#monthly update

[barbwritesstuff]

Thicker Than - Update

Play the Free Demo Here

Happy Full Moon!

It’s really late (I stayed up late hammering out some last second bugs) so I’m going to make this quick. My big goal this month was to write the ‘running away’ route for players who wish to leave the city at the end of Chapter Ten. I’ve almost done that. There’s still more work to be done in that branch, but I’m really happy with what I have achieved.

I wrote it in bits and pieces, and there’s a lot of variables at play, so the feedback I’m most anxious to hear about is flow. Does it make sense? Does it feel choppy? What can I do to improve readability?

I’m going to keep working on this route next month, and keep slowly fleshing out the ‘ally hunting’ options in the main route.

The showdown with Lucius is going to be the big, epic battle and I’m really looking forward to writing it, but I think it’s probably still a few months away. Gaius’ showdown is actually less epic because it’s all about saying the right things rather than actually fighting.

As always, thanks so much for all your feedback and support. I’m going to bed.

Don't forget you can support me and see my weekly progress for $5 a month over on Kofi. 💙

[rosefinnigen]

monthly update post time woo!

It’s October, which means the seasonal depression that I thought i was escaping moving out of Michigan is coming to laugh at my foolishness. Unfortunately the winter blues still happen in states without a real winter. I’m sure you can imagine my surprise!

So, I wanted to talk about progress. We talk a lot in mental health spaces about how “progress isn’t linear” and it’s important to give yourself grace for the moments when things aren’t progressing as fast as you want them to.

Im pretty good about it with mental health. But, I struggle more with it when it comes to my size. One of the reasons i stopped tracking my weight on a daily basis was that I was finding myself despairing when the number didn’t change how i wanted it to. I’m at a set point right now, and have been for probably the last year — I’ve shot up to *almost* 300 for very brief moments, but 285 is just where my body wants to hang out right now. And yeah — it makes me sad, sometimes.

I could probably fill a whole page about why I can’t eat as much as I want to and all that jazz, but the real truth of it is that when I’m focused on the number, instead of the body that I love, I just don’t have as much fun.

Anyway, that’s all to say that it’s okay to take breaks, to rest, to not push yourself constantly. Gaining weight can be hard, sometimes just as hard as losing it. The important thing is to love yourself as you are now & focus on things that bring you joy.

Here’s to a fun and filling spooky season! 🧡🖤

[foxglovegames]

DEVLOG: AUGUST 2024 🦇

It's already time for the August wrap-up??

Demo Progress

It seems no matter how much we get done, there is always more work to do haha! That said, August has been a good month and we have made a lot of exciting progress on the demo for BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL. :)

Programming

Please welcome Renbie to the team as our lead programmer! 🙌

The past week have been spent prepping sprites and setting things up in Ren'py. Although we still have a long way to go, the game feels more real than ever now which is both exciting and scary!

If you followed the development of Trouble Comes Twice, you might already know that programming was a big hurdle for us and a major source of frustration. ;( Now that we've got some more experience under the belt thanks to Trouble Comes Twice, we already feel a lot more confident but having a dedicated programmer on the team is going to be a massive help both time and quality-wise. As a bonus: Renbie's also super lovely to work with, so we're super happy to have her onboard!

Art

We mostly made progress on promotional assets. We decided on a sketch for our key art (check out a little sneak peek at the top of this post) and received the first sketches for some of our merch designs! They're looking super cute!

Writing

With the demo script done and dusted, most of August was spent outlining the main game's six romance routes. The routes (subject to change) have five chapters each and various longer endings and shorter 'bad/death' ends based on your decisions.

BURN THE MIDNIGHT OIL has dual protagonists, so similarly to Trouble Comes Twice, we're two writers in charge of one MC each (and the MC's respective three routes). Unlike Trouble Comes Twice though, the cast here is a lot larger and not as (directly) connected.

So, how do we outline our routes? First, we wrote shorter summaries of each route - including important themes, character motivations, etc - which we then go over together. Although the plots of the two protagonists are very different, we have to make sure we keep the same 'themes and vibes'. We also need to be careful that the pacing and the scopes of the routes aren't too wildly different!

With the feedback from the shorter summaries, we move on to write the detailed outlines. (Here, we regularly reach out to each other and get feedback on minor elements and sometimes run brainstorming sessions when one of us runs into a wall.) Once these are done, we're going to have another review and write as many drafts as it takes until the routes are ready to enter the writing phase!

We're super excited about a lot of these scenes we've got planned and though you guys don't know much about the project yet, we think you're going to love the ideas we've got once it's time to learn more! We learned so much from Trouble Comes Twice that we can't wait to apply to this game! 🖤

Goals for September

There's too many little goals to count! But the major ones are:

Start looking for music composers, item artist, visual effects artist - we're not doing a public post for these, but if you or someone you know might be interested in one of these roles, shoot us a DM! ;)

Making as much progress as possible on the remaining UI screens

Making as much progress as possible on the merch designs

Continue working on the detailed outlines

Continue programming yay

Fingers crossed, we can get the key art done and dusted!

There's still so much to do, but we really look forward to the next couple of months!

[guardian-of-time-if]

Monthly Update: December 2024

Happy December everyone!

I'm happy to report that November was a productive writing month, if a horrid personal one. I managed to write just over 30k words including code this month, and almost all of it went towards chapter 3. I only have one major scene left to finish the skeleton (all f the common route writing plus the code for the branching.)

My main focus for December will be completing this final scene, and filling in branches for the chapter. Then I'll tweak the codex, and make sure everything I added in there is working properly. If I have time, I also want to make some minor changes to chapters 1 and 2 before updating. Mostly just fixing the typos you guys sent me. (Which I am grateful for.) And I am going to go back and add one minor content change: MC will now have an object that was with her when she was found as a baby.

I will be visiting family from the 14th to the end of the month, so I might be a little less active on here, but I will still be writing as much as I can during that visit, and will try to check Tumblr and the forum at least every other day if any of you guys have questions.

Hope you all a good December and a great holiday season no matter which holiday you're celebrating!

[esper-game]

Monthly Update (7th April 2024)

Helllllo everyone!!! I didn't do as much work as I would have like last month, but I've been chipping away at it and recently had some more time to actually sit down and write.

WHAT I DID:

Chapter Two's word count is now at 10.6k!

The characters page is actually finished,,,, I just need to beautify it :)

GOALS FOR THIS MONTH:

Hopefully finish off the first half of chapter two

And get editing started on it

NOTES:

Here's a little screenshot of some particularly horrendous coding :')

(VERY minor spoilers maybe)

And there's more underneath!

Sometimes I ask myself why I do these things, but I seriously think it's worth it to ensure an immersive experience :)

And this isn't exactly complicated, more just time consuming lol

[bestlaidplansproductions]

Save the Villainess' December newsletter is out now! This month, we're offering character cards describing everyone's favorite holiday treats.

Ben's favorite holiday dish is easy to predict... but what about the others?

Subscribe to the newsletter and email us for those cards today... or read the December newsletter if you're already there!

If you'd just like to see our monthly updates, you can go to our:

🦋 Itch.io Monthly Update

🦋 Steam Monthly Update

[yosajaeofficial]

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER UPDATE

Heya everybody! We’re back for a double episode of, “The Monthly Jayce Myles Comics Updates”! The reason why August wasn’t fulfilled like normal was due to college and how busy I immediately got when entering in, which is what I figured would happen so I’m not too surprised with it to be honest. I took some time in order for me to make a fulfilling update instead of doing a rushed one to pump out yk? We’re now gonna get to the updates and bonus content I’m gonna show.

Buckle your seat belts, close your eyes and take your hands off the wheel cuz this is gonna be a ride~

THE COMIC

(OFFICIAL W.I.P: PAGES 28 & 31)

The comic’s gotten slower due to college, however, I really needed a break from it in general so I could prioritize my personal life and also refresh myself on drawing what I want to instead of rushing my age physically and turn 78 years old when I haven’t even reached 20 yet. Nothing much to say but showing the w.i.ps because of the slower progress, it’s getting there though. We got to 30 pages! Which means that the first section is sketched out (calculated to be approximately a fourth of the full chapter done, it could go lower or higher in the numbers depending on what I want/vision). I’m hella proud for getting 30 of them pages done honestly. A huge accomplishment for doing this story for a long while.

Ya’ll don’t really know, but I am indeed changing things here and there about the story where I’m shifting small details, doing redesigns, and reboots with other small things overall. I would be honest and say that’s where I’m progressing the most and not the debut chapter, I’m able to have a clearer vision of the story in my head and on paper when doing future chapters yk? I won’t go into details about redesigns or those details being changed since they’re hella spoilerish and a bit unnecessary considering that the JMC hasn’t even debuted yet. Ya’ll will get those details later when the comic functions and I will reveal more in future updates!

Also, last month Jae, no you haven’t drawn the turtles yet. However, we’re close to their debut for the chapter so keep strong! You’re doing great! :3

BONUS CONTENT: Jayce Myles Over The Years

Many of you know that Jayce Myles, whose name is in the title of the series, is our protagonist for this ROTTMNT comic! She’s my OC that I’ve had when going through my senior year of high school. We’re gonna be getting into a deep dive with her as a character and how their designs came to be during the process!

This is the first ever drawing of Jayce that I’ve done, the day I made it is so vivid in my head because I was going through it… I was in my Pre Calculus class and I had failed another test after multiple attempts through the school year. My initial idea was to cry (which I did) but then I just started doodling on my phone and I created this drawing, then from there it was history. This was in 2022, not too long ago. I became a Rise fan a couple weeks after the movie came out (which I didn’t know at the time, it was a pure coincidence) and I wanted to create a Rise OC for a while. So that day in Pre-Calc, I was able to take advantage of my mathematical suffering and create my magnum opus (exaggerated). She didn't have a name at the time so it was actually a stand in for me. Jayce got their full name until a couple days later.

EVOLUTION OF JAYCE MYLES

(October 2022- February 2024)

As you all can see, Jayce did indeed have lots of designs and ideas being sketched out while I created her as my official Rise OC. I had ideas for them to have an androgynous look from the start based off of my own self! I knew they were gonna have a Rise comic, but there were ideas for them to originally come from the 2012 TMNT universe with their "serious demeanor". It was quite interesting but there isn't much media of those ideas since they were cut a bit early on.

(Older Renders of Jayce from 2022)

Their signature color looked like it was gonna be this denim blue for quite a while but then I scrapped it cuz I thought it wasn't showing their personality like how I want it to. There was also another scrapped concept where Jayce's demeanor would be more monotone and "soft" (as in a blank slate, which doesn't give her a true personality). It was cut because it made me think that I wasn't giving her the best potential as the protagonist then I should've been giving them. Jayce was more introverted and quiet, but now they're much more expressive and full of personality. Ya'll will see in a more better light when the comic debuts, I'm not holding back with Jayce's personality anymore.

("Issue 1: Graffiti" Panels from page 1. The only page that was completed until the plot got scrapped.)

There were lots of pitches and concepts for the JMC over the years too, where lots of storyboards got drafted and one of the first of those drafts got their first page completed. However, I'm pulled a Richard Williams and kept being like "No, I don't like this" and kept going back to the drawing board. I like to look back on these old drafts especially after seeing the older interactions and how different they're gonna be in the official comics. I for sure was learning over 2023 and 2024...

Now finally, we're gonna touch on the last thing for this update~

JMC'S FINALIZED PILOT (ADDITIONAL CHARACTER)

We are going to talk just a teeny bit about the debut chapter but I'm able to become vague without spoiling too much since lots of the older pitches were scrapped. But yes, this was when I came up with the idea, "What if Jayce had a job?"

That's where the idea of Jayce working at a deli joint came from. Where she would have to get a 9-5 and possibly fired, it was pretty funny when doing the drafts since I never knew how a real deli worked and my dumbass just used my mom's experience at Denny's as referenced (she walked out and quit after almost a year).

Thus, our pilot was born.

You can go read a non canon comic I did that touched on this concept when it was fresh in development right here! [Jayce and Mikey Phone Call] & [Splinter/Randall and Jayce Interaction]

The shop itself was based off of a friend's film back in junior year. He made a FNAF parody called, "Five Nights At Fernando's" and it was such a stupid assignment but that gave me the idea of making use of the dumbass "Fernando's Shop" and make it a reality. So then Fernando's Taco Shop was created and we had the shop Jayce worked at. We already talked a bit about Archie and his deal in the first JMC Monthly Update and I can't say anymore due to spoilers but he was also involved of the creation of the pilot.

The older pitches had a cashier or a manager be like some NPC ahh character that never was gonna be brought up ever again but something in me thought it would be a cute idea to create an actual character for this manager that wasn't a stupid bossy ass hoe. It was very sweet in the drafts so I thought I could create more with that concept in mind.

Introducing: Rogelio Andazola!

(Rogelio Andazola Evolution: 2022-2023 | Still Not Showing The Finalized.)

His design is one that is the most consistent when compared to the rest of the roster, I guess that I hit the nail with his because I couldn't imagine him any different. There are only minor changes like his gray strands disappearing (bro reverse aged) and his facial expressions are much more expressive after I played around during the soft reboot. Once again (and as annoying as it is), you will all see where I'm coming from when the debut chapter releases! Rogelio as a character has also altered his personality, he's based off of my grandpa, can't wait to show you how that comes into play in the story!

Thank you all so much for sticking around for this very heavy update! I worked way too much for the photos to be sent on here and dug up lots of my old art in order for this to become a reality! It was actually insane that I kept lots of it instead of making it turn into lost media, I'm happy I got to show lots of it instead of having to make it the fuck up by memory (which I wouldn't have done in the first place and is an exaggeration). The comic is slaying in the runway and I'm working on it here and there at my own pace. Maybe next time I can finally show ya'll the turtles in the next W.I.P in the comic section. Have an amazing day/night everyone and we're on the way to victory!

[inthecards]

Monthly Update

Ha! Monthly. Anywho, I am working away at this IF slowly but steadily. I've gotten quite a bit of inspiration for the rewrite I'm planning - some scenes will be the same, but there are certain characters for whom I want to have a lot more involvement. So, there will be a lot more content added. Looking forward to sharing those with you, but it will take a bit as I plan to release chapter 6 before any rehauls.

Speaking of which, there will be a lot of branching going on in the latest chapter, some of which will be decided by previous decisions, but most of which you'll get to plot out yourself. Among other things, you'll finally learn more about the spirit haunting your uncle.

[fujocoded]

It's time for our monthly newsletter!

In this edition:

FujoGuide Issue 1: Git Digital Preview ships TOMORROW!?

FujoCoded LLC campaign rewards are also shipping!

…and with all the shipping, we also cover future plans + volunteer AND paid recruitment!

Check it out 👇

And for artists who want to leave their "business card", here's the form! We need 88x31 pixel badges artists now, but any artist can leave their info!

Details + other volunteer opportunities below the cut.

Write us at contacts@fujocoded.com, and let's build a better web!

[lavender-hvze]

very cutesy, very mindful, very demure

(another monthly selfie for my girlies ( ◡‿◡ ♡))

[remnantsofthepast-if]

Monthly Update – September 2024

Another month, another release. Chapter 2 is now available for everyone on Itch.io! I'm really surprised by how fast I'm progressing with Act 2, since, aside from publishing the chapter, a few days ago I finished the summary of Chapter 3, and just today I wrapped up the first scene!

Now that I've said this, watch me get stuck soon, lol!

On another note, all of my October Patreon posts are uploaded and scheduled as well, and I only have a couple more to finish the ones for November and then I'll start working on December (Seriously, bless the scheduling feature). It's a bit weird to be working on winter stuff when it's hot as hell here in the Canary Islands (27º in my area). I’m so jealous of my characters enjoying the cold :’)

I said it recently, don't get used to this level of productivity from me because the new Dragon Age game is coming out soon, and the obsession I’ll have with it is going to be insane. I think all this productivity these past months is to make up for the time I’m going to waste playing. I won’t even respond to my family’s messages, and I don’t care. I might even skip a meal or two because I’m a shameless bastard, xD

---

Have a great month, and see you at the end of October ;)

[barbwritesstuff]

Play the demo for free!

So, my brain has been really scattered this last month. I’ve had a bunch of editing to do on my prose manuscript (Of Monsters and Mainframes, coming out next year) and I’ve also just had a ton of real life stuff pop up unexpectedly. So, the update this month is only 12k. Which, I’m not going to lie, is a little sucky. I thought I’d got more done than that. However, I’m still happy with the progress I made.

I’ve got Chapter 10 to a tentative first draft (I may do more work on it later, but for now it’s locked), I made some big strides with Chapter 11, AND I got really excited about Chapter 12 and started laying down some words for that. Please let me know what you think.

This game is a big muddle right now and a lot of the scenes I’m adding will only be visible on a few playthroughs which makes progress feel really slow. However, I’m really hoping that’ll make the final game really dynamic and fun.

I hope you get to pop out and see the full moon tonight. It’s the second largest of the year and is looking wonderful.

------------------------------------

Update Details

As of the 17th of October 2024

Finished Chapter Ten

Continued work on Chapter Eleven

Started work on Chapter Twelve

Additional Words: 12,538 (excluding commands)

Total Word Count: 408,768 (excluding commands)

------------------------------------

Reminder: If you like what I do and would like to support me (as well as see my progress weekly instead of monthly) I'd be grateful if you'd check out my KoFi.

Thanks so much for reading. 💙

[blazingstaro]

Big changes on the horizon! DotS updates and more!

Happy New Year!! With a new year in front of us, there's new opportunities awaiting us all! This year I've decided to finally go for it, and chase a dream I've been running away from for years!

I'm finally going to launch a YouTube channel sometime this year alongside dusting off my poor old Twitch account! Right now I've got a lot to prep, but this is something I've been wanting to do for a very long time, and never thought myself prepared or good enough for it. Well, last year was all about taking big leaps and just gunning for it, so that's exactly what I'm doing

The channel will (unsurprisingly) be about games, and bringing a new method of reviewing games based on multiple factors. Throughout the next few months, I'll actually be reaching out to gaming communities and asking you all various questions to help me identify different types of gamers! I'm creating a gamer spectrum and multiple profiles to help gamers find their matches.

No more confusing numbers and biased reviews! Finally asking the most important question at the core of every game: is it fun? Visuals, style, narrative (or the lack there of) can be easily cast aside if the core of the game is just fun! That's what a game should always be at base 💖

It's a huge ambition, aiming to shake up the reviewing world, but it's something I'm passionate about! I hope it'll take off, and inspire more people to give the system a shot. I don't plan to do it forever, and eventually move on to new things or just focusing on let's-plays (which I intend to do in addition to reviews, clips from Twitch streams and the like).

This is basically gonna be my day job that I'll juggle alongside my comic, and since I won't be under time constraints or physically exhausted, it shouldn't affect my comic any!

So how's DotS:MMM going to look like going forward?

My posting schedule for DotS:MMM is going to likely be 1 page a month for the time being until I can really make headway on pages! Frankly I've been stuck on one page in particular, since I've needed to remake it entirely, and it's been bugging me for months. I believe I've gotten something down finally, so with the Holidays finally behind us, I should finally have a bit more time to work on pages. My mobile tablet setup helps so much with my art away from my computer!!

My drawing energy has been really low in past months since it was so busy, but I'm getting the itch again as I'm shaking off the holiday glaze! You guys will know I'm back in action when a page suddenly appears, hehehee!

In conclusion—

The comic won't stop anytime soon, just pages are gonna be slow for a while! I have loads of graphics to make for my new channel, and I'm also making a Live2D model to accompany. My reasons for this is simply that I don't like putting my real face on the internet, and prefer my privacy, so I'm creating a cartoon avatar that represents me— much like Saberspark has, with still images in various poses, and of course an actual live model to represent my face on both videos and livestreaming. It's a lot to learn and program, so I've got a bunch of work ahead of me!

I'll do my best to involve you guys in the future of this channel, asking questions and what you all think I should name things for the channel!! You all have been with me for so long, it only feels right, y'know?

Anyhow, thank you so much for reading!! I hope you've had a wonderful New Year, and that great things await you on the horizon!💖

[foxglovegames]

DEV LOG: 2024 Recap

Helloooo everyone!

This year genuinely flew past us. As a studio, we had our ups-and-many-downs, but we're feeling more positive going into 2025. Let's start with what we got done this year before moving onto our plans for the future! :)

⭐Released Trouble Comes Twice: Bonus Stories!

Feels like we released this ages ago, but it hasn't even been a year yet! Back in April, we released the first (and only) public DLC for Trouble Comes Twice. For us, Bonus Stories was a satisfying goodbye to these characters after spending years with them; we hope that players who decided to give the DLC a chance feel the same.

It'll always be a bit bittersweet moving on from a project you've worked on for so long and dedicated so much towards. There's always going to be what-ifs, but we're mostly just proud of what we did achieve and kind of relieved we made it to the finish line haha. If you're interested in reading more about our experience working on Trouble Comes Twice and what we learned, do check out this post mortem we wrote! We hope it offers some insight for players who might be curious and other vn devs who'd like another dev's take.

⭐A tumultuous start for our next visual novel Burn the Midnight Oil

Since the end of 2023, we've worked on and off on our next visual novel Burn the Midnight Oil. The plan was to launch a Kickstarter campaign and demo before the end of 2024 - since it's now Dec and that never happened, you can imagine things did not go as planned ahah... Unfortunately, we experienced several setbacks, one of the biggest being that our lead artist had to leave the project some months ago due to health issues.

It took us a minute to find the right person to step in and take over the character art, but we recently welcomed a new lead artist whom we're incredibly excited to be working with!

So, where does the project stand right now?

Our new character artist is chipping away at the sprites and CGs for the game, which are the main assets we're still missing to finish the demo.

Script is written, edited and coded in

BGs are completed and the UI is close to completed

We're planning to tackle the soundtrack in the coming months, but our composer BellKallengar has already finished an amazing main menu theme! We can't wait for you to hear it.

For our own sanity and the expectations of our players, we're not making any promises or guesses on when you can expect the demo, Kickstarter, or official announcement until we know for certain. The only thing we can confidently confirm is that it's coming in 2025 (unless we're struck by the worst bad luck ever).

We're going to resume regular monthly updates when the game has been announced, but until then, we're sticking o quarterly updates instead so the next one would be in March. (Unless we manage to announce the game before that! A dev can dream.)

⭐PLANS FOR 2025

There's only one concrete plan - officially announcing Burn the Midnight Oil, releasing the Kickstarter demo, and launching our crowdfunding campaign! Melli and I already finished the demo script earlier this year, so we've been working on outlining (and writing) the routes for the full game. We hope to make as much progress as possible on that before the Kickstarter launches. Hopefully, that should save us a lot of time in the long run.

We hope everyone's having a fantastic holiday season! See you all in the new year! 🥂

[guardian-of-time-if]

Monthly Update: January 2025

Hello everyone! Happy 2025! I almost can't believe we made it. This year seemed to go by so fast, but maybe that's because I was just really busy this year.

December was a busy month for me, and some personal issues came up. I got more done than I expected with everything going on, but not as much as I would have liked. I was about 600ish words shy of adding 20k words this month. Almost all of that was filling in choice branches that I left blank in my skeleton, but I did have a great idea that I added into chapters 1 and 2.

My plan for January is to finish chapter 3. I'm estimating it will take another 20k words to complete the chapter. It's turning into a giant chapter, and I may end up having to cut some scenes. I'm still going to keep it as is for the update and probably up until chapter 5 because I think I need more chapters to accurately judge the pacing. (If anyone has thoughts either on the pacing of the available chapters or once I get the update out, I'd love to hear them.)

Guardian of Time is going to be my main focus this year, and I would really like to increase my speed of updates. Hope everyone has a great 2025.

[esper-game]

Monthly Update (3rd of March 2024)

Did I skip the February update? Maybe.... but we're going to act like i didn't.

I have been swamped with school work for the past month. Like, I finally understood the term 'swamped.'

But seriously, I haven't had all that much time to work on Esper (but I have been chipping away!!!) so there isn't much to report.

WHAT I DID:

Chapter 2 is currently at around 7k words. Not very much I know.

Finished a few updated character bios for the characters page

That's kind of it.

GOALS FOR THIS MONTH:

Find time to work on Esper

Finish characters page

NOTES:

As much as I would love to be able to prioritise Esper, it just isn't possible. I will keep working on it, but it will probably be slow.

Thank you all <3