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Evaluation

In this project I created 3 coloured artworks of characters for a visual novel dating simulator. I also partially programmed the dating simulator. As well I imported my characters into the dating simulator.  I believe that my creation of my characters from concepts to final image went well. This is because I wrote about my concept artwork well and showed what inspired the characters’ designs. I also got, what I consider, a very good end result. Which you can see how I took the concept artwork and transitioned it into clean artwork. I believe that my time management of blog posts and work in general wasn’t as good as it could’ve been. If I had managed my time more effectively or had more time I would’ve liked to shade the character artwork rather then just have flat colour. I would’ve also liked to get further into the stories of each character in the visual novel.  In my next project I will try to make more blog posts about my process and manage my time more effectively to get more done.  

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Gameplay

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Kaito Character Sheet

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Enbot Character Sheet

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Morligga-Skrekkun Character Sheet

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Script Code

A script code is mainly used for dialogue systems in games. However, it can be used to do more than just show text at certain points. To create a Scrip Code you first need to create the script in a google sheets document. There are two ways of doing this. The simple way, ideal for games with a small amount of dialogue. Or the more complex way, ideal for games with lots of dialogue in.  The simple way involves creating a google sheets document that has the text/conversation be (usually) in one column sometimes more. When used in game this kind of text will be displayed one after the other and or on a button press. This is a very easy and simple way to create a dialogue system, however this can only be used for games with minimal dialogue in. This is because in this method every conversation or display of text needs its own google sheets document. This means that you’ll have a lot of these documents, structs and data tables. Which is very inefficient.  The more complex way involves creating a google sheets document that has the text/conversation be in multiple columns (each with its own unique name) and rows (with their own unique names). When using this method all the text that will be displayed must have a signifier, i.e. aHello. In this example the “a” is the signifier. The signifier can be a number or letter. There can also be as many signifiers as characters or outcomes. When used in code this signifier is used to designate what text should be shown or if a background or picture should be added to the screen alongside other outcomes. When coding with this method, if you want to display the actual text from the data table then you use a Len to get the length of any string from the data table that is inputted, then you use an int-int and minus the number of signifiers you have (remember to start from the number of the first letter in the word). This will then be able to display the string from the data table with the signifier(s) removed. 

Substring  A substring is part of a string. In the code shown above the substring is used as a way to display the text you want displayed and also how the signifier is detected. 

Using a script code in Unreal is one way of creating a dialogue system. However, I will not be using this for my current project as I have already created a dialogue system and gotten a decent way into it, in a different program (Renpy). Renpy is more suited to creating a visual novel (of which I am creating) than Unreal as Renpy is designed and created for visual novel creation. However, this does not mean I won’t use the Unreal method in the future for a different project. 

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Character Creation: Catboy

When initially designing my cat character I decided that I wanted a male character this time as I had already created a female and non-binary characters. From this I decided to research designs that I may use. I thought about a more furry design but decided against it as I thought it would be to hard for me to draw in a more animalistic way as it is something I have never done before. So I decided on a mostly human design with just the cat ears and tail. I then decided on an emo aesthetic for the character as I thought it would be interesting to design as I haven’t drawn many emo characters. Also, an emo design was a nice change from the other characters designs.  In my first design I went with a 3 quarter angle as the other two characters had been facing forwards. So having a 3 quarter angle would differentiate the character more. I then went with a hoodie and trousers, inspired by the hoodied cat boy picture. The patch-work look of the clothes was inspired by Virgil’s hoodie from the YouTube series Sanders Sides. I went with the one eye covered by hair style as I thought that was a fairly stereotypical emo hair style. I striped the tail inspired by the striped clothes of the striped clothed catboy.  Then for the second design I moved back to the front facing design as drawing 3 quarter angles can be a little frustrating and awkward. I kept a similar face and hair style to the previous design as I really like it. I then went with a hood down baggy hoodie with a one-eyed cute cat face on the front. This design was also inspired somewhat by the hoodied catboy image. I then gave them stripped socks or leggings as I thought it was kind of cute, it also gave a emo/e-boy feeling. This time I left the tail plain as I wanted this design to be more plain and block coloured.  For the 3rd design I continued with front facing view as well as the similar face and hair but with two long parts instead of one this time. For the outfit I was inspired by the images with dresses in and went for a maid uniform as I thought this could be a cute design. I made the outfit a little frilly and added a cat shaped hole in the chest of the outfit. Through out this I was heavily inspired by the maid outfit image. For the tail I went with a striped look again but this time less wide stripes and just black lines across it.

I decided to go with the 3 quarter design as I thought it was the most interesting of the designs whilst also fitting the character’s personality and feel. However, I’ll use the plain tail from the second design as I prefer the look of a plain tail as it looks less awkward and is less distracting from the rest of the body. I will also make the design less patchy and stichy as it makes the outfit look cluttered and messy. I will most likely change the trousers to ripped jeans as I feel they suit the character more. 

When implementing them into the game I most likely have them set in a dark but comfy area such as a dark bedroom as I believe this area fits the emo aesthetic as well as the possible social awkwardness of the character. I will also probably give them a socially awkward personality as I believe that fits the character’s design well.

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Character Creation: Robot/Cyborg

When designing my robot character I was heavily inspired by Calculester’s (from Monster Prom) design. This is because i though it was a very unconventional design for a robot and also a very friendly and endearing design. I was especially inspired by Calculester’s head, which is an old computer monitor from which Calculester originated from. So I took this into my design consideration. My first iteration was, as I said, very heavily inspired by Calculester. However the design came out too skeletal and creepy looking in the body, the head and facial expression was fine however. So in my second iteration I kept the head and faci8al expression overall the same but tried to bulk out the body and gave the design hands this time. In this design I took inspiration from the design of ASIMO. Where the plastic meets metal on ASIMO’s chest I thought looked like a vest of sorts so gave the design a vest design on its chest. Then I took the backpack looking thing from ASIMO and implemented it into my design giving it a backpack, which would most likely be an actual backpack or power storage.  For the final iteration I went a lot more different and played to my strengths of anime characters so designed a very humanoid female robot, inspired by Hatsuki or the Baby animatronic from the FNAF series, most notably with the segmented design.  

I decided to go with a combination of the two Calculester inspired designs but leaned more into the bulkier design. This is because I thought the calculester design was more friendly looking. i like the bulkier body as I thought it made it look more stereotypically robotic. I also wanted to use the “backpack and vest” design as I felt it gave the character more character and backstory as they could be travelling the world or something along those lines. I also went with the more robotic and slightly less human design as I wanted a range of bodies and genders so didn’t want to have another sexy/cute anime girl after designing my eldritch horror character. This design allows me to easily create a non-binary character as robots don’t typically fall into the gender binary (male or female).

When implemented into the game I will most likely have them in either a lab or natural area. Two very different places. A lab as they are a robot so would most likely of been created in a lab. Somewhere natural to go along with the story that they want to find out about humanity, nature and the earth.  I would also try to make the facial expression friendlier and make them be waving as to appear friendly. I may also include the colours of the Non-binary flag in their design. 

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Plans for today and this week.

I will colour in the artwork for one of my characters and make sure there is no background on the image. I will find and image for the background of my visual novel and blur it in photoshop. I will then use Renpy to create the story or story structure for the first character. Then I will move on to my other characters. If I get time I will do shading, highlights and finer details at the end. 

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Renpy

Renpy is a coding program that uses a similar coding method as Python. This can make it a little confusing at first, especially without looking at tutorials. However, once you get past the first learning curve it is very easy and intuitive too use. This is because the program does the UI (Text boxes, images, backgrounds and menus) for you. To change them you just need the image in the correct folder. The you just type “show image name” and it will show the image, though this is case sensitive. Renpy is mainly used for visual novel creation as it is designed for that sole purpose, but could possibly be used for other simple 2D games. However, this would take a lot of awkward code and is definitely not what the program is used for. So, it’s best to use it for its intended purpose, creating visual novels.  I will use Renpy for my project as it is very easy to create a visual novel in so allows me to focus more on creating artwork for the game than coding it. 

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Game made with Twine

https://kryptickitty.itch.io/villain-rehabilitation

https://lucie-o-lantern.itch.io/necromancer

https://chamomeow.itch.io/kiss-the-ghoul

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Twine

Twine is a program that allows you easily make and tell non-linear narratives. This is done via the text boxes/passages. When double clicking on these passages you can type in them. This allows you to type in what text you want to appear on screen. If you surround a word, phrase or sentence with two square brackets, i.e. [[ Sentence ]], it becomes a interactable and will take you down a different route. This allows for decisions to be made by the player in game. These also create different passages in the code screen. This allows you to create text to show the repercussions of your decision, then create more option and go on different paths.  I think that I would use this only to plan out my game but not create it with it. This is because it is useful and easy to write out text and create a narrative as well as planning what decisions would lead to what outcome. However, it will take a lot of learning to work out how to add images and other things to make it into a visual novel. There are also other programs I can create visual novels in more easily and successfully. 

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Character Creation: Lovecraft/Eldritch Horror

I started off inspired somewhat by Zoe, one of the girls from Monster Prom, then tried to think of a male variation and went with just trying to turn Cthulhu into a person, however I didn't like how it looked. So, after researching up more Eldritch Horrors and Lovecraftian Horrors I came across the Mother of Pus and Shub-Niggurath (who is referred to as The black goat of the forest with a thousand young) So I went with a more mature body and feel, but trying to keep the Lovecraftian and Eldritch Horror aesthetic. To do this I kept the tentacle arm and hair from the first iteration, inspired by Zoe. 

I tried to somewhat take their looks into consideration. I didn't get to finish the concept art fully though. I'll probably try to incorporate Shub-Niggurath's look in to the character a little more in another iteration or the final version.

I chose the more mature body as I liked how this one looked the most and thought that I could make an interesting character and story out of this one more so. I decided to add a few more details to her design, such as the extra mouths and eyes to be closer to her eldritch inspirations. I also added a goat skull as a pattern on the dress and noted the fur collar to align with the black goat name given to Shub-Niggurath. 

In game I will have her setting be a lake in a forest to go along with black goat of the forest name, as well as the Mother of Pus seeks refuge in pools of foul water when summoned hence the lake. I will also give her an unnatural colour most likely to show she is not of this world as well as possibly making her very intelligent and/or perverse. This is because most eldritch horrors have intelligence far beyond a human’s. Also that Shub-Niggurath is known as a perverse fertility deity. I may also add more mouths and eyes. 

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Plan for the Week

This week I plan to finish of concept art of characters and decide on their final designs as well as start working on digitizing their final designs. I will also start learning Renpy and attempt to start on making a visual novel in it. I will also do some research on wider world things that have influenced my characters’ designs. 

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Upcoming Games I am interested in.

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl  Victoria 3 Country Ball Heroes

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Tim Burton

The art style of Tim Burton is interesting. It is very unnerving but also sometimes endearing. It is unnerving as in general the proportions are very off with characters having really thing limbs and bodies to hourglass shaped to be natural. However, there is sometimes an overall feeling (that could just be derived from the films made from the) of endearingness. This may also be down to the faces as whilst the bodies and limbs are unnatural the face do not appear too scary (at least in these two examples) so it allows you to feel the emotions of the character.  Overall the art style is very iconic in its horrifying sketchy look. Whilst I do really like the art style and think it can be used for some great things I don’t think that it would suit my game currently. However, it could fit a visual novel game just not mine as of how tied to the stereotypical anime visual novel dating simulators mine is. 

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David Shrigley

The art style of David Shrigley is very simple looking but also very odd looking. This appears to be done on purpose to get through the message and story of the pieces, often political. I think that whilst the art style is good for getting a message across it is simply to unnatural and disturbing to be used in my game. This is because my game is a visual novel, dating simulator in which your characters generally need to be somewhat attractive, which this art style doesn't do.  This art style also appears to use traditional methods of creating them, which I will not be doing as all my artwork will be done digitally. So, in short I will not be using this art style as it does no9t fit my theme or medium.