The post-Ludum Dare build of Lights Out is almost done and will definitely be released this month! So far I’ve added 2 road blocks (1 being a small puzzle), doubled the size of the map, changed the placement of Bedelia (you’ll have to find her all over again as her room has drastically moved!), made it darker, added more talking sprites, and more. I’m pretty happy with this build, and I hope you guys will like it too. It hopefully won’t be my only Halloween game this year!
Iryna Rusia
How to Make Visual Novels
Visual novels are a fun medium for bringing stories to life that combine game mechanics, written stories, and visuals into one package. They’re not too hard to make on a technical level, and are a great way to get your voice out there. But it can be daunting to figure out how to make visual novels when you first start out. Let’s go over some basics first.
Update 2024: Added even more links.
Update 2023: Added even more new links.
Update 2020: Added some new links for resources.
Update 2019: Tweaked this some here and there to update it for 2019. Hope you enjoy!
Lights Out Post-LD Update Announced
Yep, fully announcing that I’ve started on a post-Ludum Dare build of Lights Out for the horror game jam held by a few acquaintances, Pixel Horror Jam 2. I’m still not sure how much I’ll add (I’ve been told I have to double the content, though that doesn’t necessarily mean story-wise), but I have planned to at least double the mansion, add more tiles, add at least one puzzle, add more interactions, add a sprite for Hiram’s head (which I already sketched, but never had time to finish), and make the game harder (making it darker to see). I’ve been working on it for the past few days- in order to make sure I don’t get burnt out and am able to add a lot more content to it, I’m going to pace myself (as the jam doesn’t end for another 3 months).
I did this stained glass piece originally during LD (I mean, of course I did) but never got to use it, but now I’m able to.
Lights Out (LD39) Updates
Here’s a small post-Ludum Dare devlog. Lights Out is now on 3 different sites, for all your browser-playing needs!
I’ve received a few comments saying that the lights didn’t seem necessary and that there should be some more foreshadowing/buildup to the story, so I’ll most likely make a post-LD build of the game with darker rooms and more interaction and story.
Still, I’ve received a lot of great feedback on this game, and I’m very happy that people like it! This has basically solidified that I want to do RPG Maker games for most of my future LD entries, as they’re a great way to blend game play with visual novel story telling.
Ludum Dare #39 Day 4 – End
Ludum Dare #39 is finally over, and boy, did it feel like forever! And yet, the time flew by whenever I was working on my game :”D Anyway, here’s some looks at the game and what it’s about.
Lights Out is my attempt at a short and sweet RPG horror-style game, centered around the player controlling Rebecca, a young 11 year old girl who has her friends over for a sleepover when the power is knocked out and she finds that her house is now crawling with fairies. She tries to find them, only realizing that the back-up generator only has enough power to turn on the lights in one room at a time.
The (albeit short) story revolves around an elder fairy who is attempting to escape death by the hands of a dullahan, a headless fairy grim reaper of sorts. However, the other fairies kidnap Francie, one of Rebecca’s friends, and swaps her out for the elder fairy, who is now a changeling- a fairy who is swapped out for a human in order for the fairies to keep the human child as their own, or in this case, to let the elder fairy die in peace at the hands of humans to take care of them. I really love folklore and such, so this was my attempt at bringing some of that folklore I’ve learned into a game while also making is accessible to readers who, say, don’t know Irish folklore.
I do believe this is my 2nd best Ludum Dare entry yet- Nightowl will probably always hold a special place in my heart because it was made based off my own emotions that I felt after graduating high school, but I think this one deserves 2nd not only because of all the work I put into it (Steam says I’ve had RPGM MV open for about 30+ hours this entire LD) but also because I feel its story is short, simple, but round and complete. I liked writing Hiram, I hope he didn’t come off as too much of a jokester!