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!
