This is the next of the usual devlogs to keep you informed about my progress.

The project Late Shape Journey is now in version B.0.5.5.

A download is not available for this game yet.

Implemented 'Conversation System'

Added some final 'bonus assets'

Miscellaneous adjustments

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Progress Showcase (Outdated)

This is the first new system since... I think the chapter interface?

The conversation system will allow you to have some short dialogues between certain characters of a chapter.

Short means, in fact, a vertical layer of 5 times back-and-forth. That being said, your character has always two answers to give.

So, depending on what these answers are, the horizontal layer can move a discussion into quite different outcomes. (32, actually)

Your character will change their expression depending on the selected answer, giving you a hint into where the discussion might go.

Although, of course, neither they nor you are (probably) a clairvoyant - so how your conversing party will react is kept a mystery.

But fret not: This system is not meant to lock you into certain choices. It is, like the game, meant to use for exploration.

You can always switch back from a chosen answer- even all the way back to the beginning of a conversation. (Nobody will notice)

Also, you can skip a conversation at any point to mark it as achieved and return to it as often as you want afterwards. (Weird, huh) 

Oh, look. A happy continuation of our dialogue. Your conversation partner is interested in continuing the subject.

What will you choose? (It does not matter as the test dialogue ends here, but psst)

Oh my, that escalated a bit, did it not? Maybe we should go back before they say stuff to each other they do not mean to.

Note however, that these are only extreme examples. While possible, it is currently not planned to stumble into early roadblocks in dialogue.

As mentioned, you can always skip a conversation if you like.

This is especially important, as conversations are only unlocked for a certain time during a chapter.

If you fear you might miss it by continuing the game, keep in mind:  Once 'achieved' conversations can be re-done any time.

You will always be able to see the state of a conversation by looking at the tag in the navigation bar (here 'New').

Chickening out of a convo will not mark it as completed, though. So always make sure to check the conversation list for *Ongoing* dialogues.

Conversations are all about exploring lore and characters, so if you skip some of them, it is alright, too.

If you are an interested completionist though, you will be awarded a small trophy at the chapter screen for getting all 64 conversations in the game.

As mentioned, I also looked into the budget I had set for the project around the time I started it.

There was still a litte tit-bit left, so I looked into some minor additions. Some for the very end of the game, some sound effects, and a literal bonus to find during chapters. Something like that.

I also added one more plugin to support splash screens and moved the 'Made with MZ' to the game start. In exchange, I had to make a new picture for the first-time bootup completion. I went with the one above.

Yes, the estimated time is my real schedule I have planned for the project. Let us see how far off I will be at the end. (Mostly further behind)

The characters at the bottom will become colorized after their respective chapter has been released, by the way.

Feel free to follow my project here on itch.io or via my x-profile.

The next update will be showcased on here as soon as it is ready.

Like always, thank you for reading and have a nice week, everyone.

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