Hello Loki Castle here,
With the moving and holidays approaching like a freight train. I have had a lot of trouble making significant progress on my projects. Generally, during the holidays I slow down due to gift-making and time spent with friends/family. I plan to do a few more updates before taking a hiatus from the 24th to the 28th.
My current projects right now are my main project The Horror RPG and A Winter VN that will be part of The Winter VN fest 2024. My main goal is to finish the outline for the winter VN. Including the script. I will be adapting the story of the Nutcracker to tell the story. A traditional holiday story that has always interested me on a personal level.
Horror RPG
Since the last update,
I spend a lot of time working on M3, M4, and M6. There are three different areas in the game. (On the same level) When made the entire map of the game. I calculated that each level would consist of about 20 different areas. Each map consists of multiple big areas and a lot of secret areas. As of now only two iterations of the map exist. the original entire game map and, the smaller village and starting level. My current hurdle with each level is. The starting level still has a lot more polishing required. For future reference I will call this level G and the other level V. G is the map all players will see after going through each of the character tutorials. It will be a less dangerous area compared to most levels but will also host special challenges. The two major bosses in this level are intended to be easy to fight and kill. When playtesting I noticed that enemies were so fast. It made it impossible to get away even with a small head start. This goes against the main idea of the game using stealth to trick and escape battles. While they are areas in game meant to be more of a chase some areas are too small for a cat and mouse game. So I made them slower making it possible to escape but not likely. The new changes to the main areas helped flesh out the main idea. I've been working with in my head. I added more events, enemies, loot, diaries, and traps. Still without any proper graphics it looks more like a skeleton creating a stark difference to more polished areas.
Examples of the maps I worked on
When using base assets. I have to remember that this isn't the final product but an outline to be carved into something more keen to my liking. While it doesn't look like much right now. I need it to work on the base level before I can move any further.
Visual of Area/Maps in Level
Sometimes, I don't even understand how naming works. I don't even name the areas correctly. I have gotten lost trying to figure out which area is which from time to time. M doesn't stand for anything similar to how everything in the village level (V) is named T (T stands for nothing).
Plans before the next update
I want to finish the events and battles for the main two bosses of G. After I have polished most of G. I will move to V. The only thing that worries me is V will be too big of an undertaking for the demo. V is as stated the village. where the most NPCs can be found. It is also where the majority of quests can be started and ended. While having a central hub is a great way for players to easily get to and from different areas and levels of the game. It also has the most happening. Compared to most levels. V is the level with the most content, interactions, characters, and etc. This sounds great. Giving players a lot to work with is fun. I want this game to be fun even before it's fully released. It really depends on how long it takes me to get through G. I want to finish the concept sketches for all characters and finish a few more sprites. A few of the main characters will need multiple sprites during their introduction. This shouldn't be too hard depending on time. It will be necessary for the demo. Wrapping it up I believe that I should have more success after the holidays die down. Allowing for me to wrap myself back into a proper working schedule.
Winter VN
For my upcoming VN. It still needs two things done. The rest of the script which should take a week. The characters have already been created being borrowed from the Lavdun universe. The art itself shouldn't be too hard as I plan to keep it simple. The game will have a few backgrounds and only three different expressions. If I had more time it would be longer and more complex possibly including live 2D. Something I have wanted to add to one of VN for a very long time. Due to this project deadline approaching. I will be focusing on it more than my RPG. The story is heavily inspired by the nutcracker and follow a famous witch named Hazel. It is canon to the Lavdun Universe, diving into the backstory of Hazel. While this VN will not be dark. Hazel's main VN that is currently in script phase is. It follows her descent into madness as she goes from a healer to monster.
-Hazel is mentioned as the creator of soul soup in "A Tale of Two Flowers"
Stay tuned for more updates!
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