I know right?! 😆✨

I must say this though, animating each individual sparkle isn't hard, but it's highly tedious with repetitive lines of code. 😫

If only #renpy's sprite system allows adjusting alpha and resizing sprites... that would make my life easier. Sticking to layered images for now.

It's crazy how fast this year has gone by... I really should consider a demo release date soon. Seriously, this year is just too much that I need to take another extended vacation from my day job!

And decided to add some animated rain to that rainy scene! It looks decent - I think I might want to have the rain coming in a bit diagonally so it's perpendicular to the one in the BG.

youtu.be/64lDVDPOOLg

Paulina's interaction with one of the waitresses! I have to say that since it's zoomed in so much that the sprites ended up having jagged edges. Animating this was hard enough!

youtu.be/SQikn4ygwlE

3/3 Lastly, I could actually release DSPPA's demo right now, up to half of the game! However, there are CGs that haven't been worked on yet if I released one now. Still deciding whether or not to omit the last chapter of the demo, or use sprites in place of the CGs for now.

2/3 This event CG took a long time to finish! It's been super complex to work on considering the amount of hand gestures and character positionings.

Also, expect ambient SFXes including a relaxing rainy scene! 🌧️

That being said, I will push out a fairly large update by the end of the month, at the latest. Can't wait to share how much of DSPPA's progress has been made!

#visualnovel #vndev #gamedev

I just feel low-energy as of late, work, home and otherwise. Even had to work in short bursts to get a lot of DSPPA stuff done.

It doesn't help that my sleep patterns have been pretty messed up - sleeping late, waking up early & feeling rather tired throughout the day.

Will I visit Japan again? Of course.
Probably within the next two years or so; international travel can get pretty stressful.

To those who sent me progress for projects, I'll get back to you asap! (jet lag is really affecting my concentration right now)

I must say among the best parts of the trip were the sakura, seeing students in school uniforms and visiting cultural points of interest.

It's kind of funny how one's understanding of Japan might be mostly through anime and such, until you actually see it for yourself.

I will, thank you! ^^

As much as I'd like to share my adventures in "real time" in Japan, I think I'm going to turn off my socials and just enjoy my time there (communication limited to family). Perhaps I'll post photos when I get back.

See you in two weeks! (around 4/18)

I have to say, this trip is already costing me an arm and a leg. But then again, Japan has been on my bucket list for quite a while, until now only having experienced it vicariously through various media - photos, videos, anime and whatnot.

Now I'm really going there. ✈️