Weekly info dump #1

So I think it's time I started providing regular updates as to what I've done, and what I plan on doing.

Currently working on:

Right now, I'm working on a "cursed idol" sequence. Though the first "museum" part of the sequence will have branching paths later (including a confession storyline, where the player admits their fetish to their new girlfriend), right now it mostly focuses on the magical transformation part.

The art, script and coding for this first part is almost completely done, I just need a few more expressions for Emily and it's good to go!

The second half of the idol storyline involves trying to find a cure to Emily's transformation. Unfortunately, the only person who can help is a mad archaeologist! (There's always mad scientists, but they never mention what scientific field they work in!) She wants to experiment on Emily with the other cursed idols she's found. The player has to decide whether to try and stop her, or just go along with it and see what happens...

The art for this part is still quite a ways off, for now, I'll be cutting a few corners with it, so the scenes may not feel 100% yet, but right now, I'm focused on story, not polish. Speaking of, the story is mostly done on this part, planning on finishing it off over the weekend. I'm experimenting with a kind of coding/scripting system where I write more of a prompt and then expand upon it while coding. It seems to be working pretty well, but I'll be interested in people's opinions on how the dialogue feels.

Finally, I've also hired a writer to help reduce my workload (and speed up updates) He's currently working with me to do some parts of another section.
A food van starts selling food that is almost supernaturally addictive, resulting in massive weight gain! As the player, you have to navigate this situation with Emily. When this part comes out, I'll be eager to hear what people have to say about the writing.
The writing is of course, pretty much done, I just need to draw the art and program this section in. (Some of you who have looked through the files would have seen the early sketches for this part!)

Other stuff:

A friend has offered me the use of some of the soundtrack to his podcast, so I'll be going through that and seeing if any of it is useful here. (It's a dnd podcast, so the music may not be super appropriate, but we'll see).

I've also been experimenting with some limited animation, inspired by the Pheonix Wright games. Just having a simple idle animation or some blinking would really help the characters feel more alive.

That's all for now, and I hope you're all having a nice week!