Thank you for 4K+ plays / downloads!

^^ pixel cat gifted by the lovely spiderpunkss on twitter!!♡

WAHOOOO! 

What a wonderful start to the new year! I really am grateful for the support and feedback, and to those that took the time to comment, rate and leave a review - thank you so much!

｡ﾟ( ﾟ^∀^ﾟ)ﾟ｡❤

Now, let me take a tinyyy step back and apologise for the delay in releasing this dev-log. Finals and presentations were upon me, and I was scrambling to catch up to my studies. Moreover, after releasing the game (though I was already burnt out at that point) the bugs and mistakes kept bothering me to the point that I was pushing myself to start fixing my entry the following day. 

(Which is crazy!!! Please remember to take breaks and to take care of yourself!!!) 

In the weeks following the release of V1.1, which had finally resolved those pesky bugs and mistakes, I was way past burnout and decided to take it easy, specifically in regards to the thank-you illustration. I promised myself that I'd get to it eventually, whenever I could in between my studies, but I ended up putting it on hold until I had the proper time to sit down and work on it.

At last, with winter break rolling around, I've finally decided to put my foot down and get to it! So, having regained my energy, here I am - finally having completed the thank-you illustration!

Huzzah! ♪♪♪ ヽ(ˇ∀ˇ )ゞ

** It looks softer than what I usually draw, but I think the final image ended up looking super cute! Which is quite ironic, considering the visual novel's genre, hoho... (ง ื▿ ื)ว **

Thank you, dear reader, for giving "Trials of the Betwixt" a chance! I've been dying to scratch that horror itch I've had, but wasn't confident that my skills were sufficient enough in building tension, creating a spooky atmosphere, and ultimately - creating the scares themselves. Forming that sense of dread within the player is quite a challenge itself, but using the medium of visual novels in order to do so is another ball park entirely, so I wasn't quite sure on how to approach the topic - still, I really wanted to give it a shot!

Additionally, since I'd released a drama-romance game earlier, I wasn't even sure if a supernatural-horror shift was within the interests of my existing audience. So, while creating the 'outline' (which, well... we'll get to that later...) I was considering multiple times if I should drop it.

However, I'm glad for sticking through with the decision to bring the idea to life! Seeing the reception being overwhelmingly positive and hearing you all enjoying the story and characters has genuinely made me so happy!  

Once again, thank you all so much!   ⸜(*ˊᗜˋ*)⸝❤

Postmortem:

Here, I'd like to discuss certain things that lean into game design, but I realise it'd be better suited to explore those topics (such as rendering backgrounds I've modelled) within my tumblr blog.

Hence, I've decided to keep it brief here and mainly explore the important learning experiences I've had within the Spooktober game jam! If you're not interested in that, I'd recommend checking out the wrap-up segment, 'PSA- we can read your collection titles'.

Let's get into the rambling! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

Oh no! My 'outline' isn't an outline and now I'm overwhelmed!

I'll have to be completely honest - even as I type this part, I keep getting overwhelmed and blank out when trying to recall certain things, due to the amount of stress I went through while trying to bring this project to life. 

It's all on me, of course.

Proper planning would have prevented this and made the process go way smoother, but I was naive to the amount of work I had to do as a solo-dev, and not only underestimated the importance of a proper outline (to which I thought was simply writing a beginning and an end, then bullshitting my way through it all) but the scope was getting out of hand because, once again, I didn't have a proper outline to follow.

Characters would get introduced then get cut out, every week I'd recognise the need for new assets in order for the story to make sense (such as modelling additional backgrounds and rendering them from scratch), 11 days into the game jam I'd realise I wouldn't have time to make proper music so I had to reach out to a musician (PotionofMidi's a real one for saving me here) - I even learnt a mechanic mid-jam just to implement the musical chair sequence which was suggested by my sister because I thought it was cool, pushing myself a couple of days behind the rough 'schedule' I had in my mind.

There's so much more to get into, but I'll have to cut it short.

As proud as I am of the insane amount of work and growth that I was able to accomplish within the Spooktober game jam time limitation, it did take both a hefty physical and mental toll on me. By the end of the month, I was so stressed about making it on time that I was working on autopilot. I had to wake up by 5 a.m every day within the final week (to which I just realised my roommate could sleep through anything haha) and even stayed up within the last 24 hours just to make it on time.

Not-so-fun-fact: everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - from The Baron's introduction and onwards within version 1.0 (which includes the script, CG, coding transitions, credits...) was done on the final day. 

No, I didn't even have a concept of The Baron yet. He'd only been a name within my 'outline' for the longest time, and I didn't give it much thought. Yes, that means that his design revealed itself as I was creating The Baron's CG.

See, right now! 

Just as I typed that, I could feel goosebumps crawling up my arms. Sometimes, I still can't believe I went through all that. 

(Ahhh, the consequences of under-planning, and sub-par time management...)

Regardless, (flashes flashlight under my face) I trudged onwards, towards the light at the end of the tunnel...

Now, if I was a person with more than two brain cells, I'd look at the remaining time and say, 'Hey, there's an hour left 'till the deadline. Time to wrap this up since releasing files to download takes a while!'

I was probably very sleep-deprived, so instead, I said,

'Oh, Iet me edit the options.gui real quick, I forgot to implement the GUI design I had, I should change the layout.'

After playing around with the code for a bit, I turn my head towards the clock and WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT THERE'S LIKE TWENTY MINUTES LEFT - panicked, I tried to CTRL+Z my way back but I couldn't remember which files I had altered.

Riveting.

I give up on trying to undo my mistakes, and prioritise making it to the jam on time. 

With roughly 6 minutes left, I finally submit my Spooktober game jam entry, warts and all (the options.gui not being in proper layout irked me for the longest time). After one hell of a stressful 24 hours, I announce the release of my game, toss my phone somewhere, realise it was almost morning, and simply lie on the floor.

The chirping of birds gradually fill the silence as I stare at the ceiling. How long had I been sitting there? I wouldn't know, I lost track of time. The doorknob turns and my thoughts scatter.

The release of "Trials of the Betwixt" will always be nothing short of a miracle to me. 

A word of warning from a place of love

Do not misunderstand me, dear reader- if you're an aspiring dev, I am not here to spook you into never joining another game jam again. After all, these game jams provide excellent learning opportunities and challenges you wouldn't get from not having a strict deadline or certain limitations (such as asset or genre limits). 

An example of this would be, as mentioned before, The Baron's design and the climax transitions - he most probably would have been a sprite and the confrontation would have been way less dramatic had I not ended up implementing The Baron's scene as a CG due to time limitations. (These deadlines really can be both a blessing and a curse...)

I am, however, setting up some tea so we can have a quick chat about the consequences of being a solo-dev that doesn't ground themselves to reality and properly plan their process or manage their time. 

(a.k.a me.)

Let me preface with this: It's okay to dream; to want to grow. These are wonderful things to hold onto!

But, having your head constantly stuck in the clouds and ignoring the realities of the deck you've been dealt with can also have its consequences, and as a developer (or any kind of creative, really) trying to grow too fast without taking care of yourself can have the opposite effect - it can lead to burnout, and make you hate the very thing you were passionate about. 

I may not be the best at articulating myself or explaining things, but at the end of the day, if there's anything to take from this dev-log, please look into the scope of your story beforehand (and be honest with yourself), create a proper outline to understand what's going on and what assets you need, and depending on your scope or unless you're up for a challenge and truly believe you can handle going for it solo, assemble or join a team.

We're not machines, and we all have our limits. It's better to work with one or two things at a time than to juggle with 8 and suffer burnout. I mean, come now, what do we even gain from that? We really ought to be kinder to ourselves.

(っ´ω`)ﾉ(╥ω╥)

And that's a wrap!

Ahhh, despite pushing myself to the absolute limit, what a wonderful learning experience this project was! I also got to play some absolute bangers submitted to the Spooktober game jam. I'm sure most of you have probably checked them out by now, but if you haven't, I'd highly recommend it - there's some real gems that stuck with me long after playing them!

If you're an aspiring dev that's simply strolling by, then I truly hope you've found something of interest or value within my rambling. And trust me, the world can't wait to hear what you have to say - to hear your story, so hold onto that resolve and get to it!

I'm rooting for you!

 ─=≡Σ((( つ＞＜)つ

PSA- we can read your collection titles

If public, that is. Most people probably already know that, but how funny would it be if someone found out this way?

"Trials of the Betwixt" has been saved to over 600+ collections! (yippeee!) So, before wrapping up, I'd like to take a moment to highlight some of my favourite collection titles! (And to title them back- like some kind of title-ception, muahaha!)

** If you'd like me to remove your collection from this list, no worries! Please dm me on any of my socials, or comment under this post! Thank you!**

Without further ado, and in no particular order:

SILYL!! ! !

*places you in my shirt pocket, next to my heart*

Yes.

*invites you to a tea party so we can discuss our favourite pixel men*

*prints it and frames it on the wall*

Cool coincidence (they were right next to each other)

Passed the suppressing atmosphere test!╰( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡° )つ──☆*:・ﾟ

Now then... what's next?

Hm.

That's a really good question.

For once, I'm not 100% sure.

I mean, I could work on Sean's story,  create a sequel to "Trials of the Betwixt", or perhaps create a new project entirely? I haven't gotten to release a full-length game that doesn't revolve around a game jam, either, so I think I'll have that as one of my goals for 2024. (Then again, there's some fun game jams I'd like to explore within the upcoming months... ahhh, indecisiveness be damned!)

If I'm being honest, I'm leaning more towards exploring Sean's past. I finally have a satisfying idea that's been floating around my head for a while now... but I've still yet to decide.

Well, I hope I haven't kept you too long - that's it from my side for now! 

Happy holidays, and here's to a hopeful and fruitful year ahead! 

Until next time, dear reader! 

( ´ ω ` )ノﾞ