Category: Devblog

Devblog #15 – Interface Design 101

LoafyLemon

Hello there, dear reader, LoafyLemon here!

Today I’d like to do something a little different and combine Dev Blog with Dev Dump. A little something to showcase the inner workings of my process, maybe it’ll interest some of you who want to learn more about the design side of things.

So, let’s get right to it. As you may remember from our last announcement, Witch Trainer Silver has a lot of new content coming down the pipeline. That means more interfaces. But hold up, what’s with the old interfaces, right? That’s the problem.

The truth is, those old interfaces are still (mostly) functional, but they’re not only not fitting the game’s style anymore, they’re also severely limiting the game’s potential. And, quite frankly, they’re an eyesore.

Before any of you take out your pitchforks, know that I am solely responsible for that eyesore, so I am allowed to say that it’s ugly! I mean, I’m not one to cry over spilt milk, but this is an opportunity to do something different, something more visually appealing, and more functional that I simply could not do before due to limitations of the engine, but also my own skills back then.

Now, let’s get back to the current state of things. You see, Witch Trainer Silver’s UI is, well, it’s a bit of a mess, but it’s a mess that despite its many flaws, has a certain charm to it. It’s also something that people love, or at the very least, don’t hate as much as they should. (That’s what I tell myself at night, anyway.)

However, Witch Trainer Silver is also a game that has a lot of potential, and one of those areas where it could use a lot of improvement is in the interface. Now, I know what you’re thinking: “Why should I care about this?” Well, let me tell you, the interface is not just about looks. It’s also about functionality, usability, and how easy or hard it is for the player to navigate through the game. And right now, those things are not exactly perfect.

Now, here comes the part where I’m supposed to tell you that I’ve been working on Witch Trainer Silver for a long time, and I know what I’m doing. And in a way, that’s true, but in a way, it’s not. Because when you’re working on a project for a long time, you can start to take things for granted, and you can also start to make mistakes that you wouldn’t have made if you had been working on it for less time.

So, what do I do? Well, I do what I do best: Break things down into smaller pieces, and then break those pieces down even further. And then, I try to figure out how they all fit together.

So, let’s take a look at the old interface. It’s not perfect, but it has worked for a long time, and it’s not like it’s going to fall apart right now. But still, it’s not the most visually appealing, especially on HiDPI monitors above 720p, because originally we were limited to just 1080×600 pixels.

You may be scratching your head here, as 1080×600 pixels is pretty low, and it’s even lower than some mobile devices today, and I know you’re asking yourself why we chose that resolution, and the answer is we didn’t. When my predecessors started the project, the original game was running on Windows XP in 4:3 aspect ratio, and the resolution was limited to just 600 vertical pixels. As you can guess, it’s not a very pretty thing, especially on modern devices, but I digress.

Anyway, enough of that. You may be wondering what we can do about this. Well, here’s the good news: we can do a lot of things. For one, we can make the interface more visually appealing. For another, we can make it more functional. Lastly, we can finally do some things that we could only dream of doing before because of limitations.

But, I know what you’re thinking now, “How long will this take?” And I’m happy to report that it will be faster than you think. At least, that’s the plan.

Now, I know that not everyone may be as interested in this as I am, but I hope at least some of you will take a look at this and think, “You know what, this actually sounds pretty cool.” Because, at the end of the day, this is what it’s all about: making something that people will enjoy, and that drives me to do what I do.

Without further ado, here’s the new interface design for Mafkin’s Emporium, a work in progress:

As you may notice, it’s a very rough draft, but I wanted to show it to you to give you an idea of what the new interface could look like. These kind of rough design sketches are very common in the game development process, and that is something not many people are familiar with, so I thought I’d take a moment to explain.

Here’s how the design process typically goes for me:

  1. Gather Requirements: In this case, Witch Trainer Silver has a lot of new content coming down the pipeline, so we need to make sure the interface is scalable and can handle the new content without looking too cluttered or messy.
  2. Research and Planning: This involves looking at other games in the same genre, finding out what players like or dislike about their interfaces, and planning how we can incorporate those elements into Witch Trainer Silver’s interface.
  3. Drafting: Once we have all the information we need, it’s time to start drafting the interface design. This is where we take all the ideas we gathered during research and planning and start putting them onto paper. This is usually done in a very rough, unrefined state, and is often just a series of scribbles or rough drawings as seen on the above image.
  4. Engine Integration: As Witch Trainer Silver uses an engine that has some limitations, I have to work with that engine to see how I can make the interface look and function as I want it to, before I seriously start working on designs. Sometimes this means writing code to make it work, other times it means finding workarounds.
  5. Visual Design: This is the fun part, where I get to decide what the interface looks like, and how it will be organised. This involves designing icons, buttons, text, and other elements, and deciding how they will interact with each other.
  6. Feedback and Revision: Once I’ve made a draft of the interface, I show it to the rest of the team and get feedback on how to improve it. This can involve changing the layout, the colours, the icons, or anything else.
  7. Implementation: Once the design is finalised, I start implementing the interface into the game.

At the moment, we’re at step 5, the visual design. As you can see, it’s not finished yet, but we’re further along than you might think.

The above image is what we call a sprite sheet. It’s a collection of images that represent the various UI elements we need to include in the game, like buttons, text boxes, and so on. Once we have these sprite sheets, we can use them to build the interface.

The new interface design will have a lot more detail and visual flair than the old one, and it will also be much more functional, and more suitable for HiDPI monitors and larger screens, but also compatible with lower-resolution screens and mobile devices, or even controllers.

Now, I know that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I hope that at least some of you will be interested in how this works, and maybe even help out with some of the design decisions along the way.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings, and I hope to see you all around on the discord where you can give me feedback on this design.

Love,
LoafyLemon.

Devblog #14 – Posing & Playtesting

Johnny28

Hello!

Johnny here with another devblog. As mentioned in my previous blog, I’ve been dedicatedly working on posing events. While I don’t have a plethora of new information to unveil today, given that I covered most of it in my previous post, I still wanted to update you all that I’ve successfully completed the “inspect body” favours posing. Both I and one of the moderators (a devoted Luna enthusiast) who helped me test the events are thrilled with the outcome.

Another thing that we’ve tested for this event is the introduction of the opaque textbox. This means, during CGs, you’ll only see the text without the box, providing a cleaner and more immersive experience. While you still have the option to hide it entirely by pressing the middle mouse button or ‘H’, we recognized that this was not the most optimal solution.

As Loafy is currently working on the final CG scene of the update, I’ve been adding a bit more writing to that event, taking advantage of an additional pose, giving us even further insight into Luna… Yes, I intentionally left that sentence unfinished.

That’s all when it comes to the work and the time for me to be self-indulgent and mention something I just started watching. Picture a school of magic, broom sports, potions, and a protagonist with a lightning shaped mark on their face. Yes, you’ve guessed it, I am of course talking about MASHLE: MAGIC AND MUSCLES, an anime about a guy with no magical powers, going to a magic school and beating the shit out of everyone. I’ve only watched about half of the first season this past Sunday, but I must say it’s quite funny so far, and I’ll recommend it to anyone who wants a good laugh. It doesn’t take itself seriously, and I’d say it’s pretty close to the silly things I usually write.

Devblog #13 – Spreading Love

LoafyLemon

Hello there fellow Witch Trainer enthusiasts, LoafyLemon here! I’ve got some bits and bobs to share with you all today, so buckle up!

First off, I want to give a massive shout-out to everyone who chimed in on the recent polls and voted resoundingly in favour of spicing up our Patreon with exclusive behind-the-scenes content. Creating these posts is not just fun, it also serves as a good creative outlet to vent our frustrations and accomplishments. I truly appreciate the love and support you’re showing us. You’re the reason we put so much effort into making this project special! ❤️

Now, onto business! As some astute observers already deduced from previous hints scattered across our social channels and git repository, we’re currently knee-deep in polishing the final touches of the Luna Lovegood update. And lemme tell ya, it’s been quite the roller-coaster ride! 

One scene in particular, has been keeping me awake at night with its relentless demands. I’m talking about the grand finale of our intimate conversation system – the infamous ‘Talk to Me’ interaction. You know, the one where you, the dashing Genie, coax sexy responses from your loyal witch, Miss Luna Lovegood, depending on how naughty you choose to be. Well, this time, we have decided to spice things up, breaking the boring formula and add some visuals and reactions to it!

If you recall correctly, the last time we dropped some tantalizing teasers, we gave you a glimpse of Luna posing provocatively, splayed on the desk with legs and feet held up high in the air. Quite the image, isn’t it?

However, as always, behind every mesmerizing facade, there lies a sweaty, grubby artist, toiling away ceaselessly in his dark lair, struggling to translate those fleeting visions into tangible form.

I won’t bore you with tedious details about selecting suitable colours, tweaking minute details, or trying to get the feet right until my eyes bleed tears of blood (I already did that before! Although if you’re genuinely curious, feel free to drop a comment below, and I might indulge you later).

Fortunately, after countless failed attempts and plenty of cursing under my breath (maybe not so quietly sometimes), I think I finally cracked the foot-drawing code! Well, sort of. It’s not perfect, but hey, nobody said it has to be.

Of course, the previously showed images in the last dev-dump post are merely a rough draft, just a tiny fraction of the bigger picture. There’s still plenty of polishing left to do before it reaches its full potential. But rest assured, my dedicated team and I are pouring our hearts and souls into this project, ensuring it lives up to the lofty standards you’ve come to expect from us. This scene is the last big part of the update that we need to finish. Currently I’m working on the line art.

Line art is basically the skeleton of your drawing – it establishes the basic shapes, forms, and lines that define each element’s silhouette, volume, and proportion. Think of it as tracing the essential outline of the object you want to render, except with lines instead of pencil strokes.

This phase is arguably one of the most critical parts of the process since it determines whether the final product will look cohesive, balanced, and pleasing to the eye. A solid foundation makes it much easier to refine and polish later on.

For this specific project, I’m using *Paintool SAI 2* vector-based ‘Pen Tool,’ which allows me to draw precise, smooth curves and straight lines with various weight and colour settings. Using vectors instead of pixels has two significant advantages: first, they scale infinitely without losing quality, meaning you can zoom in or out as close as you want, and it will still appear crisp and sharp. Secondly, you can easily manipulate and adjust elements later without causing any distortions or artifacts.

In this case, I start by defining the main silhouettes (such as Luna’s body or the desk) using thick, heavy lines with darker colours, making sure they intersect correctly where necessary. Then I move onto secondary elements like hands, hair, clothes, etc., using thinner, lighter lines with brighter hues. Finally, I refine everything even further by tweaking angles, curves, and points, experimenting with line weights, line widths, line caps, line joins, and various other parameters until I achieve the desired effect. On top of the usual typical line art work, and because the scenes are supposed to be dynamically rendered in the game engine, I also must slice and split layers accordingly to fit within the engine’s scope for posing purposes. Once the line art is done, I will move onto shading, but more on that later.

And finally, before I wrap things up for today, I’d like to address one burning question that’s probably been nagging at the back of your mind like an annoying mosquito: “When can I finally play it?!”

Well, sadly, I can’t reveal our exact timeline publicly (gotta maintain some mystery, don’t I?) But I promise you this – we’re working hard as humanly possible to finish this monster ASAP so that you can feast your hungry eyes on all the steamy, sexy delights Luna and company have prepared for you!

Until next time, take care, stay tuned, and don’t forget – your support means everything to us! Thanks for sticking by us this far; here’s to many more exciting adventures together ahead!

Devblog #12 – Inspecting all the features

Johnny28

Sup y’all, Johnny here with another devblog.

Today, I’d like to discuss some upcoming content integrations into the game, including those already added and those currently in progress. Firstly, we bid farewell to the Luna “inspect body” Chibi images, replacing them with a fully CG scene. This scene will feature various poses and an additional secondary CG as a bonus. Currently, I’m working on posing this scene, which involves a total of 5 events, demanding my full attention but promising a rewarding outcome.

Another addition is the “masturbate for me” favour, where Genie tests Luna’s knowledge by evaluating her acquired knowledge. Players can even grade her performance. Furthermore, the Hermione “Cumslut” public request rework has been implemented. I’m delighted with the outcome, as it overcomes previous limitations, such as missed return events and restricted Tier 5 exclusivity. The revamped version ensures all events are accessible, with three events on Tier 5 and four events on Tier 6. Both tiers now include unique intros based on the favour’s initiation timing, and the evening return events have been significantly improved and expanded.

Additionally, I’ve introduced new nicknames for Luna in the upcoming content and added missing nickname chats for Hermione.

Regarding personal updates, I rediscovered my passion for gaming during the Christmas break and have continued playing on weekends. I’ve revisited the Mass Effect series, only completing half of the second game earlier. I must say, it’s been challenging to put it down. Each game offers something new and engaging. I enjoyed the planetary driving mechanics in the first game, while the second game captivated me with its compelling characters, intriguing storyline, and well-crafted quests. Currently, I’m playing through Mass Effect 3, but haven’t fully formed an opinion yet. However, I find the gunplay in this instalment to be the most enjoyable among the three games.

Devblog #11 – Bringing CG Scenes to Life in WTS

LoafyLemon

Hey there, Patrons and WTS fans! It’s LoafyLemon here, your friendly neighbourhood adult-game dev. Today, I’m going to give you a sneak peek into the process of implementing CG scenes (hand-drawn smut) in Witch Trainer Silver.

The process starts with sourcing the perfect CG images. We’re quite picky about this *cough* as are most of our users *cough*, as the quality and style need to match the overall aesthetic of the game as closely as possible, which I must emphasise, it’s not easy! Once we’ve conceptualised and drawn the scenes, it’s time to prepare them for integration. This involves splitting layers, resizing, cropping, and optimising the images to ensure they load smoothly within the game.

Next up, we need to decide where and when these CG scenes will appear in the scene they were planned for. It’s all about finding the right balance between storytelling and visual pleasure. We want to make sure that these scenes enhance the (s)experience without disrupting the flow of the game.

Once we’ve figured out the placement, it’s time for the programming part. I use SublimeText as my code editor of choice because it’s blazing fast, versatile, and has all the features I need. To integrate the CG scenes, I write scripts that trigger the scenes at specific points in the story. These scripts also handle the transition between regular gameplay and the CG scenes, ensuring a (usually) seamless experience for you lads and gals.

Of course, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t dive a little bit deeper into the technical side. Historically, I used my own python implementation for CG scenes, which turned out to be less than ideal because I was going against the current, fighting with the engine quirks, instead of following its workflow. Ren’py’s layeredimage feature plays a crucial role in this new process. For those unfamiliar, layeredimage is a built-in Ren’py feature that allows us to create complex and dynamic scenes by layering multiple images on top of each other. This is particularly useful for CG scenes, where we often need to combine backgrounds, characters, and various other elements to create a cohesive and visually appealing image, while maintaining the ability to switch parts of the image dynamically.

Promptly after the image definitions are implemented, it’s time to pose the scenes and see how things fit together. This is a time consuming process and has a huge impact on the overall quality of the scene, involving posing facial expressions, adding visual effects, and setting up animation timers. At times we also draw additional bits and bobs as we go through the implementation to fully flesh out the scene.

After the programming is done, we move on to testing. This is where we make sure everything works as intended and that the scenes are triggered correctly. It’s also a chance to fine-tune the timing and presentation of the CG scenes to ensure maximum impact.

Finally, once everything is working as it should, and we’re happy with the final piece, we upload everything to our git repository.

By the way, we really appreciate your support and feedback, as it helps us continue to improve and expand the game.

That’s a quick overview of how we implement CG scenes in WTS. I personally hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look, and we can’t wait to share more updates with you in the future.

Stay naughty,
LoafyLemon.

Devblog #10 – Double digits!

Johnny28

Hello world, Johnny here with another devblog.

As per my last devblog, I’m currently in the midst of writing spoiler heavy content, so I’ll only lightly touch on the work.

I’ve completed the writing required for the upcoming Box-o-Fun event for Luna, and I’m currently incorporating some event checks to add some variety. For example, if the player has completed Hermione’s Box-o-Fun event. After this, I’ll proceed with the proofreading phase.

I’ve also started adding some of the non-event specific writing into the game, such as gift chats and additional chit-chats for Luna.

Between writing and implementing, I’ve also been planning out some content for future updates, along with summarizing the late-stage Luna events.

As shown in the latest teaser, we’ve added piercings for Luna’s wardrobe. I’m keen to hear your thoughts on items linked to expressions, as they require additional effort to incorporate into the game. We’ve also been discussing some other things internally, such as how weird it is that all characters have shaved pubes by default. We’re also looking to add a base outfit Schedule for Luna eventually, so if you’ve got any suggestions for clothing that fits her personality or have an opinion about pubic hair, then feel free to let us know.

Aside from the work, I’ve been fuelling my creative side by rewatching the earlier Futurama seasons. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it because I’m a huge fan of humour that pokes fun at current events and parodies real life. However, when it comes to the game, I’ve made a deliberate choice to reference things that have stood the test of time. As we all know, meme culture evolves rapidly. For instance, I opted to abandon the idea of a public event for Cho where the twins had turned someone into a pickle.

Getting into game development has been a very rewarding and fulfilling experience for us, so if we can encourage others to express themselves creatively, then that’s a win in my book. Therefore, I’d like to end this post with a segment from our artist Boppin who has put together some tips for beginners who are looking to get into art.

Heya! It’s me, Boppin! If you’re a beginner who wants to learn digital art, here are some of the things I wished I knew before starting this art journey of mine.

Beginners often make the mistake of diving head first into digital art, ending up with buying fancy pen tablets, only to lose their passion within a week and with a huge hole in their wallets. It’s crucial to start this journey with small, deliberate steps and avoid rushing in. When I started on the project, I was using a 5-year-old laptop and a Huion Inspiroy h430p tablet, which was smaller than my hand but got the job done. Since I’m now working on art in a more professional manner, I’ve since then, thanks to Loafy, acquired what is most suitable and affordable. In other words, I opted against purchasing a tablet with a screen, as they’re currently highly overpriced and not essential for my needs.

The saying “It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the right way.” by Wallace D. Wattles is something that every beginner in digital art should keep in mind. Many frustrations can be avoided by learning the basics of the program that you’re using.

Once you get started, I would suggest not to pour too much time into one single piece. Novice artists often begin a drawing with good intentions but find themselves constantly trying to make adjustments, adding excessive details, and ultimately straying far from their initial sketch. Spending excessive time on a single piece can sometimes lead to growing dissatisfaction, causing you to tuck it away in the depths of your hard drive. My advice: Keep your goals simple, complete your work, and then move on to the next. Keep that creative momentum flowing!

Lastly, always finish what you start. It’s important to see a piece through to completion, even if it’s not perfect. It adds to your portfolio, reveals areas for improvement, and showcases your progress. Remember, you’re not infallible, and learning from mistakes is part of the journey. Don’t be afraid to share your work with the world.

That’s a wrap for this devblog. See you in the next one!

Devblog #9 – To degeneracy and beyond!

Johnny28

Greetings, everyone! Johnny here, with yet another devblog.

As I’m in the midst of working on Luna writing, I’d like to take a moment to share some ideas I’ve written down while going over Hermione’s content. Before I proceed, I want to provide a heads-up that this post may contain spoilers. My intention with this post is to gather valuable feedback from all of you and to create an opportunity for you to contribute your own ideas before I delve deeper into the planning and writing process. What I’ve written down so far, is in very much in its early stages and isn’t fully realised yet, so I anticipate it evolving and changing before the final product. With that clarification in place, let’s delve into the mind of a lunatic… I mean, adult visual novel writer.

I’ve been considering adding tier-up events for Hermione, similar to how we do it with Cho’s Quidditch matches, as a way to make the leap between tiers smoother. Below, you’ll find how Hermione’s attitude towards favours changes as you progress to higher tiers, along with some general ideas for the tier-up events.

Tier 4:

Hermione’s naughty side emerges quite a bit during this tier, but it takes sexual stimulation or prompts from Genie for her to display it. She’s somewhat embarrassed when putting herself on display, and she will now start touching Genie when requested (handjob), as long as she is paid well.

Potential 3-4 Tier-up events:

Hermione has given up on preventing other teachers from selling favours, realising that there’s no way to stop it. This would also explain why “flirt with teachers” is no longer an option for public requests. Some writing during tier up events would differ if the player has done public requests.

There is currently an optional ‘talk to me’ event on this tier with Tonks that mentions Hermione’s attitude changing. This event may serve better as a tier-up event, and there would instead be a more regular ‘talk to me’ event in its place.

Tier 5:

Hermione’s attitude has shifted drastically, as she agrees to perform fellatio without making a fuss. This shift in attitude is quite sudden, and her only explanation is that she’s happy to be able to help her house, and that putting a penis in her mouth is nothing as long as it helps her cause.

She has a greater appreciation towards everything sexual, and she sometimes forgets about points. With her attention on schoolwork tapering off a bit, Hermione’s drive to excel is instead shifting towards the sexual favours. For example, she will blame herself when she doesn’t manage to swallow all of Genie’s cum.

Additionally, she now allows you to use nicknames such as “whore” and “slut.” Her argument being that if it helps reach her goal during the favours, then it’s fine by her. Although she perceives it as nothing more than a sexual aid rather than how Genie actually views her.

Potential 4-5 Tier-up events:

As yet, there are no well-crafted notes, but since this tier has the biggest shift in her attitude, there needs to be a solid reason for it. Perhaps Genie and Snape would come up with a scheme that would lead Hermione to put more effort into it. Such as Hermione overhearing a conversation between them where Genie thinks about ending the trading between Hermione and him. If that’s not enough, Snape can say he’d be happy to take over the trading.

Tier 6:

She remains steadfast in her commitment to help Gryffindor win the cup, but her inner desires occasionally get the best of her, revealing her enjoyment. You’ll find it much easier to persuade her to engage in explicit conversations or to dress provocatively, and she might even do so without any prompting.

Potential 5-6 Tier-up events:

This tier shows a smaller change in attitude than the one before, as she will immediately agree to have sex. My first thought for the tier up events was to include something where Hermione gets pushed to her limit, with the goal of sex not feeling like such a daunting task. A deep-throat event would be fitting, especially since the one during the ball ending is both unprompted and sudden.

Other notes:

There are a few additional events that I haven’t had a chance to go over yet, and I thought I’d mention them briefly. The ball, for instance; features a sex scene, which can be reached before the sex favours. The writing for tutoring is quite different and doesn’t align with the rest of the game, especially the later events. I’ve left those events alone for a while now, as I’m unsure how players feel about them, so I would appreciate your feedback.

That concludes what I’ve written down about her progression so far. Please let me know what you think, and if you’ve got any ideas of your own, don’t be afraid to share them in the discussion channel on Discord.

Devblog #8 – Luna’s Brie-lliant Update

LoafyLemon

Hey there everyone, time for the latest developer blog update!

I’m really glad to hear that a lot of you enjoyed the recent big update featuring Cho. Your support truly means a lot to me. We faced some major challenges due to engine changes and internal redesigns, but despite the odds being against us, we managed to roll out the update successfully.

One of the really cool things I got to work on for this update, which sets our Ren’py game apart, is the interactive split view for CG images. This was showcased during the Cho retrospection events. Initially, we had plans to keep the scenes separate, but an idea sparked to incorporate both scenes into a single event to add an extra spiciness. Making it happen was a bit of a challenge; I had to dive into the engine and tap into some undocumented functions to make it work just the way we envisioned.

I must’ve gone through three or four iterations before finally stumbling upon the implementation that proved most effective for us, all the while maintaining good performance and features. If you glance at the code, it might not strike you as particularly elaborate, but devising the method of implementation posed its own challenge. You see, ordinarily textures come in standard rectangular sizes, yet we wanted for the displayables to be oddly shaped — think clouds or bubbles. This led us to the need for texture masking, and that’s where the AlphaMask feature stepped in. It was fairly straightforward, but that’s only a portion of the full story.

Next up was cracking the puzzle of exhibiting two images with a cutout, specifically for the bubble, and making them both interactive. The first idea was simple, just make a cutout, right. However, that entailed ensuring no vital elements occupied the bubble’s designated area, which would necessitate altering the artwork to accommodate. I wasn’t keen on that approach, so instead, I conjured up a zorder swap function for image tags, paired with a controller made within the screen scope. This renpythonic solution allowed us to maintain image prediction and rollback support, sans the need for extensive artwork modifications. In the end, it turned out fantastic in my opinion.

Reflecting on the update as a whole, am I satisfied with how it turned out? Yes and no. On one hand, I’m really pleased that we finally resolved the performance issues and tackled major problems like the flawed questing system and other issues. However, I can’t help but feel that we could have, or perhaps should have, added more new content. Maybe it’s just my own thoughts, though. Anyway, let’s keep moving forward.

With all of the above in the past, I can now dive into the meat of the game — the artwork. This time around, both Boppin and I are working on the drawings, while Johnny is pouring his efforts into the writing and scenarios. It’s a refreshing change, if I’m being honest. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love coding and consider myself primarily a coder. Still, it’s refreshing to switch things up from time to time and put my drawing skills to the test. I might not have natural talent, but I’m persistent. Over the past three years, I’ve taught myself how to draw, and finally, it’s starting to pay off. Having a grip on both programming and art is incredibly advantageous and it smoothens the process significantly. I understand the limits of layering, where to position elements in the scene, how they’ll interact with the code, and so on. It’s a unique perspective that I’m truly grateful for.

As you’re already aware, the current update in the making revolves around Luna. So, it’s safe to assume that both Boppin and I are busy creating various scenes centred around her character. We’re aiming to create more diverse and modular scenes, giving Johnny the freedom to fully explore his creative writing potential in the more risqué side of things.

Speaking of risqué things, if I spill any more beans about the upcoming scenes too soon, I might just tick off Johnny for letting his secrets slip. So, forgive me for holding back on the tantalizing titbits for now. What I can share with you is that the next update is diving head first into the story and steamy content, leaving the fluff behind. Expect heaps of fresh writing and art that might even make Johnny Sins blush a bit. 😊

Things are progressing smoothly, and we’re not foreseeing any bumps in the road ahead.

By the way, I hopped into Baldur’s Gate 3 shortly after its release. I’ve been eagerly awaiting that game for who knows how long, and I can confidently say it was absolutely worth the wait. If you’re a fan of both actual cheese and the kind that’s infused into writing, you’ll find yourself right in your element. The writing is incredibly diverse, and every character comes across as vibrant, each with their distinct personality and aspirations. The whole experience feels genuinely immersive. It’s been quite a while since a game has given me this much enjoyment, and chances are, Baldur’s Gate 3 might just clinch the title of my personal game of the year, or who knows, even the game of the decade. That all depends on how I feel about it once I’ve wrapped up my adventure in it.

Thanks for reading, and see you all soon!

Baldur's Gate 3 screenshot with a character polymorphed as a rolling block of cheese.

Devblog #7 – Diving into the Loony bin

Johnny28

Lads and gals,
Johnny here with another dev blog post.

As mentioned in the previous announcement, we’re currently working on the next update, which puts focus on Luna.
I’ve been knee-deep in my writing hole the past couple of weeks, and I would like to share something about two of the events that will be included in the update.

The first one is the “Talk to me” event chain for her upcoming favour tier. I’m excited to say that now when we’ve got a dedicated artist, this event will also include a CG to make the scene more exciting.

The second event is another addition to the box-o-fun, but this time, it’s for Luna. This event will put Luna’s ability to compose herself to the test, as she receives a task to complete outside the office.

Aside from the event writing, I’ve also been writing chit-chats, and outfit dialogues. I’ve been having a lot of fun writing for Luna, as her quirkiness always leads to interesting and unexpected paths. I went over some finished work with Loafy the other day, and he had a good time reading through it, so I feel pretty happy about the work I’m putting out at the moment.

Moving on to the recently released Cho-focused update. I tend to stay away from mentioning major spoilers in these posts during development, but I figured I may as well delve into spoiler territory now that the update is out, so spoilers ahead.

The Cho x Tonks CG was an idea that I had a long “ass” time ago, before we had a dedicated artist, and I was so happy that we could finally do it. Back then, there were quite a few places where we had to hold back a little bit in terms of art, so one of our current goals is to add CG’s in other places as well. If you’ve got a suggestion in this regard, feel free to post them on our Discord.

I’ve got to admit, holding on to the reveal during the event where you summon Cho at the end of her content was a real challenge. I had numerous elements I wanted to incorporate, and I found myself revising substantial portions of it at least four times. Such as Cho coming to terms with the favour trading being more than just the means to an end, the big reveal about the luck potion, and then also putting focus onto the sexy stuff. I mean, what is this? A porn game?

There were also plenty of technical aspects and ideas that had us wondering if we could actually make them happen, but I’m stoked that everything came together smoothly in the end. One idea that evolved a couple of times was the CG of Cho masturbating inside the changing room. Initially, it was meant to just cut between the two CG’s, but then the idea of displaying both at the same time inside a thought-bubble emerged. When I mentioned that it would be funny if Genie’s cum landed on Cho inside the other CG, Loafy came up with the idea of letting players switch between the two CGs by simply interacting with the bubble. Once I knew we were going to be able to show both CG’s at the same time, I started thinking about how the Cho inside her mind would react, in contrast to the “real world”. I figured I may as well take advantage of being able to see both at the same time, and have that version of her give a clue as to what Cho was really feeling.

I also added a lot more sound effects for the deepthroat scene than I normally would. In my previous experiences of incorporating sounds, I’ve noticed that longer sound effects don’t mesh well when paired with still images. I’ve also stayed away from sounds that would give the character a certain “voice profile” such as moaning, since I’d imagine that the player has a certain voice in their mind already. That said, I figured that gagging sounds would still fit within those constraints while also evoking the sense of panic I aimed for in the scene. I haven’t received much feedback about this yet, so I’m curious to know if you guys think it worked well for the scene.

That’s about as much as I can share about the development for now. In my personal life, I got sick for a week or so, right after the last update, so I wasn’t really able to play too many games. But, I was still able to replenish my creative juices in other ways. I tend to watch Youtube videos or Twitch streams a lot more than Movies or TV-series, though. I wonder if anyone else is like this, where they don’t feel like they want to dedicate their full focus and watch a film. Maybe I need to put videos of people cutting foam or subway surfer next to it…

See you next time!

Devblog #6 – Hot Stuff

Johnny28

Hello, Johnny here with another devblog.

Things have been hot here, with the summer heat and also due to the work I’m currently doing. This will be another shorter post, as we’re really busy, but I’ll do my best to make it worth your while.
Since my last devblog post, I’ve finished the improvements to Hermione’s writing and event checks. There are quite a few things I want to talk about in detail, including future ideas, but that will have to wait until my next post as it will be heavy in both words and spoilers.

For now, I’d like to tell you a few things that won’t reveal too much. I’ve added new randomized chit-chats, based on things like if Hermione is clothed or naked, or event statuses, as well as adding checks for existing chit-chats. In addition, I’ve added more writing variants, depending on the order you play certain favours on later tiers. For example, having her give you a blowjob before or after titjob. When you cum in different places for the first time, she will now also react properly.

I was delighted to see the response to the recent clothing teasers that we have released for Cho, and I’m excited to share that a couple of the less revealing ones will be included in her outfit schedule as well. So from now on, you’ll be seeing some variation, right after her introduction.

As of the time of writing, I am currently engaged in the process of posing Cho CGs. It’s going very well, and I’m happy with how they’re turning out. I’m not going into any more detail about the specifics here, of course, you’ll have to wait until it’s released, which should happen very soon. As long as you promise to eat your vegetables.

That’s it for the development portion of this week’s post, and I’ll end it by wishing you all a good day.

Since the steam sale is coming up, I thought I’d ask if you guys have any recommendations for games I should play once we’ve released the upcoming update. I mostly play story-based indie games, but I am looking for some more classic 2D top-down or side-scrolling RPG’s. I very much enjoyed Wandersong and Crosscode for example, but I don’t mind turn-based as long as it has a good story and some twist when it comes to mechanics.

I hope to finally pick up Hogwarts Legacy if it goes on sale, but I’m also looking for games where you can jump in and play for an hour or so, since I’m often too busy with work to dive into more attentive games.