. It is based on the editor I've created for my game Wind Fortress and has been adapted for visual novels. There good thing is that there is absolutely no coding involved and you can easily visualize the whole tree and all the connections between every steps. In other word, it's like Ren'Py, but with a real graphical user interface. Another good point is that player don't need to install anything to play the game, since it is all in HTML5.

If you're not to advance in the development, it could be a really good alternative to Ren'Py. Yyou can contact me by PM if you want to know more about it.

[Rosstin]

Indeed, it is easier than most frameworks but it still makes updates rather difficult. If there are many paths available to the player, it can be hard not have a global view of everything.

I actually asked you this question because I'm currently working on an online application that will allow people to make HTML5 visual novels really easily. It is based on the editor I've created for my game Wind Fortress and has been adapted for visual novels. There good thing is that there is absolutely no coding involved and you can easily visualize the whole tree and all the connections between every steps. In other word, it's like Ren'Py, but with a real graphical user interface. Another good point is that player don't need to install anything to play the game, since it is all in HTML5.

If you're not to advance in the development, it could be a really good alternative to Ren'Py. Yyou can contact me by PM if you want to know more about it.

I might be interested once you reach a higher level of maturity! I'm definitely interested in going the HTML5 route sometime. Renpy has a nice well-established fanbase, though, and I'm more focused on completing development than trying out a new system. Keep me posted on your progress, though! There's definitely a demand for something like that.

[Rosstin]

It's the first screen upon starting a new game! Woo!

[Rebusmind]

Looking nice, but I'm not really a friend of those eyeless NPCs. I know that it's meant to show that this is no important person, but it breaks the immersion of the game a little. Why not give every character in the story a personality or a name at least?

[SundownKid]

Looking nice, but I'm not really a friend of those eyeless NPCs. I know that it's meant to show that this is no important person, but it breaks the immersion of the game a little. Why not give every character in the story a personality or a name at least?

Mainly in a visual novel, people expect characters with an expression to have multiple expressions or poses, so putting a helmet or something on an NPC can save money and let you show the same character multiple times without having to redraw a new soldier. If there are 10 different soldiers it can end up saving many hours and hundreds of dollars for someone who might only appear for a minute.

Of course, NPCs can still have different personalities, but giving them a name is sometimes unnecessary if the player character would never know their name anyway.

[Rebusmind]

It's just that my first impression of eyeless persons is that they are dead or possessed, which makes it a bit awkward to me. I don't care much if the same artwork is used for generic NPCs, but why can't they have eyes?

[SundownKid]

It's just that my first impression of eyeless persons is that they are dead or possessed, which makes it a bit awkward to me. I don't care much if the same artwork is used for generic NPCs, but why can't they have eyes?

If you give someone eyes they are instantly recognizable. After all, "eyes are the windows to the soul". So if that sprite is used for another generic NPC you will say "wait a minute... this is the same person!" It's even more immersion breaking when "Frank" and "Steve" look exactly the same.

[DrSchizo]

As SundownKid said, it is more immersive to call him "soldier" than giving him a name since the main character has no reason to know his name. Moreover, it clearly shows us that it is a nobody.

But I agree with Rebusmind as well: I think the guy looks creepy and unfinished without eyes. The absence of name already shows he is a nobody, so there is no need to take off his eyes.

About recycling the image for other soldier along the game, I don't mind, even if it is possible to distinguish all of the them by changing only few details like hair, facial hairs, cloth and skin colors, nose shape...

[Rebusmind]

@DrSchizo
I think you're right, the name might be confusing, as you most likely don't know the person.

[Rosstin]

Each soldier is actually a character with some small backstory and personality that I've sketched out behind the scenes. Some of them, you can learn more about them. For instance, you duel a soldier in the first chapter, and if you've spoken to him you know some things about him, like he's superstitious.

We're in the process of adding some little additions to the sprites to have a few soldiers that are slightly more unique. It's a tricky space to navigate, though.

[Rosstin]

Another BG by the peerless Meagan Trott. She raises the bar for all of us...

[Rebusmind]

Great work! Love the subtle lighting.

[Rosstin]

They say the Goddess Bridge was placed into the world by the divine hand of Althea herself.



My favorite detail in this one is the statue of the Goddess Althea in the background.

[Rosstin]

Possibility tree for Battle 3, by Diana.

[Rosstin]

No story is complete without the villains. Meet the Sylgardian army!

Up front is Queen Charlotte, a fiercely independent ruler who insists that Sylgard remain sovereign. To her left are Commander Lorimette and Mechanist Eregant, and to her right are Archmagus Adamus and... well... a random soldier named Fred who wandered into the shot by accident.

[Rosstin]

Diana made a better title screen / FB cover for us! :-)

[Rosstin]

New screenshots today:

[Rosstin]

A new CG! This is for the wolf scene. The wolves are adorable but don't try to pet them.

[Rosstin]