MNL Progress Report #47 (Patreon)

Hey there, nudies! Apologies for missing last week's progress report. We had a pretty devastating personal event resulting in Leslie and I being away from our computers for most of the week. But we're back and ready to work! So please accept this incredibly cute picture from Sweez of Amber and DP, and let's get right to the progress report!

"How does being naked feel to you?"

This little question and dialogue choice pictured above ended up being a surprisingly difficult thing to implement, and led us down several programming rabbit holes. Not only does Amber give a reasonably involved response to each answer, but it's not like just one of these things is a definite answer, is it? Being naked can feel like any of these things, or even all of these things. We found it important that after Amber chooses one, she can loop back and additionally respond with any of the other choices as well. Does nudity ONLY feel sensual? Does it feel natural AND liberating? Or does it feel like all of these things at once? It's up to you to decide how Amber voices these feelings!

But like I said, this ended up being a surprisingly difficult thing to implement. We did ultimately get it working, but on the way there, Invertex managed to add even more! We've gone ahead and programmed the ability to unlock options based on Amber's stats. Not only that, but we also implemented the option to skip dialogue or rewind to a specific portion of dialogue during choices! Seemingly basic things, but difficult to implement in an engine like this.

But that's not all! We've also begun implementing 2D illustrations to help bolster our 3D cutscenes! Much like how games like Persona 5 use 2D animations to emphasize character emotions, we've coded in the ability to do the same! Since My Naked Life draws a lot of inspiration from our comic work, implementing literal 2D comic panels into the game felt like a no brainer for us. Not only does it look stylish (and cute/sexy), but also cuts down on a lot of animation and camera work. Need to show someone handing a key to Amber? Insert a 2D panel! Need to show that someone is staring at Amber's boobs without changing the camera angle? Insert a 2D panel of Amber's boobs! Expressions, actions, reactions, emotions, and even lewd feelings... There's a lot we can do with these 2D panels!

While we've implemented the code for this, we're still working on the illustrations themselves. This will be our next major priority for art assets, so expect our character reveals and turn-arounds to slow down for a bit. On top of 2D panels, we'll also be adding full-screen illustrations to highlight very special moments that we otherwise couldn't in-engine. We want to keep much of them a surprise for you, but have a small cropped teaser for one we're really happy, courtesy of Leslie~

In-between all of this, Bear has also been cracking on another new environment! This one will actually be in the demo! Check it out - Amber's backyard!

This little private slice of paradise holds some special memories for Amber, and plenty of opportunities to make new ones! There's a garden for Amber to grow and a lounge chair to relax and soak in the sun! It's small for now, but eventually you can expand the backyard and customize it to your liking? Don't like the fence obscuring the neighbor's view? Get rid of it and add an inflatable pool to relax in while you're at it! They don't mind! More to come on this neighbor in a future update...

But that's all for now! See you next week with more!