Yes I think she did a great job. We decided the main story together, the characters, etc but then she had a lot of freedom and I think she didn't disappoint. I understand that the kind of game might not please everyone of course.

Perhaps in future will be better to always include at least two target demographics for each game (like BxG and BxB, or GxB and GxG and so on).

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CenrStGWEAAwlcK.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

Kamal is my favorite character of the game for sure. Reminds me of Amukiki, though has some obvious differences

Whoa, nice! A font that's beautiful and incredibly easy to read. It's not as pretty to look at as the other one, but overall I think it's superior for displaying large amounts of text



Saw this as I was skimming my twitter feed, and I just went 'Wow!'

Yes I think the other one was nicer, but being similar to italics, using for the whole game was too much. I'll still use it in buttons, etc though

Today I'm planning the scheduler, I think MAYBE in 1-2 weeks I could do the beta if I get the right ideas for it

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CeoZHj4WAAApj2f.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

in the game there are several scenes which have different outcome based on the skill values, but I decided to display the actual skill check, so players can know for the next playthrough

Lol I messed up with this game tracks

(this is another example how why doing too many things at once is BAD).

Nothing irreparable, but in practice, the tracks I have done are mostly happy. Royal sounding, with nice harpsichord instruments etc, but mostly happy, while in this game there are several dark/sad/melancholic situations. So I need more tracks for those moments.



You can't really play a happy track while one of the characters (Lady Rosalynn, who will be hated by everyone ) says:

"You are not a slave. You are a servant-- someone that chooses to degrade yourself by obeying the orders of another for mere coin."

"You and the others may think highly of yourselves, being in such close proximity to those of us with real rank and nobility, but in actuality you are the lowest of the low."



I've already commissioned them to the artist and he is usually fast (can do 1 track a week, sometimes faster) but this will delay everything a bit. Will work on the scheduler / stat system meanwhile



Here's the screenshot in case you want to see the nice Lady Rosalynn:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ceu1ENbW8AIYzAn.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

(I think the artist made a great job with her, she's just perfect!)

I think it's not just Rosalynn - all of the art is just superb! I like this style a lot: Just the right mix between manga and semi-realism, lovable details added to spice it up even more. Even if it wasn't of my favorite genre (BxB set in a fantasy world!) the art would easily make me buy this game.

Funny fact: My sister follows the artist on tumblr. Usually she's not that much of a visual novel/dating sim gamer. But when she saw who made the art for this game, she said she NEEDS to play this once it's out. xD

So... is there any chance, you'll commission this artist again for future games? I'd really love to see it. ^^



Btw: From all the screenshots we've seen so far... I guess Marcel forgot how to smile. But well... maybe as a servant there are no happy times for him. x,D

I already used this artist in the past to do the CG images of SOTW (maybe you didn't know if you never played that game).

And yes I will be using him again in future but need to find the right project. I think he is really good with fantasy stuff (costumes, etc).

And Marcel knows how to smile, it's just that the screenshot I picked were all of some tense/dramatic moments

Ah, yes... thanks for reminding me. Those CGs - I loved them, too. Although I never came around playing SOTW as Althea. Maybe I should do that sometime. ^^

That's great to hear. And I agree: His style fits the fantasy genre really well. ^^

I thought so already. xD Keep them screenshots coming. I'm always eager to look at them. ^^ Maybe I will even try to comment a bit more. (I'm super shy and have a hard time finding the right wording... so... I usually prefer to watch silently. ^^

I'm just going to leave this here...



http://s173.photobucket.com/user/SilverHyena/media/BestGirl_zpsjqr3hmp9.png.html



...I'll get back to work now.

Haha that's just awesome

(BTW Marcel is carrying her near a window on a very tall tower, and throwing her out of it!)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ce3bJPKWsAATPPP.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

that chibi was useful during the design stage of the scheduler screen....

A few days later...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CfBTJ8lVAAADXOU.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

this is the almost final version, it's just missing the chibi activities and I'll probably add a tab on the right with the possibility to also check the relationships. I wanted to have every info available in one screen and I think I managed to do a nice job. I wanted to reuse Roommates' scheduler but in the end was faster to just recode it from scratch

http://s173.photobucket.com/user/SilverHyena/media/BestGirl_zpsjqr3hmp9.png.html

So...will this be the 'Haul Luggage' or 'Clean Rooms' icon for the Scheduler?

That's a good question

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cf571UYUIAEfUn6.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

Marcel looked happier carrying Rosalynn

I'm waiting for some last minute sprites and music tracks, meanwhile I am doing some testing/tweaking for the stats balancing and such. I still hope to do the beta by end of month though!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgJZr6CUEAAJaif.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

added all the chibis and also another tab on the right to display the romance relationships. So far I tested and tweaked all the main plot scenes, but I currently have a random mechanic (3 possible outcomes for each activity).

I'm thinking to change it to some fixed mechanic instead, like:

- three activities of one kind in a week = +1 bonus on the related stat. If are 6, +2 bonus

- four different activities in a week = +1 reputation (you normally earn reputation with main plot choices, or randomly)



this way there could be some strategy at work, since you must either win all the skill checks in the main plot to get 80 reputation and unlock the special ending, or reach 80 by other means.



I think will use that system, since the current random one could be criticized

Lol OK my idea didn't last much basically using that system everything was too predictable and not fun anymore. So I've reverted back to the random result, but since you do many weeks (32) the random factor has an impact up to a certain point (32 x 7 days = 216 total random result, so the final values you'll get are more or less similar on several playthroughs).

I played it several times, and I managed to win getting the special ending every time. Of course, since I know what to do but I'll also make a walkthrough like I did with my other dating sims. Once you know "the trick" it's actually not hard to win at all even in Normal difficulty (in Easy it's really... Easy!).

All that's left now is to add the musics and wait for the last 2 sprite images. Since we're halfway through April I really think should be able to do the beta at end of month as I hoped

Last 2 sprite images arrived! Silverhyena (the writer) could do some extra chibis for the 4 guys, but I can definitely finish the game already. OK, 15 days to check/code about... 50 scenes (they're already scripted luckily so I only need to add music/fx and check everything).

Some screenshots, just to show that despite a lot of sad/serious/tense moments, there are also many other funny ones:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgatqgEWIAA1MJX.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cgatrd6WsAAxnw_.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

and here's Licia (one of the secondary characters) who already figured out everything!

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgiuXudWYAAVPZG.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CgiuYGOW0AALpVQ.jpg:large" style="max-width:100%">