Been a while since my last update. School's been killing me, but I'm currently on spring break, so I think a blog update is in order.
I've been steadily chipping away at my latest project, codenamed "Project O" for now. After making major cuts to the script, I've now got a much more manageable way of going about things and actually have an end in sight. Well, not in sight exactly, but it's on the horizon. At least I know it exists.
"Project O" is comprised of five chapters and an individualized sixth chapter depending on the character you end up with. It's possible to not get a chapter six at all, if you play all the wrong cards. No matter how much you try to screw up your choices along the way, you will get to Chapter Five at least. With a game of this length, I really want to reward my player with an ending of some substance. I hate putting in a dozen hours on a dating sim and getting "too bad you died" at the end of it because I didn't pick the right lunch option back at the beginning of the game.
Right now, I'm in the middle of Chapter Three. Chapter Three has five sections, I just finished the second section and am now moving on to the third. Chapter Three is definitely the longest chapter - Chapters Four and Five don't hold a candle to it in terms of length.
So once I finish up Chapter Three the end really will be in sight.
The problem with each chapter is that there is literally hours of content that the player will not see on a first playthrough. So while there's lots of writing, the actual play time is a fraction of what I've written. I'd like to think that's a good thing in terms of replayability. I love dating sims that have tons of alternative content. That way I can really shape my own experience - my game would be entirely different from someone elses' depending on which character(s) I pursue.
Still, it's a pain in the butt for the writer!
Oh well, Project O is going strong. Hopefully edits on Project G, my first game, will be finished soon so I can move forward on that.
Thanks for the support everyone!
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label writing. Show all posts
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
These Impossible(?) Projects
So I'll be honest with you all. I've been a fan of Visual Novels since I was fifteen years old. I'm eighteen now. I discovered the OELVN community right before my sixteenth birthday and, of course, set to writing my own game.
I'll tell you this - that game got finished being written in July of last year. That's right - July 2009.
Granted, I took a large break in between there to apply to college and focus on graduating. Other things became more important for awhile. There was probably a whole year there where I did absolutely no writing on my game. It stayed in the back of my mind as one of those "I'll finish that one day" projects. I'm actually a bit proud of myself for really jumping on it in 2009 and writing until it was finished. This was no tiny project either - we're talking a 400 page Microsoft Word document of just script. This is an accomplishment.
Still, I realize that a script does not make a game. There's still plenty of stuff to be done, including but not limited to coding, art, developing the UI and more.
But I'm convinced that the hardest, most arduous part of the Visual Novel development process is the writing. Making yourself sit down and write out all that script takes a lot of discipline. And it's a easy thing to let a story lose its steam.
I used to keep my project entirely secret. Considering I consider Magical Girl Studios nothing but a hobby studio, I really didn't want outside pressure for me to finish and release my game. But showing my script to my dear friend/editor really has inspired me to pursue this hobby until I have a finished product.
The point of Magical Girl Studios is to make quality free Visual Novels for old fans to enjoy and new fans to discover. I want to bring this still rather niche genre to a larger community. And the only way I'm going to do that is with a polished final product. So I guess I've still got a lot of work to do!
These projects are hardly impossible. Just overwhelming. This is still a hobby - a side project in comparison to my real life which requires far much more focus and effort. I'm going to keep going at it as a hobby - something I love.
I'll tell you this - that game got finished being written in July of last year. That's right - July 2009.
Granted, I took a large break in between there to apply to college and focus on graduating. Other things became more important for awhile. There was probably a whole year there where I did absolutely no writing on my game. It stayed in the back of my mind as one of those "I'll finish that one day" projects. I'm actually a bit proud of myself for really jumping on it in 2009 and writing until it was finished. This was no tiny project either - we're talking a 400 page Microsoft Word document of just script. This is an accomplishment.
Still, I realize that a script does not make a game. There's still plenty of stuff to be done, including but not limited to coding, art, developing the UI and more.
But I'm convinced that the hardest, most arduous part of the Visual Novel development process is the writing. Making yourself sit down and write out all that script takes a lot of discipline. And it's a easy thing to let a story lose its steam.
I used to keep my project entirely secret. Considering I consider Magical Girl Studios nothing but a hobby studio, I really didn't want outside pressure for me to finish and release my game. But showing my script to my dear friend/editor really has inspired me to pursue this hobby until I have a finished product.
The point of Magical Girl Studios is to make quality free Visual Novels for old fans to enjoy and new fans to discover. I want to bring this still rather niche genre to a larger community. And the only way I'm going to do that is with a polished final product. So I guess I've still got a lot of work to do!
These projects are hardly impossible. Just overwhelming. This is still a hobby - a side project in comparison to my real life which requires far much more focus and effort. I'm going to keep going at it as a hobby - something I love.
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