Quick update :> (Patreon)

Just a quick progress update. 

We've been continuing with work on the face system, working to be able to make the 2D's able to do pretty much any (or at least 99%) of faces and reactions that you might see in anime. We want Virtual Novel's characters to be able to create very legitimate and emotional expressions, to make the player feel destroyed inside (one of our #1 priorities for the storyline) but also we want them to be able to express some cartoony and funny faces.

This next part contains some behind the scenes technical info and pics so don't read if you're not interested in that stuff and / or you don't want to know, to preserve the pure magic of 2Ds.

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Inspired by MMD, we built a system that has hidden eye types inside the head, which can be switched on and off in-game, using a system called 'Blend Shapes' or 'Morph Targets'. These will be part of character's reaction system just like the more "realistic" reactions.

Check the Twitter link for an example of one of these Blends, where we can remove the "realistic eyes" entirely, which allows us to do some cool stuff like the no-eyes-face that 2Ds pull when they've really had enough of your crap, or if they're scared / sick / emotionally distraught etc. 

It also allows us to replace the physical eyes with toon eyes, which there is an assortment of hidden inside the head:

We're also working on improving our face texture system to include the ability for blushes to be positioned up and down on the face, and for shadowy gradients to be added - also shown off in the Twitter clip! All of this stuff will eventually be added to Fitting Room once we've implemented it fully into Virtual Novel.

We think we're making good progress, but don't want to promise a new Build date just yet. We should know by next week if we're ready to roll out a new playable demo showing off this stuff, and will let everyone know then. Thanks for your patience and support! 

Love dev team <3