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Check In 11/03/2025
🕑 Added 2025-11-04 05:25:43 +0000 UTCHoly shit on schedule today, terrifying, a sign of the end times. And don't give me shit about time zones, I'm still on time here. Jokes aside, barring exigent circumstances Monday is my check in day going forward, starts the week off nice and gets it out of the way. Also I tend to send new builds over Monday mornings so I can ruin the testers weeks. You folks on the other hand get some preview renders so hopefully that's more enjoyable.
So as just alluded to in the previous paragraph newest build went out this morning. One of my testers, a Blue Jays fan, is a bit miffed about how the WS turned out this weekend so I might be being punished with harsher than usual critiques. (Note this is a joke.) Looking good so far, no major code or game issues just cosmetic stuff so taking the small victory and just enjoying it for now.
Bout all the current real update you need so if that's all you dropped in for feel free to stop reading here and I hope you have a lovely week!
Gonna rant a little bit here, apologies for any grammar or spelling, I'm working a bit stream of consciousness between render fixes.
Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about fear these past few months. Not ghosts and monsters fear, though that might have been thematically appropriate to write about considering Halloween just passed, but more the small human fears people experience. We all have them I assume, those little intrusive thoughts that occasionally jump into your head. For a lot of people I suspect it's the standard things "can I put food on the table this month?" "Am I a good husband/wife?" things like that. My weird fears more revolve around this community, I worry about censorship eventually getting rid of all of us, or if I have enough back ups of my files in case of an emergency. "Thanks Stew, that's thoroughly depressing and also why do I care?" I bring this up not to bring the mood down, but more because it's been how I approached a lot of scenes this update.
As I worked through this update I came to the realisation that a lot of character motivation and growth this update comes from a place of the characters fear, which isn't typically common for me. That's not to imply it's a dark or sad episode, in fact on the whole I'd say it's rather hopeful. But some of that hope comes from acknowledging and in some cases confronting a characters fear, giving them the opportunity to move forward. Approaching characters from this lens has allowed me to examine a different way to present them, not just in writing them, but in how I present them artistically. Let's use Viridiana for example, Vi is somebody who's dealt with a large amount of life throughout her life, as such I don't think it's out of pocket to suggest that fear of losing more would be fairly prevalent in her mind. So moving from that assumption the question becomes how does she express that? Some people react to fear of loss by pushing people away so nothing can ever hurt them again (Cough, Valentine!), but in my opinion as her creator that's not Vi's style, she's much more of a cling to the things you love fiercely kind of person. So we start with that as a baseline and as I start to create renders for her I try to think of how I can visually represent that, Vi might become more touchy, obviously various forms of PDA and such would be expected, but I like to think of the smaller moments, the quiet moments in which she might seek to be close even without the romantic implications that may be present. Perhaps she seeks to burrow under your arm, or grab your hand, as though she's afraid you might drift away from her if she lets you get to far? Around other woman perhaps she deliberately positions herself in such a way so as to intercept what she might consider a "threat"? I'm not saying all of these are exact examples, just some of the thought process I may go through as I try to decide how to present a scene visually. Now same scenario but now lets change one variable, instead of a romantic relationship you and Vi have settled into a much more platonic one, how do I visually represent that same fear and struggle? Just because you aren't sleeping together wouldn't change that underlying anxiety that she might have, but obviously she'd show it in a manner more appropriate to the kind of relationship you have. What if she seeks physical proximity, but hovers just out of touching range, worried about violating some sort of boundary. Could she take a more serious interest in stories that others might share about you, hoping that if she keeps learning about you the less chance you'll become distant from each other? I really try to keep things like this in mind when I'm creating scenes and when it's appropriate to do so I'd like to experiment with small variances. The hope is that even if you aren't on a characters path, you can glean little bits about them through incidental things that I present. Characters proximity to each other, who's looking where at different times ect, they help inform the world as a creator and hopefully that allows me to show you the world better. Fear and anxiety can be a very powerful motivator and if you find that you can't quite puzzle out exactly what a character you're pursing wants, try and look at it from the opposite direction. What is it they don't want, what are they scared could happen? Might give you a different insight, or maybe I'm just rambling like a madman at Penn Station.
Rant almost over, but I'm going to give you a little homework assignment if you so choose to do it. Think about what you've seen of the characters so far and muse a few moments about what you think might be a driving fear or anxiety for them, keep it in mind and after the next part revisit it, see if your mind has changed, or if it further cements your view. I'll be interested to see your how that turns out in the future.
Okay I'm going to shut up now. Thank you for indulging my rant, and of course as always thank you for the continued support. I hope you have a lovely week and take care of yourselves.
SlΓ‘inte.
Comments
shortaru
It's no surprise that the acknowlegement and confrontation of fear will be playing an important role in the future, given the storyline thus far. Looking forward to the next release and hopefully Valentine's continued growth and healing.
Calhoun28
Indeed, fear can be quite the dangerous driver if you let take the wheel. Thank you for the update :)
Deranged Ewok
I think you just listed why you're one of my favorite creators. Most creators just put characters in a scene had have them stand next to each other or something. You actually take the time to pose each character differently based on how each one is feeling or what their motivation is. It's those subtle details that make the characters feel real and the story pop.
DeadMan
Well that was more than I thought I would read this morning. To top it off it's a little insightful and thought provoking. All in I have my thoughts on the girls, the dense MC. I already thought of endings with the girls and variation that include some alt endings for the ladies. Now I wait to see if any match what you create.
JEH
Thanks for the update, and for the preview renders.πβ€οΈπ
Jacek WiΕniewski
Thanks for the update. I absolutely loved your deep dive into characters, that's what I'm lookin' for in AVN. The amount of variables you're considering as a part of your dev process is incredible, now I know why I like the game so much and why your creations are so good in general. Side note, the girls look fire, I'm starting with Ines path, it's decided
Mr. Cranky
Well said. All of the characters are dealing with fear in one form or another. Their struggle to continue/overcome makes this the compelling VN that it is.
snip_cz
Just the fact that you're considering all of these little things and nuances when making the scenes is one of the reasons your characters are so compelling and it keeps us impatiently coming back for more. I love the subtle body language cues on display, various glances and gestures etc. It appropriately utilizes the "visual" part and tells a story of its own without the need for any words. So, thanks for your ranting insights and please, keep doing what you're doing because you're great at it! Take care, Stew. :]
RicardoS
Btw. thanks for the gorgeous Renders, very well appreciated ! π«‘π―π
RicardoS
I love this post...the difference with you and many other devs - you have something to say...i like that, as i would like to see a chapter of Unbroken every week, i also know quality takes time.... So keep doing what you do, you are very good at it and Unbroken is one of my Top AVNs - beside greats like Hillside, Fog of War and Heavens Door...
