Devblog #17 – Serving up a new menu

Hey there, LoafyLemon here!

It’s been about two weeks since my last post about the new interface design, and a lot has changed since then. The new UI is looking sleek and sexy, but we’re not done yet!

Today, I want to talk about some of the other changes we’ve made, like the addition of kinetic text and the new Point & Click system.

First off, the kinetic text. Since we’re already overhauling the interface, we figured why not add some extra flair? Kinetic text is a feature that makes certain words or phrases move and dance across the screen during dialogues. I know what you’re thinking – “Why would I want my text to be moving around on the screen?” And honestly, it might seem a bit silly at first, but trust me, it adds a whole new level of immersion to the game, especially during sex scenes. Normally, we’re limited to just showing the text and having it fade in and out, or use italics or embolden it to make it stand out. With kinetic text, however, we can create all sorts of cool effects. Like, for example, making the words shake slightly during an orgasm, or have them move around in sync with the action on the screen. It really helps convey the emotions and intensity of the scene, and it looks damn good too. Of course, we’ll also need to ensure that it doesn’t get too distracting and detract from the actual gameplay, but I think we’ve found a good balance so far, and no worries, I made sure to add a toggle in the options menu so players can turn it off if they prefer.

Next up, the Point & Click system. This one’s been a long time coming, and I’m super excited to finally see it come together. We’ve been asked to add more locations to explore in the game, and while we could just throw in some generic rooms and call it a day, we wanted to do something more interesting. So, we’ve created a Point & Click system where players can click on objects or characters to interact with them. This will allow us to finally flesh out some of the environments and allow me to draw more than just those four walls of Genie’s office goddamnit!

We’re still working on refining the system, but so far it’s been working pretty well. The main challenge has been figuring out how to make the clicks feel responsive and intuitive. You see, the Ren’Py engine was not designed for this kind of interaction, so we’ve had to work around its limitations. But, after some trial and error, we’ve got a system that feels pretty natural and easy to use. I admit, old menus were a bit clunky, but this new system should be much easier on the eyes and more enjoyable to play with. Oh, and it works with mods, too!

Now, I know some of you might be thinking, “What about the rest of the game?” Don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about it! We’re still working on all the other aspects of the game, including the new Tonks scenes, which I have started drawing already. More on that later.

You may be happy to hear that the interface is already partially implemented in the game, including some new elements that have not been teased yet. Not only does it look nice, but it also helps us with the rest of the development process, and thanks to the custom UI system, we’ve addressed most of the performance issues that were holding us back before. Since the new interface is now a part of the game, we can start testing it right away, which means we’ll be able to catch any bugs and issues sooner rather than later.

I hope this update has given you a good idea of what’s been going on behind the scenes. Like always, there’s still much work to be done, but we’re making progress and it’s starting to show. Thanks for your continued support, and as always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to poke us on Discord.

That’s all for now, folks!