The first week of Pageturner 3's development is over (one day late)! Here's what I did: - Implemented Scene 1 - Implemented Freetime 1 - Updated the backgrounds to their final versions - Updated the loading system to a cloud save system - Implemented the casefile - Added a music track - Added the rating to the game Well, it was a bit of a shaky start, but I did manage to get it done...
I had some setbacks, including issues clicking and dragging with my computer mouse, and running out of paper, that prevented me from getting more work done. I ordered a new mouse, so that's one problem fixed. I'd already modeled the backgrounds, and had a lot of the UI coding done, which helped me out a great deal. Not actually releasing it means I'm able to put in some temporary sprites until I have proper artwork, without being too embarrassed about it, which is convenient. I'm using my "png inside an svg" trick which lets the backgrounds stay in HD without becoming all pixel-y. Apparently I was wrong about there being a 50mb filesize limit in 3.0 — which is AWESOME news. I'll be able to implement everything I want to without worrying about that! Next week, I'll be implementing Scenes 2 and 3, which are longer and more complex, so hopefully that goes well. What's really helping is that I've come up with a great way to automatically tag which character is talking just through the costume name. It really beats Pageturner 2 and 1's method, makes the scripts shorter and more efficient, and is just better all around. I decided to count Freetimes as scenes. Pageturner 3 has little Freetime sections where you can explore the police station. Speaking of, given the current horrific levels of police brutality and the global outrage towards it, some people may be wondering about me setting the game in a police station and (presumably) making the police the "good guys". Don't worry. That will be addressed in the narrative. While I don't think fiction has an obligation to be based in reality, especially when reality is so often bleak and upsetting and the game is meant to be lighthearted, I'm concerned about the message a "friendly police officer" character could send without a great deal of context. Cops uphold a broken and often unjust legal system that benefits the whiter, wealthier people in our society. That's true no matter how "nice" a police officer is. Too often fiction leads us into thinking that just because someone is nice, that means they are good. I think that's a really interesting theme to explore. Until next time, — LockedOn.