Developer's Log #1: Creating the "Soap Finding" Mini-Game for Ling Tian 1
Hello, princesses! I’m Ginyan, the independent developer of Ling Tian 1 and the 1000 Princes series. In this video, I want to share my thoughts as a beginner developer while making the "Find the Soap" mini-game in Ling Tian 1.
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
"Find the Soap" is a mini-game in my otome game Ling Tian 1. When players enter the bathroom, Prince Ling Tian needs your help to find his green soap. The inspiration for this mini-game came from an interview with a soldier I read, where he said that he could live with just one soap to bathe. I thought that even though Ling Tian is a prince, as a military academy student, he still maintains a soldier's simple and humble lifestyle.
The Baroque-style bathroom background was generated by MidJourney, and the soap was generated by Meshy. I wanted to use the gorgeous and elegant bathroom decor to give players the romantic atmosphere typical of otome games, and the prince’s white bathrobe matches the bathroom setting. Right now, the prince is holding a green mint soap, which is the soap given to every student at the military academy.
Actually, I always use yellow sulfur soap when I bathe, so I considered generating yellow soap with AI. I have oily skin, and sulfur soap is great for disinfecting and relieving itching. Also, sulfur is an ingredient in fireworks during the Chinese New Year, which can kill germs. A fortune teller once told me that if you encounter a ghost, using sulfur soap can drive away evil spirits. However, for the search mini-game, I had to use the mint green color of the soap to create a visual confusion with the emerald green color of the bathroom decor, increasing the difficulty for players. So, the soap had to be green.
The key code for finding the soap is to make the soap appear randomly within the screen area. The player finds and clicks the soap, making it disappear. The following code is the core; for programming experts, it's very simple, but for me as an independent developer with limited programming skills, this code took a lot of thinking and testing before I figured it out. First, I used x and y to specify the soap's coordinates within the area, and the values for x and y are random, using the keyword Random. The soap is also designed as a button, so I need to use the button parameter. The "Find the Soap" game keeps repeating until the player has clicked the soap five times.
I adjusted the soap size repeatedly. If the button is too big, it’s too easy to find; if it’s too small, players won’t be able to see it on a small screen. During testing, there were times when I was so dizzy that I couldn't find the soap myself. In those situations, I used Scene Assistant (coordinate helper) to cheat and move the soap to see where it was.
By the way, why does the word "gecko" appear in my code? Because at first, I actually designed the game to find a gecko in the bathroom, but the gecko's shape was too obvious and easy to find, so I changed it to a more difficult-to-find soap. However, I kept the original code and just replaced the image with the soap. The gecko element is, of course, inspired by my experience living in Turtle Country. (Turtle Country is a new country established after World War III, where Thai is the official language. It’s part of the world of the 1000 Princes series.) When I first arrived in Turtle Country, I used to scream in fear when I saw a gecko in the bathroom. But now, when I see a gecko stuck on the bathroom wall, I just greet it and say, "Alright, stop spying on me while I bathe and go play my game!"
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2866130
Behind the Scenes
During the making of Ling Tian 1, my health wasn’t great. First, I had a severe cold with a sore throat and couldn't speak. I couldn't believe I could catch a cold while living in tropical Thailand! After recovering from the cold, I accidentally burned my face while bathing. I thought, "Oh no, I’ve ruined my face, I’m going to be ugly!" Fortunately, after applying medicine for several weeks, I fully recovered. So, how did I burn myself while bathing? At that time, I was washing my hair, and shampoo foam got into my eyes, causing a stinging sensation. I instinctively grabbed the showerhead and washed my eyes with hot water, and the hot water ended up splashing all over my face, resulting in the burn. This unfortunate incident left me feeling down, and during that time, I also had to take a photo for facial recognition at a government office. So, the ugly photo of my burnt face still exists.
Although I try to present myself as a refined princess in the video, in real life, I lead a rough and manly life. (Is it refined? Not really!) On a daily basis, when I take a shower, I spend just ten minutes in the shower, and I only use one sulfur soap to wash from head to toe. This is a yellow soap containing sulfur, which has disinfecting and soothing effects. I always use sulfur soap with a bath ball to make a lot of foam to wash my hair and body. I’m not sure why, but that day, there was an accident, and I ended up with a facial burn.
For me, with a busy otome game development schedule, I didn’t have time for complicated skin-care steps. I just wanted to finish my shower quickly and then immerse myself in the development process! (It sounds like I’m dedicated and focused, but actually, I’m just lazy!)
Actually, I love creating gorgeous romance e-books and long for a princess-like life. At one point, my bathroom shelf was filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, just like other women’s. Shampoo, conditioner, hair masks, face wash, body lotion... everything. I learned from fashion magazines and beauty bloggers how to follow complicated steps to clean and care for our skin and body. Even though I found it confusing and tedious, since everyone was doing it, I didn’t question it, just blindly followed the trend.
Until one day, I read an interview with a retired soldier, and he said that after returning from the army, he continued living a simple life, using only one soap to bathe. I was amazed, just one soap? Could it really be that simple? When I had a rose-scented soap at that time, I decided to try it, using this pink soap from head to toe, and I found that bathing had never been so easy!
This life experience also inspired my creativity, and in Ling Tian 1, I specifically designed the prince's bathroom. In the bathroom, players can play the "Find the Soap" mini-game.
By the way, the burn healed quickly with a burn cream called Hirudoid, which is sold cheaply in every pharmacy in Thailand. The red version treats fresh scars, while the blue version treats old scars. I just bought the smallest tube of red cream, and after applying it consistently, fortunately, the scars healed. It was truly a blessing after a near-miss. I wish all players safety and health, and may no one be injured!
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
"Find the Soap" is a mini-game in my otome game Ling Tian 1. When players enter the bathroom, Prince Ling Tian needs your help to find his green soap. The inspiration for this mini-game came from an interview with a soldier I read, where he said that he could live with just one soap to bathe. I thought that even though Ling Tian is a prince, as a military academy student, he still maintains a soldier's simple and humble lifestyle.
The Baroque-style bathroom background was generated by MidJourney, and the soap was generated by Meshy. I wanted to use the gorgeous and elegant bathroom decor to give players the romantic atmosphere typical of otome games, and the prince’s white bathrobe matches the bathroom setting. Right now, the prince is holding a green mint soap, which is the soap given to every student at the military academy.
Actually, I always use yellow sulfur soap when I bathe, so I considered generating yellow soap with AI. I have oily skin, and sulfur soap is great for disinfecting and relieving itching. Also, sulfur is an ingredient in fireworks during the Chinese New Year, which can kill germs. A fortune teller once told me that if you encounter a ghost, using sulfur soap can drive away evil spirits. However, for the search mini-game, I had to use the mint green color of the soap to create a visual confusion with the emerald green color of the bathroom decor, increasing the difficulty for players. So, the soap had to be green.
The key code for finding the soap is to make the soap appear randomly within the screen area. The player finds and clicks the soap, making it disappear. The following code is the core; for programming experts, it's very simple, but for me as an independent developer with limited programming skills, this code took a lot of thinking and testing before I figured it out. First, I used x and y to specify the soap's coordinates within the area, and the values for x and y are random, using the keyword Random. The soap is also designed as a button, so I need to use the button parameter. The "Find the Soap" game keeps repeating until the player has clicked the soap five times.
I adjusted the soap size repeatedly. If the button is too big, it’s too easy to find; if it’s too small, players won’t be able to see it on a small screen. During testing, there were times when I was so dizzy that I couldn't find the soap myself. In those situations, I used Scene Assistant (coordinate helper) to cheat and move the soap to see where it was.
By the way, why does the word "gecko" appear in my code? Because at first, I actually designed the game to find a gecko in the bathroom, but the gecko's shape was too obvious and easy to find, so I changed it to a more difficult-to-find soap. However, I kept the original code and just replaced the image with the soap. The gecko element is, of course, inspired by my experience living in Turtle Country. (Turtle Country is a new country established after World War III, where Thai is the official language. It’s part of the world of the 1000 Princes series.) When I first arrived in Turtle Country, I used to scream in fear when I saw a gecko in the bathroom. But now, when I see a gecko stuck on the bathroom wall, I just greet it and say, "Alright, stop spying on me while I bathe and go play my game!"
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2866130
Behind the Scenes
During the making of Ling Tian 1, my health wasn’t great. First, I had a severe cold with a sore throat and couldn't speak. I couldn't believe I could catch a cold while living in tropical Thailand! After recovering from the cold, I accidentally burned my face while bathing. I thought, "Oh no, I’ve ruined my face, I’m going to be ugly!" Fortunately, after applying medicine for several weeks, I fully recovered. So, how did I burn myself while bathing? At that time, I was washing my hair, and shampoo foam got into my eyes, causing a stinging sensation. I instinctively grabbed the showerhead and washed my eyes with hot water, and the hot water ended up splashing all over my face, resulting in the burn. This unfortunate incident left me feeling down, and during that time, I also had to take a photo for facial recognition at a government office. So, the ugly photo of my burnt face still exists.
Although I try to present myself as a refined princess in the video, in real life, I lead a rough and manly life. (Is it refined? Not really!) On a daily basis, when I take a shower, I spend just ten minutes in the shower, and I only use one sulfur soap to wash from head to toe. This is a yellow soap containing sulfur, which has disinfecting and soothing effects. I always use sulfur soap with a bath ball to make a lot of foam to wash my hair and body. I’m not sure why, but that day, there was an accident, and I ended up with a facial burn.
For me, with a busy otome game development schedule, I didn’t have time for complicated skin-care steps. I just wanted to finish my shower quickly and then immerse myself in the development process! (It sounds like I’m dedicated and focused, but actually, I’m just lazy!)
Actually, I love creating gorgeous romance e-books and long for a princess-like life. At one point, my bathroom shelf was filled with all sorts of bottles and jars, just like other women’s. Shampoo, conditioner, hair masks, face wash, body lotion... everything. I learned from fashion magazines and beauty bloggers how to follow complicated steps to clean and care for our skin and body. Even though I found it confusing and tedious, since everyone was doing it, I didn’t question it, just blindly followed the trend.
Until one day, I read an interview with a retired soldier, and he said that after returning from the army, he continued living a simple life, using only one soap to bathe. I was amazed, just one soap? Could it really be that simple? When I had a rose-scented soap at that time, I decided to try it, using this pink soap from head to toe, and I found that bathing had never been so easy!
This life experience also inspired my creativity, and in Ling Tian 1, I specifically designed the prince's bathroom. In the bathroom, players can play the "Find the Soap" mini-game.
By the way, the burn healed quickly with a burn cream called Hirudoid, which is sold cheaply in every pharmacy in Thailand. The red version treats fresh scars, while the blue version treats old scars. I just bought the smallest tube of red cream, and after applying it consistently, fortunately, the scars healed. It was truly a blessing after a near-miss. I wish all players safety and health, and may no one be injured!