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[Czarine]

I decided to put up a devlog for the EQ fanart RPG visual novel I mentioned I'd make. Berit said he'd help me with art and text, yay! This will also help me pull through the project. I'm using TyranoBuilder as the game engine, and I'm making the art mostly in Gimp.

First, some glossary:

• branching = making the current storyline split into two or more alternative storylines. The player has to choose which one of the storyline "branches" to follow to progress the story. Branching enables the player to play the game again with a different story/point of view.
  
• loop = A storyline branch that diverges from the main branch, and merges back into it later.
  
• devlog = development log. A blog that records the development of a game, usually written by the game developer.
  
• placeholder = a quickly made asset, that will be replaced later with a polished version. Used to enable testing the game as early as possible.
  
• sprite = an image, usually a character. Can be animated.
  
• Twine = a free text adventure game engine.
  
• TyranoBuilder = a commercial visual novel game engine.
  
• visual novel = a narrative-heavy game, that has a branching storyline, pictures and audio. Usually requires very little player interaction. Kinda like choose-your-own-adventure books, where there can be several endings to the story.
  
  
  
  TO-DO list:
  
  
  Prep:
  
• arrange the story into branches in Twine
  
• clean up branches in Twine
  
• draw character sprite placeholders
  
• list character expressions

Art:

• draw character sprites
• draw character expressions
• edit background art
• edit foreground art

UI:

• draw/make user interface
• draw/make main menu art
• draw/make other menu art
• credits

Audio:

• find ambient sounds
• find/make foley sounds
• find music?

Code character branches:

• Laluna
• Marut
• Tomi
• Rustle
• Tidemist
• Vaeri
• Moondrop
• Dusk

Links:

• The original EQ fanart rpg: http://www.elfquestfanart.com/index.php?topic=430.0
  
• Twine: http://twinery.org/
  
• TyranoBuilder: http://tyranobuilder.com/
  
  I will edit this post when I get more stuff done (and remember to add the things I forgot).

[Czarine]

So far I've finished the sketch for the branching storyline. I took all the dialogue snippets from the original rpg, and added them in Twine. Twine is a free text adventure engine, where you can easily code branching stories. It's great, because you can use it on your browser, without having to download or install anything. It makes prototyping branching storylines much easier.

Here's how it looks:



The story starts from the topmost point, branches into six different branches (character routes), and merge back together at the end. I've combined some character routes, since they spend time often together (like Marut & Tomi). Many character routes join each other at some points. I'm thinking of making Dusk either an unlockable character, or then I will merge him with some other characters, since his branch is so short (the leftmost branch with long arrows). I decided that the branches change based on which character the player decides to follow (like, will you follow Tidemist underwater or will you stay with Marut on the shore).

I've also started making some background images and character sprite placeholders for the game. Here's Marut, for example!

[Czarine]

Today I finished the character sprite and character button placeholders. I'm not sure yet how I'll make the character selection screen, but at least I have something! I also figured out how to branch the storyline with image buttons in TyranoBuilder. I streamed the process to Berit, so he got to see how TyranoBuilder works.

I also figured out the heights of the characters with Berit's aid. I didn't know how tall the player characters were, so I just estimated them. I might end up drawing the characters' feet too, after all. Though the tall and mysterious grumpy elf is too tall for that!

[Berit]

I'll help as soon as I get well! dang inspired to do this! YAAAY! things have gone forwards very well, you have done so much already!...

[Czarine]

Whew! There have been a few days that I haven't worked on this, but now I'm back!

I've been cleaning up Laluna's scenes into a main branch, because she was in the rpg from the beginning. I've learned some new ways to branch small loops that return back to the main branch, which have made organizing the branches easier. I've reached the point, where Laluna falls from the tree, and it's great, since it's one of the main crossing points that combines most of the branches.

Nothing new art-wise, but here's a screenshot from the game! I might change the text box position/looks, because it still takes a bit too much space on the screen in my opinion.

[Czarine]

Laluna's branch is ready, yay! It still has some cleaning to be done before it's actually finished, but I have added all the dialogue that was needed there. Laluna's branch acts as a main branch, so it will make coding the rest of the branches much easier. I have finished some smaller loops already, but I'm too tired to dig which ones, so here's an incomplete picture of which branches have been coded already:



Now I need sleep... x_x

Oh! And Berit also made some new art for the game, but he'll probably upload it in the gallery at some point, so no point adding it here yet!

[Berit]

I'll add some of the art in the gallery after the game is ready, so there woun't be any spoilers and i'd like the players to experience the new art in the game first, gives people more reason to play!... Currently I'm doing art for certain fish part!...

[Czarine]

Quick update! I finished coding and cleaning up Rustle, Moondrop and Vaeri's beginnings until the point that they merge with others, just before Laluna's fall. In hindsight, I probably should have organized the scene-files according to places rather than characters.

While making this, I've also noticed that I need more art of group scenes, because I can't fit too many sprites on the screen at the same time. But I'll figure it out!

[Berit]

the other paths are bleeding down like rivers of pink BLOOD! sorry I haven't been lots oh help lately... it's too HOT to do anything smart! I've been coloring some stuff for the game but progress is slow and group pictures... well... let's see if well find someone to do those! non of my chibi art works...

[Czarine]

Long time no update! Life got in the way, but now I'm back. I actually decided to revamp the branches, so it would be easier to follow a certain character's route (and for me to remember where's what).

This time I arranged the script so that every character has their own branch, which has the whole story (from their point of view). It means that some character branches have the same events, but it also makes it possible to add the "main character's" individual flavor in the story, which adds a new point of view to the already familiar scene. It should make replaying the scenes a bit more interesting.



I managed to clean up all the branches until Laluna's fall, which will probably be a branch-combining scene, unless I make it into individual branches for everyone. I haven't yet decided if it should be possible to jump from a character's scene to another (= player has to make choices), or should the character routes be linear (= no choices = no jumps between point-of-view-characters). Making jumps would make it interesting to follow several characters in one playthrough, but it might be confusing, if the player wants to stick with one character's story. Not to mention coding that.

There's one character, whose route is all finished: Dusk.

I have to think about the ending as well, as the rpg didn't really have an ending.

[Czarine]

Quick update: Branches cleaned up until the scene where the great battle to rescue the wolf pup begins!

[Czarine]

Yay, the branching is finished! I still need to figure out a few endings, but I will do that after the next part, which is cleaning and cutting unnecessary parts from the character branches. I hope I got everything included! At this point it looks like I will make the character branches so that the player can't jump between them. Then it's clearer which parts have been gone through already.

I will also add some stuff into Laluna's branch, and I hope Berit has time to add some to Marut, Tomi and Rustle's branches. After that it's time to move all the story elements to TyranoBuilder and code them in.

[Czarine]

Quick update! I started cleaning up the branches. I've finished cleaning Laluna's and Tidemist's branches. I also need to work on Vaeri's branch a bit more, it seems.

I decided to make a text backup of the arranged branches into Google Drive, since for some reason I can't export a backup from Twine's browser version. Odd. But now they are backed up, so no worries.

[Czarine]

The branches have been cleaned up! There are still some small mistakes here and there, but they can be fixed when I add the branches to TyranoBuilder. I will have to do some experimenting with how long scenes should I make in Tyrano. If I make them too long, it affects the game's performance, so the game might be sluggish to play.