Development report article for June 2023.

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This month was dedicated to deep refactoring of our technical solutions, making code lighter, putting the project architecture in order, updating documentation, improving interface layout, responsiveness and clarity. Without further ado, take a look at what we have achieved:

The new version required fixes for all the scripts we had written, and some support assets were not updated in the shop where they were purchased. In the end, we only ported over the supporting parts, heavily modifying them, tweaking them, and writing new logic for them. This is an important step called "fixing previous mistakes".

The previous build was done "the way we can", and the new one is done "the right way", taking into account the idea of architecture and code cleanliness. In a couple of years it will seem to us that even this result is wrong, but it is definitely several steps ahead of our previous implementation. And it gives us a chance for easy porting.

Details

The disclaimer hasn't changed much, but we've added a logo pulsation animation and language selection. Hopefully one day, there will be more of them.

Our start menu lacked the game title and we couldn't fit it on the right side in the old layout. We had to move the buttons to the left and put the logo above them. At the same time, we added information about the amount of unlocked content and the build version. Currently it's just a dummy, but real numbers will appear soon. In addition, we replaced our favourite Lobster font because of common prejudices about it.

In the main game menu we have improved the quality of icons and smartphone images, changed the layout of buttons in the text box, and made softer animations. In order not to overload the interface with texts, but to make it as clear as possible, we added a special line with a description, which appears only when hovering over the buttons:

Some of the new features we promised: when your relationship with characters changes, you'll see a hint at the bottom right of the screen. This feature can be switched off in the settings if you want to keep the maximum intrigue in your playthrough.

The log screen has also become a bit more aesthetically pleasing. One of our subscribers helped the project out of the goodness of her heart by drawing the smartphone in vector graphics. The picture is now beautiful and scalable.

We have also added hints to this screen. At first we wanted to put information about relationships with characters somewhere in the smartphone. For example, in the list of contacts. But then we thought that the smartphone is not always available to the player in the story, so we decided to use the screen with logs, which can be opened at any moment of the game.

The system menu got new buttons and was designed in the same style as the start screen. There is also information about the build version and what frame is currently displayed on the screen. Useful for bug reports. Did you notice in the video that when you press some buttons, the sound of a heartbeat is played?

The settings menu is a complex system to which we devoted more than a week of daily work. We made two groups from the previous three: with system settings and sounds.

Changing the language does not require restarting the game, the display mode was flexible in the last version, but our settings were not intuitive. Now there are hints with a description of the settings. You can immediately see at what speed the text will be displayed on the screen, listen to the volume of not only music, but also sounds and voices.

New settings that were not available in the demo:

• The ability to skip all text in general or just the text you read.
• Enabling and disabling hints about the change of relationship level with characters after making choices, answering phone calls or SMS.

A lot of work was done with the layout, choosing icons and the size of interface elements.And even more work was done with the quality of responsiveness of the interface. All settings are already directly linked to other elements that they affect.

Here's another screen that took a lot of time and effort. No, it's not molecular chemistry or a map of the underground. It's a story map. As you play, you can see what story block you're in, what percentage of content you've been able to unlock and read throughout your playthroughs, what endings exist, and which ones you've already unlocked.

Visuals

Despite the partial paralysis of the art department, we continue to work on characters and locations. We finished drawing the mother of our main character, the flamboyant Jane Holland.

The summer has been rich in interesting events, we participate in competitions and festivals, win prizes, receive both criticism and positive feedback. Our social media has become less busy, but we'll make up for it in autumn when we have fewer reasons to leave the house.

See you in the next progress report!