Alright, we’re getting close to the end of November now so, as promised in last week’s blog post, today I will give you some more details on our demo for GENBA no Kizuna, ranging from content to current progress, so… let’s get right to it!
Initially, I only wanted the demo to contain the prologue, which is really just an introductory scene featuring Keiichi and Nobuhiko, giving you a general idea of the plot. It’s just about 2000 words in length, which is half as long as the prologue for SHINRAI.
However, I’d actually like to include the first “investigation” segment into the demo as well. It’s also pretty short and entirely optional, serving as kind of a tutorial. You can basically examine the lobby of the Kaseki Residence just for fun (before moving on to the main hall where the actual first investigation phase will begin).
I want to keep the details of the murder case to myself for a little longer, but I’d still like to offer an opportunity to experience some interactivity in the demo and show off a little more of the menus. So that’s why I’d like to add this little segment to the demo as well.
Since I’ve only recently completed the background image, I still need to finish writing all the examination comments and dialogues, though. Only now that the BG is finally set in stone, do I know what kind of stuff can be seen and examined after all.
Naturally, this means that the demo won’t be fully finished by the end of this month. But then again, I never really expected it to be finished for a public release, anyway.
If you take a look at our Patreon page, you can see that the plan has been to give patrons early access to demos and that’s exactly the way we are going to handle it. Once the first part of the demo is done, patrons will get a chance to check it out and offer their feedback, while we will continue working on the second part of the demo.
Patrons can therefore become our beta-testers as we prepare the demo for the public release. Even though it’s just a demo, I’d still like it to be as close to the finished product as possible before we’ll release it publicly.
There isn’t too much stuff left to do, so I hope we can upload the first part of the demo soon. I’m not sure when exactly that will be, but I will definitely upload a first look at the demo script this coming week for those among our patrons who are interested.
Anyway, I was really hoping to have the demo finished by now, so this naturally bugs me quite a bit. However, I’m still satisfied with the overall progress and I’m glad I set “end of November” as a self-imposed deadline. Because even if it didn’t quite work out, having that deadline looming over my head sure helped me to stay focused and motivated. I certainly would have made less progress if I had gone with “December”.
Though… I guess I do have to admit that I let myself get distracted a little over this past week. If you’re following my private Twitter, you might have seen me tweet about it, but I’ve actually started working a bit more on Withering Without Hope again.
Part of me feels bad about it, because I really wanted to focus on the GENBA demo first. However, I’ve been itching to get back to work on WWH for a long time now and with the story being set in December, this urge is currently only getting stronger, haha.
I did have a lot of fun with it and made some good progress though, and I certainly want to spend a lot more time on WWH next month, but… for now I’m going to get back to our GENBA demo!
Hmm, I guess hat’s about all I have to report for today. Though, if you’re a patron and haven’t seen it yet, you can now take a listen to the second BGM for GENBA no Kizuna, learn a little about the 3rd of our 4 suspect characters, and also get a look at the sketch Natsu has made for the November artwork! And speaking of artworks… the polls for the Christmas and New Year’s pics only last for a couple more days! So if you haven’t voted yet, be sure to do so! The New Year’s poll is currently sitting at a tie, so…
Oh right, I’ve finally updated the Goals section on Patreon as well, now that we have found a new composer and I have a better idea of the costs in regards to the soundtrack. So once again, if you haven’t taken a look at it, please consider doing so! And if you cannot support us financially, a simple re-tweet would be appreciated as well! We’re getting to the point now where this extra support really matters. Which is why I’d also like to once again thank everyone who has decided to become a patron! You’re helping us out a LOT and I seriously cannot thank you enough for it!
But yeah, I should probably wrap this up now, so… please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care! :3
