Santa Lucia Build 48 (Patreon) - January 2024 (Patreon)

Hey guys! Happy New Year!

This month we decided to tackle some longstanding issues the game has had narratively. A common problem we see people bring up is that they have a hard time getting through orientation on the first day. It took me a while to really nail down what I believed the problem to be, but after several rewrite rough drafts I think I figured out that it has to do with two things.

First, I added another perspective to the opening moments of the game. Ideally, this will give players more of an idea where a certain character is approaching the mystery from. I also rearranged and added some extra details to the opening moments to improve pacing and foreshadowing.

The second thing I adjusted was Bryan’s characterization throughout Act 1. Upon reflection, I found that the character struggles to communicate what I intended him to, at least early on. I’ve largely rewritten his dialogue throughout the first third of the game to better match the way we wrote him in the later parts. It’s my hope that these changes leave Bryan in a more charismatic and likable state.

Finally, Dev decided he wanted to revamp some old sprites this month. The others are still works in progress, but he did finish a full revamp of Karina’s entire sprite set. This should bring her proportions and style up to the standards of the rest of the cast. Believe it or not, she had the oldest sprite in the game!

We’ll see you all next month!

~Dzahn

Build 48 notes:

+ Updated the opening moments of the game (new and adjusted content all the way until Ben’s plane lands in San Francisco)

+ Bryan’s dialogue throughout Act 1 has been rewritten and adjusted to be more in line with his personality in his route. This change should make him a more charismatic and likable character much earlier in the game.

+ Updated Karina sprite set

+ (gallery) Bryan’s original September 2 locker scene remains accessible in the gallery.

Downloads:

https://mega.nz/folder/WddTCSJD#7xzJlXOXhfRaoGFyjgqNrw