Hi! I'm Minerva, and this is my first Devtober, and my first game jam! I'm a hobbyist writer that's decided to try other mediums for storytelling. This month I'll be working on a visual novel in Renpy. I have a basic understanding of the system, but enough to make it do what I want it to.  I'm late on making my devlog, but I going to try to be honest to myself and actually get some stuff done.  So far, I've started making character sketches and working out a story concept. Tomorrow, I plan to get more writing in and maybe some UI concept designs. Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

I love games with a great story, I’ll be waiting to test yours. Good Luck!

Day 3

I've worked a bit more on the story and have figured out the point structure:
Trust: How much you and Halcyon trust each other. If you trust her, she'll trust you.
Attachment: How close Halcyon gets to you. Does your presence improve her life? Or could she do without you?
Free Will: Halcyon is about as much of a person as one can be when they are a program stuck forever in a machine. However, free will points determine whether or not she will act more on her own or whether she'll wordlessly follow your commands.
Veil points: This is a tricky one, because it deals with the boundary between sentience and programming. How much of her actions are her vs how much of her actions are how she was made to be. This is challenging, because if the player pushes this too early; it can lead to a breakdown. However, if the player pushes it too late, Halcyon could be doomed to blissful ignorance.

All of this is still in the works, but I think a points system will add more weight to player choices.

Also, I've finally figured out how I want the main (and only) character to look. Everyone, meet Halcyon, the friendly AI! This is, of course, subject to change. But I think this is the direction I want to go with both the character and eventually the ui!

Day 4

Today I mainly worked on UI elements. I didn't get much done in the writing department, but in a couple of days it's gonna be me and a room full of whiteboards plotting this thing out fully. Tomorrow I plan on doing even more UI elements + plus making more facial expressions for Halcyon. For now, take this!

Day 5

I'm going to be honest; today was a lazy day. The only major thing I did was make the main menu screen and get it to a functional state.  However, I also experimented with some animation and made some basic ones to implement. So, just a little update today. Tomorrow, though, my college has all their learning areas free. So, I'm going to go insane on a bunch of whiteboards.

Day 6+7

Gamers, it's been a bit slow at space camp. Real life decided to wring me by the neck. But! I did get some more programming and writing done.