Dev Log : Turning Up The Dials

Let's wind back the clock a couple of years or so. I'd just come up with this great idea to do a Visual Novel. But not just any Visual Novel - oh, no! Let's add in some sugar and spice and all things nice! Or in other words : Plenty of Tits and Ass.

How hard can it be? Ok, I've never done anything like this before. But difficult? Pllllleeasse! Just whack out a few renders. Link them together into some sort of coherent story. And bang! A VN. Easy-peasy! Bob's you're Uncle, Aunt and wayward cousin all rolled into one!

So Chapter 1 was complete and by the time I'd got around to thinking about releasing it - I was half way through Chapter 2.

Well! I'll just finish that off first before Chapter 1 gets released ..

Of course. Doing any major project isn't easy at all. The amount of work involved for starters is off the scale. Since coming back from my little enforced break over New Year (and a little earlier) - this has basically turned into a 18 hour a day job for me.

It really really really helps, that I enjoy doing it.

And it's the enjoyment that inspired the title of this Dev Log. Turning Up The Dials.

I'm really turning them up in Chapter 3. I don't want to use the word "quality" as everybody's version of that word is different. But the render .. errm .. quality is ramping up. Naturally, like everybody, we're always improving on that score and the first renders for Chapter 1 were done nearly 3 years ago now. I'd like to think I've improved since then.

But it's the other things too : the cinematography; the storytelling; the character development; the dialogue; the arcs; the threads and the details. The choices and the branching narratives.

I'm really pushing them to the highest of levels in Chapter 3 that I can manage.

It won't be perfect and some may give a "meh" response. But from my own perspective I'm leaving nothing on the table.

I mentioned in my last Dev Log which was titled "bogged down" or some such nonsense, about the time I was spending on a particular section of the story.

For those who can't remember - early on Jack gets faced with a dilemma where he gets to make one of four in game choices. Up to you which - but the choices are really impactful on Jack, his arc and the ongoing story overall.

Each one of those choices causes a branch. It's maybe only for a scene or two (for now - more will come later) but a branch nonetheless, and in two of the branches, introduces two new characters that can / will play an important role later on in the story (well, one we already met already way way way ago) ..

But you only get one of those branches each play through - yet the scenes for each need building out and for the scenes with new characters, those scenes need to serve as a proper introduction. So there'll be something like 20 minutes of content in this section (at this stage) while each play through might only see a third or a quarter of it.

Ahhhhh .. Ironman .. Where choices matter.

But the level of detail in these introductions is where the dial has been turned up. You choose this, this happens and something else could branch off or something else gets set that gets to play out in a much later scene or even chapter.

Yeah ... 18 hour days ..