[CC][XP-Demo]Oh, Brother

This project has played a bit of musical makers.
I've decided to move it to Construct Classic, as an Action-Adventure RPG.
There are many reasons, but the main one is a desire to give it a more unique feel and quality that I cannot seem to achieve in RPGMaker.
The genre also seems to fit the theme, story and planned gameplay elements better.
It will take a great deal of time to complete in Construct, as I'll be creating all of the graphical resources myself, not to mention the coding.
Sswave will still be handling the music, as he's agreed to continue working with me. So, all that lovely music will still be there.

I'm confident I can do this, but I cannot give a definitive time-frame.

Most of the information in this post is still relevant. The images, however, are not.
Check for new posts in this thread or here to see the new concepts, resources and likely a lot of babbling.

I'd love to continue sharing updates with all of you.
I will certainly post the game here first, when it's finished.
If you're still interested, of course. ^.-

If I should make a new topic and reserve this for the current Demo,
let me know and I will move all of the new content to a new topic.

The current XP Demo will remain up for download.
It is still a decent show of the theme, story and dialogue. Even many of the events will remain the same.
Namely, the way it progresses, the quests and even the intro. I liked most of the demo, so I'm going to try and keep it intact.
Just know that the gameplay itself will be radically different.

Thank you for looking, and I hope you enjoy what you see.

Demo
Download
Patch Files

Spoiler for What's inside:

This is more of a "proof of concept" than a demo.
A few things are missing, but the story is completed and it should play fine from start to finish.

Bugs should be minimal, but notify me of any and I'll get to fixin'.
Portraits are in, but only default expressions for main characters.
Custom Battlers for Nini and her Mother only (enemies are system default).
There are quite a few interactive background objects (bookshelves, flowers, etc.), but not as many as planned.
NPCs are going about their own business, they're not too busy early in the morning so it may seem a bit empty in the beginning.

Nini can cast a Fire spell on the field (S-key), but it doesn't do anything just now. (there is an animation, however)

I've been getting positive responses so far, so I hope you enjoy what there is. ^.^

Story
Once upon a cliche...

Behind a small cottage,
at the heart of a tiny village, a little girl is practicing her fire spells.
Her mother has told her time and again not to do so near the trees. She can never find a spot without trees, and she really needs to practice...

Her brother has been missing for some time. He was sent on some important quest long ago.
Missed her birthday this year. She's been dying to show him the new spell she learned to cast on her teddy..

But that's not important now. What's important is that everyone seems to have forgotten about her big brother.

Her father keeps teaching his magery at the local Academy.
Leaves every day, kisses her and mother goodbye and drones on about proper rune structure and how important annunciation is to spell-weaving.

The neighbors, with their strange thumbed cat that walks on two legs, have stopped coming by to offer their sympathies.
And their candied apples.

Only she and mother keep vigil every night at the gate.
They watch.
They wait.
They care.

But she's had enough watching.
Enough waiting.

If no one finds big brother, who will stop the monsters from attacking?
Who will go to the big city and ask for help? Who will pat her on the head and tell her she's a good little magical girl?
- Mother has asked she not call herself that, but "magician" just sounds so...boring. -

No. She is a Magical Girl and she will save the wo- err Village. Yes, village.

If they wont go. She will. She'll find her brother and help him get to the big city. If she can't find him, she'll go alone.
Father says no one can resist her pout. The Elite Mages are bound to give their sympathies to a sweet little girl..
if she has round enough eyes and pouts loud enough.
Right?

Right. Besides, if they don't listen she could just sic her teddy on them.
She has been getting better at getting him to attack things.
Even if it's only the cat...and he only runs after it and falls on it's tail.

She can do this.
She is a Magical Girl.

She can do anything.

Characters
Some interesting faces..

Main
though friends may come and go, in the end it's all up to you...

Nanette "Nini" Matilda Chelestra
-Magical Girl Extraordinaire-
A very young, headstrong mage-in-training.
Nini is often found roaming her hometown of Unai with her teddy Lord Flufflepuff in tow.
Whether investigating local rumors, practicing her magic or simply running errands, she makes every task into an adventure.

Supporting
everybody needs somebody...sometimes...

Dolls
Nini's primary companions



-Master Felkin-
Lord Flufflepuff, Ruler of the toybox and all it contains

Powerful Mage from an ancient time, Master Felkin is cold, cool and calculating.
He is also cynical and a little mean. Likely due to being thrust into the body of a stuffed bear and contracted to a rambuncious little brat.



-Mistress Lenore-
Lady Prissybottom, leader of the Fluff Elite and High Tea Maker!

An assassin witch from a time not so long ago.  Lenore hails from Tria, a swamptown inhabited primarily by witches.
She is a relative of Nini's mother and thus dotes a bit on Nini.



-Paskal the Grand-
Sir Muffiekins, knight of the Fluff Empire.

A once mighty knight of a long forgotten empire, Paskal is proud, protective, and a bit on the talkative side.



There are also hidden, optional Dolls to be found throughout the world.


Chelestra Family
While they may not be eager to venture out into the wilds with her,
Nini's family is still there if she needs them...




-Coren Vladamere-
This is Nini's father, Coren Vlademere Chelestra.
He is the Headmaster of the Mage Academy, a very busy man, he is rarely home. He is a loving and doting father, however, and Nini can ask him for just about anything at any time. Even during business hours, she is welcome in his office.



-Lyra Maleficent-
Nini's Mother, Lyra Maleficent Chelestra.
A powerful healer and witch. She was born in the swap-town of Tria, and attained the highest rank possible for her type of mage. That of "Hag". She is cold, stern and often mistaken for cruel. She adores her family, however, and does all she can to keep them safe.

When Nini misbehaves, her mother will send her to a small puzzelbox as punishment. While in this box, Nini will take the form of a mouse and have to complete a series of puzzles to escape.

She does it because she loves you...



-Mason Walker-
(The reason for her journey)
This is Nini's brother and the reason for her story.
A young but incredibly powerful mage, Mason was chosen among all the young mages of the Village Tribunal to act as liaison to the Capitol City.
Before he left, however, he was Nini's one and only true friend. He would drop everything to play with her, no matter what her game. His stories, which he often made up on the spot at bedtime, kept her dreams vivid and exciting. It is her love for her brother that keeps her strong and brave.

Screenshots
let's be honest, it's all most of us care about

=These are all from the XP Demo as the project has moved to a new engine=

Spoiler for Unai - Starting town:

Shot of some of the Intro. Nini practicing her spells. This will be preceded by a comic-styled cutscene.


Central Unai (cobbled together shot to get all of it)


Outside the Unai Petshop, located in cozy little Unai Market Street


Inside the Petshop, you will find a small variety of friendly (and not so) animals looking for a home.


Outside the Mage Academy, where Nini's father works.


(the shot is two-tone due to lighting differences when taking the screen)
Belinda's Bed and Breakfast, the gathering spot of just about everyone, travelers and natives alike.
Different people show up here at different times of the day, and Nini can find many quests here before venturing out into the wild.
(this is perhaps not the best shot of the inn, I'll replace it at a later date - when I care to shut off all the events timers so they show up ><
The inn/bar is a lively place at night and early morning, but dead most of the day)


Scenic Mystic Lake, Felkin enjoys spending his leisure time here. The day is transitioning into night, hence the eerie blue glow.
Nini can ride a little boat (patented Pocket Boat!) around the lake, useful for getting the hot springs nearby.


A Hot Spring, one of many. Those who've played Earthbound will recognize the idea, it's the same here.


Many little paths like this one separate the areas of Unai, treasures are often left in chests along the road.
One of Nini's long-standing mysteries has been who, and why. Some day she'll solve it, some day.


Part of the dreaded Puzzlebox that Nini has spent too much time in.


In her room, ready to seize the day! - after she changes out of her jammies.


A little more interior - The Chelestra household. First floor, living room, kitchen and dining area.

Features
Unique things found in the game as a whole

Original Soundtrack!
Composed by the very talented; sswave

Original Artwork!
There will be portraits for nearly every NPC, with varying expressions, as well as storypage styled cutscenes and more.
=Eventually, every graphical resource will be custom-made.

Costume changes!
Nini's armor is a one piece costume that, when equipped, changes her sprite and battler to match.

Unique Costume Abilities!
Each of Nini's costumes offer their own unique movement abilities as well as other useful on-map abilities that unlock new areas or just make things a little easier.

Trading Cards!
Throughout her journey, Nini will come across mystical cards of various colors.
Nini can collect these cards to complete sets and turn those sets in to receive prizes!
There are also mysterious runes on the cards that hold a secret all their own.

More Than Your Ordinary Items!
There may not be as many items as one might expect, but each one tries it's best to be interesting and useful enough that you wont mind.
Many have more than one use, there are also a few that spoil, grant temporary buffs, grant buffs based on how many times used, and quite a few that require reusable containers.

Hoard with Purpose!
Nini will often come across items that appear to have no use.
Do not fret! You are not wasting valuable item-space!
Someone, somewhere, will want that item. Perhaps they'll even have something to give Nini in exchange.

Story-Driven Progression!
Spells, items, special abilities, equipment, experience, all of these things are gained primarily through following story queues and completing quests.
While the bare minimum, found by only following the main path, should be enough to complete the story - many extras are hidden (and miss-able) in side stories that will make the trip much easier.

Personal Stories!
Nini's Dolls level up in a special way, by searching for and completing unique quests for each Doll.
These are referred to as "Back-stories" and not only tell the personal stories of the souls within the Dolls, but also power them up.
In order to unlock their full potential, Nini must complete their full Back-story.
She will also get something special for herself if she unlocks all of them!

A Little Kindness Goes a Long Way!
While Nini will obtain money and items to assist on her journey, she may also find that asking can be just as helpful.
Some shops give discounts, or offer special items simply do to how Nini behaves in their town.
Some battles can be avoided by talking, as it is difficult to stay angry when an adorable little girl asks nicely.
There are also many hidden quests and special items that can only be obtained by taking a non-violent approach to certain situations.

Combat Optional
Enemies appear on-screen and can be largely avoided without much consequence. Some are a little more persistent than others, however..
There are also more ways to defeat some enemies than fighting.
Nini learns new spells through non-combative means, as do her Dolls.
There are a few required battles, however, so be on guard just the same!

System
A little of what to expect...

Combat


Battle is meant to reflect the fragility of Nini, and how she still manages to do amazing things. She is a very young girl and as such is easily injured, and not terribly strong (physically).

Skills will not be learned via levels but by exploring the world, using items, equipping weapons/armor, completing objectives, solving puzzles, etc.

Dolls

Nini uses dolls as her weapons. Each doll is bound with the soul of a willing warrior. Each doll lends their spells to Nini while she holds them.
The soul within the doll is wary of Nini when first acquired and as such only offers a single spell upon equip.
To strengthen her bond and thus the spells they will allow her to use, she must uncover bits of their past.
With each piece of backstory, a new ability is unlocked.
Once three stories are found, the doll is bonded with Nini and a special new ability will unlock that the Doll will perform for her, in certain situations.

If Nini discovers all the Doll's stories, something special will happen.


Limitations

Nini is far too weak for her physical attacks to hurt anything.
Thus she relies entirely on her magic. As she is still young, and strong of spirit, her energy is limitless.
-There is no Mana bar planned for the AARPG.

Nini's weakness also shows in her health, and the difficulty in obtaining more of it.
Through exploration, quests, and story progression, she will earn a larger health pool.
It wont be as easy as finding an upgrade, however. She'll have to work for it.
-The AARPG will feature an Energy Tank system for health. (for comparison, Metroid games use this system)
-It will differ in that each new tank comes in pieces that need to be collected separately. (akin to Zelda heart pieces)

Costumes

Along with her doll weapons, Nini can equip special costumes. These costumes act as her armor and offer many interesting benefits beyond simply protection. Each costume offers it's own unique properties and each will remain useful throughout the game. You cannot buy or sell any of Nini's costumes. They are earned by completing quests.

For a bit more on costumes, see the spoiler below.

Spoiler for Dress-Up:

Costumes

Nini adores dress-up, as many young girls do, but hers is not merely a game of Pretty Princess.
Her costumes are magically enhanced. She is a Magical Girl, after all.

Other than her dolls, Nini can also equip special armor in the form of two-piece costumes.
Costumes will play a large role in gameplay, with the on-map abilities acting as keys to new areas or as necessary tools to complete puzzles.

Stylish and Practical!

When equipped, Nini will change to match the costume she wears.
She will also have a few different animations depending on the costume she's wearing.

In addition to visual flavor, each costume offers it's own benefits both in combat and con-combat situations.
Certain costumes may even enhance the abilities of her dolls when equipped together.

Concept Art
For the fun of it.

Spoiler for Portraits:

=Portraits will likely still be used for the AARPG, though the art will be different.

Concept faces for some of the important NPCs

Spoiler for Storypages:

Example of how in-game cutscenes will look.

Spoiler for Costumes:

Mock-ups for use as sprite reference. Final sprites may vary.

Support
If you like Support Bars, I have one of those! Copy the code below to use it.

Code: [Select]

[url=http://rmrk.net/index.php/topic,44909.0.html][img]http://db.tt/ZKuulRkC[/img][/url]

< Looks like this. ^.-

Updates
=Update July 02, 2012=
Demo is in the final form it will be in.
There are issues with jumping during dialogue, in that you can and it's not advised.
There's just too many events with dialogue for me to go back through and add an off-switch for the jump.

The current demo should be enough to know if you'll like the finished game.
Regardless of how it plays, the dialogue and story will remain the same (probably a little shorter on the dialogue as it is a bit long-winded in spots).

=Update June 19th, 2012=
I'm done testing. If there are issues, let me know.
I need to start moving things to VXA now and I just keep fiddling with the XP Demo. ><
Everything -should- work. If something doesn't, please tell me exactly what and where and I will fix it.
But I'm calling it now. No more fiddling unless an error is reported.
I suggest downloading the "Patch Files" and starting a fresh game if you have downloaded the project.
Otherwise the project downloads themselves should be up to date.

=Update June 16th, 2012=
More things in the Demo are working, few more dialogue bits for NPCs.
I think I may have everything covered now, actually.
Everything should work.
Let me know if I'm wrong. ^.^

=Update, June 15th, 2012=
So, I did not test it nearly enough. Tried to add a thing and broke a million things.
I think it is fixed now, however, and there are more NPCs in places and doing things.
Also, unique battle music, because sswave is awesome. ^.^
Those who have already played will need to start over, however, so I apologize for that.
You can just download the Patch Files to avoid re-downloading the entire project, if it makes it any less annoying.

=Update, The Second!=
Few minor tweeks, and made sure music is playing during the ending sequence.
Download link is updated, but for those who already downloaded and do not want to do so again, I added a small patch.
This will be updated each time the main file is, as needed.
Just extract it into the project folder and replace what it asks. Saves should be fine.

This looks to be very fun. But I haven't played Earthbound, could you explain the purpose of the Hot springs? Health Regen?

This all looks great XD I'll keep an eye on this!

Hiro, Yes. It's health regen as well as a sort of checkpoint. If you've been to a hot spring and then die in battle, but opt to continue instead of quit the game, you will be transported back to that hot spring. (also, go play Earthbound, it is awesome. = ) )

Thank you both for the kind words. ^.^

I've been dedicating all of my free time to it, so hopefully I'll have something playable soon.

Bump to prove I am working on this.

I've added more sprites and a sketch of a battler in the extras section of the OP, and here are some windowskins I made just for this project.
The window skin will change depending on which town, or possibly costume, she is in. With the exception of the Diary.

Each is made to work with a cursor script, so they do not have selection boxes.

I am very excited about this project.

This kind of whimsical cuteness usually makes me puke, but as I am raising 3 daughters perhaps it hit my soft spot. I definitely like the concept of the dolls and her cute little costumes! I am definitely following the development of this project. With all the unique play components and original resources, this already has my vote for project of the season. Utterly fantastic work, so far.

EDIT: And don't feel bad about the bumps, it's nice to know what you have planned!

Heh, I actually feel the same about whimsical cuteness most of the time.

I've recently discovered that writing children is a great deal of fun, however, and they make excellent protagonists. They're tenacious, prone to flights of fancy and tossing them into any environment/story can drastically change the mood.

You don't need much of a reason for a kid to run off and play hero, either. It's just something kids do. It's all an adventure to them. I'm trying to make her a little more responsible about it and give her a genuine reason though. I always find the responsible kids to be the most entertaining. And adorable.

The Magical Girl thing is due to her being a little girl, with magical powers, who decides to be the hero. Seemed to fit. The aesthetic is fun to play with as well. Designing cute outfits is far more entertaining than I expected. >< The dolls are because I seem to be opposed to conventional weaponry. I also love possessed dolls.

Trying to keep a cute aesthetic throughout is helping me art-wise, too. I'm learning more about cartoony, simple styles and it is a lot of fun.

I wish you luck with the daughters, we're not easy. My dad had two of us. ^.-

As an actual update to this topic -

I have only a screenshot to show (attached). I've been working in the database and that doesn't offer much to really "show".
I have finished my Earthbound-styled Game Over system though. I added an item that will cancel Game Over for lore reasons (with limited uses, because I like those for some reason), but there's nothing to "show" for that.

The screen is a spotlight on Nini, in default costume, eyes closed. When the spotlight brightens fully, a textbox will pop-up asking the player if they wish to continue. If they choose "Yes", Nini will look around and hop excitedly before she is transported to the nearest Hot Spring.

It took me a while to get everything working correctly, but it works, so it's progress and I'm sharing.

Next I'll be working on battlers to take a break from the database and editing scripts. Those will, hopefully, be more interesting updates.

Very interested in this project. Check your inbox for a gift! :O

Very cute project. I am looking forward to seeing a demo!

Thank you both for the interest (and the gift ^.^). 

I've been working in the database and trying to write out everything so I don't get ahead of myself. My focus is completing the first town, so I can release it as a demo(it is fairly large and has enough to do that I can showcase almost everything).

Excellent. I dig the possessed doll idea, too. It's creepy but somehow inviting! Ah, Dollmages...

I am still working! I've been terribly ill but I'll be updating soon with finished battlers (I'm going to try and ink/color most of them tonight). The demo is still a ways off, however, as it seems my ideas for combat may require a script that I cannot find. I'm not sure if it's a big change or not, but I'm going to do my best to figure out how to do it myself if I can't find anyone who has already.

I'll have something to actually share soon. ^.^

What were you after?

A mana pool/bar that recharges each turn (for enemies as well as heroes) as opposed to the default sp system. So far I've only found edited slip damage states that add an sp regen, which is neat, but not what I needed.

As an example, the RMXP game Outlay City has basically what I'm looking for. Theirs is a stamina bar that recharges every turn, and I can't remember if the maximum amount ever changes, but it's still the best I've seen.

I only know enough scripting to make small edits, and have a half-finished CMS. This is beyond my capabilities, but I'd be willing to learn if I can't find anything.

So it totally restores itself at the beginning of each turn, eh? Hm. I do VX, so I can't tell you a whole lot. I DO know that there is some scripting that does exactly as you want in VX, and I'm sure something must exist for XP. If not, you could modify the XP script to slip for the entire amount of SP each turn. You know who might be able to help is Pacman, and if not him the great Modern Algebra. Their DNA is actually in RGSS format, if anyone can do it, they can.

PM me exactly what you want and I'll see what I can do.

Found an sp recovery script for battle, plus found some that cover almost all of my item related common events (woo, freed up switches and variables). Now I'm getting all of the little quests and NPCs fleshed out for the first town (they all have names, and personalities - sounded like a great idea at the time, not so sure now ><), a few more indoor maps put together, figuring out a better way to work the Diary system (it's a little awkward) and hammering out values as combat is a bit too easy at current and I seem to have more items than actually needed (I got a little carried away with town-specific food items ><).

I am on it though. Every free moment I have is spent on this (when I'm not distracted by new ideas and the sudden desire to try and implement them. My husband is helping with that, keeps yelling at me to get my demo done before I add new things.)

I do have a problem I would love input on, however. That is message style. I have Ccoa's UMS, which is great, but it has so many options that I've become a little conflicted on which to go with.

I have been playing with the comic bubbles so far, but they do not transition well with each windowskin, and my idea to have emotes for the sprites (to make things more interesting) has proven far more time consuming than I expected (thanks to the costumes).

The other option is showing a portrait with emotes (example), but I'm not sure how well that would work with the changing skins either and I'd have to decide if I want the image to change to reflect her costume or not.

Those are my options. I'm fine with either one (they will likely end up taking the same amount of time to implement), but can't make up my mind.

Which would you guys like to see?

I would go with the portrait idea... probably only because of Fortune Summoners, so i might be a little biased.

I really like this project. The mapping for RTP ??is very nice and varied, and even the artwork is not bad.
Congratulations also to the original gameplay, I like the system of the dolls, the costumes are nice, you've designed yourself?

Perhaps the project will not comment much, but know that I follow.

EDIT: Ah, I do not understand a thing, why did you put the fog in the outdoors?

I really like this, like most who posted here. I wish I could have some of your art in my game, haha. I support this and hope to see more!

Hiromu, Fortune Summoners is an adorable game ^.^ I will probably end up going with portraits then. It will let me use a larger size for the pictures too, so I can take more time with them and not use that horrible pillow-looking shading like the battler has (which was just so it'd show up at the small size =/).

Saul, Thank you for the compliments. = ) The use of the RTP is honestly due to time concerns. This is more practice at seeing if I can finish a game then anything, and I'd rather focus on the gameplay and story than the tilesets. If I can finish this, then I'll be moving on to a more complicated game (in a different engine) with completely original resources. T

he artwork is experimental. I'm not used to the style yet, so it's still a work in progress. The art posted for this game will likely change a bit as I finish the battlers and start on the cutscenes. All that's here now are quick sketches. I did design the costumes myself, I'm glad you like them. They're fairly simple and hopefully girly enough to make sense for the character.

Oh, the fog. The pink colored swirling fog on all of the outdoor maps is representative of a magical barrier around the town. It's for story purposes and will come up frequently throughout the game. The water fog looked the best for what I wanted, so I colored it pink. Nothing too complicated. It wont be on -every- outdoor map, just in a few of the towns and in one special instance outside of them.

Yellowpepper, Thank you! Also, saying you'd like my art in your game is an incredible compliment. ^.- Maybe if I had more time and more confidence in the style, I'd offer my services.

-
Still not much to show for updates. All database and dialogue stuff right now. Making events, making sure scripts work together, grumbling when they do not. The tedious stuff. I have the intro cutscenes to draw out, as well as a map to paint, so I may have more art stuff to share soon (not all of it, of course - want some surprise for the demo -, but I'll share the map).

It´s good to see that you are actively working on this game. While updates without art or something else to show can be boring, knowing that you are working on databases, dialoge and other stuff is also good to know. Also, have some confidence. Yes, I have seen better artists. Yet, I see no reason for not being confident.

I'm not confident enough in my ability to follow art direction or draw for others. I know I'm an okay artist, and there are many far better than I. There are also many who can draw for others without constantly second guessing their every move. Those are the people you'd want as game artists for a project. I'm honestly shocked I managed to get anything art-related for my own finished. ><

----
As another update, I added a few more random tidbits to the "etc." section in the main post. (Elements and Doll babbling)
Database stuff, while tedious, can result in fun ideas. I need to stop getting lost in them, however, so I'm posting what little I feel is safe to share without giving too much away. Hopefully this will force me back on track.

I want to jump ahead and set up the doll events for finding empty dolls, then finding the spirit to bind to them...and writing their backstory quests.
Getting the demo out is more important though. So, I'll stop at the little bit I added and end my database adventures there.

All the database stuff needed for the demo is already finished, so I shouldn't get lost in there again anytime soon.

Hopefully I'll have something to actually -show- next time I decide to check this topic.

Hope it's not too soon to post again. I actually had time to draw and managed some rough portraits. Added these to the main post also.

They are just roughs, so any feedback is appreciated. I'm trying to make them a little nicer than the battlers (as they'll be seen more often and are larger) while keeping to the style. It's a new style for me still, and I'm not the best at expressions, so hopefully these are decent. ><

Spoiler for Portraits!:

These are in-game tests of the rough sketches, I thought it would be a better way to present them.
Gives an idea of what they might look like. Ignore the text, it's just to do what it says (I had issues with the text, it's fine now though).
The map is my testing zone, not an indicator of in-game maps by any means.


Nini's Mom - she is intense, and this will be a frequent face for her.


Nini - No matter how things get, Nini tries to stay positive. This will be a frequent face for her.

Wow. Again, looks great! Outstanding look to it.

Thank you! I'm glad they look nice. I had a hard time figuring out how to do them. Portraits are a new thing for me, and I haven't done too much with expressions either. So I'm pretty nervous about these. ><


---Update---
My ideas for style have changed a bit since I started. Now that I've decided to go with a diary theme to much of the game (it's only shown in menu options and quest text currently), I'm not sure how to color the portraits, battlers, Or how to handle the cutscenes.

If they should be line-less and painted, have very thin lines(cell-shading), or rough look (how they are now but cleaned up with crayon textured colors). The battlers would likely follow suit, but not if I go with the painted approach (it just doesn't scale well).

As for cutscenes, I have thumbs for the intro scene sketched out(and I'm not showing them because they are horribly messy and incomprehensible to anyone but me). I just need to figure out how to proceed with them.

My options are comic style pages where each panel pops up in sequence (similar to Phantasy Star 4(SPOILER -ending sequence)), or a storybook style with full page "snapshots" of a scene and a little text (similar to Fortune Summoners...because it's not obvious enough what game I play when I take a break from making this one).

The comic panel approach would be done in a clean, cell-shaded style with lineless backgrounds so the characters stand out.  (old example from different project)
Storybook approach would mean sketchy crayon drawings, a lineless and painted style or a combination (if I can pull it off).

Any opinions on which sounds more interesting is certainly encouraged. I can also try to get some quick examples done if it helps.

While I'm transfering quest dialogue from text file to in-game events, I have a lot of time to think about this sort of thing. I'm sorry if these updates are bugging anyone, I figured using this topic as a sort of dev journal might be interesting. If it's not, or you don't like being asked for such input, let me know and I'll just update with pictures. ^.-

Feel free to spam this thread as much as you like. I'm using mine for much the same purpose, and while not the most interesting read it's nice to page through it and see how things have evolved.

I like the portrait, I would suggest you change the position of the message box, so it comes out something like this:

I'm not sure what you mean with the message box position?

---
Minor Update to show how the colors look in-game.

Spoiler for Colors:

[\spoiler]

Know what's funny? The thing I like the most is the font..

But I really love the colours and the whole style together. I also like the fact that you update the topic so much. It really shows me that you're working hard on this. Keep it up!

The fonts are "Hapole Markerpen" (message) and "Cinnamon Cake" (namebox)

I wanted something messy and child-like. I found these and fell in love with them.

I'm glad it looks nice together. Also that my frequent updates are not irritating. I am using any spare moment to work on this, and since there seems to be real interest in it I'd like to at least get a demo together.

I totally understand what you mean. You get an idea in your head and when you start working it out you want to do more and more. When people start showing interest it becomes even more fun. Don't worry, I don't think anyone here would irritate him/herself with your updates. Take your time and I'll be waiting for that Demo

I really like the Mom's face graphic. Mighty snazzy.

Thank you. ^.^ I am more comfortable drawing women..of a specific type. So, she was fun.


---Small Update---
Haven't had a lot of time for the demo-related stuff, so I tried my hand at spriting the race of dwarves that will inhabit the second town. I'll be using the breeze template for these, as they are meant to be very small and stick out from the rest of the rtp.

I hope I'm not giving too much of them away with this little wip. I want to toss in quite a few references to things I enjoy, and the dwarves are kind of a big one. ><

It's not much to show yet but it's something.

I'll have most of a weekend to devote to the demo stuff here soon, but for now all I can really do are things that take less than an hour. =/

I have a title screen! Maybe. I'm not sure how I feel about it right now (it did not scale as well as I'd hoped), and I still need to figure out how to show the choices (line paper windowskin with crayon font and cursor is what I'm thinking).

Spoiler for Image!:

It's supposed to look like Nini could have drawn it, not sure how well I did there. If this comes off well, I may do all of the cutscenes in this style. So that it appears as little drawings in her diary. Perhaps the cutscenes will have some white space to make it look like it's on a page..dunno. Still working that out. The portraits and battlers will stay the style they currently are, unless it would be too jarring to have different art styles? This is new territory for me. I am making it up as I go in regards to the art. ><

Sorry, but the image link has expired.
What I wanted to tell you is to move the location of the message box, as in this screen:

At the center is ugly.

I have a title screen! Maybe. I'm not sure how I feel about it right now (it did not scale as well as I'd hoped), and I still need to figure out how to show the choices (line paper windowskin with crayon font and cursor is what I'm thinking).

Spoiler for Image!:

It's supposed to look like Nini could have drawn it, not sure how well I did there. If this comes off well, I may do all of the cutscenes in this style. So that it appears as little drawings in her diary. Perhaps the cutscenes will have some white space to make it look like it's on a page..dunno. Still working that out. The portraits and battlers will stay the style they currently are, unless it would be too jarring to have different art styles? This is new territory for me. I am making it up as I go in regards to the art. ><

I really like this. The placement and way of drawing the environment isn't like a child at all, but it still works. It would be fun to see how Nini got better at drawing as the story progressed.

Sorry, but the image link has expired.
What I wanted to tell you is to move the location of the message box, as in this screen:

At the center is ugly.

I don't think that's the problem here. The message box is just to large as it is right now. Changing the height would help quite a lot and maybe a custom windowskin, for a finishing touch

This better for the message box?

Hmm, floatin messages. I'm not sure if I personally like those, but the portrait itself is top drawer! Nice job!

I was thinking of adding little tails to the windows to better connect them to the speaker, but I'd have to go through all of my messages -again- to add them and I'm not even finished adding the portraits. I could also put them on the bottom of the screen instead of above events, but that would also require going through and changing all of the calls for messages. I'd like to actually progress instead of just going back to fix things. =/

If it bugs people when I get the demo out, I'll gladly change it. I just want to get my demo finished right now.

--Update for pictures--
The first two images for the cutscene. They are meant to appear as drawings in her Diary, and her way of introducing herself and her story.

Spoiler for Storypages:

I'm still not sure they really look like a little girl drew them, but she is a mage so maybe she used magic to help.  There may also be little drawings for some of her Diary entries (special quests that get extra info when completed, optional to read) that will have a much simpler look. I may also go back and re-draw these later. Not sure I like them.

It's something to show though. The custom menu will likely not be in the first demo, that will take me some time to finish (I still have quite a bit to learn for it). I have what little I did in working order now though and a much better foundation to work from (because Logan is awesome).

To make this a bit more substantial, as I think I'm getting close to finishing the demo, so here is some progress in the form of percentages. I'm rounding up and I tend to jump around with new ideas of things to add (I'm trying to focus ><), so this is a rough estimate if anything. It does help show that I'm making progress, however. ^.^

Progress toward Demo Release;
Cutscenes (35%)
Portraits (10%)
NPC dialogue (60%)
Maps (80%)
Database (100%)
Quests (70%)
Chapter End events (50%)
Extras (40%)

Make sure everything connects properly
TEST (I do this as I go, and I will likely ask for testers if anyone is up for that when it comes time)
DEMO!

That picture was adorable. How did you do it? I HATE this style, but you have me eating out of your hand and begging for more!

 I will be insulted if you do not allow me to test!

>< I'm glad you like it.

As soon as I have it finished and tested it myself, I'll update asking for testers. Basically whoever is interested will be added to the list and I'll pm them with a link to the project download, controls and some instructions on what they should be able to do in the demo.

There will likely be a limit to the number of people to avoid my going crazy getting bug reports, but I've never done this before so I'm not really sure how to handle that yet. I just know I will need testers.

You are certainly on the list now. = )

Thanks! And was this still on XP platform, or did you go with something else? I know you posted this information, but I can't seem to find it...

It was still on XP a day ago when I was fixing the menu script.

For testing, you could start with a select few people to test the core areas with a focus on what those areas are (menus, maps, events, battle system etc), then release an open beta version that will help find all the missed bugs that come up mostly from people doing crazy things you never intended them to do. Whatever you do do, though, it's worth having a bit of a plan and a template for addressing/reporting bugs is probably a good idea. It helps to condense what it is your fixing, rather than reading a huge block of text trying to decipher it.

I'll happily help out where I can with the testing/fixing side if you need it. I've enjoyed our interaction so far.

That, and working on that script (and being able to sneak a peak at the game); it's got my attention.

It is still XP, M00s. If that ever changes, I will change the tag on this thread. I doubt it will though. I've done everything with XP in mind, so I'll be sticking with it. I was tempted to switch to VX for the super adorable chibi sprites, more pixel depth and much brighter color palette, but I like XP more for some reason (I honestly couldn't tell you why, I like RM2k3 more than XP, but I can give you reasons for that).

Those are brilliant ideas, Logan, thank you. I had planned on a beta release and using a template, but hadn't considered giving specific core areas to test. I'd only figured something as simple as "list type of bug in subject of message" (Map, Event,etc.) to help me go through them easier.

You've been incredibly helpful so far, I will certainly not turn down any help you offer. I'm also glad what little was in there interested you enough to mention it. I haven't shown much of the actual game to anyone yet, so I've been a little worried about how well it was coming along.

=
I'm not sure he wanted me to announce this yet or not, so I wont say more than there will be an original soundtrack. I only mention it because it means I am going to be pushing as hard as I can to get the first chapter (which is the demo) finished as soon as possible. Then I will send it off and wait patiently for more lovely music (and what little I've heard is indeed lovely). There may even be music in the demo, but I'm not rushing anyone but myself so no promises.

==
I also wanted to thank everyone that has posted in this thread and offered their help. I've never felt so welcomed before, and having so many people show such interest in something I'm doing is honestly amazing. >< I am more excited about this project now than I ever expected to be and I may actually finish something thanks to all of you.

So...thanks.

I'll try to get you something playable soon. ^.^

Honestly?
I do not like this style of drawing, but I can not tell if my opinion is objective or subjective.
Oh wait...
I had not read this:

They are meant to appear as drawings in her Diary, and her way of introducing herself and her story

I think it's fine, but take me a curiosity: did you use a tablet, or you have drawn by hand and then you have scanned?

They are drawn with a tablet using custom settings to make the brush look more like a crayon or colored pencil.

I've never really drawn with crayon or colored pencil, and the brush is not even close to the real thing (in feel anyway), so this is entirely experimental for me. The style seems to fit though, and I can always go back and redraw the pages to make them look more like a child's pencil drawings, so I'm not too concerned.

I am all for honesty, definitely tell me if something looks bad or just doesn't work with the rest of it.  This thread is half letting people know how the game is progressing and half getting feedback for changes. = )

I definitely think they should stay. If what I gather from the characters is accurate, it not only meshes well with Nini being so young, but provides a pleasant counterpoint to the souls in her dolls. And besides, it's cute!

That is good to know, I was hoping they'd serve as a counterpoint for the darker aspect of her dolls. ^.^

--
I will update when I have something more significant. I'm still working out dialogue and figuring out how to get the quests to work how I'd like(and mapping a few more interiors). I have also decided to do a 25 Essential Expressions exercise to help me with the portraits, I'll have Nini's finished soon to show. That will give a sneak peak at what to expect. She's very expressive, so I'm learning quite a bit and having fun drawing her many faces. Hopefully they will fun to see too.

I took a short break due to a death in the family rendering me useless for a bit. I am back to work now, however, and I have an announcement!

I will add this to the main post as well, but the very kind and very talented composer working on the soundtrack for "Oh, Brother" has given me the okay to announce him. Also, post the Main Theme, as it is finished. ^.^

So, here is the Main Theme by Sswave; That Magical Girl

It sets the mood for the entire game beautifully. I am incredibly grateful that such a talent offered to compose the music for my project and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I do.

Work begins again tonight! I hope to have a demo ready in a little over a week (that may be optimistic, but it's what I'm shooting for).

those story pages are fantastic, keep that style it's fairly unique and awesome.

Some new pages, which is going to ruin the intro but I don't care. I did all three of these just now, my fingers and eyes are sore. ><

They are wider in-game versions, which needed more white-space apparently.

If the last scene looks familiar, it is on purpose, I'm not just lazy.

Spoiler for Storypages:

I. Love. This.

I'm half dead from tired and have an entire day of toddler fun with my little one - so it makes me tremendously happy that my lack of sleep was not in vain. ^.^

Edit;
I now have a support bar, because somebody asked for one. ^.^

I'll be sure to put that into my signature in place too. I have a number of goals for this year, and this is part of those.

You'll probably be wishing you'd had more sleep, though. Little kids can be very demanding.

Added the bar, behold my support!



For what that may be worth.

I appreciate the support. ^.^

---
As an update; I am still working on this. I was given a forced weekend. My husband seems to think I'm doing too much already and using my only free time to work on this project is stressing me out. It may have been that I passed out the other day and slept for twelve straight hours, or it may be something else, who knows. ><

What this means is two days every week that I am not allowed to work on this project. I may or may not stick to it because I can't go five minutes without thinking of this project and I am crazy.

Just wanted to let you guys know so no one wonders why I stopped updating so much.

My weekend this week is over, so I'm back to writing NPC dialogue (I decided they need to say something different based on many factors because, as previously stated, I am crazy - it is very time consuming but hopefully worth it) and putting in quests and tweaking the message style again. Message boxes will all be on the bottom of the screen now, because the message box covered far too much when over events and the name box is cut off when it's shown close to the top of the screen. There's a lot more still to do, those are just the easy but time-consuming things I'm currently fiddling with.

I do have a few sketches of expressions for Nini to show, but they are very rough and I'm using an art meme for it (these are not all of the expressions I plan to use). Figured it would be a fun exercise in addition to helping me get the portraits finished.

Spoiler for Expression Sketches:

Oh no! But your mental health is more important, so pace yourself.

I just got done playing the demo, and It was quite enjoyable. I did run into a few issues; the first is the font color. It's kinda hard to read light pink on lighter pink, and the font size is rather small- but I had no problems reading the letter to Nini from Brother (what is his name, anyway?). I was very pleased with the gameplay and intro, it was quite entertaining. I got that nifty sensation that I cannot adequately describe that I get when about to embark on a game I think will be lots of fun.

There was one passability issue with the desk in the living room/kitchen, on tmiddle right, and I never got out of the house. Even though I was a good little Magical Girl (I NEVER thought I'd hear myself say that) and picked up my toys without being asked, Mom still scolded me for trying to leave. Maybe I missed something, I have children as well...

Overall, very good work. This is a game I would take the time to play.

I actually have a schedule for this now, so I should be okay. ^.-

--
I am amazed (and elated!) you still enjoyed it through all of the issues. ><

I played through it myself again and noticed how many things I apparently broke when adding new cases to the interactions with her mother. I have it all fixed now, and have adjusted font colors (it shouldn't have been so light pink, more purple, not sure what happened there).

Her brother is meant to remain largely a mystery until she reaches the next town(his name is in the main post - it is Mason). No one will mention his name in the first town. He's a bit of a superstar in the other towns though, so they will. I figure his family and friends would be too upset, and worried, about him not returning home to really want to talk about him. Nini can still ask people, but not all of them will say much and none of them will really tell her all they know. She's very young and adults tend to tiptoe around these types of topics when dealing with children. I want to show that, in the first town at least, strangers probably wont try so hard.

The passability settings I didn't know of, I keep having this issue with those desks however and I think I know what's causing it. Passability is my enemy with this tileset. So many sideways things.

You probably didn't miss anything with her mother, she wont let you out. I set the variable to the wrong number (or, rather, changed it and forgot to adjust the exit event). It is impossible to leave the house in the version you have. I'll send you the new one.

I am very glad you enjoyed it. This means I am on the right track. I hope the dialogue seemed natural with her mother(and not too long). Dialogue is where my writing is weakest. This is why I'm making this particular game first, actually, writing for games seems to be mostly dialogue so I need to see if I am capable. An RPG seemed the best way to test this. I admit that I've fallen in love with the story and it's much more than a test now, however.

---
To update, since I'm responding anyway, here are some shots of the new message layout;
I hope these look a little better than the disjointed style they were in previously.
Without the text bubble style, it did seem a bit silly to have them floating above events.

Spoiler for Message Boxes!:

With portrait


With portrait and choicebox


Without portrait but with choicebox (everyone will have some form of name, so the namebox should always be there)

I like the new text layout, but..

Spoiler for:

The pink text is burning my eyes..

I must have a darker monitor or something. It looked like enough contrast to me. Not a big deal. It's just font color. I'll change it. ^.^

Edit;
Okay, I have two colors here - using the menu to test for more light pink background and system font color.

Spoiler for Purple:

Spoiler for Fuchsia:

I must have a darker monitor or something. It looked like enough contrast to me. Not a big deal. It's just font color. I'll change it. ^.^

Edit;
Okay, I have two colors here - using the menu to test for more light pink background and system font color.

Spoiler for Purple:

Spoiler for Fuchsia:

The purple one is much better.
It might be due to my monitor though..
Anyways, +Rep for this beautiful project!

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jscejPGlDFA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jscejPGlDFA</a>

Just to show what's being worked on. The intro now has some beautiful music, and for those who've seen it, it's a bit different.

The black space on either side is not shown in game. I'm trying to figure out why that is there, probably the recording program size is off. I'll play with it more later.

I was sent the music and given suggestions on how to arrange the intro to fit it. It came out so nicely, I thought I'd share.

Sweet deal, D! I like the purple lettering; it's WAY easier to read.

I'm very sorry everyone, but there will be another delay in productivity. I lost my father in law today. I don't know how long the delay will be. This is not shaping up to be a good year. =/

My condolences

I also lost my father and it's not easy. Yet, I believe that every person has the power to remind themselves of their loved ones while going on with their life.

I wish you strenght!

Nice introduction, but I advise you to make transitions at the pictures, also check whether the person is under the edge of the map, I suggest you put the message box above.

I'll probably end up working on this project anyway. Writing has always made me feel better. I just may not have much time for the more complicated and time-consuming aspects due to responsibilities we've been given. Arrangements must be made and it appears we're the ones who have to make them. =/

Saul, thank you for the advice. I tried transitions with the pictures, nothing looked quite right. I've been looking for something that may resemble page turning and will likely add that when I find it. I have changed the message display too many times now, however. It will remain at the bottom. I'm not sure what you mean by under the edge of the map?

Oh, dear. Remember to take the time you need to sort things out, D. I will send you all the good vibrations I can.

Hello,

I'm the music composer for this project and thought I'd post a few pieces from this game's soundtrack since there has been a delay in progress.

Unknown Journey:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11484632&q=hi&newref=1

Unai:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11484641&q=hi&newref=1

Dear Diary:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11484630&q=hi&newref=1

That Magical Girl (Main Theme):
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11466873&q=hi&newref=1

I love all of those tracks. I can't say that enough. = )

---Update---

I've begun work again. Mostly writing, but finishing up maps also. There will be a relatively long side quest involving pages from an adventure story. Each page will give clues that lead Nini on the same path as the heroine in the story. Hidden items and other special things will be found on this journey, to make it worth her while. As the first page is found in the first town, I wrote that out and have that to share today. It's an optional sidequest, as the page can be missed, and it only sets up the side story so I don't think this will spoil anything. I'd certainly love to hear what people think about it, so feel free to tell me if it's awful. ^.-

Spoiler for The Adventures of Puella Magi Kirin pg1:

We join our heroine just steps outside the legendary Dorna En Caves, at the base of Mount Kanfahl. She and her spectral companion have agreed to rid the local town of a shadowy beast that has been stealing away children in the night. The tales of those who have escaped it's grasp weigh heavy on her mind. This will not be an easy task for our little heroine. -

Her eyes narrow in an attempt to see through the inky shadows past the mouth of the cave.

"Kiriiin~! ", a high-pitched voice squeeks from the inside of her bag.

"We can't turn back now, Kitsch - those people are counting on us...", the hesitation in her tone does not go unnoticed, but she has no time to fret over the what-ifs. Now is the time for action.

"But, but, I'm scaaaared~!", a softly glowing face peeks out from the bag, big white eyes round and pleading.

"Kitsch, what did you tell me when we first met?", no hesitation there. Good. She's ready. Her companion, however...

Those glowing orbs that pass for eyes disappear beneath pale blue lids as he juts his fuzzy little snout and button nose into the air. Kirin gives the bag a good shake.

"Kitsch!"

He throws his entire frame into a deep sigh before letting his head drop downward.

"...If you wish to become a Magical Girl, you must be willing to walk the jagged paths, gaze into the toothy maw of madness, and stand tall before the darkest shadows.", the words tumble from his furry lips. He didn't want to say it. He didn't care what he said those many years ago. She smiled. He wasn't afraid for his own safety..

Giving her best hero pose, she stood tall and raised her voice high.

"That's right! And I have done all of those things. This is routine, Kitsch! We're going to charge into that cave, knock that monster senseless and hurry back to town for a hero's welcome!", she was trying to hide her own fear with boastful words. She failed miserably. Kitsch wasn't buying any of it. His glowing white eyes narrowed, she felt a scolding coming on. Some sass perhaps. They didn't have the time. Waiting meant more children missing from their homes..

"It doesn't matter what's in there, Kitsch.", her resolve returned, Kitsch had no choice but to perk at her tone. "We have a job to do. On my honor as a Magical Girl, I must protect the innocent. We're going in there.", with a heavy heart and a few fearful squeeks, Kirin took her first step.

This is really all there is to show right now. I've been using Rm2k3 to map out the world because I thought it would be easier (it is), now I just need to use it as a guide for the drawn map. I should have that up sometime tomorrow. There is a very large amount of dialogue, even the non-essential NPCs have a bit to say(there is a "chat" option for the sake of information gathering/gossip), so it's taking some time. The NPCs also have lives of their own, and will do different things depending on the time of day/Nini's meddling. This means setting up many events to account for where they are at any given time. I wanted the towns to feel more alive. It may take a while to get it all worked out, but I hope it will be worth it.

Hopefully that also explains why I've been saying I'm writing dialogue for the past few updates. There's a lot. ><

Well, there you have it. I'm back and will start updating again.

Good to see you're back on track, ma'am. I wait with baited breath!








...can someone pass me the Scope?

Spoiler for Map Wip:

It doesn't have any areas marked, or any landmarks yet. I'm trying for "looks scrawled on an old piece of parchment". I think it needs a lot of work still, but it's what I have so far. I've never drawn a map before, can you tell? ><

It's not bad! I think if anything it goes with your established style, and it looks like you've acheived your goal.

I was thinking about this project, looking at the map with the style you have been using. I like it a lot and the game has a lot of potential. Still, one thing came into my mind. I take that you want others to play it, male and female. The game itself is getting quite girly, taking the pink windowskin in mind. I would suggest something different, maybe a self drawn windoskin? Changing that would make it less "girly" and more people will not stop playing the game. (Mostly the males)

YellowPepper

I had planned to change the windowskin depending on which town Nini is in, however this posed issues with font colors. If I could change the menu font color mid-game, then I would use the varied windowskins I showed earlier in the thread. As I cannot figure out how to do that, I have made a windowskin that mimics the style of her diary pages. This way it fits the over all theme.

I did try adjusting the color, the pink was a bit eye-gouging and likely a little overkill on the girly. There is also no contrast in the current colorscheme. So, I've been fiddling with it a bit. Does this look a bit less girly? Or at least less eye-gouging?

Spoiler for Windowskin Tests:

It's girly, yes, but in a cute little girl girly way. The basic elements of a hero story are still there; the strong character- who has the added advantage of being unlikely- the conflict, a clearly defined motive for the adventure, and well thought out supporting characters.

I would think "girly" is like FF X-2. That shit was GIRLY.

And yes, the purple is easier on the eyballs. Good choice!

Thank you for that. Now I know it's not too girly. ><


----
As an update, my old map looked terrible so I tried my hand at something lighter and more colorful. It doesn't quite fit, as Nini doesn't draw her own map but that may change now. As an aside, those are not the names of the towns, Nini has her own names for things. -There are also far more areas than shown. I just didn't want to give that away.

Spoiler for Map:

Much better.

I think Nini ought to do her own maps. I know, It's more work, but "her" style of drawing is just adorable.

On the other hand, maybe a break from all the cuteness would be a good thing... I guess I'm on the proverbial fence, but the ground looks softer on Nini's side.

Just popping in to say I am still working. Lots of dialogue. Lots and lots. The maps for the first town are finished, however. I have also, just about, completed the only battle (it's a long one) that will be featured in the demo. The rather involved area that is her home is complete, though there is a dungeon in there that needs fixing(spike floors are tricky to time properly).

I have portraits to finish for Nini, her Mother, Father, first doll and three other NPCs. Then there is more dialogue. This includes all of the NPCs(there are many and I've barely finished half of them), the objects Nini can interact with, and a handful of little errands left to event.

Rest assured, I am doing things. I just have nothing to show for it just yet. Once the portraits for her Father and Teddy are finished, I will post those though. Then maybe change the main post to portraits instead of sprites to represent the characters.

Not much, but here is a sketchy colored portrait of Nini's father. Because it is something to show. ><

Spoiler for Nini's Father:

Awesome as usual, D!

Thank you! ^.^

--As a small update--

I've decided that there is way more going on in the first town then there should be. I wanted a reason to come back later, and have there be new things to do/people to see as time passes, but I'd been working as if the town were starting in it's final incarnation. This was a bad idea and wasted a lot of time, what with NPC dialogue being so...robust?

So- I am going to block some areas off, complete only the NPCs that will be in town when the game starts, and stop working on events/sidequests that should be saved for later. Once all of the in-game events and dialogue are completed THEN I will work on the remaining portraits.

Hopefully this will get the demo finished sooner and I can get some help testing everything, and the all-important feedback that comes with it.

This game is shaping up to be quite wonderful. My only complaint is that for me, the font is very hard to read. My eyesight isn't great, so maybe its just me. Makes it really hard to read the text on that fantastic intro, for example.

Other than that, its looking great looking forward to seeing this finished.

Thank you for the kind words. = )

I've been fiddling with the image size for the Storypages in-game. Is this easier to read?
(it's hand-written, so I understand if it's illegible -
my handwriting is terrible normally and I'm actively trying to make it worse for the sake of little girl writing.)

If you meant the color, that can be changed, if you meant the font in message boxes than I can try to increase the size.

Spoiler for In-game Screen:

Thank you for the kind words. = )

I've been fiddling with the image size for the Storypages in-game. Is this easier to read?
(it's hand-written, so I understand if it's illegible -
my handwriting is terrible normally and I'm actively trying to make it worse for the sake of little girl writing.)

If you meant the color, that can be changed, if you meant the font in message boxes than I can try to increase the size.

Spoiler for In-game Screen:

Thats much more readable, now its bigger, but i think making the colour slightly  darker would help

Spoiler for Hot pink crayon!:

Better?

Much better! Its looking good

That's much better. I think you're on to something, there.

Excellent. I'll keep the font to a darker shade and remember the image size for future Storypages.

---
Cutting out the events that take place later and the NPCs that go with them has saved me a great deal of work.
I can't really give a proper ETA just yet, but my workload has been halved so it will be significantly sooner than I expected.

I should have all the dialogue and events finished by this time next week (barring any tangents, some NPCs are too fun to write). Then it's just portraits and testing (so the game will be out for those interested in testing. Perhaps without portraits, as they are not integral and can be worked on while the testing is underway).

I'm going to keep from drawing anything else until I'm done with the actual gameplay. I needed a break from the writing and tried to draw portraits instead, but portraits do not a game make. So, events/dialogue/testing until it's ready to go out to other eyes for testing.

I probably wont update again until this is finished and I'm sending it out to test volunteers. If you guys have any questions I'll still check and reply though. ^.-

Thank you again, everyone who has said such nice things, for taking an interest in my little project. I hope it does not disappoint.

Great work and so fast! I'm kinda stuck because I had to care for a house of someone on vacation. Jealous! I'm curious through, what are you going to do with the mapping part? Have you done any and/or will you need help with it?

Keep up the work!

I thought I was being slow, considering it's just one town. Now I wonder if I forgot something and miscalculated what I have left to do. ><

Honestly, I do have quite a few more interactive events to put in. I want Nini to say something when the objects inside houses and whatnot are interacted with. Drawers, bookcases, lamps, etc. I have some of the little books written out, but I still need to figure out where to put them. There are a lot of bookcases but not all of them will have actual books she'd care to read in them.

Still- not too much to do, really. If I stop getting distracted by Path of Exile (..because I am a sucker for dungeon crawlers...), I should have the first town ready for testing in a week. Maybe a day or two more if I go overboard with the books/dialogue. Which has been happening, another reason to need outside testers. I ramble.

The first town's maps are finished. There are maybe three interiors to do, but they will likely be locked off until later. I've been trying to make the interiors unique and I may have run out of variations. The area leading to the next town, as well as the caves that make up the town are roughed out but likely to change a few more times before I start actually mapping them.

Unless you meant something else?

The reason why I asked it was because I didn't know how far you where. It could also be that you needed some help with mapping. I myself have quite some experience with mapping, so I wouldn't be bothered with helping you here and there. Btw, books! Nice

*Goes out to put the support banner in his signature.*

Thank you for the offer. I tend to map when I'm stuck on things, so I don't know what I'd do if I had someone else mapping too. ><

---As a small update---

I worked through the days I was supposed to take off from this and still have a lot of little events left to do. I also underestimated how difficult it is to write dialogue for someone who speaks in rhyme (she also speaks in the majestic plural). ..And mean little girls are more fun to write than they should be.

So, I'll just say that I'm still working on it and will update the moment I have the demo ready.

She speaks in rhyme!? That sounds so awesome! Small update my tail... Unless you've already mentioned that.

One of the NPCs speaks in rhyme. She is meant to act as preview for a later town where -all- of the NPCs will speak in a similar fashion. I'm glad it sounds awesome. ^.- It's fun and frustrating to write, and hopefully not too difficult to understand.

I may put in options to ask her to simplify, ending with one of Nini's dolls saying it plainly if the option is chosen a certain number of times. Rhymes often turn to riddles, it seems, and I'm not the best judge on how challenging they are. I'm not making them on purpose, after all, it's just happening as I write.

Nini herself just uses simple words and will try to sound out the more complicated ones. She also tends to give people nicknames. For instance, the NPC in question is a witch and Nini knows her rather well and thus gets away with calling her "Witchiepoo" or "Ms. Witchiepoo".

Really, it is quite fun writing all of the dialogue and I hope it's as fun to read. Most of the adults will have quite a bit, but kids tend to be too full of energy to sit around and gab. Nini is inquisitive and will have lots of questions and sometimes special chat options.

And that was more than I intended to write. ><

This seems to be going well! I just had the opportunity to play around with it and I have to say it left me wanting more. As in, I want to play it more. I think it's good material so far, and your overall technique is darned good.

I encourage you to go forth and keep tinkering with it, I truly believe this will be a contender for Project of the Season.

...for what my opinion may be worth.

Hello everyone,

Just completed a piece that will represent the treacherous terrain beyond the barrier of Unai, where vicious monsters lurk unshackled.
This piece is called,

No Barrier Here:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11556943&q=hi&newref=1

This piece is meant to motivate as you explore, problem solve, and fight your way to the next town.

Hope you enjoy. 

And a beautiful piece it is. I can't wait to finish what's needed for the demo so I can get to the areas it will play in. ^.-

--Speaking of demo--

I'm currently testing things out and finishing up a few NPCs/event tweaks(making sure the time system that basically everything depends on is not broken like it seems to be). Then I'll get to work on the remaining portraits (so there's no longer a horrible disconnect of happy face to not-so-happy text)  and be ready for the real testing to begin.

So, not to get hopes up, but SOON - it will be ready soon. ^.^

I will add more screenshots, pictures, and try to trim and pretty up the main post a bit, when the demo is finished.

I can say that there will be some time between demo and anything else as I plan to work on the art-side of things for a bit. I still have battlers to do (the monsters are defaults right now, but I want them to match in style so I'll be drawing my own), never mind the portraits, story-pages, custom sprites that I'll need to do, and quite a bit more. - there is also the matter of I might need a break after this to figure out how to proceed in a more efficient manner.

If you guys are interested, I can try to release things on a chapter by chapter basis and then pack it all into one when they're all finished(along with extras). This way the wait isn't too long and it'll be less pressure for me if I work on one chapter at a time.

The chapters would be relatively small, as I've arranged the events to go from town to town. This way each Chapter will begin as she begins her journey to the next town and end when she finishes the events in that town. I'm thinking five chapters. The first and last acting as Prologue and Epilogue, respectively.

However this goes, I just wanted to say I will have something playable soon. And to update to let people know I'm still working.

I would personally prefer a chapter by chapter release

That way the demo would end at a perfect time, and it'll make the feedback easier to present

There will still be some time between demo release and a new chapter. Not just for the testing/feedback stage, but also because I've been spending all of my time on the demo and most of the next chapter is just in writing right now.

Which is why I want to figure out how to do this more efficiently. Hopefully the feedback will help that a bit.

Glad to see a vote for chapters! I think it will go more smoothly that way. = )

Everyone benefits from this choice. The only downfall would be players having to wait to get the full picture of the game and having to base their loyalty to the project on the potential of what's to come.

Chapter based releases usually have a greater chance of full project completion with constant feedback, set milestones, room for improvement and adjustments, build of anticipation, and higher overall morale for team members.

I would strongly recommend this for free, short staffed projects like this one.

I'd like to apologize for the slight hiatus. There were a lot of betas out that I had to try, and some personal matters to work on as well. I will begin work again on Thursday.

I have someone testing what I have now, and I've been going through myself. There are maybe three NPCs left to write dialogue for, portraits still to do, the optional dungeon to tweak and the only battle still to test (small numbers are surprisingly difficult to manage in RPGMaker, but I think I have the values where I want them).

Once that is done, I'll put out a call for more testers and there will be something playable up.

I've had to make quite a few changes already just from what my friend found. I wasn't making some things clear enough, and there was a situation where Nini would get in trouble for something without any warning - which was unintentional, the event was arranged wrong. So I'm already getting great feedback and the game is improved because of it. It's something. = )

As soon as I'm finished up and can release the demo, I'll focus my time on the next Chapter. I am going to release the game in Chapters. It seems the best choice all around. I'll try to have little testing phases between releases too, so I can get bugs worked out. Also, I have something planned as an extra bit of content and the Chapter method affords me more time for that - and a nifty way of adding it on as bonus content when all the Chapters are finished and released in one project.


---
Well, there's the update. I'll post again when I have something significant to share. Sorry for the delay.

==Update==
Only two (I think) NPCs left to write dialogue for and the end event to tweak. And then all the testing (which I've found some help with, but if anyone is interested send me a PM - I'd love the extra eyes on it ^.^).

In the meantime, I've been sketching out the expressions for the portraits (Nini's anyhow, as she has the most). Thought I'd share them. I think I posted these before, but I've added a few since. Keep in mind they are roughs and will be cleaned up and colored later. I'm trying to keep them uniform in size, but a few may break that.

I'm not skipping any(it's good practice even if I don't use all of them), I just did the ones that I could see poses for first (and may actually need for the demo). I plan to do this exercise/meme for all of the characters with portraits (including the dolls).

I may have all the ones of Nini I need for the demo, and only need maybe three a piece for Nini's parents and her first doll, so it shouldn't take too much longer.

Spoiler for Sketchy Faces:

..It is a bit obvious that there was a time gap between sketches. I think I'm getting better at this though. So, that's something.


=Edit=
Wanted to add a traditional sketch of Kirin (the hero of the little adventure story side-quest). I didn't have the time to myself to use my tablet the other day, so I decided to pick up a pencil for the first time in a long time. Not sure I like it, but it's a start. It shouldn't give much away about the character. It's just a design concept.

Spoiler for Kirin:

Gosh this project seems like so much fun! As soon as I finished reading the story I was like "Woah! I need this now! I want to know where her brother is!". :p It is a simple story but the way you've portrayed it is extraordinary.

Oh, and, the facial expressions are adorable ! Excellent job on them as well.

Thanks. Glad you like what you see. Hope to have the demo playable soon. ^.-

----
A mini update, redrew Nini's dad because he didn't look like a man. Will be redrawing her brother next. It's sketchy, but there's color.
I am working on portraits because everything else is about done.
There's a bit at the end that needs work still but that's it. Just waiting to hear if everything plays correctly.

Spoiler for A Man, I swear:

Just to update, testing is going very well. I now have quite a few things working as I meant them to and have been adding in more books here and there. Portraits are going a bit slower due to lack of..well...my hands they hate me. So, there's that.

As soon as one of us manages to make it to the end of the demo and I can see if the things play well all the way through - I will open up the testing to more people.

If anyone else is interested, let me know. I could always use more people telling me things are broken. I can't seem to make it through the first map without stopping to change things. I am obviously not the one who is supposed to test. ><

This has been really fun though, I'm learning a lot. The other areas should go much smoother now that I know how to stream-line things and have finally discovered how the day/night script I'm using actually works.

I am also getting good responses from the dialogue and story elements, so I know I'm on the right track there.

Will update when I have more to say. Or a portrait to show. I need to go tackle a redesign of Nini's brother. Make the boy a young man. Because he looks like a bit like a little girl right now.

==Update==
I've been informed my end event is not working, which makes sense as I apparently didn't arrange things properly (it is mostly working now).  I have a few more books to put in, but all of the text for them is written out (formatting for in-game messages is time-consuming). Then it's portrait, portraits, portraits - and monster battlers (they may remain defaults for the moment). And Then The Demo Is Ready for Open Testing!...sort of.

Still have kinks in the battle system to work out. The small numbers are giving me issues, but I think I know how to make it work. If anyone knows of a script that changes the default algorithms to something simpler that uses smaller numbers, I would be appreciative.

Does give me an excuse to test out progression more though, so that's something.

==Update==

Well, I may just make sure my end event is working and release what I have as-is. It will serve as "proof of concept" at least, to let everyone know the game -is- happening.

It just wont be happening in XP.

I may switch to VXAce, on account of many of my issues are solved in that engine and many of my common events are default options. I'll need to do something to the default battle system and find a way to get my portraits to work but it appears to be a good idea.

----
I'll release what I have when the end event is tested and working. After that, it may be a while as I have to make new sprites and figure out how to use VXAce, and transfer everything I've already done.

It'd probably be for the best to move to Ace, so I say take as much time as you like.

Demo is out! Download link added to main post.

It may still be buggy, but read the message in the main post.

----
It may be a while before I have anything else to show, but at least there's something playable now.
Even if it is in a different engine than the rest will be.

Let me know of any bugs, I'll definitely keep up support for it until the VXA version is complete. ^.-

=Update=
Put up a portrait for Fluffy, Nini's VXA sprite, and a shot of the World Map.

The addition of a World Map made me want to actually use it.
Everything will still be primarily area to area, but there will be bits of wandering in the middle.
As well as a few special events, encounters and unique areas only found by wandering around the open areas.

Also let's me put in more of the classic rpg stuff I wanted. Not that a World Map is impossible in XP, it's just easier in one that has it as a default mechanic.

Will update again when I have more sprites or something to show.
--

XP Demo updates will be added to the main post.

Here is a test of Nini portraits in VXA (I may stick with the way it handles faces by default).

Spoiler for Nini Faces:

These are during a test of a quest log script, so the dialogue is there to try and match the expressions.
I like the tilesets a lot, didn't think I would, but just playing with them to see how things work came out pretty nice.

-----
Well, that's all I have to show for the updating of things. There is a lot of stuff in VXA that just wasn't in XP, so I'm a bit overwhelmed and need a time to figure things out. The custom damage formulas alone are enough to make my head spin. In a good way.

Hope you guys don't mind the wait, and that people are enjoying what's in the demo. As that is how the dialogue/story will be, but there will be more to do, more to explore, and more NPCs to chat with about things. Also, combat will not be so silly.

And I never apologized for it, but the battleback was a quick job to have something other than a default and it looks terrible. I am sorry.

Oh hello Dyre, not passed by a little 'time on the topic.
I wanted to ask a question: why you went to VX ACE?

There are a few reasons;

Small numbers are possible without extensive scripting.
The message system functions much better by default.
Custom damage formulas for every skill and item.
Default settings for weapons granting skills on equip. (this is a big one)
Quick-creation events for common things (I'd made my own common events for most of these functions in XP, not having to is nice)
World map by default, I enjoy the way tilesets are handled, and regions in addition to terrain settings.
Nicer look to the sprites (more fitting for the cutesy style I'm going with anyway)
A lot of the scripts I'd planned to use have much nicer versions for VXA available, or are just not necessary now as the functions are in by default.

I hadn't planned to switch, but the small numbers were a serious issue.
As were the weapons. I had a common event set for this, but it could only do so much. I was using states to apply health bonuses which looked awkward.
I know a script could have done this also, but all I found were ones with far more than I needed.
In VXA it's all in the default settings.

Overall, it just seemed like a better idea. I like what I've seen and I think I can do a lot more with it than with XP.
Again, I am going to mention the sprites. I didn't like them before, too chibi, but they fit for this style and the colors are more vibrant.
The entire program's colors are more vibrant. I'm a little ashamed I didn't give VX a real try before.

This looks amazing. Definitely the RPGM game I'm most looking forward to playing.

Thank you, I'm glad people are into this. ^.^

There is a playable Demo. I'm still working on it, to make sure everything works properly and there is at least something to play while waiting for it to be moved to VXA. It should serve as a decent representation of what to expect from the game, overall. Writing, quest-types, how NPCs are handled, exploration and it's importance, choices, how Dolls interact with Nini.

The only thing not really shown properly is the combat, and there's not nearly as many interactive events as there will be, but still quite a few. I will say I put it in way too many items and if they are all found, the end battle will be extremely easy. So, that will change but it's not all that important for this part anyway. The first Chapter is more meant to set up the story and show how things work. I think it does that.

--Update--

While testing the demo, and adding a few more things for NPCs to do (it was a bit empty outdoors), I had an idea for a little aesthetic touch to the areas. Not relevant for the Demo, obviously, as it has the Intro for it's set-up, but for the following areas.

I was thinking I might try to have a little picture (drawn by Nini, of course) of the areas as she enters them. Since I'll be using a World Map now, she'll enter the areas from the map. Instead of the typical splash of an area's name, have an image of her entering the area with the name of it and a little blurb about it, written by her? The storybook pictures seem to be a favorite, and I'd love to use them more, but wanted to see if that's something people would like or if it would be too much. I have most of the actual content for each area planned out, so I'm more concerned with how to present the areas and get them in-game than what happens in them.

For a timeline update, I've tested the Demo almost to the end, taking care to try everything and make sure it all works. Once I've finished that (I'm done adding things, I need to work on moving everything over to VXA now), I'll work strictly on the VXA version. I'll still go back and fix bugs though, if anyone mentions any.

If anyone's played the current build and found anything, let me know.

Will update again when I have something significant to show. Enjoy the Demo, don't be afraid to tell me if it's terrible. I like honesty. = )

Wasn't able to play the demo yet, but wanted to comment on the storybook pictures for the areas anyway ^^

I think it would be a really nice thing, however, you should be careful with how long they will be displayed or if one can press a key or anything to stop them, since it can become quite annoying if you have to change the location often and need to wait for the image to vanish every time.

I'm thinking a short wait time will be enough, since it will only show a picture for the main area. As in, Nini enters a forest and it shows a picture. If the area switches to another part of the forest, that is named differently but still part of the same forest, it will just show the area name.

I could also try showing the image and a choice box to ask if the player wants to enter that area?

I made a little example for area pictures, may have a choice for entry. For this one it would be, "I'm not scared!", "Too Scary...", or something similar for "Yes" and "no", respectively.

Also, perhaps a new way to draw the storybook pictures. Since I'll need to go back and edit them anyway, since Nini's hair is different now.

Spoiler for "Dreamer's Forest":

If you removed the white background and the text, and just used that image, you could use that as the image you see the first time you enter a new area. Sorta like how Kingdom Hearts does it. That's at least what I thought of when I saw the picture.

Unfriendly:
http://www.soundclick.com/player/single_player.cfm?songid=11707141&q=hi&newref=1

The first battle theme for the game, which comes in during the tutorial/introduction to combat sequences at the end of chapter 1. It may appear later on in other chapters.

I tried to keep it light, but exciting without pushing to far into the realm of very epic.

Hiro, I like the idea and thought of going with that already. I'm not sure it'll fit the theme though, since the pictures are supposed to be in her diary.

I'll try it anyway, see how it looks. ^.-

Nice song, maybe a bit 'too big for the rest of the game but that's okay.
Rather Dyre, what are you going to do?
I mean, you're going to continue the game on both the tools?

What? No, no. I released the Demo in XP because that's what I had planned to use and what I've worked on all this time. But, it doesn't support some features I wanted, and VXA has more to offer.

I still want to give something to show for all that work. So I released what I'd finished in XP. Which is the Prologue. It provides a solid look at the writing, quests, and gameplay to expect when I'm finished.  It's also a way to maybe garner more interest/feedback. As now people can actually play it and experience some of the game instead of just reading ideas and looking at pictures.

The rest of the game, and a remade version of the Prologue, will be made entirely in VXA.

Before moving everything to the new engine, however, I'm trying to make sure the demo actually works all the way through. There may not be as much going on as I'd planned, but it's enough to show what to expect. So it would be nice if people can actually play all of it.

So far that has been a bit time-consuming. The main progression through the town was working fine, but the side-quests were not and the time was moving too fast, making it seem like the town was empty because their events already finished by the time the player reached them. Everything appears in order now. I'm just a little annoyed at myself for not going through it more closely before releasing it. =/

I'll be sure to take care to keep better notes and arrange things in a more structured manner when reworking everything for VXA. If anything this has been a tremendous learning experience, and I think a sort of "fresh start" in a new engine is a good idea.

To show I am doing things.

Spoiler for Unai Wip Map and info:

In-editor.
I am working on remapping the first town as a single map.
Redesigning a few bits as I go, but keeping it mostly the same.
I'm not too far in yet as I had to do quite a bit of bug testing/squashing in the XP demo.
May give an idea of what the new town will look like though. There's a bit more, cut off.
(I'm sure the tree autotiles aren't meant to be used as they are in the center, but hopefully it doesn't look too bad.
I'm trying to give the impression that the forest the town takes up is quite dense and housed on a mountain.)




In-game shot of outside Nini's Home.

---
Once the mapping in the first town is finished, I plan to map out the areas in the next chapter.
Then, once those areas are mapped and events are placed, I'll go back and put in all the events/dialogue for the Prologue/First Town.
This way I can have the next chapter finished and have something new for people to check out while the Demo is being remade.
It will likely contain a little intro event that shows Nini leaving town, and start her with the items she'd gain in the Demo (the unmissable ones).
I'd planned to have an intro event for each new Chapter anyhow, but this one will be unique in that it gives the items.

I'm not entirely sure how to make each Chapter it's own project. I have an idea, however.
When the next/remade Demo is released it will contain the Prologue and First Chapter.
Subsequent Chapters will be released, if it works like XP, in folders containing the new files but not requiring a full re-download.
Each Chapter will end with a special event/image and the option to save and begin with the same image and a mini intro to the next Chapter.

Unless I can find an easier way.

Spoiler for Portraits:

Testing out a simpler style (Cave Story inspired), hopefully it will take less time to make them this way.

=Update=

I'll be putting updates on hold until I have the Prologue and First Chapter completed. (may update the main post with screenshots/art as completed)

A few things I'd tried to do in the Demo were too complicated and unnecessary. I'm trimming things down and simplifying where I can.
This will not impact the story at all, or the core gameplay, and I doubt anyone will even notice the differences.

I've made a few important changes to how things work and would like to keep a little mystery.
The Demo will show what to expect from the writing and gameplay. Just know that there will be differences from it and the final release.

Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/bugs concerning the Demo.

See you when I have more playable. ^.^

That forest looks really nice. Can't wait to see more screenshots.

Hey, I was just playing your demo, and I have to say that I'm enjoying it so far. The dialogue is pretty amusing, and the maps are very well put together. However, I came across sort of a weird error. In the academy, after talking to Daddy, I went to the bottom-most floor and talked to the lunch lady. While talking to her, I accidentally pressed the jump button, and Nini jumped clear over the counter and the lunch lady in one go. I tried to go around, but the ball of light kept me from passing. So, I jumped over that, too, and it resulted in a loop, with the lunch lady saying "You're not allowed back here. Now scram!" or something like that over and over again. Had to close out the game. It wasn't anything big, just sort of strange.

Haha. Sorry about that. I probably should have switched the jump off for dialogue. I've been told it happens in a few spots. I'll fix it up.

I'm glad you're enjoying it so far. It is nice to know the writing is amusing. As that's my favorite part to work on.
And the maps, which it seems is a good thing if they're working well. ^.-

---
It's taking quite a bit of time to remake things in Ace. Lots of differences and I've made some fairly large changes to things.
Nothing story-wise, really. System stuff, Database shenanigans, little rearranging of the world and things in it. Oh and redesigns for some NPCs.
Not Nini or her Mother, but her Dad and Brother. They didn't have a solid design to begin with, so I'm trying to give them one.
I am also attempting to find an easier, quicker way to handle portraits so I can have one for every NPC without killing myself.

So..it may be a bit before I have anything to really show. I am working on it though. = )

I wanted to wait until I had some video or tech demo to show, but it's been a while since I updated. Also,  getting some mock-ups done and playing around in the engine has assured me I'm doing this -

I'm not going to be using RPGMaker to make this game.
There are many reasons, but the major one is that I have developed a serious attachment to the ideas and want to give them a real showcase.
A gameplay style that will do the game in my head justice, and a unique art style to truly make it my own.

So, "Oh, Brother" will now be an Action-Adventure RPG(akin to the Zelda series), made entirely in Construct.
Sswave, being awesome, has informed me that he will continue to work on the music. So there will still be a beautiful soundtrack.
I will be doing everything else myself. Which means it will take some time to have anything playable.
A great deal longer than the three months the demo took. But all of the things I want to do are possible in Construct, and I think it will do better to practice with the program I'll likely be making all of my other projects in. (the ones this was meant to be a step toward, were to be made in Construct)

Hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Until then, if it's okay with the Mods, I'd like to revamp this thread for the new stuff but keep it so I can continue to share my progress with you guys.
I'll make a new support bar, too, if that's a thing people still want.

In the mean-time, here are some things to look at.

Spoiler for Mock-ups:

HUD/basic area concept


Menu Concept

Spoiler for previous designs:

Old HUD, didn't change much but colors and did more to the scene.


Old Menus, two pages, still working on redesigning the second and designing the third and the save screen.


Battle concept, mostly for perspective practice.

Spoiler for Concept Art/Animation:

Basic Turn and the start of a walk cycle


front-facing walk-cycle, I don't like it, but it's a nice starting point.

And a sprite, sort of. Just the first frame, in the front-facing direction so far. But it's a start.

======
Well, there it is. Let me know what you think and if you guys are still interested.
I'll certainly post it here first, whenever it is finished. It started here, after all. ^.-

===
Frequent updates found here. It's just the artside; mock-ups/concepts. I'm learning Construct also, but I can't really -show- that.

--I also want to specify that I am, by no means, saying that RPGMaker is a bad program. It's just not the right fit for the game I want to make.

Spoiler for More Concept art - and a short walk animation:

An Arachnoid - one of the lesser Voidbeasts Nini will encounter early on.
All of the enemies are meant to look a bit unnatural, as though they do not belong in the world.
He spits poison and, if Nini gets too close, curls into a ball and pops spikes out of his back.
I still need to draw the spots for the spikes when not out.



West-facing walk animation, just two frames. Want to keep it simple.
I'll alter it a bit to add more movement, but I thought it came out kind of cute.
The other directions look a bit odd animated, so I need to fix them up a bit.

I am for the change in engines, and also the new support bar.

Glad to see someone is still interested. = )

And the support bar, glad you like that too. I'm trying to figure out a style for sprites still, so knowing it's still working is good.
I think the hardest part so far is figuring out exactly how simple I want to go with the graphics. I'm sure everything else will prove harder later, but right now it's pretty irritating testing things out with what amounts to blobs while I figure out how things should work and look.

I was thinking Minish Cap style for appearance, but not certain my abilities are up to that yet. I may go a bit closer to Earthbound's simple 2-3 color backgrounds but make the sprites themselves a bit more detailed. I think I figured out what art style I want to go with but the shading style is what's slowing me down.

=As for an update of sorts=
I've only managed some basic movement and AI behavior. Frankly the AI behavior is not what I wanted for the beginning enemy type but it's neat and I'll probably use it for a different enemy. It's not the easiest program in the world to work with, but it sure is fun to figure stuff out. Being able to truly design everything myself, and knowing it will work without too much hassle, is pretty nice too.

As soon as I have something in-game to show, I will post it here. I'm hoping to get a tiny playable demo of the features ready before a real demo is. One with placeholder graphics, and by that I mean "this circle is the player, this one is the enemy, this blob is terrain" sort of placeholder. Just to show that things are progressing, and give some hint as to how it will play.

May be a while, as I'm new to this sort of game in this engine. I've played with it before, in an attempt to make a side-scroller, and learned many valuable lessons. But side-scrollers do not have the z axis to worry about. 2.5D makes things a little...complicated. ><

I still do not have much free time. However, I make myself sketch out a concept piece for Oh, Brother and attempt to learn a new feature of the engine every day. I joined in on a drawing challenge on Tumblr, to assure that even when I can't come up with something to draw for the game, I am still practicing. Getting faster because of it, so that's good.

As for concepts, I think I've nailed down what the beginning few enemies will look like. Not the colors yet, but basic design.

Spoiler for Enemies:

That was kind of long, but hopefully not entirely rambling. Will update again when I have more to really show.

Oh dear... I can't feel a pulse... Call the Medics!

I honestly forgot to update this until my e-mail just told me someone still cares. I am sorry. ><

This has become a side-scroller to be made in Construct. I am working on a very small, simple practice game to learn the program and working on improving my art so I can handle all of the resources I will need to make. Oh, Brother will still happen, but not with RPGMaker. Which is why I did not update this topic.

I am very sorry to those who were watching or waiting for this project. If you still care and want to see how it's going, I have a blog where I occasionally post things. I've been pretty busy with other things, but am always working on my game when I have the time. Any updates will be found there.

Again, I am sorry for not updating to let people know. Been a full and not so pleasant year. Hoping this one will be better.

As for this topic, feel free to close/remove/tossintotheabyss. I will likely make a new one in the not RPGMaker-exclusive thread whenever the game is finished.