Steamberry Studio

Ewan CG Progress

 Just a progress post showing how we got from concept to "final lines" for one of Ewan's CGs.

This was one of our concept arts that is really not at all in the right dimensions (which means there will be a full art in the art book, but the game version will have to be severely cropped to fit on the screen.)

The concept artist was the one with the slightly more anime style and thi...

Padded Rooms

Wherein Nora and Elliot discuss magical doors and the consequences of telling people you have a school in your closet.

(Trying to repost this as the video wasn't showing up properly for me so I have no idea if any of you could see it either!)

Ewan Clip

This is a short clip from about mid-way through Ewan's route, involving Nora and Spencer. In spite of his anger and bullying, Spencer is still Nora's little brother and she loves him a great deal. Repairing their broken relationship remains a huge driving factor in her search for answers. There's a lot of tension between them but every so often, they have moments like these...

Do My Characters Talk to Me?

I think it's the pragmatic part of my mind that rails against the idea of characters that "talk to me."

When I was much younger, I often talked about my "muse" and how it would slap me around with ideas, or else be difficult and refuse to work. It's not really all that uncommon to hear writers say this kind of thing. If it's not some mysterious "muse" then it's our characters themselves. Telling us their stories, revealing who they are, bombarding us with voices that keep us awake a...

Dan was totally...what??

Another short clip from Ewan's route. Nora chats with Danny and Elliot in the club room...

A Very Important Question

Well, the title and clip say it all really.

This clip is from a little later in Ewan's route when they've started to become friends. Ewan has just given Nora a ride to school and she asks him a very pressing question. One that really weighs on the mind and needs to be answered...

(As usual in our clips - there may be a few small typos that will be fixed during testing.)

Least Favorite "Type" of Love Interest

In this poll, we're offering the same types  before, but this time you can select your top 2-3 least favorites. Again, we'd really love to know why you dislike them - or, at least, why you're least drawn to these types.

Cold and remote intellectual - often glasses wearing, sometimes sarcastic but sometimes just emotionally distant. These characters are smart, serious and typically not at all interested in the MC at first. They are often blunt to the point of me...

Favorite "Type" of Love Interest

This is related to our previous poll about specific traits people like, but is more a look at overall types that you guys tend to be more drawn to.  You should be able to pick more than one, but we're asking you keep it down to your top 2 this time. 

We'd love for you guys to comment and explain what draws you certain types over others. Do you like those tsunderes because you enjoy the challenge? Or is it because you love seeing the layers pulled back to reveal that sweet, gooey insi...

You Favorite Love Interest Traits

This is one of two polls we'll be releasing on similar topics. This one deals with your favorite traits in love interests. You should be able to vote for more than one (but please, no more than three).

Love interests can vary pretty widely in games but ultimately most games tend to fall back on the same few qualities. We're curious which qualities *our* followers like best.

There are so many possible traits that it's a bit hard to boil it down, but we've listed some common ones below. Yo...

Changeling's Faeries

Changeling has quite a few Fae creatures that appear throughout the game.

I've always loved the artwork of Brian Froud and Alan Lee - I feel like their work influences how I always envision them. So even the work we contracted out has that sort of feel to it.

2018-06-11 17:31:00 +0000 UTC View Post

Danny - Shirtless?? =O

A WIP from a CG set in Danny's route. Nora in her PJs, Danny without a shirt.

Not looking forward to having to replicate that tattoo for this CG set. ;A;

Ewan Route Clip (chapter one)

A short clip of Nora and Ewan's first interaction in his route. There are a few small typos but this is just a sneak peek so those will definitely be fixed in the final product!

Elliot - Forehead kiss

Just another sneak peek of Elliot CGs. I don't think I've posted this one yet. 

Still need to tweak it here and there to make some anatomical corrections. For some reason, Elliot is always a little difficult to draw from this side due to his asymmetrical hairstyle, so I may flip it so we're looking at him from the other side. 

Ewan - Bike Ride Progression

So this shows how CG progression usually goes from concept to completion.

1. The original concept art. Most CGs were conceptualized by other artists (not all - a few of them are my work start to finish). This one was conceptualized by my favorite of the four concept artists with worked with Lia Amari. Just the figures - no BG (though this one really didn't need a BG sketched into the concept art.

2. At this stage, I made some adjustments to her concept art to better visualize how I wante...

VROOM VROOM! (Ewan CG lines)

Another CG from Ewan's route. Well, just the lines for it. Nora gets the cool helmet. OwO

Ewan CG WIP (spoiler)

This CG is from Ewan's route. And I won't give too much more away about it except that yes, that is Ewan.

And yes, this is obviously still unfinished. LoL I'll also be posting the CG when it's complete but since there's been a little bit of a drought of Patreon content due to how massively busy I have been, I just wanted to post some goodies for you guys! 

Ewan WIP? Snuggles!?

A scene from Ewan's route - it involves......snuggles. And lots of floofy hair.

N'aawww Danny

A CG from Danny's route - well, the lines for it anyway. Lookit dat cute smile. OwO

Content Feedback

Hey everyone! Just wanted to quickly check in and ask something.

One of the subjects we're intending to post here (and have, somewhat already) is related to the ins and outs of game development - how to do certain things, how WE do certain things, etc. 

While we do have some  specific subjects planned, we wanted to ask you guys if there is anything in particular you'd be interested in seeing in the realm of "how tos" or tutorials. 

If there's anything you want to see...

Future Project Ideas

We just wanted to share some of the ideas we're batting around for our next project or future projects. 

You'll notice that I really like writing worlds and settings that have some form of magic or ESP – and ability users in general. Mostly because settings where people can blow stuff up with their minds are just kind of fun. 

Though Changeling is more of a general magic setting with magic creatures – where some people do exhibit magic but there's not necessarily a focus on...

William Concepts

So this particular concept art is for an "extra" CG meaning this CG won't be in the final game on its initial release but will hopefully be added in as a later update. 

In addition, here are some other William concept arts! 

2018-05-03 17:30:01 +0000 UTC View Post

Marc, I wouldn't...do that.

What is an otome without a kabedon moment? 

An otome that definitely missed an opportunity for amusement.

Nora's Sneaky Capers!

For one scene in Elliot's route, we decided to add in a single use of a royalty free track mostly to pull off a gag related to how much sneaking around and eavesdropping Nora does in this route. We are going to be using a track from Eric, who also composed some of our official music for us! 

Unfortunately, he has way too many cute, sneaky tracks – so why don't you guys help us pick one??

Here are the links to the tracks. You can vote below! (Yes, I'm pretty sure he has a cat that ...

The Truth About Editing

Today I wanted to write up a quick bit on the editing and revision process.

In my experience, many visual novels are clearly not edited to an extensive degree. You can tell by plot inconsistencies or copious typos that there just wasn't a lot of time spent on revision. Sprocket and I, however, come from a background of writing traditional novels and short stories. We're very used to spending an extended time on revisions and edits. 

And we've taken this approach w...

Complete game or Route by Route?

How do you prefer your games released? Do you prefer having a complete game that is released all at once or a game that comes out faster but is released route by route?

Many times during the course of development, we considered the value of releasing Changeling with some routes complete and adding the others via game updates. 

But for other games that have taken this approach, it feels like there is somewhat of a mixed reaction.

The value of releasing a common route + each ind...

New Elliot CG Preview

A CG I haven't really shown off anywhere. Comes from a scene in Elliot's route that is only unlocked if you meet certain criteria which I shall not be explaining here.

Mwa ha ha.

Sprocket's Bloops + Sprite talk

Sprocket saved some of her best bloopers from her night of testing Marc's completed beta. 

And now we share them with you! 

First, Sprocket learns (again) that ren'py does not like the way she spells things.

Elliot tries to be incognito by hiding behind James and his hair...

2018-04-22 17:04:49 +0000 UTC View Post

'Punk' settings?

Sprocket and I are big fans of retro-futuristic and futuristic settings. While these are not the only settings we'll be exploring in future projects, we are curious which of these our patrons are most interested in seeing (if any).

For those unsure what each setting is, you can find a really brief description of each one below:

Clockpunk

A retro-futuristic setting set in a medieval or renaissance period. Usually takes inspiration from Da Vinci's drawings.

<...

A little sneak peek of Elliot?

For those eager for some sneak peek content, have a little glimpse some CG lines for Elliot's route. 

Otome games are fully of serendipitous moments - two characters fall in a way that just happens to put them in the exact position necessary to make them realize their attraction to each other.

A character is in just the right place at the right time to overhear something that makes them completely misunderstand a critical moment between two other characters.

Or two characters ...