Not-So-Weekly Update 28/09/2024
Progress:
Ok, it's been a while. I haven't really had time to write up the progress until just yesterday. But here goes.
So far, I've managed to accumulate around 15,000 word. I'm pretty sure this is pretty close to finishing for the script. Now, of course, this won't be the final version. I still have to review and nitpick everything as I re-read the entire thing and as I render. But so far, it doesn't look bad. I feel like I should've got more done but at the same time, I wasn't able to. But! I do have good news to tell for this update! My semester will end in 2 weeks. Which means after these 2 weeks, I can go into full development mode.
I have a lot of ideas in mind that I want to add to the chapter, and I can't wait to see how they'll look in renders. But with that in mind, I also want to talk about what I have planned for the chapter. So, at some point during my script writing, I realised there's a lot of things I need to add to maintain the fluidity of story-telling. It's kind of like a double-edged blade, because on one hand, you'll get more content with more quality, but on the other hand, it's a lot more work for me. I believed I've touched on this topic in one of the update, so I won't waste time talking about it again. I just want to see, for the future of my development, I'm willing to trade time for quality. Some of you might not like this, because who does? I understand, but in my perspective, while I am trying to make money, I do want to actually produce a good product. And I feel like won't be able to do that if I'm constantly rushing progress. This is actually what had happened with the initial release of this game. My semester was about to start, and I know I won't be able to work on it much then, so I ran through the rest of the development and pushed it out as soon as I could. The result was ok, there wasn't any game breaking bugs or anything, but there were a lot of typos and a few malfunctioning features (Shout out to my members in Discord for helping me out with these). So, all I'm saying is, I genuinely want to make a game with all my effort. Especially because this is my first game, and it means a lot to me.
Weekly topic:
I was staring at my notepad and trying to think about what I should talk about. So, after 5 minutes of staring, let's talk about why I'm trying to make an action visual novel.
I love action. And based on your definition, there's probably a lot of versions of the action genre. But what I noticed is that, not many 3D renpy adult visual novels will show you how to transition from an arm bar to a triangle choke, or to correctly perform a judo throw. I think what I'm doing is a little different than what the usual visual novels do, but that's what I love doing, making a difference.
One of the things I see is that, not many people really care about the levels of detail in action, which I think it's a big shame because action is art, and to portray action is another type of art. I could easily go "A guy punches another guy > He fell > the guy wins", but there's no depth. There's nothing to show that this action scene is of any significance. Two drunk dudes fighting while constantly tripping can technically be called action, but is it good action? The author tells you that this scene is an action scene, but will you think dudes throwing pillow hands can satisfy you or make you say, "that's a good fight scene". NO. The level of detail dictates how good an action scene is and that's what I'm trying to achieve. The law of motion must be followed, the portrayal of techniques must be correct, the reaction to impact must be realistic... and not just directing the action, but also the presentation of the action: Camera angles, lighting, sound effects, music, all the good stuff that compliments an action scene. Details, baby.
I totally understand if someone were to say the action scene is too long or there are too many unnecessary action scenes that don't matter. Not everyone is interested in watching action, which I get. While I'm not going to change how I'm going to develop my game, subconsciously, I want to make more people appreciate action scenes. Of course, I can't force what people don't like, but... what if you do like it? And you just haven't seen the right material? It's like, I will hate eating Cacio e Pepe just because all I've ever had is bad Cacio e Pepe. I want to make that good plate of Cacio e Pepe. I want them to realise that maybe they do in fact, like eating Cacio e Pepe, they just haven't had any good ones, yet.
Ok, there it is. Why I'm making this game. I love adult visual novels, and I love action. I want to see how good I can become in writing action scenes, and I want to bring interest to how exciting an action scene can be.
That's it for this update. Thanks again for all of my patrons and supporters. I'll see you again next time.
