Script

Whew… It’s been another day of writing the script for The SunRiders. Right now, I’m about halfway through Chigara’s arc. Which isn’t good, since I was supposed to have finished everyone’s arcs by the 20th. (Haha, fat chance I’ll make the deadline now. -_-;;)

Looking back, a lot of things have changed since I wrote the script for Raidaa no Asahi. I’m not really sure anybody knows this, but the original script for that game was about 35 000 words long. It’s just that only the first 7000 words ever became realized. But I must say, I had a lot of fun writing those 35 000 words, even if so little of it was actually made it into the final product. Because back then, I wrote for my own enjoyment. I wasn’t working based on a fanbase and I pretty much had nothing to lose. I just wrote whatever I wanted to write, and if it didn’t turn out good, I just skipped on to the next page and kept on going.

Obviously, the situation has changed rather drastically since then. XD Now, people have expectations that need to be met. Hell, in just three days, I’ll be joined by more than half a dozen voice actors and actresses who are going to do voice overs for the entire thing! @_@ And this is kind of embaressing, but I think all of them are much better at their art than I am at mine. XD Haha, but don’t anyone tell them that. >:3 I honestly can’t believe the amount of community support this little game has found. I’m really happy this happened. ^_^ I’ve been making games for about six years now, and in every single one of those year, I was dreaming of creating things like the SunRiders. Hahaha. XD

Mmm… But I will not say that this is not without its drawbacks. Writing the script isn’t really as fun as it used to be. Back when I was writing Raidaa, I could just laugh at my mistakes and just keep on going. Now, I have to make sure every single part of the script is almost perfect before I can move on because there’s a lot of people who are counting on me. I guess I’ve stopped writing for myself, and now I write for my audience/staff now. It seems strange. Just a few months ago, I was saying that all that mattered was that I was having fun doing it. Game making back then was for my own fulfillment. Now, I guess game making is done for the fulfillment of the community.

Hah, what am I complaining about. XD I’m sure my fellow game makers will burn me alive and hang my corpse when they see this. Complaining about having too much publicity. What am I, a moron? Hahaha. Okay, I’ll shut up now and get back to working on the script. :3

Where Do I Get My Inspiration?

From crazy crap like this, of course.

What’s even more scary is that I actually recognize some of these animes from my childhood… Holy smokes, did I really watch this stuff when I was young? XD

Fanart

One thing I really can’t believe is just how much fanart of Raidaa no Asahi I’ve recieved since releasing it. Considering how bad the art was for it, I’m suprised people drew pictures of it at all. XD Here’s some of the stuff I’ve gotten…

Obviously, we can’t forget all of Sixten’s works. Waahh… Kawaii. <3

Here’s one of Ikkari drawn by sake-bento of Lemmasoft.

 

And another one of Ikkari done by Jake! Woah… Could this be the future of Ikkari-chan? Well, if it is, the future does indeed seem bright!

Thanks everyone for sending me such awsome art! You guys are obviously much better at drawing than I am. XD (maybe you guys will get cameos in the next game…? Maybe? ^_^;)

Props

Wooahh… First off, I have to give serious props to Sixten for his indepth review of Raidaa no Asahi. In retrospect, now that I look at the screenshots for it, I can see just how bad of an artist back then… And it’s only been a couple months ago that I made that too. XD Man, I really hope I keep improving at this rate. Hopefully, after a couple of more released projects, my art gets atleast remotely as cute as Sixten’s art style. XD Wwwahhh!!! It’s sooo cute!!! *hugglehuggle* ^_^^_^

With that said, I finished Ikkari’s portrait just a moment ago.

She’s feeling kind of pissed off as usual. ^_^

Character Sketches

So in case you didn’t know already, I did a complete 360 and now I’m working on SunRider again. Yes, I know I just broke the number one rule of game making: You never change projects once you start one. I fail.

How did this happen? Well, I didn’t like how the story for Seul Desir was turning out, and since M12-kun really wanted me to work on SunRider, I decided to take another stab at rewriting the story. And guess what, this time it really worked out, so I guess I’m working it now. XD

Besides, there’s just something about three cute girls riding 20 meter tall mechas that really fascinates me. o_o; Could it be something out of a dream…?

Today, I decided to draw up some sketches of how the main characters will look. These are still pretty rough and there are some stuff I need to fix on them. ^_^ But I still think they’re really cute! *huggles*

 Chii… Please stop being perverted and get back to work…    

    

Ikkari

Obviously, there’s been some changes since the original. I took some notes off of Sixten’s sketch of her in his blog post and now she’s wearing an official tsundere ponytail instead of whatever she was doing with her hair in Raidaa. Not only that, but she’s also gotten a new shirt instead of wearing that boring old brown coat around.

 

Chigara 

Actually, not much as changed for Chigara. As a matter of fact, she’s still wearing the exact same clothing! Her hair band’s now gotten a bit bigger and her eyes have become rounder. Also, I think she looks somewhat older now. (?) But other than that, not much different. [edit: made some minor changes to her after uploading, will update tommarow]

 

Asaga

Woah, if I hadn’t written that she’s Asaga, then she’d be completely unrecognizable, huh? Obviously, there’s been some pretty big changes here. She’s still wearing pig tails, but now they’re up above her head instead of at the bottom. Not only that, but she’s traded in her old cloths for a coat. And now she looks even cuter! ^_^

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll be making the lineout and colouring them now! Let’s hope I don’t mess them up. XD

  Woah… What a pervert…

…Wait, I didn’t mean it like that!!!

Flying to the Future!

Woah… This theme’s actually pretty cool lookin’. ^_^

After keeping this blog going for awhile, it seems more and more clear that it revolves mainly around Raidaa, visual novels, and anime, so I decided to rename the blog and grab a more “spacey” theme. Hmm… It does look kind of dark though… I wonder if it’ll contrast a bit too much with all the cute things I’ll post… >_>;

So things have been rather hectic for the past couple days with Raidaa’s release and all and I haven’t been able to post on this blog much. Uguu, gomenasai! >_<; But I certainly am glad I was able to release it. There are many, many WIPs that never get completed and I’m glad Raidaa wasn’t one of them.

But going through its release certainly was alot tougher than I had anticipated. Asaga, Ikkari, and Chigara have been with me for nearly four months now. If it hadn’t been for them, and all the other support I’ve gotten from the community, then I would never have gotten this game completed. When I’m writing for Raidaa, it’s not like I’m creating a story. It’s more like I’m just a spectator. The real people who write the story are Asaga, Ikkari, and Chigara. I’m just the guy who watches them and is amazed at all the adventures they go through. It’s really tough, and sometimes even heart rending when I see someone who doesn’t like them. I guess it’s natural for me to be very defensive of them. They are like my children after all. I like hearing everyone’s comments, but it’s also very exhausting at the same time. Much more exhausting than I would have thought it would be, anyways.

The trick with writing, I guess, is to make the player forget he’s playing a game. The characters have to seem to come out of the screen and actually seem to be talking to you, instead of just reciting a predetermined line. That’s something that I caught on with as I wrote the full story of Raidaa and something I’ll be trying to do when I rewrite the entire script. But atleast I managed to fool myself at the end of the story. After about four straight months of working with them, they no longer seem like video game characters that I’ve created, but real individuals. Hearing someone say a bad word about them is pretty much hearing someone insult my girlfriend or something. (Like I’d know. Never had one. ._.;) It’s something that’s hard to cope with anyways.

Well, I’ve rambled on enough about that. Now let’s talk about the future. My next game will just be titled, “The SunRiders” to avoid any confusion with Raidaa no Asahi, Volume 1. An entirely new script will be written, but Ikkari, Asaga, and Chigara, as well as the SunRider, will remain. Both the visual novel and the gameplay engine will be rewritten. The new game will also feature mechas. (As in like, Gundam mechas. :3) As for what the new gameplay will be, all I know is that it won’t be a shmup. :3 I’ve already done that! It’s time for me to think up of something new. :3 But I will drop a hint… That new game that blended the 4x and the RTS genre, called Sins of a Solar Empire, intrigues me… :3 I’ve never played it, but I really think it sounds cool. XD

Mmm… Also, a small preview of what the new mechas will look like. (Note: Incoming WIP picture. I’m not finished with it. XD)

Finally Done… For Now.

 

BREAKING NEWS:

VOLUME 1 HAS BEEN RELEASED!

The Final Stretch

Grrr… I am so close to finishing volume 1 that I can nearly taste it. I only have a couple of major decisions to make.

First off, I’m wondering if I should bother to include CGs in this. If I don’t have any CGs, then I might be able to release the game in just days. If I include CGs, it might push the release date over to early next month. Following volume 1, I’m planning to rewrite the entire story to include far less CGs in general… So I don’t know if it’s even worth it to increase development time to bother making them for volume 1. All of them are for fanservice purposes, so they aren’t really “necessary” in the story. But it’ll look really stupid if I write in parathesis, (Gust of wind, Kaito sees Asaga’s panties) in the game script to replace all the CGs… (Spoiler note: No such event happens in the game. There is no wind in space. :3) Pah, we’ll just have to see what happens.

Second, I’ve already decided to cut the OP and ED. I’ll save that for the real game that’ll come after volume 1.

And one more thing. :3 In case you haven’t seen the official topic at Lemmasoft, I’m always looking for help on Raidaa no Asahi. The following positions are open! ^_^

—————————-

OFFICIAL RECRUITMENT POSTER

Teehee. Have you always wanted to create a VN about three cute girls flying through the stars in the name of justice, love, and a little money on the side? Do you like mecha action? Dissatisfied with silly American video games that think “sandbox” game play and “realistic violence” are the only things needed in a game? Then feel free to volunteer to join the staff of Raidaa! ^_^

I’m especially looking for –

1. Lead Character Artist
Role: Draws portraits and CGs of the characters of Raidaa no Asahi.
Skills/Traits Required:
-Be dedicated
-Have a love for bishojo games and anime
-Have some sample work

2. Technical Concept Artist
Role: Draws mechanical/industrial concept art in a sci-fi setting.
Skills/Traits Required:
-Be dedicated
-Be familiar with science fiction genre in anime, especially in the realm of mecha design.
-Have some sample work

3. Writer
Role: Edit and write various scenarios for the story of Raidaa no Asahi
Skills/Traits Required:
-Be dedicated
-Be familiar with the writing style found in visual novels
-Have a love for these things: anime, mecha, drama, moe, politics, bishojo

4. Musician
Role: Create the music of Raidaa no Asahi
Skills/Traits Required:
-Be dedicated
-Be familiar with the music typical of mecha animes
-Have some sample work

POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF JOINING THE STAFF OF RAIDAA
-You get to see beta versions of the game. XD
-Fame and glory!!!!!!
-Haruhi will reward you in heaven.

JOIN NOW AT

http://z1.invisionfree.com/forums/Raidaa/index.php?showtopic=464(Yes, I even got a fancy board now… Ooo…)

(Note: Most of the above board is not visible for non-staff members. :3)
————————————————————

Raidaa no Asahi Update 2

As of now, episode 2 of Raidaa no Asahi has been complete! I’m afraid I don’t have anything as big as the last update… Although I do have some screenshots! ^_^

     

This should keep us on track for a release in about three weeks. I still have to wrinkle out a few bugs, finish the third episode, and make the OP and ED. And I also need to get my CG artist to work. :3 Fufufu…

The total play length of the first volume should be about 1 hour.

Whew, there’s still so much work ahead of us! I can’t believe it’s taken this much work to just release a single volume. I’ve already learned much about VN development just from getting this far. Now that I look back, there’s alot of things that I could have done better. Honestly, maybe I should have started with something a little smaller. There were many things that I would have done better if I had more experiance. It’s not like I’m overwhelmed and I have no idea what the heck I’m doing… It’s just that my lack of experiance will be much more evident in a game as huge as this. Raidaa no Asahi is going to have five volumes total – that’s nearly 6 hours of gameplay. That’s an epic size for a doujin VN… If I heard anyone else tell me that they were planning to make a doujin VN of that length, I would have laughed my head off at him and wished him good luck.

Considering that the original purpose of Raidaa no Asahi was to act as a spring board to get more experiance and support for my future projects, I guess I severely over estimated its size. Haha. I already have a list of improvements I’ve learned from Raidaa to implement in all my future projects. Too bad I won’t be able to implement any of them in Raidaa without a total engine rewrite… Ah well. I guess that’s what sequels are far. ^_^

If I ever get enough resources and enough experiance, I will create Raidaa no Asahi exactly as I envisioned it. Today I will create it only to the best of my abilities.

Small Update

Wow, I’ve had a large influx of traffic here lately thanks to the blog post at Heart’s Content. This is totally unexpected and wonderful. ^_^ Just a small update before I leave for class – I got the official project information page for Raidaa no Asahi online. I’ll try to fill more of it out after I’ve returned from my class! ^_^ Bigger status update to come soon!

http://samukun.wordpress.com/raidaa-no-asahi-project-information/