Sleepy Time Jack & More with Project Ensō (Patreon)

Hi Sunspots! This is BáiYù of Project Ensō here to report on the Sleepy Time Jack remake (among other things, which was mentioned in a previous update)! This will be a very long post with some technical jargon, so please bear with me. I promise it will be exciting!

Sleepy Time Jack Remake Progress

Some background: as you may know, all of SnaccPop Studios' current games were originally developed in the TyranoBuilder visual novel engine, which offers rapid development of visual novels for people with little to no programming experience. However, the usual trade-off for that is bloated file size for players, difficulty correcting typos or updating images, the inability to create Macintosh OS builds of games without an Apple computer (as well as the lack of Linux OS support), etc. It goes without saying that the TyranoBuilder engine can be severely limiting to developers who want to expand the scope of their games.

This is why we're switching game engines moving forward to give you, our players, more quality of life features. The main Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack game will be built in the Naninovel visual novel framework in Unity which will allow us to add more visual and audio effects as needed. Meanwhile, Sleepy Time Jack will be built in Ren'Py, a more lightweight engine compared to Unity that will allow us to port the game to Android easily, as well as Windows, Macintosh, and Linux OS. While Ren'Py may not have quite as many capabilities as Unity, it's substantial enough to replicate all of the functions of the original Sleepy Time Jack and then some.

Once a beta version is ready for you all to get your hands on, you'll immediately notice how much smaller the build is, going from the 318 MB package of the TyranoBuilder version to what's currently 36.6 MB in the source files for the Ren'Py version. That number is liable to go up once it's made into an executable file (and if we add more content), but I hope you'll all agree with me that it's already a stark improvement! Other things you'll notice as well is how much faster the game will be to boot up initially to virtually no unintentional lag between messages.

What's currently left to do before we can get a beta out to y'all:

• Assigning expressions to Jack's lines
• Setting up Game Screens
• Setting up the Preferences and Accessibility Screen
• Filling in the About Screen
• Making a new Help Screen to explain button functions
• Cleaning up source code under the hood

At this time, we're currently estimating that an initial beta build will go up some time around mid to late January 2023.

New content in Sleepy Time Jack? It's more possible than you think

With the new Ren'Py framework that Sleepy Time Jack is built in, we'll be able to add new content into the game with relative ease. Do you want Jack to have a few more lines when he's Shirtless or Nude? Do you want Jack to have special greetings on certain days of the week, or even specific days in the year? Maybe you want to unlock that secret mode we've been teasing every now and then...

It's possible to have these things and more, but only if we can achieve a certain level of funding on the Patreon to help keep the budget sustainable; writing new lines means we'll need to pay Jack's voice actor to record audio for it. We'll be introducing new goals to the Patreon to reflect how much we need in order to add new content, starting at USD$4000 a month to add new lines to Jack's Shirtless and Nude clothing levels. Please tell your friends and spread the word so we can hear more from our beloved clown!

The Groom of Gallagher Mansion (& Future Titles?)

As previously mentioned, Sauce is giving me a trial run in January to assist in the production of The Groom of Gallagher Mansion, a small game that was originally conceptualized and meant to be released this year. While the project will be a little different than what was initially proposed, we want to make sure that dear Elias can meet you all soon.

For the rebooted project, we're bringing on Auracle as the lead writer, who you may recognize from their work on our audio drama AphroDesia. Meanwhile Sauce will be handling character art for that iconic SnaccPop look, though we'll be using pre-made assets for things like backgrounds, music, and sound effects to lower production costs. As for our editor and programmer, I may pull from my list of contacts to see who's available; we'll let you know who we choose for these roles in a future update.

My current plan for the development cycle of TGoGM is to have as much of it complete as possible within the month of January 2023. At this moment, we plan to build the game in Naninovel and Unity as well, with programming slated to begin in late January to early February. Barring any unforeseen emergencies, we'll have at least a beta ready for Patreon supporters to play by the end of February at the latest.

Rest assured, the development of Sleepy Time Jack, The Groom of Gallagher Mansion, and other short projects in SnaccPop Studios' future should not delay the development cycle of Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack or take away from the funds raised during its Kickstarter campaign, as each game's team will comprise of different people in consistently active key roles. And if any delays do occur, we'll continue to keep you all in the loop.

And that's a wrap for 2022!

I know it may be scary to have an outsider bought in for a high level role like Producer, but I want to assure you all that at the end of the day I am here to support SnaccPop Studios by using nearly a decade of experience as a visual novel developer to smooth out the less fun business aspects of making games. That means you'll keep getting what you came here for: hot dudes you can get emotionally attached to and smooch.

From the bottom of my heart, thank you all for trusting me. Stay safe and warm, and we'll see you next year.