Just to preface this, as everything else I do, I probably will make this Devlog the wrong way because I have never written a Devlog before. That being said that doesn't mean it would be a bad Devlog and I truly believe there would be something useful for most to make your time worth it.

Some background about me that would be relevant later: I am a web developer, only dipped my toes in game developing a bit more than a mount ago. I have some background in architecture, video editing and graphic design. I have a very niche taste for games and almost never actually play them but I love watching them streamed.

So without further ado, this is what went right while making my Demo: Mark of the Past point-and-click. Also, follow me to be notified when I post what went wrong, because better believe I have plenty to share... 

1. Game mechanics and the game engine

I set out to make a mystery/psychological horror point-and-click game. Before this, the only game I’d made was a short-story mobile app with branching choices—meaning, I only (barely) knew Ren’Py. So, Ren’Py it was!

The game has two core mechanics: point-and-click exploration and a messaging function to guide players through the story. How did I make it work in Ren’Py?

The point-and-click is done through a whole bunch of screens. Nearly every click brings up a new screen. To prevent screens from stacking awkwardly, I always hide and then re-show them, avoiding the bug of them being left underneath others. During exploration, the game stays paused, and I track the paused state with a variable. I recommend using storage.myvarname = ... to keep variables handy for passing through Saves files.

When a player clicks to send a message, I jump to a label, which unpauses the game automatically and I always update the pause variable. For simplicity and to prevent errors, I disable navigation buttons during conversations. At the end, I jump to a label that handles only pausing (I make one for each conversation). This approach gives me a safe place to jump the player while they are browsing through messages, avoiding any “double texting". When paused, we’re back to the exploration mechanic. This cycle repeats for as many conversations and exploration scenes as needed.

If something specific should happen before the next conversation, I add a variable marker. I also have a variable to track game progress, so I know exactly where to jump players and what content they’ve already seen.

2. Graphics

So, I'm not an artist. But I do have a few tricks up my sleeve from my background: 3D modelling experience from architecture, some work with vector illustrations from graphic design, and a dirt-cheep but absolutely amazing for my needs drawing tablet (seriously, it's 30-40 bucks)

So how did I combine those skills to make game art my way?

First, I open the free online SketchUp and create a simple room that suits my needs. Then, I save specific scenes (camera angles). Saving scenes is important—if you just download the views without saving, you can’t go back and tweak anything without losing your exact angle. Redoing all of the next steps for even a small change would be a pain.

Next, I download the view as a .jpg or .png and upload it to CorelDraw (other vector programs like Illustrator should work too). In CorelDraw, I vectorize the image. This can be hit or miss, especially for detailed environments, but with some trial and error, you’ll likely get something workable.

From there, I simplify and organize the objects. My aim is to reduce the object count as much as possible, stack them in the right order, name them, and make the behind objects "full" because at that point they would have the outline of whatever they touch, so if you do any corrections to the shape of more detailed items, you would end up with a whole in your image.

Then comes the fun part: playing around with color, shading, and lighting (half transparent shapes you draw over everything else).

For characters, I use reference photos (making sure I have rights to use them) and draw the outlines with the pen/path tool. I keep it simple, combining elements from multiple photos so it’s uniquely mine rather than a copy of any one image. I leave the faces blank for two reasons—first, it is the easiest part to give of I'm not actually an artist, and second, I like leaving some room for players to imagine the characters in their own way. Here's a bit of a sneak-peak for you to the future full version of the game:

3. Animations

Making actual animations was out of the question, especially with my time constraints. But static backgrounds? Way too boring. So, my workaround? Videos.

Now, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this approach—it’ll balloon your game size pretty fast. But it’s a good option to keep in mind.

You’ve got two main options for video overlays: one with black background and one with white background. I suspect there is a way to use green screen videos as well but I don't know how. For assets, I searched terms like “dust particles video overlay” or “birds flying video overlay”.  You need videos that loop naturally or (if reasonable) you could revert the video and stick it to the end of the original. That's what I used for my dust particles. If you’re planning to sell your game, make sure the license covers commercial use, and consider always giving credit—even if it’s not strictly required. All the assets I used are listed on my game’s “About” page.

For black background use blend "add" and for white - blend "multiply". This would make the background transparent. From there you should make it the right size and position so it looks as a part of the environment instead of a sticker on top. You might also need to use rotation and I strongly recommend playing around with overall transparency (alpha) to help with blending. 

Here is the example of the code of one such video:
image bg_video_layer = Movie(channel="background_movie", play="images/bg/DustParticles2Main.avi", loop=True)
add "bg_video_layer" align (0.93,2.0) xysize(1450,750) alpha 0.1 blend "add" at Transform(rotate=-8)

Thanks for reading this far! If you're into atmospheric mysteries with a psychological twist, I'd love for you to check out the demo. It's still in the early stages, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas as the game develops. Download the demo, dive into the story, and let me know what you think - honest feedback is highly appreciated!

If you enjoyed reading, you may also enjoy some of my other Devlogs for this game!

Also, if you want to make me do a little happy dance, please consider following me: Dangerous Donuts Games