Game development Trembling Essence update:


Hello and welcome new followers, it's been a while but I am here with another update! :]

Firstly, I just want to keep things transparent and catch people up to date for those that might not of seen my previous explanation for this delay and/or are new here.

I was very hesitant on making any new update posts because I wanted my original play tester who's been here since the beginning to look at everything first so I patiently waited. I didn't want to give out false expectations and add bunch of new content/concepts in update posts only to take it out or change it entirely if I couldn't make it work. In the end, my original play tester just couldn't make it so I recently asked someone else. Everything went really well, I had a lot of fun with how they played the game and they were very understanding. Their feedback really helped me when I needed it and I learned a lot from this experience, I am never waiting like that ever again. :]

Anywho, here's how things have been going as far as game development goes:

In my last update post, I was talking about a certain goal point I wanted to achieve and the game got a pretty big update!

  • I finished all of the morning settings/routes that now lead into day 4, this took a lot of writing and time. There is one specific route that I'm fixing because when my new play tester and I played it straightforward twice, it took a very long time to get through and we still weren't done before we took a break. :,]
  • There were two new paths that I also finished during all of this. For the first one, I decided to push it later into the game due to certain events happening too early and the second one is an ending which is slightly hidden somewhere. :]

All that'll be needed is minor adjusting, etc because the variables need to line up correctly since some routes can have different outcomes. I'm up for this challenge but it's going to take time to organize.

Here are some of things I fixed along the way:

  • Slight adjustment to an ending that required a certain trigger
  • Adjusted certain visual effects happening to early
  • Cleaned up various grammar mistakes
  • Fixed certain routes jumping into other routes
  • Minor fix to backgrounds appearing at the wrong time of day
  • Adjusted the volume of different background SFX's / Music

Here's one of several things you can eat in the game, can't survive on an empty stomach after all! :]

When it comes to CG's that involve food, my style approach will be a bit different. I was originally going to do realism but those take a very long time to do and after the first few, I got pretty burnt out from them.


Along with that, sometimes you might find things that will aid you along the way! This key is just an example, I don't want to show the other items just yet. :]

I'm also still testing this but I thought about adding a visual effect that appears on your screen when something is causing you to rapidly lose health(?) It's not in full effect right now, just brainstorming it.

Lastly, another thing that's kind of been on my mind once I looked through the routes again is how long they are, I'm not sure how people feel about long visual novels since I consider this one to be a slow burn game. I don't want you to feel as though you have to skip through a lot of the dialog unless you've already seen it, I want it to be fun and not feel like it's dragging on. I really would like to hear people's thoughts on this because I honestly don't know.

I think I reached the max I can type here so I'll post the rest in the following update post next week but overall,

Thank you guys for being patient and understanding. I wholeheartedly appreciate the support and encouragement! :]

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Comments

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(+1)

Hello!

I like long visual novels as well. From what I've experienced in the demo, the pacing is going by smoothly. I think the slow burn fits really well with the overall story and atmosphere that you've created. I've enjoyed what we've learned so far about Noah and the swamp, and I'm really excited to see what's to come next!

(+1)

Hi! :]

Thank you very much for your response and your review of the demo overall, I'll try my best to continue keeping the pace as smooth as possible! I'll see and look into what I can do with the slow burn progress so far.  I'm happy knowing that you enjoy everything I've expressed so far about Noah and the swamp, I really appreciate it! :,]

(+1)

Hi!! 

again, i love your game so much and love seeing your updates. 

I think a long visual novel would genuinely be SO. GOOD! i'm already very attached to your plot line and i've always loved VNs with an aspect of nature in, so your game ticks every box for me basically hehe. but yeah, a long vn would definitely suit Noahs character very well also, and i love slow burns when done right, and i can already tell you WILL do it right, and absolutely blow my expectations away! uggghh, can't wait for your next update!

(+1)

Hello and thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy the plot of game being tied with nature and reading the update posts I share! :,] 

Also I appreciate your opinion and experience with VN's! I'll check and see what I can do  for this slow burn and take your words into consideration! Thank you for believing in me! :,]

(+2)

First of all, thank you so much for working this hard on the game; anyone can tell how dedicated you are to it, and how much work was put into it. 

Secondly, thank you so much for using the Ren'py engine so I can play on my phone with Joiplay.

And, finally, I love long visual novels. Especially since with no Windows device, I have few game options, and that leaves me with nothing to play when I finish a game. Unless the game is using Ren'py, I'm stuck with mobile games.

Keep up the amazing work, and remember to take breaks, and stay hydrated.

Thank you so much for your very kind and sweet words, I really appreciate it! It's very nice knowing you and others feel that way.  :,]

I will also keep that reminder of breaks and water in mind! >:]

Also I'm glad you mentioned Joiplay, I never herd of it before but there was someone a month or two ago that actually wanted to play the demo but they didn't have a computer and had to watch a playthrough instead so I'll look into it and suggest it to them to use! I do want to make it available for mobile devices but I really can't guarantee anything on it still. 

Also thank you for your answering my question, that really helps! I'll definitely see what I can do then and take your words into consideration! :]