Midnightricker

I love RPG Maker games, so I will post here about my favs. <3 I will be sharing also some translated games (in italian!) and from times to times you may see another person here: Soe, my partner in crime (?), who makes translation as well. Avatar: SOVORA Background: ヨシュケイ Sidebar: えええ＠妄想综合征

[ps-aeiou-vowels]

more lily (and her well) while i mess with brushes

[time-lapse-games]

Every Thought Flies is out!

Download on Itch.io

One stormy afternoon, Gioele decides to play a ritual japanese game, The Gathering of 100 Supernatural Tales. It's a relatively simple game to play, after all; it requires 100 candles, a lot of matches, and willing storytellers with a fervid imagination - telling 100 weird stories in a row is not an easy task! At the end of the last tale, something strange is bound to happen... And what better storytellers than Felix, Noelia and Abele? So, the game show you the last four tales. Strange, weird, supernatural stories... also, somewhat painful memories. They claim their stories are all true; will you believe them? Maybe, inside this tales there is something more worrying than the possible ghost apparition at the end of the game...

Every thought flies it's an anthology of creepy tales using as a frame the japanese game Hyaku Monogatari Kaidankai.

It's not a really scary game, it's more like a cozy horror.

Features:

🕯️ 4 different cozy horror tales

🕯️ Atmospheric sound design (No RTP!)

🕯️ Sardinian folklore in the first tale

🕯️ Queer characters!  

🕯️ Multiple endings for each story AND for the game

🕯️ For now, 3 CGs (planning to add more). 

🕯️ 1h/1h30 of playtime

My first complete project! So happy right now-

This is the "chapter 0" of The Ash Black Cat series, but it works fine as a standalone game. Have fun!

(PS: Reblogs are really appreciated!)

[wisteriasakana]

Chantal's room.

Less "aesthetic" than one might think, but no one (apart from Janet, her friends and half of the city) knows it anyway-

[guttykreum]

Pinpoint of Majeure.

[arcadea-rpg]

[dreambonesgames]

Happy Friday!

Jake's Halloween Night has officially been released for Steam!!!

Go play now for Free

And if you enjoyed the game please consider leaving a Review, I would really appreciate it and it helps the game! :D

[melonenbrot]

Mogeko March Day 9 - Favourite Main character I don’t think anyone is surprised by this, but… Wadanohara :3 She is the cutest and best~ Took this opportunity to draw her in a one-piece dress!

[higaaaaaa]

[heartknots-project]

The Steam store page for "Heart Knots" has been released!!

Wishlist on Steam：

Heart Knots on Steam

今天是很重要的一天。准备前往学校的童茜意外被困于一个神秘的世界，她能够找到回去的方法吗？邂逅不同的朋友，探索迷雾后的真相吧。

[game-meak]

The passage of time is terrifying and I don't like it!!!

Technically it's more along the lines of 9 years if you count the original version (you shouldn't), but still. I haven't had much time or energy lately to draw so it's a rather simple celebration picture, but it's wild to me that it's been so long but it also feels so recent. It's still surreal to me that a silly little thing I made has had so many people play it. I cannot thank everyone enough for their support.

Terrifyingly related: December will be 5 years for The Witch's Puppets. I want to believe I'll be able to do something for it, but who knows!!!

[game-meak]

I wrote a little rambly thing on itch.io if you'd like to read it!

[midnighttrain-project]

Hello everyone! It’s time for another development blog!

Thank you very much for the support I received in the previous post! This time, the focus will be pixel art! In particular, we will talk about the creative process behind the new sprites of the remake.

As some of you may already know, MerúM is the artist in charge of the pixel art in Midnight Train. Let’s ask him some questions about it!

🌙🚂 Interview with MerúM 🚂🌙

Lydia: First of all, could you introduce yourself?

MerúM: I call myself MerúM. I am the pixel artist of Midnight Train: New Moon, and I am in charge of the sprites and animations of the characters. I also worked on Aria's Story and the previous version of Midnight Train doing the same job.

Lydia: The character sprites in Midnight Train: New Moon look quite different from the original version. Is there any reason for this change?

MerúM: Well, before the switch to RPG Maker MV, I was already working on the new sprites and animations for the Midnight Train remake. However, once we changed programs, I noticed that the character sprites were very small compared to the current screen dimensions. I decided that this was a perfect opportunity to redo the sprites from scratch as well, increasing their dimensions and detailing them more than the previous version allowed me, without wanting to move them too far away from the previous chibi style.

Lydia: Right now, you already completed all the characters sprites for chapter 1. Was there any challenge or something you’re really proud about? 

MerúM: After changing the sprites, the expressiveness of the characters has improved a lot. Characters now have many more unique animations and expressions, solidifying their personalities. I think this new style works very well with the aesthetic of Midnight Train’s world and makes them look quite unique from character to character.

Lydia: Could you describe your workflow and what programs you use to create your work?

MerúM: For my sprites, I use Aseprite. Before starting with a specific character, I tend to draw their base sprites and their walking animations. After this, I receive a list of events that will occur in the game related to those characters, and then I create the sprites and animations that fit into said scenes using the base sprites as a reference. Usually, I am in charge of designing how these scenes will look in pixel art, but with some more specific or complicated scenes I have received a quick sketch of how the sprite/animation should look like as a visual aid, and thus arrive at the version that best suits the scene.

Lydia: I’m just curious about something… Who is your favorite character from Midnight Train?

MerúM: I think all the characters are fantastic, maybe I could consider Neil Lawton my favorite. I think, in the end, we should all be a little like Neil. Even if you are afraid at first to move forward, just do it. This is what Neil does, he may be afraid, but he faces this fear to survive.

Lydia: Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

MerúM: What else could I say? I think Midnight Train: New Moon brings a story that will appeal to anyone who is passionate about mystery stories. By the way, it's fun to mention that in addition to Justice, Purity and some secondary characters, I have been the main designer of Larissa, one of the new characters in this remake. I hope you play Midnight Train: New Moon and get to know her!

🌙🚂 Progress 🚂🌙

I hope you liked the interview with MerúM! I wouldn't have been able to create my games without his help, as I'm pretty bad at pixel art. I'm excited to see all the sprites he will create for chapter 2! I personally can't wait to see Apollo's animations. Now, I want to report about the development of the game. I’m almost finished with the maps of chapter 2, so I expect to start programming this chapter very soon! Literally, there is only one map left…! I wanted to add a new puzzle to this map, so I’ve been stuck brainstorming ideas… Ahh, it feels like facing a final boss before proceeding to the next step.

Thank you a lot for your support and patience! See you next time~

[midnighttrain-project]

Hello everyone!

First off, I would like to thank all of you for your continued support! I usually publish short updates on my personal Twitter (or should I say X now?), but I thought it would also be fun to make long posts sharing my experiences and thoughts about the development of the game.

So, I decided to start a new series of articles talking about random things about the development of the game, like some kind of journal! I don’t use Tumblr lately, since I reach more people with Twitter, but Tumblr is perfect for long posts like this! 

I hope you will enjoy this content!

🌙🚂 Let’s start with a recap! 🚂🌙

I’m currently working on a remake of my second game, Midnight Train. The remake is titled Midnight Train: New Moon, and is being developed using RPG Maker MV.

Originally, I only intended to add new content to the original game, like new endings and an epilogue, but I ended up changing the engine and remaking everything from scratch. Thanks to all the feedback I received from the original release, I'm currently working hard to make the game more enjoyable for everyone!

Since it's a remake, it has a lot of new features that weren't present in the original: new graphics, alternate endings, improved gameplay, partial voice acting, many new cutscenes and events… and much more! But let’s talk about the new features in more detail in another post~

🌙🚂 Progress 🚂🌙

Since this is the first blog in this series, I think I should talk about one of the things most people are curious about! “How’s the progress of the remake”?

Before answering that question, I'll explain how I divide the work. Basically, I focus on each chapter in linear order. These would be the main steps:

◆First step: Working on the artwork ◆Second step: Mapping in Photoshop ◆Third step: Eventing all the maps in RPG Maker and testing ◆Final step: English translation

After I finish all these steps, I start working on the next chapter, using the same steps! 

Creating the maps is the most time consuming step because I also design and plan new mechanics, puzzles and new cutscenes, so it takes me a lot of time to finish them. Thankfully, once the maps are finished, I'm quite fast with the eventing, since everything is already planned!

Well…! Let’s answer the question now! “How’s the progress of the remake”?

I’m currently working on the maps of Chapter 2, which means Chapter 1 is fully completed, including the english translation! I’m almost finished with the maps of Chapter 2, so I hope I can start eventing soon ~ 

🌙🚂 Expected release 🚂🌙

This is one of the questions I usually receive, so I also wanted to talk about it: “When will the game be released?”

The answer is… I don’t know!

I’m working really hard, but it’s impossible to predict when I will finish all the work. For now, I can only offer updates about the development!

Which leads to another question: “Why is it taking so long to develop the remake? Shouldn’t it be faster than developing the original game?”

Honestly, that's what I also thought! But the reality is that the remake is taking twice the amount of effort that required the original. Or even more. Why does it require more effort? I think it will be easier to understand with this picture:

This is the comparison between two maps. Even though they look quite different, it’s actually meant to be the same map in-game. This map is basically a hallway that connects two maps, the purpose has not changed, but the map itself is different.

In the remake, I’m trying to create maps that are more interesting to explore, while trying to retain the charm and purpose of the original. This means I also added new events for the new environments, including new puzzles! There are a lot of new things to discover, and you can also learn new things about the characters.

However, the main inconvenience is that I can’t reuse anything from the old version. I must create everything from scratch, including:

◆Creating new dialogues when you interact with the new elements. ◆Adding new visual effects. ◆Creating new events that match the aesthetic of each map. ◆Adding new sound effects (voice acting and terrain sounds) ◆Adjusting old cutscenes to the new environment. ◆Creating new puzzles, depending on the map. ◆And more! The list is long!

So, in the end, working on this remake is like working on a new game. A more detailed, polished and professional new game.

🌙🚂 About the developer 🚂🌙

I usually don’t post much about myself, since I’m quite shy! But I also wanted to talk about myself a bit more~ 

As you may already know, I’m Lydia, the creator of Aria’s Story and Midnight Train! I’m often told by my friends that it’s weird to use your real name on the internet, but I like using my name haha

I also use the name LydiaBluebell on social media. Why Bluebell? Because it’s a flower that means humility, constancy, gratitude and everlasting love, which I think summarizes perfectly my journey with game development 💙 Thanks to everyone that supports me, you have my gratitude and everlasting love!

🌙🚂 Final thoughts 🚂🌙

Oh…! I think I already wrote too much in this post! If you’re still reading this, thank you! I hope it wasn’t too boring…! Next time, I’d like to talk about more specific things!

If you’re curious about anything in particular about my creative process, don’t hesitate to ask a question and I’ll try to cover it in the next post! 

See you all next time!

[arcadea-rpg]

[traumerei-project]

Twitter's....well, going up in smoke, so I might try using Tumblr more often again. I'm about to get started on my sixth novel~!!

[send-project]

Everything seems so alive...yet, so lifeless.

[wisteriasakana]

Texture: m i t s u

The main character of Pink Pro, Chantal!

More about her:

🍰 "Chantal" was the default name I gave to the main character of my essays in elementary school. She has finally found her own identity! 🍰 As already mentioned, she may seem human, but she isn't. This obviously affects her. 🍰 I've always wanted to make a character with a decora kei aesthetic and I took the opportunity! Did I say that it would be difficult to exactly replicate every single accessory between the title screen, busts and CGs? Well, there's no problem, because only once I finished the bust I realize that it already has different accessories compared to the title screen!!!11oneone Oh, well, basically the decora kei stands out for its multitude of accessories, right?

And here's her sprite:

I waited until now to do it because I had no idea about the typology.

Since I felt like it, I decided to gather all the "pink" sprites I had, between the VX Ace RTP style ones and the Mack style ones, but I wanted the important characters to stand out (Also to, like, visually direct the player-). I had an idea of making them in a 100% customized version, but the style gap was quite ugly to see.

(Separated they are beautiful, together a little less.)

Then on itch.io I found Them: Guildmaker7 by Despair Party

It's gorgeous. They're all gorgeous.

Something different from Mack and Looseleaf (Although deeply loved, huh!), in various sizes! I couldn't resist and here's the result. I like it and it blends well with the NPCs and graphics.

/Good, now I have to do it with people who have four legs and/or tails.

[time-lapse-games]

Have a great summer

Sincerely, from The Ash Black Cat and the Happy Ogre cast

(Even horror protagonists need a break from time to time, right? But fear not, I'm still working! News are coming!)