#bright oak

[brightoakgame]

Irregular Monday Update, Edition 16 (new, improved--and soon to be voiced...!)

Good heavens, it's been...a minute since my last proper update, hasn't it? 😶‍🌫️ To start, I want to apologize for the prolonged delay and quiet! My family is in the midst of a long-process major move, uprooting from my beloved home state and preparing for new adventures elsewhere, with the big jump likely to occur sometime around the start of the new year. Most of the past year has been a series of small leaps from one lily-pad to the next in preparation for this, and it's only been within the last month or two that things have finally stabilized enough to allow for some progress on game development. ✨ (read on, MacDuff)

Which, of course, brings us to the first update: Tell It Slant!

An Old Friend trash-talking Edgar Allan Poe in Tell It Slant

Tell It Slant is the game I had the joy of writing (and horror of script-coding) for this Spooktober! 🎃 Participating in a short jam project felt like the ideal way to get a little exercise in before launching headfirst back into Bright Oak, and I had the pleasure of working with a phenomenal, phenomenal team (directed by the wonderful E.C., with art by Jessey N. Droz, music by Senaeris, and a gorgeous UI courtesy of Remnantation, Windchimes, and vronfrog). There are over 270 entries this year--all free!--so if you're looking for something ~spoooooky~ to read this October, this is a great place to start! I'll be posting my personal shortlist of favorites in a few days. ✨

There are few teachers better than experience, and this project was no exception. Amidst identifying places I can improve (and discovering I am nothing if not consistent: there is less than 300 words difference between Tell It Slant and Burdock), something I found particularly striking was working with our remarkable, phenomenally talented cast of voice actors: CobaltKobold, Vanessa Benoit, and the inimitable Chase Via. I never intended for there to be voice acting in my projects prior to this, but after Tell It Slant, my previous works feel so...quiet. Moreover, watching the streams of Tell It Slant, I have come to recognize that having voice acting also adds a layer of accessibility that I'd really like to embrace going forward. Thus, after some discussion with voice director EeeCee and my personal security blanket Remnantation, we come to the next update:

Burdock (revisited!)

Burdock was my first-ever jam project, made last Spooktober (alongside Butterfly Rocket Studios regulars Remnantation, John Åhlin, and Windchimes, as well as the talented ingthing). Rem has expressed interest in embellishing the art, and it feels like the best starting point for me on incorporating voice acting on a personal project. If you enjoy the work of our talented cast in Tell It Slant as much as I do, you'll be pleased to know that three of the Fair Folk in Burdock are likely to sound...rather familiar. For the rest of the troupe, I'll post a link to the casting call later this week. 💚 The re-release goal we're working on presently is this winter, ideally before the year end. ✨

(I spy with my little eye...a Forster sibling dialogue from Act II! Since code tends to run off the page, here's a snap of the raw script instead)

...but what about Bright Oak?!

Bright Oak remains the big constant in my heart, and it is not exempt from this shift in perspective: it is now my intention to have Bright Oak also be fully voiced, with the exception of the main player character and their internal narration. What does that look like as far as the release timeline? Frankly, I'm not entirely sure yet. Given that I'll be getting a major assist on this from the talented E.C., I do not anticipate it to be of as much impact as the impending out of state move, however, and--depending on what avenue I end up taking to secure funding for this addition, whether continuing to work out of pocket or if I need to court crowdfunding--I do think the full game should be complete and ready for release within the next year. Even with all these twists and turns, I'm confident that in the end, we're gonna have something well and truly special, and I cannot wait to share it with you all. ✨

And that...is more than enough from me for today! Thank you all for your unswerving patience and support; I appreciate you more than words can say. 💚 B.

[qkayoo]

@brightoakgame ‘s characters are so infinitely loveable!! can’t wait to meet you, sparrow💞

[oldestmakkapakkafan]

God, I'm trying soo hard to not be attracted to him

[badgerverse]

Sorry for the long silence again! I think I'm gonna start uploading this stuff more regularly, since DA is really starting to look like a sinking ship now.

As usual, the old character description is under the cut if you're interested!

Today was a stressful day, but Bright Oak is so relaxing to draw! I also thought I'd go with a trans headcanon for Big Mac in this universe because… well cause I like them! And yeah no Sugar Belle relationship, I'm just not a huge fan of her design and she's from the later seasons that I'm less familiar with.

Bio time!

Name: Bright Oak Nicknames: Oak, Bright Pronouns: He/him Age: Adult Parents: Cheerilee and Orchard Blossom (Big Mac) Siblings: none Cutie Mark: Wood carving and family Bio: Big, cheerful, and helpful! Bright Oak is Cheerilee and Orchard Blossom's only son and adore him. Bright Oak might not be sharpest tool in the shed, but he's always willing to drop everything to help someone in need. He's high energy and always makes time to do his fair share of farm work before heading off to his wood carving stall in the morning markets of Ponyville. He specializes in small, intricate objects but can also make a pretty mean rocking chair. He came out to his parents as a trans stallion when he was a teenager. His parents were a little baffled, but supported him wholeheartedly and dove into researching more about the subject. Through the long study sessions Blossom resonated with the material more and more and just a year after Bright Oak came out, tentatively came out of the closet herself to her very supportive family. Oak was delighted to have his mother join him in their transition.

Relationship to his parents: Bright Oak is very close to both his parents, being their only son. It's a bit unusual for an Apple pairing to only have one foal, but Cheerilee was pretty much done with pregnancy after giving birth to her very large son. He and Cheerilee often walk to the schoolhouse together in the mornings when he's heading to market, and of course Bright Oak is 1000% supportive of Blossom's coming out.

Relationship to his cousins: For some reason, he and Skyline became instant rivals as soon as they could walk. They're both aggressively cheerful and energetic ponies, and that energy tends to clash sometimes. They often compete to see who can buck the most apples or carry the heaviest loads. But Skyline was also the first pony Bright Oak came out to as trans and she gave him the encouragement to let his parents know. Bright Oak and Buck get along well, though sometimes both Bright Oak and Skyline's beaming energy can be a little much for Buck.

But he does tend to annoy Clover though, in the same way that most of the Apple family does; he'll see her struggling with a chore and just come of and cheerfully pluck it out of her hooves, not realizing he's just made an enemy for life with this decision.

Relationship with Apple Bloom: Bright Oak works a lot with his aunt, who has a similar crafting based cutie mark. They actually share a large studio space on the farm and often critique each other's work.

Fun Facts:

Bright Oak got his name both from Orchard Blossom's stories about her parents and from his mentor Burnt Oak! He actually got his cutie mark when Burnt Oak gave him a wood carving tool and log to distract the kid when he was babysitting Bright Oak. Yes Orchard Blossom totally cried when Bright Oak told them what his new name was.

Bright Oak is the oldest of Apple family children, being about two years older then Skyline.

[borgialucrezia]

"As only an ecclesiastic, Cesare had very definitely a secondary rank at this wedding, where his brother Don Juan was the leading figure. [Johannes Burchart] also mentions how other diplomats observed that Cesare was hardly noticeable amongst all the cardinals and clergy, and was necessarily far outshone by his younger brother. Juan again took his sister’s arm and led her and the other wedding guests into the Sala Reale." — The Borgias Power and Fortune (Paul Strathern)

LOS BORGIA (2006) dir. by Antonio Hernández Sergio Muñiz (Juan Borgia) & María Valverde (Lucrezia Borgia)

THE BORGIAS (2011-2013) dir. by Neil Jordan David Oakes (Juan Borgia) & Holliday Grainger (Lucrezia Borgia)

[sunnys-side-upside-down]

Ponytober Day 6 - Burnt Oak & Bright Mac (Best Friends)

Burnt Oak is another fav side character design of mine, but his friendship with Bright Mac is tragic, they deserved better, and now you have to suffer with me 😫😭😭

[brightoakgame]

Absolutely gorgeous OCs, OP--I especially love Evelyn's glasses, and the combination of violet hair / green eyes! Poor sweet Sparrow doesn't stand a chance... ✨

Tagged by @stephschoices to use this picrew, and I tag anyone who wants to do it.

OCs are: Marian my MC for @night-market-if who's in the Gabe/Bella Poly; Meg Carter my MC for @evertidings who will be in the Arion/Rylan Poly; Claudia Valentine my MC for @circuit-if who will be romancing Roman but also Spencer in a separate playthrough to take the edge off; and Evelyn Wright my MC for @brightoakgame who is romancing Sparrow.

[neros-very-first-fiddle]

in the very first episode, Henry mentions his knot tying skills he learned from the scouts which means either a. there’s boy scouts in the forgotten realms or b. Henry accompanied lark and sparrow to boy scout meetings on earth

[thisischaostragic]

i cannot stop thinking about agathario with moon song / poison oak as two POVs on their relationship ending and nicholas' death... walk with me... cry with me...

rio: moon song by phoebe bridgers

"you couldn't have stuck your tongue down the throat of somebody who loves you more so i will wait for the next time you want me, like a dog with a bird at your door"

"and if i could give you the moon, i would give you the moon you are sick and you're married and you might be dying but you're holding me like water in your hands when you saw the dead little bird, you started crying but you know the killer doesn't understand"

agatha: poison oak by bright eyes

"well, i don't think that i've ever loved you more than when you turned away, when you slammed the door [...] i was young enough, i still believed in war"

"there's a muddy field where the garden was and i'm glad you got away, but i'm still stuck out here"

"i never thought this life was possible you're the yellow bird that i've been waiting for the end of paralysis, i was a statuette now i'm drunk as hell on a piano bench and when i press the keys, it all gets reversed the sound of loneliness makes me happier"

[lennengrad]

& if i said this is regulus talking to sirius

[shatterdome-underscore]

I was about to make a post about how funny it was that piss was going to be the thing that finally killed Willy Stampler and make a piss podcast joke and then I got to the last line of the episode and I don't think piss is going to save them this time

[brightoakgame]

Steam Page Now Live!

✨Bright Oak is now listed on Steam!✨

While the demo isn't up yet, the page is now live! Please wishlist if you are able--it will help enormously with boosting the game's visibility. 💕

[brightoakgame]

Oh my stars, what a beautiful portrait of him!! 💚 Thank you-- and I can't wait for you to meet him, either!

@brightoakgame ‘s characters are so infinitely loveable!! can’t wait to meet you, sparrow💞

[oldestmakkapakkafan]

He is literally everything I ever wanted in a maaaan except that he's white and a cop and he's an alcoholic and has short hair and is named John and is from the 60s almost 70s!!!! <33

[placentafluid]

i was young enough, i still believed in war

[borgialucrezia]

THE BORGIAS (2011-2013) || BEHIND THE SCENES ↴ Holliday Grainger, François Arnaud, and David Oakes 💚✨