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Announcement
Project complete!
Edits and fixes have been applied, and rounds of playtesting have been made. I probably should pass it around to other players for feedback to see how this instance of the game goes over. However, at this point, the number of corrections and edits I'm willing to make to this game would likely be limited in scope to small tweaks, and what-not.
Which means? Which means!? Yes! I'm calling this...
COMPLETE!
Though, in so doing, I feel like this game is kinda like Oracle of Askigaga in that it hits me pretty hard, but having others react in the same way to it is... questionable. At best. Which is fine. While it might be nice for the number of people this game can "hit" would be above 1, that number was the value I wanted this game to reach, and always has been. This number was reached before the latest bout of fixes, and what-not, but, having a product where players might actually be able to get to the first boss fight, if not beyond, felt an important enough step.
The question that ultimately comes up when a project is finished is what could be coming up next? It might be a while before whatever next happens, but, I honestly can't say for sure what form it would take. Like, I want to stop making remakes of older games, or doing event-based games and do something new. I've a few very vague ideas here, so, I'll list them under a hide-tag.
Idea: Privateer clone
Every so often, I think about Myriad Cypher, and how I could make it a better 2-D Privateer clone. Like, okay, the battle system would still be turn-based, and very much the default RPG Maker system. So sue me. However, exploring the various sectors of the game would be top-down view. You'd be able to open the nav-map with "n", and select where you want to go with the mouse. The game/system would provide a jump-route, and you'd be able to press "j" while on the field to go from sector-to-sector, just like Privateer 2 - The Darkening. Encounters would likely work as they did in Myriad Cypher in that they would trigger on entering a sector.
To say nothing about where to snag graphics (I would prefer zero rips this time), the underlying system of the nav-map functionality just sounds incredibly difficult/ambitious to pull off. It would certainly challenge my scripting ability! Which isn't a bad thing, but, it's also one of the things that makes me want to nope right out of going forward with this idea.
Idea: Mystic Vale/Resident Evil - The Deckbuilder fusion
These are both card games, and the end result would be (surprise!) a card game! I like the idea in Mystic Vale, where the size of your deck does not change, but abilities on the cards you do have can expand/improve over the course of the game. The fusion of the two ideas would come in the form of the monster deck. The end-game goal would be to deplete that deck before the player takes too much damage from the monsters that are drawn from it.
Though, this idea could be slotted in as a mini-game, it would be developed as a separate project. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with submitting said project to the site as a gamepage, as I did with Arcomage Ace or if I would just submit it as a utility/plugin/script, as I did the MZ equivalent.
Idea: Wasteland Wanderer
Post-apocalypse setting, similar to Wasteland/Fallout, where the player plays as a scavenger that gets shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or something like that. He gets revived by the Sisters of Hope, with questions about what the hell he had picked up (it's obviously missing now) that was worth killing for.
Said Sisters of Hope could be a faction the player could work for, or against, and their quests probably tend towards search-and-rescue missions. Doing missions for factions means rising in rank, leading to sometimes getting missions from higher up on the hierarchy, expanding on the consequences of your actions to the game world, or other nonsense.
Though, to be honest, I think I would rather not turn this idea into a game, but more of a story? Like, I don't think I pull off political/faction intrigue very well in either case, but, hey, maybe this idea might make me a little better at it, if I do it. Though, that "if" is very much the operative term here.
Which means? Which means!? Yes! I'm calling this...
COMPLETE!
Though, in so doing, I feel like this game is kinda like Oracle of Askigaga in that it hits me pretty hard, but having others react in the same way to it is... questionable. At best. Which is fine. While it might be nice for the number of people this game can "hit" would be above 1, that number was the value I wanted this game to reach, and always has been. This number was reached before the latest bout of fixes, and what-not, but, having a product where players might actually be able to get to the first boss fight, if not beyond, felt an important enough step.
The question that ultimately comes up when a project is finished is what could be coming up next? It might be a while before whatever next happens, but, I honestly can't say for sure what form it would take. Like, I want to stop making remakes of older games, or doing event-based games and do something new. I've a few very vague ideas here, so, I'll list them under a hide-tag.
Idea: Privateer clone
Every so often, I think about Myriad Cypher, and how I could make it a better 2-D Privateer clone. Like, okay, the battle system would still be turn-based, and very much the default RPG Maker system. So sue me. However, exploring the various sectors of the game would be top-down view. You'd be able to open the nav-map with "n", and select where you want to go with the mouse. The game/system would provide a jump-route, and you'd be able to press "j" while on the field to go from sector-to-sector, just like Privateer 2 - The Darkening. Encounters would likely work as they did in Myriad Cypher in that they would trigger on entering a sector.
To say nothing about where to snag graphics (I would prefer zero rips this time), the underlying system of the nav-map functionality just sounds incredibly difficult/ambitious to pull off. It would certainly challenge my scripting ability! Which isn't a bad thing, but, it's also one of the things that makes me want to nope right out of going forward with this idea.
Idea: Mystic Vale/Resident Evil - The Deckbuilder fusion
These are both card games, and the end result would be (surprise!) a card game! I like the idea in Mystic Vale, where the size of your deck does not change, but abilities on the cards you do have can expand/improve over the course of the game. The fusion of the two ideas would come in the form of the monster deck. The end-game goal would be to deplete that deck before the player takes too much damage from the monsters that are drawn from it.
Though, this idea could be slotted in as a mini-game, it would be developed as a separate project. I'm not sure if I feel comfortable with submitting said project to the site as a gamepage, as I did with Arcomage Ace or if I would just submit it as a utility/plugin/script, as I did the MZ equivalent.
Idea: Wasteland Wanderer
Post-apocalypse setting, similar to Wasteland/Fallout, where the player plays as a scavenger that gets shot for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or something like that. He gets revived by the Sisters of Hope, with questions about what the hell he had picked up (it's obviously missing now) that was worth killing for.
Said Sisters of Hope could be a faction the player could work for, or against, and their quests probably tend towards search-and-rescue missions. Doing missions for factions means rising in rank, leading to sometimes getting missions from higher up on the hierarchy, expanding on the consequences of your actions to the game world, or other nonsense.
Though, to be honest, I think I would rather not turn this idea into a game, but more of a story? Like, I don't think I pull off political/faction intrigue very well in either case, but, hey, maybe this idea might make me a little better at it, if I do it. Though, that "if" is very much the operative term here.
Announcement
Updated Mayu's and Izumi's topics!
Optional conversations for Mayu and Izumi have been updated! A redo/rethink of Kozue and Benjiro's conversations would be next in line. Though, I'm honestly not sure when I'll get around to them. Because of that, I'm not sure if I should leave this in a production status, or move to hiatus. Perhaps even complete? I dunno. The main story is absolutely complete, and I'm only adding optional content at this time. So, in a certain sense, the game is "complete". I am absolutely taking a long, long break from this, and am very highly considering never coming back. Which is why I'm trying to figure out what the proper status of this game would be in the case I don't come back.
The exact status of this project aside, with this release, I've included a text-file with a basic outline of the calendar of events in the game. As a plus, I made the F9 debug menu accessible outside of test-play. The wisdom of either of these moves is, perhaps, debatable. However, I'm kinda interested in what players will do with those resources at their disposal.
The exact status of this project aside, with this release, I've included a text-file with a basic outline of the calendar of events in the game. As a plus, I made the F9 debug menu accessible outside of test-play. The wisdom of either of these moves is, perhaps, debatable. However, I'm kinda interested in what players will do with those resources at their disposal.
Progress Report
Demo of content up to the end of Chapter 3!
A demo update has appeared! Command?
->[Download!]
[Escape ;_;]
Silliness aside, lemme go over some of the stuff that's been updated.
-Chapter 3 content available
This might be the most obvious thing to say, considering the title of this blog, but, yes! The main-line content for the game up to the boss fight against Junsuina Waru is complete!
-Day 14 loop
Events on Day 14 event forced players onto Iwayama, and would not let them retreat from it until Daichi-no-hono was defeated. This has been changed to allow players to not only approach Diachi on their own terms, but also not corner players into a position of a GAME OVER without any means of avoiding it outside of restarting from scratch.
-Arcomage edits
A few things to note here. One is the inclusion of victory conditions as part of the UI as outlined in this image. The other thing to note is that winning a game of Arcomage earns the player a Lucky Card. Perhaps that's too good of a reward, but, it'll serve for now. Also, I find it somewhat ironic to win a card from winning... a card game.
-Include calendar of events?
I mentioned this in my previous blog, but, I've put something of a calendar of events together to help me keep track of the goings-on of the game. Eventually, I will use it to modify/create NPC dialog. However, I've sometimes considered including it in the game, making it as spoiler-free as possible? Or maybe making a post, or making a separate tab on the gamepage? Or, maybe I just want some method to allow players to know what day it is without needing to refer to the F9 debug window. Which, itself, shouldn't even be allowed to happen unless the player specifically alters the code to allow it. Either way, I'd like to see some opinions on this.
I kinda feel like I might have forgotten something, such as spelling/grammar corrections, but these is the major changes from last release. Of course, if there are such errors, or bugs that I didn't squash, I would like to hear about them!
->[Download!]
[Escape ;_;]
Silliness aside, lemme go over some of the stuff that's been updated.
-Chapter 3 content available
This might be the most obvious thing to say, considering the title of this blog, but, yes! The main-line content for the game up to the boss fight against Junsuina Waru is complete!
-Day 14 loop
Events on Day 14 event forced players onto Iwayama, and would not let them retreat from it until Daichi-no-hono was defeated. This has been changed to allow players to not only approach Diachi on their own terms, but also not corner players into a position of a GAME OVER without any means of avoiding it outside of restarting from scratch.
-Arcomage edits
A few things to note here. One is the inclusion of victory conditions as part of the UI as outlined in this image. The other thing to note is that winning a game of Arcomage earns the player a Lucky Card. Perhaps that's too good of a reward, but, it'll serve for now. Also, I find it somewhat ironic to win a card from winning... a card game.
-Include calendar of events?
I mentioned this in my previous blog, but, I've put something of a calendar of events together to help me keep track of the goings-on of the game. Eventually, I will use it to modify/create NPC dialog. However, I've sometimes considered including it in the game, making it as spoiler-free as possible? Or maybe making a post, or making a separate tab on the gamepage? Or, maybe I just want some method to allow players to know what day it is without needing to refer to the F9 debug window. Which, itself, shouldn't even be allowed to happen unless the player specifically alters the code to allow it. Either way, I'd like to see some opinions on this.
I kinda feel like I might have forgotten something, such as spelling/grammar corrections, but these is the major changes from last release. Of course, if there are such errors, or bugs that I didn't squash, I would like to hear about them!
Announcement
New demo available!
Marrend
10 post(s) 
- 06/22/2022 11:51 AM
- 1239 views
The download has been updated! The content available is up to the defeat of the second boss. The Arcomage mini-game has also been implemented, and there's two NPCs in Takeji's classroom that you can talk to. One can engage in the mini-game where the other can provide some info about the mini-game.
In the interest of giving players control over when to attack the second boss, I effectively made it so that the game doesn't advance past day 28 until he's defeated. With this demo, I allow players to continue to gain affinity during this time, mostly because there are no affinity-based events as of yet. Later on, I'll probably choose to disable the ability to gain affinity until the player chooses to advance the plot.
As for what will come next, well, I've a vague idea. Players of the Ace version might also have a vague idea. Though, I kinda feel Jin could come back to class? I know Benjiro and Katsumi have constant lines they repeat after the field trip, and I think I might want to change them. At least after the first boss is fought, and Jin is found injured again.
In the interest of giving players control over when to attack the second boss, I effectively made it so that the game doesn't advance past day 28 until he's defeated. With this demo, I allow players to continue to gain affinity during this time, mostly because there are no affinity-based events as of yet. Later on, I'll probably choose to disable the ability to gain affinity until the player chooses to advance the plot.
As for what will come next, well, I've a vague idea. Players of the Ace version might also have a vague idea. Though, I kinda feel Jin could come back to class? I know Benjiro and Katsumi have constant lines they repeat after the field trip, and I think I might want to change them. At least after the first boss is fought, and Jin is found injured again.
Miscellaneous
Next steps - Affinity
- Marrend
- 15 post(s)
- 01/06/2022 01:03 AM
- 2184 views
I've updated the game, using a few of the pointers that Fflo made in their review, which I received from them for Secret Santa. There is no new content with this update, just bugfixes and, hopefully, a re-balance to make the game a bit easier when soloing with Ruri.
As for what the next update should be and when that will land, that's less certain. I should, probably, do something with the optional skits that are supposed to occur as Ruri gets closer to the various characters in the game. There is also considerations of what events would lead our heroines back to Iwayama, despite being explicitly told not to visit Iwayama, having Terada additionally threaten them with police intervention, and Jin's condition being worse than what it was the first time he was attacked. However, with this blog, I'm going to focus a bit on affinity.
I'm not sure how many skit-events I want to program/write, but, my working theory is that they could happen maybe every 5 or so affinity points? Even as I type, I'm thinking it could probably be higher, like, 7? I don't recall how high Mayu could be if you visit her every day, and she's the earliest character that can gain affinity. Affinity is a hidden variable to players, and I think maybe I should make it visable so players would know how close they are with the character.
There's also a sense that, players should, or could, get some kind of in-game benefit for engaging with the characters in this system. I'm thinking of Persona 4 and Persona 5 specifically, and how among the things the characters do in that game is take an otherwise lethal blow instead of main protagonist. Now, the protagonist dying in those games translate to a GAME OVER, and this is not the case here. However, abilities that represent the friendship between the characters reflected in combat is a consideration.
I originally considered associating passive abilities, like Ruri's immunity to Stun and Paralyze, into equipment as a "Trait" slot. This can still work in a kinda-sorta way, and might take some scripting magic to allow multiple equips of the same type on a character. However, since I removed the "Equip" option from the party-menu, this method would not allow players access to the descriptions of what the traits the character has are doing for the character. Or, I somehow make them a category accessible from the skill menu?
I dunno. I feel this game is progressively getting more complex than it needs to be, and is among the things that's drawing me away from actively working on it with any amount of consistency.
As for what the next update should be and when that will land, that's less certain. I should, probably, do something with the optional skits that are supposed to occur as Ruri gets closer to the various characters in the game. There is also considerations of what events would lead our heroines back to Iwayama, despite being explicitly told not to visit Iwayama, having Terada additionally threaten them with police intervention, and Jin's condition being worse than what it was the first time he was attacked. However, with this blog, I'm going to focus a bit on affinity.
I'm not sure how many skit-events I want to program/write, but, my working theory is that they could happen maybe every 5 or so affinity points? Even as I type, I'm thinking it could probably be higher, like, 7? I don't recall how high Mayu could be if you visit her every day, and she's the earliest character that can gain affinity. Affinity is a hidden variable to players, and I think maybe I should make it visable so players would know how close they are with the character.
There's also a sense that, players should, or could, get some kind of in-game benefit for engaging with the characters in this system. I'm thinking of Persona 4 and Persona 5 specifically, and how among the things the characters do in that game is take an otherwise lethal blow instead of main protagonist. Now, the protagonist dying in those games translate to a GAME OVER, and this is not the case here. However, abilities that represent the friendship between the characters reflected in combat is a consideration.
I originally considered associating passive abilities, like Ruri's immunity to Stun and Paralyze, into equipment as a "Trait" slot. This can still work in a kinda-sorta way, and might take some scripting magic to allow multiple equips of the same type on a character. However, since I removed the "Equip" option from the party-menu, this method would not allow players access to the descriptions of what the traits the character has are doing for the character. Or, I somehow make them a category accessible from the skill menu?
I dunno. I feel this game is progressively getting more complex than it needs to be, and is among the things that's drawing me away from actively working on it with any amount of consistency.
Announcement
Let's demo, Uchinoniko!
I've just finished uploading the first demo of this game. My best guess as to it's approximate playtime is maybe ten minutes?
The bulk of the gameplay here is in school, and the interactions with the students in Terada's class which will eventually make up for the VN-like elements in the game, with a bit of combat near the demo's end. I feel like I've mentioned this before, but, there is certainly inspiration taken from Memories Neverlasting, and the ability for players to choose who to interact with in the context of a "day". The choice of "how" to interact with said characters is currently limited to whither or not to talk to them, however.
The demo leaves off at a point where the game would likely set itself into a story-loop of school, followed by dungeon. As for optional content to possibly break that up, I've never been particularly good about coming up with that kind of stuff. Then again, not having them might just be my personal preference as a player. I think on the gaming diary thread, and I generally forgo optional content. Off the top my my head, the exception to this general rule is obtaining the 108 Bonus of Destiny in a Suikoden game. If I can think of other exceptions, I might note them in a later comment.
As for what might yet come, I'm not sure how much longer this project will be on hiatus. Though, it might be a more accurate representation of this game's development to say that I maybe do one small thing (usually writing), then close MZ and/or Open Office. I have no idea what the next demo would consist of, or when it might come down. I wanna say that the next demo could be up to Boss Fight #2, and give players a better sense of what the game loop would look like?
The bulk of the gameplay here is in school, and the interactions with the students in Terada's class which will eventually make up for the VN-like elements in the game, with a bit of combat near the demo's end. I feel like I've mentioned this before, but, there is certainly inspiration taken from Memories Neverlasting, and the ability for players to choose who to interact with in the context of a "day". The choice of "how" to interact with said characters is currently limited to whither or not to talk to them, however.
The demo leaves off at a point where the game would likely set itself into a story-loop of school, followed by dungeon. As for optional content to possibly break that up, I've never been particularly good about coming up with that kind of stuff. Then again, not having them might just be my personal preference as a player. I think on the gaming diary thread, and I generally forgo optional content. Off the top my my head, the exception to this general rule is obtaining the 108 Bonus of Destiny in a Suikoden game. If I can think of other exceptions, I might note them in a later comment.
As for what might yet come, I'm not sure how much longer this project will be on hiatus. Though, it might be a more accurate representation of this game's development to say that I maybe do one small thing (usually writing), then close MZ and/or Open Office. I have no idea what the next demo would consist of, or when it might come down. I wanna say that the next demo could be up to Boss Fight #2, and give players a better sense of what the game loop would look like?
Miscellaneous
Why remake this game?
- Marrend
- 10 post(s)
- 07/14/2021 12:39 PM
- 1940 views
There has been a non-zero number of times when I have thought about Uchioniko, and wanting to re-do it in some manner. On many of these occasions, I've maybe do one thing before I give up. Perhaps, though, it might be useful to understand why I would want to remake this game.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I have a good answer for that? I mean, I love Mitsuya Masako. There is no attempt of denial on this point. She is, hands down, my favorite character that I've made, making cameo appearances in Baclyea Revolution, Heaven's Gate MZ, and goodness knows where else. In light of this, one can certainly argue that I should go all the hell the way back to Matsumori Days, give that a do-over, and thus, give her respect.
Yet, there is something about Uchioniko, and it's cast of characters. Something that calls to me. I'm not sure if I can explain it. I know I could probably slow down the game's pacing at the beginning, if not overall. Like, if I really look hard at Baclyae Revolution's pacing, it was way too fast for it's own good. I was immensely focused on having 108 characters to recruit without too much thought into who those characters actually were. To say nothing about the probably feeble attempt at political intrigue. XD
Also, if I must be honest, what makes me want to go back to this game is this write-up. I cannot help but to tear up at various moments when reading it. Which is good! That's the intended effect! I can't say if it has that effect on others. For what it's worth, I tried a write-up for Konae's Investigations. However, it didn't get very far.
Either way, I'm ultimately trying to improve my sense timing in regards to story development. Also, the sense of relationships. For example, Ruri has a crush on Kozue that is supposed to grow into more legitimate feelings as the game progresses. Yet, there isn't a whole lot of interaction with those characters. Even in the write-up I linked earlier, they don't have a lot of interaction! Stuff like this is something I have to think about how to better relay, and have the player get the feeling that, yes, these characters should totally hook up.
To be honest, I'm not sure if I have a good answer for that? I mean, I love Mitsuya Masako. There is no attempt of denial on this point. She is, hands down, my favorite character that I've made, making cameo appearances in Baclyea Revolution, Heaven's Gate MZ, and goodness knows where else. In light of this, one can certainly argue that I should go all the hell the way back to Matsumori Days, give that a do-over, and thus, give her respect.
Yet, there is something about Uchioniko, and it's cast of characters. Something that calls to me. I'm not sure if I can explain it. I know I could probably slow down the game's pacing at the beginning, if not overall. Like, if I really look hard at Baclyae Revolution's pacing, it was way too fast for it's own good. I was immensely focused on having 108 characters to recruit without too much thought into who those characters actually were. To say nothing about the probably feeble attempt at political intrigue. XD
Also, if I must be honest, what makes me want to go back to this game is this write-up. I cannot help but to tear up at various moments when reading it. Which is good! That's the intended effect! I can't say if it has that effect on others. For what it's worth, I tried a write-up for Konae's Investigations. However, it didn't get very far.
Either way, I'm ultimately trying to improve my sense timing in regards to story development. Also, the sense of relationships. For example, Ruri has a crush on Kozue that is supposed to grow into more legitimate feelings as the game progresses. Yet, there isn't a whole lot of interaction with those characters. Even in the write-up I linked earlier, they don't have a lot of interaction! Stuff like this is something I have to think about how to better relay, and have the player get the feeling that, yes, these characters should totally hook up.
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