Dear-Darling Hub

Your spot for all things Dear-Darling. Game updates, blogposts, and more!

[deardarlinggames]

So... it's been a year.

Heyyyyy!!!!!! My entire life changed. The good news is, I've returned, and I'm working on more now than I ever was. I work in tech (broad i know), and my gosh has it been an insane ride. But I now have the means to return to doing what I want and what I love. I have a few projects, but Eli is getting my prime focus. My goal is to have a functioning playtest in about a month, maybe even with some art. Nice to see you again! xoxo, Gwen.

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 15

we're so back Hey! I'm still working on ELI, but at this point I really needed to focus on something a little more doable. I've started working in the background on a few things the last few months, and today I'm starting the mapping stage for a new game. I've also got a software extension that I'm working on for a little bit more of a steady income.

more soon, just an update really. bye!

xoxoxo - gwen

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 14? I have to check, this is short

Oh Boy!

I had to completely stop production for some incredibly unforeseen circumstances. I am- so behind, but I will be returning from Sudden Hiatus soon.

I have had to rework a ton of things, and I am essentially starting from scratch again.. ouf.

BACK SOON, bye!

xoxoxo - gwen

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 13

I got in my own way this week, and pretty badly. Art has been a very very slow process and I have decided to just get back to coding and let that skill develop over time. In a few months, I could have useable stuff, but for now, art is something I think I’ve just totally lost passion for. I need to get to the point with myself where I have any confidence in it; otherwise, I’ll get obsessive and it just will not be fun. This is supposed to be fun. So for now, free assets my beloved, and time to get back to work.

xoxo, gwen.

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 12

Hi! This week, I tried to work on general, all around development. All of my temporary assets had to be resized to even be recognized by the software for RPG Maker - at least 40 so far. I learned a ton about sprites and sprite sheets, and this week I plan to make my first attempt at making pixel art on Procreate!

I ended up not having the energy to take a stab at Godot, and got in my own head about not progressing quickly enough; but today - that changes.

My current map count for ELI is 7 different main maps, and 13 playable areas. I have the shop set up for the most part, and have officially started the dialogue interactions. Most of what I worked on this week was debugging, coding entrances and exits, and resizing everything. Hopefully, I'll have more to report on soon.

xoxo, Gwen

12:04 AM 5/13/2025

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 11:

My first attempt at a character, ever!! This is Mr. Peach, and will be the main antagonist of my 2000’s style platformer; Peach run!!

more info tba, but I wanted to take a stab at making an asset :3

his layers are all separated so I can learn how to animate next. Shoutout to Procreate for being shockingly user friendly for the most part. I like him :]]

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 10

Hello!! This morning, I made three more maps, and figured out how to utilize parallax backgrounds for animations and cutscenes and other fun things. I also figured out that a ton of my files had a period before the filetype which meant the program said absolutely not.

today, I will be reattempting to put music and sprites and tilesets [which also need a text file?? boo], and I have decided to try a stab at Godot to map out my platformer.

I also also started making the first maps for my second game, TBA. anyway my phone is about to die and I am excited to get started, so I'll update later. Bye!!!

xoxo, Gwen.

3:26 PM

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 9

well - figuring out putting my own music in was a terrible experience! I got it handled, and thank goodness for free assets.

However, I can't get my tileset items to work, and now I can't seem to get any sprites to download properly either. Maybe I'm getting fatigued, I found all the sounds I wanted to use and pulled together the soundtrack and also finished the title screen and one of my larger maps. I'm now at 6 playable areas, and I have a set to-do list. I may even have a demo soon.

I honestly have no idea what I'm doing, but I'm very proud of my progress. See you tomorrow!

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 8

5/5/2025 1:14 PM

The mouse can now go into logs, and I have one more playable map :3

2:17 PM

oops... i got excited about creating and forgot to post this. mouse can now climb trees and find nests!

Map Count: 5

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 8

We are *shmoovin*

NOT done yet, but my little mouse can now run between maps! Time to add some fun stuff before I get back into more development.

[5:23 PM. 5/4/2025]

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 7

Well hello there! This is an incredibly nonformal blog, and I'd like to tell you all a little about what the heck I've been up to.

First, what y'all came for! I started learning RPG Maker MV on 5/3/2025, and at the time of writing this on 5/4/2025, I have completed half the tutorial and applied what I've learned to make my first playable map in my officially announcing now game:

ELI.

[Pictured: A tan mouse in a flowered field with a sparse tree line at the top.]

I am super excited to share that my first playtest of the game with a beta tester went so well! This is clearly just the very first step of development, but it took me an entire hour to get that little guy to be playable as a character... Anyhow, I'm peached.

If you're curious about my break from coding and some life changes, feel free to read below!

I moved! In April, my apartment complex slapped a notice to pay higher rent or vacate, and to not get evicted, I had to pull that together really quickly. I'm moved and set back up at the new apartment, and did not have to pay $2k for that shoebox studio thank goodness.

My iPad was absolutely not functional for what I needed. So, after a paycheck, I was able to get an ethernet chord, and now my ancient computer is functional. It can only run steam in big picture mode because it uses less processing power, which was a pain to figure out; but now I have access to RPG Maker!

I took a big break, and I'm very glad I did. I've been learning the basics of HTML still, but my life was becoming disorganized, and that really needed my attention. But I'm back!

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 6

Hi! A few critical updates. After my mother left, the laptop I was using went kaput. After a week of troubleshooting, updating, cleaning, finding, and transferring, I am now back to fully functional - with a bit of a catch.

I’m typing this on browser, on an iPad that no longer gets updates, and all of my notes will need to be typed on my iPhone 7, which stopped getting updates six months ago. Both, however, can access everything I need on browser. Everything else will go back to a paper-based system.

This will work until I can save enough for an actual desktop, and make my games and other software. I’m hoping to be pleasantly surprised by the capabilities of IOS, but only time will tell.

So, a few minor setbacks. Next, I want to unofficially announce what I’m working on. The post got deleted when the computer crashed. Boo.

Elys: A tiny mouse against the world. Fight lobsters, befriend lizards, dismantle a secret society! A visual novel RPG with original compositions, unique art, fun sound effects, and several optional mini games and puzzles.

Websites/freecodeacademy: A cat website that after completing, I’m going to update and put on my website. After updating, it’ll be a page about my cats, fun facts and care tips, and each cat has their own mini game related o their favorite things. I am also deciding how I want my professional website to look, and if I want it to be the same as my neocities website.

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 5

My elderly mother came to town unannounced.

We're back in development!

Bye ma <3

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 4

I've gotten... a whopping ten percent of the way through the project, but my literacy? Skyrocketing. I'm pushing the finish date accordingly to 3/5/25 at 11:59PM for a loose but dedicated deadline. I'm learning a bunch, and people on Youtube who do this and create a whole pretty and functioning game in a week are off their rockers if they're being honest about having no gaming or coding or art experience. If it's true, which is a heavy if. Maybe I'm just having a skill issue, but I'm working with it, and heading into my eleventh hour today and twentieth hour total, and so far, I can make a header, a body, paragraphs, insert images, make comments, and I have done my first literacy debug and note reference. I don't even know what else I should be putting for what I've learned, but it feels like a lot - and I know I'm not even scratching the surface; not even close.

Back to it!

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 3

Yesterday, I set up my Neocities website to base, started my tumblr, made my company e-mail, and established myself as a brand in several corners of the internet. I also figured out the programming languages I wanted to learn, and learned further that the language doesn't matter as much as the intended application. That was most of my workday. Add in depth storyboarding and learning how to make a schedule that works for me that I can stick to, and more hours are gone. I passed out at some point, but I immediately opened freecodecamp when I got back up to try again with learning how to code.

Today, it's two in the morning at the time of writing. I started work at ten last night, and so far, I've accomplished learning the very, very basics of HTML. At 11 this morning, I'm hoping I'll have completed making a simple web application about cats, and will publish the link here on my blog.

I have to figure out how to transfer code and what that's actually called, so I can show my work on GitHub. I also want to figure out how to show all of my notes, but I think that has to do with the publishing feature in Jira, so I'll figure that out later. I didn't want to forget to put this up, so hi! A little less put together of a post, but I'm excited to get back to work and update my progress.

Bye!

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 2

at 6:30 this morning, today, 3/3/25, I am going to start freecodecamp.org's Responsive Web Design certification. I'd really like to have my websites set up before I get into developing too much; I'd like to have as many things documented for a portfolio as possible and put in one place to be able to reference everywhere else.

Wish me luck!

[deardarlinggames]

Devblog 1

Hi! My name is Gwen, I'm a software developer, and the creator of Dear Darling Games. I'm going to be using Tumblr as a more relaxed and unpolished blog. For now, because I don't know how to format a blog post professionally quite yet. Later, I'll want a break from the structure of it, and have many things I feel I can chat about.

About me! I'm currently twenty two years old, and my goal is to be a solo game developer with a heavy focus on visual novel RPGs. I have no experience, and I'll be logging and citing my entire process as I learn to the best of my ability. Even figuring out the right questions to ask has been quite the task.

Tonight, I'm starting at square one. I'm using an IdeaPad laptop, and operate on a night-shift schedule due to work and life circumstances. This means most updates will be around four in the morning for me. I'm head of household in many ways, so sometimes I will have to step away for a day or two to get my affairs in order.

Here's all I'm learning, planning to learn as of now, and what I have so far.

Planning to learn: HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Godot Engine, Procreate, and Blender. 2D paper-doll animation, rigging, video editing, layering, how to use Alpha lock... Sound design - cello, violin, piano, flute, foley techniques, and general sound equipment. Navigate and create - a website, a put together GitHub profile, and my first game pair; a 2D Mouse themed VN RPG, and a 2D farming game inspired by Zombie Farm with significant changes to the storyline, main mechanics, and characters. In essence, a reworked fan remake, and it will be free to play. I will also be learning how to navigate matters of intellectual property, copyrighting, and more in that area. Finally, I'll be learning Bootstrap, Sass, and React and Redux to create Single Page Applications.

Learning now?: HTML, CSS, Godot Engine, Procreate. Foley techniques, and I've officially gotten down plucking scales on my cello. No luck with the bow yet... I'm refreshing my guitar skills, and saving for a keyboard. I'm utilizing RPG Maker to start familiarizing myself with very, very basic aspects of how to communicate with the computer. Plus, it gives fast results which help lulls in attention span for learning how to do it all myself. I am not planning on publishing a game with RPG maker for *professional* purposes to illustrate learning or ability, but it is very fun to use.

What I've got: Full storyline and pathway branching for decisions, voice bits and character voices [done by me], snacks, water, and a dedicated workspace. Character sketches on paper, most of the dialogue, a working title for both, and most of the battle and other systems planned. It feels like all that's left to do is code and Learn How to Draw Digitally, but that's sure a lot when you have to break it down into all the little steps and refocus those into groups and whatnot. I also have a GitHub profile and joined their Developer Program, I have this tumblr, a Jira account to break down tasks and to-dos in a more manageable way, and my Neocities website has officially been set up to the point of Having It.

I'll release a pinned post with my production announcements later.

fin: 4:04AM