The Human Reignition Project - An English Visual Novel
Created by sekaiproject
An ambitious indie visual novel, blending romance with futuristic sci-fi and thriller elements
Latest Updates from Our Project:
June 2021: Hitomi's CGs are Done!
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Jun 27, 2021 at 12:30:39 AM
Hey everybody, Mondo here again.
Apologies for the late post this month, but we wanted to wait until we had our exciting news ready to show you all: namely, we've got the last of the Hitomi CG sets complete and ready for the initial launch! As with the rest of the remaining CG sets, this one's a little... risque, so we can't show it here for various reasons. However, as of the time of this post, I've also uploaded some samples of the new set to the Alienworks Discord! You can find it here, as always:
We're always around, so in addition to these special posts, you can also find answers to any questions you may have regarding the project. Due to the magic of time zones, we're also available pretty much around the clock even if you just want to chat.
That's mostly it for the super-exciting stuff for this month; we're still in the process of getting the UI elements finally implemented into game, so expect some more on that front soon, as well as the usual updates to writing and overall polish.
We've all been a little busy this month with real-life obligations, so I apologize for the short post, but we're still plugging away! We'll have more for you soon, most likely of a certain aggressive dirty-blonde. In the meantime, we hope to see you all in the Discord soon!
Sincerely,
Mondo
May 2021: Shiny New UI Stuff!
over 3 years ago
– Thu, May 13, 2021 at 09:19:45 PM
Hey everyone, Mondo here again.
So, right off the bat I just want to say that this month has been a real blast, as Myuto and I have been putting our collective noses to the grindstone working on this UI stuff. It's a rare treat for me to be able to work so closely with a visual artist, and of course Myuto is a delight to hang out with anyway. While that's all well and good from a "fun" perspective, I also think it's really helped in the design process too, as the all-too-common little issues that pop up during drafting and such are much easier to work out this way.
Anyway, let's get right into it. We talked a fair bit about our process and our design philosophy in the last update, but this month we've got the more practical end results to show you. Now, I do want to say ahead of time that these aren't quite finalized per se, but we're feeling pretty good about things. Barring any unforeseen issues or really awesome feedback, the final designs shouldn't be changing too much from the ones we'll be showing you today. Also, if possible, I'll give some insights as to what you can expect from things in a bit more depth as they come up.
Textured Version (default)
So first of all we have the textbox, as well as the selection window, and the right-click radial menu. We tried to balance the textbox's aesthetics with readability, so while there is texturing, our intention is for it not to get in the way while you're trying to read.
The radial menu is designed to open wherever you've right-clicked, unless you click a bit too far into a corner or edge, in which case it opens as close as it can. Clicking the little icon to the left of the nameplate will simply open it in the center.
Non-Textured Textbox
Additionally, whether for accessibility or simply personal preference, we also include a simpler, more straightforward textbox format. Additionally, there are options for a large font, which is visible in both of these screens. The final default font size will be slightly smaller.
A few examples of selected elements. When mousing over something in the radial menu, indicator text will display in the middle: in this case we're hovering over the Log Screen button.
We're incorporating a secondary purplish color for moused-over elements, which should also play nicely with users who prefer to exclusively use keyboard; everything should be manageable without a mouse.
With the textured box instead. Bonus Aya for good measure.
The Log Screen! This one uses icons. We're initially trying for a phone-inspired motif, but it's a work in progress.
A version without icons. This one feels a little bit more minimal.
Some Settings. Naturally these aren't the final settings, but you can get the gist of things. Mousing over something shows a brief explanation at the bottom of the screen.
Some of these options definitely won't be in the all-ages version of the game, but we're aiming to have it so you can comfortably run HRP on your low-end PC, Raspberry Pi, fridge, etc.
The text screen has a sample textbox so you can get a feel for what you'll be seeing in-game a little more easily.
We're aiming to add as many accessibilty options as we can; for now this is still a work in progress, but if you have any input our ears are always open.
You can adjust textbox opacity to your liking. This should work with both the detailed and the simple textbox, so you can play around and find what you like best.
Sound settings. Text to Speech is a baked-in function of Ren'Py intended for accessibility, just made a little easier to find. Plus, sometimes you just want to hear ol' Sam speak to you.
The save screen. The pages are infinitely expandable, so you never have to worry about running out of room for new saves.
The load game screen. Same rules as the save game screen apply here. Additionally, you can see how a save is selected.
The CG Gallery! Character profiles and images unlock as you encounter characters, and also resemble the mobile-reminiscent layout of the log screen.
Scene Replay! HRP includes a function to go back and replay a scene you enjoyed at any time. Once the scene ends, you'll be returned to this screen.
HRP has a fairly extensive soundtrack, and we want to make sure you can enjoy it how you like, but in a spoiler-friendly way. Music will be added to the music player as you encounter it in the story.
Partly out of sheer scale, HRP has quite a few terms and events to remember. In order to make things a little easier for you, we've included a glossary. As with music, terms will be added as they're encountered.
Don't quit! You can do it!
Alright! So, that's basically what we've been up to this last month. As with before, we're still working on getting the story and programming nice and ready, as well as actually incorporating this into the game engine. We'll have more on that, plus more CGs and other juicy art headed your way very soon. If you want to chat in the meantime, you can find us in the HRP Discord anytime:
And as always, thank you for your continued support! We're still plugging away, and we're not going to stop until well after the game is in your hands. We'll have more cool stuff next month!
-Mondo
March/April 2021: Smooth Sailing, and a Double Update
over 3 years ago
– Mon, Apr 05, 2021 at 10:33:25 PM
Hey everybody! Mondo here.
First of all, sorry about the late update. We've been busy with our personal lives this last month, but for the most part things are still going just fine! Since we're already a few days into April now, I figure we might as well roll this month's and last month's updates together and give you all an extended one.
Before we get into anything else, first we've got the usual progress report. Jaspirian and I are still plugging away at the scripting, edits, and other story things, and as a team we're all still putting our heads together on the UI stuff. Beyond that, music and other key graphical elements are still finished and on standby, so nothing's really going to change there unless we run into something particularly troublesome as we implement things. I'll talk about that more in a bit.
Before that, CGs are also still in progress, with the ever-talented Rythae hard at work. We do have some samples to share, but they're somewhat... risque, so I'll be putting a sample or two up on our discord this time, rather than here.
Hitomi fans will be particularly pleased this month, I think.
For now, here's a smug Hitomi instead.
Since our current workload is getting a little harder to go into detail on, I think we can start to roll some of our otherwise B-Post content into these main updates. We talked some before about what it means for us to have to 'prepare' scripts for our final release, but I think we've been glossing over some of the reasons as to why our programming, UI detail-work, and even some of our worldbuilding potentially act as challenges as well.
Any VN, or any game for that matter, requires a certain amount of asset cohesion to feel "right," or more specifically to feel like a game per se, rather than just a random collection of stuff. Generally, that means things like having a particular color scheme, or a consistent art style, or even little things like making sure fonts look good against background assets. In our case specifically, we're aiming for a user experience (particularly the UI in this case) that feels diegetic, which is to say it acts as though it exists within the world rather than simply being an unrelated element. Within the HRP universe, there exists a device known as the Contact, which acts as the reader's user interface. As the name would imply, the Contact takes the form of a contact lens, and functions essentially as a would-be Google Glass, or similar smart lens. Since we want the reader to feel that they are the ones using the Contact rather than just watching Ken use it, that ends up meaning that we need to apply the same rules to our UI that we do to our in-universe technology. The logic is simple enough, but it does lead to a problem:
Current-day smart lens technology isn't all that great, nor especially exciting to look at.
Since smart lenses aren't exactly an everyday product at the moment, the current real-world excitement factor is more based on the simple fact that the technology exists at all. It's kind of like Pong: it's not especially exciting in 2021, but it was revolutionary in 1972 even if only as a proof of concept. Following that example, I think we can ask ourselves a simple thought question:
"Could we have predicted where games would be in 2021 from what we had in 1972?"
Everyone has had their fair share of guesses and speculation throughout the years, but realistically the answer winds up being some form of, "Well... kind of?"
Obviously we wouldn't be predicting the next iteration of Assassin's Creed in 1972, but there certainly wasn't anything stopping us from guessing that one day games would be in three dimensions. In some ways, our guesses weren't even too far off the mark: though we still don't have any of the flying cars we were promised in cartoons, we do have working virtual reality headsets, and the ability to interact with anyone around the world at a moment's notice thanks to the internet. But what is it that makes the difference between a flying car, and the internet?
Basically, it's justhow we make our guesses.
We've been promised flying cars most likely just about as long as we've had aircraft, but there's really not an awful lot of hard evidence suggesting that anyone is actually making one. On the other hand, the basic concept of a long-distance communication network was already in use long before anyone had even considered the possibility of the modern-day internet. If you look at both circumstances, though, I think you'll find that it's a lot more reasonable to assume that the existing concept is going to be upgraded than for the fanciful pipe dream idea to come to fruition out of nowhere.
So... what does all of that mean for the Human Reignition Project?
In the simplest sense, it really just works out to a design philosophy. Since our overall goal is to have a futuristic setting that feels as grounded in current-day reality as we can manage, we're trying to avoid those more fanciful futurisms while still keeping the setting feeling "distinct" from our own actual modern-day experience. Mostly, it just works out to extrapolating from what we already have: a flying car isn't going to happen anytime soon, but a self-driving car hardly seems like a stretch at this point. Looking at things through that lens (no pun intended), our challenge for the UI specifically works out to finding a nice balance between current-day tech and sleek, futuristic "VN aesthetic" that's easy to use while not taking you out of the moment. Since it's such a critical part of what we're trying to accomplish with the Human Reignition Project as a whole, we're being especially particular regarding the UI.
I could certainly go into more detail on all of that, but I think I've rambled enough for now! We're always around in the discord if you'd like to discuss more, so come on by.
And as always, thank you for your continued patience and support! We're almost there.
Mondo
February 2021: Plenty of Cool Stuff!
over 3 years ago
– Sun, Feb 28, 2021 at 09:04:34 PM
Hey everybody, Mondo here.
Our apologies for the end-of-month update this time, but we've been getting a bunch of new art revisions and drafts in particular this month, so we've been trying to get all of those ready to show you at once. We'll get to those in a second, but first we'd like to give you the usual status report.
Music and Sprites remain in a ship-ready state, and further updates to either are simply for buffing the assets up a bit as needed. This means that we'll likely still have a few stragglers we can show off here from time to time (as is the case today), but there won't be anything too earth-shattering in those regards.
Writing and Programming are still working closely together to streamline the process of getting everything "under the hood" working properly, and are set to continue working on the meat of the script. To that end, we have finished our internal spriting tool for all of our main characters, and are working on getting the minor characters into the system while we work on the other things; the difference in speed is absolutely incredible.
Now that we have the majority of our art/music assets squared away, it's getting possible to see the game per se coming together out of the parts, which means we're now finally at a point where we can really sink our teeth into the atmosphere and feel of the game, through things like music selection and UI adjustments. Our goal in that regard is to make sure HRP's universe is consistent and in line with what we want from it, but also paced well enough and with enough lighthearted moments that it doesn't feel like a slog to read. It's a balancing act, really.
But we'll have more on that later. For now, we have a bunch of cool art stuff to show off!
Alienworks tradition says we have to have this first.
So, to get right into it, Myuto has successfully outdone himself as always. As of this month, he has finished ALL of his revisions to the character sprites, as well as in Senri's particular case her "jumpscare."
One of the advantages to our spriting system is that all of our poses and outfits are interchangeable with expressions, so Senri can ignore you in a variety of fresh looks!
Next, we have Setsuna! Was it something you said?
It was probably something you said.
The Human Reignition Project's fearless leader, all dressed up!
The Human Reignition Project's fearless leader, a little less dressed up!
Our favorite pink marshmallow, Shion.
Dressed up all cute, just for you!
Sometimes Yukino likes to let her hair down.
Sometimes Yukino likes to let... a lot of things down.
Aya's ready to take on the world.
Aya's ready to go to bed.
And finally, we have the last pair straggler side characters:
You can probably guess where she'll show up.
And finally:
...An interesting fellow. We'll learn more about him later.
Okay! With that, we bring this month's update to a close. We've still got a few more interesting things to show you soon, and as always, you can find us at our discord:
https://discord.gg/FwDYSDuvH7
We'd love to hear from you!
As always, thank you for your continued support.
We're almost there!
-Mondo
January 2021: Into the Final Stretches
almost 4 years ago
– Wed, Jan 27, 2021 at 04:47:49 PM
Hey gang, Mondo again!
So we have a few cool things to talk about this time. As the title of this month's update might imply, we're finally getting to a point where we're wrapping up all of the individual asset creation elements, and instead getting everything working together smoothly and in a way that's enjoyable to read. While the fact that we're wrapping up asset creation unfortunately means fewer new artistic elements on display per month, it also means that the end really is coming into view now. More on that in a second.
First of all, we've found a new artist to finish up the few remaining CGs: the ever-talented Rythae!
An example of what to expect style-wise, though this isn't from the HRP.
Her body of work fits well with our current elements, and we're all excited to see how the last CGs turn out! If you'd like to see some more examples, you can find a more complete portfolio on her site here:
https://www.rythae.com/
Next, we have some news that, while probably more exciting for us internally, is still pretty exciting. Our very own Jasper has created an application to allow for quick placement of sprites, expressions, and the like within Ren'Py!
My face when I have no face.
It might not look like much at first glance, but in the grand scheme of things this is a HUGE efficiency booster as we move into the finer details of direction. We'll probably have more on this fairly soon in the next update as well.
So, with that out of the way, we have the main meat for this month's announcement:
We're to a point where we can confidently estimate a launch window!
As of right now, we're still following our existing plan to finish the first three routes (Shion, Hitomi, Senri) initially and then to add the remaining three (Yukino, Aya, Setsuna) as soon as we can, but we're actively working on all six regardless. It's still entirely possible that we can get more ready to go before our estimated launch; we'll keep you updated on that as we move forward. However, since we're in the last stages of getting all of our assets together, that means that one way or another we can confidently launch at around the end of this year:
Winter 2021!
We'll have more information for you soon, and hopefully some of those juicy new CGs as well.
As always, thank you for your continued support. You've all been great so far, and we're going to make it to the finish line together.
