14/11 Patreon Devlog (Patreon)

Hey everyone!

November. Where are you going? Omg. ;A; Come baaaaack.

Anyway.....LoL

Here is this weeks devlog!

Summary:

• So close to finishing the potato draft of Jack's route I can literally taste it. >=O
• Only one BG. I really wanted to get more though. ;A;
• Made some social media video thingies mostly showing off our BGs and music.
• Worked on Magnus' synopsis a LITTLE.
• Something else I'm forgetting

The Ramble:

I'm really...really...REALLY close to finishing Jack's route. So close. It's very, very potato-y but it's nearly done. *breathes heavily*

I had to resort to using a timer to help me stay focused - which, I mean, there are times like that. There's not too much to say about the writing this week beyond that...it happened!

We only got one completed BG this week, which is sad because I really wanted to get the one of New Terra's lower decks. ;A; Sadly, we didn't get that one.

We DID get one of the Twilight Wastes that literally made me gasp. It's so dang beautiful. Omg. I was tempted to only show you guys a cropped version of it so it would be a surprise. But I decided to post the whole thing.

I've also started contemplating watermarking the BGs - some VNs do this, but many indie games do not. I've always been pretty ambivalent about watermarking. I know some bigger games do it but I've always felt it's unlikely people are hacking into indie otome games to steal their BG artwork. Especially if the BG art is a particularly unique style.

I've just always felt the chances of the average otome game getting the BGs nabbed is probably pretty small. A lot of us do our own so the BGs look good with our own art styles but won't necessarily look good with other art styles.

I've started questioning if I should add watermarks to the BGs of Gilded Shadows, though. Mostly for two reasons:

1. The BGs are in a style that isn't matched to any particular sprite style. You could use them with a wide range of sprites and they'd still look good. It's not a style that only matches my game.
2. There aren't a lot of science fiction stock backgrounds out there. It's not like, say, a fantasy castle or a forest where you can find so many stock images there's no real reason to hack into a game to grab someone else's.

That said, I'm still making otome games - it's still a niche genre. I can't say I really expect someone to going "I need some cyberpunk BGs. Better go check the otome games on itch.io!" LoL

But when I saw the most recent BG artwork Vui sent in, I won't lie that I had a moment of "Maybe I really should consider a watermark."

At least with a watermark in the lower left, someone would have to crop it out and resize the image. Or else try to cover it up. It adds a level of "Yeah, you knew what you were doing, buddy." LoL.

But then I think about adding a watermark to all the BGs and just feel tired. So maybe I won't do it. Rofl. Anyway, that's what's been on my mind this week.

(Side note: I'm still looking forward to the next background from Son as well. It has an element I really want to talk about in my ramble. BUT...I guess it'll have to wait for next week. ;A;)

Sneak Peeks and Previews:

Finished BG - the exterior of Lances house. It'll obviously be cropped in for a lot of scenes but...omg. @_@ Can I just say how in love with this art I am?

It's so amazing. Vui really outdid himself. AlwaysJMB - my forever devtwin - and I were talking about it and as a result of the conversation, I ended up giving the lake there a silly name. Hehe. >3 But I'm not telling you guys what it is yet.

Upcoming Week:

W R I T I N G. Hopefully starting Magnus' route? HOPEFULLY.

I may just take a brief break from writing to code BGs or something after I'm done with Jack's route. Just to rest my brain.

But maybe not.

We shall see. ALSO. Hopefully getting the BG from the lower decks. >3