Heyya! There are less than 2 weeks left to the Spooktober VN Jam and whew! Things have been hectic, but we're even more excited to share updates about our project!

So far we've managed to complete the game logo, one (out of three) CG, one (out of three!) monster sprite, and two (out of? four?) backgrounds. We still have a long long way to go, but hey, slow and steady wins the race!

The 2 main characters sprites are being worked on, backgrounds are being polished, monsters sprites are halfway done, the second CG is already close to completion, and the GUI is almost finished. The script, however... is a bit lacking. Our writers ran into a slight problem that halted the writing progress. But no need to worry,  as we're trying our best to get back on track and catch up on work.

For now, enjoy this devlog entry!

> The Setting <

"Yearning for Daybreak" is set in a medieval fantasy world with witches, magic, and monsters. 

Our main character is Tove, a 34-year-old mercenary. Life as a mercenary hasn't exactly been kind to her, as she is forced to keep moving, following whoever master she served and never stays in one place for long. It also doesn't help that most of her previous masters happen to not have her best interests in mind. In fact, at the beginning of the story you'll see her running away from one of them!

The other character is Yun, a 10-year-old witch living alone in a cabin deep in the woods. According to rumors, she's the "all-powerful wish-granting witch," but we don't want to reveal too much about her for now, so let's talk about the setting!

So Yun's cabin is located in the crack/boundary/liminal space/whateveryoucallit between the two dimensions, the living and the dead. It's only accessible by a portal, and the portal itself doesn't stay in one place. There's a reason why Yun is such a mysterious figure to the outside world - it's very hard to find the portal! And even when it's found, a blood sacrifice is still needed to open it.

Then how could Tove find and open the portal, you ask? Pure luck.

Monsters lurk in the area, as the cabin itself is close to the domains of the dead. They are hostile and are very sensitive to human emotion. Here we have prepared 3 different monster designs to haunt you in your dreams, enjoy!

> Concept Art: The Monsters <

Cryoslight here again, wearing the resident monster designer hat this time! Sei helped me get started with the designs and then let me loose. We started with the idea that the monsters would be shadowy creatures with red, glowing eyes - pretty classic.

I never gave the monsters official names, but while working on their sprites my bored brain came up with all kinds of personality traits and nicknames for them. It turns out I can't design a single thing without getting all emotionally invested.

The one with the horns is party boy, snickers, or Mister Curly Bracket if we're being formal. I imagine he's dead because he partied too hard. He still wants to dance, though, and he continues to believe he's the most charming fellow at the club. Attention is his favorite thing, and he never gets enough of it. Infuriating. Why the curly horns? Well, when he was alive, he had a moustache he was very proud of.

The centipede-like monster is loosely inspired by Pisaca from the Shin Megami Tensei franchise. That thing's grotesquely split torso is always hovering somewhere in the back of my brain - I figured this was a great chance to let it out. The Centipede monster used to be a very old woman who suffered from memory loss. As she lived alone and had forgotten everyone who might have mattered to her at some point, all she had left was her garden and its many critters. She laid herself to rest in that garden, the only place she felt a connection to, and became one with the earth.

The group allowed me to toss in a sneaky little reference to Yume Nikki, one of my favorite indie games ever! In my mind the monster with the many white faces is Uboa's long cousin. This one's a sad soul. I kept getting this feeling they were lost and desperately searching for a place to stay... They wouldn't hesitate to try and take someone else's home, even. When they still lived, they were a struggling single parent.

> Overall <

We've made some decent progress for the jam! It's been a pleasure to work with such talented, hardworking individuals. We will keep you updated weekly with these devlogs, hopefully this was an enjoyable read! For the next devlog we're hoping to have some programming done to show some screenshots from the actual game itself. Stay tuned!

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

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