For your indie game to succeed, it's beneficial to have a certain number of people wishlisting your game before release.

Here's a rough breakdown of the wishlist numbers and their corresponding visibility on Steam:

Below 1,000 net wishlists: Limited visibility on the site

2,000-4,000 net wishlists: Appearance in players' Discovery Queues and tag search results

7,000-12,000 net wishlists: Appearance in the "Popular Upcoming" box on Steam's front page

Around 10,000 wishlists: Increased likelihood of reaching the front page of Steam's "Popular Upcoming" and "New Releases" lists

My goal is to reach at least 2,000 wishlists. Since you've already paid $100 to publish on Steamworks, it makes sense to make the most of it. To boost your wishlist, continue posting updates about your game on social media (the plan)

I brought Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures on Steam during a sale. I'm currently playing through the episodes, I finished episode 1. I'm looking forward to the upcoming movie, Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, releasing in 2024. I consider myself a Gromit fan and own a mug of the dog^^

You may be wondering why there are already posts on this journal? These are things I sent to myself (I know weird). I've been collecting URLs and media, and it seemed convenient to keep it all in one place.

I also tend to yap, and I needed a space to do so. Initially, I intended to use this journal solely for development log purposes, but I decided to make it more personal and authentic. After all, I have a life outside of game development too.

I'll be posting short updates on various topics that interest me, including things that inspire my game development. I hope you find something enjoyable here~

I listened to the Littleroot Town theme around late September, which brought back memories of playing Pokémon. It's been five years since I last played, and I've been wanting to get back into it.

Since I don't have a Switch, I've been using emulators to play Pokémon games, specifically Pokemmo. I'm praying that Nintendo doesn't take it down next lolol.

I don't care about the misconception that Pokémon is only for children (what normies think). The franchise has something to offer for all ages, and Pokémon has become a great conversation starter that got me along with others~

I probably won't bother completing the Pokédex, but I do want to beat a few gyms and surpass my old account's progress.

I've been considering revamping my site. The direction I take it in is still undecided - it could be focused on game development, professional, or personal. One area that needs improvement is the layout. I think iframes could be a solution to make the site more organized. I may make it mobile responsive.

I submitted my game to the jam, but it was incomplete. It's currently private, and for good reason. The project is basically just rough chapters and some sound assets - like a sound novel, which isn’t what I want LOL.

I've come to realize that joining game jams might not be the best fit for me, given my tight schedule with full-time work hours. If I were unemployed or had more free time, I might have been more successful with game jams.

Oh but don’t worry, my desire to create games still remains strong. I'll be working on projects at my OWN pace, without making big announcements. I'm quietly making progress, and I'm pleased to say that the game has potential. I need to get it out there and eventually publish it on Steam somehow~

While establishing my game's identity, I realized that I wanted to use 3D pre-rendered graphics, where the backgrounds are pre-rendered and the animations aren't real-time.

I always felt like animated cutscenes were like an award for your hard work beating a level, there aren’t too many visual novels I know of that do it. I’ve been having a hard time drawing 2d stuff, my art style is all over the place and want to switch to 3d as it’s more consistent for me

I've been experimenting with Phong shaders, dithering effects, and playing around in Blender. My goal is to create characters that aren't too low-poly, but also not hyper-realistic. Instead, I'm aiming for a stylized look that's unique to my game.

I've returned to playing Ys, a Japanese action RPG series I'm craving to play it because I'm obsessed with Japanese high fantasy.

Ys is a long-running franchise developed by Nihon Falcom, a Japanese game developer known for their work on action RPGs and JRPGs. The series debuted in 1987 and has since spawned numerous games across various platforms. Ys I & II, specifically, were originally released in the late 1980s and have been re-released in various forms over the years.

I've owned the Ys I & II game collection on Steam for a while, but never got around to completing it. The music is catchy, and the story is decent. I initially dropped the game because the main combat mechanic was too unusual for my taste, but nostalgia has brought me back. Adol Christin, the swordsman, and the retro style artworks of characters~

The game's opening theme is particularly beautiful, and I've even considered making it my new phone ringtone^^

Thought I might as well plug in my developer details to the Visual Novel Database (VNDB.org) system.

VNDB is a comprehensive online database of visual novels, with information on games, developers, and releases.

By registering my developer details, I'll make it easier for myself when I publish more games in the future. It'll save me some trouble down the line.

Plus, it's always good to have a centralized hub for information on your own visual novels.

I've noticed that almost every Japanese visual novel I've read is written in 1st person POV, using only pronouns like "I," "me," "we," and "us. Even light novels follow this trend.

I looked into online forums and found some possible explanations. One reason might be that it's easier to write, as the author only needs to focus on the protagonist's thoughts and feelings.

This has made me question which POV to use in my own writing. I initially wrote in 1st person, but then realized I could include other POVs like Western stories do. However, 1st person is indeed simpler.

My role model, Nasu Kinoko, manages to strike a good balance between both approaches. It's an interesting topic, and visual novels can certainly get away with using 1st person POV exclusively.

I've been playing Muv Luv since September 3rd, and it's been a nice break from the horror psychological stuff. It's a lighthearted, funny, and tropey game that's a refreshing change of pace.

For those who might not know, Muv Luv is a popular Japanese visual novel franchise that started in 2003 and has since spawned multiple games, anime adaptations, and even a Kickstarter-funded localization project. The series is known for its sci-fi setting, mecha combat, and romance elements.

I've been analyzing the game's mechanics and design choices. One thing that caught my attention is how the translated version uses colored and formatted name labels for the characters. It's a small detail, but it makes a big difference in readability and immersion.

As I work on my own visual novel project, I've been thinking about whether to use an ADV (adventure-style) or NVL (novel-style) format. I'm considering using ADV name labels, but keeping the rest of the format in NVL style. It's been a tough decision, but playing games like Muv Luv helps me think through the possibilities.

I've been playing Cruelty Squad and it's a lot of fun, but really hard. The textures are weird, and I love the darkly comedic world it creates. I don't usually play shooters, but this one is great. I also found an indie game called Psychopomp, which is a short psychological horror dungeon crawler. The textures are cool, and it uses pre-rendered 3D UI.

Game Title: MOLTING.

Genre: Visual Novel, Anime, Denpa, Mystery, Experimental, Horror, Atmospheric, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-fi, Psychological Horror, Fantasy

Logline: "In the darkness of a soul, a secret awakens, a fatal beauty that consumes and devours."

Synopsis:

"In the darkness of a soul, a secret awakens, a fatal beauty that consumes and devours."

Belladonna memories are shrouded in mystery, and the only clue to her past is an incident at Lab X1. The president of Adamaxis Industries Research (AIR), is determined to uncover the truth behind the lab incident, and he believes she holds the key.

The more Belladonna learns, her perception of reality begins to twist, uncovering a sinister truth. Her new role, interactions, and Adam's intentions become increasingly unclear, plunging her into a terrifying ordeal.

Number of players: Solo

Target audience:

- Older teenagers and young adults (16-25+ years old)

- Fans of dark fantasy and horror

- Gamers interested in complex characters and storytelling

- Otakus and anime fans who enjoy darker series

- Visual novel enthusiasts

Platforms: PC

Game engine: Ren’Py

Unique Selling Points (USPs):

Non-linear storytelling: Narrative unfolds through a non-linear timeline, where the 'Winged Requiem' scythe serves as a key item that reveals the mysteries of the world and its characters.

Graphic style: Game's graphical style is a stylized homage to early 2000s anime-inspired visual novels & 3D pre-rendered graphics reminiscent of the PlayStation 2 era.

Game identity: Denpa-inspired visual novel, post-apocalyptic horror world ravaged with monstrous butterfly angels, protagonist wields powers infused with a Cronenberg-esque blend of fantasy.

Music style: The soundtrack of the game is reminiscent of classic PC98 visual novel games. Presents a chiptune intentional mix of musical styles. A blend of jazzy/ethereal/Italian-inspired tunes during scenes, contrasted by darker, more disturbing sounds to match the horror genre.

Business Model & Selling Price: Freemium demo on Itch but full price at Steam launch

Demo

Goals: 8 chapters, each 2500-3500 words. With a total word count of 20,000 words

Time required (total development time): The game jam runs an entire month, 30 days. To be realistic, I only have 12 days to work on it lolol

Deadlines (milestones, planned release date): Submissions open from September 1st 2024 at 4:00 PM to October 1st 2024 at 5:00 PM

I'm thinking of using music similar to David Lynch and Andrzej Żuławski's films in my horror project. It's an interesting style that combines Italian, jazzy music during normal/dreamy/perfect moments and unsettling sounds during horror/reality moments. This contrast will create unease and tension.

I like how David Lynch's films, start with beautiful tunes that slowly distort or degrade as the scene becomes more unsettling. For my project, I could start with bright, jazzy music featuring instruments like the accordion, piano, or saxophone to create a sense of wonder. As the story takes a darker turn, I could introduce dissonant sounds, manipulate the melody to make it sound distorted, or use broken instruments.

I've also listened to some Denpa VN soundtracks, like Shizuku's Madness, ジサツのための１０１の方法's カケタココロ, and ＭＯＯＮ．'s ドッペル郁未のテーマ. And, of course, Silent Hill music inspires me, especially Akira Yamaoka's work.

My goal is to mix Italian, jazzy music, ambient music, and turn it into OPNA style like PC-98 games~

I found a website that helps with content warnings. I found it by reading the tag your submission rule for the game jam.

My game isn't family friendly for sure, but it won't have super explicit stuff either.

I'm not sure about the gore level, since I'm inspired by Denpa horror visual novels?? I'm still working on the story, and it's hard to come up with something in a day.

I've started drafting chapter 1, but it sounds pretty bad so far lolol.

I'm going to try to finish a playable demo of 'MOLTING.' for the 6th Spooktober Visual Novel Jam.

I'm using the Semantic Versioning format to keep track of bug fixes.

Working on 'MOLTING.' has also made me want to get into 3D stuff, so I'm relearning Blender. I've even started messing around with 3D timelapses for TikTok, but I'm not sure if I can post content every day.

So far, I've made a decent-looking head model of the protagonist, and I'm interested to see where the 3D stuff goes~

I looked into Nasu Kinoko's writing style (TYPE-MOON guy btw), which is known for being surreal and mysterious.

He uses a technique called "Kinetic Writing" or "Kinetic Literature" to create an immersive experience. He also uses "Lyrical Prose" or "Poetic Prose", which means his writing is lyrical and has vivid imagery.

I think he's good at telling stories, but I'm not a huge fan of the "purple prose" style, which can be overly ornate.

However, Nasu is one of the few writers who can pull it off (for me), so I find his work useful to reference for my own writing.

I'm thinking about making a flow chart to show the branching options in my game. Now I need to decide where to share it, when I make the game - maybe on my website or as a downloadable guide on itch.io.

I also want to design a custom mouse cursor to make the user experience better.

I like the intro animations in old games like Baroque (PS2, 1998) and want to make something similar.

I've also been looking at the graphics style of Magical Date (1996), but I'm still not sure what direction I want to take my game's aesthetic.

I looked at some experimental and avant-garde stuff. It started with Jun Kurosawa's work, which I found through a Twitter link (that goes to google drive lolol).

Then I checked out YouTube and found some weird but interesting videos like MADE OF AIR by Paul Clipson, dizziness by Takashi Ito, Psych Burn by JX Williams and J. by Solomon Nagler & Alexandre Larose.

These videos are hard to understand, but I like the way they look and feel. They've given me ideas for my own projects, especially when it comes to atmosphere and design.

I was thinking about word count for my visual novel. Apparently, the longer it is, the more engaging it's supposed to be. I used a website to estimate the reading time based on word count.

For my demo, I'm aiming for 8 chapters, each around 2,500 words, so about 20,000 words total. For the full game, I'm planning 12 chapters, also 2,500 words each, which will put me at over 30,000 words.

I did some marketing research and here's what I took away. The first four screenshots on a Steam page matter, and promoting my game on TikTok early on is a big deal. I'm not on TikTok much, but I'll make an account and use it.

My plan is to get a solid Steam page ready, then promote my game on Twitter later. I'm also thinking about submitting my game demo to a game jam to build an audience, and then releasing a full, paid version on Steam with a bundle?

I was scrolling through Twitter, and a tweet about Rasetsu Alternative (2001) caught my attention. The UI design and art style are really something. I love the pre-rendered 3D UI type graphics. It's like they took everything good about the PS1 era and distilled it into a visual novel.

I'm seriously considering going for a similar aesthetic in my own game. I've been meaning to get back into Blender anyway, so this might be the motivation I need.