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.