Let Morning Come: A Development blog

Documentation for my game-in-progress, Let Morning Come

[letmorningcome-dev]

An Announcement

Hey everyone! I know it has been a while, but I haven’t forgotten about the game.

Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be a while before I release anything more about it. I’ve released portfolios for the characters I already had in mind, so I’m going to have to create all the rest (however many there will be) from this point on, which will take a while.

For now, I will be working on solidifying the plot and developing the story. I’ve started to write some short stories to help me define the narrative; I will release these when the game comes out, as to not spoil.

This is going to be a long ride,and we have barely begun. Stay tuned!

[letmorningcome-dev]

Jane Marchioni

While not many would describe Jane as an unpleasant person, there’s something about her that makes most people avoid her. Perhaps it’s her 60s style, “counterculture” attire. Maybe it’s the fact that she constantly smells like pine and incense. It could be the strange symbols and beads that she drapes from her neck and wrists. She just has a certain aura about her that seems to make people think that she’s going to run up to you and try to read your palms and sell you something.

Despite her looks, Jane is not known to act in the typical hippie fashion. Those that had classes with her found that she was usually a silent student, but also dominated test scores and provided insightful commentary when called on, and could often be found helping other students. Some speculate that she is one of the top students in the class, however Jane refused to tell anyone her ranking. She has also tried to keep secret the fact that she’ll be travelling to Sweden in a few months to study there, but somehow the rumor got out anyway.

Those that take time to truly get to know Jane will understand why she outfits herself in such a gaudy manner. For her, it is a way to judge character. She believes that those who avoid her because she looks strange are shallow and prejudiced, while those who can look past her appearance and judge her based on her actions are the ones who are truly worth befriending.

[[Another one down, many more to come.]]

[letmorningcome-dev]

Character Portfolio: AJ

AJ Zhang

You know those people you see at school who look like a fake wannabe gangster, but are just tough-looking enough that people leave them alone? AJ is not one of them. AJ is, as far as anyone in the school knows, the closest to a gang street rat that exists in Pine Hills. Nobody has ever seen AJ talk to anyone; in fact, he rarely even showed up to school. Most of the time, people saw him standing at a street corner smoking or playing with a butterfly knife. He’s the kind of person that is intimidating, but that most people ignore, which is exactly as AJ likes it.

Nobody knows AJ’s real story, as no one has bothered to try and get it out of him. Some say that he’s just another poser who wants to look cool. Some say he’s a murderer who’s pretending to be a high schooler to avoid the law. Nobody knows what to believe.

[[New character, finally! I know it’s been a while, college has been crazy, but I’m down to a regular schedule now so I should be able to put out some more content. This one is pretty short for a reason, as AJ is a character whose story is better left unsaid until you experience it. Art will likely be delayed, as I don’t really want to do it on my laptop. Stay tuned!]]

[letmorningcome-dev]

James’ portrait is finally here! Plus, a revised version of Russell!

I might make another portfolio before I leave for college, but I can’t guarantee it, so this might be the last bit of content I will be able to provide for a while. Enjoy!

[letmorningcome-dev]

Let Morning Come

After a LOT of consideration, I have finally decided on a name for this project: Let Morning Come. I also have some new information that I hinted at in earlier posts. One of the major plot devices of the game will be Shakespeare; more specifically, a copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare that the main character owns. I won't spoil too much, but it will be causing some "disruptions" in the town of Pine Hills (which also was nameless until now), and will be the main source of conflict in the game. So what's next? Well, I will be continuing the character portfolios when I have time, but bear in mind that I will be leaving for college in a few weeks. Once I actually learn to code, I will make that my primary focus for a while, and possibly bring some other people onto the project for things like music and art that I'm not so good at. So stay tuned! More information will be coming soon! -Nick

[letmorningcome-dev]

can u add memes

well, of course

[letmorningcome-dev]

I love you

thanks faith ;)

[letmorningcome-dev]

Hope y’all like Shakespeare…

[letmorningcome-dev]

Character Portfolio: Russell

Russell Ackerman

No one is quite sure what to think of Russell, himself included. Most people just know him as the Valedictorian that came out of nowhere and rarely ever speaks (he declined to give a speech at graduation).

Another thing thing that everyone knows about Russell is his motorcycle. Not only does he take it everywhere with him, but he’s the only one in town that owns a motorcycle. It’s not the biggest or loudest thing on the market, but it does the job and Russell takes good care of it. He knows it inside and out, and only rarely has to look up how to fix an issue (He’s also quite good with computers, but thinks they’re boring compared to his motorcycle).

His teachers would tell him all the time that he could go to college if he wanted to and that he has so much potential, and he always politely replied that he doesn’t. While he may not show it, Russell is in love with his hometown, and dreams of opening up an auto shop so that everyone doesn’t have to commute to the city to fix their vehicles like he does.

Getting to know Russell may start off slow, as he doesn’t open up to just anyone, but if you give him the respect and space he seeks, he’ll reciprocate with a sweet and caring personality that few ever see from him.

[[If you have questions about Russell, feel free to send them my way! I love answering them and it helps me to develop his character further.]]

[[Edit: Looks like the picture is warped on my blog. The picture I posted earlier on its own has correct proportions.]]

[[Edit 2: Changed some info, Russell is now Valedictorian! Congrats!]]

[letmorningcome-dev]

Character Portfolio: James

James Slate

People generally have a lot to say about James. Words commonly used to describe him include smart, driven, ambitious, handsome, friendly, popular, cocky, arrogant, and self-centered, as well as some other, less than polite terms.

As you can see, opinions on him are rather split.

He was salutatorian of his class, and is planning on attending a rather prestigious college to study engineering. Anyone who has had a class with him knows that he is very, very good at what he does, often scoring very well on tests and getting nothing less than all A’s every single semester. He was outspoken in the classroom to the point that most teachers stopped letting him answer questions because no one else was.

His circle of friends is wide and encompasses many. Lots of people love him and will swear up and down that he really is kind and caring. His good looks and charisma has many of his classmates fawning over him, though he has been single for a few years now. He is loyal and supportive to his closest friends through thick and thin; one friend constantly tells people of the time that they were having a panic attack in the bathroom and James ditched class to help them.

Those that hate James are almost as numerous as those that don't. It's not hard to see why so many people perceive him as arrogant, as he's far from humble. He's very confident, he talks about his accomplishments often and he is proud of them; many would say too proud. There are rumors abound of him bullying other students, though they're usually not very detailed, leading most to assume that they are untrue.

James makes it clear that he isn’t in love with his hometown; he would rather be out in the city where he can make real change on a much larger scale. Not even he is sure what his future will hold, but he has high hopes.

[[This took a little while longer than I thought it would. I haven’t started his portrait either, but expect it within the next few days. As always, I’d happily answer any questions you have about James, so don’t be afraid to shoot me an ask.]]

[letmorningcome-dev]

New character portfolio coming soon, I'm at work so no picture yet. Expect some changes to Russell as well.

[letmorningcome-dev]

Character Portfolio: Russell

Russell Ackerman

No one is quite sure what to think of Russell, himself included. Most people just know him as the Valedictorian that came out of nowhere and rarely ever speaks (he declined to give a speech at graduation).

Another thing thing that everyone knows about Russell is his motorcycle. Not only does he take it everywhere with him, but he’s the only one in town that owns a motorcycle. It’s not the biggest or loudest thing on the market, but it does the job and Russell takes good care of it. He knows it inside and out, and only rarely has to look up how to fix an issue (He’s also quite good with computers, but thinks they’re boring compared to his motorcycle).

His teachers would tell him all the time that he could go to college if he wanted to and that he has so much potential, and he always politely replied that he doesn’t. While he may not show it, Russell is in love with his hometown, and dreams of opening up an auto shop so that everyone doesn’t have to commute to the city to fix their vehicles like he does.

Getting to know Russell may start off slow, as he doesn’t open up to just anyone, but if you give him the respect and space he seeks, he’ll reciprocate with a sweet and caring personality that few ever see from him.

[[If you have questions about Russell, feel free to send them my way! I love answering them and it helps me to develop his character further.]]

[[Edit: Looks like the picture is warped on my blog. The picture I posted earlier on its own has correct proportions.]]

[[Edit 2: Changed some info, Russell is now Valedictorian! Congrats!]]

[letmorningcome-dev]

Draft of the first character (more info to come)

[letmorningcome-dev]

1.0 / Genesis

Here I am, in the lifeguard shed on my break, posting on a blog that I just made, about a game that I conceived yesterday.

Okay, that last one is only partially true. I’ve been thinking about this one for months now, but yesterday was when I really started to get serious.

The, as of yet, unnamed game is an story-based adventure game with a heavy focus on plot, characters, and relationships. The story-line is very much a work in progress, with only bits and pieces currently figured out.

The Game

The game takes place in a small town during the summer. The main character is a recent high school graduate, looking at an uncertain future with no plans for further education, career, or even a job. Their parents are out of town, and they are bored out of their mind. There are many other characters who've recently been thrust into the adult world, all with unique personalities, backstories, and interactions with the main character.

From here, things aren't set in stone quite yet. I know I want to have some kind of "evil" to drive the plot, but I haven't decided on anything yet. Ideas range from aliens, to ghosts, to demons, but again, it's completely open to change.

I want to focus a lot of the game on the relationships that the main character, and by extension, the player, has with the characters. You can befriend each and every one of the main cast, as well as romance some of them. The main character is somewhat customizable, most likely with a choice of mad or female, skin color, and hair color. The player can romance either gender, but not all characters are romanceable by either gender, each having their own sexuality. Friendships and romances will be mostly separate, likely requiring a certain friendship level before a romance can be initiated.

The game will be top-down with borderless pixel art (because it's easy and I'm not an artist) and likely grid-based movement.

Inspirations

- Life Is Strange, Traditional Visual Novels

For the emphasis on choices and their impacts, creating a "choose your own adventure" style. The former also has some inspiration to the plot line which I'm not going to reveal yet.

- Oxenfree, Night in the Woods

For the storyline involving teenagers/young adults dealing with some supernatural evil, the realistic dialog, and believable characters.

- Harvest Moon, Stardew Valley

Once again, for the complex and in depth characters, relationships, and sense of community.

- A dream?

Yes, the whole idea for the game came from a dream of mine. In short, in the dream I had recently moved to a small town and was living in an inn. The whole town had a pool party at night, and while at the party, I witnessed aliens landing behind the inn. The game isn't really that similar to the dream at this point, but it was what inspired me to make a game in the first place.

Conclusion

I haven't started work on the game yet, but I'm planning on it as soon as I get home. I've still yet to decide what engine the game will be on, probably some form of RPG Maker. I also still have a lot of work to do on ironing out the story and the mechanics. I will post updates on this blog when I make progress.

-Nick