SWORD OF SYMPHONY - Dev Summary - March 2023

Hello everyone!

As I've now moved on from working on the main individual game mechanics (since January 2023) and have started work on the main level content of Sword Of Symphony, the time durations between my public update video posts have inevitably increased; largely due to a lot of the tasks either containing spoilers, or them taking much longer than 1-2 weeks to complete (unlike the previous individual game mechanics I was working on). So, to those of you who are not amongst the patrons in my community discord server who get to see all these current and up-to-date behind the scenes developments of the game between the public update video posts, I've been trying to think of ways I can still fill in the inevitable radio silence that has come from this transition in the game's development, until the next public update; and doing written monthly development summaries like this seems to be the most appropriate option.

So without further ado, let's begin!

Figuring out the art-style of SWORD OF SYMPHONY's world...

I've begun creating the first few locations of Sword Of Symphony, which had me define the official art-style of the game. For this, I wanted to do something 'discernible', something one can look at and easily identify the IP as being one of "my" projects; similar to how one would look at the facial proportions of a character modelled by Visual Works studios and immediately think about Square Enix's JRPGs such as Final Fantasy, or the distinguishable look that most of Star Wars' 3D animated shows have (namely Clone Wars, Bad Batch and Tales Of The Jedi). Hence I decided to scrap my original plan, which was to go with the common & typical 'UE4/5 low-poly 3D-stylised environment look' that I see so many 3D fantasy indie games and some AAA titles use; not to insinuate that I think the artistic design of those games is lacklustre because of it (in fact, I think it makes games look very beautiful), but from the moment I began working on the first iteration of Sword Of Symphony's locations, I had the strongest urge to pave an artistic path of my own.

As a result, what I've made satisfies this to a standard I'm quite proud of. I've decided to take inspiration directly from my own hand-drawn art-style in 2D - not just in the fact that it utilises line-art, but by having all the 3D objects look the same as they would if I were to draw them in my personal art-style in 2D; the only difference being the extra dimension. Those who have seen footage of the finished locations have described to me that it looks like a cosy storybook, or like my concept art for the game - but in 3D, which I like, due to the world of Sword Of Symphony engaging with musical notation as an energy source; making the art-style very fitting from a visual standpoint.

I can't wait to share what it looks like with you all soon in my next public update video!

(Though you can see the result now in the behind-the-scenes channel of my community discord as a mid tier patron, or above).

Animating the first cutscene...

I've also begun animating the first cutscene of Sword Of Symphony, which will lead directly into the tutorial section of the game. During the process, I also created the first NPCs of the game; who's character designs and aesthetic mainly take inspiration from 18th-19th century London (my hometown & birthplace) and European fashion, as well as musical symbolism - amongst other things (which I thought was the most natural thing to do, given the nature of the game's content).

My plan for the animation in the first cutscene is one of my most musically-creative ideas for this game and will show first-hand one of the many roles music has, in relation to the game's lore.

(Progress on this is in the behind-the-scenes channel of my community discord which you can see if you're a mid tier patron or above).

Creating the model for Stefān’s personal tutor, 'Bridgètte'...

I've modelled one of the many other main characters who you'll see right from the beginning section of the game - "Bridgètte". For now, all I can reveal publicly is that she's is Stefān’s personal tutor and older cousin. Her and he also live together.

(You can see her design in the behind-the-scenes channel of my community discord which you can see if you're a mid tier patron or above).

Conclusion & Goals for April 2023...

All in all, thanks for all your continued support, whether you're a patron or simply someone interested in the game! It makes me smile to know that so many of you are still interested and passionate about it, despite the lack of updates for 3 months (which I aim to rectify with these monthly dev summaries) and I thank you all for your patience as I work diligently to deliver this project to you all!

One of my main goals is to AT LEAST finish the first section of the first cutscene (it's in 3 parts) by the end of April, though I really just want to finish it all by the end of the month and I'll be aiming for that in practice. I'm also close to opening the first round of auditions to hire VAs for the game (specifically for the first cutscene). It'll also be my birthday on the 12th, so I may do a live birthday Q&A in my Discord server like last year - I'll confirm this closer to the day, as I may be too busy to do it on my birthday...

See you all in the next update!