Weekly Update #229: A Fresh Start Into A New Year

So here we are with the first weekly blog post of 2019! Hopefully, all of you had a great start into the new year and find yourselves brimming with the energy and determination needed to turn it into a very productive and successful one! I for one am certainly feeling motivated as heck to make this a year I can fondly look back on!

Last week, I talked a bit about 2018 and the things we have worked on and accomplished (or not). Today, I want to take a look ahead at 2019 and tell you a little about our plans for the upcoming months. So without further ado, let’s jump right into it!

As mentioned before, our main focus for now remains on the completion of the extended GENBA no Kizuna demo.

It’s hard to say when exactly we will be able to finish it. There is quite a bit of work left to be done and you have to keep in mind that we’re still just two people working on this project. I mean, sure, we have a composer and a proofreader, but literally everything else (writing, coding, GUI, sprites, backgrounds, CGs, etc.) needs to be done by Natsu and me. So it can take a while, especially when you’re working a part-time job as well (which is the main reason my VN dev time was significantly reduced throughout December, but I’ll get into that a little more further down below).

In any case, since I cannot give you a release date yet, I’m going to give you a list of all the things that still need to be worked on instead. So, what exactly is still missing in terms of assets in order to fully code the second half of the extended demo’s content?

• Various sprites and sprite variations (Himatsu, Amber, Ryuunosuke, Shiku, Terano)
• 1 background artwork
• 2 CGs
• Various little art pieces to be used in the DPA

Everything has already been worked on to some degree. The background has been sketched, for instance, and I have started outlining it. One CG is about 40% done. Himatsu already got her base sprite as well as a couple of variations, but will require a few more poses/expressions. The sprites for the suspect characters actually pose the biggest workload. I’ve started working on those as well, but it’s four characters that all need a handful of sprite variations, so it’s going to take a while until all of them are done.

Hopefully, we will be able to finish the demo within the first two or three months of the year. Of course, patrons will once again be able to check it out first and help us prepare everything for the subsequent public release. So if you’re interested in this project and want to support us, or even help out with bug-testing or by making suggestions, please consider checking out our Patreon!

Not only will you get early access to the first half of the extended demo right away, you can also download the full versions of the BGMs, check out script excerpts or even read special blog posts, the most recent of which is giving you an early peek at the location where SHINRAI‘s sequel, Withering Without Hope (WWH) is set!

Really, even if it’s just the 1$ tier or only for a month, every little bit of support is greatly appreciated! It’s only thanks to our current patrons that we were even able to hire a composer and proofreader for GENBA. So seriously, to everyone who’s supported us financially in the past or even continues to do so to this day, thank you so much!

But yeah, that’s the current situation and the plan for at least the next couple of months. Although, there are actually a few more things outside of the demo itself, which we want to tackle as well. Along with its public release, we are planning to open up a Discord server and launch a Steam page after we’ve already launched one on itch.io a while ago. Furthermore, I’m planning to make some updates to the website and Patreon as well. All of these may sound like minor things, but will require some preparation time as well.

The good thing is that, once the extended demo is done, development for the rest of the game should go a lot faster and smoother. Because at that point, all the major characters will finally have their sprites with a good amount of variation. And there is a big difference between having to create sprites for 5 different characters from scratch for a single scene… versus just one or two new variations every now and then.

Anyway, that’s more or less everything in regards to GENBA. Now for those of you wondering about WWH…

As I have mentioned before, it’s not dead and hasn’t entirely been put on the back burner, but GENBA‘s completion certainly takes priority for now. Also, I’ve been thinking about WWH‘s development a lot in general. At the current rate and pace, releasing a project of that size with only two people is just taking way too long. So once GENBA is completed, I really want to expand and get more people involved in our projects. Otherwise, it’s going to take forever to release all the stories I still have in the back of my mind!

Whether it’s going to be self-funded or through the help of Patreon or even Kickstarter, we will see. But in order to get faster at releasing projects and increasing the level of quality as well, there is no other way (even though I really enjoy doing all these things (mostly) by myself, haha).

So yeah, I’m not even sure if there’s a point in working on any assets for WWH when I’m likely going to hire someone else to take care of it in the future. So instead, I’ll just focus on its writing. This year, I want to focus on writing a lot in general. Once the extended demo is done, I’m going to finish writing the remaining chapters for GENBA no Kizuna. Even if the game itself might not be completed this year, I’m dead set on at least turning all those notes into a fully written story.

I have a lot of personal goals regarding my private life as well, so it’s definitely going to be a work-intensive year. One that will require saving up a lot of money, too. It was nice being a full-time dev for so long, and I hope I can go back to that ASAP. But as I mentioned in the beginning, I was working a part-time job last month and I need to continue doing so from here on out. Not just for my private goals, but also for my future projects. Again, as of right now, Patreon allows us to pay our composer and our proofreader, but in order to actually get more people on board in the future, we need to save up even more funds. But I guess I’m not going to get too far ahead of myself just yet. For now, the goals for the immediate future are clear and I’m going to work hard on accomplishing them.

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you will stick with us for another year and be a witness to not only GENBA‘s development, but even our personal growth. Now please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, until next Saturday, take care! :3