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Blue Rose status and thanks!

Posted on March 19, 2013 by LTB

It’s obvious that I’m not the best at keeping people updated through this blog! But here is a post to assure everyone that Blue Rose is still on track.

I’ve received some really good feedback from those who got the beta so far, thank you very much! The current game is being updated with the bugs and typos you have found, as well as other hiccups here and there. Along with that the last few features are being added. The final release should happen in April.

For those in doubt, the final release will of course be available for free for those who bought the beta. There are also still two characters in the game that have not yet been introduced on this blog – they will make an appearance soon.

Blue Rose Beta

Posted on December 21, 2012 by LTB

Blue Rose beta has been released into the wild!

– What exactly is the beta version?

The beta version of Blue Rose is effectively the entire, full game of Blue Rose. It contains the full story, artwork and music that is expected to be in the final version, along with the unlockable short stories for those who complete the five routes in the game, though they won’t be accessible until the first update. It will be available at a cheaper price than the final release.

– What is NOT in the beta?

Some of the polish is missing, as well as proper testing by a larger crowd. Not all menus are fully costumized, so users of Ren’Py will recognise some standard configurations here and there. Some things, like the Gallery, will not be available right away either.

– So why release now?

Because I want all of you to get the chance to get in early, and help test it out! Does it work on your computer? Do you have suggestions or corrections to the text? Then throw all of your comments my way! Even the slightest comments that might seem insignificant are welcome.Post them to me here on the blog, or send me a mail: ltb@the-white-cat.com !

Difficulty in Blue Rose

Posted on May 1, 2012 by LTB

In most basic visual novels the difficulty is measured by how easy it is to reach a certain ending or not – to be able to foresee which choices bring you on the right path, and lets you avoid unhappy endings. Some are pretty straightforward, while others present you with a lot of vague and difficult options. It varies what people prefer – some like a challenge and the chance of something unexpected happening, while others would rather just read the story and bring up walkthroughs to make sure they’re heading in the right direction.

So what is the difficulty in Blue Rose like? At this point I’d have to say that it is probably… pretty easy. If you know what character’s story you’re after, then it should be pretty straightforward to get there. You can (usually) see where people are on the map before you go, and the conversational choices aren’t that challenging if you know what is going on.

Personally I don’t mind a challenge in visual novels, but I realise that in Blue Rose the focus has been elsewhere. The choices aren’t meaningless – rather than make it difficult for the player, they simply do just that, give the choice of where you wish to go, and how you want to see things unfold, and no version of the story is any more true than the others.

In that light I don’t think this title is going to really need in-depth walkthroughs when released, just guidelines at most. It is possible to run into a bad end without wanting to, but it shouldn’t take much more than one retry to get it right. One of the character routes also need to be unlocked first, which it will be after seeing just one of the other good endings.

I still hope some people also get to see the ‘bad’ endings, though – especially two of them I personally find to have quite some meaning as well, and I hope the readers will too if they come across them.

Some day in the future I’d like to make something more challenging, in a way that makes sense for the story. But for now I hope people will appreciate this approach as well, and enjoy the different possibilities of the story as they go along.

Blue Rose Characters – Erin

Posted on April 26, 2012 by LTB

Up next is Erin:

Erin is the lone girl with her own route in Blue Rose. She runs a small inn in the village together with her sister Mary.

Erin is a positive, welcoming character, who takes an interest in Lena right away. Her dream is to turn their small inn into a great restaurant – something quite unlikely in the tiny little mountain village where they live.

Easily impressed by Lena’s knightly background, Erin is a bit of a dreamer. She loves cooking and socialising with others, but stays somewhat isolated in spite of this.

Blue Rose Characters – Simon

Posted on March 5, 2012 by LTB

Next character introduction is for Simon:

Simon is a Templar of the Blue Rose, just like Lena. They have worked together for almost two years now, and Lena sees him as an important mentor to her.

Simon takes his position very seriously, and has a great sense of responsibility for those under his command. He is also very calm and collected, and usually has his temper under control. Usually.

Simon’s route was hard to write. So many things are going on under his calm exterior, and the other routes have him say and do things as a result of this, which could be hard to explain. That, and he usually has to draw the short end of the stick.

Don’t worry Simon, you’ll get your chance! Some day…

We’re not related! Honest!

Posted on February 23, 2012 by LTB

So today I was doing some work on the visual side of the map in Blue Rose, resulting in this test screen:

That’s when I realised, while looking at all the character icons together on that map, that three of the four male characters have almost the same hair colour. Well actually Aran has several colours in his hair (the guy in the top left), but you can’t really see it on his icon, and most of it is silver anyway. Then there is Gavin who is white-haired, and Simon with a very light blue.

Only poor Tobias breaks the combo with BLACK hair. (And Erin, but being a girl and all already makes her a bit unique in this bunch.)

Huh. I seriously never thought about this before, even after working on this game for so long now.

Blue Rose Characters – Gavin

Posted on February 21, 2012 by LTB

(I realised I had said earlier that I would now introduce Blue Rose characters, then never actually continued doing so…. oops? Anyway, here is finally introduction #2)

Next up in our character introductions is – Gavin! He was the first character I wrote a route for, so he might as well be the first of the main characters that I introduce as well:

Gavin is one of the first people that Lena is introduced to in the village. He can be a bit of an idiot, but I quite like his non-serious attitude. In spite of his tendency to piss off everyone around him, Gavin is also a pretty dependable type.

Like Lena, Gavin is a bit of a newcomer in this village, and therefore also somewhat of an outsider.

The inspiration for Gavin came very early on from a certain character in a certain movie/book. In the end his personality ended up completely different from that character though! They only share a very few superficial traits.

Blue Rose Characters – Lena

Posted on July 24, 2011 by LTB

Guess I can (very) slowly start to introduce the characters in Blue Rose.

The obvious choice for the first one is:

Lena – the protagonist.

The last visual novel I wrote (which spanned more than 5 minutes) was Angelic Orbs. The protagonist in that story was Kevin, a boy from the country who… well, was kinda helpless. Kevin was not the bravest of men, and certainly no warrior, often resulting in him having to improvise during the more dangerous situations in the story.

Lena is something different – apart from being a girl, she is also a Templar of the Blue Rose, a high order of elite knights in the kingdom of Tanves. She believes in being able to hold one’s own and in fighting for what is right. Which means she can kick some serious butt if it comes down to it.

She is also the only important character in the story without any in-game sprites. That doesn’t mean you won’t get to see her in cg’s though.

Although Lena believes in being strong, she soon realises that in reality she has hardly ever made an independent choice in her life. She also comes to the realisation that these choices will end up having great consequences for everything around her.

One of the key points I had in mind when starting out on Blue Rose, was that I wanted a protagonist with a clear, strong personality. She would have a name, a face and an important role in what happens. She is not just the protagonist, but the centre of the story – and the reader will go through the events together with her, aiding her in her choices.

Hopefully you will enjoy this journey when it’s finally done – and that you’ll be able to care for Lena, even in spite of her faults.

Erin’s transformation sequence(?)

Posted on February 12, 2011 by LTB

Usually I would never show off crappy art like this publicly before I fix it, but I thought I’d tell a little about how I work on the art for Blue Rose (and most other things, really).

Some days a w.i.p drawing just looks awesome while you’re working on it, but then when it’s done, you look at it and think ’OMG what was I doing!?’

Ewww (especially when mirrored).

At times I get lucky and I only need to clean up the lineart a bit and make sure the head has the right shape (one of my sloppy areas). And then there are times when proportions are thrown out the window and they look like that example up there…

Poor Erin.

Actually I could redraw the whole thing and that might be easier, but I’m too lazy. So instead I try to patch up the lineart I have, although the amount of work ends up pretty much the same!

Hours later…

Yay, much better!

After this, I can finally go on to drawing her different expressions and send her off to my colourist… until next time I open the file and realise ‘aww I should have fixed this and that too!!’ <_<;;

Usually I would never show off crappy art like this publicly before I fix it, but I thought I’d tell a little about how I work on the art for Blue Rose (and most other things, really).

Some days a w.i.p drawing just looks awesome while you’re working on it, but then when it’s done, you look at it and think ’OMG what was I doing!?’

(Erin pose2, before fixes)

Ewww (especially when mirrored).

At times I get lucky and I only need to clean up the lineart a bit and make sure the head has the right shape (one of my sloppy areas). And then there are times when they look like that example up there…

Poor Erin.

Actually I could redraw the whole thing and that might be easier, but I’m too lazy. So instead I try to patch up the lineart I have, although the amount of work ends up pretty much the same!

Hours later…

(Fixed Erin sprite)

Yay, much better!

Another milestone reached

Posted on November 24, 2010 by LTB

What I didn’t mention in the earlier blog post is that a major milestone has been reached in the development of Blue Rose – the script is practically complete! The last word of the last ending has been written, completing all 5 routes of the story. Huzzah!

When I say “practically” it means that I still need to make another few runs through the script and fill up any gaps that connect all the branching that occurs in a game such as this. And after that, I’ll have to pass it on to a couple of proofreaders for a final check. (Anyone interested?)

As for other parts of production, I can say that almost all background pictures are done as well. A good deal of character art (sprites and CG’s) have been finished too, except they only exist as lineart thus far. Half the music is as good as done, and I’m getting more of that shortly.

So that’s pretty much it. Sounds good, but there is still far too much work left! (I still have to code it all together, *le sigh*.) Which means I better get back to it.