Hey there! I must say that I truly enjoyed the atmosphere of your VN, it was quite chill, very cozy. The kind of feels good we all love! Also, the dynamic between the characters was well written and each of them had a unique voice.
On the technical aspects, I liked the use you've made of the different sprites, it was particularly cute during the ice skating scene! The CGs were quite touching as well, and you used the music efficiently to convey emotion during each scene. So yeah, I had a good time with your VN!
MAY WOLF 2024: (More Wolves) MY WOLF Furry Visual Novel Jam (18+) » Entries » Beginning Anew with You
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Thank you! I'm happy to know that you liked the atmosphere of the VN. I wanted it to be a bit more realistic and grounded since it takes place in a modern setting. At least for me, everyday life has that kind of vibe when there's moments of calm and I'm among friends.
I had to wonder if the characters are distinct enough. I feel like one of my greatest challenges with dialogue is to make characters have a unique voice, so I'm glad that they did.
I will have to say, the ice skating scene was one of my favorite things to review. This is my first time programming a video game, and before this project, I have not had much programming experience. I learned a bit in high school but struggled with C++, and I tried a bit of Java and Visual Studio Code. I find that Ren'py was the easiest to learn so far and I'll be happy to return to it in the future. Getting the sprites to move around was exciting, and I'll always feel a bit proud about that.
I really wanted the CGs to fit in, even if it didn't match Sikyu's style. I tried to depict the personalities I made of the characters instead, so it seemed natural for them to be in those scenes. Especially the one with the hug at the end. Making the wolf not particularly photogenic seemed indicative of his personality.
As for the music, I wanted to get the most I could out of 13 compositions. At first I thought I picked too much, but I managed to fit all of them in the VN and have them work for the scenes, which is great! I feel like music is an important part of storytelling. Some of the most memorable moments in media and stories are accompanied by wonderful music, so I had to keep that in mind as I was choosing which compositions should play when.