It's a font that I was originally gonna use for some kind of note, but decided against. I think I was gonna use it as Mercredi's handwriting, but it's probably closer how to Cosette would write in retrospect.
harlequinngames
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I've had this story in my head for about two years, but only really started developing it maybe 2 months before the actual coding process began. I think I sort of just had a lot of things already in my mind, because most of the writing was just sort of... improvised. I knew I wanted to go from point A to B, but the road along that wasn't really defined.
Yes, Harley Quinn's name is a pun on "harlequin", a type of clown/court jester. A harlequin is also a rabbit species.
Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the game! Pierre is simply suspicious of Mercredi because A) of the previous experience at school and B) he's just... a little paranoid, at times. Oriel is suspicious because they noticed the more wolfy features of Mercredi (their eyes, their tail, and certain expressions). There are only two endings, and I'm not sure if I plan on adding another one (at least for now) 'cause despite the mixed feelings on it, it's the ending I felt was most natural and conclusive to Mercredi's story. I gave her the death sentence because, a play tester said "She hasn't faced any consequences for her actions!" and (if memory serves), a poll in France said more people wanted the death penalty to come back. So, 10 years in the future, I imagine someone who committed two gruesome murders (plus an attempted one) would probably get the death sentence.
I'm glad you liked it so much! I was wondering if I should touch on Mercredi's gender more, but I was worried if I did, I'd have a lot of complaints of "TOO MUCH GENDER!!! NO LIKE", and most of the people around her have accepted it or don't even know she's trans, so I didn't know if it really needed to be brought up anymore. I'll definitely take note of this for future games though, as I think trans representation is really important and I do plan on having more trans & non-binary characters in future games. As for the music, do you mean you hear the same songs a lot or the melody and song itself is repetitive?
I'm glad you enjoyed the game! I actually have explanations for a lot of these lol
- Charles was supposed to be kind of a tongue-and-cheek joke between me and friends, it's supposed to be a little humour in the very serious situation. I put Wendigoon in the game earlier (Marquis, Cosette's dad) upon my brother's request, and some of my friends wanted me to put Critikal in the game, so I did. A lot of people wanted to see more of Eddy, and, I kinda did too, honestly, so that's why I made him a cop.
- The sleepover is supposed to be a bit of filler, but also show how close they've been and how long they've really been friends (as well as their constant mutual pining with no action really being taken). Mercredi being trans is another thing that's supposed to show how much Cosette has seen Mercredi go through and change. I have a friend who I've known for like, 7 years, and I remember seeing him transition was a really big and important step and I was proud of him. I feel like it would've been awkward for Mercredi to say "Hey! By the way, used to be a guy!" at the start, and day 3 is still (what I would consider) pretty early into the game.
Also, yes, there are only two endings. It'll probably always be just two lol
Thank you very much! Something I realized while making the ending is that it's supposed to feel a little unfair. You've been living and sympathizing with Mercredi, as the player, or maybe even relating to her - so, depending on who you are, either it feels upsetting, conflicting, or completely justified. And any and all of those feelings are valid because what she did was complicated. I'm glad you seemed to enjoy the game so much :)
The horns were completely unintentional! A part of me thinks my subconscious might have done that lmao I think those few unintentional brush strokes adds a lot more to her character, though. And maybe even a hint as to what's to come.
Thank you! That's definitely an idea I have in mind for a future game lol
As for advice: things like Ren'Py are really easy to learn engines. I believe RPG maker 2003 is as well, but I've yet to use it. It's a great starter for new coders. I had only coded maybe 3 things once in my life before this (and very poorly, might I add lol) but I managed to whip up a game in just a few months. Art, however, is a lot more complicated to learn. When I try to learn how to draw something new, like an animal for instance, I try to break it down to it's most basic features. "Long snout, big ears, fluffy", and then work from there. Also, something that helped me out a lot: never overcomplicated your designs. Keep it simple. It's a hard medium to get a hold of, but usually I make my designs unique via the hair and keep the clothes simple, that way it can still stand out yet be easy to draw over and over again if need be.
That's a fair point, but I think that's when morals get brought into question, which is something I wanted this game to make the player wonder. What deserves a death penalty, if anything? I'm not upset with you questioning anything, I apologize if it came across that way lol but I'll definitely see if I can figure out something to have a slightly more positive ending. If I can, I'll update with a patch, and, otherwise, I won't change anything.
Well, I have several ideas, but the three I'm thinking about are:
A) An alien crashing down to earth (cliche, but God, there is so much lore I've made with this universe lol)
B) A young girl gets lost in the woods and runs into all sorts of creatures
C) 3 stories, all with different people, all about overcoming differences and tough situations
Well, in this world, hybrids aren't too uncommon, but it's usually between two herbivores or two carnivores. I'm sure there have been cases of both mixing before Mercredi, but I'm not sure many people would know how to treat the issues she deals with, let alone if people would really be able to tell if that was the way she is, naturally, or because she's a hybrid. But, yes, I think I'm probably done with the game. I feel like I said what I needed to say and got Mercredi's story done. I might, might make a secret ending, maybe a more positive one, but I once again just sadly can't really see a good ending for her. I've had these characters and this story in particular in my head for around 2 years now, and, while I had several possible endings in mind, I had realized most of them involved Mercredi being rewarded for this bad behaviour rather than learning her lesson. While the ending I went with is probably extreme or upsetting, even, she got punished and she was okay with it.
Yeah, it was definitely supposed to be really dark, and an ending that just sort of gets worse the more you think about it. Mercredi's story has a sad ending, and I don't know how I could give her a proper ending that doesn't end in her dying or hurting more people. I might try to bounce around the idea of a "happier" ending, though.