VN Ren'Py Abandoned Elvensang [Ep. 5] [Worlaix]

[Smarmint]

Making plans for release schedules hasn't worked out for me too well in the past, but I always try to release as quickly as possible - which admittedly isn't very quick, but it's the best I can do between my academic obligations and constant effort to get better at drawing (which has always taken up most of the development time).

I don't know if that answers your question, but yeah - every episode will be out when it's ready

I get it. Whatever steady release cycle works for you, that is what is best for the game. Every 3 to 4 months seems to be the sweet spot for devs to get the most Patreon contributions, and more people will see it here and on other sites and subscribe. If releases are every 5 to 6 months, it's hard to build much of a following, any longer and you start to lose people. Since I hope you are successful with Elvensang, and I certainly want to see what is next, you might consider shorter updates to hit the 3-4 month target, but each dev has his own work style.

You really have something unique and fun with Elvensang, and the story so far is quite interesting and makes the player want to learn more, plus I love your art style, so I hope to see it finished eventually.

 

[Worlaix]

Quality of updates over fast-frequenty, my friend.

Is Sunny supposed to have quite a bit "Shortstack" vibe going on, or is that just me missinterpreting ?

I don't know about shortstack, but I've always envisioned her as fairly busty for how petite she is. But I think that kind of stuff is subjective, especially with how many adult games establish very large breasts as the norm, so breasts that you would consider big IRL suddenly feel somewhat small in pixels.
Admittedly, I am a fan of big breasts myself, so I have a tendency to overdo it at times - usually it's subconscious, like... I'll start drawing a piece of Sunny and make her breasts too big without even thinking about it because I didn't consult a previous artwork of her as a reference. I try to mitigate that nowadays and keep her bust at least somewhat consistent between scenes.

And if we're talking about character sprites, I'm going to be making adjustments to those in the next episode (Sunny and Anasteya's at the very least). It mostly concerns height, since a lot of the character sprites don't communicate the height that I want them to be, and I think in many cases it has to do with proportions, like the head being too small/too big which in turn makes the character look taller/shorter than they should be.

But yeah, I plan to make adjustments to everything as we go. This does include fixing older art, but not more than 1-2 pieces per episode so I'm not stuck drawing old stuff while people wait for the new. On the other hand, character sprites are something that I always want to keep up to date (assuming it's not throwaways like Rodrick and his pals), since it might be "old art" but it's still constantly present in new episodes.

 

[Rutonat]

I don't know about shortstack, but I've always envisioned her as fairly busty for how petite she is. But I think that kind of stuff is subjective, especially with how many adult games establish very large breasts as the norm, so breasts that you would consider big IRL suddenly feel somewhat small in pixels.
Admittedly, I am a fan of big breasts myself, so I have a tendency to overdo it at times - usually it's subconscious, like... I'll start drawing a piece of Sunny and make her breasts too big without even thinking about it because I didn't consult a previous artwork of her as a reference. I try to mitigate that nowadays and keep her bust at least somewhat consistent between scenes.

And if we're talking about character sprites, I'm going to be making adjustments to those in the next episode (Sunny and Anasteya's at the very least). It mostly concerns height, since a lot of the character sprites don't communicate the height that I want them to be, and I think in many cases it has to do with proportions, like the head being too small/too big which in turn makes the character look taller/shorter than they should be.

But yeah, I plan to make adjustments to everything as we go. This does include fixing older art, but not more than 1-2 pieces per episode so I'm not stuck drawing old stuff while people wait for the new. On the other hand, character sprites are something that I always want to keep up to date (assuming it's not throwaways like Rodrick and his pals), since it might be "old art" but it's still constantly present in new episodes.

Sorry, I should try to use more specific terms. I might be abusing the term "shortstack" a bit.
I mostly meant "curvy and on the shorter side", since most scenes she's represented by her sprite rather than art, her sprite is quite low.

I think it's fairly easy to understand that, in those scenes, when the MC isn't pictured like in a scene art, the point of view is suppsoed to be his, meaning the height of Sunny is dependent on his own height. And since, in those, she's rather low to the screen, she always gave me a rather short vibe.
But then, on other parts, her spite shows legs longer than the rest of her body, which threw me off. Some people here told me you mentioned how the sprite was a bit jank on that regard and you mentionned correcting that at some point, so for a time I didn't say much.
But lately, the questiion kept poping into my head, because I wondered if you were planning for her to be short or if I had completely missunderstood.

But I'm glad to know I wasn't off (aside from my terminology). Not many games tend to go for short and curvy girls (which I tend to refer to as shortstacks even if they aren't super short). That gives her a really interesting and unique vibe, and makes her all the more cute and adorable, in my opinion.

 

[Py Ape]

mmmmmmee like the mom

 

[Smarmint]

Worlaix,
I noticed that the sprites for Sunny and the MC's mother tend to be reused for many scenes. This is completely fine where it fits the scene, but sometimes their outfit and accessories don't seem appropriate for the scene. For example, Sunny's sprite where she is wearing her backpack and wearing traveling clothes, is used both outside where they are hiking, which makes clear sense, but also inside when they are just chatting, even in evening scenes, or when she is just standing outside in the evening for some fresh air.

This doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the story, but it does take the player out of the immersion somewhat if the characters clothing and accessories don't, at least somewhat, match the scene. Perhaps consider making a few more variations for future versions, so you can pick the sprite that best matches the scene?

Just a thought. I can't draw characters at all, so I have no idea how much effort goes into making more variations for Sunny or the mother. I have no idea, for example, if it takes 2 hours or 2 days or longer to draw, and color a new sprite and outfit for Sunny.

 

[zircoin]

wasn't there suppose to be ntr in this?

 

[Deleted member 4328270]

wasn't there suppose to be ntr in this?

I knew i wasn't crazy when i said there was something about you made me kept holding a glimmer of hope. That someday you would turn away from such a low-tier garbage fetish. And glad i am to see you did so.

Too bad for the cuckold moderator who religiously deleted my insightful messages regarding (god forgive me for uttering this word) NTR , i suppose he must invest into another game thread to get off now.

I congratulate you for your wise decision. The talent you have makes it clear that you will succeed in your endeavor.

The battle for the Elvensang is over... HOWEVER! The war against the NTR rages on. My attention is now needed elsewhere. Farewell friends!

*Flies away on his anti-NTR rocket*

Nope, derpyturdmeister flew in on his imaginary rocket and liberated us from NTR in Elvensang. Thanks Derpy for your service.

 

[Rutonat]

And then, people say that we, the non NTR fans, are wildly exagerating about NTR fans going to every games saying it needs to go NTR...

 

[mr.AwesomeGameTaste]

And then, people say that we, the non NTR fans, are wildly exagerating about NTR fans going to every games saying it needs to go NTR...

the ntr was supposed to be there so his question wasn't out of place,he didn't come to a random thread that never promised any ntr,so yes you are exaggerating.

 

[Rutonat]

the ntr was supposed to be there so his question wasn't out of place,he didn't come to a random thread that never promised any ntr,so yes you are exaggerating.

I'm not when implying they very often (if not always) tend to not accept a dev ultimately deciding their game won't have NTR, be it removed from planning or never being planned at all.

 

[Worlaix]

Worlaix,
I noticed that the sprites for Sunny and the MC's mother tend to be reused for many scenes. This is completely fine where it fits the scene, but sometimes their outfit and accessories don't seem appropriate for the scene. For example, Sunny's sprite where she is wearing her backpack and wearing traveling clothes, is used both outside where they are hiking, which makes clear sense, but also inside when they are just chatting, even in evening scenes, or when she is just standing outside in the evening for some fresh air.

This doesn't take away from the enjoyment of the story, but it does take the player out of the immersion somewhat if the characters clothing and accessories don't, at least somewhat, match the scene. Perhaps consider making a few more variations for future versions, so you can pick the sprite that best matches the scene?

Just a thought. I can't draw characters at all, so I have no idea how much effort goes into making more variations for Sunny or the mother. I have no idea, for example, if it takes 2 hours or 2 days or longer to draw, and color a new sprite and outfit for Sunny.

Yep, I agree - and I definitely plan to expand the clothing variety. I'm behind schedule as it is, so I wouldn't count on any significant wardrobe improvement in the next episode - but maybe an extra outfit or two could be thrown in for now...

wasn't there suppose to be ntr in this?

Yeah, there was - look in the "Future content" tab in the original post if you want to know why there won't be.

 

[Decathect]

Let me preface this by saying NTR is near the bottom my list of things to look for, but I'll never advocate for its removal from a game.
For brevity's sake, I'll quote a post I made in another game, which had a similar conversation pop up about gay content and being able to cherry-pick what you do and do not wish to see ingame:

I consider content filters an unfortunate results of snowflake appeasement. I play all games with everything turned on, even the stuff i dont like. Mainly because if its in there, then turning it off warps the rest of it in some way, in order to fit the new limitation - thus damaging the integrity of the creator's original intent. And thats how you end up with "Rampager"

So a firm "nay" to content filters. Grow a thicker skin, take the good with the bad, and become stronger through adversity!

Much of the same argument can be used here: Worlaix states that said element was planned to be a part of his story, only to be removed due to real world constraints. Even if im not a fan, its exclusion is no cause for celebration, because eschewing any element from the game means the end result we see will be different from what the author originally envisioned. And now i cant help wonder about things such as how would it have been woven into the story and the impact it was supposed to have on the characters, going forward.

Unfortunately, art is always a compromise between one's vision and reality.

 

[Renart5]

I love content filters, thanks to them I can find the games I need instead of those with weird fetishes.

 

[Rutonat]

I love content filters, thanks to them I can find the games I need instead of those with weird fetishes.

Content filters and tags aren't the same thing. You're talking about the site's tags. Content filters are thing ingame that allow to turn off some part with content you don't like.

 

[Renart5]

Content filters and tags aren't the same thing. You're talking about the site's tags. Content filters are thing ingame that allow to turn off some part with content you don't like.

Ahh, sorry... Yeah I thought they hated the tags.

 

[Clobbertime]

The filters are good to have. The more fetishes the creators put in the smaller their audience will be unless they include a way of making some of them optional, and the larger their audience the more money they'll make from the game. I myself won't even try a game for free if it contains things like vore, bestiality, and scat that can't be skipped.

 

[Smarmint]

Much of the same argument can be used here: Worlaix states that said element was planned to be a part of his story, only to be removed due to real world constraints. Even if im not a fan, its exclusion is no cause for celebration, because eschewing any element from the game means the end result we see will be different from what the author originally envisioned. And now i cant help wonder about things such as how would it have been woven into the story and the impact it was supposed to have on the characters, going forward.

Unfortunately, art is always a compromise between one's vision and reality.

I agree. I always leave all the content filters in place, otherwise what is the point? Usually in game choices guide the game anyway.

I don't get the sense that Worlaix was really enthusiastic about the NTR content, he probably just thought he could get a few more patrons by putting it in, and realized that more fans would likely be turned-off and likely leave, so why go through the extra effort. I personally think that NTR is such a devisive issue (I will never play any NTR games, I don't understand this fetish at all), that it is better if NTR games, like other small niche fetishes like furries, etc, should embrace it for those that enjoy such things, and be happy with a small audience of fans, and devs that aren't focused on these fetishes, would be wise to leave them out.

 

[Itscringebro]

So, how many sex/nude scenes in that game? How to unlock them?

 

[Renx26]

So, how many sex/nude scenes in that game? How to unlock them?

Not enough yet.....I will recommend you to wait untill next update

 

[Worlaix]

I agree. I always leave all the content filters in place, otherwise what is the point? Usually in game choices guide the game anyway.

I don't get the sense that Worlaix was really enthusiastic about the NTR content, he probably just thought he could get a few more patrons by putting it in, and realized that more fans would likely be turned-off and likely leave, so why go through the extra effort. I personally think that NTR is such a devisive issue (I will never play any NTR games, I don't understand this fetish at all), that it is better if NTR games, like other small niche fetishes like furries, etc, should embrace it for those that enjoy such things, and be happy with a small audience of fans, and devs that aren't focused on these fetishes, would be wise to leave them out.

lol, I would have to be really out of touch with reality to think that adding NTR would get me a few more patrons. I wanted to add it because I enjoy it when it's "done right", but doing it right in Elvensang would be far too time-consuming.

As for what Decathect said, not every element of what I originally envisioned is always harmonious with my "artistic vision" as a whole. Elvensang is an amateurish attempt at ASOIAF/Witcher scale storytelling with a self-indulgent frequency of erotic and sexual themes; I don't want the narrative to constantly sidetrack to build up towards NTR and then again to deal with its aftermath - but for everything to remain sensible, I would have no other choice. As compelling as it might potentially be in a story, it would demand a lot of time for very little in return - and detract from what I actually want to focus on.