#sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

You’re an Upperclassman, Baby!

The most stressful year of high school is also the most fun to be had if you can balance classes, extracurriculars, and the oh so elusive social life. 

You’re a high school junior starting the second quarter, who until now has made decent grades, held your own on the girls’ weightlifting team, and been through thick and thin with your supportive best friend, Billie Stevenson.

But maybe it’s time to switch things up? Step outside your comfort zone and cross a few things off your bucket list? After all, there’s more to life than straight As, and maybe old and new friendships can blossom into something more. 

There’s also the spot for future team captain and an annoying rival who can’t seem to take a hint. Maybe you’d be the better choice, or maybe you just don’t care enough to entertain her nonsense in and outside of meets.

And if that wasn’t enough to consider, what about the unresolved question of your ex-best friend? Years of history just don’t evaporate overnight, especially when it’s Lydia Barnhill, and maybe you’ve considered forgiving her. Then again, time doesn’t heal all wounds and you can move on just fine.  

...But it’s only nine weeks before winter break! What’s the worst that could happen?

High School Daze: Junior Year is a romantic, slice of life, amare visual novel. It features a female protagonist, 2 male love interests and 3 female love interests, and 1 friendship path. Different choices lead to different outcomes, with unique dialogue and events each playthrough.

This game is rated 14+ for language.

PLAY THE GAME!

Play the epilogues!

Game Trailer

Twitter

Ko-fi 

Game Updates

Core Reviews Spotlight

Character Aesthetic Boards

A Quiz??? A Quiz!!!

Art Treats

HSD:JY Track Playlist

HSD:JY Spotify Playlist

#navigation #sd:jy #mobile friendly #High School Daze: Junior Year #gamedev #amare game #yuri game #visual novel #OELVN #dating sim

[hummingbird-games]

Guess who’s working on the demo???? 

...guess who’s having issues and wants to fight the demo?????

#been playing with scene dividers #don't know how the final game will look #but if these work out then something similar will be present post-demo #sd:jy #alsooooo I just got the line art for the crew!!! #y'all everyone looks amazinggg

[hummingbird-games]

The most stressful year of high school is also the most fun to be had if you can balance classes, extracurriculars, and the oh so elusive social life. MC is a high school junior on the girls’ weightlifting team, who with a little push from her best friend, is determined to make the best of the semester. Will she be successful in her endeavors? The decisions are yours to make!

School Daze: Junior Year is an upcoming romance, slice of life visual novel game. Upon project completion, 5 romance routes and 1 friendship route will be available to play with unique paths and endings. 

stay tuned for character introductions!

#gamedev #otomedev #visual novel #sd:jy #interactive fiction

[hummingbird-games]

Proof I’m still making a game and have not succumbed to failure 🎉

It’s not Screenshot Sunday, but is “I need a pick-me-up-Tuesday” 

#April McKnight #Langston McKnight #upcoming game #sd:jy #I go through ebbs and flows with this game #but the one thing that doesn't change is how much I LOVE my characters #so if nothing else there's that #like...hollyrock won't have dark skinned (Black ppl) in main roles?? #FINE! i'll do it my damn self

[hummingbird-games]

so. I think I found a character artist. but first I gotta send the email. and wait for a yes/no/maybe + pricing. will keep y’all posted.

*nervous sweats*

#filed under: things we do instead of ✨sleeping✨ #gamedev rambles #sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Blog # 11

“It’s gonna be MAY!”

Except. It already is by the time you’re reading this.

Spare main menu screen, anyone?? And peep the icon I (struggled with) made?? Canva tricks me into thinking I’m a graphic artist and I haven’t decided if that’s a terrible thing or not.

If you’ve noticed, there’s been a ‘slight’ rebrand. After some feedback and months of going back and forth on my end, there’s been a title change, but moving forward I will still use the “sd:jy” tag as I don’t feel particularly eager to go back and update posts too. Also it’s just one word, so I’m not too pressed. 

Also at the time of posting this, the last romance path (Langston) is undergoing edits (rewrites), and I’ve sent off the demo to my beta testers. Oy vey. Once again, I’m sure there’s an easier way to go about this, but I haven’t figured it out yet...

(By the way, I’m still taking beta testers for the demo, so if you are interested, please shoot an email to [email protected])

Don’t take this as set in stone, BUT we’re looking at going public on June 1st. The full game will be out 2022 still, but an exact date is dependent on many factors. 

What’s Next

Coding sprites (coding really is the enemy, y’all)

Finalizing last LI route edits

coding music and SFX

more playtests and beta tests

BACKGROUNDS 😖 so...so many....and for what?

the achievements page/screen/whatever (aka something I didn’t account for that came up later to bite me)

It’s so easy to look over my shoulder and see the other VNs coming out and wish I was doing the same features, or art, or story tropes they’re doing, but then I remember that just a few months ago I didn’t know how to do any of this. 

So. Here’s to celebrating the little things. I made this game because there’s a story I wanna tell after all, so I can’t stop now. 

If you’ve read or skimmed this far, thank you!! I’m getting my second dose later this morning so I will be taking it easy for the next couple of days. Look out for the demo coming very soon, and if there’s anything you’d like to see more (or less of) on this space, let me know!

E R R R...and give the Ko-Fi page a visit? I’ve decided to post some fun treats that are free for anyone to view in the next coming weeks 🤗

#dev blog #game updates #sd:jy #gamedev

[hummingbird-games]

The golden boy or sarcastic senior? 

Langston and Ryan, two more options to befriend or possibly become something more! 🌟

#Langston McKnight #Ryan Ortega #first look #visual novel #sd:jy #your honor: I love them both

[hummingbird-games]

"Sorry, I’m just really glad to see you and blurted the first thing that came to mind.”

Langston McKnight

One of Westwood High School’s most popular students, you’d be hard pressed to find someone who isn’t enamored by the musician and golden boy. Genuine and kind with a romantic side he doesn’t let many see, there’s more to Langston than meets the eye. 

#upcoming game #visual novel #vn #dating and relationships #dating sim #sd:jy #Langston McKnight #character board

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Blog # 9

Hello from middle of March! I’m (still) at the weird stage where things are happening but I feel like I’m not making any progress? All this process is doing is revealing to me that I’m not the Patient Saint I painted myself out to be ☠

As for updates, I’m terrible at percentages and making the little charts that other indie devs seem to be ready to whip out for visual purposes, so please feel free to use your imaginations for the following information:

5 of 6 scripts have been fully written (4 are the romance paths)

1 path has been edited. Also, editing is the worst.  

Character sketches for the demo have been completed! Check out some of the sprites here and look out for other sneak peeks!

Fancy GUI is underway! Not sure if it’ll be in done in time for demo release but anything is possible.

If you’ve been kicking it with me for a bit, you know how I mentioned a possible mini game and implementing that. After lots of back and forth, and an assessment of my current coding skills, it’s been scrapped in favor of a rewrite of scenes! I actually like how they turned out, so hopefully players won’t miss a thing.

Starting this week (hopefully) I’ll pause current tasks and put my energy towards the demo. I’m almost positive there’s a more effective way to do all of this, but I haven’t figured it out yet 🤣 

VNs I’m Looking Forward To

I’m nothing if not a hype woman in my personal life, so I wanna give some love and attention to the games I’m super excited for and have demos you can check out now! (And yes, they all feature romance!)

Band Camp Boyfriend

Trouble Comes Twice

Ocean Pearls: Kissed by the Sea

The Radiants

If you’d read this far, THANKS!! Your support means a lot especially in what currently feels like a lonely endeavor. 

Have an awesome weekend and we’ll do this all over again in April! 

#gamedev #rambles #dev blog #game updates #sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

So. The GUI mock up is still...M.I.A. (I won’t get into it here, just know I’m a tad frustrated and a lot confused and I’m exercising what little patience I possess.)

That being said, I have some sprite sketches!!! 👀 Of the romance and friend variety!!! And in turn, the artist reveal 🤪 I didn’t mean to keep her a secret, but I wanted to get permission before I showed y’all cool things! Also, I thought about waiting for the next dev vlog but nope, I can’t last that long. 

Who do you guys wanna see first? Or should I do girls first or guys first? Let me know! 

#updates #sd:jy #upcoming art reveal #game news

[hummingbird-games]

16!

16: What would your characters be for Halloween?

Billie: Wednesday Addams

Ryan: Wouldn’t bother to dress up because he’s boring like that. 

Langston: Danny Phantom! But no one can seem to guess who he is the entire night

April: Ooo anime is her jam, so Mina/Pinky would be an option

Lydia: She’d have like three different costumes just because; The Scarlet Witch, Princess Aurora, and then 

bonus:

[redacted]: The Joker

[redacted]: Blossom from the Powerpuff Girls

#asks #sd:jy #Ryan Ortega #Langston McKnight #April McKnight #Lydia Barnhill #Billie Stevenson

[hummingbird-games]

"Sorry, can’t hear you over the super-mega-great time I’m having!!”

Billie Stevenson

Her moms want her to think bigger and do something with her future, but your best friend is content to help out in her parents’ candy store even after she’s completed the necessary years of schooling. You only met Billie in ninth grade, but it feels like you’ve been partners in crime forever (though between the two of you, you’re the Impulse Control in the relationship). 

#upcoming game #visual novel #vn #dating and relationships #sd:jy #dating sim #Billie Stevenson

[hummingbird-games]

Sometimes friends fight... but do they always make up? 😶

firstname “Billie, stop! I didn’t ditch you for [redacted]!”

b “Nope! but she ditched you for her other so called friends, right?”

firstname “People can change! She apologized!”

“Billie laughs, cold and clipped. I’ve heard it before but it’s never been directed at me.” 

#game script screenshot #Billie Stevenson #Screenshot Sunday #fun fact: the scenes before after and RELATED to this dialogue were hard to write #sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

I love this story. But I’m so sick of this story.

#a smarter person would get someone else to edit her work #guess that ain't meeeee #listen at this point I feel like I can recite these routes from memory HELP #sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

Dev Blog # 8

Good morning from my neck of the woods, and happy March 1st! Let’s roll through some updates, shall we?

UPDATES

At the time of writing this post, 4 of the six possible routes have been coded, and the fifth is around 15% started. Essentially that just means that we’re getting closer to me pushing down my nerves and starting the dang demo 🤣...😶 

(Question for those who read these, or even skim them, would y’all be interested in line/script sneak peeks? I want to give y’all more but my strongest skill is writing, and I know I personally find other elements of game development more interesting. Let me know?)

Working with the artist and Y’ALL the sketches are so cute!!! I want to share art updates but I also want to keep things close ‘just in case’... all this to say that there will be reveals. But not yet.

In attempt to “stay small” and “not overwhelm myself”, I decided to learn more about GUI and possibly attempt to do SD:JR’s. Like, I’ve got this far?? And I’ve been doing pretty well???

This gif is the perfect example of what happened. I have never aborted ship so fast in my life. In fact, I have been sending out emails and scoping the forums for capable people because apparently I do not fit in that category. 

As you might have seen, the pinned post for the blog has been changed and updated to give visitors an idea of what this game is working with. I’m pretty satisfied with how that came out, and I can’t wait to hopefully replace those LI links with promo art! Lots of things I’m still learning and doing but my fingers are crossed.  

LET’S GET PERSONAL

Aside from putting all my energy and focus on making this game the best it can be, I’ve also been toying with what game 2 will look like. It’s still a tad too early to be seriously considering projects aside of SD:JR, but what creative doesn’t juggle a million WIPS at once??? 

That concludes my rambles, and if you read this far I hope you have an awesome week! Also FYI, these posts will now come once or twice a month max, unless I have special news orrrrr special content that can’t be contained in a devlog!

#gamedev #rambles #dev blog #game updates #sd:jy

[hummingbird-games]

"...Things have always been complicated with you.”

Lydia Barnhill

Before there was Billie, it was just you and Lydia against the world. But things have changed and neither of you would be caught dead in the same space let alone interacting with each other. But could that change? Will you make up for lost time and burry the hatchet, or is it too little too late?

#upcoming game #visual novel #vn #dating and relationships #dating sim #sd:jy #Lydia Barnhill #character board