(About the numbering: This is the first public development log that I posted here after learning that I can post updates on Steam, but I've actually been doing frequent development updates and previews at a different place for a while now. I will be using this numbering to not confuse myself and will be re-posting major news to Steam from here on out.)
Hello! These public devlogs ended up being a yearly thing, but it should start to slowly become more frequent as I continue making good progress in the game's development.
(Image description: A boy in a school uniform, sitting on a bench at a park. A dog, a cat, and a few birds can be seen relaxing nearby.)
After the previous devlog, around the middle of 2022, I mainly continued doing environment work. I completed some terrain and general assets that I need for a few of the game's locations. I also did a bunch of animation work for the game's characters, mostly for the many people that you see around town every day.
It took more time than what I expected, but I did learn and improved a lot in the process. I feel like I found the balance between how I want the game to look like and what I can do with my current art skill now.
With these, I hope that the game's sceneries will be full of life and make people enjoy just hanging around and relaxing at random places in town.
(Image description: Moving through the game's sceneries by clicking on interactable icons on-screen.)
After all the 3D work, I started to experiment a lot and do my best in designing the game with accessibility in mind. Trying out different layouts to make menus easy to use, creating adjustable settings as I go through the game's various systems, and figuring out how to offer alternative methods of play are some of the things that I tackled, and am currently working on a solution on.
I was doing limited-control options for an old prototype I was making a long time ago, and remembered it while implementing control remapping for Himig. I was interested in play without having too many buttons to press, due to a physical condition.
Thinking about it again led me to research more about game accessibility and slowly became more invested in it. This is only the beginning for me, and I hope to learn a lot more about making games playable for more people going forward.
(Image description: A cat laying down in front of a food display cabinet with croissants in it.)
To let more people know about the game, and to see if there are any opportunities for the game to help me survive life in some way, I applied to a few showcase events, funding programs, publishers, and other things, failing a lot but still getting a few successes throughout the year.
I also changed the game's pricing from free to paid, in hopes of it helping me continue making games in the future once it releases.
Himig was fortunate to be a part of events like the Dreamhack Beyond Indie Showcase, the Nightmarket Festival, and just recently, the Access-Ability Summer Showcase.
The game is currently being made with support from the Toge Game Fund Initiative. With their help, I am able to try out certain ideas and further improve on the game while receiving feedback from experienced game creators.
(Image description: A boy in a school uniform, looking at a creek from a small bridge.)
Near the end of 2022, I got COVID once again, causing development to slow down for a few weeks. Due to multiple infections of it, I sometimes get nerve and muscle pain, or random fits of tiredness, even up to now. I adjust how much I work on the game when those happen.
It doesn't help that the heat in my country is at a new all-time high this year, too..
Thanks, world.
(These are kind of not related to the game, but they do affect its development, so I felt like I should write about them a bit.)
In any case, that pretty much summarizes most of the previous year and the first half of this year. Thank you for reading this far!
I'll continue working on the game so it can be something that people can enjoy and smile about.
Thank you for your support. Stay safe. See you next time!