【Development Update】Route-Specific Title Screen System in Progress

Hello everyone, this is LactoQuest. It has been a while.

Recently, I have still been working on the different route contents, CG implementation, recollection room, and related presentation elements for Stigma of Corruption: Nightbound Courier.

This time, I would like to share a new feature currently being developed:

the title screen of this game will change depending on the route the player is currently on.

The game will not continue using one fixed title screen forever.

As the story progresses, and as the player enters different routes, the background CG of the title screen will switch to a dedicated image for that specific route.

For example, the merchant route, the blacksmith route, and the other major routes will each have their own unique title CG.

My goal is that when players open the game again, they can immediately feel the atmosphere of their current route just from the title screen.

Each route has different story developments, character relationships, and overall mood.

Because of that, I want the title screen itself to become part of the route presentation.

At the moment, I plan to prepare at least six or more route-specific title CGs.

In this update, I will first show the title screens for the merchant route and the blacksmith route.

I would also like to give special thanks to @akisuke06080608 for supporting the rough sketches and line art.

The title screen for the merchant route emphasizes desire, transaction, temptation, and danger.

This route itself focuses more on realistic and interest-driven relationships, so the overall atmosphere will be more suggestive and more oppressive than the normal story.

The title screen for the blacksmith route, on the other hand, leans more toward roughness, strength, and the feeling of gradually being pulled into a situation that can no longer be reversed.

Since this route has a different direction from the merchant route, I hope players can immediately feel the difference between them just by looking at the title screen.

The workload recently has still been very heavy.

Each route requires its own events, CGs, presentation work, and text to be handled separately.

Even so, the overall content is being completed step by step.

This time, I will first reveal the title CGs for the merchant route and the blacksmith route.

The dedicated title screens for the other routes will also be shown when the timing feels right.

Also, the story content for the Hero’s City has finally been fully completed.

Ah… that really was not easy.

After finishing this part of the story, I immediately did a test playthrough.

The feedback I have received so far is that, compared to the starting village, the Hero’s City has improved a lot in terms of story, atmosphere, and overall presentation.

On the other hand, the gameplay side still has room for improvement.

The Hero’s City uses a free-activity structure, with each day divided into three time periods.

With this kind of framework, no matter how many side quests are added, it always feels like a bottomless pit.

The bigger the game framework becomes, the more it feels like a sponge absorbing water.

Main events, side quests, daily events, exploration content — no matter how much I add, it feels like everything gets absorbed quickly, and the space never truly feels full.

This part will have to be slowly expanded and adjusted later when I have more time.

For now, I can only do my best within the limited time I have.

Below is a CG that has already been shown several times before and is now fully adjusted.

By the way, I previously said that the Hero’s City CGs would have around three different perspectives.

But after actually finishing the content, I realized that there are actually four.

That is because there is also the crystal ball perspective.

Ah, I really ended up making too many perspectives.

There is not even any room left to be lazy.

When the front perspective cannot show something, the side perspective can.

When the side perspective cannot show it either, the player can observe it through the crystal ball perspective.

This system ended up becoming much more complicated than I originally expected.

Each perspective needs to have its own story breakdown and presentation as much as possible.

Fortunately, this part has finally been completed as well.

Next is the current rough progress of the recollection room.

At the moment, the content that has been completed and organized into the recollection room is roughly two-thirds of the actual total content.

Of course, what is currently shown does not fully represent the final state.

Some CGs are completed, and some story scenes are finished, but the overall sound, pacing, and detailed presentation have not all been implemented yet.

So for now, I can only say that the recollection room is about two-thirds complete.

There is still more organizing, adding, and adjusting to do.

Lastly, I would like to talk a little about something more personal.

How should I put it…

To be honest, even now, I still feel like I have not fully moved beyond being a beginner creator.

During development, I do not yet have a completely fixed workflow or a fully standardized method.

A lot of the time, I find the right “feeling” by playing through the game again and again.

During test play, I try to feel the flavor of every line of dialogue, the overall pacing, the atmosphere, and the distance between the characters.

This way of working has both advantages and disadvantages.

When I am in good condition and inspiration comes naturally, I sometimes create things that even surprise myself.

But when I am not in the right state, I can get stuck for a very long time, unable to write even a single line of dialogue.

That is also why I am a little afraid of taking long breaks.

I always feel that if I stop for a while, I may gradually lose my sense for that feeling.

Of course, in the long run, I still need to move toward a more standardized and more professional way of working.

I cannot always rely only on condition and inspiration.

That is roughly everything I wanted to share this time.

Thank you very much for your continued support.

I will keep doing my best to complete the remaining content.