Hi there. Papaya here.
Where were you?
Everywhere. It’s a lot. I’m not even going to explain anymore because there’s too much and just get into the rest of the post now.
Aside from that, you maybe saw my involvement in Who Is The Red Queen?, my first “thing I’ve been a part of that actually got published” since forever, so go check that out if you haven’t yet!
Some messages and e-mails have piled up as a result of this. I would like to get back to these as soon as possible…Just know if that I’ve never responded or followed up: I do take responsibility for this lack of response, and my intent in not responding has not been a form of rejection but rather a desire to come up with a good response. As the messages I’ve received concerned desiring to volunteer, I wanted to figure out how the volunteers could get involved with the process and I wanted to ensure that everything will be on track and smooth for people working for free; goodness knows my mind is more than a little scrambled.
Who is milk+ visual and what did he do with MILK+? Where’s the old gaudy website that looks like it came out of 2005?
Due to the discovery of other things named MILK+, I’ve decided to change the studio name to milk+ visual so that I don’t get hit with a lawsuit that I definitely can’t afford. In addition, the studio is also undergoing a slight…let’s say “vision change”, maybe.
I’m throwing away all silly pretenses of being some AAA studio and just admitting to you that it’s been one person using the formal “we” for cool points. You can learn more about what that means on the new about page, but to summarize: I don’t really want to be seen as a ‘brand’ or a ‘company’. Just a doujin studio of one enthusiast making visual novels. I’m even using “doujin” instead of “indie” now due to their slightly different connotations; some could say that “doujin” carries a bit more emphasis on it being an independent, self-published hobby in certain contexts and not a whole career, which is true for milk+ visual!
This also means that the “PR” might become a little less professional (not in the “hip” branding sense, more as in “open” development processes) and m+v social media outlets will have a lot more focus on what I’m doing and not trying to garner a huge audience beyond hashtagging stuff sometimes. I’m fine with that.
I also dissolved the LLC you might’ve seen before. It’s not as if it ever actually benefited me beyond looking cool anyways…
And, of course, I updated the website because it looks nicer like that. Even that’s not really intended for PR purposes. Web design is just one of my hobbies as well.
The games. Where are they.
You are not going to be shocked at all to hear a solo developer say this, because it happens all the time: Wow all my creative ambitions and philosophies have changed over the course of a few years. They haven’t changed THAT much, though: 7388 is still about two robo-detectives in post-apoc Florida and Polychromania is still about a Japanese woman struggling in climate change-riddled 2038.
7388 changes
I actually don’t think this one changed that much when I mentally compare it to the NaNoRenO proof of concept. Most of the changes are behind-the-scenes lore stuff, screen resolution and aesthetic modifications (sky background paintings…3!), and mild scope creep in the form of cool viewports full of information. The only thing that’s been giving me writer’s block on 7388 is purely mental health related. I think they should invent motivation in a can.
Polychromania changes
Chisa is getting a redesign, the setting has been slightly modified, other stuff nobody knew about has been modified, and I’d say it’s a bit more of a climate change drama with dreamlike gore sequences than a super grotesque horror now…Sorry to everyone who was looking forward to something really extreme, I think Soundless was my limit. You can tell because I couldn’t even end it hopelessly like most denpa do.
What about Three Lilies?
I am finishing that THIS YEAR (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD) before I do much of anything with the above. In case you’re wondering why it took so long aside from the real life stuff impeding it, the third story had some of its setting changed, so I had to re-do my research. The current progress report is as follows:
- USER INTERFACE: It’s being reworked because it’s not a jam game anymore and I have Photoshop again. It’s going pretty smoothly, though! Check this out (it’s the game menu background):
- ARTWORK: Two sprites remain to be completed, some sprites need touch-ups. More than half of the backgrounds have been finished. CGs I am the most behind on; there are 3 CGs per chapter for a total of 9 and only two are complete while the rest are sketches.
- WRITING: First draft for each story is at 75% completion or more. Three Lilies will not (should not) undergo many drafts as the concept is simple.
- MUSIC AND SOUND: All music has been collected. Sound effects and ambiance will be collected as needed. Once staging/direction is complete, all audio assets will undergo a volume balancing check.
Roadmap:
- Complete UI.
- Complete first draft.
- Complete sprites and prepare for LayeredImage implementation.
- Complete backgrounds.
- Refine first draft, and make way to final draft.
- Begin staging/directing process.
- During this time, image descriptions will be done.
- After staging/directing is complete, begin the following tests:
- Basic beta test/comb-over.
- Accessibility beta test/comb-over.
- Lint check and compile beta version for test 2
- Beta test 2 (final, includes other testers besides me)
- (Very hopeful and ambitious) While waiting for test results, create a website for Three Lilies.
- Three Lilies goes gold.
Post Three Lilies Roadmap
This roadmap is subject to change. It’ll also not be done all within a year, of course. I expect the Soundless stuff and the Calcium Framework stuff to be done this year, though.
- Push the final major update to Soundless. More will be revealed regarding Soundless as the year goes on…It’s the year of Soundless’s 5th anniversary, after all.
- Complete the Calcium Framework, a brand new in-house framework based on the Three Lilies UI that makes it easier for us to start new projects. This framework will provide things such as UI, accessibility options, and extra screens right out of the package. The default resolution of the framework is 1920 x 1080.
- Apply Calcium Framework to in progress projects.
- Bring someone new to the writing team… [SECRET] [CONFIDENTIAL]
- Complete 7388 with the help of [SECRET] [CONFIDENTIAL].
- Complete Polychromania with the help of [SECRET] [CONFIDENTIAL]. Current planned sale price: $5. Maybe $4? (Ooh scary) And then packaged with an art book, it could be $7…
———And then, we will go forth bravely into the future! There is still much more to be seen!