First up, our December Patreon demo build has been released for $5+ backers! If you want to play four full chapters of the game, now’s the time to hop in.
Also today, I’ve got a special treat for you, particularly if you’re a fan of Naomi.
Thanks to some pretty intense code juggling and more than one feature added to Renpy itself just to support it (thanks a bunch, RenpyTom!), we’ve finalized our emotion and clothing system!
So, what are you looking at here, besides a cutie in various outfits? Let’s break it down.
You can’t see it here ’cause it’s not animated, but we have a 1/3rd of a second soft dissolve effect whenever her expression changes. This replaces the clunky-ass method I was using before, the one I beat my head against a wall over for three days, thanks to RenpyTom adding exactly the feature I needed.
Next, like most VNs, the facial expression can be changed to match the emotion of the character. Pictured there are Normal, Delighted, and Blushing. She’s got a pretty wide range of emotions she can express, and this is a small sample.
Unlike most VNs, her pose is actually randomized! Each time her emotional state changes, arm placement and position is drawn from a pool of appropriate poses. For example, her shy expressions usually end up with her hands behind her back rather than on her hips, while her more casual poses leave an arm or two slack.
Lastly, simply by toggling a variable, I can change her outfit from “Work Uniform” to “Casual” or “Swimwear.” (Since we’ve got an obligatory beach episode coming up soon, you see. Patrons will likely get to see that in January.)
Since all of this is handled in code, we don’t have to do any manual labor to ensure a nice variety of character visuals. All we specify is the character’s mood and any clothing changes, and the system handles the rest.
Naomi will be fully featured in the December Patreon build. Other characters will follow, but we’re going to focus on filling out the base of the temp art characters first (Percy, QueenBee, Teo).
Neat stuff, huh? All thanks to our proud backers, who have helped fund the artwork needed to make this happen. Thanks so much.