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[neko.works]

Here's a new video of the first battle in the game, using the latest build:

[Vovosunt]

Really cool looking game you've got going there! 
A bit of feedback on the battle: needs hp bars near/above mobs/heroes. The bottom right interface really doesn't pull the eye there. I know it's WIP so you're probably going to add that anyway, but thought I'd pitch in.

[koutetsusteel]

Really cool looking game you've got going there! 
A bit of feedback on the battle: needs hp bars near/above mobs/heroes. The bottom right interface really doesn't pull the eye there. I know it's WIP so you're probably going to add that anyway, but thought I'd pitch in.

I have to disagree with hp bars above heroes and especially above mobs. This game is obviously a throw back to the old-style of RPGs (especially JRPGs).  In most of those games, you would never actually know how much hp an enemy would have unless you had already fought it a few times and thought "Well, I hit it 3 times for 50 damage and it died, so it has between 101 and 150 hp total"

[neko.works]

@Vovosunt & @koutetsusteel: Thanks for your feedback

Actually I'm planning something a bit different for the enemies HP information etc. You'll be able to use the A.R goggles during battles, which will display various information about the enemies, including their HP but only if defeated at least once. You can see this A.R device used in the field gameplay at 1:34 in the previous video.

[Arm]

Everything looks pretty good visually in my opinion. I think you should add a battle speed option so that everything goes faster according to the taste of each player.

Also, I think it would benefit greatly to the battle impact/mood if you add different kinds of smashing/slashing sfx on top of the creatures/protagonist grunt sound during the characters or enemies attack impacts, like these:

[neko.works]

Everything looks pretty good visually in my opinion. I think you should add a battle speed option so that everything goes faster according to the taste of each player.

Thanks! Currently, there is a speed increase when the time bars are filling and there is no action. You can see a little fast forward icon in the top left corner of the screen appearing in the previous battle video. You can clearly see Kuroko's animation accelerating when it is on.

Also, I think it would benefit greatly to the battle impact/mood if you add different kinds of smashing/slashing sfx on top of the creatures/protagonist grunt sound during the characters or enemies attack impacts.

There are 2 sounds effects for damages: The grunt sound of the target, and the weapon sound of the attacker. I guess an impact sound might be a better idea. I'll see what I can do!

[Arm]

I hadnt noticed the fast forward icon. That's great. I think there should also be an option to make the overall battle animation sequences faster once the commands are imput.
Yeah, I'm sure it will feel better with the impact/slash sfx for the battles. You could just try using the ff7 ones as placeholders as a test. Good luck.

[neko.works]

Hey guys I have a question

Light Fairytale have been planned as an episodic game from the beginning, as it is way too ambitious for a solo indie dev like me to release as a single, complete game.

The initial plan was 3 episodes, but I'm considering dividing each episode by 2. This would allow to release the first one sometimes this year rather than next year.

Basically, here's the two options:
Initial plan: 3 episodes, each one having 6 hours of gameplay, priced $10, with one year between each release. The first episode for Q2 2018.
New plan: 6 episodes, each one having 3 hours of gameplay, priced $5, with 6 months between each release. The first episode for Q4 2017.

So, do you guys think that the new plan is a good idea? BTW, I gave up on the idea of an Early Access in Steam.

Bonus, here's a screenshot from a cutscene I've been working on this week-end:

[Arm]

I suppose if an episode gets out earlier, even if shorter, it will allow you to get income and people to discover your game sooner. 3 hours of gameplay seems fine imo. If the 1st episode is well done and gets popular, more and more new people will look forward for each new chapter. A bit like old anime series (when there was no internet) when viewers had to wait a week to know what will happen/how it will end. (except the wait will be much longer here, hehe)

[neko.works]

I've decided to go with the 6 episodes plan, hopefully releasing the first one this year on Steam (Windows, Mac and Linux) worldwide
(and a bit later on consoles)

Here's a few more work-in-progress screenshots:

[Arm]

I think shorter chapters for this kind of indie rpg is a good choice. The screenshots look nice indeed.

[eyeliner]

Indeed, episodes are cool. Nice to digest for people on the go, and not much of a nuisance for those that can devote long hours to it.

And the lighting is veery good.

[neko.works]

Thanks guys

I've been working on my first interior environment in Light Fairytale. Here's a work-in-progress screenshot:

Bonus, here's a new cutscene video that happen just after the events of the playable demo:





Any thoughts?

[DireLogomachist]

Love the lighting in that screenshot!

[neko.works]

@DireLogomachist: Thanks!

I've been working on a new city. Here's how it looks like on the 5" gaming PC GPD Win:

Quite impressed by this little device, as it's only running a low end Atom CPU/GPU. The game is still playable on it and looking great!

[neko.works]

Hey guys

I've published the coming soon page on Steam today. Gotta start building those wishlists early

Please check it out and tell me what do you think about it:
store.steampowered.com/app/539330

Also, please re-tweet my pinned tweet if possible!
twitter.com/bakanekofr/status/880798381035200512

Thanks

[neko.works]

Screenshot from a new cutscene I'm currently working on:

[McMutton]

Lookin' good- You've got a great deal of personality going in the models and cutscenes! I like the soldiers on the right side of that cutscene, not paying attention at all.

A couple of things concerning the combat in the most recent video, though:

-I think a higher camera angle might be a better idea for the layout you have. At the moment, you can't really see what Kuroko's doing 'cause Haru's in the way. You might have issues seeing how many enemies there are, as well, if there are a larger number

-Have you considered having the attacker move next to the target? It might help sell the attacks a bit more.

-I feel like the model for the Spiders isn't chunky enough to match the rest of the characters- It makes them a bit hard to see.

-The animations are pretty floaty. I recommend putting more emphasis on the windup and shortening the striking portion quite a bit. That should give the animations a lot more 'Oomph,' as it were.

Something like Windup------------Attack---Recovery---------



Something else, regarding the text boxes; I'd probably have the character's name positioned away from their dialogue, or perhaps bolded/underlined/bracketed in some way. Even with the quotation marks, the two kind of blend together.


Even so, it's looking really good- Keep it up!

[PlatinumLifeOW]

Always love a good JRPG! Good luck with it.

[neko.works]

@McMutton: Thanks for your feedback!

I think a higher camera angle might be a better idea for the layout you have. At the moment, you can't really see what Kuroko's doing 'cause Haru's in the way. You might have issues seeing how many enemies there are, as well, if there are a larger number.

Actually I'm planning to have various camera angles depending on the location of the battle. For this one, I thought that this angle gives a beautiful view, with the blurry background and SSR. The enemies and players are targeted via a menu, so I suppose there won't be selection issues.

Have you considered having the attacker move next to the target? It might help sell the attacks a bit more.

I did consider it, but thought that this will only slow down the battle. I did add a few things since that video, for instance a bit of camera shake when there is damage. You can check out a slightly newer video on the Steam page.

I feel like the model for the Spiders isn't chunky enough to match the rest of the characters- It makes them a bit hard to see.

Yep. Those are actually generic models that I've slightly customized. Will try to work on this a bit more.

The animations are pretty floaty. I recommend putting more emphasis on the windup and shortening the striking portion quite a bit. That should give the animations a lot more 'Oomph,' as it were.

I'll give it a try. Thanks!

Something else, regarding the text boxes; I'd probably have the character's name positioned away from their dialogue, or perhaps bolded/underlined/bracketed in some way. Even with the quotation marks, the two kind of blend together.

I'll probably just change the color of the header. That's the easiest thing to do without making major changes to my simple bitmap font system

Always love a good JRPG! Good luck with it.

Thanks