Charming Agency

Pedro’s Emotion Work Process

Small redesign of Miya for the poster-collectible

3D References for the Visual Novel

Teaser process for the visual novel

A Little About Our Exclusive Content

Visual Novel Teaser Development Process

The process of working on the visual novel teaser

Valentine’s Day Spoiler

Valentine’s Day Graffiti

New sketch for the visual novel (a prequel to the main game)

Pedro's First Design: An Alternate Story That Never Happened

Pedro’s 2D sketches for the visual novel

To make a collectible poster for the game and keep working on the visual novel, we need to figure out the characters’ emotions. So we’ve started one of the hardest parts for us - Pedro’s emotions. Right now, we’re not getting the result we want yet. For now, we’re just taking emotions we like and trying them out on Pedro. Once it starts looking better, we’ll focus on creating specific emotions for the visual novel and the game

Details for the fifth location in the visual novel

1. An old drawing by Pedro
2. A plush toy Pedro had as a child
3. A photo of young Pedro in a Christmas sweater he didn’t want to wear
4, 5. Clothes and a knife from an old version of Pedro. A reference for longtime players
6. A vinyl record Pedro listened to as a teenager
7. School textbooks Pedro used at school

(In this art, Pedro’s hair color is shown just as an example. The final version will appear in the game)

A sketch for the fourth location and shape exploration for the fifth location in the visual novel

Work on the visual novel continues, and every time we move on to a new element, we realize that more and more details need to be worked out. What initially required one piece of art later turns into two. Various details and nuances appear. However, most of the sketching work has already been completed

Sketches for the visual novel

We’re continuing work on the visual novel. By the end of January, we plan to finish all the rough sketches so we can then move on to editing the script and drawing the final versions of the locations and characters.

For the main game, we’re currently dealing with boring technical stuff, but as soon as there’s anything interesting, we’ll definitely share it too😊

Rough sketches in progress

We usually share only the final sketches and concept art, but during the process we often make rough drawings like these, with notes

Sketches of the third location in the novel

This week Mari caught a cold, and Wes has been very busy with work, but we still managed to sketch out concepts for the third location of the visual novel and put together a draft synopsis for it:

A mysterious voice pulls you into a chain of strange events🚪
Who is really hiding on the other side? Who is that cheeky guy who keeps crossing your path? And why the hell are there so many ducks?

You’ll have to find a way out of this strange place, uncovering secrets along the way and getting to know the game’s mysterious inhabitants. The words you choose have consequences, your decisions change the course of the story, and the world around you holds far more secrets than it seems at first glance✨

You’ll need to figure out who you can trust and who is trying to mislead you, and decide whether you truly want to learn the truth, especially if it turns out to be nothing like what you expected.

The process of working on the visual novel script

We decided to change the structure of the visual novel’s script. Previously, players could view all the dialogues, and there were only a few unique choices. Now, the game will feature more meaningful decisions that affect the story. This will lead not only to different endings, but also to different paths and developments throughout the entire game. The image shows how the same script fragment looked before and after the changes

Seasonal Content

We decided to prepare a small surprise for the players and are trying out seasonal content in the game🌲✨

By the end of December, if no issues come up, we plan to add a winter look to the area near the house. There will be falling snow, snow on the ground, a festive Christmas tree in the yard, and the ability to throw snowballs at Pedro. The winter decoration will stay in the game until January 15. What do you think of this idea?😊

Sketch of another location from the visual novel

A few more facts about the game lore

Last week we talked about how Miya was attacked by bullies when she was twelve. After that she developed a fear of certain people. This also affected Pedro in an indirect way. When they first met Miya was a little afraid of him and he understood that very well.

Pedro always clearly separated people who he believed he could use force against and people he should never touch. He fought only with those he considered bad and he never hurt innocent people. This is why it was important for him to show Miya that she was safe with him. He did not want to become like the people he stood against.

This is also why the moment when he accidentally pushed Miya before the concert was so hard for him. What will happen to Pedro when he realizes that he broke his own rules and hurt an innocent person? We will find out in the next update when it is released😉

Sketches for the redesign of the novel’s first location

We’ve started redesigning the first location in the visual novel, these are the first sketches. Which option do you think looks better?

The process of creating the collectible

We will gradually share the process of working on the collectible and reveal some facts from the participants’ past😊✨

When Miya was 12 years old, she was attacked by local bullies. She wasn’t hurt because someone intervened to help her, but for a while she was afraid to walk home after school.

Her mother switched from working as a cook to a less demanding job as a makeup artist so she could drive Miya to school and pick her up for some time.

Later, when Miya met Pedro, she hid their friendship from her parents for a while because he had a reputation for getting into fights all the time.

A bit more about the mine location

Today we want to tell you a little more about the new location - the mine⛏️

In every update, we always try to add some new gameplay elements to make the game more varied.
This time we thought about it for a long while, because the mine will be an important stage of the whole game and will reflect the dark and gloomy side of Pedro’s past. We wanted to convey the idea that the main character will be trying both to find a way out and also to find some light in this grim part of the story.

We found inspiration in the old adventure game The Legend of Kyrandia (pic 2). In that game, the hero goes through a dark cave using fireberries, whose bushes grow in different parts of the location. Each berry lasts for only three transitions between rooms. If you end up in a part of the location without any light and you don’t have those berries, monsters attack you and you lose. The goal is not just to get through the cave, but also to find various items and solve puzzles.

We reworked this idea and made it simpler. In our version, there will be lanterns that you’ll need to light along the way. Each lantern will burn for a certain amount of time, and during that time you’ll need to look around the rooms, find collectibles, and move further. You can relight the lanterns as many times as you want. There will also be obstacles on the way and story cutscenes. And this is the location where the story will really start to unfold, much more than in previous updates✨

A little bit of information about the visual novel

We’ve run into some technical issues, so while Wes is sorting them out, I decided to return to the novel.
We’ve decided to rework the script (the demo version will become longer), update the locations, and change the art style. The novel will turn out a bit chaotic, hopefully in a good way. Overall, it won’t have a major impact on the main story, but it will give more depth to the familiar characters from the game.
The attached images show location sketches and a reference board we used for inspiration.

Interesting fact about the game

In the game, we pay a lot of attention to ducks, but not just because Pedro really likes them.

For him, a duck symbolizes something warm, safe, and connected to comforting childhood feelings. In the main location the house - there are objects featuring ducks, as Pedro’s way of making the space feel safe and protecting it from outside interference.

We also added hints in the form of little yellow ducks so that players would perceive this element in the same way - as a small beacon of safety when they feel lost.

Additionally, in the bonus level, there’s a character, a big, muscular duck who protects Pedro. We plan to use this character in the future as well, but for now, we won’t reveal what role it will play😉

Each member of Rocks in Boots has their own favorite animal, which was chosen deliberately. We’ll share more about this a little later ✨

The process of working on the collectible poster

Interesting fact about the “Famous Creature” record

This is a canon fact, but it won’t be told in such detail in the game.

The song “Famous Creature” was written by Pedro back when he was still part of the band. It’s about him and Evan, both of them fit the nickname, but in different ways.

Evan was popular at school thanks to his good looks and prosperous father. He had many admirers who wanted to date him, but almost no one saw the real person behind the image. He got used to being treated more like a role than a human being, and over time, he became cautious and learned to use people’s attention to his advantage.

Pedro, on the other hand, was known for a different reason - his striking appearance and fiery temper. He often got into fights, and rumors spread that he was aggressive and uncontrollable. Back then, though, he never started fights, he was always defending himself. All of that also made him withdrawn and distrustful of others.

The song later became Rocks in Boots’ most popular track after Pedro left the band.

The process of working on the collectible

We’re continuing to work on the poster featuring the band (one of the collectibles). We’ve decided that it will show all the members during a performance✨

Pedro sketches in 2D

We’re starting work on the most challenging collectible in this update - a flyer featuring all the band members. For now, it’s just the beginning - finding the right shape for Pedro in 2D. Later, these sketches will also be used for the visual novel