Tsunoft

Author: mkadam

  • January Update

    Let’s Explore!

    Exploration is a major component of Gonzocon’s gameplay loop. In between “major” events you are free to choose different locations around the hotel/convention center.

    The locations are usually populated by NPCs to interact with. Speaking to these characters will either continue existing story lines or create new ones to follow.

    Not everyone is interested in chatting, however. Some characters are just looking to spend their convention time alone. Bothering these characters may have unintended consequences.

    Look At The Time!

    Certain encounters will take longer than others, and may take up a portion of your day. Conversations that will take longer are marked with a clock image.

    However, NPCs also follow a schedule and may not be available and/or move locations depending on the time of day. Some encounters may have different dialogue choices depending on the time of day.

    That’s about it for today, thanks for reading!

  • Development Update – December

    No blog post for December! Sorry!

    We’ve all been very busy, but we’ve got some big stuff coming down the pipe pretty soon. Thanks and we love you

  • Development Update – Oct/Nov

    We’re back after a skipped month of development updates, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t busy! Let’s take a look at what we’ve been working on.

    It’s Not All Clanker Art!

    In our first blog post, AI images were used to display example content. In the September Update we mentioned that we’re actively working with an artist for sprite work.

    Our next development update post will focus on the art and visual direction of Gonzocon, but for the time being I’d like to give a warm welcome as well as high praise for our artist Ten. Please check out their website here.

    Feature: Rolling The Dice

    Conventions are hectic. You’re shoved into a hotel with thousands of other people enjoying their weekend just as you’re enjoying yours.

    One of our initial philosophies was to try to capture the randomness, the one time encounters, and the potential friends made. That’s why we’ve added a new mechanic for Random Events to take place.

    As the name suggests, the Random Events each have a percentage probability to be encountered. Some events may only be accessible after certain story points, or certain character interactions.

    Feature: Order & Anarchy

    As the weekend goes on, you will be presented with some decisions that you are given the opportunity to choose to do good and normal things (Order), or to do the exact opposite (Anarchy). It’s up to you how the protaganist acts over the weekend.

    Reaching certain levels of Order or Anarchy will unlock and/or disable certain events or dialogue options, so choose your words carefully!

    Thanks as always for reading, please look forward to the next post!

    mkadam

  • Development Update – September

    Well, September is coming to an end, and I realized I haven’t posted in a while. There’s not much to update on, but let’s just dive in.

    Art

    We’ve started working with an artist to start creating official sprites – finally starting to replace all the A.I. “art”. We’ve got a few drafts coming down the pipe. I’ll be posting them when they’re ready along with character profiles.

    We have also started creating a new user interface that will fit the updated design philosophy of Gonzocon.

    Story

    Many scenes and story sequences were previously written. A change in the game’s tone and a shift to a silent protagonist required them to be rewritten. We are focusing most of our time to get this taken care of as soon as possible.

    Like I said, not a lot going on but I still wanted to post a small update.

    Thanks for reading!

  • Gonzocon

    Gonzocon is very early in its development and contains placeholder sprites and backgrounds, created using AI. (I know, I’m sorry) This is all temporary.

    Check it out! This is what we’ve been working on. Gonzocon! A branching visual novel that takes place over the weekend of an anime convention.

    You and three friends share a hotel room – each with their own idea of what they’d like to get out of the weekend. You, the Protagonist are left mostly to your own devices, choosing how to spend your weekend, and who to spend it with.

    • Intertwining character storylines.
    • Exploration of the convention at various locations and times of day.
    • Be the troll. Be the white knight.
    • Get drunk. Smoke cigarettes.
    • And more..

      These features will be discussed more in an upcoming post.

    Gonzocon is set to take place over the entire weekend of the convention (Thurs-Sun). Our focus right now is on the development of Day 0 (Thursday).

    This is essentially a proof of concept – introducing some of the main characters, setting the scene, and explaining common game mechanics. Our intention is to thoroughly test Day 0 to present to potential team members, including artists, and musicians.

    Once Gonzocon: Day 0 is up to our expectations to be played/tested by the general public, it will be released for free as a demo for the full release.

    Development information will be posted both here and on our Bluesky

    Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for more information soon!

    MKadam