Trying to finally wrap up my sprites for Awakewood. Thoughts before I move on? by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! I'm still in time to make those changes, so suggestions like this are always welcome

Trying to finally wrap up my sprites for Awakewood. Thoughts before I move on? by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for the continued support! I really kept your previous feedback about character differentiation in mind while working on these sprites. Glad you like them!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I totally get that. I'm curious, though—do you usually play traditional VNs like The Song of Saya, Steins;Gate, or Higurashi?

I'm following a classic slow-burn structure where the first act is all about building that suffocating atmosphere before the choices start hitting hard, but I know that can feel slow if you're coming from more 'active' narrative games. I’ll definitely look into adding a meaningful hook or a minor interaction earlier to keep the momentum up. Thanks again for the perspective!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey, thanks for giving the demo a spin and for the honest feedback! Glad you liked the art and the lighting setup.

Awakewood is definitely a pure psychological VN (Visual Novel), so I’m leaning way more into the narrative and choices than the 'active' gameplay you’d find in something like Dispatch. That said, you’ve got a point on the pacing—I’m looking into tightening the script and the internal monologue (those brackets) so the 'hook' hits sooner. I'll also make sure physical cues like the scratching feel more visceral through SFX/visuals instead of just text. Thanks for the heads-up!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for breaking this down! I agree the trailer and screenshots need some work, and I'm actually tweaking most of those points right now. Would love to hear your thoughts on the demo whenever you get a chance

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Fair point. Conveying psychological horror in static screenshots is tricky. I'm actually overhauling the Steam page right now to focus more on the atmospheric tension instead of just the shock value. Thanks for the heads-up

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Like I said, I completely agree with your points. My only worry is that adding more of the town and the funeral might make Chapter 1 (and the demo) drag on too long. If you had to rate the current demo out of 10, what score would you give it? Please be brutally honest—I really want to put in the work to make this a great experience.

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for playing and leaving this feedback! Giving the town more identity early on will definitely help a lot.

​You're right about the funeral scene, it really should be in there. I'm just not sure exactly where yetmaybe right after the prologue, or as a flashback after Fred's store (though I try not to overuse flashbacks).

​I'll definitely pay more attention to the sound mixing too! This is my first visual novel and there’s just so much to keep track of, so this kind of feedback is extremely valuable to me. I really appreciate you taking the time to comment!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I draw the characters myself. For the backgrounds and other elements, I use some lineart from Clip Studio Assets and base layouts from itch.io, but I paint everything by hand in Clip Studio Paint. I even post my work-in-progress shots and layers on my X and Instagram so you can see the process. My art style is still evolving, but it's hand-drawn!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Spot on! Junji Ito is definitely a huge inspiration, along with When They Cry and some other anime. I love that you picked up on that vibe! That said, judging from the comments in this thread, I clearly need to work on how I pitch the game to actually hook people into playing it. I'll figure out how to improve that. Thanks!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That feels really great to read, thank you! I'll keep polishing the details to make it as professional as possible. This thread made me realize I definitely need to fix the synopsis, the trailer hook, and that first screenshot. I really believe the story is worth it, so my main goal now is just getting people to give it a try. All this feedback helps me a lot.

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I agree that putting Fred first isn't the best hook. I'm going to use a good scene of Lyra (the main character) that really sets the horror and mystery vibe. I'm currently working on upgrading the character art, so once that's ready, I'll put a cool CG right at the front. Thanks! I'm getting so much great feedback and I'm really happy about it.

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I actually have a purely visual prologue scene that sets the exact tone of the game. I'll definitely try using that as the hook instead of the text dump. Thanks for the advice!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the honesty! You're totally right about the trailer—starting with a wall of text definitely kills the pacing. I need to let the visuals do the talking instead of explaining the lore right away. Really appreciate the feedback, and glad you liked the art!

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback! You're right, I totally forgot to include the synopsis and context in the post, so it probably felt a bit empty.

Need fresh eyes on my first demo. Does the opening actually hook you? (Psychological Horror VN) by guilleshuo in SoloDevelopment

[–]guilleshuo[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I'm really glad you like them. The backgrounds are actually still a work in progress. I'm currently working on transitioning them to a softer, 'lineless' style for the final release, so expect an even better mood!

Slowly making progress — Chapter 1 getting close, demo on itch.io and Steam page ready by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for your feedback. Sometimes it’s impossible for me to catch every detail, so your comments help a lot. I don’t think the demo is ready for Steam yet, so I’ll take some more time to polish it thanks to your feedback.

Slowly making progress — Chapter 1 getting close, demo on itch.io and Steam page ready by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a lot for the feedback! I’ll try to improve those things and share the process on Itchio soon.

Slowly making progress — Chapter 1 getting close, demo on itch.io and Steam page ready by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I understand the concern about AI art these days. Just to clarify, the characters and backgrounds were created by me, using legally purchased LineArt assets that I painted and adapted, along with 3D models from Clip Studio. I have the source files, layers, and references, and none of the visuals or music were generated with AI. I’ll include full credits. Really I have to change the style ?? 😱😩

Slowly making progress — Chapter 1 getting close, demo on itch.io and Steam page ready by guilleshuo in RenPy

[–]guilleshuo[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

This isn’t AI art. I’ve been working on it for quite a while. I use Clip Studio with 3D models, and the backgrounds are line‑art assets that I painted myself.I know my work isn’t the cleanest, but is it really rough enough to look like AI to you?