Devblog #11 – Bringing CG Scenes to Life in WTS

Hey there, Patrons and WTS fans! It’s LoafyLemon here, your friendly neighbourhood adult-game dev. Today, I’m going to give you a sneak peek into the process of implementing CG scenes (hand-drawn smut) in Witch Trainer Silver.

The process starts with sourcing the perfect CG images. We’re quite picky about this *cough* as are most of our users *cough*, as the quality and style need to match the overall aesthetic of the game as closely as possible, which I must emphasise, it’s not easy! Once we’ve conceptualised and drawn the scenes, it’s time to prepare them for integration. This involves splitting layers, resizing, cropping, and optimising the images to ensure they load smoothly within the game.

Next up, we need to decide where and when these CG scenes will appear in the scene they were planned for. It’s all about finding the right balance between storytelling and visual pleasure. We want to make sure that these scenes enhance the (s)experience without disrupting the flow of the game.

Once we’ve figured out the placement, it’s time for the programming part. I use SublimeText as my code editor of choice because it’s blazing fast, versatile, and has all the features I need. To integrate the CG scenes, I write scripts that trigger the scenes at specific points in the story. These scripts also handle the transition between regular gameplay and the CG scenes, ensuring a (usually) seamless experience for you lads and gals.

Of course, I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t dive a little bit deeper into the technical side. Historically, I used my own python implementation for CG scenes, which turned out to be less than ideal because I was going against the current, fighting with the engine quirks, instead of following its workflow. Ren’py’s layeredimage feature plays a crucial role in this new process. For those unfamiliar, layeredimage is a built-in Ren’py feature that allows us to create complex and dynamic scenes by layering multiple images on top of each other. This is particularly useful for CG scenes, where we often need to combine backgrounds, characters, and various other elements to create a cohesive and visually appealing image, while maintaining the ability to switch parts of the image dynamically.

Promptly after the image definitions are implemented, it’s time to pose the scenes and see how things fit together. This is a time consuming process and has a huge impact on the overall quality of the scene, involving posing facial expressions, adding visual effects, and setting up animation timers. At times we also draw additional bits and bobs as we go through the implementation to fully flesh out the scene.

After the programming is done, we move on to testing. This is where we make sure everything works as intended and that the scenes are triggered correctly. It’s also a chance to fine-tune the timing and presentation of the CG scenes to ensure maximum impact.

Finally, once everything is working as it should, and we’re happy with the final piece, we upload everything to our git repository.

By the way, we really appreciate your support and feedback, as it helps us continue to improve and expand the game.

That’s a quick overview of how we implement CG scenes in WTS. I personally hope you enjoyed this behind-the-scenes look, and we can’t wait to share more updates with you in the future.

Stay naughty,
LoafyLemon.

Tonks’ Countdown to Fun-Town

As we wrap up this roller-coaster of a year, I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the journey we’ve had. It’s been a marathon, not a sprint, but here we are, still standing and pushing forward.

This year threw some curveballs at us, and not gonna lie, it got tough. But guess what? We didn’t throw in the towel, and neither did our awesome community. Big shout out to all of you awesome folks who’ve been riding this roller-coaster with us. Your support means the world, and even though we didn’t check all the boxes on our grand plan, we’re not giving up. Nope, we’re gearing up for a comeback!

Today might be December 31st, but tomorrow is a fresh start, and we’re diving in head first. And hold onto your hats because we’ve got some seriously cool behind-the-scenes stuff for the game in the pipeline. More ideas, more creativity, and a dash of that special sauce that makes our project awesome.

Here’s to a better next year, full of wins, lessons, and maybe a few surprises. 🥂 And to all of you out there, thanks for being part of our journey. Wishing you the happiest New Year filled with good vibes, success, and all the good stuff.

Have a Tonk-tastic new year!

Cheers,
Silver Studio Games

Devblog #10 – Double digits!

Hello world, Johnny here with another devblog.

As per my last devblog, I’m currently in the midst of writing spoiler heavy content, so I’ll only lightly touch on the work.

I’ve completed the writing required for the upcoming Box-o-Fun event for Luna, and I’m currently incorporating some event checks to add some variety. For example, if the player has completed Hermione’s Box-o-Fun event. After this, I’ll proceed with the proofreading phase.

I’ve also started adding some of the non-event specific writing into the game, such as gift chats and additional chit-chats for Luna.

Between writing and implementing, I’ve also been planning out some content for future updates, along with summarizing the late-stage Luna events.

As shown in the latest teaser, we’ve added piercings for Luna’s wardrobe. I’m keen to hear your thoughts on items linked to expressions, as they require additional effort to incorporate into the game. We’ve also been discussing some other things internally, such as how weird it is that all characters have shaved pubes by default. We’re also looking to add a base outfit Schedule for Luna eventually, so if you’ve got any suggestions for clothing that fits her personality or have an opinion about pubic hair, then feel free to let us know.

Aside from the work, I’ve been fuelling my creative side by rewatching the earlier Futurama seasons. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it because I’m a huge fan of humour that pokes fun at current events and parodies real life. However, when it comes to the game, I’ve made a deliberate choice to reference things that have stood the test of time. As we all know, meme culture evolves rapidly. For instance, I opted to abandon the idea of a public event for Cho where the twins had turned someone into a pickle.

Getting into game development has been a very rewarding and fulfilling experience for us, so if we can encourage others to express themselves creatively, then that’s a win in my book. Therefore, I’d like to end this post with a segment from our artist Boppin who has put together some tips for beginners who are looking to get into art.

Heya! It’s me, Boppin! If you’re a beginner who wants to learn digital art, here are some of the things I wished I knew before starting this art journey of mine.

Beginners often make the mistake of diving head first into digital art, ending up with buying fancy pen tablets, only to lose their passion within a week and with a huge hole in their wallets. It’s crucial to start this journey with small, deliberate steps and avoid rushing in. When I started on the project, I was using a 5-year-old laptop and a Huion Inspiroy h430p tablet, which was smaller than my hand but got the job done. Since I’m now working on art in a more professional manner, I’ve since then, thanks to Loafy, acquired what is most suitable and affordable. In other words, I opted against purchasing a tablet with a screen, as they’re currently highly overpriced and not essential for my needs.

The saying “It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the right way.” by Wallace D. Wattles is something that every beginner in digital art should keep in mind. Many frustrations can be avoided by learning the basics of the program that you’re using.

Once you get started, I would suggest not to pour too much time into one single piece. Novice artists often begin a drawing with good intentions but find themselves constantly trying to make adjustments, adding excessive details, and ultimately straying far from their initial sketch. Spending excessive time on a single piece can sometimes lead to growing dissatisfaction, causing you to tuck it away in the depths of your hard drive. My advice: Keep your goals simple, complete your work, and then move on to the next. Keep that creative momentum flowing!

Lastly, always finish what you start. It’s important to see a piece through to completion, even if it’s not perfect. It adds to your portfolio, reveals areas for improvement, and showcases your progress. Remember, you’re not infallible, and learning from mistakes is part of the journey. Don’t be afraid to share your work with the world.

That’s a wrap for this devblog. See you in the next one!

Diving into Luna’s wardrobe of requirement

Greetings! I just took a deep dive into Luna’s wardrobe of requirement, and you guys won’t believe what I found.
Three new sets of clothing for Luna!

But that’s not all. We’re also adding a new feature, and we’re introducing it today in the form of facial piercings. In the past, we couldn’t tie items with facial expressions, but now we can.
As a result, we’ve added an elegant eyebrow piercing and a studded mouth piercing for Luna.