herotome

[herotome]

Devlog #136

Hi-ho, Wudge here!

I wrote for and reworked the details of an upcoming scene this week - it's still very rough but it does finally feel like it's coming together.

Pretty much, it involves meeting Mia more officially in her hero get-up - and it involves her trying and failing to corral some paparazzi out of the road bc they don't wanna listen to someone who doesn't have that superstar rizz. (Though let's be real, they wouldn't listen to a superstar either).

It does mean I have to scrap a different scene (Mia showcases her powers by lifting something heavy) for now, but I may be able to re-use it a little later.

Other than that, I started putting together more art assets. Neverending art assets. Sisyphean art assets.

Concept for how MC's phone will be shown in the game, concept for the "imagination" filter I mentioned the other week (thank you to @bunnyrules and @velvet-cupcake-games for reminding me that radial gradients and vignettes exist!!), and concepts for Mia's hero outfit.

That's about it for now I think.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#herotome update #interactive fiction #oelvn #visual novel #otome game #english otome #otome #indie game

[herotome]

Devlog #135

Hi-ho, Wudge here!

jksdbj I finally put some expressions together for Ko-Fi after a delay I've felt very guilty about, and Ko-Fi won't let me post it. :( CURSES. It keeps logging me out when I'm on the herotome page?? ???

I suppose all I can do is to store it here on tumblr for now, and try ko-fi again tomorrow

More Warden expressions! One of these days I'll move onto Griffin.. one of these days.... Her eyebrows genuinely intimidate me.

Anyway.

I'm not sure I have much to update with. I did some more potential-future-antagonist sprite design (Clammy Lady's boss) and feel like I haven't made as much forward progress as I really should. It's already April... 😩 Looking through some previous devlogs, it seems I wrote some trashfire first draft and stored it somewhere. I should probably look for and get back to it.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#herotome update

[herotome]

somewhere on a long dead forum there's a link that no longer works to a mod to a game nobody plays that would be a valuable contribution to the way people see level design if it got a chance to be seen. somewhere on a website that gets 15 monthly visitors there's a webcomic that woulkd inspire and resonate with you and change your life even in a small way if you could just find it. somewhere theres a music artist that would inspire you for years to come but their work just can't manage to be seen online or off. theres so many things that would change your life that just can't seem to rise to the surface and remain undiscovered and forgotten. or maybe never shared

[herotome]

No devlog this week! See y'all next week. <3

[herotome]

about that MC "thinking about the LIs" scene, maybe you can use the characters' silhouettes and overlay some fun patterns on them. After all, the MC doesn't really know them yet.

Hahaha-- okay first of all, thank you to everyone who's offered suggestions. You've all really helped to get me think more creatively and feel less limited!

Masking the silhouette with patterns is also a rockin idea and quite doable in code, it's just-- my intrusive thoughts made it look like--

#ro: everyone #herotome ask #thank you again for the suggestion I'll be thinking about what kind of pattern I can use...! Probably something at a low opacity #maybe crosshatching since thats a reoccuring motif anyways

[herotome]

Devlog #134

Hi-ho, Wudge here. Devlog day!

I've mostly (90%) finished writing, editing, and coding in the scene immediately following the Super Demo! It's missing one choice set and I haven't put in any sfx or music just yet, but the conditionals and variables are all set and all of the images are in place.

I have room to improve with one of the images though -

It's so dark????? And I gotta add Jade and Dart, but--

I wanted to represent the MC thinking about the Love Interests, not that they suddenly teleported in. In the only outside example I can think of, shoujo anime, imagination/daydream scenes can be represented with pink bubbles and flowers, like so

...but that's a bit excessive for the tone of Herotome.

The most straightforward solution would be to commission a CG to showcase the characters from a different angle, but it'd only be for a couple of lines!! Not cost-effective 😂

So uh, wish me luck coming up with a visual solution that isn't cloaking the characters in darkness...

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#interactive fiction #oelvn #visual novel #otome game #otome #english otome #indie game

[herotome]

Devlog #133

Hi-ho, Wudge here.

I plugged in a bunch of expressions for Warden! (Don't mind the... recording window I accidentally left in the middle of the screen, and the way his eyes randomly turn gray after GIF compressions.)

Special thanks to my Ko-Fi donors - the variety of faces this man makes would not exist without them!

This past week I also drew some additional expressions not featured here, but I'll be putting them up on Ko-Fi soon. And, totally no relation, here's a mood board I made as reference for myself:

I also redrew an upcoming NPC, and put her into a test scene...

And I did a bit of writing and outlining. That's about it, I think!

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#interactive fiction #oelvn #herotome update #visual novel #otome #english otome #otome game #indie game

[herotome]

I had a question about Daeng our Landlord. If you kiss his boo-boo he gets mad because he’s already seeing someone. However he has a score at the end of the demo. So I was wondering is that score related to the leeway he’s going to give us on paying our rent or something else?

Lol..... Very good guess, but no leeway on rent unfortunately. 😂 He'll be nicer to you if you're nice to him, but he'll never be that nice.

I think you might get a tiny approval boost if you try to kiss his boo-boo, actually? He does draw a boundary and tells you to stop, but inwardly he finds it a bit endearing!

Also, (super demo spoiler under the cut) -

With high enough Daeng approval, he'll show up to "save" you in the demo's bad ends because he considers you a friend and will make sure you're taken care of.

But you still gotta pay him rent. 😩

#basketball boy #herotome ask

[herotome]

I just wanna say as a self proclaimed crybaby i greatly appreciate the crying scene. Like Yes my goto response to conflict is to burst into tears and it's just so validating to see that in a vn give it up for the emotionally volatile girlies /lh

LOL mannnn absolutely, it's important to me to put in a slew of dialogue options that rly capture instinctive, earnest reactions alongside the more neutral/possibly repressed choices

Assuming we're not playing in a constant state of explosive emotional crisis, the game won't really punish you for having an 'imperfect' response here or there. We're all gonna have moments where don't quite have it all together!

#will a character remember a poor choice of words - maybe #will ur mc DIE - no #idk if anything I said just now even made sense but a lot of ppl seem to Get what I was going for (u included anon) and I appreciate that!! #herotome ask

[herotome]

Flawless customer service ✨

No one can resist a good (or incredibly bitter) cup of coffee…something about The Familiar’s secret brew just hits those bones different 💀☕

✨ Wishlist Spill The Beans on Steam! ✨

#I just finished Harrow the Ninth and got a new skeleton themed mutual is this fate

[herotome]

Devlog #132

Hi-ho, Wudge here.

I did some writing!!!! 🎉

I scribbled over it here because I'm embarrassed, but I'm REALLY trying to embrace the suck(tm) and let my first draft be rough and ugly just so it can Exist. Other writers know the pain. I think.

I also did more expressions for Warden! Like... this one...

And drafted up concepts for the annoying couple at the federal center:

This isn't exactly how I imagined them, but it's a start.

On another note, has anybody been getting an influx of these on tumblr?

Apparently they're called "Back in Town" and they are... unfortunately getting on my nerves. Like I think it's great that people I follow are posting stuff!!! But I have followed A LOT of people over the years and when I wanna look at their stuff, that's what my dash is for 😭

Tumblr please I don't need all these pings auuUGHGHHGHHH. I tried going into Settings > Activity to filter them out but apparently that only filters them out from that specific activity page, not from my notifications.

If anyone has figured out how to shut these off please let me know. Thanks!

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#interactive fiction #herotome update #oelvn #visual novel #otome game #otome #english otome #indie game

[herotome]

Devlog #132

Hi-ho, Wudge here!

Not much to update with, just doing my best to plug actual expressions into the game. Some of these will be dedicated to donors, I'm just gonna try to finish out the code before putting the images together to post on Ko-Fi.

I've also been writing a bit and sketching out moooreee NPCs... I keep in mind that there's a chance these people won't even show up in the game, but if they do, I'll want to have their assets mostly ready. Plus I get to exercise my art muscles.

I previously mentioned starting a new weekly schedule - and I think it's been going well. Keeping the daily task as bare bones as possible was really helpful.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#interactive fiction #herotome update #oelvn #visual novel #otome game #otome #english otome #indie game

[herotome]

Thank youi for the SuperDemo, I had a great time crying in public and fist-fighting Warden in his office!

Omg hello I recognize your pfp and username!!! You've been following for a while, yeah? Thank you thank you for playing <3

I inwardly call those scenes "classics" because they were written quite a while ago, surviving multiple drafts and without getting cut wahahaha. I'm glad you enjoyed them!

#non-classics/newer scenes include.. pretty much the two major Jade scenes lollll #there seems to be appreciation for both new and classic scenes with is nice #I appreciate yall I truly do #herotome ask

[herotome]

Hello Wudge!!! I know working on such a beautiful and ambitious project must be incredibly tiring. I also know how encouraging it can be to know that people enjoy what you put out there, so I'm here to express my appreciation for Herotome and all the work you have put into it already!

I've been into visual novels for a couple of years now, and while I enjoy my occassional short and sweet dose of cheesy romance, most visual novels could never really satisfy my desire for a good narrative and a lot of time to get to know the love interests (As someone who really needs to know a person in order to get romantically involved with them, I've always found some love stories kind of rushed. That's just my preference tho). I know it's hard to develop a fully-fledged game, especially when you're an independent developer and mostly work for free, so I'm definitely not trying to undermine anyone's work!!!

However, this is why I was so stunned by how much Herotome's DEMO captivated me. Not even just the extended demo!!! The first time I came across this game was before the extended demo got released, and even then, I was so enamoured with the universe, the artstyle, the characters, the writing. EVERYTHING. I'm a bit ashamed to say I can be quite picky with my taste in visual novels, but Herotome literally ticked every single box for me. Visually appealing designs (both with the characters and with the UI!), a great mix of humour and sobriety, clear and skilled writing and awesome world building. All of this in A DEMO??? GOD DAMN, DUDE!

A literal demo unironically managed to put this visual novel among my absolute favourites simply because of how much work and care was put into it. I really hope it gains more attention even before it gets fully released, because you truly deserve the same level of support that games like Our Life (my #1 fav VN, can't wait for OL2) have. I know it'll probably be a while before Herotome gets released, but I'll try my best to wait patiently because I can't wait to see more of everyone! (especially Dart and Jade, I love them.)

I'm really sorry for the whole essay over here, but I just wanted to make my support clear!!! Unfortunately I don't have the possibility of financially supporting (yet) but I'm over here awaiting every update of this game with so much excitement you have no idea (⁠ᗒ⩊ᗕ ྀི) Good luck and stay healthy!

ksbfjsdb how did you know.. 😭😭😭 Thank you, sweet anon! No apology necessary, I love essays!!

Worldbuilding is a area where I've felt particularly lacking -- like, I make a point avoid thinking about it most of the time, so in the rare instances I actually do put in effort it feels like it's coming up short? Maybe not so much in the demos, but nowadays I'll be standing around thinking about how things work in the society of Rhineway and trying to plan out ideas of what's gonna come up in the routes and my brain will inevitably feels like television static by the end.

SO to be praised for worldbuilding gives me a bizarre yet flattered feeling (sort of like "I'm not sure I deserve this but I guess I've done something right"), thank you, and I'm continually touched that people enjoy the humor! I really try to put in a lot of throwaway jokes where it's like -- if you don't laugh, it's totally fine cuz it goes by pretty quick -- but it is nice to know I've made people laugh. Or at least have an sensible inward chuckle :')

It sounds like you're demisexual btw which - lol me too. 🤝 Eyyyy!

I'm not sure how to end this post so I'll just put in some preview of what I've been working on -

Lots of eyebrow dances.

#herotome ask

[herotome]

They are already selling data to midjourney, and it's very likely your work is already being used to train their models because you have to OPT OUT of this, not opt in. Very scummy of them to roll this out unannounced.

[herotome]

Just popping in to tell you that I love Dart even though he pisses me off. Thank you so much

sjkdfbskjdfbk 😂😂😂😂😂

#ro: dart #herotome ask #as his 'parent' I feel obliged to say that ALL THE OTHER LIs usually piss me off more than dart #he is strangely easy to write #but I get u anon I get u.... I've played many a VN with LIs who are Like That hahahaha

[herotome]

Devlog #131

Hi-ho, Wudge here. I'm back!

... Well, I've still been working on Herotome on and off this whole time, but I'm back to writing devlogs.

Here's a look at what I've been working on low-key:

Some mysterious (fully functional!!)fast forward code...

...Some writing...

And, fuck it, a before and after touch-up of an NPC I've been working on:

Very very wip but it's Warden's best friend, Akio! Here they are together -

I'd also like to talk about my workflow today.

For the past couple of years, I've been working from home and have largely assigned myself tasks on the fly - which has worked for me with mixed results in the past, but I think contributes to a general sense of overwhelm as well.

Post Super Demo, I've had more eyes on the game - more comments, more Ko-Fi donations, more engagement - which is GREAT I cannot stress enough that this is a good thing! And it is also more responsibility, which doesssnnn't jive super well with my work style.

I did some introspection, as I do, and this time hypothesized that I might benefit from setting a clearer weekly schedule. This was somewhat devastating because I have an innate hatred of schedules and routines and tend to rebel against them when given half the chance-- but I do believe Herotome and I will benefit from it.

I did my best to keep my work schedule bare bones with a lot of room to diverge and do other things; after a few days of trying it out, so far so good!

.... That's a whole lot of words though so tldr? Here's a visual--

I can still work on Herotome in addition to client work (and vice-versa), the "focus" will just gives me a sense of prioritization.

Stay safe and keep warm,

Wudge.

#oelvn #interactive fiction #herotome update #otome game #visual novel #english otome #indie game #otome