VN Ren'Py The Artist [Development Thread]

[Gwedelino]

It looks really fine overall, all those little details are really helpful at building thie whole game identity.

I usually prefer having a textbox than nothing, but It's usually the right choice to let players disable it if they want to.

The only thing I dislike is the main menu looping between 3D scenes because :

- The best visual is clearly the very first artwork (the one that shows the name of the game).

- That's something really overdone and not really visually original for a game named "The artist". I would have prefered to see something using 2D art or even abstract art.

But it's just my opinion. I can already see a lot of work done on this project.

 

[Grotslot]

It looks really fine overall, all those little details are really helpful at building thie whole game identity.

I usually prefer having a textbox than nothing, but It's usually the right choice to let players disable it if they want to.

The only thing I dislike is the main menu looping between 3D scenes because :

- The best visual is clearly the very first artwork (the one that shows the name of the game).

- That's something really overdone and not really visually original for a game named "The artist". I would have prefered to see something using 2D art or even abstract art.

But it's just my opinion. I can already see a lot of work done on this project.

Thanks for the feedback! I understand what you mean about the menu. I guess there's still time for me to review it with fresh eyes once I've let it sit for a while and then decide if I want to change it up

 

[gloomyghost]

What are you prefrences on textboxes?

Style choices are a STRUGGLE. I like how you keep the theme going with the menu and transitions, so I'm almost inclined to choose the brush stroke but... in the end, it all comes down to what you guys feel fits your game best.

 

[Grotslot]

Style choices are a STRUGGLE. I like how you keep the theme going with the menu and transitions, so I'm almost inclined to choose the brush stroke but... in the end, it all comes down to what you guys feel fits your game best.

Thanks! Definitely feel the brush stroke fits nicely, and I think giving the player a choice of style to suit their own preference is the way we will go.

 

[Grotslot]

Update - 30/04/2023

It's been a week since our last update, and what a week it has been! We've made significant progress in various aspects of the game, including posing and rendering, audio design, coding, and expanding the dialogue.

The posing and rendering stage is complete!
And we've ended up with a smidge over 1,200 static and unique renders!!



Posing and rendering can be a challenge at times, but we are thrilled with the result. The renders are stunning, and they've captured the emotions and mood of the game beautifully.

We've started allocating music and sound effects to scenes, and we are taking our time to find the perfect sounds to complement each scene. We believe that the audio design plays a critical role in immersing the player in the game's world, and we are leaving no stone unturned in making sure that it's perfect.

Our programmer had to take a little break and will be away for a week or two. However, as soon as they are back, we will be back at full steam ahead until release which shouldn’t be too far away now!

With some dialogue tweaks, removals and additions, we are now sitting at around 26,000 words for the first release! It's been a tremendous effort from our writer, and we're excited about the depth and complexity of the story we're telling.

Our next step now is to go back through the renders and do a little quality control. We'll be removing any renders that we feel don't add anything, adding new renders that we think will improve the experience, and fixing anything we aren't 100% happy with. It's an essential step in ensuring that the game is of the highest quality possible, and we're looking forward to refining the game even further.​

 

[Grotslot]

Development Update - 10/05/2023

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As far as updates go, it's not the most exciting. Having said that, we are speeding along with the progress, and when you consider that I only started looking for my team on the 10th of March, we have come a hell of a long way. And fast!

We are still refining the images to get them 100% perfect, and we are still adding SFX and music to each scene. I don't want to rush the sound of the game, as in my opinion, it is just as important as the visuals.

Progress for the refinement, SFX, and music is at around 50% (Now 86%, the progress bar has been updated) of the total act. We have been refining for a week now, so I imagine by the end of next week, we will have finished this stage of development.

Our coder has been away for a couple of weeks but is due to be back this week (He is now back). Once he is back and settled, we should be well on our way to our first release!

I don't want to give a definitive date on the release, but things are looking on track for an early-mid June release to those with early access over on

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(I know! We already have Patrons! ). Unless we get some nasty bugs or something doesn't look quite right, the public release will be a week or two after.

I will be working on some FAQs this week to give more information about us as a developer and to provide a little more transparency. They will be available over on Patreon and will be updated when I think of more things I need to clarify to would be supporters.

That's all for this week. Sorry, it's not more exciting, but then quality control rarely is! All the best to everyone, and it won't be long before you can get your hands on the first act of The Artist
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[Grotslot]

The Artist - Act One | Release Date



The time has come for us to give the release a date and some more screenshots that you may not have seen!

I've never been much a fan of release dates from the development side, as something ALWAYS crops up that delays it and moves that date forward, especially if you give a release date too early in the development process!

To avoid this, we held off giving a definitive release date until we were confident that it wouldn't change. With the renders, effects, animations, SFX, and music now all complete, we are just programming the final parts now and we are good to go!
Patrons will see the first release on the 2nd of June for the 'Fan' tier and above. All future releases will adhere to the early access rewards in the memberships.

If all goes well with the early access release, and no one comes back to us to point out huge errors, then the general public will get their hands on it the following week. The download link will be publically accessible on Patreon, as well as releases to Steam, Itch, and others.

Thank you to everyone who has given feedback, praise, and supported us in our development so far - we can't wait for you to get your hands on 'The Artist'!

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You must be registered to see the links

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[Grotslot]

We have been a little quiet recently as we finish off the first release, so we made a trailer!

Never made a trailer before, so it might be awful. Either way, we hope you enjoy it and it get's you even more excited for release.

See you on the other side!
​

 

[Grotslot]

The Artist has been released and is available now! ​

 

[Before I Forget]

The Artist has been released and is available now! View attachment 2689802 ​

Are you using Luts or other filters this get this look?

 

[MajesticPepe]

This game looks promising. Is there a possible for a mom and son romance?

 

[Grotslot]

Are you using Luts or other filters this get this look?

It does use LUTs in the final stage of post work but the toon effect is done using a series of Photoshop processes

 

[Grotslot]

This game looks promising. Is there a possible for a mom and son romance?

Hey! No incest planned for 'The Artist'. If you head on over to the game thread, this should clear anything up as a lot of people had the same question.

 

[Jacquesdor]

I love the art style on this.

 

[Before I Forget]

It does use LUTs in the final stage of post work but the toon effect is done using a series of Photoshop processes

It's looks unique, which is good.

 

[MajesticPepe]

Hey! No incest planned for 'The Artist'. If you head on over to the game thread, this should clear anything up as a lot of people had the same question.

That's a bummer. But I'll give this game a try. I have a feeling this game can deliver a great plot, fantastic dialogue and interesting characters.

I hope there will be an optional incest route. If not, it is what it is.

 

[Grotslot]

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[Grotslot]

Please Note: This development update is from 18th June 2023.

Hey everyone!

It's been a week since Act One released, and so far we are super happy with the feedback we've receieved! We knew that telling Ava's story wouldn't be for everyone, and a lot of people have voiced their concerns over the story, the content, or whatever other reason. We appreciate all feedback, no matter how positive or negative it is; there is always something to be gained from it. We have a plan with The Artist, and that won't change. The positive feedback we've received has been overwhelming and we have loved reading all your comments - so a huge thank you to all of you!

A few days ago, I reached out to Patrons to see if there was more I could be doing to make your subscription more... worthwhile? I don't know if worthwhile is the right word, but hopefully you know what I mean After hearing your thoughts, I'm putting together a content plan over the next week or so that balances super awesome rewards for you guys, whilst not taking away from the development of The Artist as at the end of the day, this is the most important part of why you subscribed!

In other news...

Act Two has officially started! It's OFFICIAL!

JoeTheMerc and I have been working on a more detailed outline for the story in Act Two. We had the entire story planned out before we began act one, and as we get to develolping each act, we dive into the outline, expand it, and include all the plot elements in greater detail.

This has now been done, we are both happy, and writing will commence on the 20th June (tomorrow). JoeTheMerc is an absolute machine when it comes to writing, and he will have the second act written and complete before I've even posed the first render!

Alongisde the writing, I have started priming the new locations that you'll see in Act Two. Setting up the scenes, lighting them, dressing our wonderful characters, and making sure everything translates over into our art style well. So far, everything has gone far better than what I'd hoped for!

Xaos is still working hard finalising the Steam version which should be available soon. Steam isn't the easiest store to navigate for a developer, and there are A LOT of things to tick off and get perfect before they allow you to release. All we need to do on this front is remove all mention of Patreon (They don't allow it) as we left one tiny mention in there and didn't realise, and then we just need to plug in the achievements so they unlock as you play.

That's all for this week! We will post updates on development every sunday if there's enough to discuss and share with you - keep an eye out for more previews of how Act Two is coming along!​