Aftermath

Unyuu...

Hello, this is Graph, taking it easy after one of the crazier beta test sessions of Touhou Mecha so far!

Having let one too many self-imposed deadlines pass by, I decided to draw the Chapter Select image featured in our previous post during beta testing. Around this time my tablet died, due to taking too much damage to the cord over time. It was a Wacom Intuos3 that’s served me for about 7 years… R.I.P.

I used my brother’s tablet to do the last stretch, which took quite a bit of getting used to since it was 1/4th the size and had a different, rougher surface. I ended up spending over 30 hours on that one image! Though part of it was other factors, like doing 3 full-body shots, and not being that used to having light sources from the side.

Switching gears, originally we intended to release Chapter 2 without any new music. That would be because OverCoat became pretty busy with RL stuff for a while, so I didn’t bug him about the soundtrack much this round. Well, guess who shows up at the absolute last minute, after the beta testers have given their feedback and I’m hours away from finishing the last image?!

The new song is pretty neat though! There’s also an alternate version of one of the Chapter 1 songs that plays as a theme for Parsia, but that was actually composed pretty early on and I somehow forgot to add it.

Touhou Mecha OST

Speaking of music, OverCoat has released his work on the Touhou Mecha OST on Bandicamp as a free download! You can check that out over here.

Moving forward, before starting on Chapter 3 proper I’d better map out the plot for the rest of Hell’s Rising. I had a rough idea of where it’s going from the start, but by now several mysterious elements have appeared in the story. And I should make sure that all the questions that need to be answered, get answered.

And with that, see you all next update!

Almost there!

Hello, everyone! It’s been a while since the last update. Some good news; the first Chapter of Touhou Mecha is almost here!

We got a lucky save in the music department for this game; OverCoat, the guy who put together the original “Ah-Eh-I-Oh-You” in Katawa Shoujo, has generously offered to compose a few songs for Touhou Mecha. He’s done quite well, and the music needs for the first Chapter are pretty well filled out. Great thanks to OverCoat for his contributions!

Meanwhile, all the mechs that appeared in the Touhou Mecha webcomic have gotten major design overhauls. Have a look!

Tengu Type-W

Tengu Type-C

The Miracle

Preparing a sun

Flagship Shimenawa

What’s left:
-A handful of CGs
-General editing (Art, writing, SFX, animation)
-Testing

I’m hoping at this rate that we can get the game ready for beta testing by the end of March, and the finished release either by the end of March or early April. (I don’t expect testing to take long though; it still takes around an hour to run through) Until then, please wait warmly while we take care of business!

Music part deux

Hello again. It’s me, your friendly neighbourhood musician.

Last time around I brought up problems related to composing for visual novels, and to an extent all games. Today I return to encourage other musicians to take the leap and join a project. I’ve also got a challenge to you composers out there, and last but not least: The premiere of my YouTube channel, with a new track from ESR.

Read More

Music in visual novels

Hey there, Mixtape speaking.

Today I thought I’d talk about music in visual novels, as the title says. Eastern Starlight Romance is the first VN I’m making music for, and so far it’s been a fun, but difficult experience. I’ll just line up the problems I’ve run into first, and discuss them afterwards:

  • Looping
  • Timing
  • Arrangement

Those are the major ones. Read More