Synthetizing Love

A yuri visual novel game about accepting ourselves thanks to the people we love

[syntethizinglove]

DEVLOG #11 - Updated UI

Almost a week has passed since the latest announcement and I managed to get some work done.

For now the main menu and textbox will look the same, as I think they still look good even with the updated UI, but I'll consider redoing them in the future for the complete game. 

The rest has changed considerably! The menus now have much more personality and are quite colorful, acting like a sort of personal diary/notepad for Hannah. Everything works as intended (I'm only missing the "confirm" screen and the language selection button) but I had to put the credits screen on hold until I reach a point when I know exactly who to credit.

I'd like to change a few things, maybe work more on the music, add sfx and have only custom made backgrounds. I also plan to polish the writing a bit, mainly in the first part of the game which people found pretty boring, but hopefully it's just a matter of deleting a few sentences, so that I can still use the translations from last year. I feel bad for all the people who helped me and still can't see their work put to use because I felt too overwhelmed to continue the project. Certainly I wasn't in a good place mentally but I have to admit that Tyrano's unwillingness to collaborate wasn't helpful. Yes, the only reason this game even exist is because of that engine and I'll always be grateful for that, but its strenght of being so easy for beginners was also its weakness. 

I'm still a newbie in game development in general and with Ren'Py, but after my first Ren'Py project "Sprint down memory lane", I already learned so much and I'm able to design and code UIs that I never even thought were possible to do! As I probably already wrote in the past, the main protagonists of this game have been my OCs for years so I want to write this game's story by myself at all costs, which means it probably won't be the best so let me apologize in advance! I'm just stubborn, I want to be able to do everything and asking for help feels like cheating, although it totally isn't. I'd like to collaborate with a writer in the future to bring my stories to life, I know I'll definitely enjoy the process more if I won't have to worry about people disliking my writing ^^"

Anyway, I digress! This is all I can show you for now and I won't hide that I'm so proud of myself, comparing these screenshots to the current demo! Next I'll add all the text in the game (which will be so, so much easier this time around T.T) and then polish it as best as I can. In the meantime, I should think of a plot for this year's Yuri game jam...

See you soon!!

[syntethizinglove]

Demo remake in the works

I've officially started remaking the "Synthetizing Love" demo in Ren'Py.

It looks like it'll take a while: the UI needs to be upgraded since I only made it to fit TyranoBuilder's UI, which could hardly be customized; a lot more code to write and possibly make it as easy to translate as possible; I still don't know how I'll code the phone chat, so I'll probably leave it for last; I'll probably need to either find a new background artist or contact the old one again.

I was hoping it'd be easier, but working with Tyrano really made a lot of things harder than they should've been. Nontheless, I know that, at the end of it all, I'll end up with an even better product that I'll be happy to show everyone!

For now I'll start with the textbox~ And slowly make my way up to actually create a full game.

Wish me luck!

[tenshi-yoru]

Sprint Down Memory Lane by Chiara

Short kinetic novel

"Sprint Down Memory Lane" is now available on Itch.io for the NaNoRenO game jam!

It's a short kinetic novel about an athlete announcing her (rather early) retirement, reliving the most important memories that brought her to that decision.

One day I'll learn how to write decent stories ^^'

[syntethizinglove]

DEMO out now

​The demo is finally out! You can download it here

Synthetizing Love by Chiara

I can’t believe that I not only made a full fledged demo but I even did it for a jam, in three months. This is insane.

To be honest I didn’t have the confidence to even last a week, in the beginning. In the past I tried twice to work on a game but I didn’t even manage to write the story, I just abandoned the projects as soon as the initial excitement wore off. But it was different this time, especially thanks to a friend.

Thanks to the jam’s discord server, I found other people who showed interest in my game and I found some interesting projects as well. Seeing how everyone was working hard really drove me to give it my all.

Of course, despite doing most of the work on my own, I couldn’t have made it without all the other people who supported me either morally or materially (or both) with art, music and translation. The demo may be not “perfect” yet, because it’s still missing some original backgrounds and music or translations, but I will slowly add them to the game with later updates throughout the month of December.

Right now the game is only available in English, but these languages will be added in a few days:

Italian 

Spanish 

Portuguese (BR)

Polish

In the meantime, the translators are also working on these other languages, which will be added as soon as they’re completed:

Russian

Danish

French

Malay

If you can help translate the demo (unpaid, unfortunately) in any other language, please contact me ^^

The game has a discord server where I am managing the development with the other volunteers but if enough people are interested, I may open it to the public! Let me know what you think.

That said, I just want to thank you all and hope you will enjoy the demo~ I will now take a couple of days off (I say, although I’m sure I won’t lol) and then go back to work. There’s still the rest of the game to work on!

[syntethizinglove]

No devlog this time, but I wanted to say that I have finally updated the game's page with new pictures and screenshots!

It's finally looking quite cute and next step is to rewrite the description, but I have other game stuff to finish first.

You can take a look here~

Synthetizing Love by Chiara

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #10 - Added music

​I don't remember if I mentioned this in a past devlog, but a while ago I got two composers to help me with the game's music. Well, one of them has been silent for more than a month, so I had to take them off the team; the other made a couple of tracks for me but, due to personal reasons, can't finish the rest of the work on time. So for now I took some time to find some emergency free music tracks and added them to the game. I really don't have the time to test how well they fit each scene or if there are any problems, so I asked a friend to test the game for me. Hopefully I'll have some feedback soon. I really like my composer's music, though, so I hope to be able to replace the free assets with their tracks in the future, or to at least add them to the full game.

(preview of two CGs, showing Chikara and Yvonne)​

In the meantime I'm working on CGs and I'm doing quite well but not too much. In total there should be 14 CGs and I've completed 6 of them, plus I'm halfway through the 7th one already. I'm doing what I can but some of them require backgrounds (it would be awesome to give all of them a background but I'm taking some shortcuts) and they're my weakness, so it takes some time to get something decent.

As long as I manage to complete the most important CGs, my artist finishes that one background I really need and the music is somehow ok, the game ​could​ be released in time for the jam. I really, really hope I can do that!

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #9 - Progress?

It's been a while since my last update but I'm not really sure what to say. Have I actually made any progress?

Technically, I have. All the menus are now fully functional and I've had to fix a lot of things, which really stressed me out. - I still don't know how to create funcional pop up windows, so I had to find a workaround for the language selection. - Language selection now works perfectly, but I won't be able to implement languages other than English before the jam's deadline, which means I'll have to do that in a later update. At least this will give time to my translators to test the game. - The save function wasn't working because of a software specific issue and so I had to find a workaround, deleting quick save/load and replacing them with normal save/load. Now the game's menu feels a little empty, but at least it works and who's to say I won't add something interesting in the full game 👀

Is this everything? I don't rememeber, honestly, but it still feels like I haven't actually done much. The music is still missing and I've only completed 2 CGs so far. I'm trying to focus on the most important ones but I wonder if I'll be able to finish them all in time?

Time is running out, help T.T

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #8 - Sprites are done

I can't believe I'm finally saying this: all the character sprites are done! It took a while and I'm more tired than I thought I'd be, but at least one of the important parts is done. I think I'm going to work on the title screen next.

(There is actually one more character I haven't shown but I figured it wouldn't be fun to reveal everything :D)

I haven't made any progress with music and backgrounds yet but I'm relying on volunteers, who obviously have stuff going on with their lives, so I'll try to give them a hand when I'm done with all the other stuff. Still, I'm loving the stuff I've received so far and I can't wait to show you~

On the other hand, translation in going really well! Three languages have been completed and in a while I'll start adding them to the game, hoping to have it tested before I have to publish the demo.

I've already decided that I will release it for the jam no matter what. It may be incomplete, it may need at least one or two updates, but I'll make sure that it's playable at least. It would lose all meaning if I missed the deadline.

Now, I'll take at least one day to rest, maybe playing some video games! And then I'll come back, hopefully, stronger than ever~

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #7 - Translators needed

Just a quick update to let you know that I've decided to start looking for translators!

I'm not looking for any languages in particular, but I'm already set for English, Italian, Spanish and Russian, so anything other than those four would be good. There's only a little over a month left until the jam's end, so it's important to start soon if I want the translations to be ready in time. And as I've said before, this would be an unpaid position unfortunately.

(screenshot of settings menu, just to show you some progress)

If you can help with any language other than the ones I mentioned before, please contact me! You can do that on discord at tenshiyoru or by email at [email protected]

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #6 - The tedious part is over

As of today, all the text from the prologue has been added to the game! Along with all the respective expressions for each sentence. As it is right now, it could actually be played, but a lot of things are still missing or incomplete, like sprites, backgrounds and CGs. Speaking of CGs, I may need to take a few of them out, at least for the demo. It will depend on how much time I have left. I will take a general look at the game to make sure everything looks good and then I will finally jump onto the menus. I still need to create the title screen and I'm not really sure what to do with it yet.

On an even more positive note, I have found 2 composers and a background artist! I still need to figure out how to efficiently communicate with them, since it's my first time leading a project, but I love their work and hope to create great things together~

Ideally I would have a fully functional demo ready for the end of the month but I don't want to make any promises because I easily get overwhelmed.

Objective for next update: check that all the text is working, check that all the choices work as intended and create and implement all menus.

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #5 - Recruiting

This devlog is a bit different. I haven't made much progress, because I decided to actually develop the prologue and make it playable, so that I will surely have a working demo for this jam. I do hope to add at least one route, but I'm afraid I won't be able to finish everything in time, so I took this decision. Which leads to the title of this post.

I realized I can't do everything alone and decided to look for volunteers (as much as I hate it, unfortunately I can't offer payment) for these two positions:

BG ARTIST: I'm not looking for anything super realistic. Simple and stylized backgrounds would work really well, I think, but what matters most is that they somehow fit with the sprites' style. Don't worry about it too much though, just leave your portfolio and I'll see for myself.

COMPOSER: the game is a slice-of-life romance VN, so I think something soft and relaxing would fit? Although it also deals with heavy subjects, like homophobia and bullying, so the atmosphere will turn heavy sometimes. Honestly, I'm not really sure. So if you know your way with music or can even help me choose from free tracks, I'll be really grateful. ​I managed to find some backgrounds, although not all of them are exactly what I need, but music is the biggest issue, since I don't exactly know what to look for.​ No longer looking for a composer!

​If you're interested in the project and can help, please get in touch with me on Discord (tenshiyoru) or by e-mail at [email protected]

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Other than that, I can show you a bit what the game looks like right now. Sprites aren't done yet but they will as soon as all the text has been implemented in the engine.

Yvonne, Hannah and Chikara talking during the first few minutes of the game.

Hannah alone in her room. I made a mock-up of her house on The Sims 4 and plan on using it as a base to make my own background but perspective is my worst enemy and I'm not sure I'll get anything good.

First choice in the game, with Hannah being her short-tempered self. Still wondering if I should make the text box disappear.

Work in progress of Hannah's chat screen. Group's name sounds cheesy but that's Yvonne for you lol

What do you think? Do you like how the game looks right now?

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #4 - New character designs

After completing the prologue, I dedicated a few days to work on designing and implementing UI, as well as designing more characters.

I had some trouble with html but it's incredible what some research and a lot of trial and error can do! Text boxes and buttons are finally fully functional~ Now I "only" need to do the same for the save and load menus, settings and CG gallery. Help :')

As for character design, here are Hannah's love interests in their work uniform, since that's how she meets them for the first time. They'll have other outfits for the rest of the game. The only characters left are Hannah's professor and her cat (given I don't decide to add more people to the story). Thing is, I can't draw cats, so I know I'm gonna regret this lol

Starting tomorrow I will start to write the first route, although I still don't know who I'll begin with. The jam will begin soon and there's still so much work to do!

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #3 - Prologue is done?

The prologue is now around 11k words and I think I wrote everything I wanted to write. I'm now having some friends proofread it for me and there may (although I'd say "surely") be some things that need to be edited, but otherwise I believe it can be considered done. There is a very emotional scene right at the end and I'm not sure it's working as intended, so I hope the proofreaders will be able to help me with that, unless I only find it weird because I've read it too many times lol I actually teared up when I first wrote it ^^"

I'll take this chance to put aside writing for a bit and focus on art, finally. You already saw some designs, so here is a prototype of the in-game menu. Unfortunately I still can't understand how to implement settings in TyranoBuilder so if anyone knows, please contact me!

Say hi to the chibis! They probably will change depending on which route the player is in. This will appear in the prologue

Hopefully next time you see me I'll have more designs to show you~

[syntethizinglove]

Devlog #2

Still working on the prologue and I'm not completely happy with it, so I might go back and rewrite a few things. I'm afraid to change things too much and having to adjust the entire story, but if it's necessary I don't really have a choice.

In the meantime I worked on character designs and these are, probably, the main characters' final looks. Hannah is supposed to be pretty short and Chikara quite tall but I might need to adjust the proportions a bit.

I'm also slowly working on the UI but there are a few things I still don't understand about TyranoBuilder which are kind of delaying my work.

[syntethizinglove]

Announcing "Synthetizing Love"

I know I have more chances to actually finish a project if I tell people about, so I am officially announcing my very first game:

The sprites shown here won't be in the final game

I decided to create this game for the Yuri Game Jam 2023. I am an artist who loves drawing female characters, so I thought a yuri game would be a good start in creating visual novels. Not to mention that one of my original characters was the perfect fit for the genre, so I immediately made her the protagonist. It's also true, though, that this would be my first time getting into the yuri genre and I hope to be able to write a good story that will do this genre justice.

The game will be created using TyranoBuilder, since I'm no programmer, but I will write the story, design characters and UI and create sprites. For backgrounds and music, I will probably rely on free assets (I'm really bad at backgrounds but I may still try to create them if I have enough time).

Hannah, Chikara and Yvonne are my original characters, so they already have a set design and personality. (The drawings you see in the banner above, in fact, are from their reference sheets and won't be used in the game. I'm just using them as placeholders.) Nonetheless, I still want to create new outfits for this game. Any other character will need to be designed from scratch.

Work in progress. Trying to come up with new outfits.

HANNAH: main character; American. She's obessed with science and chemistry. Her greatest desire is becoming a renowed scientist.

CHIKARA: one of Hannah's best friends; Japanese. Always calm and collected. Her cold stare scares people, but in reality she has an extremely warm heart.

YVONNE: one of Hannah's best friends; French. Dreams of becoming a teacher loved and respected by all students. Loves to gossip.

LOVE INTERESTS: can't reveal anything for now, but my hope is to have three of them. The silhouettes in the banner above are temporary and may different from the final designs.

PROFESSOR PASCAL: University teacher. Hannah is his lab assistant and loves to make him angry.

MR. HYDE: Hannah's cat, adopted from the shelter~

More characters to come, maybe???

I'm currently writing the prologue and, although I have a general idea of where I want the story to go, I still need to figure out the middle part.

The premise of the game will slowly be revealed as the story progresses because Hannah herself beats around the bush and doesn't explicitly talk about it, since she refuses to acknowledge it. She likes women and she has never accepted it. Due to past events, she has buried everything deep into her heart and has lived her life like this, thinking the problem was solved.

Of course that's not how it works and her wounds, which have never had the chance to heal, have heavily influenced her life. In this game, she will learn to open her heart and accept herself thanks to a new love. What kind of "love" it will be, the player will decide.

Placeholders. Placeholders everywhere lol In this stage I am only adding in text and trying out the new software.

I'm not sure if I will be able to finish the entire game within the jam's timeframe, so I'm aiming for a working demo, at least.

My main goals for now are, more or less in order of importance:

Finish writing the prologue (I am currently at around 7k words, but who knows what more I will add or delete);

Input all the text in the engine;

Design all characters;

Draw all sprites and at least a decent amount of expressions;

Add all character animations and expression changes;

Work on at least one route, with a good and a bad ending.

Additional things that are still important, but don't have priority at the moment:

Find all the backgrounds I need;

Find some music.

This is all, for now. Writing will surely take a lot of time, so I'll probably write an update next week with the new word count. Unless I decide to take a break inbetween writing sessions and sketch some things, which means I'll be able to post an update sooner.

See you soon!