About making

How was 'autumn' made anyways?

In the beginning of 'autumn' are (aside from NCP and Astra9) mainly two things - Dan's encouragement and www.beiz.jp. It was about nineteen, twenty days to the deadline of Czech AnimeFest '09 competition and I didn't have anything in my hands. The project from before then, 'Around The World' ended in ruins, mainly from the graphic point of view. Aside from few backgrounds of interiers and airport, my folder with the project was empty.

And it was exactly then when DanQ wrote me and asked me about the state of my project. His project wasn't in the best shape as well (it was supposed to look even better, even though I think it ended up wonderfully - but you know creators), we exchanged some ideas, addresses and I obtained the encouragement to don't give up, that I can make it.

This encouragement and the magic address www.beiz.jp with lots of wonderful, colour-themed photographs was that impulse. It was then that I got the most important idea - colour-themed story! It was right then when the 'Projekt' folder was made, in which I still have all sources for creating 'autumn'.

Of course, before that, when making 'Around The World', I had been browsing some pages with materials, and by then I had chosen the music. But the main thing in that moment was that I knew about Deji's characters and their easy alterability in PhotoShop.

There was made the main idea of 'autumn' - few storylines, which differ in the main girl and in the colour. Quite fast I came out with the number of three girls as well, and with the name of the piece itself, 'autumn'. Short, striking, colourful, straight on point. Paradoxically, the latest theme created was the 'main', yellow one - it wasn't created untill the making of the graphics.

'Not created untill...?' Yes, the graphics has been made later than the actual script. In the first three days (and it were really hectic days) I wrote the first day of every heroine. In that time their characters were made into the final shapes, only slightly drawn in the graphical alterations of Deji's 'Celeste'. I didn't bother with graphics then, I only placed few backgrounds and characters in the first day to see that it really works.

I was writing with really devilish speed then. All in all, I wrote about 25000 words on over 4000 screens during eighteen days from the start of the making, and I don't usually tell people I had writing crisis for two days and had to catch up. Because of that, the final version wasn't properly tested and it had few nasty bugs, luckily most of them were caught up up to version 1.02.

Hand in hand with the writing I had to get the graphics as well, though. The backgrounds were fairly easy. A little more work I had with Deji's characters, because, even though they are very good, some details have little errors that don't disappear even when resizing down for the game. Most fun I had with a certain red uniform. Aside of this graphic I made graphics for game interface as well. That'll be better for the next paragraph, though.

Because the graphics of the interface in this case can't be separated from the actual programming. From the start screen, over buttons, random colourful 'text boxes', altered choice buttons, to extras gallery, almost all is bypassed mainly with the graphical part of the Ren'Py programming. On the other hand I have to admit that I have learned a lot while programming this game and I know about a lot more things that I can use in the future, in the graphics as well as in the programming. Way to go.

The last part of 'autumn' that should be mentioned is the sounds part. All the sounds and music was addesd in the last day of making of, and it was recognizable, mainly in the first versions of the game. The people that played this game in the early versions will probably by often woken up by the sound of gurgling stream. The volume of the sounds and music and their timing is the main thing that should be solved up in the future.

Along with the translation. The translation and improving the game itself are the two things that are planned in the future and already (not too hastily) being made.

Thus we can't but to hope that you will enjoy 'autumn' (or that you have already enjoeyd it) and that you will get its next version or some new game from Astra9.

Optimalised for 1280*whatever Fx 3.0.8