Game Dev - Blog Posts

Scratchy Map: Gamelog #3

I also have new ideas and layouts for my game. I like these a lot better than the ones before. I got rid of the pixelated look and am going for a more hand drawn approach perhaps ^.^

The start of a real something 0_0: Gamelog #2

All the drawings I did today, or technically yesterday:

Begin! \^o^/: Gamelog #1

I made a title page and video of the small changes I made to the game ^o^ Everything still has a long way to go

She’s small and pixelated ^^: Drawings #7

A sprite I’m making for a game. I have so many projects I’m flip flopping between. I really need to focus on one for now >_<

a friend is now working w me painting the interior backgrounds bc i do the lineart, and they look so cool heh i think i'll finally be releasing the beta of this dating simulator in a month or sum,, i'm thinking about making a trailer but i suck ass at making reels or videos

also check dat lovemeter bar heh, totally not inspired in the best otome ever my candy love lolololol. idk if i should add a textbox frame for the customizable MC, i think looks okay that way bc i don't want to keep stressing w gui design, i'm not a graphic designer 🤬☝️

ticci toby dress up game wip

taking sum time making another dress up game but for ticci toby my beloved

working on backgrounds for the dating sim (btw sorry if i'm not posting too much updates about it, unfortunately i have a college life and a lot of commissions 😭)

Devlog blog

This is my blog for my game if you want to check out the devlogs.

https://www.tumblr.com/nocnocnal

some of my favourite assets i did for baker's panic with our team, gamebutter! our gamejam (haha get it) game made in 2 days for pixel jam 2024! 🍰🥧🍞

it was a lot of fun to work on with my team and we all had a good time doing so :]! learnt alot about the game dev pipeline and am surprised with what i was able to do with 10 mins per item :0!

How To Make Your First Visual Novel

I'm yet again in a talkative mood, and as someone who has made/helped make over ten visual novels, I figured I would be Qualified™ to talk about it!

Step One: Pick Your Fighter... er... Engine!

Deciding the game engine you want to work in is the first step to having a game! Ren'Py is the most popular, free-to-use engine for visual novels, with tons of add-ons done by creators such as Devil Spiδεr and Feniks. Other commonly-used engines include Naninovel (an extension to Unity) and RPG Maker.

Step Two: Wait, What Goes In The Engine?

Whodathunk that for a visual novel, you need a story and visuals!

Clip Studio Paint has a series on making visual novel sprites, though any old art software works for making visual novel art. As for writing, I highly recommend Better Fountain, an extension to Visual Studio Code which enables to you to write in Fountain syntax. For music, I recommend Audiostock which gives access to hundreds of thousands of songs with their subscription service.

Step Three: But What Do I Do With All Of This?

Spoilers, your first visual novel... probably won't be your best. You have to make it to break the first timer's curse. Study your favorite visual novels, listen to other developers' processes, learn more about art/writing/music/etc., and remember that it doesn't have to be perfect. In a year of making visual novels, my work went from the left image, to the right:

You can do it too! Now go out there, and make visual novels!