#dragonspikes

[dragonspike-vn]

Devlog: 9th May, '24

Aka, the first devlog! Yippee! Excitement!

Dragonspike is an idea that I've been rotating in my head for a long time. Originally, it began as a traditional novel that I slid towards writeblr for but felt that it was somewhat limited in the scope of what I wanted to do. I put it on the shelf for a bit before deciding to look at it again and found that I was just as enamoured with the idea as I was at its conception. However, instead of a novel, I instead decided to make it a visual novel.

I had a very clear idea of the world and the tropes I wanted to pull from and, using those, I started planning it in Obsidian and made an outline of the initial plot but didn't even touch Ren'Py for the first bit of time. As of yesterday, I had a few thousand words of planning in place and then I finally touched the coding side...

I knew before I got into anything that I wanted to set up the character customisation first because it would a) give me an idea of how to work with imagemaps and b) be the first step to figuring out how to use sideimages for when the player talks. I decided to go for a fullbody rather than a cropped version which I may actually change in the future.

Right now, I have a very rudimentary character creation screen with some pretty basic art for it.

I based it off of lunalucid's template on itch.io and woof, I struggled so much. At one point, I stared between my version and the template and couldn't figure out where I'd gone wrong. The answer was that I missed about eight commas. This is why you don't code at 3am, kids. But theoretically it all works! Theoretically. I've had a few friends give it a test and they haven't said anything about it breaking so I think that bodes well.

With this done, I think I can comfortably start figuring out how I want the UI to be laid out. I'll possibly also work on writing a little bit more of the prologue if I still have energy once my Monster wears off and after running MotW. I think I'll probably crash pretty hard and end up fighting the urge to crack another can open.

[unsettlingcreature]

2 & 5 & 18?

2. Who is your newest OC? Why did you make them?

My newest OC is technically between two - an unnamed Nord for Skyrim and my newest Inquisitor for Dragon Age. The nord is incredibly bare bones rn as I've mostly been stuck in the research zone, made because I didn't feel comfortable anymore writing the longfic I had planned for Arielle. As for Killian, I just missed DAI and figured it's finally time for me to romance Cullen but with a fic to supplement it.

5. What are some of your OCs biggest fears?

Arielle: being returned to the Thalmor to resume the life she previously escaped from.

Killian: the mages being returned to their towers, the status quo being restored

Perseus: to lose his chosen family

Matthieu: to become the hag/monster he was always told he would be

18. Describe the setting of one of your WIPs.

I'm gonna go with dragonspike just because I think it's the most fun :3

Dar is a conscripted child, an orphan taken in by the Empire for the express reason of training her for a specialised position in the military. She was intended to become the guard of a noble overseer and their assigned spiker, someone who can use the dust of dead dragons to perform magic. When the day comes for her assignment, she instead asks to take on the role of spiker despite being only human and the consequences being more severe as a result, forcing the dracouine to instead take on her intended role as a bodyguard.

Funky details:

The more syllables a person has in their name, the higher their position in the nobility. Talented spikers often have their names extended over time as a "reward" for their sacrifice.

The drawbacks to spiking vary from mild nausea, pain, headaches and nosebleeds, to blindness, organ failure and a general degeneration of the body.

Dracouine are simply those who were affected by dust when they were a fetus. The dragon's remains end up giving them pointed ears, black sclera, uncommon hair or eye colours, and scales. Spiking makes these trappings more pronounced and some dracouine spikers end up even growing horns and claws.

Dracouine naturally have an affinity for spiking, experiencing the drawbacks to a lesser degree.

There are specialised units in the military that go out to hunt dragons. Oftentimes they come up against the enemy's own hunters during hunts.

[pitbullgear]

Reposted from @wealth_becomes_her Custom Dog Collar design. #bestdogcollars @pitbullgear.co #chloethebully #scarboroughbulldog #dragonspikes #brushedsuede #tanleather #customdogcollar #fuchsiapinksuede #fuchsiapink #fuchsia https://www.instagram.com/p/CCTaZE1BqZ7/?igshid=vdrolba4aqkv

[byrdieprose]

Events

Another one salvaged from DeviantArt. Posted March 1st, 2014.

---------

Once, there was a girl,

And the girl wrote a story

And the story was called "The Mouse King",

'Cause that's what it was all about.

And her teacher gave her an A,

And put it in a display book,

And her mommy told everyone in her family about what she had done,

And that was the year she learned to play the piano,

And the year her brother started kindergarten,

And her parents loved each other very much,

And after she was tucked into bed, she could hear them talking downstairs.

Once there was a girl,

And the girl wrote a story,

And the story was called " The Adventures of DragonSpike".

'Cause that's what it was all about. 

And the teacher gave her a B+,

And told her her writing was jumping from one subject to another.

And she didn't show her mother until the end of the year because she didn't think it was good enough.

And that was the year she was learning harp by Skype,

And the year that her brother began skiing properly.

And her parents loved each other a little less,

And after she tucked herself in, she couldn't hear anything,

'Cause she was already downstairs.

Once, there was a girl,

And the girl wrote a story,

And the story was called "Serenity",

'Cause that's what it was all about. 

And The Head of English gave her 3rd place,

And put it in a book.

And her mother cried when she told her one of her pieces had been published again,

And that was the year she changed harp teachers,

'Cause the first one was too bossy,

And the year her brother walked in on her,

Every time she was on her iPad.

And her parents missed each other so much,

And while she was reading, she could hear her mother crying herself to sleep.

And then, there was a woman,

And the woman wrote a poem,

And the poem was called "Events",

But it was really about how she felt.

And she gave herself an A,

And folded it up to put in a display book,

And she couldn't tell her mother,

'Cause she wouldn't listen,

And that was the year she played harp in front of a massive crowd,

'Cause she needed the money.

And the year that her little brother became very very violent,

But she didn't want to tell anyone.

And she didn't know how her parents felt,

Because when she lay down on her bed each night,

Staring up at the ceiling,

She couldn't hear a thing.

Even though she was upstairs. 

[dragonspike-vn]

Devlog: 13th May, '24

It's only the wee hours of the morning but I wanted to get a devlog up before I went to bed. The rudimentary character creation screen that was meant to be a placeholder so I could make progress elsewhere? It lasted less than 24 hours. Less than 12 hours, even. I went to bed satisfied and woke up with aspirations of making it better.

I knew I wanted it to have tabs for each category but wasn't sure how to make that happen. I started out by mocking up a layout and then another layout as the first one looked ugly and outdated. I somewhat took inspiration from A Date With Death's layout, although I think mine looks a little um. Crunchier. Less Good.

(Please ignore Shidou, I needed a placeholder). I also decided to completely redo the art for the player which... I'm still not happy with. I have a feeling that's going to get redone over and over again. It's very important to me to offer multiple body types and also a variety of hairs (and textured hairs) but I'm not sure how to do scrollbars to allow for more boxes for options. I'll maybe figure it out later but for now... it'll stay as just this (<- hoping that I won't suddenly want to redo it all again).

I learned a little more about screens and imagemaps, including using tags for screens which when I figured how to use them, I felt like the smartest man alive.

I also decided to work a little bit more on the writing side for a bit before I went to bed and cracked out 2.8k words. Luckily since I have a lot of it planned, I'm not struggling with the flow of events and I find that writing for Ren'Py is really easy. Easier than writing normally, if only because I don't need a hundred synonyms for said.

Part of me worries that the initial personality of the player may put people off. You start off very loyal to the military organisation that you're a part of and are blind to the negatives of it at first. I hope people are able to stick through that part of the prologue and make it through the rest of the game.

As a final note, I've decided that commas are my mortal enemy from today. The amount of times my code hasn't work because I've forgotten a comma (or eight commas at one point) is embarrassing. I'm already dreading the day I have enough game to start testing it.

[amarcnthus]

@inviincibly​ because dad to the rescue and @dragonspikes​ bc husband

He would have brought his whole PACK of dogs, but his mother would have questioned where he was going and he was very sure that the train wouldn’t allow him to take five dogs with him. It would have been better if he could have since it would be a lot more COMFORT to be given to both him and the person he was going to see. Alas, such big dogs in a crowded train would be a bad idea. His smallest would have to do. 

There is constant feeling of APPREHENSION that gnaws at his stomach and through the wire door of his carrier, Doraemon whines. His gaze drops briefly from the window as shifts his arm so that he could place fingers by the carrier door, giving the therapy dog inside some REASSURANCE of his wellbeing. He should know better than to panic and worry so excessively, at least show it on the outside anyway. He needs to remain calm and solid, RELIABLE despite the situation at hand, even when FEAR for the worst can not be helped. 

                                                      (��they will make it through this )

It is a FAMILIAR route that is taken from the train station to Wakatoshi’s house, but everything has CHANGED. The roads have worn itself thin and cracked in certain areas, saplings were not strong trees, and the buildings looked worn. The passage of time has been UNKIND to most and he hopes the boy he sees today, his long time FRIEND, is well enough. Sakusa prays that he too has not been worn down by time, spirit BROKEN and SHATTERED. 

Normally he does not buy things from the market, he often did bring gifts from Kanto for the other, but today he will be cooking dinner. It was only REASONABLE for him to. Food that Wakatoshi enjoys would at least bring some comfort. If anything, he hopes that his PRESENCE along with Kiryuu’s will be enough to keep the other’s mind away from the events that happened earlier today. 

He had expected them to both be inside already, but upon seeing a familiar mop of blond hair, Sakusa sighs softly. Perhaps not. ❝ Nacchan. ❞ He greets with a smile and as much as he would have liked to put everything down and draw the other into a hug, ENVELOPE him with his arms and hold Natsuki close, the anxiety that lingers in his stomach resurfaces. ❝ Where is he? ❞ Yet as soon as the words leave his lips, the sound of footsteps and the feel of a gaze settling upon him, makes Sakusa turn. Ah. There he is.

                                                                ❝Wakatoshi.❞ 

Wakatoshi. Not Waka-chan. Just Wakatoshi. Straight to business, to the HEART of the matter. The wingspiker motions to the tote bag he has, filled with groceries that he has bought on his way here, and then to the carrier with his corgi inside. It’s not bribery. Just things to coax the other along.

                                                          ❝ Will you let us in? ❞ 

                                               ( they are stronger than this storm )

[inviincibly]

he is frantic. he flew here from kyushuu -- took the fastest and soonest flight he could (really, contemplated driving here) and now he stands in front of wakatoshi's house, wheezing as he leans over, hands on his knees. he's not here. the light in his room is off. his fingers, shaking, take out his phone. he almost drops it several times before he manages to open the right conversation ------ [ to: wakatoshi ] waka, oh my god, where are you, are you okay, please please tell me please i dont

                His book-bag’s left pink indents along his hands. That must account for the numbness trailing up his fingers. Wakatoshi shakes his arms (better) before he pulls his phone out of his pocket. 

                He’s not disappointed. 

[ to: Natsuki ]

                I fell asleep. The spare key’s still there, I’ll be back soon. Calm down.