Development Progress

(Sunday, July 14th, 2024)

Alright, get ready for another dev update! Game development is slowing down as I work through polishing older areas to keep them at the standard of the newer ones, so that the finished product has a consistent tone and feel to it. The game's OST has surpassed 60 tracks, from map themes to battle themes, to character motifs and cutscene music. I recently recieved a new laptop, and the new interface is making music production a lot more creative-focused, and a lot less cumbersome.

I have delisted the old demo, and I am planning to release an updated version of it sometime this year.

In other news, while many of the game's main areas exist in game, some are still very incomplete and the game cannot be played through from beginning to end. Most of the game's cutscenes are done, but there are a couple of important and time consuming ones that I have not yet started on.

Most, if not all of the character designs have been finalized, and the majority of the game's spritework and other artwork are complete.

Both branches of Act 2 have almost been finalized. Act 3 is rather short, but I will not be including it in the official demo, as it is very plot-important, and contains a lot of spoilers. Act 2 does tease some future events, however.

I have some enemy sprites to show off this time around! I hope you enjoy this sneak peek, and later enjoy the game when it releases.

Choose wisely.

-------------------------------------OUTDATED INFO-------------------------------------

(Tuesday, April 9th, 2024)

It's about time I give an update on Cause and Effect's development. Sticking close to my original plan and avoiding scope creep has been hard, but I've got it under control. The game's development is going very smoothly, from the design of the graphics and music all being carried out by myself (something that AWLEFN did not have) to the mapping, databasing, and eventing. Because of the solid foundation that I believe I have built this game from, I firmly believe that I am capable of completing it.

Because of every party member being optional, writing cutscenes is the most time-consuming part of development thus far. Most cutscenes have 4 or more variations depending on who is and isn't in your party. It is more difficult and time-consuming to do the cutscenes this way, but it allows all party members a chance in the spotlight, and allows the writing of the cutscenes to flow that much smoother. 

I'm not going to estimate the percentage of the game that is done, as I have in the past, as I believe that if I do that, I'm creating expectations for release that I may not be able to fulfill. Thus, I will keep most progress to myself, but I will summarize some things that I have done so far.

-I have created a dynamic reflective mirror solely using events.

-I have created a custom font that is an altered version of RM2k3's stock serif font.

-I've created a playable demo that is available to download from this thread:RM2k/3 - Cause and Effect - Demo Now Available! | RPG Maker Forums (rpgmakerweb.com) 

II

Cause and Effect's overall feel and atmosphere is of utmost importance to me, so I find myself retroactively making changes so that everything is consistent and to my liking.

I hope that everyone who plays Cause and Effect upon its release enjoys it.

Choose wisely.

-------------------------------------OUTDATED-ER INFO-------------------------------------

(Saturday, October 28, 2023)

It's time I call time of death for this project. The last update was quite inaccurate, in hindsight, but here is the more accurate estimate of percentage done.

STORY (written) -100%

STORY (programmed) -67%

MAPS - 65%

ITEMS - 35%

SIDE CONTENT - 25%

ART AND MUSIC - 65%

You might think I'm being a bit hard on myself with this update, but unfortunately, there has not been as much progress as I'd hoped. I'm really struggling with finding the motivation for this project, especially when my other side project shows much more promise, and a lot more originality too. This project started as a low-effort experiment that somehow turned into a game at some point. There's no way I could ever sell or distribute it, as I've used quite a bit of assets taken from other games, mixed in with my original stuff. The game as it exists now is unfinished, and cannot be played from beginning to end. 

My other project, which I detailed in my last update as "AWLEFN: Halloween Hack", has been my main focus as of late, as unfortunately I still have no motivation to complete my main project at this point in time.

I have renamed that project to "Cause and Effect", and have devoted a lot of time to building a good foundation from which to complete the game; something that my main project did not have.

Lots of poor design decisions and a poor work ethic have left this project in a very, unfortunate state, and I'm afraid that after a lot of pondering and thinking, I have decided to shelve the project indefinitely. 

I have unlisted all of the pages referring to A Whole Lotta Effort For Nothing, and I will be repurposing this page as a devlog for Cause and Effect. Thank you for reading, and thank everyone who helped with this project in some way or another. I hope you're all looking forward to Cause and Effect, and there will be a demo of it available soon!

Since Cause and Effect will be an ENTIRELY ORIGINAL WORK, unlike AWLEFN, I may choose to sell it in the future, if I deem it worthy. Until then, stay tuned for more updates!

Here's the link to the game's main page: https://sites.google.com/view/litningman06/cause-and-effect

EDIT: Just realized how ironic it is that I called my game A Whole Lotta Effort For Nothing, especially after this update. Not gonna lie, it's kinda funny.

-------------------------------------OUTDATED-ER-ER INFO----------------------------------

The game's development is nearing its end as of this update. 

(Friday, September 15, 2023)

Here's a rough estimate of  percentage done.

STORY (written) -100%

STORY (programmed) -92%

MAPS -75%

ITEMS -60%

SIDE CONTENT -40%

ART AND MUSIC -65%

I've polished the existing parts of the game, including creating entirely new music and sprites for older areas. I've also implemented an entirely new inventory system, which has taken a lot of time to adapt to the existing game. I'm currently working on the endgame areas and content, and I have most of the art assets complete for these parts. The gameplay progression is a lot more streamlined than I originally expected, so the overall length of a normal playthrough will be shorter. I've scrapped a couple of ideas since last time, including a couple of 'Limit Break'-ish moves for the main cast. I've run into a couple of bugs and glitches here and there, but they've mostly been easy to replicate and fix. I've also learned a bit of basic music theory, so I am also working on some new songs for the game also. As for an estimated release, I'm hoping to have it done for the holiday season, as also said last update, although development has gone a lot smoother than I originally expected, and there is still a lot of time for me to complete it. 

In other news, I have also started work on a side project, which I will refer to by it's working title, 'AWLEFN: Halloween Hack'. It is not currently a high priority, but I will provide some details about it. It will feature a side-view, ATB battle system, somewhat akin to the 16-bit era Final Fantasy games, functionally identical to that of FFV. It will also feature a morality system, where the player's choices and actions will have serious consequences within the game world. The players allies will be AI-controlled, and will act on their own in combat, although there is ways for the player to gain access to their skills ;).

That's all for this update, be safe and enjoy your weekend :)

----------------------------------OUTDATED-ER-ER-ER INFO----------------------------------

The game's development is partially done as of this update. (Saturday, June 17, 2023)

Here's a rough estimate of percentage done.

STORY (written) -100%

STORY (programmed) -35%

MAPS -35%

ITEMS -25%

SIDE CONTENT -15%

I'm trying to streamline the process as much as possible, without cutting any corners, allowing this project to be as good as it can be. I expect to get it done by the end of December, but honestly it likely will take longer, especially with life getting in the way, lol.