Progress Report

Greetings, everyone!

I'm still getting my sea legs, so to speak, as I transition from Snapshot to Supermodel. Starting a new story with new characters in equally new environments is a far cry from what I spent most of my time working on during the later stages of Long Live the Princess's development. I barely even had to think about that stuff with Snapshot. Furthermore, I'm far too aware of how influential these early parts will be on the story as a whole, so I need to get them right.

This past week has been spent focusing on one single scene in the game's prologue. I finished my work on an unannounced female character who will play an important recurring role, starting in the prologue. Then I began putting all the components into a series of renders like the one attached to this post. 

This shot isn't necessarily indicative of the overall visual style of Supermodel. I aim to have most of the game be colorful, almost as if mimicking a comic book, but the prologue has a different atmosphere to it that the renders need to support. In the shot above, the graphics are deliberately soft and film-like, with an oppressive overcast sky and mist that flattens light and dulls color. There are no strong colors here, starkly contrasting what we will see in the rest of the game. I also try to draw attention away from the artificial nature of 3D art through some of these techniques, hopefully making the scene look more natural. On top of it all, I place the camera in unnatural places during this scene, never allowing you to be at eye level or see the characters fully, almost as if you were just a bystander to the events. This scene has been at the back of my mind for a few years now, and realizing it has been rather daunting. And yet, the results are very close to what I saw in my mind's eye, which pleases me to no end.

And those legs? Those belong to the unannounced character. It's probably the last time you'll see her until you get to play the game yourselves.

In addition to the art for this scene, I have also started work on its music. Like most of the music in Supermodel, it will be reused at appropriate times throughout the story, but my priority, for now, is to make it fit with this particular scene. This is totally unlike the music from Snapshot, sounding way more like a film score with orchestral parts, massive drum ensembles, and atmospheric drones and effects that produce a haunting, tense mood. 

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of these things come together in Ren'py once the pieces are fully assembled, so I will keep churning away at it. Think of this scene as a vertical slice for the rest of the game, which will improve my workflow's speed and overall efficiency as we move into other scenes.

Until next time!