Writing:

So you’re probably wondering what’s been goin’ on behind the scenes. In the writing department, quite a lot. Common Route is pretty much fully drafted with the exception of some revisions and editing. The word count is estimated at around 150,000 words, but might grow considerably after everything’s finalized. The demo of the entire Common Route won’t be released any time soon though, but I’ll make sure to keep you all updated in the meanwhile.  

We’ve also made some headway with the Heroine Routes, and we plan on writing a good portion of them over the summer if all goes well. How much exactly? I can’t say for sure. The writers work at different paces, so it’s hard to tell, but I’m sure we’ll find our rhythm after a while of writing.

Art:

The art has been progressing slowly, but surely. As evidence, I present you a draft from DizzyWorld2 of Elizabeth in her work uniform. <3

The other character sprites and CGs are currently being worked on. There’ll be more news about that in the next update.

Also, most of the backgrounds for Common Route are finished. We’ll be reusing some of them for the Heroine Routes, but we’re still planning on having more for specific scenes. We still have a position open for another BG artist, but I’ll touch on that later.

Music:

Concerning Lucid9′s OST, it’s been at a stalemate. In all honesty, we haven’t had much luck with composers. We’ve had around… four, I think, which explains the music’s inconsistency in the demo. The composers either left due to disinterest, lack of time, or because they were unable to compose for free anymore. In any case, I’m confident we’ll be able to solve this dilemma soon, so no worries there.

Engine:

When it comes to the engine, Cloud Novel is making huge strides. The creators are adding a ton of new features, making VN creation a breeze. They’re now open for public beta testing, so why not sign up today and check it out for yourselves? I promise you, you won’t regret it. http://cloudnovel.net/




In other news, the trailer for Lucid9 has been finished and should appear in Sekai Project’s monthly wrap-up in a few days. I’ll be posting the trailer on our social media sites--Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc.—once it’s debuted, so stay tuned for that!

And lastly, Fallen Snow Studios are currently accepting new members. You can find all the information on our site under the Apply section. There are two positions listed right now, but we’ll be adding more in the coming week.




I think this wraps up today’s post. It was longer than I expected. I still feel like I’m forgetting something… meh, probably nothing. Thanks for reading, and I’ll catch you all in the next post! 




~ David

Creating a visual novel takes time, especially if you don’t want it to suck more than a bat in a blood bank. 

But here’s the thing most developers have trouble with: we have a hard time knowing exactly when the project will be finished. 

Sure, we can make estimations, but even a skilled mathematician would shrug their shoulders in uncertainty. If we disregard members having to leave or going on hiatus because of personal issues, the other reason development takes a while is because of the complexity of the story.  

Everything revolves around the plot. The writers not only plan the story, but it’s also their job to determine how many character sprites are needed, the mood of the music during a scene, what settings require background art, and the animations shown in the engine. When the plot becomes more complex, there’s a higher chance of plot holes, which in turn requires rewriting, which in turn affects the art, music, programming, and the UNIVERSE ITSELF. It’s like unraveling a long string of thread from a woven fabric. (This is why you should always plan the entire story before anything else.) 

And this becomes a pain for everyone to patch up.

This, I feel, is the most difficult aspect of development. It can take a while to sort out—years, maybe—and you’d need to keep everyone from ripping their hairs out the entire time. It’s not easy, but I guess the nice thing about it is that you’re not alone in your insanity. 




~ David