This is my first time joining a Ludum Dare, but I do have a bit of experience participating in a game jam.

Specifically, I joined Global Game Jam 2014 (specifically, the Manila Game Jam 2014).

And since I will be going solo here, I will choose to join the LD Jam event. I’m not shooting for tight competition, anyway; I just want to make something special that truly comes from the heart.

I specialize in visual novels (notably, making them and having good knowledge about them, whether Western-made or Japanese), and thus Ren’Py is my main tool. Whatever the final theme will be, I will ensure that so much melodrama will be made out of it.

Wish me luck.

So, I rolled out my LD 30 entry, and there was quite some buzz about it, judging from the number of rankings placed as well as the coolness rating. And to be honest, I would have expanded everything in this visual novel — especially when I read the comments section and taking the criticisms to heart. As a solo participant, I knew very well the brunt of writing the full story line beforehand, coding the entire thing in Ren’Py, making the backgrounds and UI, and reading the entire thing over and over again to catch bugs and grammatical errors — all in three days.

Hopefully, within this year, I will give e|merge the polish it so deserves. Here are some things to be done.

1. Expansion of the story is first priority. 1,800 words is not enough to convey the melodrama I wanted to impart, combined with the theme. Without handing out spoilers, I will definitely iron out some kinks and plot holes for maximum clarification.

2. Rework the UI.  One comment stated that the text did not make full use of the game (or quite not the game)’s 1366 x 768 resolution. Fortunately, Ren’Py’s NVL mode allows room for fully-customized NVL windows, as demonstrated in a recent favorite visual novel of mine, Sepia Tears.

3. Some hints of interaction would be nice. Name inputs? Choices? Anything interactive can apply — as long as it does not mess with the essence of the story.

So there. Expect a new and improved e|merge some time this year. Excuse me while I’m still recovering from flu.

Now, I’ve stayed true to my promise of adding further polish to my game. Here it is, version 1.1.

Enjoy!

In the three weeks since the Ludum Dare challenge ended, all participants (me included) got the chance to vote on one another’s games. Now, the die has been cast, and the results were in this morning (GMT +8):

The scores somewhat sucked, which I owe to two factors. First, the contention that visual novels aren’t games (which was pointed out by another visual novel maker, Traumendes Madchen, who also participated in the Dare) — little interaction and game play involved and stuff like that. Second, the minimalist graphics and the NVL-style structuring were intended to induce a sense of imagination. The colors aren’t just for show. If any one of you didn’t notice, the blue background represents the boy’s perspective, the pink background represents the girl’s perspective, and the white-gray background represents the climax of the story.

But then, there are some upsides. First, the coolness rating. I got a 100% coolness rating due to the fact that I have rated an estimated 180 games during the voting period. Second, the highest-rated criteria were the theme and the audio. For the former criterion, I promised that I would make so much melodrama out of the theme, and I delivered. For the latter criterion, I did my best in picking the best royalty-free music I could ever find. Music is an integral part of visual novels, anyway.

So there. With that, I look forward to the 31st season.

(Cross-post: http://jollysword.livejournal.com/139900.html)

Currently, I’m sorting out the things to be done for another game-making challenge, which is the One Year Game Challenge organized by IGDA Manila.

But that won’t stop me from participating in LD for the second time, ya?

Looking at the themes to be voted on, I’d say… around 75% of them are very appropriate for visual novels. Depending on what the final theme will be, I’ll stick to a serious, melodramatic story like last time — or I can diversify my future portfolio and create something zany.

Whatever works will work.

Based on the theme, I’m dead set on making my visual novel fit into one huge 1366 x 768 screen. The implementation will invoke the appearance of classic text-based adventure games such as Zork. Than means, in Ren’Py, there will be no title screen, no save/load menu, and no options menu. Problem is, I’m still searching for a way to do that.

Tags: Ren'Py

After some hours of searching for a way to create a one-screen visual novel with Ren’Py, I’ve finally found a way. Here are the steps to do this.

1. In script.rpy, implement full NVL mode. And then, add the following to the very end of the file:

label main_menu:
$_main_menu_screen = None
$_game_menu_screen = None
return

2. In options.rpy, add the following to the very end of the file (below “More customizations can go here.”):

config.quit_action = Quit(confirm=False)

3. In screens.rpy, search for the “Nvl” section and delete the “use quick_menu” line.

Voila! One-screen visual novel ready! Just add the background and music of your choice.

Now, the hard part is writing the story which will become the basis for my entry. To my fellow Filipino LD participants, Typhoon Hagupit/Ruby is coming, so stay safe.

Tags: Ren'Py

After what seemed to be a day of writer’s block, I was finally able to finish my game as my 2nd Jam entry. Uploading the actual finished game was a pain in rear due to the effects of Typhoon Hagupit/Ruby affecting the Internet connection in my house. However, I eventually managed to pull through.

Sit back and enjoy my entry.

DL link

The results are out, and the scores for Landscaped Confinement are quite an improvement over my first LD entry. Due to the new rules set in place that are designed to offset biases with regards to assets made before the 48-/72-hour periods, I wisely removed the audio category from my voting canvas due to my use of a Japanese royalty-free background song for the entry.

To the guy who suggested to ignore the rankings and look instead at the actual scores, kudos to you. There were more participants in this iteration of the Dare, anyway. As for the highest-scored categories, namely the mood and theme categories, I truly did my best in sticking to the literal and metaphorical interpretations of season 31’s theme, as stated in the read-me file of the game package.

As for the lowest-scored categories, you should understand that not all visual novels need to have choices as a mandatory mechanic. There is a subset of visual novels called kinetic novels, which follow a truly-linear story structure. Have you tried Planetarian on Steam? This title, from the makers of Clannad, is an excellent example of the kinetic novel and is undoubtedly one of my inspirations for making visual novels in the first place.

With that, I am looking forward to Global Game Jam, my first major event for 2015. And if you like my two LD contributions, help me fuel my future creations by supporting me on Patreon.

Happy New Year, everyone.

Cross-post: http://jollysword.livejournal.com/142641.html

After skipping two Dares (it’s because I’ve focused my energy into completing Gravure: A Super Network Wars Prelude, which can be downloaded here), I’ll jump into season 34.

As usual, I’ll be making a visual novel with Ren’Py.

It’s nice to be back.

Status of my visual novel, titled Beyond Happily Ever After:

The story is done.
The coding is done.
The UI is done.

I could compile it and submit it today, but there are two essential elements missing.

The sprites? Since there’s basically only one heroine in this game (and she’ll be silhouetted), I might have to produce one myself, or have a 2D artist just merely give me an unused 2D sprite (specifically, of a 25-year-old woman).
The music? I’ve wanted to take a break from using royalty-free music, so I’m attempting to get help from a composer who has enough time to produce just one song.

There is still enough time left, so if you want to lend me a hand, drop me a line. I’m in the LD Jam, by the way.

My entry, Beyond Happily Ever After, is now live!

Check it out, and don’t forget to vote. I also diligently vote on your entries.

http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=41001

It’s now 2016. So how is the turnout of my visual novel, Beyond Happily Ever After?

The theme and mood criteria were the highest-ranked, as usual. This means I’m gradually improving my craft as a visual novel creator, always sticking true to the theme and setting up the mood nicely.

In terms of the improved mood rating, I’ve done that by picking the most appropriate royalty-free background music I could find. Plus, the color scheme of the UI has something to do with the theme: green is synonymous to growth, my chosen theme.

And to those who commented that my story needs some more tweaking, yes, I do have plans to tweak the story for an eventual compilation of the visual novels I’ve made for LD and Global Game Jam so far. I just need to approach fellow visual novel developers for that plan.

Anyway, that’s all for this post. Look forward to Global Game Jam 2016!

Beyond Happily Ever After (LD 34): http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-34/?action=preview&uid=41001

Landscaped Confinement (LD 31): http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-31/?action=preview&uid=41001

e|merge (LD 30): http://ludumdare.com/compo/ludum-dare-30/?action=preview&uid=41001

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Cross-post: http://jollysword.livejournal.com/149862.html

I’m definitely in.

After formally joining the game dev industry June of this year, I still want to make another visual novel.

So, bring it on!

The theme, One Room, is easy to work out in a visual novel.

The hardest part is to make the story engaging.

So, instead of those cliched mystery trapped-in-a-room games we’ve been bored to death of, I’ll be making a slice-of-life VN.

I’ve got a character artist on board, so I’m set.

The dust has settled, and the fat lady has sung. The results are in.

The higher scores can be attributed to several things: a capable artist, Ren’Py’s improved UI system, and my own experience in the engine.

Regarding the criticisms of This One Room (namely the eye-killing red in the UI and issues with the writing), I will smooth out those issues for an eventual Steam release. This version made for LD37 is not the final, ultimate one, after all. It will be included in a commercial re-release, which will be a compilation.

Now bring it on, Global Game Jam!

(Cross-post: http://jollysword.livejournal.com/154468.html)

After skipping LD38, it's time for me to spring back into action. If ever the theme is "1 HP", I will automatically create an RPG, as opposed to making a visual novel.

What began as a simple help-wanted ad for a visual novel (or an RPG, in case one specific theme was selected) I was supposed to make turned into something else. Nevertheless, the fruits of my first ever Ludum Dare collaborative project (i.e. a team with 3 or more developers) proved to be impressive.

As stated before, I posted a help-wanted ad that called for a 2D artist and a composer. This then turned into something else when the programmer suggested that Unity should be the game engine of choice for a team effort. My reaction? Just go with the flow; I still have my skills that could prove useful to the development of the game. Then... the theme for Ludum Dare 39 was revealed... "running out of power".

And thus, Power Town: Dr. Merdioneth's Attack! was born. The programmer is from India, the music composer is a Singaporean, and the 3D artist is a Swede. Due to time zone differences, efficiency was the name of the game. We communicated on Discord to contribute and suggest stuff. Since game narrative is my main forte, I wrote the game's story, which details the adventures of a nameless robot wandering the streets of Power Town looking for his girlfriend in the midst of a major blackout. I also contributed to the game's basic design, whose basis is the programmer's decision to create a procedurally-generated dungeon.

The game, as expected, was completed and completed within 72 hours. Then comes the playing and evaluation part. In the midst of general laziness, fickle local weather conditions, having to attend to more important home tasks and errands, and a nasty vertigo that struck me on the final day of the evaluation phase, I tried my best to be as fastidious as possible in playing and rating other games.

And now, the cat's outta the bag. Here are the results for Power Town: Dr. Merdioneth's Attack!

And if ever you want to play it yourself, here's the link: https://red-kay.itch.io/power-town-dr-merdioneths-attack

'Til the next Dare.

(Cross-post: http://jollysword.livejournal.com/156180.html)

For this 40th season, I'll settle for something totally different.

I will be using BASIC (not Visual Basic, just BASIC) to create a pure text-based kinetic novel. No sound, no graphics. Just pure literary goodness using your imagination.

As for the reason why I'm doing this, it's all about going back to my roots. I've learned BASIC way back in elementary school, and I still have some handwritten BASIC code in my old diary.

So, let's bring it on!

And as promised, I made a quick kinetic novel with BASIC (Microsoft QBASIC, to be precise).

If you've got five minutes to spare, check it out.

https://ldjam.com/events/ludum-dare/40/excessive