Demo Release Trailer

Monday, April 9, 2018

Updating Mechanics

To start, a new mechanic has been added, Defend.

Used by pressing D, it will nullify the damage of most attacks, you can move freely while in this mode, but you cannot skeddaddle or attack. It's hard defense, while skedaddle is soft defence and good support due to its mobility. F still functions as the Friend switch command.

The 'Drives' are still planned, but it's likely I'll call them something else and make the key something like 'e', which is more difficult to hit accidentally.

I'm pretty happy with the key sets now.
A, S, D, F
Attack, Skedaddle, Defend, Friends
Z, X
Accept, Cancel
Arrow Keys
Movement

Sift and dashing in general will be disabled, you'll naturally run at 5 times speed. to add, skedaddle won't increase your maximum movement speed anymore, which will solve a lot of the issues in regard to it and it's speed parameters.

I've also been optomizing collision detection, now instead of checking players x / y against the opponents or projectiles x / y and then asking do players have a certain state on, it will simply deal the damage, and the collision checks won't even be made if skedaddle, player or defend iFrames are active. This way the game is just checking a bool on three switches, rather than four variables each frame, which should help a lot with whatever little lag people experience.

Lighting system??
I've decided to retire it, any maps with lights lag to sin on older computers, and I could generate something better looking for nowhere near the number of system resources via a simple picture light overlay. Instead of one picture with a simple opacity pulse, the lighting system I'm removing did multiple pictures (one instance for each on map light) and also added jenki animations to them which honestly, just looked bad and added to processor usage.

The overlays system will stay for now.

Thursday, April 5, 2018

Questions and Answers regarding the recent Fantasia build

I've gotten a lot of questions and suggestions regarding the game, it's dialogue system and the sheer amount of flavor text and dialogue in Fantasia. I'm going to firstly answer questions related to dialogue, for one- I've said a system like Yanfly Gab Window wont work, but yet no one will take my word on it, so I figure I'll take this post to explain why, as well as state that- changes are indeed coming for the dialogue system, and very likely positive ones at that.

Q: So why no Gab Window
A: For the amount of dialogue in some of the conversations, a gab window would be too small, and even if not, the other major problem with gab window is that because you can free move, you could talk to multiple objects at once, and it'd parse each one in a queue.

This gets unwieldy and awkward very fast.

There's also the issue that gab windows, unlike regular textbox windows, do not allow for animated busts, which give a lot of the expression and charm to these conversations. The Gab Window is a dumb idea. Though it's a fair suggestion, but believe me, it's been thought of, tried, found unworthy, and discarded long before this question was raised.

Q: Would it be possible to make dialogue boxes less wide so that the text is less head-turny to read?
A: A bit awkwardly worded, but basically this related to how the dialogue stretched from one side of the screen to the other, causing a lot of head swerving to read encapsulate dialogue on large monitors.

It is possible, and it's something I'm working on. In fact I've already done a proto-type I'm pleased with which has been met with approval from most of the people who complained about this, the only real difference is in place of one dialogue box, some may become too, because less width for each line means that some few dialogue windows that were chocked full of words will bleed into new dialogue boxes, but this is fairly easy- if a bit monotonous to fix. But this is why I do demos, because had I done the full game and had dialogue like that, I'd have had a lot more work on my hands.

Q: Would it be possible to trim down the amount of dialogue in the beginning?
A: Possible, but not much, several things that are mentioned, are incredible vital to the story and don't really get mentioned again. For instance, some think the fact Kyoshi mentions that the vending machine is acting funny as filler, but in reality thats a subtle clue as to the plot you uncover later.

Another thing I see mentioned is that Lilac's detetsation of being called Lily seems a bit redundant, but it's really not, and when you get to day 6 it's revealed there's a big plot element behind that. I will say that it is mentioned more than once, but that time in the intro it's CRUCIAL because that's the most dramatic reaction, the reaction to Lumi on Day 4 is a bit more subdued, which doesn't give it as much impact.

In the end, it would be a very minimal change, though Day 2, some of the dialogue could definitely be tuned down.

Q: Pamphlets... what are they even good for?
A: Currently, and possibly forever, they are just well presented info dumps. They are rewards for defeating bosses youre not supposed to or doing well in certain challenges.
Though some can be found just from exploration, like Koko's, though that will likely change.

Q: More gameplay!!! Where??
A: The dialogue to gameplay ratio is rather imbalanced, especially in the beginning, and currently one section of gameplay can be entirely skipped in an invisible sequence break.

In Day 2 a new fight will be added for Koko Spiral, so that you can try out the full cusp of her abilities. I may also have the Insidious Architect talk to her, I'll have to change a bit of future dialogue to reflect this- But that's easy enough.

Q: What's the dealie with Kyoshi's backstory?
A: I've only gotten this question once, but it was in regards to why Kyoshi has old adventuring gear, some swords and other things which would suggest he had a life of adventure.

Kyoshi's origin story is played out in Terra, or more accurately, Terra: New Moon. A currently unfinished RPG which tells of Kyoshi, Nikki and Trixie, as well as the often mentioned understudy and son-like fella of Kyoshi, Valin.

In that game Kyoshi is heartwarming towards his adoptive son, but very weary and scathing off his girlfriend and engagement, Trixie Valenthart- he references these characters in his Fake ID's, which Lumi forgivably assumes to be made up aliases that sounded ridiculous.

The game mentioned has two routes, one where Valin chooses Trixie over Kyoshi, which leads Kyoshi to be heartbroken, and one where he mends the relationship between the two. Both are considered canon, as the result of either is unclear and not mentioned in the context of the small references they've had.

Q: When will we see more of the 6 winged pink faerie girl (Fyori) and the blue winged sorta devil-looking five-winged girl (Esperia)?
A: Disk 1 and 2 to some degree, Disk 3 to a larger degree.

Q: Will Disk 1 have more gemplay than Disk 0
A: Yes, six bosses that will require some effort, as well as a couple obstacle courses.

Q: Where will Disk 1 take place?
A: Earth, both in Britain and Australia.

Q: Will we go to some places not yet explored, even in menagerie, places like Vahnus, completely new on the cosmic map?
 A: Yes. The Homeworld of the Kitsunes for one, among some worlds not very far developed, such as Mira's Homeworld of Planet Shale.

Q: Will Mira be one of the 19 members we recruit?
A: Yes. Given her power level, she's the fight just before Esperia and then Fyori.

Q: How do you plan to have the Twins, Embodiments which have essentially, an ever growing power level, be a realistically winnable fight?
A: It's true, they are unlikely to be defeated, and impossible to destroy. Both Twins have their own fight, then a combined form which is the ultimate final boss.

The Girls are unaware, but they have the same capability, the ability to grow their power to match their opponents, during the last fight, they'll start to learn this, and they will get more health, more attack power, etc- As the fights go on. This is what Yasondre, Sacreblu and such could have meant when they refer to the girls having more power than they know, and that it is something they best discover themselves. The music track 25, "More Power Than You Know ~Star-sundering Ascension to the Heavenly Might of God" refers to this moment of self-discovery.

That was probably a bit of a spoiler. Oops. :0

Q: Oh lawdy, did you make a tumblr?
A: Against my better judgement. Yes.

Q: What is Lilac's endgame? She seems to have some hidden agenda up her sleeve? And shows virtually no sympathy, or at the least, very little for Vahnus- her home's destruction.
A: Lilac says it best herself, her sisters are her world, the only world she cares one bit about. Even if the whole Universe ceased to be, she'd be happy so long as her sisters were by her side. Her only real endgame is to be there for her sisters. She's just naturally pretty apathetic to most events outside of that.

Q: Lumi is so cute!!! What gave you the inspiration for her character?
A: Mabel from Gravity Falls was one of Lumi's larger inspirations, the glitter eating, the optimistic upbeat personality. However, she had other influences as well, Jade Harley from Homestuck sorta played into her perceived Narcolepsy, even though it's not Narcolepsy, she's just humble-tired all of the time due to how much energy she exhausts during her night shift. Several other of her behaviours, such as the munching and sleeping in odd places, is reflective of the bunny spirit inside her.

Q: So if Lumi is Mabel, then Koko is Dipper?
A: Busted. Koko also takes inspiration from Rose Lalonde of Homestuck fame, due to her more classy etiquette, rare but amusing bouts of self-indulged silliness, and her neo-gothic outlook on the powers beyond. She's also into books. Her shades were inspired from bad anime.

Q: So, in recurring with the Gravity Falls clique, who is Lilac?
A: She's not based on a gravity falls character, and she got the most on the fly personality dynamics. She started out as the edge girl who ate burnt toast and got mad when dad lied to her about the world exploding, she was basically a Gaz (invader zim) but this made her hard to sympathize with, so she got the superior sibling and Pavlovian trainer dynamic. This worked well because Koko was very much a sort of inverse, as in, she thought of the good of everyone, even at the cost of her sisters, while Lilac thought of her sisters, be it at the cost of everyone else.

Q: So, Sacreblu, the Spellweaver, is she the same deity Blu from Menagerie and Intelligence?
A: Same personality, altered body. In the finale of the 314th Clash, Niirgo fused with her after she defected so that he could finish his task, but she rebelled and outcast his presence from the new body.

Q: Who is that guy in the intro, who says he misses his sisters??
A: You'll just have to wait and see.

Q: What was the inspiration for Kyoshi?
A: In his original conception, it was Auron, but now while he carries some of Auron's inspiration, his tone is more in line with a goofy character like Goku or Stanley Pines. He's definitely the most romantic male character so far, rivaling Sped. I often base Dads in games of mine off the happy-go-lucky side of my Dad.

Q: Are all the bosses going to be female?
A: Captain Nelson is girl??

In seriousness, no, in fact in Disk 1 Rolly and Pep are bosses. Zardari, Future Spooky and other males are bosses in Disks further on.

The majority though, yes- is female. This is not a decision I made for equality, political or any significant reasons, I just like to drawn and write girls more than boys. That's literally the only reason. Anyone who tells you I'm a gender-traitor, a misogynist, a trap, or the like, is just raving on with either memes or shit they dont know fuck all about.

The Roster is complete, on average there's one boy boss for every 3 girl bosses.

Q: Will the game cost anything on release?
A: No. Alike all of the CCC's games so far, no payments are required to play the game. It would be my honor to let you play and join me on this unnerving journey.

Q: MAPS. The Only flaw is maps, you have these, ms-painty indoors maps, then these rich and beautiful outdoors maps, my AESTHETICISM IS OFFEND??
A: That won't stay, I simply didn't wish to delay the demo any longer than I had already. In the next BIG demo update, all maps should include the aesthetic that matches up with the sprites and portraits. The maps in the house wll be given a tad more detail and texture so as to better blend with the sprites.

Q: Why did you choose three-backwalls?
A: Some people think there is some legit symbolic reason why I wanted the indoor maps to have three visible walls, like some illuminati crap, to be fair- given the amount of tri-symbology in this game, that's a fair assumption, but it factors into this design descision none.

I just wanted more space to place wall hangings.

That's it, that's literally my excuse. Is it a good excuse for the perspective mockery? Dunno... do I care? Hell nah! Gotta have them walls for posters mang!

As an unanticipated but positive bonus, it makes the game look very removed from the RTP.

Q: Who is the Innocuous Merchant?
A: Have you heard of the Immoral Messenger?

Q: What's Yasondre's deal... she sometimes gets a very serious worried look, but most of the time she's chipper as beans?
A: Yasondre is unnerved by anything that reminds her of the Embodiment of Terror, whom she's had more than enough of.

Q: How did Yasondre, Sacreblu and Kyoshi coordinate the plan to whisk away the three girls if Yasondre has been in isolation for the last 12-13 years?
A: You'll simply have to speculate, I know why- but it's quite a spoiler.

Q: What's the difference Destruction and Erasure?
A: Destruction is what Yasondre endured, body is destroyed, and conciousness is trapped in a place called the Afterworld. Erasure means complete oblivion, there's no coming back from Erasure, once something is erased, it's gone- forever. Even if the Twins would want to, they cannot possibly recover what has been erased.

In Other words, Captain Nelson is gone- for good.

Q: So wait, is Yasondre's body was destroyed, how did she get it back the moment she came back to the living world?
A: She formed a new one when she returned to the mortal plane. She is the Life-goddess, after all. For most, destruction would be the end, and even if their concious self could be recovered from the otherworld, they would lack a living body to inhabit, Yasondre is special in this case.

Q: So, if Sacreblu got sent to the Afterworld by Niirgo, how does she still possess that body?
A: A God's body is indestructable.

Q: So, explain the dieties, gods, and hieracy, please??
A: Very well.

Demigod: Usually given a singular role or purpose, these include the Origination Council, Destroyer Gods such as Maw, Pyro, Jolt, etc.

Immortals: Basically Mortals who have died, they can acquire latent powers, but don't have the perks of creation and destruction the way Demigods do. The difference being Immortals can't create something from nothing, Demigods can. Both Immortals and Demigods are impossible to kill permanently.

Angels: These are mortal controllers that keep the host they're assigned in check. They can be exorcised and by which, completely destroyed.

Symbolic Gods: This refers to Gods that lord over big symbological things of a planet, see Crowfeast has the Shale Crow Eset and Sun Dragon Ra. Other Planets such as Haven are also beleived to possess symbolic Gods, such as Rensooi, the God of the Jungle. These Gods can be destroyed, hurt and defeated.

Gods / Goddesses:
This is the assumed ruling class, Sacreblu, Niirgo and/or Origin would fall under this category. They possess limited omniscience and omnipotence. They have an indestructible body. They can destroy and create from nothing.

Embodiments:
In the Divine Heirachy there are none above, this is where the Twins fall in, they Embody Emotions. Terror and Power are known so far. There may be more. I don't know.

The main thing that divides Emodiments from Gods or Goddesses is that they are avatars from a cosmos beyond. Embodiments not only Embody their emotion, but the person beyond that uses said Embodiment as an Avatar.

Embodiments are the most powerful, besides having unlimited omnipotence, they can also destroy and more dangerously, erase anything they desire- regardless of scale, depth or complexity. Be it a single life form, a world, or a galaxy, even an entire universe. They can also hard-reset a cosmos or universe entirely via a simple command. They are also the only deities ALLOWED to travel back in time. Others have been shown to do it, but it is considered a severe transgression.

Q: What about cited Gods such as The Queen of the Darkvoid and others?
A: They fall under symbolic gods. Akra Olna is not a god in any light, she's just revered as one due to her teachings and relationship with Yi Hellrider.

Q: Will Akra Olna have a place in Fantasia?
A: Yes, you'll meet her shortly into Disk 2.

Q: Will Tristy be about the same as she was in Intel or will she have found happiness?
A: She'll be pretty similar, just a lot more confident in her abilities.

Tristy wouldn't be happy with happiness, she's the sort who wants to answer all the questions, but if she actually had no questions left to ask, she'd have no real motivation for anything anymore. Tristy's avarice for knowledge is her drive.

Q: What will recruiting the other characters grant, will there be any bonuses?
A: Currently it's just a plot sequencer. But when you recruit them they will get their own sort of space on the Starship Yhwh's main hall where you can talk to them and if applicable, their extended family.

If given enough time and reason, I may do a Harvest Moon sort of gifting system, but there'd be very little motivation to do so.

In Fantasia you don't have gear, items or armour, but maybe going on a date with certain characters tickles your fancy?

We'll see how it goes as things progress.

Q: Any plans for multiplayer PVP or co-op?
A: No. Setting up servers and coding peer to peer transfers for information of that sort isn't yet something I can do. Most bosses would be quite hard to make into playable characters anyway, due to the immensity of their attacks.

Q: Boss Arcade?
A: Possible, but likely not until after release.

Q: In relation the timeline, when abouts is Fantasia
A: 314th Clash ends on the Year 2112, Fantasia's events begin and end on 2133. it's precisely 101 years after Humanity leaves Earth. And about 520 Years after The Battle of Nadine / The Events of Menagerie.

Q: No joke patch notes for April fools?
A: I was utterly exhausted. Sorry.

Q: Universe, Cosmos, Dimensions?? Make up your mind?
A: I'l clear up the spacial bodies so as to avoid further confusion.

Cosmos: This is the simulation in whole, if someone makes a threat to destroy the cosmos, they plan to destroy everything, every universe, dimension, galaxy, etc.

Dimension: This is not the same as a universe, a dimensions houses the Three afterlives AND a universe within.

Universe: a Circular globe in the middle of all dimensions that is the 'living space' for mortals.

Galaxies, Planets, lifeforms and such all coexist in a universe.

Like an inverted globe, when one goes to the edge of their universe, they simply end coming out at the adjacently opposite end.

More info on dimensions and how they interlock here.

The Universe in which all of the games so far take place in is the 12th Universe, or Dimension XII. Other Dimensions exist as a dreamspace for astral travelers and to house their own existence. There are also Xadrants which is a pair of relatively similar dimensions. Such examples are Dimension IV (an altered version of our reality), Dimension VIII (Our exact dimension), Dimension XII (the central place that all the games take place in) and Dimension XVI, where Member XII seeks to go, and does so after the 314th clash, we have no idea why and what may await him there, and it's unlikely we'll find out.

Q: Are Corporation XVI and the Equation Unsolved going to be involved in Fantasia at all?
A: The time of helpful cameos is over, now is the age of mortal players, not some deus ex machinas in spoopy robes. At most passing reference will be made, but even that is unlikely due to my desire to not force players into feeling like they need to play prior games in order to understand what's generally going on. Honestly I feel like I made Corporation XVI too involved in the plot in previous games as it was.

Q: What were the inspiration for Yi and Wi? The two supreme goddesses who rule over everything?

A: The original idea came from the Scarlet Devils in Touhou, Flandre and Remilia, to the point their status of 'Embodiment' share in the games title, Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, where the Scarlet Sisters were most prominent.

Since then they've involved, Yi has taken on a mix of Bill Cypher (Gravity Falls) and Beerus the Destroyer (Dragon Ball Super vibes, while Wi has taken on more of a Ishizu (Yu-gi-oh) and Whis (Dragon Ball Super) sort of personality.

The three girls also have Touhou inspirations behind them.

Lumi inspiration is Reisen Udongein Inaba.

The ties to the moon and bunny stuff as well as some part of the character design, even more so for Naamah, her ennui- are present. Both also appear to be some sort of policing power.

Koko inspiration is Utsohu
The general sun motif and inventive nature of the character are present in Koko and her arc.

Lilac is inspired by Koakuma
Design wise, Koakuma doesn't speak in the games. She also takes some inspiration from Shinki, her hero theme's intro was inspired by a remix of Legendary Fusion ~Infinite Being.

Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Demo Released!

After a bit of a delay, this game is now up to my absurdly respectable standard of quality! Enjoy!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1jV8msZD5mLVmi9NKKCkbM3iGDCWj_OZO

Friday, November 24, 2017

Super Boss and Mechanics Solid!

It actually turned out even better than I anticipated, comparitively to PFC, the movement and combat is incredibly fluid.

I've also been working on a trailer for the demo, getting together voice actors for it, as well as enough recordings of gameplay.

As for progress on the game, both me and my composer are ahead of schedule. The game is currently up to Act 1, though there's some stuff left to fix up and finish for Act 0, most of which I am waiting on my artists for, but not all- there is certainly some blank spots in my knowledge of how to execute certain cutscenes, and adding the flavor text has become a heavy amount of work in regards to the sister's house due to the several states and days it has to account for, in which some flavor text makes no sense after a point, so on most objects you can interact with at your leisure, there are multiple pages, and its actually rare for these conversations over an object to be brief.

There's also some additions I want to make to gameplay in act 0 (prologue) so it isn't just a glorified walk around for most of it, sections like the Night Shift of Justice with Lumi's jumping lunacy will likely help with this, and I'm definitely doing to have each characters gimmick become something to aid them in future obstacles, for example, Lumi can jump over chasms, Koko can grapple up to otherwise unreachable areas, and Lilac can hover over dangerous terrain. Due to how the player can switch their character at anytime after act 0, it's likely that functionality will play a huge role from act 1 going forward.

Act Zero's storytelling has been easily one of the most challenging Story Arcs I've had to create, like I've devoted so much time into thinking exactly what details can be omitted to keep dialogue from becoming long-winded, while being enough to make the characters charming and gel together well that it's frankly embarassing.

During this first prologue I have to establish the relationship between three sisters and their father, while also keeping the player intrigued with unnerving plot elements and gradually building up the ominous nature of the situation. Until the finale that you see in that video there. comparative to say-- the first day, here.
Mapping has definitely been one of the most fun parts of this game, along with writing the characters. Giving the game its eerie fantastical atmosphere and every zone some sense of ambience has been a very fun exercise, and the game pulls you in, and if you're one who likes flavor text, you'll be finding hours pass by as you are just inspecting different items around the house, keeping in mind they usually have new things on each different day to account for what has changed, the bedrooms are particularly notorious for this.

The progression in Act 0 is very linear in a sense, even if it does an okay job of hiding it. You're sort of lead around by the nose, which is a shame given how much depth the Island of Vahnus has to it, but it's a fine line to walk between that and the chaotic nature of making an open world, and I'd like to avoid the latter, seeing as Acts 1-3 are all much more open feeling, in that you can go back to Planets you've visited and talk to the citizens that are still there, and perhaps I can open Vahnus up a little more in the future, but for the demo, I need to focus on the core of the game, which is its story arc and characters.

The HUD will be a lot more streamlined than in PFC, and each key will have a pretty memorable function assignment. A is for Attack / Assail (Throw Bunnies, Bats or Books), S is for Skedaddle (It's being changed from special for the sake of this not only being more humorous, but more inline with what the 'S' key actually does.)

D is still for Drive, though you'll only get to use one in the demo, as they are unlocked via the coming of age of the sisters, the first one will be Lumi, who gets hers shortly into act 1.

F is for Friend, this is basically the hotkey to change your active party member. Friend will also automatically activate when one of the girls gets KO'd (hits 1 HP)

Outside of Drive, all of these mechanics are implemented, I'm going to save doing the Drive Mechanic until I need to, since spellcards of any magnitude can take a while to event, given the complexity. I'm also not sure WHAT a Drive is going to do yet, I want it to be distinctively different per character. Originally I was just thinking they'd shit projectiles everywhere, but I'm thinking it'd be better to have them be support abilities.

I'm thinking Lumi's will be more a righteous sacrifice, in that she gets Ko'd, but brings Koko and Lilac back with full Health and Energy, that tends to be a recurring thing with Main characters of Lumi's caliber within the Biztopian Cosmos, see Rolly's "Resolve to Rest" and Fatty's "One for All" abilities. While I was thinking that, there's two large issues with the idea.

Lumi is typically who you'll begin a fight with, as she's the easiest character to play, due to her straightforward play-style. It also lacks a visual and skill impact, and will also make some encounters brokenly easy, and break personal encounters or disallow using such a skill in them entirely. So a better idea I thought of is for her to spawn a bunch of healing orbs which only the player characters can interact with, so they'd just meander around the arena until eaten or the fight is over. This adds an element of skill because you have to choose when to eat them so as to capitalize on their power, but also you have to go and eat them while avoiding the projectiles and other things the enemy throws in your way to do so.

Koko I'm thinking on, Lumi and Lilac are easy because one is passive, the other is aggressive, Koko though is like a weird in-between. I'm definitely thinking she'll give basically an effect where you'll never have to worry about Energy so long as it's active, but just a magic bag effect alone won't do. One idea would be to make Skedaddle more powerful, as using the Skedaddle tech also takes a fair chunk of energy so upping them and their usage is not a bad idea. But the easier, and probably more sound idea is to half incoming damage, it may look less awesome, but functionally it would be more useful, also the skedaddles are already very good.

HOWEVER, there is one other pretty golden idea, and it would tie into Koko's studious nature, and that would be to actually lower the iframes of the boss, either for a duration or forever. Most bosses can only by hit once every 30 frames, half a second- but reducing that to 15 or 8 frames would be a great idea firstly because it's something that ties well into Koko's studious character and her role as the Apocalypse Prophet, but it's also a HUGE benefit to a fight, but without being utterly broken, it still means hitting the boss and using skill to do so, rather than being a boring passive.

As for Lilac, since she's the polar opposite of Lumi, her attack would be something aggressive or even draining, and chances are that her attack will make all your attacks leech life, or heal you for some, if not all of the damage done, for a duration, this would of course, apply to any character you use during the time, so you could get another characters health up quickly by using Lilac's Drive and then switching to your lowered party member and getting some hits in. It would alike Lumi's, require some skill to make nominal use of.

I'm slinging around name ideas for these abilities.

Lumi: Eve of the Luminescent Spring Flower (Could actually have yummy flowers be the healing powerups.)

Koko: Dawn of the Apocalypse Prophet

Lilac: Dusk of the Sanguine Ferocious Cataclysm


The characters each have a very strong dynamic, and I can tie each to an element of a several list.

Lumi is about the present and the tranquility of night, never worrying about what awaits, nor fretting of what was left behind, she alike Rolly, lives in the present, and is also the glue that keeps her others together.

Koko is the Dawn, she's got the day ahead to worry about, and if it's in need of saving, she's all for it. She symbolizes the sun while Lumi symbolizes the moon, she is the day in contrast to night. And she begins the day at dawn, and does her best to preserve it until it can no longer be preserved. She lives to fret about the future, and every decision she makes, she makes thinking 'how will this effect what is to come?'

Lilac on the other hand, is when the day is gone, and the dark has started to settle in, caring little for the sun or the moon, she relishes the in-between or lack thereof, a sun covered by clouds, the moon blanketed by dust- those are here ideal comparisons. Unlike Koko who tries to save the future, she on the other hand is just fine with it going however it is going to go, Lilac tends to prefer whats in the past, and never lets what is coming of the future bother her, as it will just mean the past gets either overshadowed, or she gets to develop a nostalgic sense for what was. While Koko frets of Apocalypse and doesn't trust destiny, Lilac embraces oblivion and knows Destiny for her doesn't end until she deems it fit.

To add in some more elements
Lumi represents simplicity, positivism and dealing with what is in the now.
Koko represents forethought, knowledge and preventative planning.
Lilac represents longevity, memory and laughing in the face of what happens next.

Lumi is easy to scare, she dwells in the present and is unnerved by present threats to her comfort or living.

Koko is irrationally scared, she doesn't fear what she should, and is always thinking of the grander picture.

Lilac fears very little, the only thing she fears is losing her two sisters, the rest of the universe is at most an amusing game to her, even her own life or existence she regards with very little esteem.
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Anyway! Enough about them, you'll get more on them later if things go as I hope, to wrap this update post erm... up! Here's a really awesome composition by Max M. Dominora, the lead composer for Fantasia.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Updates Galore!

Dev on Fantasia has been going solidly. The plan is to release a demo which shows Act 0 (Prologue) and all of Act 1, me and my colleagues, Xiie, Pjcr and Dominora are doing all in our power to get this game ready soon, the hope is before Christmas, but don't rely on that as anything concrete.

Currently I'm up to Day 5 of 7 of Act 0, at this point I'm updating graphics and preparing album art for my composer, he's been doing great lately, now 21 of the 25 tracks of music are complete, and 22 out of 25 album arts, Pjcr is working heavily as he can on Portraits, Yasondre was finished recently, and Kyoshi is coming up soon behind. Xiie meanwhile has been having fun updating the brand and aesthetic, as you'll see if you've been here before.

Here's a few screenshots to make you enticed!

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Perhaps once again, we may be challenged?

It's November 2nd, which means it's now time I begin again my dark work, as do several members of my collective, truthfully most of us have been doing work on the assets and ideas for this. but today and beyond I'll actually be opening up the games editor and getting a consistent story in place. Eventing stuff, all that good shit.

For those wondering about the battle gameplay, it will be a little lacking in the first half of the demo, but there will be much else to subsidize as gameplay, such as obstacle courses, avoidance tests, drive / combo courses, but your first actual battle will be nigh impossible to win, (you can but you'd have to be really good at the game)- but then you'll fight some bosses that aren't quite so tough.

Currently the group of people working on this are some of my most talented.

Xiie: Maps, Sprites, HUD and Logos.
Pjcr: Portraits
Max M Dominora: Music
Me: Everything Else.

Today I'm going to be organizing the games sound files, music rigmarole, correcting any mislabeled naming conventions and finalizing a story for Act 0.

Yesterday I left most of my distracting Discord chats in preparation for today, I've got a nice big breakfast in an hour from now, that my current residence is serving hot and fresh, which will be a great thing to have before I delve into deep-dev yet again.

Am I ready? Haha, I'd wanna hope so, I've been doing very little dev-wise the past two months, but, I have still done my fair share of work towards the game. Concepts and ideas are more or less all generated by me currently, and I'm behind virtually all of the initial character designing. I'm likely going to be changing the roster and removing or changing out a few of the current big characters, the main cast of Lilac, Lumi and Koko won't be changing, they've become popular and people have taken a shining to them, I also won't be swapping out characters which work has already been put into making assets for, ergo, Esperia, Fyori, Tiramisa and others of that nature will be staying. However, King Richard, Nikki Hirogashi and Mad are on the chopping block, it's likely I will keep mad, as she's very entertaining and fun to write, Nikki and Richard however, are firstly so obscure they barely exist, though at least Nikki has ties to Kyoshi, and Richard has ties to Mira, but unlike Mira, they don't feel like end game bosses, especially not Richard.

Zardari I'm also on the fence about, at least for where you encounter him, he's only just below Esperia in power level, so likely the original planned arc will be shifted around a fair bit. The Intermission with Richard, Dibella and Mira could easily be done solely to recruit Mira.

I'd like to add in Rolly and Nola, possibly Limbo, good news is Limbo is Richard's brother, so we could switch those two up.

Nola... she'd probably replace Zardari in the arc, and Zardari would be before Esperia and Fyori, it's likely the final arc, i.e. the toughest bosses prior to the finale- would be:
Zardari
Mira
Esperia
Fyori

I'm gonna contemplate a new roster, this won't really be spoilers.

Act 0:

Battle: Lilac (The Tower)
Battle: Koko (The Sun)
Battle: Lumi (Justice)
Battle: Kyoshi
Battle: Insidious Architect

Act 1:
Battle: Pep (The Fool)
Battle: Svoli (The Lovers)
Battle: Kara (The Moon)
Battle: Rolly (Strength)
Battle: Tristy (The Hermit)
Battle: Lyza (Temperance)

Act 2:
Battle: Nola (The World)
Battle: Wizard (The Hanged Man)
Battle: Limbo (The Star)
Battle: Tiramisa (The Devil)
Battle: Sacreblu (The High Priestess)

Act 3:
Battle: Mad (The Hierophant)
Battle: Zardari (The Emperor)
Battle: Mira (Death)
Battle: Esperia (The Empress)
Battle: Fyori (The Chariot)

Act Δ:
Battle: Yi Hellrider (Judgement)
Battle: Wi Hellrider (The Magician)
Battle: YHWH (Wheel of Fortune)

Whether you actually battle Kyoshi is still up in the air at this point, but if you do it'll likely be for the sake of either him trying to protect you, or gimmickry. Probably the latter, the family is a very interesting one.

So as you can see, quite a roster, and it looks like it's actually gotten bigger, now the three main girls and each boss have been assigned as a Major Arcana.

The Vahnus Prophecy will have to change a little, Times Eye will replace the amalgam of Yi and Wi.

I was uncertain about the previous roster, Especially due to the arc, but this I'm a lot more comfortable with, Nikki will still have minor involvement in the story I'd say, but she's not the final boss before Yi and Wi.

So, why is Fyori, that sissy little nymph from menagerie the final boss?

Well she's grown a lot in those 400-500 years since, in fact she's essentially the Universe's superpower now. Six Winged Angel of Wrath, you'll see!

I'm sure some of you have nagging questions, what are the stakes, what are these heroes fighting you for.

Well, the first question is simple, but it'd be better to let the demo say it for me (coming Late December probably), as for why they are fighting you, Possession.

But who could be powerful enough to possess such beings?

Oh, just you wait! You know me, I couldn't just tell you, that'd be too easy! But this is gonna be an amazing story, so amazing that I can barely contain myself. And with this new roster, it'll be much easier to make it feel less filler-esque. As it was the first pass I wrote of the story had me on the edge of my seat for the vast majority, but that was out of date, it's even better now! The struggle will be keeping it self contained, but also not wordy where it doesn't warrant it. I think I'm ready for the challenge.

The ideal thing about these new lead characters is they know as much as you do if this is your first time playing a game by me, so that will make it a lot easier, because I can simply put myself in their shoes and think "what would they ask next?".

The OST is coming along fantastically, too! Here's the newest piece by Max. M Dominora.
 Alright, breakfast time, and then, my dark work may begin!

Sunday, October 1, 2017

Next up! This!~ Probably.

As you may have noticed, I've slightly changed the game's branding to be more legible.
As you've likely also noticed, I've actually posted a post on this blog that you are reading right now.

Here's the down-low, Fantasia will likely be the next project to come out of the Pipeline, and it's possible we'll even have a playable demo build ready before Christmas.

There's a fair bit to do, but now with the lessons I've learned in PFC, I know what I'm doing plugins wise, so I doubt messiness will get in the way- right now I've gotta work out the story arc and get it all lined and meshed up in a nice manner. My artist is also gonna have a buttload of work to do- the composer for the project, Max M. Dominora, should be able to get the music we need for the first demo done on time. He's done all but two characters duo of themes and one other theme.

This game is going to be very absurd but also very good, I think! It's definitely going to have one of the most impressive Music Scores.


Don't believe me? FOOL! But here, you don't have to take my word for it, feel free to browse what exists of the OST insofar for yourself!
I'm an official soundtrack link image! :D
Click me!

This is also easily the game I've gotten the most character fanart for prior to it's public debut, Lumi seems to be particularly popular. Lilac coming as a second, I've gotten a lot of requests to draw them in different ways, which typically I'm all too eager to oblige in, but also I've gotten quite a bit of Fanart for them.

Lumi Fuzz by Therrao
Lumi Fuzz with Bunny Ears by LorieSquare
Coolarooni, huh?

I've also made a bunch of videos in relation to the projects development. But you can go search on youtube if you wanna catch those, or if you have me on discord, just bug me for a quick link, i can guarantee I'll find them in a matter of seconds.