#theycallvn progress post

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - SNEAK PEEK!

Writing - none

Coding - edits

Art - bg lines x1, bg colour x1, cg x1

finished the lines this morning, finished the colours this afternoon, put it into the files + added it to the meeting bb cg as a background as intended.

it took a bit of trial and error to get the angle right, but i managed!

so yes. sneak peek, as you've seen ^

this means that i have all the art needed for demo done! gonna do some edits to put these last pieces in, then get the files ready so i can send it out for testing

fuck man i'm so nervous and excited and scared. it's just the prologue, it's not even the whole game, but i'm just so fucking anxious about it ksjdhalkjh

anyway that's all for today

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - ~1k additions, outline additions

Coding - edits

Art - cg sketch x1, cg lines x1, cg colour x1

(morning) had SUCH a good idea come to me last night with my before bed coffee - i'm going to have SO MUCH FUN writing those bits of flavour text

i'm so fucking excited. there's so much "oh god that's fucked up" potential there i cannot WAIT

here's hoping i can pull it off lmao (/morning)

started sketching next cg. (edit) and lining. (edit) and then colouring. (edit) okay, i straight up just finished it. and did the code stuff for it. 35 variations on this one

as you can assume by the previous 98 variation cg - this is also a player cg. i have learned from the previous one, so i was able to cut how much time i spent on it by A LOT

anyway! this is the first bad end cg, to be precise ;3c being the first, it's very tame. but like compared to the second bad end... it goes from 0% to 80%

next one won't have any variations tho (and that made me SO tempted to animate it, but if i did that to myself, i think i'd have to punch myself in the face. so no.)

did a tiiiny bit of writing for chapter 2, and some planning for 3

stopping early today cause i put off my chores and need to get them done before i sleep lol

bai

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - none

Art - bg colour x0.5

didn't feel good the last few days, so i just watched cartoons and worked on some low effort personal projects instead

back to work today! partially. had a headache all day and chores to take care of too so lol

uhhh did some synopsis stuff. not sure if anything is sticking, tho

worked more on the bg colours, started sketching out how i wanna alter its linework for the bg's mirror version cause diving right into changing the lines was NOT working out

uhm. oh! edited the first bb cg to add a lil somethin. also to the demo release... image thing. really like how they look now and might keep that "lil somethin" to use on ALL future art lmao

that's it. hopefully i can get more work done tomorrow, but i didn't finish all the housework i needed to do today so we'll see

[theycall-vn]

(yesterday) i worked on the first bg again. before, i was tryna like... do minimal effort to save myself some time since i have to do SO much art for this

but i hated the way it looked. it was just awful. so i've decided to do the lighting like i normally would instead of the low effort thing

it's much better now, and i'm happy with how it's coming along. still concerned about how much effort it is to do, cause it's so time consuming but maybe it'll get easier/faster the more i do it?

maybe wishful thinking but oh well. peek for what i've got so far:

it's not done yet but it's looking way better than it was before. sorry i don't have like. side by side comparison but TRUST ME it's better lmao (/yesterday)

did some editing for existing chapter 2 stuff to make it sound/look a lil better.

also started to finish a conversation branch i stopped writing midway? idk why, i don't remember but trying to pick it back up has been killing me cause i lost my flow for it LOL

and i need to mention, which i guess i should mention somewhere in the info for they call, that while there are no wrong choices with conversations, some choices give you info that other choices don't.

if i do this right, you should have all the info you need by the end, so ultimately it won't matter. but! you can find out info earlier if you choose a certain thing. but sometimes at the risk of missing some relationship/attraction points

mostly worked on the next couple bg's today tho. much to my wrist's displeasure. achey bastid. might have to focus on writing tomorrow. or coding. anything but art, cause ow. ANYWAY

finished two bg's, poked at the third, and FINISHED THE FIRST CG WOO

it has a total of 98 variations. because i'm a masochist. peek below:

not a bb cg, a player cg. the first one you ever see! and i'm still obsessed with that goddamn ring and want it irl

started putting them all into the code which is so long winded shadjghsajhd but i'll get there eventually

it's not even 5pm yet, but i'm posting this now cause i'll be spending the rest of the day setting up the cg's

[theycall-vn]

aaaaaa

i just finished writing the prologue!! i have to edit the last couple bits cause excited typos but i did it!

i will now reward myself with two oreos and finish editing. i'm so happy!!

[theycall-vn]

10th feb - away from home stuff:

wrote part of another bad end. might need to redo it to make it more graphic, but i gotta write the rest first.

also considering bringing back the bad end that i decided to remove because i think it would be... cathartic to write and read

like for me. personally

but im just super aware that it could be like. problematic? i know if i asked anyone for their opinions on if i should keep it, they would say i shouldn't sooo. i guess i could just write it and then not implement it? that works

uhhhm. figured out some small events and which chapters they should go in. they're the biggest romance/sex scenes though, so im trying to figure out how to "reward" those who are either strangers or platonic.

platonic should be easy enough to figure out, but... strangers, not so much. the story strips you of a lot of things, so maybe... gaining some of those things back? in some way? hmmm

11th feb - home again:

put drafted bad end into vn, tested timing and effects. defintely need to rewrite most of it, but it'll be easier to when i'm not fighting my phone's autocorrect lmao

didn't touch anything else i worked on yesterday, mostly just did the above and edited typos. uhm. oh! also set up the counters for the true ends

might do a draft for the first sexual scene in bed because i already like. envisioned the entire thing before i even started working on this properly. it was one of my daydreams lol

but i might be too tired so maybe not. idk yet

i decided also that i wanna redo some of the prologue because it feels... unbalanced and like a different flavour than some of the newer additions, and chapter 1. i gotta fix that

and that's all! nuh night

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS BLOG - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - outline additions + edits

Coding - none

Art - sprite sketches, sprite edit, ui stuff

had a thought about my previous want to make sprites for every character. i will have at least two scenes with 3+ people. i think that many sprites will only subtract from the vibe of those scenes

so i've decided to use silhouettes instead. again, for the "background" characters. i also lowkey don't want to do the expressions for most of them because it'll make me uncomfortable

that said, i started sketching out some. might have to do some research or somethin tho cause silhouettes are hard (to me)

uhhh had to edit a couple finished sprites i made because oopsies that i didn't notice

made edits and additions for chapters 4 & 6 - amusing note i made in chapter 4, "if Attraction - make it weird"

had an idea for the stats button. it didn't work out, but it gave me another idea which went better. like the button is different from my dream now but more on theme

i might be adding some more bits to the ui in places to make it less plain (and again, more on theme) - idk if i'll do that tonight or tomorrow tho. next progress update will metion it either way lol

that's it nuh night

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - edits, outline additions

Coding - edits, chapter 2

Art - none

did a looooot of edits for the code/writing in chapter 1

originally just wanted to change how i did a couple of things, but like. noticed there were some scenes that were paced weird like those ones in the prologue. so i fixed those while i was at it

added a new bb sprite into a scene also

had an idea while considering more backgrounds for chapters 2 and further and it turned into a scene - added it to the chpater 4 outline

coded in sprites and stuff for chapter 2 that i hadn't gotten around to

no art stuff again today. pain is gone. mostly. it would come back after typing for a while so i kept having to take breaks but! it wasn't that bad! i can draw again tomorrow! yaaay!

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - edits

Coding - edits

Art - none

mostly spent the day getting ready to get back to work properly, now that the demo stuff is mostly done.

read through and edited the latest chapter 2 & 3 stuff, to get back into the groove.

collected the ref pics i took and put them into their designated art files so i can get straight to work on those when i'm ready. (wrist still hurts from that last demo bg, but feeling better than it did! should be able to get back to art-ing tomorrow or day after without pain)

copied over all the edits to the prologue that i made in the demo into the full game, since i think i'm done editing the writing in the demo

and that's it

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - edits

Art - bg edits, bg lines x0.5

noticed an error in the bg i finished yesterday, which meant redoing the floor completely, so i fixed that.

continued sketching out the details needed for lines on the next version, worked on lining/editing lines for the bits that i can go ahead with when i got bored of the sketching

noticed inconsistancies that i needed to fix when i was doing some testing so code edits too

while i did make a lot of progress on the art stuff, i really struggled to focus today so there's not much to say lol

that's it for today. will be busy tomorrow, but hoping i can finish the lines tomorrow at least

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - none

Art - bg colour x1, bg lines x0.5

finished the first version of the last demo bg, started sketching/lining the other in earnest. i will be attempting to avoid drawing shattered glass for the rest of my life after this tho lmao

it took up waaay more time than i expected. i thought just doodling lines in the vague shape of broken glass would be the way to go but no

too much chaos, didn't look right. had to redo the original sketches but it's def an improvement.

ALSO! might have a full synopsis now!! the added bits need some editing, but i like it much better than before. getting some second opinions, then rereading it again tomorrow with a fresh mind

aaaaaa so close to being done with demo stuff

then my final testing for it. then maybe get my mom (who can break ANY game) to test it too. it's like... one of her super powers, honestly. if there is a bug to be found, she can and WILL find it

didn't work all day so i think i got a decent amount of work done, considering. i'll probably draw stuff til bed but that's all for today

baiiii

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - edits

Coding - edits

Art - bg colour x0.5

today's been slow going cause cramps but

made edits to the prologue, which also means demo, to change the pacing in certain spots. maybe added a word here or there, but there were so few that i'm not counting it as additions

added more stuff in the text because vibes.

continued colouring the bg i was working on. finished flats and made a huge chunk of progress on the shading

also decided to announce the demo date today. the post will go up right before bed. nervous cause commitment to a date and my penchant for procrastinating til the last minute

but i can do it, i made sure of it this past week

uhm. oh.

got some feedback on my synopsis and they helped me indentify why i don't like it, so i've been poking around at fixing the issue. might need to drag someone else into it for more thoughts

i'm drawing blanks on this bit though

might have to word vomit in a doc to find a starting point, hope it works LOL

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - none

Art - bg lines x1, bg colour x0.5

finally finished the line work 😭😭

colouring stuff shouldn't take too long, so i can commit to the next bg properly soon. but since i finished the line work, i decided to start making the edits to it i need for the next one during colouring-breaks

"but aren't breaks supposed to imply rest, critter?" yes. but. hm. shhh

that's it tho. reeeally just wanted to stop lining, i was getting borrred

tomorrow is the day i figure out if the date i chose will work, and considering my progress, i'm feeling really good about it. so POSSIBLE DEMO DATE ANNOUNCEMENT TOMORROW

aaaaaaa

before i say bai, here's some thought vomit that escaped this morning when i made this draft:

"ugh i forgot the posters. what if i just. remove everything except the circle and ovals. no one will know i half assed it"

plot twist, escaped inner monologue, now people know.

anyway bai

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - none

Art - bg lines x0.5

honestly, not much to say. i've been lining a bg all day, which has SO MUCH DETAIL which i regret immensely lmao

especially since i have to go in and change most of it for its mirror version. which is also extremely detailed and requires me to make sure i remember most of the details in the first version

i swear that will make sense once the demo is out

BUT

after these, i just need to place the second version in the bg of the first bb cg (because i am NOT drawing another version) and the demo will be READY

i'm gonna have to be smarter about future bgs so i don't spend sooo much time drawing them.

don't get me wrong, i definitely streamlined my process. but my need for details keeps cursing me lol

anyway, that's it for today. gonna keep lining until bed time or until my arm aches, whatever happens first

baiiii

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - ~1k of additions

Coding - tweaked some of demo

Art - bg lines x0.5, bg colour x1

made a lot of edits to the prologue to fix some flow issues. also added some details to existing scenes throughout

removed sprites used in the demo - there aren't many in the prologue but the few i do need are unfinished and unimportant, so they're being put on the back burner until the demo's out

worked on the bg art again today, thankfully without issue. pc is still being a lil weird, but no restarts needed! yay!

also had a thought while i was editing. i really like utilizing silence as a way to change the vibe of what's happening, since silence makes me INCREDIBLY uneasy

and i worry that people will think it's like... unintentional and be like "i found an issue!"

the music i chose is deliberately calming (for the most part) so i COULD use silence that way

but uh. yeah. had that thought. i hope that doesn't happen dfsldsfg

anyway. finished a bg! feels like i forgot something tho so i may or may not need to fix it later

still don't know if i wanna use the "promo" image i did for the demo release, but i think i stopped hating it and might use it anyway?? just so the demo release post isn't only text ya know?

speaking of, i made the draft for the post. even if this week goes bad, i'll still be releasing the demo soon. i just reeeaaally hope i can release it on the day i have planned i'm so excited 😭

only like 4 more days until i decide if that date is good or not!! aaaaa

[theycall-vn]

PROGRESS POST - NO SNEAK PEEKS

Writing - none

Coding - finalized demo's code

Art - bg lines x0.5, bg colour x0.5

Rambling under cut:

before i get into it, i will start by saying i'm gonna divvy these posts into a tldr, then a cut where i ramble in detail! (as shown lol) and:

x0.5 = made progress, didn't finish x1 (or higher) = finished

i figure it'd be nice to have some structure. and an option for those that want to get past the rambling

okay! so!

unfortunately spent a good portion of the day trying to figure out why my pc was being temperamental.

had a "oh shit please don't brick yourself" moment the whole time. couldn't use anything usb or internet related, but also dealt with.. idk. lag? it locking up for a sec? a few times too

anyway wifi relies on one of them usb things and i couldn't back up my work at all with no connection. obv usb fuckery also meant my mouse ad drawing tablet wouldn't work either

keyboard was fine tho?? idk. shrug

idk what's going on but it's stayed weird all day. despite that, i managed to get some progress on the last bgs needed for the demo when i could

(ya know. between the restarts because i didn't know what else to do to fix it. which did fix it. mostly. usually)

but i did enough work that im not yet willing to abandon the demo date i had planned so yay! again, not announcing the date unless this week goes well

also did a play through of the demo, after i finished doing the last minute edits, to make sure everything is working correctly and had no issues.

so code-wise, it's ready!!! literally all that's left are those bgs

I'M SO EXCITED AND SO SO NERVOUS i really hope people like it

uhh besides that, i also did edits to the itch page (when i could) to prep for the demo release.

i think that's it baiii (okay. let's see if i can even get this to post..)