The Use of Life News

We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

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It's March already, and time for a new status update.
I've beaten the newest Monster Hunter game, by the way.

That aside, in February, I commissioned the artwork to be used in Chapter 3 onwards, as well as a bunch of little tasks here and there.
First I had to decide on who to commission, and then prepare references for the illustrator according to what they need, and then actually approach them and negotiate with them for the commission...
A sudden commssion from a nameless creator like me would look really suspicious, so I do my best to prepare good references so that I can gain the illustrator's trust.
Of course, that does take a lot of time, especially since this time I was commissioning like 5 people. It was a lot of work.

Before, I commssioned artists every time I made a new chapter, but this time I commssioned art for all of the upcoming chapters at once.
This makes it easier to commission art, since I have a very clear idea of how and when the art will be used in the game.
I can even show them how the scene will play out in-game by adding screenshots to my requests.

My hard work has paid off too, and I was able to commission many of the artists I was considering. I'm already looking forward to seeing the art I'll receive soon.
At the same time though, this does mean I'll be spending millions of yen from my savings, which is making me a little lightheaded, but... y'know... yeah...
I can't wait!!!!!!

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From March onward, I'll be able to focus on developing Chapter 3.
I'm also adding new battle features to every chapter, which should let you enjoy something a little different from the battles in the completed routes.

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And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

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We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

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It's February.
Which means it's time for another status update.

I'm finally, FINALLY done writing the story and implemented the text into the game!
(The art isn't done yet, so when that's done I'll have to add them too of course.)
I'm really relieved I could wrap up Elmaise's story, as well as the stories of a bunch of other characters.

If we were to compare the finished routes and the routes I've been writing so far, the word count looks like this...

• Chapter 3A~Final Chapter A: 151,298 JP characters (including all events)
  
• Chapter 3B~Final Chapter B: 96,424 JP characters (only the story)
  

So in terms of word count, Chapter 3 all the way up to Endings 3 and 4 are around 60% complete now.
I started writing in October or so, so it roughly took around 4 months, give or take?

As for events, I'll have to write them while also making the battles related to the events, so I can't write them at the same pace as I did the main story, but I can tell I'm getting closer to finishing.
Translations still need to be done and I need to check the art and music when that's finished too, so I can't really say anything about the release date just yet. But for my own workload, I'm hoping to finish everything within half a year.
And now that I've jinxed myself, maybe I won't get to finish within half a year...

Please bear with me a little longer.

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And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

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About the status of development as of January

We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

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It's January... Mid-January, even.
I know it's a bit late, but here's my status update.
(Sorry, but I was held up by a lot of personal stuff.)

In December, I took plenty of rest in between work.
I did a lot of work nonstop in October and November, and that was starting to take a toll on me, so I took the opportunity to recover from that.
Writing wise, Ending 3 is finished, so all I have left to write is Ending 4.

Making endings is a lot more... tiring, I guess, than making regular events.
I can't write well if I myself can't get emotionally invested in the story, so I struggled a bit here and there, but I want to make sure it's something I'm satisfied with, since it's the last part of the story.
I've been very particular about details too, including picking just the right music tracks for the scenes.

Though one good thing about the final chapter is that it only has like 1 map, so that's easier.
This is the only map for Ending 3.



January has been really busy for me, including attending a funeral and everything, so I don't expect to get too much progress this month, but I'll do what I can.
I think it'll all come down to how much I can get done in February.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

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We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

=================================

It's December, and we're nearing the end of the year.

In November, I've finished writing the story for Chapter 4, implemented into the game, and improved the debugging features.
Since the art isn't done yet, I'm using existing characters to stand in for new characters for now, and it's funny when they say lines that are completely out of character.
Like a super heroic, ice queen kind of Misha.



In December, I'd like to keep writing and finalize the endings. I'll also figure out how much art I need for all the chapters and commission the artists.
After that, I'll make the battles and the events you run into while exploring, and once that's done, it'll be ready for release... Probably something like that.
(Though I'll still need to wait until the art and translations are done, so it might change when the update can be released.)

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And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

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We've received another status update from Daraneko.
Please give it a read.

=================================

It's November...
And so her's another status update.

Currently, I'm keeping up and acheiving the goals I've set for myself.
I've finished the scenario writing for Chapter 3, and it's been implemented into the game with effects too.
I've also compiled the details for all the new art I need to commission for this chapter.

Some of this work was originally planned to be done in October, but I finished that a bit early and did a lot of work beyond that too.
I've made and implemented the maps for Chapter 4, written up the data and flavor text for new equipment and items, beat Metaphor: ReFantazio, directed a new trailer, played the Monster Hunter Wilds beta test, fixed bugs, adjusted the UI for the English version (implemented in the ver0.5.10 update), implemented a new feature for the Flame system that will change throughout this route...

I overhauled my work process before starting work on this route, and it seems like it's paying off and working perfectly for me right now.

It's easy to work with, and my own personal life has settled down and I'm less tired overall, and so I'm working faster than ever before.
Now it all comes down to how long I can keep this speed up (since even if work is going well I tend to get sick or whatever and ruin it).

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What's more, while I've been writing the story, there's one change I've made to this route.

I'll be updating the art for Kohaku, the key character of this route, a little bit.
Now, Kohaku's sprites will mostly look slightly upwards.



Since there's a lot of scenes of Kohaku (a small child) talking to tall grownups (like Goshe), if she looks straight ahead like other characters, she ends up staring off somewhere else instead of looking at whoever she's talking to, making it feel less like a conversation.
By adding sprites where she's looking up instead, I feel like she's finally able to hold a lively conversation with other characters.
(Therefore, her sprites in Chapter 2 have also been updated. This will be reflected when Chapter 3 is released.)

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This month, I'll be working on implementing the story for Chapter 4.
I'll do my best to first finish the scenario all the way up to the ending before I work on the gameplay, so that I can then commission all of the artwork at once.

=================================

And that's all for this status update.
Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1483370/_/

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