Project Queue

While I do expect certain projects to be done before others do to size and complexity, I do plan on hopping around and working on them all every so often. And, if a feel a bout of inspiration hit, I’m certainly not going to ignore potential progress on them.
As such, we’re looking at updates for a couple of the projects on my queue. First on the board is “Project Summer Camp.”
 
”Project Summer Camp” Update 2
<< Update

General Progress
I’m throwing a lot at the wall with this one and trying to figure out what does and doesn’t work. Been a looooot of notes, ideas, lore, world building, etc. While the premise starts out simple, the idea is for it to build in complexity the more secrets are revealed. And for that I need to make sure things that happened before the story proper make sense.

Hard to talk about without just giving away the whole plot/mystery, but eldritch forces are involved; so making sure they’re involved while not just one-shotting our heroes (and the planet) is a delicate balancing act.

Giving it a break at the moment. Working on the others for a bit. Typically helps to step away and come back with a refreshed perspective. And on that note.
 
“QooH” Update 1
About QooH

The girls are back in town.
Special update for this one; we got Nia and Lily back! Mostly.

When SecondCircleStudios dissolved I got to keep most of what we worked on to continue the project on my own. The only two things I did not keep were the characters Nia and Bong Cha (aka Lily) who went to their respective creators.

Recently they’ve shifted hands a couple times and I now have both of them beck under my umbrella. Mostly. While I do have 100% of Lily in both her original design and background, I agreed to split ownership of Nia between her design and background. I got her background, which is good as I considered both Nia and Lily linchpin characters; their particular blend of tech savvy & pop culture enthusiasm gave them a lot of potential connections to other characters that I can now take full advantage of. I’ll probably need to change Nia’s name though. Have one in mind since I was already working on replacements for them, but this is MUCH easier.

How’s writing going?
Having Nia back (and discussing commission ideas with her current owner) put me in a very inspired mood for writing. Largely because I wanted her (and the other characters) to have more of a present in the intro. With her back I started working past some of the dead ends I had.

Onto what I’ve actually been writing, a good chunk of it has been the intro. Making the initial campus orientation/tour more extensive, making character introduction beefier, and adding more variety in how things can play out base on what you choose. Even adding some of the faculty I’d design to the mix.

Like all these projects, the intro is going to be the demo, so I want it to be decently packed with character intros and locations to give you a good look at what the game will be like.

I’ve also finally figured out the time progression for the game. I’ve wanted a progression of seasons over the school year (fall, winter,
spring, and summer) but struggled with the idea of progressing time without skipping over a characters story events. Having figured that out,
writing their actual stories is also going much easier.

It’s been easier mapping out some of the characters storylines/events with that added structure in place. Some nice hurdles jumped, but still a lot to do.

“Avatar: The last Bastion” Update 1

What I’ve written so Far
This project is still the one I’ve done the most “hard-writing” for; still what I’d consider a rough draft in need of tweaking and re-writing, but actually written out as opposed to bullet points. Likely helped by the more narrow scope and looser world building requirements.

The last time I touched it I had “finished” one route up to a certain point and had started going back to figure out the other two. Since then I’ve mostly been fleshing out the intro sequence to account for you choices in all three routes. Making sure each feels different enough that your choices matter, but that any route feels worth it from a roleplay perspective. None of that “pet the dog / kick the dog” morality. Though I am still debating how far to push those extremes. As such it’s a LOT of writing dialogue.
 
Demo Plans
Everything I’ve been working on is what I consider the first 2/3rd of the intro. An introduction to the world, basic gameplay, and how choices effect events/dialogue. Starting out in the “wastes” and traveling to the nearest settlement with a newfound companion.

Thus far I’ve only introduced 3 of the 7 main characters with the others planned for the last 3rd. At that point things slow down a bit and play out a bit more at the player’s leisure. Being able to wonder around the settlement at your leisure, enter shops, talk to characters, take quests, etc; but not leaving the settlement to DO those missions. That’ll be then end of the demo and where you’d pick I back up once purchased. But again, I’ll hopefully be able to pack it full of enough to make you consider buying the game proper.