"Secret Project" update! (Patreon)

Hey all!  I've been super focused on the DOTU secret project for the past few weeks, so I thought it was time to give you guys a new update!

For Secret Gallery patrons:

If you're a Secret Gallery patron, you already know most of what I'm about to say.  But still scroll down for a new rough sketch!  And I also have a brand new Secret Gallery post just for you guys!  You can log into the Secret Gallery (using your login or the group password) and check out this post in the Miscellaneous album for some environment art and lots of process shots and info!

For Everyone!

Here's the back story, if you're interested.  If not, scroll down to the next header. :)

Back at the end of March/beginning of April, when I was burned out and taking a break, I ended up doing something I'd wanted to do for like 15 years, which was play the Ace Attorney series.  I'd played a few other visual novels in the past, but this was the first one I *loved.* (I'm very very late to the Ace Attorney party, I know.)

I'd also wanted to experiment with the visual novel format for a long time, but I never had the spark of inspiration I needed to actually give it a shot.  Before this, the visual novels I'd been exposed to weren't bad, but they were very romance/dating-focused, and that's not really my genre.  I'm cool with romance subplots, but I have trouble if the whole thing is romance.

But mystery is one of my favorite genres, and this series left me so inspired I couldn't stop thinking about all the possibilities with the format.

Anyway, I wanted to start with something relatively small.  So, I've been working on a DOTU-themed visual novel!

Am I writing a mystery?  Haha, no.  Maybe next time!  This project actually leans closer to romance than mystery. XD  But it's first and foremost a comedy!  Here's the details:

Cooking with Belmont (visual novel)

Merritt has promised to deliver a mind-blowing dinner party for his friend's birthday. All he has to do to pull off a great meal is keep his disaster boyfriend Belmont out of the kitchen. Sounds easy enough, right?

But what if cooking with Belmont could make his meal, and his night, even better? Will he take the risk?

Good food or bad, it’s going to be a night to remember.

--

If you've read Merritt's Story, you know the implications of Belmont in the kitchen.  If not, well, you'll find out. :P

Cooking with Belmont is a comedy with a side of romance.  It might be AU, might be the future - I'm leaving it up to y'all to decide which. :D

You’ll get to choose between three paths: Merritt cooks, Belmont cooks, and they cook together. Then you’ll end up with various outcomes depending on other choices. (fyi the “bad” endings are honestly my favorite endings. XD) There will also be both an R-rated and PG-13 rated version.  And like I said, all patrons will get some full version of it free!

The characters are Merritt, Belmont, Pogo (the birthday boy), Samsid (the birthday boy’s picky eater companion), and Charles.  Oh, and Annie!  I totally forgot to mention her when I teased this before, but she's there too!

So far, most of the art I have is rough.  But here's the sketch of Merritt's standard sprite poses:

He'll only appear from about the hips up in the actual game, but it's easier to keep the characters grounded and proportionate with each other and the backgrounds when I draw them full body.

You can also see the blinking/talking animations here if you're a Secret Gallery patron.

The script is mostly written.  For the past two weeks, I worked on the kitchen setting, which is currently shared to the Secret Gallery.  Next week, I'm hoping to get Belmont's standard sprite iterations cleanly sketched.  They're already roughed.  After that, I'll work on their cooking poses.

I also have an extremely rough sketch of these three dweebs:

It's AU/future, so everyone has slightly different costume designs.  I'll share the full sketch when it's cleaned up a bit.

I'm treating a portion of my Patreon income as a budget for hiring a GUI designer and licensing some music.  Fortunately, the item that would normally be the most expensive (the art) is all covered by me, with patrons making the work possible.  So, big thanks to all of you!

In between drawing and 3D modeling, I've been poking around at sound and music too.  Big thanks to Zippy for pointing me toward the perfect free sound effects, which I can't wait to implement!  I've also picked out some music from a few sources (thanks again Zippy! :D), but I need to get a little further along before I share the particulars.  Nothing in the sound/music area is set in stone yet, but I'm working on it!

I'm aiming to resume DOTU pages sometime in June!  The game won't be done by then, since I'm a team of one, but it should be far enough along for me to juggle both the game and the comic.

So, that's what's been going on!  The Secret Project is no longer a secret!  I'll keep y'all updated on the progress. :D