Progress Update! - A Glimpse of the Future

Hi everyone! As the plans for v0.17 solidify and our timeline goals get locked down, it's looking like it's gonna be a while before we're able to release the next update. So we're going to try to do regular progress posts like this one to show off what we've been working on!

This time, we've got quite a bit to talk about. In our last few posts, we've been mentioning how we want to re-commit to the original premise of the game in a more thoughtful way. I think it would be helpful then for me to talk about what this game is and what it is not.

This game is: set in an alternate universe that is similar to the 2003 show but with some changes made here and there to make things a bit more fun. The game is set about five years after when the show would have ended.

This game is not: a recreation of the original show. I know this seems a little counter-intuitive, but trying to portray the girls exactly as they were in the show would be super boring for you as the player and me as the writer. That would mean re-treading or undermining all the stories and character growth from the original series, which would suck. So now the girls are all a little older, a little wiser, a little more mature. They're still the same characters you know and love, but they've all kind of gotten their shit together. And most importantly, they're all single and ready to mingle.

With that in mind, Danko and I got to thinking about what these characters might look like after they'd had the chance to grow up a little!

Consider Jinx in the show. Part of her arc focuses on thinking for yourself and breaking free of other people's influence. As she gets older, she begins to experiment with different ways of expressing herself, and never loses that drive to maintain her freedom. So we've updated her original look, giving her earrings and getting back her classic coin choker. But now she also has this other look that's a bit darker, a bit more punk than princess, but is still very much Jinx.

The other girls are getting similar mini-makeovers, which you can look forward to seeing in the full release.

The other big thing that I wanted to talk to you guys about is the environments. Take a look at Cleric's new bedroom! :

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome Fuyunokawa to the team! Fuyu is a talented 3D environmental artist who's going to be making all of the in-game backgrounds from here on out! Changing from a 2D to a 3D artist saves us a lot of time, and gives us a lot more freedom. 

For v0.17, we're going to keep Fuyu's focus on creating new environments instead of replacing the art we already have. But afterward, we'll have him start to work on converting every background in the game into a 3D environment. After the model for a room is created, creating new viewing angles takes only a few days instead of a few weeks! This means we could potentially allow every h-scene to take place in every room. So if you wanted to give a girl a massage in the hallway, or in the elevator, or on the rooftop: we could make that happen with very little effort.

But that's gonna be it for this post guys! We've got a lot of things in the oven right now that aren't quite ready to show off yet, but that means we'll definitely have plenty more stuff to talk about in our next progress update. And as always, a big thank you to all of our current, past, and future supporters. See you guys next time!

-Vitriol