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Summary of 2020 [Development Blog - January 2021]
🕑 Added 2020-12-31 15:01:02 +0000 UTC
Happy New Year to you!
This year turned out to be incredibly tough for everyone, including us, so now we are going to tell you about everything what happened during this year, what we managed to do, and what remains to be done. These will be the results of 2020.
Sit back for some hot tea, because it will be a very long and interesting read.
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Hello everyone, this is Bertran Way, the founder of the team and its leader. Today I would like to discuss a lot of things regarding our bussiness here at "Strong & Furry", as well as to talk about the game "Run, Kitty!", the release of which you are all pretty much looking forward to.
I wanted to create a visual novel community in the furry bara genre long ago. In other words, to develop games about strong, muscular boys, whom you all love very much. And just in order to start gaining experience in this, I decided to create a little game. It was called "Save the Kitty!" at first, but due to possible copyright issues with the book under the same name, the game had to be renamed to "Run, Kitty!".
We released a demo version on PC in February 2020, and on Google Play on Android in March, but in the summer we were blocked there, so we should not expect the full version being released there. Junior developers suffer greatly from the Google Play rules, and you can be blocked simply without clear and transparent explanation, so we cannot influence this in any way. However, we will be distributing the APK separately, so don't worry. And unfortunately, we will not release it iOS, because it is not relevant for now (just like the release of the 18+ version is simply impossible there).
Anyway, the release of demo-version had been a big achievement for me considering how it all began... The idea of developing the game came to me in the summer of 2018, and around the fall of that year, I started planning all of this. And now, 2020 is ending, the demo version will soon turn a whole year, and I think it's time to tell about everything what is happening and what will happen next. You are very interested in how the development is going, aren't you?
We've had a lot of cool events this year. For example, opening Patreon page along with the release of the demo, maintaining a monthly news blog there, VK Donut (Russian-language news from Patreon), VIP rewards for patrons and the opening of Gumroad with the possibility of buying previous awards ... Sounds confusing, right?
What you need to know is that we are trying to stay active throughout these months of development, which is going at a very slow pace. Why is this happening?
Game content consists of certain parts: script / text, art (character and background), music, technical part (interface, code, etc). Let's go through each of them in detail and find out how things are going.
/// Script ✓
The game was specially designed to be very short for the first experience, but, as you can see from the development time, even this is not so simple to deal with. The full version will take about an hour to complete and will include four endings. In the story, there's three of them, but there's also another one. You will understand why when you finish the game :)
The script was done a long time ago, it was a little corrected for various errors this year. Also, almost all of the text is inserted into the game script, with the exception of bonus scenes. Yes, there will be bonus scenes in the game after finishing the game, so don't miss them. Also, in the full version of the game, the same scene from the end of the demo version will be inserted into the bonus, so players will definitely not miss anything # _ #
///Background artwork ✓
///Character artwork [~50%]
All backgrounds have been drawn, all is left is adding more effects after inserting characters there.
The main artist who draws the characters - Richard and Simon - is the only one who does this. And now he has certain problems in real life, mainly due to lessons at an art college. Therefore, this is the main reason why game development is slow. Nevertheless, we can say that progress does not stand still, and the drawing process is going forward. Those who support us on Patreon and VK Donut probably could see very interesting new VIP art >~<
At the moment we are working hard on "these "very" scenes", and since this is the artist's first experience in such matters, I hope you understand this. For my part, I do my best to make these scenes in the end colorful and high-quality, and I closely follow the process ;)
Let's take another look at the in-game art content to make it clear where we are at the moment.
CG-art: 3/6 [the 4th is in process]
Simon's sprite: [planned to be redone]
Game cover artwork: [BG finished]
OST cover artwork: [BG finished]
If you don't know what CG is, it means "computer graphics", but in the case of visual novels, this is a special term for a unique background and characters on it.
Common character images that appear during the game are called sprites (in Japanese, they are called tachie, literally "standing images"). And during the game, backgrounds appear behind the character art.
So, CG art is a unique background and character sprite, different from those that appear during the game more often than usual. In Japanese, this term is called event CG, meaning some important event displayed in the form of a unique art for a better perception.
In demo, this is Simon on a tree, meeting Richard, and after falling into his strong warm hands. =)
If you remove these artwork and simulate the situation using the existing sprites and backgrounds, imagine how poorly would it look.
On the other hand, this approach in the form of frequent unique art increases development costs, which we will definitely talk about later.
You may have noticed that Simon's sprite looks different from how it is drawn in the main menu, as well as in our new art.
In this regard, the task is to redraw it to make it look even nicer and nicer. You'll like it.
In order for a game to attract the audience, you need a nice cover artwork. We will have two of them: one for the game, the other for the soundtrack.
The cover of the soundtrack is already considered a marketing art (art published on social networks and various media), because it is not included in the game itself. But the game cover will be in the main menu, so this art can be considered as in-game. It's going to be looking wonderful, so it's really worth the wait.
These are the things we have about the game art that zogii draws. We wish him luck completing the art. You can support him with pleasant words, he will be very glad :)
///BGM ✓
///Ending song [50%]
BGM is a background music, needs no introduction. We have 10 background compositions in the game, they are all original, and all are completed. All will be released on the original soundtrack along with the game's Steam release.
The ending song is the one that plays in credits. It is a closing theme, popular for use in various anime series and visual novels, along with the opening (title) song. Since the story is very short, the title track is meaningless in itself, and the ending is more suitable for the atmosphere.
Usually, in such short games, songs are not being composed at all, and this is a luxury of large and long stories, but I decided that this option would be very unusual. Of course, it was not without difficulties, because the vocals for the song turned out to be very difficult to find due to the atmosphere of the game and the Simon as a character. The composition for the song is completely ready, and as soon as we have the opportunity to make vocals, we will definitely release a preview version.
Who exactly will perform the song has not yet been decided, but we have some options. I could have sung it myself, because I have the right manner of singing, but unfortunately, my vocal skills are no good. >~<
Therefore, it is better to address this question to knowledgeable people. If you also know anyone who could perform this song in a gentle male voice, you can tell us in the comments or private messages of the group. We will definitely solve the question with vocals for some time.
A short version of the song will be played in the credits of the game. The full version is planned for release in the original soundtrack, so don't miss it if you liked the preview. I don't want to brag, but I guess that you have never heard such Russian songs before :)
There'd be a translated text for a song for English-speaking folks in the digital OST booklet, but the song itself will be performed in Russian. The game will have a digital release only since we are not a big company to release it in a retail case and also considering the current situation in the world.
///Technical part
The technical part of the game means everything related to... the technical part, sorry. The engine, the code, the script, the interface... The game is made with RenPy, and our English translator, also programmer, John JF-049 FrostFox will tell you how it is going. I think you may have noticed from the demo how not very good it looks in terms of technical execution.
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"We've experienced many constraints with creating new menus, screens and other game features. The game code was not very structured and created problems when making changes to it. If you've ever tinkered the inner workings of it, you could see it by dissassembling *.rpyc in the demo.
We decided to rebuild the game from a ground-up. This creates a delay in the early stages of rewriting the code. However, it will allow us to quickly implement changes in the game without problems in the future.
We've already added support for third-party languages in addition to built-in English and Russian, an ability to control the game from a gamepad and remote controller, the game itself has been updated to support the pre-release version of Ren'Py 7.4.0.
We couldn't exchange and synch files and the game itself between us in a convenient way. We had to make our own server with GitLab and NextCloud. This will be enough for our small development team.
Our plans include adding support for displaying subtitles while playing songs at any time of the game, a picture gallery system in the bonus menu, as well as simplifying the addition of visual and sound effects during the game: such as predefined lists of characters' emotions and maybe weather effects in the background. All this will already be done on the new "foundation" of the game, and the new version of the demo game will be built on it."
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If you don't understand anything of what John said, don't worry. This means that it will be easier for us to develop the rest of the game, as well as build the groundwork for future games. We will definitely return to this discussion.
Well, I think now you know at what stage the development of "Run, Kitty!" is and what can be expected in the release. Of course, the most important question you want to answer is WHEN?
We have an answer to it, do you want to hear it?
Well, the answer is...
...
2021
"And it's all?" - you ask. And we will answer: "Unfortunately, yes".
And now we are smoothly moving on to the most interesting part of the discussion of the year's results, namely the budget. Prepare yourself mentally because the discussion is going to be long, and if you're really wondering why things are taking so long, beyond the reasons described above, pour yourself a second cup of tea. A whole kettle is better.
///Budget
In 2018, when I was still young and started the development of this game, I did not think at all that such a short one hour game would result in such a serious challenge. My understandings of content quality did not match the same level of quality in my spare time on enthusiasm. Therefore, over time, gradually, I began to allocate my own funds for the development of the game in order to be able to release it.
The demo came out in February 2020, and Patreon opened at the same time. It helped a lot to support the game, and it let me to focus on the activity of groups on social networks, ordering various arts. Since August 2020, I have tried to introduce Patreon awards for the biggest patrons to thank them for their important support. And in October, I opened Gumroad for those who would like to purchase Patreon rewards at any time, without having to support every month to get all the goodies.
This is all in order to keep active with you all these months while development is going slow. As a result, it turns out that more costs are spent on maintaining this activity than on the development itself. As long as there is activity and discussion, the social networks algorithms will show this to a wider audience, and more players will come who may support the project.
In December, we introduced a wonderful mascot, samoyed Stefan, who will participate in various activities of the team. I want to try small comics with him and other characters. If I really didn't want to entertain you while waiting for the game, all this would not have happened.
It is also worth knowing that there you can't go nowhere without advertising, so I also periodically invest some funds for it on various sites.
What can I honestly tell you about with the end of this insanely difficult 2020? Taking into account the support on Patreon, Gumroad, your donations (thank you very much!) And other support...
80% of development funds still come from my pocket.
"Is it really that expensive?" - you ask.
You could just seal my mouth with a tape so that I do not accidentally blabber about the funds spent at the moment for the entire development, including marketing. And I just can't say that, because the number of zeros in it is pretty decent. At least with my current financial condition and stability.
I hope that you can perfectly understand by the current art quality that this not cheap. This is a huge and hard work that takes an incredible amount of time.
If you go to an artist and ask him something like "what to draw there, only six arts, nothing to do at all", get ready to get a slap in the face from him with a graphic tablet, at best. I'm kidding, of course, but if it was Stefan, you would not be very pleased. Or?..
Anyways...
These are not just six arts. The specificity of visual novels has its own characteristics, such as changing poses and emotions on the same art. Accordingly, the time spent on working on one such art increases a lot (and the budget increases too). I think you will see this when the game is released.
It is unlikely that you will find a developer who will gladly share about the development budget. On the contrary, everyone will try to get through this topic as quickly as possible, because no one likes to talk about this. But it's still needed to be told because I want to be honest with you all.
And if I had not been faced with such a task to achieve a certain level of quality of the game, I would not have been bothered with it so much. I really want to please you with great high-quality games about muscular, embossed furry guys in the future. But you always need to start small, and now we're in a period of time that you just need to go through. And it just happens due to various circumstances that it has been going on for several years. Of course, the point of motivation is incredibly far away, and I can't remember how many times I gave up this all.
Only six arts for one hour of play. You could already see two of them in the demo. These arts are the main problem that slows down the entire development process, but I hope that next year we will successfully deal with it.
Thanks to what I have now, everything is much better than it could be, seriously. Imagine if there was no Patreon. There would be no awards, there would be no Stefan, there would be nothing. If I hadn't been dealing with publicity, wouldn't I have offered you something interesting to the best of my ability? What would happen to the game itself? Of course, it would have continued to be developed, but when would there have been a release, in this case? In 2025?
What a blessing that I thought a little and decided to make the first game very short. Because if it was for 3-4 hours... I'm afraid you wouldn't see it ever. And surely someone would now say: "but what about *****, they released a short story without a budget, and the same high-quality, and even free". I will answer this by the fact that each situation is considered individually. And in my case everything is exactly as it is, without embellishment. Everything goes completely differently for everyone. Someone does not spend a dime and fires, while someone tramples their path for a very long time and dreary, because they were not lucky. And I think luck is also important here.
"Run, Kitty!" has a specificity that does not affect other visual novels in this genre, which also have Patreon and many fans. This is the frequency of updating the game.
Since other novels are thought to be large, they are rolled out gradually with updates, complementing the plot and art. It's similar to episodic games.
But "Run, Kitty!" is an only one-hour game. There is even nothing to update here, and gradually laying out the game as it is means breaking all the intrigue and integrity of the story, which is already small. What is better for you: to read the story in one gulp and enjoy it at once, or to collect it bit by bit, forgetting about it until the next update?
Perhaps this particular situation affects the activity and support on Patreon. I would be glad to hear your views on this issue.
And you may be upset here because if the the one-hour game is so difficult to develop, even if it is due to various coincidences and many reasons... What to say about our future?
But let's move on to the good news, otherwise this topic can be discussed endlessly.
/// The main goal of 2021 and our future plans
You know very well our main goal. The release of "Run, Kitty!" in 2021.
As for further plans,it is difficult to say before the release, everything depends on its success. But one thing is for sure - if everything goes well, the second game will not keep you waiting. Do you like cheese? :)
As for the social networks, we have small comics planned. We would like to know how you will react to them. But not too wild, please!
We will continue to make awards for our patrons from time to time. I hope this New Year's post has cleared up a lot for you. If not, go ahead and ask your questions. This is a post for discussion!
And, of course, we wish you a Happy New Year!
We wish you all the best, warm, pleasant, tasty and sweet in the New Year. And, of course, to fall asleep with a big strong boy in an embrace on this New Year's Eve.
Here's a small present: congratulations from our characters :)
Simon
"Happy New Year to everyone! Wish you not to have any serious problems in the New Year and everything going just fine. Eat more vegetables and fruits, and less of any nasty things, watch your health. Sleep well during the New Year holidays. have a nice time! "
Richard
"Happy New Year, guys. I wish you new interesting acquaintances and meetings, as well as a fun and carefree life. May you always have someone in your life whom you can rely on and with whom you will feel cozy. Trust each other and forgive everything bad you've ever had. Happy New Year! "
Stefan
"Happy New Year, friends! Wish you to never give yourself up. It was a difficult year, and we did it! Everyone who thinks they could push and achieve more, just relax. You are good enough. I wish all little puppies to grow up big and strong. Those who are sad and lonely now, remember - everything is changing, and you should not lower your paws. I firmly hug everyone who lacks warmth now. "
Richard decided to present you with a special art by taking off his last year's T-shirt :)
Thanks to shimori shim for this awesome artwork!
/// "How can we help?"
I see you wanted to ask this question, right? If you do not have the opportunity to support us, there is nothing wrong with that. But you can help a lot more if you actively like us, comment and tell about us.
We have Twitter - http://twitter.com/strongandfurry
Please subscribe, like and retweet our posts. It helps a lot, so we will be noticed more often. You can also publish nice content there :)
Other social networks - Facebook, itch.io also count. Be active, comment, express your ideas. How quickly the game comes out depends on it, because it directly grabs the attention of the interested audience. Thank you!
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And thanks again to all those involved in the development of the game.
See you in 2021 and also in release :)
Happy New Year!
P.S. For our VIP-patrons - VIP-blog for January 2021 will be in a week later. Enjoy your holidays! This post is a replacement for Development Blog (January 2021) for our patrons. We decided to spread the news across all our community, thanks for understanding.
