#about ymhat

[nighttimepixels]

I know you said you were cancelling your game, but is it possible to do a comic version or even just list out the routes you had in mind. Just starting off with baby steps might help you next time if you ever plan to go back in that direction.

Oh stars, a comic version would take way too long. It’s easy to forget, but remember that though comics can be devoured super fast, there’s so much art in them TvT

And also, even if it was fast - honestly, I probably wouldn’t! And that because a big reason for way I decided to end the project was because my storytelling has come so far since I started it. Despite it being a lighthearted dating setup, I’ve always tried to put some story into it... but it just wasn’t strong/compelling as I tried to just go at it a bit too loose just to keep momentum going. But the more work I put into it, the more I realized the foundation itself was what was wrong. It was always going to crumble, even if I put up emergency supports to patch it together X)

Nah, moving forward, if I ever got the itch - well, if I wasn’t going to do a wholly original dating sim project (which would absolutely be what I’d lean towards) - then I’d start from scratch with a much stronger & more enjoyable idea! And a more maneageable cast XD

Tbh I’d probably do either some sort of silly/fun island situation (no shh I’m not play too much AC:NH) or a ‘we got sucked into a DnD/fantasy RPG game... might as well date’ situation, on first instinct. But my brain’s always got a thousand ideas rollin’ around in it so that answer’d be liable to change X)

But anyways- that said, I don’t mind talking about the general idea, if people want to really know the routes. More than just a couple people though as it’d take a bit to write it all out in a way that would be enjoyable to read, even if list-style X) So... let me know, I suppose!

[nighttimepixels]

How long will the game be?

long.

no, seriously - at least for a fangame, it’s pretty long.

i can’t say for sure yet - there’s a big difference between play testing my own work and having someone play it for me, plus everything’s interconnected as far as progress goes - but, stars, if i had to guess…

loosely, it’ll probably take between 50-80 minutes to play through one route the first time? it depends on your play style. for all the main ‘desirable/good ending’ routes, there’s probably at least 4 hours of gameplay if you’re really exploring. again, not including the fact that it’s not the easiest cakewalk to woo them. also, with a pound of salt bc you get very desensitized as the dev because you know what & where everything is. X) add on the other routes, and [secrets], there’s a lot to explore. you’ll definitely have a full afternoon/evening if you just sit down to play it in one go!

i’ll be able to give a better estimate once i get close to finishing! i just hope you guys enjoy it, regardless of playtime :)

[nighttimepixels]

If you don't mind me asking for your new game is it possible to make all of your potential love interests hate you or love you? You don't have to answer if you don't want to. :3

oh, this is one i’m happy to answer publicly!

so obviously, the general raison d'êtreof You Might Have a Type is to get close to the boys, so naturally there is the entire possibility of getting them to fall in love with you!

that said, something really important to me in making this game was to not make it feel like an inevitability no matter what you did, or make it to where you could ‘buy’ their affection with items. none of the four are a ‘consolation prize’ - they’ve all got their own personalities, interests, and how you interact with them & what you do will affect how they feel about you... just like a real potential relationship ;D i’ve put a lot of effort into feeling like you’ve earned any bonus scenes with whomever based on your actions; and i’ve also put a lot of work into rewarding choices vs punishing them. i’ve always best liked games where doing the right thing is ‘rewarded’, as opposed to ones where doing the ‘wrong’ thing gets you ‘punished’. that very much plays true in how i’ve set up the game.

also, though, i’m working hard to make a proper friendship ending - that’s also not a consolation prize. sure, it’s possible to get on a ‘failed’ romance attempt, but it’s actually not easy either. friendship isn’t a 'runner up’ sort of result, after all - it takes work too, and is absolutely valuable as its own separate thing!

... yeah, it’s a lot of work putting this all in, but dammit it’s worth it (ง TヮT)ง✧

as for making them hate you - i’ll be honest, routes are a lot of work as is, and i tend to lift a brow at extensive ‘bad endings’ and those playing them...

so let’s just say that yes, you can make them hate you if you’re a dick, and there’s a very tongue in cheek sort of ending you can receive for it.

[nighttimepixels]

I was wondering (because I love games that play like this as I try to go through with my true answers and opinions to see who would honestly like me 💖) if there will be any settings in there in which multiple characters are able to observe your answers/reactions ^~^ It seems like an easy way for the boys themselves to determine who likes/dislikes/loves particular answers without having them all ask individually as some other games do~

do you mean as in:

you’re talking to Red, you answer in a way Red likes, but Black is there/nearby, and he doesn’t like your answer, thereby affecting how both think of you?

if so, yes!

… to a reasonable degree, that is X) there’s in-game reasons for why not everything you say will affect all of them (not to mention logistical because that many interdependent variables would probably be the death of me), but yes there is more than one scenario where how you interact with multiple of them - and who you choose to interact with - will affect what they think of you.

if you mean:

you’re talking to Sans, and Blue overhears that you like Sour candy over Chocolate, he’ll remember that?

if so, maybe. ish.

see, the thing with YMHaT is that it’s not an immediate dogpile of they’re instantly wanting to date you. they’re interested in knowing you, yes (and again, pardon my vagueness, but i’m trying to keep a few major things secret up until the end, heh). the thing is, i also want it to feel rewarding & worth it because you, the player, are also putting in the work to show interest in them.

so sure, they may flirt (or etc) upon interacting with you, but just as naturally - if you don’t show interest/pursue in return, that won’t stick as much.

i hope this answers your question - if not, feel free to send in another X)

and @kiwispaz - bless you, oh geez, i’m so excited to hear that! considerably ;)c

[nighttimepixels]

Hey!! So I know you're working hard on the game, I was wondering if there was anything you're willing to show us? ;w;

aksdjflksd thank you for the support! i know i’ve kept any designs for the new version of the game under wraps. it’s really because i desperately worry about ‘overhype’, y’know? like… you see a lot of game devs talk up a lot of aspects of their game, but then in the end aren’t able to deliver, or it falls short, or they run out of time/steam… and i really don’t want to do that. it’s basically a case of ‘can i walk the walk??’ - and if i talk the talk too much, then, well, it’d be my own darn fault at that point.

but!!

that said, you guys have really helped me out by responding to my poll post yesterday re: Player Character Appearance (which, if you haven’t taken it yet, please do!!

i will confirm nothing ahead of time, but this is a reference sheet for a set of sprites that occur in-game at… at least one point >:)c

what’s the mystery box?? i wonder~~

[nighttimepixels]

Hey!! so I just was scrolling through your blog and saw a post where you were polling about the player character appearance- is that still active? Are you still undecided, should I vote-?

oh, thank you for the reminder! i’ve actually been out of town since late last Thursday till late last night (got to see Panic! at the Disco and Hayley Kiyoko with my sister, holy hell the show was stellar)… thanks to the participation, i was able to come to a decision and finalized the playable character appearances!

i didn’t expect to get so much successful feedback, usually people aren’t quite as interactive on my posts-! ‘course, the setup of the poll meant that this was about 162 people voting (since it was two answers each - ideally, though judging from the number of times i saw the results hovering on an odd number makes me wonder >->;;;), but i’m still delighted!

for the record, i ended up on 5 total playable characters to choose from appearance-wise, and there’s at least one of each skin-tone option. didn’t want anyone to get shafted on that end =v=;;; the hair results were particularly cool to see, and had a big part in what i chose!

aaand as for showing anything… mmm, not sure what i could honestly show right now without either 1) spoiling big, or 2) spoiling some fun appearance things i’m holding onto for the final release X) but, if you have a particular general question about gameplay/etc, lemme know, and i’ll see if i can answer it without spoiling! i’ll be working on some details of the game today while i get my post-travel head back on right, so i’ll keep an eye out!

[nighttimepixels]

RED'S DATE OUTFIT IS KDCJSNCJDN GOO D S TU FF SJHXHS👍👌👍👌👌👍👍👌👌👍👍👌👍👌👍❤❤👌🦄👍👍👌

these warmups are dedicated to you two beautiful souls then ;D

[nighttimepixels]

note to self:

don’t goddamn listen to the Dream Daddy Song by JT Music while drawing Grillby & Fellby sprites

[nighttimepixels]

Alright, this is possibly the biggest bummer of a thing I’ve had to admit to myself, but...

You Might Have a Type, the dating sim, is no longer in development. As in, further development is cancelled.

For those of you new here, a while back (almost two years, yikes!) I started playing around with developing a Dating Sim- in the end (via polls) it was decided the dateable options would be UT Sans, UF Sans, US Sans, and SF Sans.

tl;dr: I have to stop working on YMHaT due to technical, revision, and time struggles. BUT, there’s a browser-playable build of the intro up on Gamejolt! You can’t progress the game, but once the interactive intro is done, you can explore the game area (Grillby’s), talk to at least a few NPCs, and observe the back areas for multiple observation texts.

There’s no ending set, however, so just stop playing when you’re done looking around, and have a bit of patience as occasionally new talksprites take a moment to load.

More info about why I’ve had to let this project go below the cut:

I reworked the project from the ground up no less than three times (even switched entire game engines once) - and finished what should have been 95% of the art. However, I hit more and more problems in development - which I was doing alone. From realizing the ‘story’ wasn’t working, to needing to create much more art to ‘fix’ it (a year after I’d finished the majority of the art, creating style problems to say the least), to realizing the game was lagging upon export no matter what I tried to do to fix it... well, that is what I get for trying to manhandle RPGMaker MV into a different shape. The elements (used a bunch of plugins, along with other tactics) worked independently, and even running in my own environment, but they suffered as soon as I took that away.

In the end, I’ve been doing a lot of introspection and have to admit that having this unfinished project hanging over my head has been severely messing with my creative output. Guilt and worry, personal pressure (the longer I let it sit, the harder it’ll be to fix/copy the previous art style/etc), and just the mental real estate even a semi active project takes had a huge toll. This was supposed to be a fun, free fanproject, but my income is solely commission/art/freelance based- time spent desperately rehashing and working on a free fanproject is a worrying amount of time spent not making money to help make ends meet.

So, though it’s hard to accept I failed on this... I’ve got to throw in the towel. If I want to move forward and make new, cooler things, things that I’ve now got a lot more experience through the struggle of this game to make even better, I have to let this go. It’s obscenely sad, and don’t mind me I’m crying a bit, but! I want to continue having some time for other fanworks - fanart, fanfiction... and YMHaT was just the ball and chain I was only adding more weight onto this whole time.

That said, though I obviously was unable to release a finished version of the game- I have a workable intro, and have put up a browser-playable build! Like I mentioned above, there are those caveats - and seriously, once you’re done exploring, just exit out of the game tab. Nothing more will happen :C

I put a lot of work into this game (hundreds of hours...) so, upon the encouragement of the few friends I opened up to about this, I’m sharing at least this much. That way at the very least, some of the assets can be enjoyed, however briefly, and won’t go to absolute waste. TvT

I’ve certainly learned my lesson, and any future gamework I’ll probably stop trying to bend RPG Maker MV (a perfectly good game engine!) so out of shape to make it do things I should just suck it up and learn how to program in Unity, for example. But yeah, time is unfortunately money, especially for a freelancer, and we’ve all got to hustle, sigh. I just can’t justify sinking another hundred - or likely, two hundred plus - hours into a fanproject that’s already struggling and I can’t make any money off of. I know it sounds cynical, but y’know, thanks capitalism TvT

So, onwards, to new and better projects - I hope to still make a dating sim someday, but I’m afraid that unless I can find some crazy loopholes (or someone wants to drop several, several, several thousands of dollars on me) it probably won’t be a Sans-centric dating sim.

Hope you enjoy the unfinished demo - if you like anything, a comment left there or here would mean the world, so I’m not just chucking all that work completely down the drain ╥﹏╥ cheers to you all (esp those who read all this, wow!) and thanks for the support and interest you had in the project at all. I’m so sorry to let you guys down, but I thank you for the opportunity and damn if I didn’t learn a lot that’ll make me a better creator for the future.

[nighttimepixels]

It's sad that you had to cancel the game, but honestly? If it can't be done, it's better that way. Hopefully now you'll have time to work on other projects that you'll be able to complete the way you want. Good luck and lots of inspiration!

I stayed away from Tumblr for a couple days but I just... thank you all so much for the support in the wake of me announcing I wouldn’t be continuing YMHaT. I’ve read and reread all these messages a dozen times now and I just... gods my heart. Thank you.

I always want to do my best to live up to the expectations I set, but hearing the support, the reminders that knowing when to stop isn’t the same as failing, and the general hopes of self-care and well-wishes and positivity means the worldto me.

I’m gonna keep being emotional about this for a while, so just thank you, thank you thank you thank you everyone- you inspire me so much and your encouragements mean everything, hugs and love to you all (´•̥̥̥\\ヮ\\•̥̥̥` ) I’ll take this all to heart, and can’t wait to improve all the more and have the new knowledge & experience to make better, cooler things for you all in the future! ♡♡♡

[nighttimepixels]

Yo! How’s the progress of YMHaT coming? I loved playing you’re other two games and was super stoked when I figured out you were making another one! Your interpretations of the skeletons and your art are both phenomenal and I absolutely love what you do! Thanks for taking the time to read this ask and have a Merry Christmas (or hope you had a good christmas if you read this afterwards :D)! -Faena

Currently teetering on the razor thin edge of either ‘stop whinging about being better and just finish it as is, heck your standards’ and ‘hmmm i could just... redo this from scratch and save myself the plot headache’ XD I still haven’t decided, and it’s been on the backburner for a bit while I try to decide while working on getting paid for other stuff I work on, heh.

Might put up a poll, actually... haven’t decided- I’ve got reasons beyond my too-high standards for considering starting from scratch, but there’s a lot of reasons (namely, all the art I’ve already done) for not starting over, too  >v>;;;

But!! It’s really reassuring and encouraging to hear that you like the fangames I’ve made so far! It means a lot, I really can’t emphasize that enough ;v; Thank you, and I hope you had a lovely Christmas as well if you celebrate it!

[nighttimepixels]

Hi Night!!! I hope you're doing well, and how is the game progress going so far? Not to stress you out or anything, sorry- Take your time please, we're not rushing you.

Haha, I am extremely stressed about it!! (⊙ヮ⊙|||) 

‘Tired Night is tired, and is also better at plotting/game dev than she was when she started making it last year, and is now in a gordian knot’ is basically the summary of where I am at, hooray...

I’m still hoping to finish it, but I’m also getting better at... all kinds of things in the meantime, making YMHaT a steadily increasing Catch 22 of time sinking. But most of the game art’s been done for ages, so... I definitely am not inclined to abandon it either.

I’m also just shaking my fist at Last Year Me for choices I now know better than to make in the dev process that have made Current Me’s life a bit of a living hell to finish it, sigh.

Slowly but surely. =v=b

[nighttimepixels]

Oooo can we see one of those kinds of for-fun WIPs you haven't shared?? :3

-sweats- well, time to put my money where my mouth is, huh? >v>;;;

i’ll admit lately my exploration work has either been figuring out figuremaking (so working with clay and trying mold-making, etc), which i don’t have any real pictures of, but i got the itch yesterday to try and see what i could learn by trying out a more ‘anime’/’manga’ style; i’ve only got the rough sketch so far, but here:

all my time’s been pouring into making YMHaT in between bouts of health nonsense, so i’ve been lighter on this sorta thing - i probably won’t finish this until i’m done with the game, or close.

trying to push perspective and interactive poses, so trying it with a different style’s a great way to go about it! it’ll have a whole background and all that too, so it’ll take a while, pff. i’ll need to work to push the style more, too, adjust proportions, etc etc, but it’s a fun break in between other things

[nighttimepixels]

So....*looks left, looks right* ever thought of a lilytale dating sim? Or just game in general? The gay in me is literally in love with them~

...

.......

i... i appreciate the love, very much so, but i’m still developing another fangame at the moment.

alone.

for free.

i truly, deeply appreciate people liking my characters/versions of the skeletons, so very much, but my gods i’m so tired guys and being asked for more content like this while i’m kicking my own ass to create a huge project all by myself, something that’s free, something that i won’t get a dime out of and can’t get a dime out of because hoo boi no thanks not gonna get sued/copyright infringe like that... that’s a little demoralizing.

i know it’s not coming from a bad or ill-intentioned place, but ah, just... just think about that sort of thing in the future when sending creators asks like this.

honestly, You Might Have a Type is going to be my last Undertale fangame. i’m certainly going to continue with UT content, but the next time i make a game - which i have several ideas for already - it needs to be something that i can make at least ad or merch money off of, just for how much time i put into it - it’s unsustainable otherwise, i’m afraid.

that said, i do like dating sims; the likelihood of me exploring making one that is full of WLW monster content is very high. it just won’t be Lilytale, even if there is a cute skeleton lady in it.

... but again, that’s very down the line. i’m gonna need some time to recover after i finish YMHaT.

[nighttimepixels]

What programs did you use for making the Great Noodle Jape and Soul Redacted? Also, if you don't mind me asking-- do you have any tips for making games and a well written story that doesn't seem well... predictable? I'm not confident in my writing and I feel like I'm not exactly qualified or enough

ahhh i should really make a FAQ specifically addressing game questions...

for The Great Noodle Jape, i used Ren’Py!

for [Soul Redacted], i used RPG Maker VX Ace!

and (for those who are curious), for YMHaT, i’m using RPG Maker MV!

as for game making/storytelling that isn’t predictable, that’s... oof, that’s quite the big question, really! but to first and foremost address the feeling you have of not being ‘qualified’ or ‘enough’...

There is no threshold to being a storyteller.

to be human is to tell stories. writers, artists, gamemakers, and so on - these are just people that deliberately aim to bring some form of embodiment to the stories they come up with, the stories they’ve lived. if you do that too - congratulations, love, you too are a storyteller.

regarding developing one with purpose and where to start, how to continue - it all boils down to what story you want to tell. there’s all sorts of advice out there on this topic, but in the end, it boils down to what you want to share. if you start a project with only a single scene in mind, you might be able to wring out some buildup, some interest - but you’ll find yourself running dry. you might burn out or get stuck, or you might fall into blander filler to try and get to the scene or flesh it out.

before you sit down to write a story, games included, outline.

it’s the advice every writing teacher ever gives, and the advice nearly every storyteller will ever hand you as well. your story is your own, what you come up with will be unique to you, even if it’s a delightfully tropey indulgent one - it’s still influenced by your personal take on life, everything that’s made you you, and that’s part of what gives a story life. however, if you want it to be well structured, if you want the world to feel real, the characters to feel like they have depth, you have to put in the time to make that reality.

for fangames, you’ve got part of the steps done, honestly! if you’re considering making a fangame, you probably already think about these characters a lot, have headcanons that influence characterization, and all the more. what’s important here is to not just rely on that cloud of thoughts - write things down! type it up, write down a summary of the main plot. start to expand there - bullet points help me. deliberately point out to yourself who your main characters are, who your side characters are.

if you’re struggling with character depth, try writing down three odd, interesting facts about them - they can be as random or silly as ‘he keeps a journal, and hides it under his bed’. then, for each of these, ask yourself why. why does the character do/think that? here you’ll start to challenge yourself- is this important to them? how does this influence the character, or show a side of them i hadn’t had the chance to get into via other means? maybe you’ll think of a particular formative event/experience that will start to help you think of them as more than a face-value character. continue on like this - whenever a character feels stale, think about the little things. quirks, habits, and so on, and ask why. discover the character yourself before you expect others to discover them for you.

for events, don’t just think about the big plot points - think about the little interconnecting pieces... interactions between characters especially, in my opinion. consider how two personalities would mesh - or clash. again, why- and here, here you’ll start to ask how.

Why and How are your biggest friends when it comes to plotting out a story. the other basics - who/what/when/where - those are bullet points. easy-peasy. why and how, though, those are the ones that take qualitative thought.

‘Why’ and ‘How’ are the questions that will give your storytelling more life.

this applies to both dramatic/angsty stories and comedic ones! i put just as much thought into the how and why for something as more comedically-inclined as The Great Noodle Jape as i do for the darker, emotional portions of [Soul Redacted]. great comedy has as much punch and thought behind it as drama - and both can have a play in the other.

and of course, when you can, when you’ve got enough of a story - share it with someone whose close to you. whether for a second pair of eyes to catch what you’ve become used to or just to get that boost of feedback, it’s a great boon to share your story with at least one person and be open to talking about it!

finally, as for predictability - it’s a word that is a bit of a... troublingly twisted one. the thing is, nowadays, nearly every story is a remix. the human (or sentient, in general) condition is one that has a lot of overarching themes - tales of loss, of triumph, of hapless comedy and of glory, of obscene idiocy as well as cruelty. people who go about crowing that a story is predictable or boring fail to notice this, or just don’t wish to - what matters more than a story being obscenely unique is that a story has heart.

it’s the characters, the interactions that give a story it’s unique edge, it’s take that will stick with you. there doesn’t need to be a moral for it to be enjoyable, either - sometimes, the tropiest, silliest, most indulgent stories bring the greatest smiles or laughs or tears, and end up being something people will think back on for a long time to come with fondness.

so, in the end, my best advice is the same advice i tell myself everyday - get out of your own way and just do it. not every story will be your best, but every story has the potential to mean something to yourself and others.

you’ll never make something great if you never get started. you’ve already got the qualification you need - you’re here, you’re alive, you’ve got that spark of passion.

tell your stories. there’s always an audience for them. and the more stories you share, the better you can share them.

[nighttimepixels]

Is the game everyone is talking about a dating sim???

yep! originally started the project back in the beginning of the year (YMHaT is the acronym - You Might Have a Type), but took a break because about halfway through i didn’t feel like it was shaping up to my standards. it felt too formulaic, and i wanted something more if i was going to keep investing my time in it.

a couple months ago i finally redux’d the concept, and picked up development again! it’s just me working on it, heh. the graphics are completely new (you can see some of the older ones under the ‘ymhat’ or ‘ymhat dev’ tags on my blog), and the approach of the gameplay is better and i think more fun than it was originally going to be.

in it, you’ll be able to get to know & potentially fall for Sans, Red, Blue, or Black. for the record, yes, their brothers do show up, but they are not dateable options. (i have to have limits somewhere, pff - the decision was made after a poll in the beginning of the year).

i’m finally getting closer to being done with it, so i’m aiming to kick my own ass and get it done very soon!