09/06/2024: Old Projects and Ideas
As my hyperfixation on DEADMALL wanes slightly, I've been thinking about an old game idea I conceptualised with some friends - namely when it was popular to "fix" or "remake" Yandere Simulator (note that I have seen that video about the curse of YanSim fan-games and I also would not like to make a game connected to it nowadays.)
The concept was a visual novel in which the player took on the role of Ren, our protagonist. There would be two distinct designs for Ren, one that had a "feminine" appearance and one that had a "masculine" appearance, but you would be able to pick their pronouns regardless of which appearance you chose. (For the purposes of this article, we'll use they/them to keep it simple). The general idea would have been using different methods to try to get close to a love interest, some genuine and kind, some manipulative, and some outright violent.
The game never ended up happening or leaving very early development stages, mostly because it was a concept made out of spite from a bunch of teenagers, but now that I have the means to create it, it seems like it could be possible! I'm not in touch with everyone who helped come up with ideas anymore, but the two who contributed the most besides myself are still very good friends and I can imagine that if we do pick up this idea, we would be able to get the consent of the others to continue the concept.
For now, however, the idea is on the cutting room floor while I focus on more personal projects.
22/05/2024: Dead Malls and New Skills
For the first entry in my log, I wanted to talk about the first game I'm developing! Well - development might be a strong word since I'm using only the most basic functions of Ren'py to make a visual novel, but I'm excited to be learning a new skill and opening a new door for my creativity.
The game's name is DEADMALL, and it's a short visual novel in which the unnamed protagonist and their friend explore, you guessed it, a dead mall in their town, only to find out that the inside is stranger than they ever could have expected. For some unhinged reason, my initial plan with this game was to finish it in a 24 hour period, but that did not pan out so now it's an ongoing project. That's fine by me though - over time I have changed my mind on certain parts of the plot, and the sprites I drew were not doing it for me. Still, here's a couple of screenshots from very early development!
My inspiration for this game was a passion for eerie, liminal spaces (as well as malls in general!), as well as a few visual novels I've played recently. As it's my first project, I'm unsure as to whether I'm going to release it yet, but if I do it'll absolutely be for free / pay what you want. This is both because it's my first, but also because of the background image copyright. All of the photographers / license holders are credited, but I'd not like to make money off of others' work, and I think PWYW is more of a "support me if you want to" button!
As it stands, there is one complete ending - a joke ending you can get early on in the game. I've also worked on the good and bad endings of the game, as well as the opening scenes, but the midsection needs development. I also plan on redesigning Katie completely, redrawing her sprite (as well as finishing the other sprites in the game), and that's it!
SEABUNNIE
Current Project: DEADMALL
One thing that's been on my bucket list for years is to successfully develop an indie video game. In 2024, I'm finally insisting on making that a reality. I decided to go under the name of Seabunnie on itch.io to keep it somewhat separate from the rest of my online presence, but I still want to gush about it here!
Unless I decide to learn 3D modelling (which has not been one of my strong suits in the past) my games will probably be 2D games, mostly visual novels! I have some plans for future games, but I'm starting small and realistic.