HIS LAST MACHINATION Devlog - Week 2

Welcome back! Progress on HIS LAST MACHINATION continues ticking along. Since we're now (mostly) out of the initial project configuration portion of things, I believe listing progress by day is now probably the most practical approach.

March 8th

• Saturday marked the completion of scene 1.4, at which point I realized that I did justifiably need a 1.5 to wrap up the first in-game day.
• Line-counts for scenes 1.1-1.4 were updated on the Session Progress Tracking tab within the VA Guide Spreadsheet; I also restored the proper functionality of the line-count cels so that they would properly display (as black text on a white field) when populated with a value above 0.
  • Line-counts of 0 are shown as white text against a grey field; conditional formatting not always carrying over when duplicating materials in Sheets is something I've bumped into before.
• I worked with a couple of folks on the Queer Vox team to try and troubleshoot my technical issues/being unable to access their talent database. Our workaround for current access is effective, but still something subject to troubleshooting on their end. I appreciate how helpful everyone was willing to be, though!
  • Similarly to the VGM database, I updated my "Humans to email" listings whilst also not planning to actually send out an email blast/mass bcc until the following day.
• I started preliminary script implementation in Ren'Py, thus allowing for vaguely ominous code-comments such as the following:

(I had genuinely forgotten that the simple :) looks mildly unsettling when displayed in this VSCode theme.)

March 9th

• The 9th marked the send-off date for the aforementioned email blast, this time distributing the sides (in both PDF and link form) to people on QV's talent roster who were not also contacted through the list I had assembled from the VGM dataset.
• I drafted a little over half of scene 1.5, stopping at the point in which CG integration will become necessary. (This stoppage-point was not brought about by any technical limitations/lack of deliverables, but simply because I wanted to pivot onto other tasks.)
• Code implementation continued, including my first test of the script as it exists in Ren'Py. Image, audio, and scene transition parameters were also defined for ease-of-use.

March 10th

• Individual character sprites were received, using a standard height of 1080p!
• More auditions were received, along with fielding small-group queries that eventually led to the creation of this graphic as a super quick PSA/gentle tap on the disclosure included in the casting call (in short: as someone who also owns an objectively unusual voice type, I highly encourage anyone who wants to read for these characters to read for them).

March 11th

• Testing and adjustment of sprites in-engine began, requiring some level of tinkering for zoom and positioning.
• Interestingly, this also led to the realization that our UI can likely be allowed to occupy most/all of the 1920p screen-width, as this will allow for coverage of sprite adjustments (required to accommodate characters' in-narrative height differences).
• Scene 2.1 was drafted, with progress also beginning on 2.2.
• Testing of all implemented script content was done using Atkinson Hyperlegible in lieu of High Tower text to ensure no text-wrapping or cutoff issues were present; the eventual goal is to let the font option be toggle-able to suit player preference.

March 12th

• REAPER session prep for tomorrow's audition review was completed, importing but not previewing any files.
  • My typical DAW of choice is Pro Tools, but it refuses to allow for the sharing of audio from the program itself via screen-share/comparable features unless I run a digital audio cable. (It doesn't mind sharing access to my audio driver with Source-Connect/video calling software/Discord/etc, though!)
• With 24 hours remaining, the total audition count sat at 22.
• More of scene 1.5 was written, helping to close out the sequence after the mid-scene flashback.

March 13th

• The casting call closed today! Final audition count was 36, with 35 being submitted via the fillable Form.
  • Arguably the most fascinating data-point was how even the distribution was between people who'd worked on jams games (as an actor) previously and those who hadn't! (Runners-up include "People's diverse ways of writing their timezone" and "The anti-robot basic math check resulting in occasional shenanigans.")
• Kylie, Rose, Elina, Rumi, and (briefly, just to give everyone a quick "Hi!") Lu hopped into a casual audio review call. 10 actors from the 36 were shortlisted for a second round of review later in the day.
  • Fundamentally, I enjoy reviewing auditions by committee much more than when alone—both because everyone who sits in on those sessions is willing to share their thoughts (whilst also understanding the significant amount of trust actors place in us by sending us their audio), and because all of us descend into "OH, that was cool"/"Really nice choices; I just wish I could hear your room tone Gordon Ramsay'd"/"What is the charge? Eating a meal?!"/etc. rather than just me by myself.

(5 people have been counted for the audio review call due to Lu essentially making a cameo appearance; 6 total, but 5 present for the review piece)

• In the afternoon, I started "chemistry-testing" shortlisted options with each other and determined two potential permutations that I really liked. I started drafting casting emails with instructions re: next steps and other info, but knew I wouldn't send them out until at least Friday.
  • One very helpful tool for illustrating which permutation genuinely seemed to work better involved playing all 3 actors back-to-back in an easily looped video format. A significant piece of what informed decision-making re: Valeria was related to micro-pivots and her energetic/vocal balance with Pietro. Pietro and Abram need a certain level of vocal and energetic distinction for certain narrative beats—and two actors in particular firmly stuck the landing on both.
• Overall: I was genuinely delighted to hear from so many folks I either hadn't heard (in a performance capacity, at least) at all previously or hadn't heard from in a while. Every single applicant's work was admirable, and I'm incredibly psyched at the prospect of working with some folks we didn't end up selecting...just on future projects, should they have the availability and interest!

March 14th

• Today marked our team's pre-scheduled, but still very relaxed, team meeting (essentially an opportunity for folks who hadn't worked together previously to chat for a bit, if they wanted)—5 of us popped in and participating in a combination of coworking, chatting about nonsense, and briefly running through the project's deliverables schema (the Discord/Drive synergy discussed in the devlog for Week 1) for folks less familiar with that workflow.
• Casting emails were sent out today, and our actors started appearing in the project management hub!
• Script drafting also continued, albeit slightly out-of-order as a means through which to set up a later narrative beat.