casting-dreams

[casting-dreams]

I made a promise to myself that I would practice mindfulness when it came with designing with accessibility in mind. I admit being human means I can’t account for every little thing. I really strive to ensure that my games are at least blind-friendly. My brother uses the self-voicing feature and if a button isn’t read to him, the reader it skip text, or it’s just a hassle I modify it to fit his needs. There are a lot of challenges, but I enjoy working through them instead of just saying ‘oh wells’. So, if you find something that is a challenge or needs to be adapted, please don’t hesitate to say it. Aether Skies got an additional  300 lines of code for a dyslexia alternative font because someone brought it to my attention. That said. I can only promise to do my best, and there may be things I can’t fix. Besides, I wouldn’t create games if I didn’t like a challenge.

#indiegame #accessibilitydesign #design #aetherskies

[casting-dreams]

(Alcaknight)

Today I noticed that it's been a while since I've posted anything excited or new. In November, a loved one passed away, and it's been hard keeping a brave face.

I've been finding though that one of my favorite musicians and the featured on in Aether Skies is still composing. Music always keeps me going. So I hope to have more to share soon.

#SoundCloud #music #Alcaknight #Classical #Piano #Viola #Dark

[casting-dreams]

Are there any new updates to Aether Skies?

Yep! The new demo was released a few days ago. It features mainly a lot of visual changes and a few new functions. The game itself has gotten to the point of 45,000 for an outline version of the game (for Eir’s side alone), and all the character sprites are done. I am having a challenge with the second chapter as one route ended up to a mini game that wasn’t friendly to those with vision impairments. So it’s a fun challenge for me to rethink. :) Thanks for the question.

[casting-dreams]

#aetherskies #indiegame #visualnovel #visual novel #demo #game demo #renpy #renpy game #renpygame

[casting-dreams]

Hello! Just popping in to share a quick update for Aether Skies. A whole lot of project development happened over the holiday season. 1) We’ve reached 40,000 words and 100 choices and counting. 2) The art for the new sprites is finishing up nicely and the new CG should be done soon. 3) I removed the link for the demo, until the new one is posted. 4) Post have been updated with new characters go check them out of itch.io or lemmasoft! :D 5) Have an awesome day! (Okay not an update, but still wishing you a great day.) The new characters above of Vleorea and the Exalt both are seen in Chapter 2 and three respectively.

#aetherskies #aether skies #renpy #visual novel #game update #game development #vn #english vn #english visual #indiegame

[casting-dreams]

The changes post is always the hardest to write. It’s because we don’t like change, we want to see the things that we expect, but sometimes that’s not life. My job had some changes and while I thought I was going to part time, they ended up laying me off because of lack of work unexpectedly. I’ve been struggling financially to support myself and unfortunately to support Aether Skies. Before my lay off there were two sprites that needed to be completed before I could release the first two chapters, because of this lay off I am unable to get those sprites. I was able to secure another artist, which means there won’t be a delay in the release and the sprites are changing.

The plan for Aether Skies is to have a finalized demo available sometime before Christmas. The demo will as always be free to download with a donation option for those who would like to support the project. The donation option will be available on the project until the funding for the additional sprites have been met. Following the demo release will be the release of the first two chapters of the game for purchase from Eir’s side. Chapter One has additional scenes not seen in the demo and will be bundled with Chapter Two as it concludes the cliff hanger. Future chapter release dates will depend on funding, yet we’ll tackle that when we get there.

As always if you want to support my studio please consider making purchases of my already released games or donate for the demo of Aether Skies. I wish you all the best and hope that you have a great Holiday season.

Sincerely, Gem

#castindreams #aether skies #aetherskies #vn #renpy #visual novel

[casting-dreams]

Good morning! :) How is everyone doing? The game is progressing in all fields. The artist taking over the CG has completed nearly all of the new ones for Chapter 1, as you can see in the new preview here.

Also news for coding I've also found my happy medium for the choices menu! Still the original functions of being able to press keys 1-9 to make a choice, and Eir's expression changing when you hover over an option. The new feature includes animations on the bars when they first appear and Eir's sprite is now forward on the screen. It looks pretty sharp in game.

A patch/update will be out for the game sometime around the end of this month. This will be the final version of the demo that will remain free to download. Progressing through the whole story has gone pretty smoothly for the writing as well as implementing it in the coding. I'm not going to make further changes to the GUI or overall feel to the game now. That said our sprites for the second chapter should be here before the end of December meanings chapter 2 will be here before the new year.

I'll be honest with you. When making a VN art is the biggest resource that takes the most time. Artist get tired, people burn out, and sometimes even leave before the end. Sadly, the later is what I've experienced more often than not. The group of artist, though few, are really talented and I love working with them. I just bring this to you to ask for your understanding.

That said, I've received a lot of emails asking about voice acting for this game. I've done voice acting in games before, not released here, and while I enjoy the experience of working with VA's at this time it's a soft no for this project. I'm on the fence, but it's not a hard no just yet. If you're interested in being a part of this project I'll let everyone know my decision by the end of the month.

#renpy #renpy game #progress update #devlog #aetherskies #castingdreams #voice acting #game making #visual novel #demo #vn

[casting-dreams]

Feeling up for some Blackjack? Lady Luck’s Due is now going for a $1.00 to play on itch.io

#blackjack #renpy game #castingdreams #vn

[casting-dreams]

Verision 1.1 of the Aether Skies alpha demo was uploaded to itch.io last night. You can find the new link at the bottom of the page:

https://castingdreams.itch.io/aether-skies

Still looking for a image hosting site to update the main page, though haven’t found a competitive service quit yet. As for the game itself the I’ve welcomed bana as the new cg artist. She’s a wonderful artist and has already done a few sketches for the CG’s in chapter 1.

My goal is to have the game released by the end of the year. The new sprites in the second half of chapter two are scheduled to be started sometime in September and the CG art is in progress now. Crossing my fingers for no more medical bumps on my part. I’ll keep you posted when I get the chance. The game isn’t dead, it’s just boring on the updates right now. :P

#aetherskies #castingdreams #renpy #renpy game #game demo #demo #progress update #indiegame #visual novel

[casting-dreams]

Demo for game can be found on Itch.io https://castingdreams.itch.io/aether-skies

#aetherskies #indiegame #visual novel #visualnovel #renpy #renpy game #castingdreams #game trailer #progress

[casting-dreams]

A side by side comparison of the old and new menu for choices. 

#aetherskies #indiegame #renpygame #renpy #castingdreams #game development #progress #GUI

[casting-dreams]

I've been working on a new choice menu style recently. When I first envisioned the game I didn't want typical text boxes in a row. They're so boring! The game choice menu is pretty amazing. In the original release when the player highlighted a choice it would change Eir's face. It was a visual cue on how the choice would be displayed. Also the game remembers what choices you've already made and changes the color of the text if you've already chosen it before.  If that wasn’t enough you could choose something by simply keying 1-9 in accordance to what was displayed.

The new changes keep the old features, but add a more visually diverse set up for the choice buttons as well as adding the last line spoken so you don't have to rollback to remember the last line. This also helps you as a player keep track of what choice branches. I like this a lot better than the old version. I think it's more dynamic looking, though I'm not 100% sold on the new GUI. I find the text harder to read and I've always wanted to hide the numbers when the player used the mouse to select them. However, they're there to help players know which key to press for a quicker selection.

If I'm ever able to convert this to mobile, which is a long term goal, I will be removing the numbers. There's no point if you're on a touch screen.

So I did the video to show the difference between the two different choice menus. The default, let's call it, isn't vision impaired friendly because you can't use the keyboard easily to cycle through the different menu items. When you press down often it thinks you're accessing the Quick Menu.

What’s really nice is that when the players hit "V", entering self-voicing, the menu changes to a vertical alignment so the user can simple use keyboard up and down. It also voices "How should I respond?" to note when the choice screen is activated.

Thoughts?

#aether skies #aetherskies #indiegame #visual novel #renpy game #progress #gui #renpy #renpygame

[casting-dreams]

It looks good little Sis. Let me know if you need anyone to break your games again. ^_~ Just kidding. You know I'll beta anytime.

-_- Please don’t break it. I worked hard on getting it right. :P

[casting-dreams]

It’s DONE! Coding, writing, "head to desk" moments, and a lot of happiness. I've finished my Blackjack game. ^_^ I’ve beaten the deadline for myself and glad to have it released. Now available through Itch.io. https://castingdreams.itch.io/ladylucksdue

#ladylucksdue #blackjack #vn #card game #indiegame #castingdreams #renpy #renpy game #Itch.io

[casting-dreams]

My submission for #RemakeJam. Really close to finishing this up, just working on polishing the final form. It’s a remake from my first original game. I hope you guys will give it a shot when it becomes available Sunday. Kind of racing to put some finishing touches on it. Hoping that I’ll make the deadline. :D

#RemakeJam #vn #renpy #indie game #castingdreams #card game #blackjack #remake

[casting-dreams]

500+ Downloads for Aether Skies’ Demo. Thank you! ^_^ I’m really humbled. Thanks everyone. :) The update is slowly, but surely still arriving.

#aetherskies #indiegame #renpy #visual novel #demo

[casting-dreams]

So taking a small break from Aether Skies to participate in this pet project. :D No worries it’s only a small summer break. I’m excited to get started on this. ^_^ Take care!

#RemakeJam #itch.io #renpy #visual novel #game jam #gamejam