Hey and welcome! 

This is a little postmortem we decided to put together. Here we will talk a little about how we made Bittersweet Starlight for the O2A2 Visual Novel Jam 2022!

Firstly we'd like to thank everyone who has played, rated and commented on our little visual novel. Thank you all so much! Your support means a lot to us. <3

WRITING AND STORY

Foxpancakes:

I didn't feel like writing something with a happy ending because I felt like doing something different. So I came up with the idea of an unrequited love story. Though it was difficult for me because I ended up getting attached to the characters and wanted them to be happy together lol…I stuck to the bittersweet ending in the end.

Another reason I wanted to do this type of story is I feel like it is something that most people can relate to. Having feelings for someone who doesn't feel the same...

We decided on a fantasy theme for the story.  The idea is basically a loner emo mushroom fairy is in love with a friendly naive flower fairy who is oblivious to that fact. And the two are unlikely friends, of course. 

I was really inspired when Squid and I first started talking and brainstorming about our idea for the jam. I wrote some short scenes about the characters before the jam started, like how they met…and part of a kiss scene that I like to think happens later in the future (I really ship them!). Once the jam finally started I struggled to write…

I wrote the script in 3 days and Squid helped with proofreading. It was incredibly hard to try and convey all the things I wanted to say about these characters and their situation in only 1000 words….I feel I didn't get to say everything I wanted to and I'm not sure I conveyed the story very well. But I hope it got the point across somewhat. Having a fantasy setting and the story being about fairies made it hard too because I wanted to explore those themes as well. I really love fairies and always have. 

Squid helped come up with ideas for the story too and gave me feedback, so I can't take full credit for it. It was a team effort! 

Picking a title was hard. I wanted to have Aster in the title but couldn't come up with anything that sounded good. "Aster Bittersweet" is one of the ones I came up with. Squid suggested "Bittersweet Starlight" and I really liked it! I think those two words sound nice together and it's not too long. So we went with it.

Funnily enough, I came up with Aster's name after seeing Squid's concept sketch of him. I was looking for flower names and that one just seemed perfect for him since aster flowers can be pink and yellow like his hair. Aster also means star which I think is cool! It's funny how things just work out so perfectly like that and I feel like that always happens when I work with Squid. 

Sorrel is a plant and a flower name. I really like how it sounded so I thought it was a good fit for our main character. It also kinda almost sounds like sorrow. 

Giving the fairies their own nature talents was an idea I got from the Disney Fairies Tinker Bell movies. I love those movies. Did anyone play the Pixie Hollow MMO back in the day? I did…please don't make fun of me. xD

And I feel like I'm rambling now so I will stop haha....

squidcolas:

We did a lot of brainstorming before the jam started, and I really liked the idea we settled on! After we knew that we wanted a fairy setting with a sadder tone, it felt like the idea just came rushing in. Everything Mandy (foxpancakes) came up with was really great!!

I really love the personalities of the two characters, and they seem to fit well together. Even though the interaction in the game is short, I could really understand why they are friends (and why Sorrel has feelings for Aster). I also wanted them to end up together after reading the behind-the-scenes text and seeing the full script!

I'm very grateful that Mandy wanted to make this game with me and spent time writing such lovely characters and a beautiful story. She did an awesome job! And she was also very receptive to all of my feedback, which really made me feel like part of the story creation too! It was super fun all around. 

ART

(Concept sketches for Aster drawn by squidcolas.)

squidcolas:

I came into the jam really wanting to design some unique characters! I've always loved fantasy designs and bright colors, so I really wanted to bring that into this visual novel.

I came up with two designs for Aster based on two potential personalities for him. The one on the left (which is the one we ended up going with) was a more friendly/clueless love interest for Sorrel. The idea was that he was so kind and naive that he ended up attracting a lot of people that he didn't even know liked him. So I wanted to give him a lot of bright warm colors with a very friendly face!

The other version (which didn't get used) was more of a cool/regal type of love interest. He was more prestigious and harder to understand than final Aster, and he would have had a lot more admirers who wanted him for his status. So his love probably would have been much harder to obtain. But maybe this other fairy exists somewhere in the same world as Bittersweet Starlight too?

In the end, I'm very happy with the design we ended up choosing. It allowed for some really sweet moments in the story, and Aster is a great match with Sorrel! Speaking of Sorrel... I'm still coming up with a design for him! I'm hoping to create a nice image for the main menu with both Aster and Sorrel together. We'll let you know when that gets finished!

It was so fun working on the art in the game, and I wish I just had more time. By the time I finished the background and Aster's sprite, the jam was nearly over with little time for programming. I am glad I did spend lots of time on those things, because I really wanted to get the vision just right. The whole aesthetic of the game is something I really enjoyed doing. Having Mandy there to help with the art direction also made the whole process very smooth, and it really reassured me. 

I'm so happy that everyone who is playing also seems to enjoy the art! I always love designing characters that other people will like! So, thank you for taking the time to play our visual novel.

Foxpancakes:

Squid drew such a beautiful background for this VN, I love it. All the art turned out amazing. He did such a good job, especially in the short amount of time we were given for this jam.

When Squid showed me the concept sketches for Aster I really loved both of them! Squid always draws such pretty guys (and girls!). But I felt the first one looked more like the type of character I imagined him to be. Very friendly, naive and sweet. :D

When I first got to see Aster's sprite I was blown away by how good and pretty he looked. I told Squid I could just stare at him all day and I still feel like that haha. Squid is amazing and I adore his art! <3

PROGRAMMING

Foxpancakes:

The programming part took longer than I thought it would. It's been a while since I've done it so I forgot how long it can take. I did most of it in the last hours of the jam too which was silly of me. But it was because originally we were going to have art for the main menu screen but ran out of time and I wanted to make the GUI colours match it. 

So I had to throw a main menu together and change all the GUI colours and buttons and stuff to match. I like the default Ren'Py GUI and it's not hard to customise it a little, just time consuming. 

I always write the script in Google Docs and then copy and paste it into Ren'Py. Here is a screenshot of the script just because:

squidcolas: 

I wasn't involved in any of the programming, so I just wanted to thank Mandy for taking the time to put in everything and make it look so awesome too!! She did a great job!

MUSIC

Foxpancakes:

Not much to say here. Both Squid and I can't make our own music so we had to find some to use. I found a nice music track from lolurio to use that I think sounded sad but not too sad. 

I thought it would fit well with the story. I've used their music before and I really like it! :D

LAST WORDS AND SPECIAL THANKS!

Foxpancakes:

(Warning that this is going to be sappy because I'm a sappy person.)

I want to say a big thank you to my teammate and friend squidcolas! I couldn't have done this without him and he did such an awesome job with the art and designs. He also helped cheer me up in a time when I was feeling really low and kinda just felt like giving up on writing VNs. He suggested doing this jam together and I am so grateful and have had a lot of fun working with him. I'm glad to be his friend. :) 

Squid is great to work with, especially since we have such similar tastes haha. He is also a game dev and a great writer as well as an artist! You can check out his visual novel demo here! :D

I also want to thank my friend Kaffein! Who has been nothing but kind and supportive to me. They also made an entry for this jam so you should go check them out! Kaffein is a really hard worker and I find them very inspiring. They're a super talented solo dev and deserve all the love and support. Link to Kaffein's jam entry here. Also check out their main game if you're interested, here.

If you liked my writing in this then please consider checking out some of the other VNs I've written and collaborated on with some awesome artists here. (They're mostly boys' love and girls' love stories.)

Again, thanks to everyone who has played and left a comment or rating or both. Knowing that people enjoyed the story makes me feel so happy! I love reading all your comments. They mean a lot to me. <3

squidcolas:

Yes, thank you so so much to everyone who has been so kind to play our visual novel and leave such wonderful comments and ratings! It's always amazing to me that so many people can see what we create and enjoy it alongside us.

I'd also like to thank Mandy for creating such a great story and being such an awesome friend! I wouldn't have participated in this jam if it wasn't for her teaming up to make this visual novel with me. She also always supports everything I do, and it truly means the world to me. Being able to work with her is super fun every time! I really appreciate her kind words in this devlog TwT

Please check out the rest of Mandy's games that she linked above!

We also have a Twitter for FoxySquid Games if you want even more updates in the future! Thank you for all the support!

Thanks for reading! <3