Serenity Dev Log (22 June 2021) (Patrons) (Patreon)

Another week, another devlog, this time for patrons only :)

How's it going my friends?! This week, aside from updating you on where I'm at in development of 1.1, I thought I would outline my process and show you how I work through an update. In talking with fellow developers, I've found that a lot of us do things completely different.

There are six stages of development that I follow: Writing & Coding, Proofing, Rendering, Animations, Music, and Final proofing. In that order.

Writing & Coding - As I've stated in previous posts, Serenity was already written before I started turning it into a visual novel. I only had to alter/add/remove dialogue. But now I am at a point where my original draft no longer helps because I decided along the way to add more to the story and to also add various endings based on your choices. Those choices are coming much later. Unlike most devs, I write my story directly into the script file and code at the same time. I use a LOT of 'placeholders' throughout during this phase, mostly for where images will change. I pre-enter the image line and 'comment' it out so it looks something like this:

When I reach the rendering phase, I simply uncomment those "scene" lines as I go so I don't lose my place. What you see up there is a preview of some dialogue between MC and Rin from 1.1. This is still just a rough draft and will probably be edited before release. But it gives you an idea of what I mean.

Proofing - Once I have completed the writing/coding, I read back through it from the beginning, making corrections and changes. Sometimes I may change how something is said because when I first write it, it may sound okay. But when reading it back, I'll notice things like repeated words or if something doesn't make sense. However, I'm not perfect and still miss things... which is where my patrons come in and are quick to correct me! LOL Thanks for that...

Rendering - Most everyone knows that Serenity is rendered using AI. I have come a very long way since those first renders and learned a lot of hard lessons. Rendering is my favorite phase of development. Because now I get to create the image I want you to see; the image I am picturing in my mind when writing this story. I tend to create a LOT more images than most visual novels because I like to see facial expressions and body language throughout a conversation. I was inspired to do this when I played MrDots' game, Melody. But a lot of times, developers will reuse some images, MrDots included. I can understand why they do that, especially in games rendered using Daz3D. However, I choose to create a new image every time. I want my VN to feel like you're watching a series. I want you to see her face when she is sad or laughing at you, and feel those emotions as you progress.

Animations - It is no secret that I pay Cryoxxx to do a lot of my animations. Yes, I have done some of them and I am definitely much better at it than I was. But I just don't feel like mine are good enough for Serenity. So, I continue to have him do them for me. Most of the intercourse animations you see in Serenity were his work. The shorter, scattered animations are mine. When I redid the shower scene with Kat (morning of Day 2), I did that short animation myself. Some of the climax scenes are also my work. Any animation you see that is NOT intercourse, is my work. Cryoxxx does great work, plus it saves me a lot of time having someone who already knows all the shortcuts and nuances of animating.

Music - In the beginning, there would be absolutely no sound in Serenity other than the menu music. The song you hear in the menu is the only song in Serenity that is my own composition. I wrote and composed that music quite a few years ago along with about 15 other songs. I may use more of my own music at some point, but all the rest are professionally licensed songs that I paid to use legally. I decided to start using music because I realized if I chose the right kind of music, it would work to add more emotion to my story. I always turn off music in AVN's and in fact, sometimes play my own playlist. A lot of AVN players do that and I can understand why. However, if you're turning off the sound in Serenity, I think you're doing yourself a small injustice. In this phase of development, I spend a LOT of time choosing the right track for the right moment. If it's sad, happy, or epic... or something scary or dark, I find music that instills those feelings. So, turn on the music, give it a chance. For the most part, music only plays at certain points and for a lot of it, there is still silence and that's okay.

Final Proofing - While I am adding music, I tend to do a little proofing again. But once that step is done, I actually play through it from the start of the update to make sure I didn't miss something, and to make sure music starts and stops where I want it to. This final phase usually only takes me an hour or a bit longer depending on how long it is and how many edits I need to make. I also try to look for issues in renders during this phase and have had to redo quite a few, so it is an important part of the process.

And that brings us to a 7th phase I didn't include above - the 'Build & Upload' phase, which is self explanatory. I open Renpy, start the build, then go fix some coffee and let it do its work.

Yep, I wrote yet another long post. Sorry about that but you guys know to expect this from me. I like to be transparent and tell you everything. Currently, the writing & coding phase of 1.1 is about 70% complete. I am hoping to finish that this week, initial proofing, and begin rendering by the weekend. This version is going to be quite a bit longer than all previous updates. We're going to see more behind the scenes of the dark writers, the other Master, and meet another one of his minions. You already met Mia. We have one more to meet. And of course, our quality time with Trixy and Jasmine, the second pair from our poll back in March. 

Thanks for hanging in there with this longer release schedule. I'm trying to make you an awesome story and longer updates. You guys have all been great, I love the feedback I've been getting and I especially love seeing others making some art inspired by Serenity, I love that! I close with a cool piece of artwork done by Niichan, developer of Life Changing Choices. Thanks Nii!!