1 year already... #1/2 (Patreon)

Hello everyone!

Can you believe it's been a year already...
I launched Summer Vacation in May of last year.
One year on, I think it's a good time to take a little review of the game.

I started, like many of you I guess, to watch and play visual novels because I found them exciting, obviously. But also because they were very often very original and innovative in terms of story. 

I think that the one that made the biggest impression on me was 'Straight?!' by Aaryn, but I also enjoyed Camp Buddy, SpaceCorps, and many, many other visual novels before I started Summer Vacation. It was also inspiring to see other amazing games launch alongside my own (like Bound by Night. I think Snow and I started both games almost simultaneously... that's maybe why I feel closer to him haha!)

The subject of self-discovery is a subject that is very personal to me. Especially how that self-discovery, depending on who you meet in your life, can lead to some strange situations where you think "What the hell am I doing here?", or "Why did I do this?", or "No, this is wrong..." and those moment, you know; where sometimes a young man's urges can just overrule his logic. 

If that wasn't the case for you, well I can tell you; it definitely was for me! I've been asked if there was a particular character that looked like me... Physically, not at all! (But it might be possible! I'll have to try! :p) In terms of behavior or psychology, though... I think there is a little bit of me in each of them! A bit of an idealized version of who I would like to be... (But I think I'm pretty set in my ways now! haha :) )

So back in March/April of last year, I started work on Summer Vacation, and had the first version published in early May. It was very short for a start, but I wanted to see if there was a hook- if people were interested in the story I was telling. I didn't have any big, ostentatious ambitious then, and I'm keeping it that way! Quite regularly, I'm shown my limits in realizing the game; technically (There's not enough hours in the day for all the touch ups I want to give some pictures...); or in term of story writing (as English is not my mother tongue, my mind 'switches' to write the game. It's necessary, but it limits me by my own vocabulary/culture.) I won't hide the fact that I am regularly frustrated (Poncho, who helps me on some scenes is a perfect witness to this.) Often, I feel that it doesn't portray what I have in mind; and especially that it fails to convey what I want you all to see or feel.

A year ago, I didn't know anything about Python. (I don't know much more today, actually... :p) Didn't know about 3D rendering, and even less about animation! But somehow, over the months, the game has found its 'public' (that's you! :) ) I feel like we have a deal, you and I. Even virtually. You are present, so I have to work on the game. It really makes sense to me now, how some people say "It's thanks to all of you that I'm here right now"... And I might not say I'm "here because of you" (I think I get some credit, right?), but, if Summer Vacation exists, it's definitely thanks to you! Your messages on Patreon, Itch.io, Twitter, Discord have literally carried me.

I'm not going to lie, and I'm not going to tell you anything surprising but... making this kind of game is long, it's difficult, and it's demanding - especially considering the changes in my own life. Those who have been following me for several months know that I changed jobs at the beginning of the year, which disrupted my personal schedule a bit. And free time, well, none of us have enough of it, and it's hard to make the most of it. Time doesn't wait for us, it flows relentlessly, and I spend my time chasing it.

Before starting Summer Vacation, I had done some tests with other characters (including one called Mat!). I'll share some renders on this post of my first tests (You'll see the difference, I'm sure I don't need to say what is what ;). The idea of the game remained the same overall, it just took place at the university directly, and did no summer, no "before". Some of you were surprised by the sudden arrival at the university, but I promise you, it was planned from the beginning (I don't have a perfect roadmap, many situations ended up developing organically!) but university was always the goal for Mat, and to some of you who thought that the idea of the vacations didn't interest me anymore, that's not the case! Everyone loves vacation!

So why did I start with summer? Because I wanted the characters to have a little more depth, to have memories that they could share not just with one another, but also with you, like an anchor in the past. Mat does and will continue to reflect on the past very regularly. 

The idea behind it, (and I don't honestly know if I'll be able to impliment it completely,) is also that choices from the past or in the "memories" have an impact on the present. Because ultimately, the decisions we make on a daily basis that have an immediate impact, but some of these decisions/postures/behaviors can impact us on a much longer term.

I am often, very often, asked if something will happen with Steven. Well, time will tell..! We want to keep the story organic and natural (as much as we can), so there are definitely situations where it will be possible. I definitely don't mind going back to different scenes to rework them and add options (tell me if that's something you'd be interested in?), but for the time being I don't want to do that because... I feel like I owe you the story (I hate cliffhangers myself!) and not necessarily delaying to polish this or that detail (though I'll do it when and where I can!)

Ha, and I'm also asked if there will be any straight scenes... Well, there are a few (much to the horror of some of you!) there may be others - but so you won't be too surprised, I'll indicate them with a special color ;)

As I said, I started the game alone. Then, on May 13, 2021, I get this message "I don't know how to phrase this politely - I really do love the VN, but I was wondering if you have an editor or a proofer, or a place to post typos we spot while we play though?" That was Jammy, who hasn't left me since (and whom I still thank today for his help... Then, as the months went by, I took Poncho, my husband, with me on this wild ride: I realized that I could not do it alone (time, always time) if I wanted to get updates regularly. Today, Poncho is writing some scenes to lighten my workload (although I think he prefers to test the game rather than write scenes, but hey, he's dedicated to the cause :) ) And you know, in order to imagine the next step according to the objectives, I need to discuss, exchange ideas to build the most plausible options. And in the end, even when we have the ideas or the images, there is the coding afterwards and sometimes, well... my technical abilities are still a bit limited!  

I'll need more time to get better at it... I'd like to be able to just do what I have in mind... But, well, I do what I can :). Before I changed jobs, I had time during the week in the evening, I spent several hours on the game and 10 to 15 hours on the weekend. 

Since the beginning of the year, unfortunately, I can't work on it during the week - but I do spend all, or almost all, of my weekends on it. This investment in the game is certainly mine but also my husband's, because, well, in the end, we've definitely gone out to restaurants, bars or cafés less... So a big thanks to him for being so patient with me! :)

* My biggest project, but one that I had to put on standby for the moment, is the translation of the game. 

I had started the French translation (but I can't do everything there either), same for the Spanish. Someone offered me a hand to translate it into Portuguese but unfortunately that person has since disappeared... So I'm afraid that might be an eternal work in progress..! So for the moment the translation is at a standstill, to my great despair.

* I would also like to create a journal system, where the story of each choice Mat made is written.  

* I would also like to create character bios for the people Mat has met (and perhaps the affinities he has with each of them, and their common history and relationships). I've started to technically integrate an affinity system but it's still in alpha testing so to speak, as I'm not really familiar with the subject. We'll probably have some technical changes in the future - the more developed the game gets, the more choices there are and the more I have to go back to the core of the game to reintegrate them at the very beginning..!

* I definitely want the phone in the game to be used more. I don't know how yet, I have some ideas but it creates an additional complexity... but it's still stupid, in this day and age, that these guys aren't using their phones more, we have to do something about it!

* More animation: I love animations. It's long, it's hard, but it's great to see the characters coming to life!

* And half a dozen other ideas I have swimming around in my head...

Quickly figures, the game today is:

* 2187 images
* 12 videos
* 17,347 lines of code/text
* 69,365 words of dialog

Well, I think I've talked enough for today! I want to say three things: Thank you guys! Happy birthday Summer Vacation and express yourself! 

As I said before, there is a little bit of me in the game, there could also be a little bit of you ;)

Cheers,
- Erwin