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