Update #6 — Development Progress + Important Announcements!
Hello, and happy (late) 2021!
Time has passed quickly over the last year. 2020 was difficult, so we’re hopeful that 2021 will be better.
We’ve been working hard on our Extended Demo over the past few months to make The Glass Coffin an even better experience.
With so many changes to the game, it was like starting over from scratch again. Therefore, we consider the Extended Demo to be a new version of The Glass Coffin, rather than an updated version.
As opposed to our original build, which was made in a month for NaNoRenO 2019, the Extended Demo has a more refined style and direction, along with content that will immerse you even deeper into the story and characters.
We hope that everyone who enjoyed the original TGC will love the new one even more, as the core of the story and characters remains the same.
Our progress over the last year includes:
- Animated Title Screen by Saetoraa & Ende
- New Sprites and CGs by Saetoraa
- Original Backgrounds by Elena S.
- Original Soundtracks by Marek Domagała
- Item Art by Elena S.
- Screen Effect Art by Elena S.
- New & Revamped GUI by Re.Alice
- New & Revised Scenes by Renkka
- Gameplay Optimization (Animations, Programming, etc.) by Ende
- Point-and-Click Investigation Mini Games by Renkka & Ende
Character Art
One of the biggest changes you’ll see in our Extended Demo is a completely new set of sprites and additional CGs by our character artist Saetoraa.
The sprites feature more expressions, outfits, accessories, and variations in poses, allowing for more customization and movement on the screen.
Artist Tarunarei has also illustrated these adorable chibis of Rei and Jin with varying expressions.
Music
Another addition to the Extended Demo are original soundtracks by Marek Domagała, who has produced breathtaking opening and ending songs.
Check out Marek's work here!
Backgrounds & Item Art
We also said goodbye to many of our old free resource backgrounds, as Elena S. has illustrated original ones. The new backgrounds include Dr. Moon’s office, Rei’s apartment, the lecture hall, and other locations that bring the world of The Glass Coffin to life.
Elena has also created key item art that will be featured in important scenes in the story, such as the bouquet Rei finds at his office.
Screen Effects
In addition to backgrounds and item art, Elena has created assets for screen effects that will enhance the gameplay experience.
Here are some examples of the screen effects. The previews don't reflect actual scenes in the game, so don't worry about spoilers.
New Features
We'll be introducing new features to the game, including a stats screen, CG gallery, music room, and game credits.
There will be at least two point-and-click investigation mini games, where you can explore areas and get to learn more about the characters and world of The Glass Coffin. The mini games will be optional, so skipping them will not negatively affect Rei's stats or the story.
Story
The script has also undergone a countless number of revisions. While the overall plot remains the same, many scenes and character introductions have been rewritten and polished.
Additionally, the feedback we’ve received has been very helpful in identifying areas we can improve and take the characters and story to the next level.
We have launched an official Twitter page for The Glass Coffin!
We’ll periodically post updates and announcements there, so make sure to follow us!
Store Page
As The Glass Coffin rebrands itself, so will we! We are in the process of making a new store page, set to launch as we approach the second anniversary of TGC. The extended demo won't be available yet, but you'll be able to wishlist the game there.
We'll post a new dev log once the store page is out, so keep an eye out for another update soon!
Last but not least, here's our official, breathtaking title image for The Glass Coffin illustrated by Saetoraa!
We hope you're just as excited as we are for the remade version of The Glass Coffin.
Make sure to follow us on Twitter for the latest on the game, and see you soon for our new page launch!
Comments
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I decided to take a look here and I'm impressed.
The amount of work you have all put into this is amazing and I wish that I could do the same one day! I'll stick around to the end of this if my laptop doesn't break haha
Hi! We really appreciate that you gave our devlog a look and are grateful for the kind words of support!
We're super excited to show you everything we've been working on behind-the-scenes over the past 1.5 - 2 years.
Feel free to follow/subscribe to our new store page!
This... is... awesome! I remember how mesmerizing the game was when I first played it, back in 2019. It was honestly the first release to actually leave an impression on me and have me at the edge of the seat, waiting to see what's going to happen next. With all the new improvements, the extended demo and the final product are shaping up to be a really memorable experience. This Gay VN enthusiast will be eagerly awaiting the announcements!
Edited to ask: do you plan on making a guide for the VN?
Wow, thank you so much! It's honestly great to hear that The Glass Coffin left such a good impression on you. It took us a long time to get all of this new content created and polished, but we're hopeful it'll live up to your expectations!
And yes, we will be making a guide for the VN! We're looking into making both a regular choice guide/walkthrough, and a spoiler-free one, where we'll indicate which choice to select without writing out the content of the choice (ex. Choice #1 - Intuition + 1).
We'll also include indications of where major story branches occur and what conditions need to be met to unlock those branches!