Hello everyone!

I hope the year started out great for you. I've been sick for the last week and a half (nothing serious, don't worry, I'm taking medicine and slowly recovering!), so I'll keep this devlog short. I still wanted to publish it, since it's the first real progress update devlog of the year.

And, before we dive in, a heads up that the team will be taking time off for the Lunar New Year. We usually get extremely busy with personal engagements around this time, so probably the next devlog will be the January Summary at the end of the month.

☐ Script

I haven't made as much progress on the script as I would have liked due to my health, but I've reached halfway through Kanzen's Day 4, though in this route the climax happens a little later so I'm still working my way toward it.

We've also started some heavy-duty editing on the completed parts, and most of what was in the demo has been completely rewritten. The feedback we have received from you has been invaluable during this process. The writing, the pacing, and the dialogues have all seen significant improvement (if I can say so myself). Also, around July last year, I started setting time aside to hone my writing skills by studying and practicing, and I think it's finally starting to show.

☐ Sprites

If you couldn't tell, we love alternate outfits, and we couldn't start the year without giving our poster boy Hano a new one, could we? Which do you prefer, with or without jacket?

(Does stripping off layers count as an alternate outfit?)

☐ Backgrounds

What I've been able to do these last few days, is go on a background spree lol. I enjoy the modeling process, to the point that at times I lose myself in it, hours passing in a blink (which shouldn't be a good thing considering I still have a hefty chunk to go through, but it's just so relaxing it's almost therapeutic).

I'll start on the rendering next, and look forward to sharing the final images with you!

In the meantime, here is a before and after of one of the backgrounds that appear in the demo and that I have since touched up.

(I'm pretty proud of it, what do you think?)

☐ CGs

When I first put together our progress infographic last November, Moon and I were both shocked at how far behind we were on the CGs compared to everything else. So Moon has been hard at work whipping up sketch after sketch (hang in there, Moon! You got this!). We review the sketches multiple times before proceeding to inking and coloring, to ensure that everything in the composition fits with the story. But I have to say, even at this stage some of those CGs are making me squeal like the hopeless fangirl I am (yes! I simp for my own characters, ok? Judge me for it if you will, but I'll still admit it shamelessly. If I'm not head over heels for them, how will I convince you that you should be too?).

Some of the images feel spoilerish and I know many players feel that CGs are rewards and seeing them beforehand diminishes their experience during the game. On the other hand, Moon's beautiful art is our strongest marketing asset when it comes to catching the eye of new players and getting on their radar. So from now on, I'll need to find a balance when it comes to how much I can show you.

☐ Other

Moon and I have also been working on the rewards for the winners of our Holiday Raffle. They're mostly done, but to be fair we will send them out once we have completed the full batch. If you're one of the winners, keep your eye out as you should be receiving your prize within the next two weeks.

See you next time! 

- Wavi -