Hi everyone! I’m back with another update on the game for you all! I’ve mainly been working on Chapter 1 per usual and focusing on getting it out by the end of August if I can. For anyone who follows my itch.io page, you may know that I have quite a bit of artwork to get done to make the deadline, but I really want to push myself to get something out by then , even if it's pretty preliminary so that people can get a sense of what Alaris is. Regarding Chapter 1, here’s a sneak peek of what I’ve been working on. A lot of things need to be changed, but here’s a visual that represents where I’m at hehe.

Sprites: 75% Complete | All base sprites are finished! I just need to add the expressions to characters for when it’s appropriate but the base sprites are complete!

General Art (i.e. BG’s, CG’s, GUI, etc.): 40% Complete | I’ve finished all the backgrounds necessary for the chapter and just need to do the CGs as well as a preliminary GUI.

Script: 95% Complete | All I need to do for script is revisions as well as a small prologue piece that I’ve decided to add in to add some context and worldbuilding to the game

Coding: 75% Complete | I’ve done most of the hard part of the coding for the game, which I was admittedly stuck on for a while, but I’ve finally made it work! So the rest should be smooth sailing for the chapter, unless something unexpected comes up (please no)

In general, I’ve finished scripting for the game and am currently just revising bits and pieces to make dialogue flow better and create a better reading experience overall. Right now, we are sitting at 9,000+ words!

The hard part of the coding is finished - I was tripped up for a bit because I wanted to add a personality component to the game and couldn’t make the code work for the life of me. I had a breakthrough recently and was able to make it work, so I’m excited to also announce that Alaris will have a personality piece to the game to hopefully make it more immersive :D 

Regarding the art, I am currently working on the sprites needed for the first chapter as well as the CGs. I’m hoping to have a CG for each LI’s introduction, and at least one alternative emotion sprite for each character (except for one but that is due to the writing of the demo). As of now, I actually have finished the Chapter 1 sprites for each character!! Sneak peek below of Druk~

Art is probably my biggest concern right now, but I’m hopeful I can get most stuff done. Especially because this first release will be a preliminary one to let people see what the game looks like, I’m not concerned with absolute perfection at the moment and want to focus on putting something out there that’s still high quality but maybe not the final version. Because of this, the GUI may look a bit scuffed, but hopefully the art for CGs and sprites will be put together enough to give everyone an idea of what the game will look like! Hope you all enjoy this sneak peek at one of the backgrounds for the game, and the update! 

As always, feel free to follow my tumblr for the official game page, donate to my Ko-fi to support, or follow my Twitter to follow for any other updates! Until next time~