Dear fans,
The Dark Nights DLC campaign got funded over 100% on 31st January 2023. I want to thank everyone who supported and shared this project. Since then, I've been working on the new content. In this post, I share my progress and some sneak peeks on sprite reworks and CG.
What you can expect from the DLC:
- 3 new storylines - Roya, Chain, and a hidden route
- 36+ CGs
- New OST
- Extra cut scenes
- 20+ new achievements
- Bonus content
The DLC will be a separate game with only new storylines. I may keep some interface, music and background art. Some people may prefer the old art so you can still play the main game with that. My art style changed a lot so I want to keep it consistent with the new CGs. These are some reworks for the new storylines.
Roya
I want to draw more expressive poses and expressions while keeping the same 'feel'. Roya's character is flirty, and is a bit like a delinquent, but overall has a stylish look. His eyes have a pronounced color, so I made them stand out. He has a similar hairstyle as Junoru, but it is a lot messier as if he just got out of bed. I added more texture to his outfit because the Elite Class students wear fancier uniforms. I'm happy with the rework because he looks closer to what I envisioned.
Chain
Out of all characters, Chain is the least expressive. It was difficult drawing him. I haven't drawn his work uniform yet, but this is his casual wear. His body type is buff because of his job and he does weightlifting in his free time. I'm more confident at drawing muscles and it shows, haha. As you noticed, I swapped the placement of his neck tattoo. I feel that this balances the visual composition so not all tattoos are on 1 side. His hairstyle looks wilder since he grew out his hair due to a lack of time to maintain it.
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I finished writing Chain's story which is at 65,000+ words. Right now I'm past halfway with Roya at 50,000+. The chapter structure is the same as the main game. Prologue - Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 - Chapter 3 - Chapter 4 (normal end) /Chapter 4 (romantic end). Each route has 2 bad endings which are spread across the chapters. The hidden route has a different structure, but you'll find out when you play it! The main story left a lot of unanswered questions. I hope that the new routes can fill up the plot holes.
My plan is to finish the story first and sprite art before working on CGs, but here is a snippet in Chain's route. I was curious to see what art style works. The line work is a bit more sketchy than my previous works, but when I focus on clean lines, it takes away the dynamic feel. Furthermore, I completed 1 CG of Roya and in misc scenes.
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In the new routes, Miyoko explores more parts of the village so there will be new backgrounds. I plan to draw these as last. Recently, I played some otome games with background animation. Perhaps that is a fun addition too.
I try to share more about my progress and ask for feedback this time. I hope to deliver a good experience in the end. While writing the script and working on the redraws, I was taken by the excitement. It's been a while since I was so fueled to work on a project. This is how I made a lot of progress in the past 2 months. Like the main game, I'm the solo developer for writing, art, programming, and publishing. With the current progress, I expect to release the DLC around 31st October 2023. The exact release date will be announced once the DLC is close to finish.
Anyway, please leave your thoughts below. Thank you for reading and supporting Dark Nights!
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