To start off, I need to apologize. I said I was working on Ignis then I went silent for a year. Now, I really was working on the script but the whole global situation has bogged me down. I'm sure it has us all down. That, along with getting back into university, and also being distracted by an original character tournament led me to abandon ship for awhile. It's hard working on these things alone after all when you have other responsibilities.

But the good news is that I've finally adjusted to my university schedule after my break, and the OCT has finished. Even if I didn't work on Ignis for awhile, I did indulge in other creative endeavors like making a comic! My experience working on my entry there actually turned out to be good practice for my art and story telling in general and a great test to gauge my limits when working on a creative project. It would prevent me from setting unrealistic expectations for myself and then burning out when I get frustrated that I can't meet them. I'm very proud of that comic too so I'll link the gallery to it here.

Life update aside, though, I have many new plans going forward when it comes to the direction Ignis is taking as a story. Being a solo dev, and this being my first real project, especially since I worked on the first demo of the VN for a two week game jam in the middle of a short university break in 2019, I really had no real idea where the story was going. I was flying by the seat of my pants, so to speak, when I was writing it. Yes, I did have quite a few plans here and there, ideas that survived the hiatus among the many things I scrapped, but I did struggle because I discovered recently that I was an extreme planner when it came to plotting out my stories.

My values and point of view has evolved since then too. Given the global situation, I actually found myself resenting Idris as a protagonist for quite some time because he is a monarch in power by birth, incredibly wealthy, yet exceptionally whiny. While you might argue that the text in itself is self aware of this fact, it still proved to be rather annoying to be in his headspace.

However, recently, I've found a way around that. However, my original plan of having the entire story take place just within seven days began to feel increasingly unrealistic as time went on. I find that some of the romantic routes may become rushed and unsatisfying if I don't give them more time. So, given all of this, what's in store for the future of this visual novel?

1. Deviating from the original plan, it will be longer than the intended 7 days. I would assume that when that period is over, what comes after would be the branching paths. I will be writing the script to completion before I get to any other assets.
2. I will be refining the code. It's inefficient when I see it now that I'm in a tech course in university. Refining it will also make it easier for me to navigate the scripts and, therefore, work faster.
3. The rushed artwork will be updated. I will attempt to retain the same aesthetic and story book feel the best I can. The UI will also be updated. I feel I needed to do this because I've improved a lot over the year and it could look so much better. However, I will not be doing any reworks of the art until I've finished the script.
4. For sure there will be four paths: Lilly, Bazyl, Ember, and Javotte. I'm still on the fence about Ella's inclusion but I suppose only time will tell if I ever decide to get to writing it.
5. Possibly, I might ask a friend to help me make music specifically for this project. It should depend on his schedule so don't expect much.
6. Written updates will be scarce while I am writing the script because I find it stressful to keep up a devlog when I can be working on the game. However, when the script has been finished, I will likely be giving more frequent updates as I work on the art.
7. I don't want to give a definitive deadline for when all this is going to be finished because as I've learned over the years, that simply put unnecessary pressure on myself and led to burnout. That being said, I have a soft personal goal of finishing the script by the end of 2022. It could come earlier than that, it could come later. I won't be hard on myself and I'll just do it.
8. The story will be a touch darker too than I originally intended, and likely will be a little more violent and mature. If I'm being honest, the ideas in my head have far deviated from a fairytale and more into what most would consider a nightmare to find themselves in. I'll be excited to show what I have in store.

Now, does all this mean that we'll be getting another demo?

Possibly. I'm pretty impatient when it comes to showing my work so by the time I finish the common route with all the new art, I would likely drop yet another demo but nothing is set in stone. I'd rather show the full story at this point but we'll see how it goes depending on how I feel when the time comes.

Anyway, thank you so much for giving Ignis the time of day! And here's an example of the art direction I'm considering to take in the future.