#ghost dating sim

[tthing2605]

Sprite for the dating sim 🗣️‼️💖

How’s he looking??

I love my wife sm

[hgsummerofcode]

Omg I need to stop abandoning this blog for months at a time.

Anyway look at this!!!

Player art by the talented @kookyoddball !!!

It keeps track of which frame of the animation it's on so each step alternates, even when there's no input for a bit!

:))))

[snowhavenstudios]

Okay so if you are dying to date a ghost then we have news for you....

...we made a game where you can do just that.

(Also it's on sale. ;D)

LINK TO THE GAME

[tthing2605]

ABOUT THE GHOST DATING SIM + CARDI TERZO!

He lookin tasty ngl , and I’m not really that much of a Terzo fan 👀

Anyway, some general information about the game!

Basics:

Timeline: It will be set during the transition from Papa II to Papa III

Romance options: You’ll be able to date Primo, Secondo, Terzo and Cardinal Copia! (Not Papa IV/Frater just yet due to narrative necessities :c)

Development:

At this stage I’m creating the visual style as well as the outline of each romance and possible ramifications, as every single character will have their own little quirks you need to take into account to get them to love you.

Each route will have 3 stages/dates and one final scene as a result of your performance, probably having 3 different endings each.

Though storylines may align, as everyone technically works/lives in the ministry, there may be special events that will cause you to miss out on other events.

This game intends to stick to the lore while obviously creating a semi-canon backstory and personality for each character.

Notes and extras:

I am currently the only person actively working on this project… while in college, so I’m sorry if it takes me long periods of time to update you :(

The game will (ideally) be available in both English and Spanish!

Some extra features I’m looking forward to add are character customization and with this the possibility of your customization (wardrobe) changing your score or triggering certain events. I’d also like to add either mini-games, an in-game shop and gift system or both

This is probably gonna be developed with Ren’Py, which I’m just starting to learn :p

Development will depend on my skills and availability, since I’m studying and sometimes can’t even sleep, I’ll try to update as regularly as possible.

I expect to drop a demo featuring at least a bit of each character’s storyline and most features mention above by April or May and if everything goes accordingly it may be out by the end of next year.

I want this to be long, sentimental and pretty, okay? So I’d rather take my time and develop a good story.

IT WILL BE LGBTQ+ FRIENDLY

Thanks to everyone interested in the project, it means a lot since this is my depression project lol

Any help is appreciated, if you are well acquainted with Primo and Secondo’s lore and character I’d really appreciate it if we could discuss about them to build proper romance worthy of them since I don’t think I know enough about them. So any Primo and Secondo fans feel free to DM me :)

Please ask any questions you may still have, suggestions are welcome too!

[snowhavenstudios]

We are almost at 10 reviews!!🎉

We need just ONE more review of our game to reach 10. This would greatly increase our visibility on Steam, and makes a huge difference for a small studio like ours. If you can, please leave a review, we appreciate it!

Current progress: 9/10 The Last Act on Steam!

[hgsummerofcode]

Hey play my game and tell me what you think about it. I need feedback or I will wither away.

The password is "chao."

[hgsummerofcode]

Hey, I hooked my dialogue box up to the rest of the game, and also started adding sounds. Unfortunately, that kind of stuff doesn't come across well in gifs. So I'm inviting you to check out the updated demo page on itch.io! (The password is chao!)

I made a first attempt at a random thunder system for the outdoor scene with rain and thunder sound effects, as well as a canvasmodulate to mess with the lighting. For some reason, exporting it to html5 messed with willow's spawn location in the foyer, so don't pay attention to that right now.

Also, the music in the foyer was done by my good friend @anthrax4sale (anthraxplus on other platforms)!!

Next steps:

Fix the willow spawn bug.

Add a visual for the rain in the porch scene.

Trim and mix the audio well (you can tell where they loop for the ones that loop).

Animate the player sprite.

Everything else that I need to do lmao.

[hgsummerofcode]

OH NO I forgot to post the update! So I made two “major” (kind of) changes to ghost dating sim the past couple of weeks.

First is this:

Before, I directly animated willow in a static way with godot’s built-in animation player node. Now, Willow will float towards a point in space using lerp, and the point is what’s animated. This feels more natural and allows willow to float behind the player when they’re moving, like in the gif above.

I did remove the shadows because it would take a lot of effort to make them work properly and I think it looks fine without it. It gets the point across anyway. Maybe once everything else is built out I’ll re-implement shadows, but honestly it’s a low priority.

The other change, and the one that I’m most proud of, is this:

I redesigned the dialogue box and got rid of the ugly rectangle version. I also added a space for names. I’m thinking about adding a little bubble tail that points to the character speaking as well, kind of like in Sonic Advance? Idk I don’t want to mess with it too much, but I’ll see how it looks at least. Then I made this animation that flips through any number of choices! This was a pain in the ass, but I *really* like how it turned out. Finally, I greyed out the character that isn’t actively speaking and the choices that aren’t selected. In my humble onion, I think this looks really good.

Next up (in rough order of priority):

Player walkaround sprite

Sounds and music

Tilesets, ghost sprites, and portraits for the 4 rooms.

Redo porch area to show the greenhouse and garage. Also make tiles for the area beyond the gate.

Menu and inventory system

Move Willow in front of/behind the player based on inputs. Maybe also randomly switching when standing still?

Dialogue box tails/pointers

Write the dialogue

Shadows

My to-do list never seems to get smaller, huh? I wonder if I can have this MVP/demo done by the end of the year? I just got a job and I’m also taking classes starting on the 30th, but… I’ll try! That will be my goal.