Pound Cake Diary : 12

    > Sold one copy today, but I wasn't expecting much.

Here's what I learned, and all the things that went wrong while making Emit Glass. I'm going to work really hard to improve the quality of my games. There were so many Ren'Py features and tricks I was not aware of, so Emit Glass is severely lacking in the creativity. 

First, everything that went wrong.

These are mostly things that I've mentioned before. 1) I had to rewrite the outline for Rika's route three times. It was a nightmare, and even while I was writing the actual script, I kept changing things because nothing felt right. This isn't really that big of a deal. It was just annoying at the time. 

2) I tried to make a CG gallery from scratch and failed miserably. That's why a game as long as this, with as many CGs as it does, has no gallery of any kind...-_- I have already implemented a gallery in my next game, don't worry.

3) For most of development, I had to use a family computer, which limited the amount of time I could spend making the game. I also failed in getting a PC, so I moved computers three times until I bought a new laptop. 

4) The background sizes didn't match the game dimensions, so I had to make a "base" image, which makes everything look cheap and unpolished. My phone doesn't take photos in that size, and cropping them would make the characters awkwardly placed. In the future, I will not make games in 16:9 (I don't like how they look anyway)

5) I struggled a lot with the save/load slots and trying to get the new slot art to fit right.

6) Changing mp4 to webm is a nightmare.

Second, everything I'll be adding.

I'm working on an Otome game next, and it's going to be even longer and more ambitious than my last project. I might release some shorter games for a game jam while I'm developing the main game. There are so many things I'm learning about Ren'Py!

There are so many transitions to use! I only used Fade and Dissolve for most of Emit Glass, which is so boring. I wasn't aware of how many there were! I did end up using some of these near the end of Midori's route. Some of my favorites were vpunch/hpunch, which I could see being useful for fight scenes, blinds (Used a lot in Fate/Stay Night and Katawa Shoujo!), and the wipe/push transitions that could have many uses. I used these in Midori's route to mimic closing your eyes. 

I want to use a day/time calendar image, like the one used in Clannad. The timeline in Emit Glass was hard to follow. There was a lot of jumping around without keeping track of what day it was.

I didn't use any variety in sprite positions or poses. They were always the same distance from the player, and I didn't draw many poses for them. When I played Sukisho, I loved how every character had different poses, not just expressions. It was much more dynamic. 

I also hate how the Ren'Py default GUI looks, so I'll be really messing with that to make it unrecognizable. 

I was just reading this website with Ren'Py advice, and this guy seriously blew my mind. For the entirety of Emit Glass, I had been using labels like crazy. Everything had a label, and every choice used like a million labels. So, apparently, you can just do this??

No labels in sight...T_T I kinda understand how blocks work now? In some cases, I would still use labels before menu, like after a bad ending, it will bring you back to fix your choice (Similar to tiger dojo in Fate). I should know how this works by now, but I still have no clue what I'm doing. 

I didn't know how to use italics or bold text, so in Emit Glass, when I needed to use italics, I just used CAPITALS. It's as simple as putting {i}text{/i} ...wow. I can also use bold, strikethrough, and underline now. So advanced. I also learned how to change the size of a specific line/word using {size=30}text{/size}

I'm going to experiment a lot with structure too, because my past games have been really simple, and I feel like it makes them boring. With games like Kanon and Clannad, they have complex weaving story structures. I'm not sure I could pull off something like that, but even a structure like Hakuoki is interesting. In Emit Glass, there weren't many scenes or choices that made an impact on future parts of the story. Route structures were very simple. It was just, make one choice > you're on the route. 

None of this probably makes any sense to anyone, but hopefully my rambling has been entertaining. 

Pound Cake Diary : 11

The time has come!

Emit Glass will release on December 13th, 2025. There will be a digital and physical release. On the 13th, I will be selling physical copies, as well as leftover copies of Naitemo, at a local bazaar. I'm so happy the game is done. Big thanks to everyone who helped with this. It has been such a great experience. I've learned a lot. Please forgive the terrible image quality. 

Pound Cake Diary : 10

The game is now in the testing phase. I am 100% done with all of the material for the game, so now it's just going to be a bunch of playing and editing. I want to release the game by December, so I'm not sure if a voiced OP will be possible. Unfortunately, it is out of my control. I had a productive start to this week. I edited all of the BGM into the game, finished the ED video, and put that in as well. It was a nightmare though.

Ren'Py is picky about what kinds of files it accepts. Since CapCut only exports in MP4, I had to convert the video to WebM. WebM...it's like the mediocre eroge of video file types. Hard to get, and extremely underwhelming. When you're attempting to turn a 200 mb video into WebM using only a free converter online, you should accept your defeat. None of the websites allow a conversion of a file that large since they take a million years to convert. I had to download an app and wait 40 minutes for the video to download \(T_T)\ I dread the day I'll have to do this process again. 

Figuring out how to put the video into the game was also a struggle. Text boxes that display over the video, option buttons that won't go away, black screens that pull you into the void if you refuse to click them... (x_x)

While editing today, I realized that I had been spelling "vial" wrong for the entire game. This word appears at least like 100 times, and for some reason, I was spelling it as "vile". I may be a little dumb, but don't worry, I have removed all of the viles. 

To cheer us (me) up, here is an illustration of my favorite Emit Glass character, Jun. He's a weirdo from the country who happens to be the manager of the aquarium that Tatsuki works at. It's a mystery how he became the manager at only 27 years old, but maybe he was given an opportunity by a family member from the city and took it. He's a pathetic guy, but he has a great outlook on life and is a comforting presence. Can you tell I'm dying to write Otome? Someone...please save me from this Bishoujo hell. 

Status Update : 9

All the CGs are done!! I managed to finish the remaining artwork and writing for the game in one month, which makes me really proud. I'm working on the OST and I only have 2 songs left to compose. I am still figuring out how the OP is going to come together, since the singer is having trouble creatively (- -); I'm hoping the OP will be done in time, because I really want a 2025 release. Since I've been working so fast, I am many weeks ahead of schedule. I had originally planned to release in February, but it's looking like I could finish by January or December now. 

I have also designed posters to use at my booth when I sell physical copies. They're really cute, and I'll show them off later. I love the idea of having a few copies of my niche visual novel floating around. The designs for the physical copies are so cute >_< 

The OST will have a pretty mechanical sound like some of the music in Naitemo because I am limited to using noteflight, of all things, as my music tool. It doesn't have very realistic sounding instruments, but it has never let me down!

Status Update : 8

 Who knew that keeping yourself accountable leads to actual progress? Since I started keeping a calendar and a weekly goal system, I've breezed through the routes. I am done editing all the routes! All that's missing are a few BGs and the CGs, which I can go back and insert when they're ready. Next, I'm going to work on CGs. I have drawn thumbnails for all the CGs in the game. I take photos of the thumbnails and sketch on top of them. This week I finished all the art for Rika's route. Now I'm working on Ayaka's CGs.

I have also been making some music for the game. I composed a really nice piece for Midori's route, and I'm excited to come up with more tracks.

Pound Cake Diary : 9

Early concept art alert!! This was the first art ever drawn for Emit Glass. I drew it when I was in 8th grade, and I was still developing characters for the story. Midori is almost identical to her original design. The biggest difference is the outfits. This uniform is brown with a purple bow and a collar, which differs significantly from the official one. It's kinda cute, actually! (o´▽`o)

At that time, I really liked the quote "You remind me of a jellyfish~", because I thought it was cute of the heroine to say something random like that. Did the quote make it to the final cut? You'll have to wait and see lmao

Her swimsuit is also really different. This design is cute, and I like it better than the one that ended up in the game. I got a little lazy while drawing the sprites...you will see what I mean. I also got lazy in this drawing, apparently, because I didn't include legs.

The other design I drew back then was the first concept for Ayaka. She was always supposed to be a really vibrant, loving person. She used to be named Nori. I gave her grey hair and short pigtails. I always hated this design, though, so of course I threw it away. This gives you a better look at the brown uniform design, which has a purple skirt too. 

Fun fact: Yukari was supposed to be the one with braids, but I felt that they didn't suit her, so Rika ended up with long braids instead (You can see this in the concept art in the Gallery)

It's hitting me how long I've been working on this game for. Not just the actual game development process, but also writing and designing the characters and story. It's been so long...

 

Pound Cake Diary : 8

 

It's been a while! I'm editing Midori's route. This is the longest route in the game. When I think about how much there is still left to do, I get really stressed. There are so many CGs to draw, and I get worried that I won't be able to finish them all. I have already cut a lot of CGs, so the number of things to draw went down drastically. When I see how far I've come, it makes me feel better. I am almost done editing all the routes, which has been a huge task.

Midori's story is an impactful one that carries the game, honestly. Without Midori, Emit Glass would not be the same. Her story is very personal to me, since I have gone through a massive event in my life relating to her story while the game has been in development. That loss has made me view this game in a different light, and I have more faith in my ability to write something meaningful now. I want to dedicate this game to the person who my community lost.

This heroine is a cheerful and kind girl, but she can be a bit ditzy. She tries her best and has many dreams in life. Unlike some of the other girls, she is kind and open to everyone. Though it is clear that she sees our protagonist differently from the way she sees other people.

Tatsuki has been through a lot and struggles with his home life. In other routes, he is focused on helping the girl he likes overcome her struggles. In this route, however, the emotional focus is on both the hero and the love interest. Midori cares about him a lot, just like he cares about her. She wants to help him achieve his own dreams and overcome his family problems, because he has done so much for her. They have a very equal relationship, and that's what makes them a good couple. It's never, "I do so much for you, so you owe me a relationship", because they help each other equally. 

This route also has a lot more going on than the others. In the other scenarios, there is one central issue that Tatsuki must solve, and the other plot points sort of circle around it, mostly being small slice of life stories or miniature problems that Tatsuki faces before he reaches the climax. Midori's story has a lot more issues that he must deal with. Midori has two dreams that Tatsuki helps her with simultaneously! There is also a rivalry between him and a friend of hers, and if you aren't careful, it might cause the end of their romance.

Relationships are blossoming between side characters in this route, and complicated feelings are developing between Tatsuki and some of the other love interests. This story tries to tie up all of the things that happened in the other routes so Tatsuki can have a happy ending, coming out on good terms with everyone. 

I have been avoiding the editing of this route, even though I am halfway done with it. It is so long that I struggle to stay focused. To push myself to work harder, I have made a new calendar and laid out my development schedule for the next five months. I plan to release the game in February if I can stay on track. Here's a look at my messy wall, which makes me feel like a crazy person sometimes. I have been using these papers since the beginning of development, which is why they are covered in random colors and writings. 

Pound Cake Diary : 7

I'm halfway through editing the game! I have Rika, Kaori and Ayaka's routes done. Right now I'm working on Yukari's route. It's a little boring and tedious to go through and add all the sprites in, but it must be done!! I can't wait to edit Midori's route. It's been a year since I wrote it, so I've mostly forgotten what happens in her route. It has a lot of emotional impact though and is by far the best route of the game! That's why she's the main heroine after all. 

These days I play Kanon to get me motivated. I love playing old visual novels and seeing how they're written, designed, etc. It gives me a lot of inspiration. 

I'm definitely going to take a long break from making games after this is done! Making a VN is so much work, even when the product is as rudimentary and average as this one lol. I'd like to make some smaller projects before I jump back into a big one like Emit Glass. They are way less stressful and they take less time! 

Yukari is a sweet, shy character with a very simple story. I like to think of her route as a lovely little break from all the family and friendship drama going on in the other routes. If you play the suggested route order, Yukari's route will come right before the final heroine Midori! Since Midori's route is the most hard hitting one, this route is a bit like the calm before the storm. I made sure to include a lot of Midori in Yukari's route so that it can set up a very simple friendship dynamic between Midori and Tatsuki before you get to see why the two click so well!!

I don't mean that Yukari is a boring character, and I actually think she is a lot better than some of the other heroines. She is someone who struggles to make friends with others. Tatsuki doesn't have that many friends either, but that is a choice he made for himself, as opposed to Yukari who isn't able to speak to others because of her shyness. It's surprising though, because when she meets new people she is quick to befriend them!

It is mostly her fear of confronting new people! She doesn't want to bother others which leads her to being alone. 

I like this dynamic between her and our main character. He almost sees her as a pet of some sort, but he is just as socially repressed as she is!

I am trying to lengthen scenes which were previously only a few lines long. There is so much jumping from area to area with little text in between the scenes. I felt the need to show every transition scene while writing this, which really bogs down the story with unnecessary walking...

Another thing I'm editing out is some of the descriptions of actions. I have always been a writer, so switching over to a medium which includes some forms of visuals is hard for me. There are a lot of very weak descriptions which are unnecessary because the dialogue speaks for itself. So that's what I'm working on right now! I am trying to make it as easy to read as possible. I don't want any painfully boring scenes to ruin the story. 

I also planned on taking out a lot of the stuff in the story that felt too preachy or theme heavy early on. As I've been editing though, I've noticed that there isn't actually a lot of it. Besides Midori's route, the other heroines are more subtle in the way they present the messages. I haven't had to take out much! I wanted the themes of the story to build as you progress through the routes. This way, in the very end you will get the best picture of what Emit Glass is really about!

Status Update : 7

It's been a while, haha. I've been busy editing the routes. I'm adding in sprites, backgrounds, and CGs now (though there aren't many CGs to add) and also cleaning up the writing. I'm going to edit the script as I do playthroughs, but for now, I'm putting in all the stuff I have. This is going to take a long time since the entire game is 100k+ words. I am done with the common route and Rika's route, so now I'm working on Kaori's route. 

I have a few pieces of music done, like the title screen, Midori's theme, and a couple of others. I have 3/16 songs done. So yeah...things are going to take a while. I might not be able to finish by October like I planned :( I am so bad at deadlines. HELP!!! I really wanna be done with this T_T Pray for me. 

I've made a page about the story and a gallery on this blog. I know nobody really reads this stuff, but it makes me feel better to have the site looking nice and pretty.

Status Update : 6

 Hello! I'm back ^^ 
After a grueling month of writing, I have officially finished drafting all of the routes! I am super proud of this, I mean, it only took a year...(sarcasm)

I am going to be able to do things MUCH faster now because...I bought a laptop!!! I talked about getting a computer before, so I saved my money and did a TON of work. Now I have a snazzy laptop of my own B) Using the family computer wasn't the best work setup and was also super uninspiring. 

The screen on this laptop is so much nicer than my parent's PC. It's weird testing my game and seeing that it isn't all pixelated and slow LOL

I only need a few more BGs, and now I can start really working on CGs. There is still a TON of work to be done, but having the main bulk of the writing finished is super encouraging. I have been working on this project for so long T_T

I hope I can finish it before October so I can sell copies of Emit Glass at a craft bazaar that my mom is selling at too. I actually made $10 this past weekend selling copies of Naitemo! I have 3 copies left, and I don't think I'm going to make more just because it's such a short game and I feel bad selling something that was made for a game jam. Thanks everyone!

Since I'm on the topic ^ I want to say something rq about the price of my games. I don't know if I've said this in detail anywhere b4, but all of my games will ALWAYS be free. I am a complete amateur who makes these for fun, but even more than that I believe that everyone should be able to enjoy visual novels. 

So many VNs are super expensive, and that stops so many people (especially minors) from playing them. I want to make games that anyone can enjoy. I might turn on the ability to donate on my bigger games, but it will never be required. Any money I make from my VNs will go back into the games (Such as buying my new laptop, drawing equipment, putting a game on steam, etc.) :3

Here is some old artwork of Ayaka !

Pound Cake Diary : 6

I have some exciting news! I am going to be selling physical copies of Naitemo at a local craft-fair. This way I can earn some money to put towards a computer. I really want a new computer...everything would be so much easier. 

Each copy comes with a keychain of the characters. I hope I can make a few sales ^^

As for Emit Glass, progress is still slow. That's just because I've been working on Naitemo though. I am writing Yukari's route now, the last of the main girls. The route drafts are almost finished and that makes me feel so much better! I keep mixing up Yukari and Yutaka's names in the code because her tag is "y" and his is "yu"...but their names both start with YU.

I also started drawing the CGs for Midori's route. There are some really cute and romantic scenes and I want to make sure the CGs are enough to capture those intense feelings. 

There is still a lot of work to do, but I know I can finish soon if I am determined enough and stop wasting time >_< I want to thank everyone for the small bit of support I've gotten on Instagram and X. All the kind words and interaction means everything to me. I want to continue to make games, and make an impact in this community!! ^^

Status Update : 5

Hello again ^^ I am not very proud of myself...

I finished Yutaka's route, but his route is very short so that didn't take long. There are only two routes left to draft and then I'll finally move on to editing. I am dreading that...

Progress is really slow because my passion for this game has died out a lot. It's because of a lot of things, but mostly because I want to work on other projects. I think that a lot of my issues stem from not engaging with games similar to Emit Glass as much. When I first began development, I was playing Clannad. That really inspired me to write and gave me a direction to go in. 

I'm going to try and finish this as quickly as I can, because I don't want to lose the project all together. I knew going into this that it would take a long time to complete. 

I am participating in NaNoRenO this year with a game called Naitemo. It's a story I've had in mind for a few years and I never got the chance to do anything with it. It's just a cute, short little story about robots. I'm using this as a way to interest myself in VNs as a medium again. Naitemo is NVL style though, which I really like.

Most of my games going forward will probably be NVL, just because I think it's more flexible and cool as a story telling device. The words can be laid out much more creatively (Line breaks, varied paragraph length, etc.) and I think that benefits my style of storytelling.

Anyways!! I will update again when I'm done drafting all the routes :3

Status Update : 4

Progress has been slow, but things are still being worked on. Rika's route is completed which leaves only 3 routes left to draft. There are still a lot of BGs needed, but most of them I cannot get until the summer because they are beaches, parks or seasonal places and it is way too cold & grey outside to get them. 

Rika's route was so hard to write because I personally have no interest in the character. I'm going to improve it in editing, but as a character she is the most bland. I hope the route can be more of a showcase for how Tatsuki deals with relationships with others and hardships, rather than completely focused on the romance. 

I am thinking about participating in NaNoRenO this year, and I might talk about that on Twitter ^^ I have so many ideas. 

Pound Cake Diary : 5

 I have gotten a lot of work done over the past two weeks! The most notable achievement is the completion of the game's GUI. I get bored of writing the script so in between writing sessions I worked on artwork. I think it looks pretty good for what I am currently capable of. I hope to continue improving my skills! I really tried to capture the right mood. The whole game is ocean themed so of course I incorporated as many sea creatures and water motifs as possible. This included fish, bubbles, dolphins, and a lot of blue!
(This version does not have the white uniform spikes or proper lineart color. This was fixed later on.)

I really struggled with the save/load slots! This was probably the hardest GUI feature to change. When I downloaded the art for the slots from my IPad they were not transparent or PNGs like I had selected so I had to fix that. Then the thumbnails weren't centered on the slot backgrounds so I had to go through a whole learning curve to figure out how to move them T_T I was so stressed. Then the text was too high so the slots covered it...everything was a mess. It turned out well in the end so I am very pleased with myself!

I am almost done writing the first draft of Kaori's route (About 90%). She is an interesting character to write because the way other people see her is vastly different from the way Tatsuki sees her, and even the way she sees herself. The drama of her route is definitely less "stressful" than Ayaka's, in the sense that the conflicts are lower stakes (At least towards the beginning). The routes keep getting shorter and shorter...maybe it's my attention span.

I hope that my writing style doesn't seem too shoujo-esc or girly! I am female after all lol. I want emotion to come through in the story but I know that a lot of Bishoujo games/stuff written by men for men don't delve so deep into the feelings or thoughts of the characters. It's just so hard to write romantic things about girls. What do I even say? She has nice eyes, a cute smile...? ^^ I am definitely going to make an Otome game next just to treat myself!! 

I noticed that each CG I draw keeps getting better than the last, and they look WAY better than the sprites. It might create an odd contrast between janky looking sprites and good CGs but I guess that's just how the development of skills goes. It will at least add some more artistic value to the game. I know lots of people won't like how the sprites look, but I am ready to take the criticism for that :3

Happy new year everyone! I am looking forward to all the great things I will make in 2025! <3