Project 12A is Now Complete (Patreon)

You can download the animation using the links :
Project 12A Animation Link 

I hope you enjoy it!

Hi guys!

I've been working as fast as possible to get it done so we could get back to the original schedule. I kinda missed the mark, but it helps me get breathing time to think about the next project.

In addition, I will discuss my VN project after this. While digging for references and resources, I managed to find a "lost relic". It is a market and design study on the videogame industry by a defunct company that I saved from 2019. I will talk about it after discussing the VN project.

Project Synthetic

World Map Improvements

I made several designs for the world map (again). It's aimed to consolidate the theme of the game. The best practice to create any design is to make sure that there are 3 combinations of colors - Dominant Colors, Secondary Colors, and Accent Colors. The accent colors are going to be primarily purple, while the dominant and secondary colors would mostly be black and white. I'm still trying to make sure that each design I made would complement one another. However, it is sometimes a hit or a miss. So it's quite difficult to decide.

VN UI Redesign

I redesigned the VN UI to encapsulate the personality of the Project. It is still a long way to go. And it will still get redesigned again until we find a coherent chemistry between each mode, scene, character, and CG

Pause Menu

It is an ad hoc, working pause menu design. It will still get redesigned as the project progresses, just like the VN UI. In the art world, it is pretty much similar to draw-overs. In the software world, it's called iterative development.

Character Design - Irene

The art direction process is full of dilemmas. There will be 3 experiments that need to be done :

• 1. Full Realistic Design
• 2. Full CEL Shaded Design
• 3. Realistic BG, CEL Shaded Characters

In order to do these experiments, I created one of the main characters and put it a priority.

Irene is one of them. She will spend most of her time with the player traveling across the kingdom. As the last heir of The Kingdom, she has the responsibility to identify the underlying problems within the kingdom. However, as merely a relative of the head of state, she does not have powers to enforce her will. She needs the player's help to assist in getting her plans approved. She could be a great companion or the final person you will meet before your final breath for committing treason against the kingdom. 

Irene's design was created in 2018 for my older projects before I created this account. She was supposed to be a cute maid in a grocery shop. However, It was rejected by my team because it does not suit the target audience for the project. So I kinda shifted my position to become a software engineer since then. It was back when I was an undergrad. Of course, there is a noticeable difference in her newest design due to the shift of the intended profession.

CGs

There is only one CG showcase available. It was supposed to be the background poster for the last Arc - Arc 3. With so many small parts that I need to make, it will be a difficult task. However, creating several CGs is critical to understanding which art direction would be suitable for the development of the VN in the future.

Codes

Now here comes the boring part. I won't tell you the details of it, so I will make this part as if we're making patch notes :

A. Quest Systems Framework Created 

• Integrating the quest systems with the MVNF
• Spawn events on the world mode using Quest Manager
• Event and Quest Management System - Unlocked Chapter, Active Quests, etc
• Successfully finished a test case quest

B. Inventory Framework Created

• Developed Strategy Pattern for the inventory system (High Cohesion, Loose Coupling)
• Created Item Behavior Interface
• Created Weapon Item Behavior
• Created several weapon behavior classes as a child for the weapon item behavior
• Created several weapons that integrate the respective weapon behavior, as a child of the Inventory Class
• Created Armor Item Behavior
• Created Several armor behavior classes as a child for the Armor item Behavior
• Created several armor that integrates the respective armor behavior, as a child of the Inventory Class

C. Visual Novel Event Identification 

• MVNF Data contains event arc and event chapter, which will be used by Quest Manager to spawn Events

Roadblocks

There are several roadblocks that we encounter :

1. Art Direction - Realistic, CEL Shaded, or Hybrid?

I've already talked about this before. We're still confused about which kinds of shaders would deliver the best impact.

2. Dominant, Secondary, and Accent Colors

This roadblock would always exist every time there is a new UI design that is created. We've already decided that it will be black, white, and purple predominantly. However, there will be cases where it does not seem to be the case.

3. Logo

I'm still figuring out what would be a good logo design for video games. While digging up for resources, I found 2 presentations created by Aeria Games that talk about video game design (and HR stuff, and other accounting stuff). 

How the hell do I even find this stuff?

I accidentally stumbled on a presentation-sharing website, and some Aeria Games staff forgot to make it private xD.

With a lot of supporting data, the answer on this topic truly depends on the target audience. From the presentations provided, it is clear that Western markets react better by making the logo realistic. In contrast, eastern markets react better if the logo is either CEL Shaded or unlit. In addition, title size matters more in the Eastern market than in the Western market. While western market design always has an emphasis on KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid).

So what is the target audience of the VN?

The target audience is the Western market. However, it doesn't mean that we need to change the entire design. Genshin Impact managed to become successful without ever changing the entire art direction. Nor does Shadowverse. The biggest difference for each market on these games lies in the simplicity of the information provided. If it can be visualized with logos or images, so be it. It keeps its design simple. This approach would be suitable for the Western market.

Here are some (optional data) for the video game market as well.

Disclaimer

As a final note, Aeria Games have been disbanded in 2023. I might not be able to keep these documents forever. You can download these docs on the attachments and preserve them for future use. As a disclaimer, I do not work for Aeria Games. Aeria Games is located in Germany, while the minimum wage in my state is around $1.5/hr, and the federal minimum wage is $1/hr. I stumbled on it on a presentation-sharing website around 2019. Have a good day and I hope you guys enjoy it!