Summer is back and with it Steam‘s annual Summer Sale! And if murder investigation counts among your favorite summer activities, we have some good news for you!
Jun 20
Weekly Update #305: Chapter 5 Structure & Progress
I’ve finally reached the end of GENBA no Kizuna. Just like SHINRAI‘s final chapter, the last one in GENBA unravels all the mysteries. By answering questions and presenting evidence, players slowly piece together what exactly occurred at the Kaseki Residence. And, of course, they will ultimately have to expose the killer.
Unlike with SHINRAI, this time I decided to properly build up to the culprit reveal. So rather than expose them right at the start, you will have to dissect some other aspects of the overall mystery first. Around the halfway mark, you will then be able to choose between the four members of Raptor Pack Productions and accuse one of them as being the culprit, before moving on to prove it (and if you pick the wrong person, it will naturally lead to a bad end similar to what we did in SHINRAI).
Jun 13
Weekly Update #304: Chapter 4 Outline Done!
At long last, the “outline” for the fourth chapter of GENBA no Kizuna has finally been finished!
Once again, the main reason it took this long is because, instead of using key notes, I ended up fully writing out most of the chapter. At this point, around 70% – 80% of it are actual script, resulting in the length of the document almost reaching 40,000 words. And there is no doubt in my mind that it will break the 50,000 word mark, once everything is written out, meaning that this chapter alone would almost be a third of SHINRAI‘s total length.
Jun 06
Weekly Update #303: Jurassic June & More Writing Progress
Jurassic June is finally upon us, so I’m fired up more than ever to work on our dinosaur-themed murder mystery! In celebration, I’ve also started working on a little illustration which we will publicly share around mid-June. If you’re a patron, however, you can already get a first glimpse at it right here.
May 30
Weekly Update #302: Chapter 4 Progress Update
Once again, I have spent most of my time writing this week, now actually breaking the 40,000 word mark for GENBA no Kizuna‘s 4th chapter. I really didn’t expect it to become this long, but it is the part of the story in which the core investigation work is being done, similar to SHINRAI. Unlike our previous VN, however, there are a lot more places to investigate this time!
May 23
Weekly Update #301: Quick Progress Update!
Just a very quick update today, as I’m running out of time! I spent all day to get the first third of GENBA no Kizuna‘s 4th chapter ready for Natsu to beta-read. And I literally just finished, haha. I’ve made some adjustments and cleaned up the dialogues a lot and feel a lot better about it now. So I hope she will enjoy it…
As mentioned before a couple of times, chapter 4 is turning out to become quite long, which is why it makes more sense to me to send it to Natsu in parts, so I can get her feedback sooner. Overall, I’m really just trying to find the best way to tie it all together at the end now. I hit quite some roadblocks which caused a few headaches, but hopefully, I’ll get to a satisfying result soon. I’m really this close to the finish line now!
Anyway, there is one other thing I did today. I’ve posted a new Patreon poll, so our patrons can now help us decide which SHINRAI character will be featured in swimwear this year!
That about wraps it up, though. Sorry for the short post, but since I’m still focused on writing every day, there really isn’t much else to report! Maybe next week, though, as we get closer to Jurassic June!
Until then, please enjoy the rest of your weekend and, as always, take care! :3
May 16
Weekly Update #300: More Writing Progress!
As mentioned in last week’s blog post, we currently have some things going on behind the scenes, which I can’t really talk about nor do I really want to at this point. I’ve decided to share at least a little bit of information with patrons, however, so if you’re curious, you can check out this newest Patreon post. I will be able to share more details publicly soon, most likely during Jurassic June which is fast approaching. So please keep an eye out and look forward to that!
For now, however, I’ll unfortunately have to remain a little secretive. That said, if you do have feedback and suggestions as to how SHINRAI could be improved, now is the perfect time to let me know (or maybe even give me a little reminder)! *wink wink*
May 09
Weekly Update #299: Writing Progress Continues!
As mentioned a number of times before, my work on what was supposed to be the “outline” four GENBA no Kizuna‘s fourth chapter has kind of escalated and turned into actual writing sessions. Although some parts are only summed up in key notes, huge chunks have been fully written out now. At the moment, the chapter is sitting at approximately 22,000 words, making it almost as long as our extended demo.
May 02
Weekly Update #298: Writing & BG Art Progress
I’ve continued with the writing for the fourth chapter of GENBA no Kizuna this past week, more or less finishing up the core backstory events for Rei and Shinketsu. During these, Keiichi learns some important details about their personal struggles and gets a little glimpse into their pasts and even their family lives.
There will certainly be a few more revisions, but I’ve locked down the general structure, rhythm and tone of these events, as well as the kind and amount of information I want to share with players. As such, I can now go back and adjust some earlier parts of the story in order to better build up to this.
Apr 25
Weekly Update #297: Character Backstories
My work on the outline for GENBA no Kizuna‘s penultimate chapter has continued, although this time around “outline” really isn’t the right term to use here. So far, I’ve actually fully written out chapter 4, with Keiichi‘s initial route more or less done.
Once players have completed Keiichi‘s route, it’s about time to help the other main characters tackle and overcome their individual problems, which prevent them from truly focusing on the investigation at hand. This, to me, is the focal point of the entire game, so rather than note down a general outline in key words, I’ve decided to properly write down these scenes.
