It isn't news to most, but Deltarune Chapter 5 came out! Now that a little time has passed, I thought I'd talk a little about of my work on the game!
In Chapters 3+4 it was a little easier to point at broad portions that I was responsible for, but in this chapter I was a little more scattershot as we were working on this one concurrently with the release of 3+4, and all of the work leading up to and after launch. This meant I was bouncing back and forth like a well filled basketball, tackling whatever needed to be tackled.
Something I had a lot of fun with in this chapter was adding some kinetic energy to things where it wasn't always totally necessary. Aqua bouncing around during her introduction, Yellow bouncing his hat when startled, and Flowery cracking open a fresh orange of juice were some of my favorite bits.
Some of my favorite bits to work on were Yellow punishing himself, Flowery joining your party, and whether or not you turned off Voice Clips or Ralseis. It's always a lot to make a scene work where you can have a lot of player choice and have responses to that, but it's so rewarding when that works out.
I know most folks who have followed me for a while know me for my platforming games, but that's one aspect of this chapter I didn't touch! The folks on the team responsible for that did an incredible job, and I loved being able to play and test it as it grew.
(I'm very proud to get to be responsible for the first use of spr_susie_splat)
I'll leave my I did that's at that for now, and get back to it. In the meantime you can always follow me on BlueSky, my games, and all the other stuff I get up to. See ya next time.
Notes: I know the true message of the song but I just decided to take some parts from it ans add my own twist. Hope u like it! I have had this in my drafts since Billie’s album dropped and I have finally decided to publish it. Likes, comments and reblogs are always welcomed!
Today was not like any other day.
If you were honest, there was no boring day when Ellie showed up at your workplace. Her presence was so soothing, so calming and, as cheesy at it sounded, she really brightened your day. Your mood instantly changed when she walked in. It was like every problem you had would solve itself the moment Ellie would step into this dusty old diner. It seemed like she was the answer to your happiness without her even knowing. It was wierd how just a simple look from her could make you feel at ease, but you couldn’t explain why even if you tried your hardest.
You were honestly very impatient every time she came to here. You never knew when to expect her since she was the type of person to lose the track of time. She usually got here later than you predicted, but you eventually got used to her tardiness. Not like you can do anything anyway.
Still, her being late always made you a bit anxious. It was kind of hard to concentrate on your tasks, because you always looked for her car outside the parking lot when the clock hit 10 AM. You were scolded multiple times because of this, but never fired since your dad owned the place so you really didn’t care. You kind of hated to work here in the beginning, but after meeting Ellie your job became a little more entertaining, so you began putting in some effort: both in your appearance and duty to serve people. Well, you didn’t really struggle with the second one, but your appearance was always polished and clean, so even if you messed things up, at least you looked good doing it.
“Miss?” a deep, manly voice pulled you away from your thoughts which — as always, were filled with a certain redhead. Your attention moved from the restaurant’s parking lot to the costumer in front of you. He seemed very stressed due to your lack of attention.
“Yes, sir?” you smiled apologetically and looked again at the blank page of your order pad. You didn’t even listen to him at all.
“I hope you got my order right.” He angerly said, but could you blame him? The poor man had to repeat himself 3 times.
“Yes, of course.” you smiled again and finally excused yourself from the table, leaving the guy alone. If you remember correctly, he usually orders eggs, bacon and orange juice. And even if he wouldn’t want this, he seemed too hungry to refuse.
You rapidly throw one last look at the window of the restraurant and then rush to finally place the order. When you enter the kitchen, Jesse already waits for you with a big smile on his face, knowing you messed it up again.
“Scrambled eggs with bacon please. And one orange juice.” you request.
“Is that what he wants?” The boys inquires with doubt.
“I don’t know, but this is what he gets.” You reply as you shrug carelessly.
“We are gonna go bankrupt this way.” He laughes and shakes his head. “I don’t even know why you even carry that order pad around. You never use it. I bet it’s empty anyways.” he jokes as he extends his arm towards your hand, wanting to take the little notebook, but you quickly step away from him, hiding it behind your back.
“It’s none of your business why I keep it.” you frown at him.
“Ouch, so mean. Didn’t your little girlfriend come on time today?” Jesse asks mockingly as he makes his way to the fridge in order to get the ingredients.
You frown at him, but keep quiet since denial was not a good idea. Jesse knew you better than anyone else, he was your best friend after all. Lying to him would only cause more damage than good. He would immediately become suspicious.
“You know… you should at least get that girl’s name. She won’t be coming to this diner forever.” He reminded you.
You gripped the notebook tighter in your hand, looking silently at Jesse’s back.
“I already know her name.” You said without thinking, instantly regretting the words as you see Jessy slowly turning towards you with a confused expression.
“Did she give it to you?” He questioned right away.
“Uh… no.” You reply as your gaze falls to the ground. It was kind of dirty. Why no one bothered to clean it properly? Maybe you should do it. Or maybe not. You wouldn’t do a good job anyway. Probabily this is why it remains dirty, everyone thinks the same as you: that someone else would do a better job so it wasn’t even worth trying.
Jesse stopped his movements and he instantly stepped towards you. His hands came to rest on your shoulders, causing you to raise your head and stare at him with confusion. He seemed pretty concerned by your answer. And he was right to be concerned. Just a bit.
“Tell me you didn’t do anything dumb this time.” He asks with worry as he studies your expression.
“What? Of course not.” You brushed him off right away, but he wasn’t too pleased with your answer. “I heard her name when one of her friends called her. This is all.” You add, hoping his worry will go away.
“When was this?” Jesse asked as he let go of you, his hands resting on his hips now. It was like he was interrogating you now.
“A few days ago. I heard it by chance, really… I wasn’t eavesdropping or something” you assure him.
You totally were.
“If you say so…” he shrugs and finally turns away from you, making his way back to the stove in order to make the scrambled eggs. He became too quiet and after a few minutes of insufferable silence, you ask:
“What is it?” You frown at him, sensing he still has something he doesn’t say to you.
“If someone else told me this I would have believed them. But since we are talking about you…” he trailed off the words, assuming that you know what he was going to say. And you didn’t want him to finish saying it.
“I did not do anything shady to find it. Really. I learned from my mistakes.” You assure him once again, hoping this conversation will finally end.
“It’s still weird to know somebody’s name without them giving it to you.” He says as he shakes his head.
It wasn’t that wierd. He clearly doesn’t know what he is talking about. Ellie would eventually know yours or maybe already knows it since it’s literally written on your badge. Jesse is way too paranoid this time. It wasn’t anything serious. You just had a small crush on this girl and sometimes kept tabs on her. It was no big deal. Really.
You were about to contradict him, but the door’s bell stopped you from doing so, as you realized Ellie might be the one to finally come to the diner. You placed the order pad in your pants pocket and rushed to the window’s kitchen in order to look at the entrance, having a big smile on your face. You wondered what was she wearing today. Maybe her usual style: shirt, jeans and converse? Who she was with today? Her friend group? Probably, she didn’t really like to eat alone. She seemed way too anxious for this.
As you looked in her direction, you recognized her friends entering one by one, and you finally saw Ellie. But she didn’t enter right away. She stopped at the door and held it open for someone else. Maybe it was another costumer? No… one of her friends?
“Who is that?” Jesse asked out of the blue, startling you since you did not hear him coming next to you. He was also looking through the small window.
“I don’t know. A friend maybe…” you suggested as you frowned at the sight in front of you, not understanding who this person was and where did she come from. You did not see her until now. Her being just a friend wasn’t the right explanation. Friends do not hold each other so close. You clearly saw how Ellie’s hand was placed firmly on the girl’s waist as they all went to their usual booth. They were smiling to each other ear to ear and even sat next to each other.
“A very good one it seems.” Jesse jokes and you instantly hit him in the arm. “Ouch, what was that for?” He asked as he rubbed the place.
You rolled your eyes in annoyance and then turned your attention to where Ellie was seated with her group. Unfortunately, you could now only see her back and how her tatted arm was around the girl. The brunette was also leaning towards Ellie in order to rest her head on her shoulder.
Who the fuck was even that? What the fuck was happening?
“I guess you didn’t see this coming.” Jesse spoke again as he stepped away from you in order to finish the food. “I told you. You should have acted faster. Now it’s too late” he added with a sigh and you smiled all of a sudden.
“We’ll see.” You reply slyly. It’s never too late to get what you want.
