Behind-the-Scenes Development Trivia
During each rival's week, I want the school environment to change in various ways. For example, during Amai's week, there is a bake sale in the center plaza, and some placards around school advertising the bake sale. (These might be re-positioned or made more prominent in the future.)
During Kizana's week, there will be advertisements around school advertising a different event: a school play happening in the gym on Friday. Just like with Amai's bake sale, I want a variety of different posters to spread around school. Several artists are currently creating posters advertising Kizana's play, and I'm super happy with what has been produced so far!
Recently, an artist sent me the above sketch and asked for feedback. I thought that the artwork was phenomenal, but I felt as though there was a problem: the silhouette wasn't clear.
I'm a strong advocate for clear silhouettes. I'll give you an example of what I mean.
Take a look at this image: https://i.imgur.com/CsHYYlj.png What the hell is going on there? Well, you can kinda get a sense of it, but it's tough to know for sure, because the silhouette isn't clear.
Okay, now look at this image: https://i.imgur.com/KfnlEJr.png Ahhhhh, so that's it! Now it makes so much more sense, right?
I thought that the artist's work was good, but that the silhouette wasn't clear enough. I wanted to suggest moving the characters over so that their hands would be separate from the silhouette of the balcony. However, I didn't want to risk wasting the artist's time by giving unclear instructions...so, I took the time to edit the image to make sure my message got across to them. (You can see my edit in the gallery above.) I even took the time to make a silhouette version to really communicate why it would be an improvement.
I'm doing this sort of thing all the time. Seriously - all the time.
3D animator creating a "crouch walk" animation for me? I'll load up a stealth game and record footage of a character doing a stealth walk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jtGuGxl4ts
3D prop modeler needs reference material for a school clubroom? I'll load up a game set in a school environment and get them reference of what the clubrooms look like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pN3RyVmCR90
3D environment artist doesn't understand why all hallways need to be at least 4 meters wide? I'll record footage of Ayano walking through a house, spinning the camera around her, showing that the camera needs at least that much space to avoid the camera clipping into the walls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_4LXAsuFPo
3D hair modeler gives a character a high hairline? I'll create an animated gif explaining where the hairline ought to be: https://i.imgur.com/zHtvSTK.gif
2D artist's work could benefit from an adjustment? I'll take the time to edit their artwork to communicate my feedback as effectively as possible.
In addition to that sort of stuff, I'm also "tech support," as well. Player e-mails me, says he doesn't understand how to steal from the faculty room before 8:00 AM? I'll record footage of myself pulling it off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaVpGvNk654
Typically, these things wouldn't be the job of the project's programmer. The lead artist would be providing guidance to the artists; the lead modeler would be the one reviewing and correcting the modeling team's work; the lead animator would be the one in charge of making sure animations turn out right; et cetera. But Yandere Simulator doesn't have leads; it just has me. I perform the duties that would normally be done by a team of leads. One man doing ten jobs. I'm not saying this to boast; I'm saying it because it very clearly and directly explains the game's development speed.
(I tried to communicate this back in 2017: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us5PPyEvKWo However, it's an aspect of the game's development that usually doesn't get acknowledged.)
I'm not saying all of this for the purpose of whining or cultivating pity; "Grrrrr!! Nobody acknowledges how hard I work!!" I'm discussing this because it goes hand-in-hand with sharing "behind-the-scenes development trivia" like the edit of the Kizana poster above. "This is the sort of thing you probably don't ever think about, but it's the type of thing I'm doing on a daily basis."
If you're ever wondering to yourself, "What is YandereDev doing at this moment?" and picturing me writing code, keep in mind that that's only true 10% of the time; the other 90% are spent on a very wide variety of different responsibilities and tasks. Instead of programming, it's more likely that I'm taking the time to make sure an artist or modeler has the visuals they need to deliver the best possible assets for the game.
Comments (45)
A long time ago, in a post on the development blog, I had mentioned the fact that it would be very incredible if the school in 1980 mode had areas that were under construction, such as areas that are in the 20XX school. have not yet been finished building or have different paintings or textures that will then be updated or changed when it is either the 10 weeks of Ayano Aishi. For example, a concept could be that the labyrinth that is in the area of the gardens can be growing, that it is small, that it has not yet grown much, that they are only small plants planted, in the future it would become the labyrinth. And so it could also be done with the trees that are in the garden, make them smaller so that it seems that they have not yet grown much. And so on with many other characteristics that do not necessarily require new models or very exaggerated changes. For example, you could paint certain classrooms of different colors, or also change the size of the trees, it creates a very dynamic atmosphere. What do you think, Yandere dev?
Hello again! I understand the concept. Logically, it does make sense that something which is complete in 202X might be under construction in 1989. However, I don't think that Saisho Saikou would open Akademi unless it was 100% complete. He wouldn't want any half-complete buildings being an eyesore in his school. The idea of some trees being younger in 1989 makes sense, though. I could *consider* these suggestions, but I can't promise them just yet - I'd have to put a lot of thought into them.
Wild idea but maybe your main artists can work together to critic art coming in, give suggestions, and help out when they have free time? Although I did notice you only have a few main artists (from what I saw digging through the character page on your website), and it might be too much, but it could definitely help you out. Although I don't know how things like these run, just thought I'd give an idea :)
A lot of the artwork on the official website *is* the result of providing an artist with guidance until their artwork has drastically improved from the first draft, resulting in a finished piece that I'd be willing to include on the official website. In case you're saying, "A lot of the artwork on the official artwork is low-quality, and you should have the better artists coach the worse artists so they don't suck so much," my only response is that I'm in a "beggars can't be choosers" situation where I simply have to take what I can get. I only have access to one or two professional-quality artists, and they are usually very busy with their own lives/work, and can only rarely spare the time to create artwork for me.
I was wondering a few things from some of the latest builds this month. Ik u updated Kataba’s model and ur interested in doing every week the family does something different do u think it would be possible we will see Torahiko in person (ik u want to keep Ryoba’s sister a secret). I also wanted to ask about pippi’s socks. U mentioned in the August 4th build u changed it to the short ones but they look the exact same as the default ones. My question is the socks appearance supposed to be similar to the default one or were they supposed to be real short like Shinako’s and some of the 80s rivals.
It's pretty unlikely that Torahiko will appear in gameplay, because it would just be an elderly man who doesn't want to be there and only tolerates the people he lives with very reluctantly. Pippi's socks look the same as default? Huh. I didn't realize this. Maybe I'll investigate that. Though, it's a pretty small priority...
Hey! I love the new Cooking club! I think it matches Amai’s color scheme better! I have a question for today. It’s about some of the first students to attend Akademi. I think you once mentioned that the club posters in 1980s mode are photos of the founding presidents of each club. Can you please tell me some info on some of those students in the posters (names, personalities, etc.) if you can. I’m just kinda curious about some of the students that went to school with Ichiko. Thank you!
It's true; I always imagined those 1989 club posters depicting the founders of those clubs. I never really had any super-meaningful backstories written out for any of those characters, although I did imagine the founder of the occult club as being a psychic / actually capable of perceiving supernatural things. Maybe a descendant of monster hunters.
Have you ever had the idea of having Ayano going on dates with other boys to try and make sempai jealous and maybe even interesting.
Nah...stuff like this isn't part of my vision for the game.
How’s progress been with fixing the launcher?
I haven't worked on it at all.
Hi! I was wondering if you have an official release date for when you plan on releasing traveler aishi to the website yet?
Whenever I get the time. :(
Just one more question for now, does the “blacksmith branch” of the Aishi family still exist?
Yes. There's probably 3 branches, one of which died out in the late 1800s, then the textile branch, then the blacksmith branch.
I have a question. I remember I asked you how Ryoba wouldve eliminated her rivals in the happy ending timeline and you said by befriending them. What do you imagine each 1980s rival’s canon stealth mission to be?
Honestly, I haven't thought about it. Typically, I don't think critically about something unless I know for a fact that I actually have the resources for it. If I had authority over some big team that was willing to model+animate characters, model environments, and provide voice acting, then I'd put thought into what all of the 1989 rivals' befriend/betray missions would be like. But, if I don't have those kinds of resources available, then it's just something I don't think about.
Yanderedev, I havve a question. Many subscribers ask you questions about characters/lore/game here, so I'm curious if your answers can be posted on the wiki or shared elsewhere if they do not spoil the content posted by you on Patreon?
It's fine. Replies to Patreon comments can be added to the wiki as canon information about characters/lore.
Do you plan on adding the “Drive Your Rival to Murder” elimination method to Amai’s week where you can get her to kill Rei after her family’s bakery shuts down? I feel like it would be a fun elimination method to play.
Although I can imagine a way to achieve it, it would require a lot of assets I currently don't have, so I'm pretty reluctant to promise it at this point in time.
This is a bit of a pointless question, but it’s fun and I’m just curious. What part of the entire game up to this point did you have the most fun making? It could be programming something, writing lore, anything like that
1980s Mode, for sure. I had been planning/anticipating it for a very long time, and it gave me the satisfaction of creating a gameplay mode with 10 rivals and a beginning/middle/end.
I’d like to ask a question about Kizana. I know during the third week of the game that Kizana will change her hair throughout the week. My question pertains to week 4 and beyond with Kizana do u plan on having her receive new hair models for each day or would she recycle the 5 hairstyle/just keep the drill hairstyle for the remainder of the game if she wasn’t killed or driven out of school.
Because I have more than 5 hairstyles to give her, I was thinking "randomly chosen hairstyle every day."
I had a question about Akademi. Would you mind describing how some of the different student council presidents at Akademi over the years were like?
Often, the student council president is someone who aspires to hold the highest position in school. This means they're usually an overachiever, or a perfectionist who holds themself to the highest standard and won't be satisfied unless they are at the "top" of the school hierarchy. The student council president (SCP) is usually a responsible/intelligent/organized/mature person, but also a competitive and ambitious person. Rarely, they might be controlling/egotistical/manipulative, and seeking absolute power at school to satisfy their urge to be a tyrannical dictator. These ones usually don't get votes unless they are REALLY good at hiding their true nature. Often, the people who have been voted into the position of SCP ta Akademi have been kind, honorable, diplomatic, self-sacrificing, etc. Someone who all the other students look at and think, "Yeah, I want that person to be in charge of things around here."
If the 1980s rainy week rival had been put into the game, which rival would she come after and what would her name be? Do you still consider her a canon rival?
If she had been added to the game in place of another rival, I might have her replace Teiko. Her name would be Gurumi. I don't really consider her to be canon.
Hey, is there going to be an update today or do you prefer to continue working on bigger things?
Last update was recent, so no update today. Next update will come when I have something exciting to share.
Do you plan on adding more students to the game to fill in the two empty desks in Class 2-2?
Nah. Those will remain empty. It's necessary. There are no more open "student slots" in the game's code.
Hello! I have one question if you’re not too busy. I was wondering in the timeline where Ichiko is a twin, do you picture Fun Girl or Ichiko as the student council president?
Ichiko is definitely more of the "student council president" type.
One last question, I know you're very busy. Do you think Kokona will have a role in the third week? Like you said in the video about Kokona all those years ago?
Yep! I do have plans for Kokona in Kizana's week. However, I'd prefer not to spoil my plans.
Hey dev, maybe I've already suggested this in the past, but I don't remember, so I apologize if so. In the 202X mode's week selection screen, it would be nice to replace the cassettes (which I believe are a placeholder) with the saikougram home screen, where the stories appear in a circle with all the rivals' faces, perhaps posing, even in non-school clothes, with the saikougram writing above them just like on the Instagram home screen, and the rivals' usernames below the stories, for example "amai_odayaka." I think it fits very well with the 202X mode, given that Instagram is very popular in Japan today, as it is around the world. But above all, as a player of various games, I can assure you that every time a game references social media or other real-world elements, a pleasant smile always escapes. I also think that since they are simply circles with the rivals' photos, they shouldn't require too much development time. Thanks for reading!
I've considered the idea before. VHS cassette tapes were appropriate for 1989, but in 202X, the menu interface should definitely look more modern. An Instagram-like interface is one idea...but I'll consider a few different options before making my choice.
Hey! Sorry but I have more timeline questions 😅 1. In timeline 2, how old was fun girl when she was put in the machine and the timeline was erased. 2. If they both went to Akademi, do you imagine fun girl or Ichiko as the student council president? 3. Did Ryoba have the chance to eliminate her rivals before the timeline was erased? 4. What are some of the advanced tech items that Saisho invented in this timeline? 5. In the Yakuza Mode timeline, which students were assasinated by Ryoba? 6. When did Ryoba Retire from being an assasin? 7. Did her family ever move out since she never found her senpai in this timeline?
I'm extremely sorry. I've already spent enough time answering timeline questions this month. I can't keep spending huge amounts of my time answering timeline questions. I need to focus my time on game development.
Have you ever considered taking an assistant/secretary ?
A secretary couldn't take over my duties. Explaining to a 3D modeler what's wrong with a 3D model isn't the job of a secretary. If I'm the only one who knows the exact specifications that the 3D final model should look like, I'm the one who should be reviewing the 3D model and giving final approval.
Amazing! That's how i imagine it