Welcome to the dev logs for Al Dente!

Hello, I'm Malisa! I'm the programmer and project manager for Al Dente, a visual novel dating sim. 

We started the project around summer of 2019.  We actually had a Devlog thread for out game already, but it was archived since we didn't update enough.  Moving forward, I'll be posting a new update every weekend!

I don't have a lot of experience coding, and it's my first time learning Python and Ren'py, so I hope you can looking forward to seeing my (and the teams) growth throughout the updates. 

The Team

Game Overview

Title: Al Dente

Theme/Genre: Visual Novel, Dating Sim

Engine: Ren'py

Target Audience: Young Adult and Up

Synopsis:  Have you ever thought, “Man, that spaghetti was so good I could date it!” Now you can in Al Dente, a super saucy dating sim where you can date the embodiment of your favorite pasta.

Constructive feedback on our updates are welcomed!

Devlog 1.0

There's so much that has been done already!  Here's some new things since our last update around last year (on the old thread):

• We went through a few iterations of the art style for the game, but have finally settled on a style for the sprites.
• We've added a background artist to the team (very recently).
• We have concepts for the UI and title screen.
• Most of the game's road map is laid out.
• Some character scenes have already been added to the game.
• Player can pick their own name and pronouns (she/he/they).

In terms of characters, I'll probably be able to show them sometime soon!  I'm responsible for the UI of the game, so I'd like to get some feedback.  Here are some early concepts (which include early art of the character sprites):

Here is the actual version, currently in the game:

I've added a CTC cursor on the bottom right-hand corner.  The quick links menu is also currently off to the side.  I'm thinking of making the actual textbox expand to the edges of the screen instead.  I like the idea of the quick links being icons, though I'd probably have to add hover text so that the player knows which icon means what.

Devlog 1.1

We have some early concepts for the title screen as well. 

Devlog 2.0

Welcome the cast! 

 From left to right, we have: Eli, Mac, Bo, Manny, Penelope, Connie, Betti, and Celine.  The sprites above only have the flat colors added, so they are unfinished.   More about these characters... soon!

As for other updates:

• We've added a background artist to the team.  Welcome, Osi!
•  We have someone in mind for game music.
• Team socials and roles have been added to the first post.
• Some changes to the UI have been made.

It's been a busy week for us, so we will have more to update next week.  Thanks for looking!

Devlog 3.0

Hi all!  We are going to begin introducing some of our characters between updates, starting with... Celine and Manny!  The artwork shows design progression for the characters, as well as some fun sketches and final designs! 

Celine (Cellentani)

Birthday: 8/28
Star Sign: Virgo
Height: 5'5
Coffee Order: London Fog with Vanilla Syrup
Favorite Food: Cheesecake

Manny (Manicotti)

Birthday: 5/9
Star Sign: Taurus
Height: 6'1
Coffee Order: Specialty Seasonal Drink
Favorite Food: Pumpkin Pie

Devlog 4.0

It's been a productive week for us!  We've really been sorting out our internal processes.  Some things going on include:

• Finishing more scripts for the game.
• Deciding on a title screen concept.
• Creating milestones for the game.
• Reviewing the games aesthetic and feel.
• Talking about character development. 

Right now there's still a lot of conceptualizing going on.

Ebere working on some concepts for Betti and Mac's apartment:

As well as a concept for the player select screen, from Sam:

There will be four playable characters in the game.  Essentially, the player would be looking at a photo of friends at an old college party.  From there, you can pick your character. Betti (non-playable) is the one in the middle, they are all friends.

Thanks for looking!

Devlog 4.1

Double post today!  Time to introduce Connie and Bo!

Connie (Conchiglie)

Birthday: (???)
Star Sign: (???)
Height: 5'5
Coffee Order: Hot Water
Favorite Food: Pasta (Any kind.)

Bo (Bowtie)

Birthday: 2/25
Star Sign: Pisces
Height: 5'11
Coffee Order: Hot Americano with Sugar and Cream
Favorite Food: Chili Cheese Fries

Devlog 5.0

Mostly did a lot of backend stuff this last week: added dialogue into the game, worked on sprites, etc.

We have some visual inspirations for what the exterior of  Betti and Mac's (they're roommates!) apartment will look like:

We also started drafting some logo/icon ideas for the game.

We plan on starting a Twitter and creating a game page on Itch at the end of this month.

Devlog 6.0

We have more to show about the player character(s)!  You'll be able to select between the four below.  You can name your character and specify pronouns yourself, but their canon names are Reggie, Caye, Olive, and Jean (from left to right).  Their names are all based on pasta toppings, can you tell which ones?

We'd love some feedback on their designs!

No matter who you pick as your PC, you are already friends with Betti (your old roommate from college).

Betti (Spaghetti)

Birthday: 7/31
Star Sign: Leo
Height: 5'5
Coffee Order: Blended Dirty Chai
Favorite Food: Pizza

Thanks for looking!

Devlog 7.0

Some updates since last week:

• We have an official team name: Yum Yum Games!  I'll begin posting from that account soon, so be on the lookout for that.
• We are planning on launching socials for Al Dente on September 1st.
• Worked more on character sprites and added new text into the game.

We have a few more concepts for backgrounds & mood boards:

I'll also introduce Penelope!

Penelope (Penne)

Birthday: 1/3
Star Sign: Capricorn
Height: 5'9
Coffee Order: Ethiopian Pour Over
Favorite Food: Caprese Salad

Devlog 8.0

Some news!

• We had planned on launching socials for the game on 9/1. but we decided to push it back to 10/1.  If you're interested in following Al Dente before its official launch, follow these accounts:
  • Twitter: @AlDenteGame
  • Itch: Yum Yum Games
• Sam and Ebere will be working on a game jam (Spooktober VN Gme Jam) for a month! For September, I'm just going to continue putting in the essential framework into the game. 

Other than that, we got a lot of work done internally.  Creating an Itch page for the game, an official email, etc.  In October I'll begin posting devlogs on the game's official page, but I'll continue updating this thread from my personal account as well.

Also, before jumping into the updates, we just want to say thank you for 500 (almost 600 now, wow) views!  I'm sure that half of them are just me looking at the page and making edits, but I still want to thank everyone who takes the time to look at our posts.

Sam has been doing some testing different ways to render the sprites.  They are looking really polished! (Betti pouting is also just really cute!)

We can also introduce Eli!

Eli (Elicoidali)

Birthday: 10/30
Star Sign: Scorpio
Height: 5'8
Coffee Order: Sweet Blended Mocha with 5 Extra Shots of Espresso
Favorite Food: Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Parfait

Until next week, thanks!

Mini Update

Hi all!  A quick update to keep the thread alive.

The whole team has been working on a game jam since the beginning of September.  We will be finishing up this weekend, so lookout for new Al Dente updates towards the end of the month.

Thank you!