Caz

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~ Starting your Quest... ~ Hey Reborn! New month, new update! So let's cut to chase and talk about what's new. Spoiler alert - there's some cool stuff in this one. This month's update is particularly important, as we have taken a broader look at things that we have needed to improve from both a UI and RPG perspective in order to make the game run more seamlessly. Two major ways we've decided to increase accessibility to the game's RPG elements is through character selection and an in-game quest log - both of which being completed features that are ready to go for Episode 6! So, let's dive in... ~ Ruby's WIP of Hardy, after he becomes a lieutenant of the Black Foxes ~ Character Selection ~ To kick things off, I had best talk about how we have altered character selection and the role of gender. From E6 onwards, your character look and gender will be completely separate variables. Initially, we settled on having two new non-binary protagonists, which were unveiled by Ruby some time ago. However, it seemed obvious later on to completely separate these altogether. You can now, for example, select your gender as 'female' or 'non-binary' and continue to select Chad or Diego as your character model. To celebrate the full extent of these changes, we have decided to completely overhaul the character selection menu at the beginning of the game. Let's see what Ruby's been up to: After introducing yourself to Rosetta, you will be brought to this elegant menu in which you can choose your starting character - be it Daniela, Sienna, Robin, Chad, Diego, or Avery. If these profiles aren't enough for you to make a decision, you can feel free to select one of these characters and bring up a secondary menu (shown in Patreon only just for now). From these selections, you can see your transition sprite, trainer sprite, and overworld sprite. Ruby has made a great stylized template for all six characters. If you feel like you'd like to change characters later on, this remains a feature in Cellia Central. For those of you who are worried about the selection of your gender in your E5 save - the game will ask you to clarify your gender when you begin E6 content. There's more to characters in E6 - including features that we are keeping closer to the chest for now. It's an exciting time to be working on the game, that's for sure. ~ Quest Log ~ Oh boy, it's happening. One of the most HEAVILY requested features in Desolation has been to implement a Quest Log for the game that informs the player of what they have done, and where they need to go next. I put this off the longest period of time, mostly due to my own technical limitations - however, we were 100% saved by one member of the Reborn community - Yumil. Yumil has been working on the Quest Log for some time, alongside his other fan-game additions, so we would like to give him a massive shout-out from us for pioneering this component of the game and getting it to work so well. Feel free to send a thank-you his way for the effort he has put into this. That aside, let's get into what he has created... Firstly, the menu can be accessed in the PokeGear, as shown here: At first glance, the menu doesn't really show much of anything - as undiscovered quests will appear as '???' until they are discovered later on. When you are exploring the in-game world, you will interact with NPC's and other characters that will trigger quests to be started. Once a quest is started, or an objective is complete, you will be prompted with this update: After you are prompted, you can access the Quest Log to see your newly discovered quest... When you access this newly discovered quest, you will be met with your completed objectives, and the next objective you need to complete, as prompted by the quest-giving NPC you previously interacted with: Orange represents an incomplete quest or objective, and green represents a completed quest or objective. For better representation of this, this is what a completed quest looks like: When a quest is completed, it is shifted to the bottom of the Quest Log and marked "DONE": So yeah - that basically explains it. It was originally intended to exclusively track side-quests, but as we developed it further it was clear that it could be certainly used for main quests as well. As such, the side-quest and main-quest tab has been separated and can be switched between. Finally, we've also decided to have a bit of in-game fun with the quest log... you'll certainly find out how so soon enough! Again, massive shoutout to Yumil for all the work he has put into this feature. We wouldn't have been able to bring in this awesome feature without him. It's been super fun writing and implement the main quests for this game (although I'm not sure how much fun Posty has had to do the same with the side quests). Also a wee shout-out for Ruby and Crim who worked on many of the sidequest names. This pretty much wraps up our content for this month. I've been working on the story on the side, of course, but for obvious reasons, I am keeping that in-house for the moment. Cheers for the support everyone, let's keep this going! xoxo Caz

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~ Justice is Served ~ Hey Reborn, it's been a good ol' month, so we are BACK at it. I hope everyone enjoyed the stream we conducted over on the Reborn server some time ago - we had a load of fun with that. We've also just had a load of fun in general on development for this month, so without further ado... let's get started! As the developers, we've really been doing the time this month when it comes to bringing this game to life just a tad more. So, to repay you, the fans, we thought you'd do the time too... in prison. Episode 6 drops you into the midst of Cellia East, a sprawling developmental marvel of Cellia that features the best the city has to offer... but not everything is perfect on that side of town, as it also features two other locations that are somewhat less welcoming - the Cellia Dockside and Cellia Outskirts. These locations serve to temper out Cellia East the slightest bit and let you know that the foundation of every beautiful location in this game has, at its core, a sinister undertone. The Foxes? Team Crescent? Or more? For now, it's hard to say what's unfolding on this side of town. Whatever the case, something in this town is not as it seems... It might feel like Cellia East keeps increasing in scale to the point where it'd be the largest city content drop of any episode... and that feeling would be right. Cellia East is doubtlessly the most ambitious cityscape that I've built, and seeing everything fit together so well is truly satisfying. Within the heart of the Cellia Outskirts, you'll find the Cellia Prison. How, or why, you end up here... is up for debate. Whatever the case, it looks like when Episode 6 drops, we'll all be doing some time here. It's not so bad, really. For now, that's it from me. Cheers again for the support, and we'll be in touch soon! Caz

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~ March Madness (because there's no theme) ~ So... this content update that has no theme or correlation, how exciting! I have been hard at work on Desolation's main story, which continues to go smoothly. However, this unfortunately means that I have less to show off than the usual update. Desolation's story is the heart of the game, and its twists and turns are best experienced for the first time by you, the players. Although... that doesn't mean I don't have things to show you! ~ A new location ~ The team has been throwing some tiles together to a new location that you will explore at some point in Episode 6, and I just wanted to showcase some of the tiles Ruby and Crim have worked on... I wonder what kind of area this might be? Bear in mind that this isn't actually an in-game map, but more of a testing area where Posty was trying out some of Ruby and Crim's tiles. You might notice that the statue is a bit out of place in this area... and you'd be right. Don't worry, I've shifted it. These were a really nice touch in making Cellia East look just the slightest bit sharper. I also thought I'd throw in a wee screenshot from one of the nightclub's back areas as well, just for good measure. Once again, there's a ton of new areas to explore in Cellia East and beyond, whether you like the city, or the great outdoors. We have chosen not to share every little location with you, as I'm super excited to see what you guys think when you experience them firsthand... ~ Character Updates ~ Ruby has also done a ton of updating to the sprites of characters that we already know and love. There are a couple of new faces in Episode 6, but we will refrain from introducing them until later... for now, here are some updated familiar faces: As you can see, Connor's face has had a complete redesign (again), and Lilith's outfit had a complete overhaul, as Ruby values authenticity quite a bit. It's safe to say that these turned out pretty well. In terms of content for this month... the rest is obscured in spoiler territory, I'm afraid. There'll be some more things to show off in the near future, but for now, I'll just have to leave it there. To finish, here is some unreleased concept art of a particular Mega evolution that you have already seen, as designed by Ruby. She's super fantastic when it comes to this kind of art, and I'm very excited for you all to see what new forms she has come up with... Hint: There's definitely more than one ;) Until next time! Caz

There are no current plans to add drip John Cena into Episode 6. However, I will take this post into consideration and have extensive discussions with my team for the potential of a drip John Cena spinoff game. More details to come in the future.

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~ Clubs, Corporations, and Corruption ~ It's been a long time since I posted a substantial update on this development blog, so I thought it was time to get everyone here up to speed, and make sure you hadn't completely forgotten about me. Firstly, wow - it's 2021, and I haven't even made a post yet. Although this is late, I really hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season, and that 2021 shapes out to be better than 2020. While 2020 wasn't a great year for most, it was a big year for Desolation - we launched Episode 5, which featured huge upgrades graphically and mechanically, as well as the continuation of the story you know and love. I also got to publicly celebrate bringing Posty, Ruby, and Crim into the team and the future of this project. In 2021, we really hope we can share with you how we've continued to grow this game, and we're really excited for you to try it. Now... I may as well get started... with some percentages, I guess. Pokemon Desolation Episode 6 Development Progress Old Content #################### | Map Updates (45%) #################### | Script Updates (30%) #################### | Misc (25%) -------------------------------------------------- #################### | Total (33%) New Content: #################### | Story (40%) #################### | Mapping (55%) #################### | Scripting (40%) #################### | Sidequests (40%) -------------------------------------------------- #################### | Total (44%) I never really updated these bars, so I thought it might be good to get some grey out of the picture. Development is going about as smoothly as I could hope, all things considered, and we've made some great progress recently. Our personal release window still hasn't changed (I mean, it's ready when it's ready hehe ;]), which is all I can really hope for. I won't blabber on about that stuff, because I'm sure you guys just want to see some screenshots, art, and features... so let's move on, shall we? Aurora WIP by Ruby I'll kick things off with a quick look at one of the most important pillars of Cellia East... its sprawling nightlife. ~ Clubs ~ The holiday seasons has passed, but there's no shame in getting your groove on! The renowned nightlife of Cellia East comes in all shapes and forms, and if you want to party, there's no better place to do so than at Bar 101, Cellia East's exclusive nightclub. Don't let that deter you, though... there's other places you can party in Cellia... The nightclub is a great place to show off some moves, or even see some other characters pull some stunts, but it's also more than that. The nightclub acts as a hub where you can interact with some of the other characters of Desolation in a more informal setting. After all, the characters we all love need to loosen up eventually. Be it at the bar, in the VIP areas, or on the dancefloor... there's always someone to hang out with. You might fight yourself at the club quite frequently in the coming episode... ~ Corporations and Corruption ~ Cellia East, and the wider Cellia, is mostly looked after by the Cellia Council, located in Cellia East. This is an assortment of legal, structural, and research teams that look to improve the lives of those who live in Cellia. However, it's increasingly difficult to look after these citizens in the wake of the economic crisis left by the Foxes, particularly on the rebuilding Cellia North. The council itself has fallen on particularly tough times, and its ability to fund initiatives within the city has been cut short. This particularly harms the Research and Development Team... who may have to resort to other means to get the money they need for their research... Which is of course, a situation you might find yourself caught up in. Do remember... you don't always have to do the right thing, at least not in Cellia East. ~ Looking back ~ In developing this future content, there's nothing wrong with looking back at what you've done, and figuring out exactly where to improve things. For Desolation, there's some obvious points. For now, I wanted to share with you an update on the cruise ship that was meant to take you to Cellia in the first place. It is no secret that the graphical elements of this entire sequence were pretty outdated, which is why we've put a lot of effort into remaking this entire area from scratch, so players can feel the work our artists have put into the game from the get-go, instead of waiting for newer episode content. Here's a sneak peek: I've got to admit, even as a WIP it's a massive improvement to what things looked like before. Maybe you could even go for a swim. There's a lot of interior work going on as well, although I'm under specific instruction from Posty (who is pioneering the remake of the boat maps) to leave more of that for later. Anyway, I'm sure you get the idea. We're aiming for a massive upgrade of this area overall, to back up upgrades to other earlier areas, like the Keneph Beach. We're really looking forward to you guys playing through these areas! ------------------------ To wrap up - this is just a little peek at what's to come. I've been working on a ton of spoiler-ridden story content lately, which has made updates require a little more... savvy. As I develop these new areas and ideas, I really want to expand them to a point where they really fit into the world of Cellia East. It's a lengthy process, but I'm just so incredibly excited about Cellia East that I want it to be perfect. There's a lot of different beats that are being worked on simultaneously. It's no secret at this point that Episode 6 is the largest undertaking we've had, and it's an enormous amount of work. However, it isn't insurmountable, and I'm excited about where things are heading. This year is going to be Desolation's biggest, and we can't wait for everyone to see what's next! Cheers Caz Note: The majority of this content is from Patreon - if you'd really like to support us and what we do, you can do so there <3

I didn't really base Shiv off anyone - which is pretty obvious from his earlier models oops. His re-design later on did yoink that jacket thoooo While Connor's original design from an art perspective was essentially budget Fern, his actual character isn't based off Fern. The character, being one of the first I made, is based off what I wanted the mainstream Pokemon games to have as a rival - someone who comes off as rude, competitive, and oftentimes downright mean, but also actually has a heart.

I made Jarred in Episode 1 (back in 2015) when I was working on Desolation alone. Did I anticipate it? Of course. His rise was inevitable.

This is the single greatest thing I have ever seen. I just... I can't. I am blown away. This is a game-changer. Shakespeare couldn't have done it himself. You are my new favourite person. EDIT: THE NAMES... THE PORTRAITS... YOU HAD TO REWRITE LITERALLY EVERY LINE FOR THIS. HOW DID YOU DO IT. ARE YOU OK.

There's no real theme. It's a pretty sporadic process where I come up with a series of names for an area and then pick the one that a) fits the area best and b) fits well in conjunction with other town names. There's no real in-depth process.

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~ A trip to the beach... ~ Just a short update today. While I continue to work on the sprawling, spoiler-ridden beast that is Cellia East, I offer you a brief respite to... the beach? I would say that it's the perfect time of year to hit the beach (it's summer where I am) but I suppose that's not super applicable to everyone, especially with lockdowns, so I'll just get on with it... There's more than one reason we're suddenly interested in beaches. With Episode 5, we aimed to polish the game bit by bit - to improve small elements of every nook and cranny. In Episode 6 - we're remaking entire chunks of the game. This overhaul starts with... well, the start. I'm sure most people think that the introduction to this game is pretty dated, and you'd be right - so we're starting things out by completely remaking the introduction - both writing-wise and graphically. Here's a sneak peek. Yup - a much more modern layout, with more colourful, flashy tiles - it's a WIP, but it's certainly getting there. Obviously, this is where I give a huge shoutout to our recent addition, crimsoncrim, who has been taking an enormous role in creating fresh, vibrant tiles for the game, and we're super grateful to have her on board. Bear in mind that this is just one map - we've got a lot more to offer (starting with a certain cruise ship), so we'll keep you posted. That being said, we're not completely stuck in the past. The tiles that Crim has been working on also pioneer future areas of significance in Episode 6. Here's a little sample of some new tiles that we've been playing with for a new area: Crim's been on fire lately, for sure. We hope she's got sunscreen, with all the time she's spent on the beach. Anyway, that's all for now. I'll be sure to send y'all more stuff when it's available. Until then, take care. Caz

Coincidental. I never watched Naruto that far in (it's a really, really long show). I learnt of the relevant arc in Naruto a good deal of time after writing Episode 2 (where the dialogue you're referring to comes from). It's not exactly an idea that's deeply original, and in my case, it only served to facilitate discussions that were bought about by academic sceptics and much later by René Descartes, those discussions forming the thematic basis of the story. I wanted to bring in the question of living in a dream early on, but in a more indirect way.

1) I have major plot points drawn up until the end of the game. The rest I create episode-episode, which gives me a huge amount of freedom without going to far off track. 2) I actually did find it really difficult to fill in the blanks with E5's story. So much of the game was super unfamiliar to me, and it took loads of time to work things out. It's probably quite evident in E5 that my own perception of the characters had changed significantly.

~ Excerpts from Patreon ~ ~How much neon do we need? How about... an entire city!~ Oh, hey. It's certainly been a while - sorry about that. Anyway, yup, we darn did it. After some careful deliberation, we decided to go completely bonkers and make a district entirely neon... In concept, I knew getting the feeling and atmosphere for Cellia East right would be very difficult, but after an awful amount of time, and several changes to its theme, I'm pretty satisfied with the result. Without further ado, here's what I've come up with ~ Yeah, we've got purple lights. Why? Because normal lights don't do justice for the never-ending party in Cellia East. Boy, am I excited to bring this place to life. Ah yes, the one partygoer in Cellia East. Okay, truth be told - it doesn't look exactly riveting at the moment. I've got to get round to fully populating Cellia East and giving NPC's a meaningful story in this small neon microcosm. I really want to create this perfect little part of the game where every nook and cranny feels like a joy to explore, and for each part to feel like it has a story to tell. Despite Cellia East being party-central, I thought it'd be nice to add some greenery to one of the city districts for once. It's a nice change of pace. Anyway, there's still much to be done with East. I'm really happy with how progress is coming along, and I'm excited for all of you to play through what I have in store in the future. Posty's work on mapping (with our existing tile sets), as well as Ruby's work on characters and new, complex tiles really lets me focus on systematically building an experience that I'm truly proud of. I'm finding myself spending much more time on details, and perfecting each little part that I work on. It's really fun, and I haven't had this much of a blast developing stuff in a while. That's all from me. We've got some cool new things cooking outside of Cellia East... and in due course, we'll reveal all. All I can say is that the creativity from the team is really starting to shine through! Thanks again for the support! Caz

We have no plans ourselves of creating a fan wiki, so fans are welcome to do so

~ Snippet from Patreon ... it's about the friends we made along the way! Hi guys! Just a quick update today. I've finished up with the final bits of writing for Episode 6, and I've very happy with how it's turned it. There's still some side quest stories that I want to iron out, but following that and we'll be starting to chop through things at a faster pace. I wanted to dedicate this post to showing off some of the work that Posty and Ruby have been doing, and illustrating how much their role has expanded since they jumped on this rickety wagon. Firstly, Ruby is now playing a much larger role in the design elements of the environment, with Cellia East being our first look at Ruby's work in turning a city map into a fun, engaging, and unique experience. Here is a small spoiler-free showcase of some of the pieces she has been working on. Ruby's created some over cool things that I'd love to show off, but we're keeping that stuff hidden for now! I want to give Posty a shoutout here as well! When he first joined on he was solely involved in balancing teams, but his role has expanded quite a bit since then. He's been doing quite a bit of mapping, and his recent maps, in particular, have been awesome! Here's a snippet of the kind of stuff he's been up to in the Dreamscape, which we're greatly expanding upon in Episode 6. I'm really looking forward to all of you checking out what we have in store for the Dreamscape! I've got quite a bit planned for this area in Episode 6. Taking the feedback from Episode 5 into account, I really do feel like this will be a staple of the game in the future. Anyway, this is it for now. Cheers for the ongoing support guys! I've been really busy with medical school lately, but things are coming along quite nicely. I'm still alive, I guess. 'Till next time, homies. Caz

After 1000 years, and many battles fought over judging - I come to you all with a winner of this esteemed and highly competitive competition! First of all, thank you all for participating and putting your work into making these. It was awesome to watch these come out, and we all had fun going through them. Once again, thank you all so much for giving this a shot! <33 There were a handful of honourable mentions, which were absolutely incredible. In no particular order: - Clamperl-Jarred, by Cervys - Jarrette, by Khrona - 2B Jarred, by Hycrox - Nihilego-Jarred, by Cervys - Cresselia-Jarred, by Azzie To be fair, it was an enormous challenge for us to separate most of these submissions from one another, and when we completed our first voting we all voted for different things. As a result, the submissions that we had in common in our top 2 were taken to a highly specialised judging panel and a winner was narrowly decided by one vote. Without further ado~ ~ Runner-up - Darkrai-Jarred, by Lorac! Perhaps the face of villainy isn't what it seems...? ~ Winner - Jarred at 3% power, by Khrona! ... if only I could be so grossly incandescent... Once again, thank you to everyone that participated. This competition was super fun for all of us, and everyone had a great laugh. We'd love to use a couple of these in-game, so we'll contact those of you who entered at some point to get your permission. Cheers! May Jarred guide the way!

Thank you! As for tilesets - this is fine. Note that by using my tilesets, you also have to give credit to Ame and Jan, as I frequently use resources from their tilesets.

You could combine all of these optimisation posts into an actual thesis and get a research publication out of this literal madness

Thank you for the incredible submissions thus far, I am sure that Jarred is, at the very least, satisfied by these contributions. Competition will close on Saturday! Cheers for the participation!

THE FIRST SHINY COMPETITION?! Hi. Yes, this is happening and no, you can't stop it. Jarred is coming for us all. We can only wait and hope that he chooses to spare us. Rumour has it that only the creator of the best custom shiny for Jarred will survive the coming Jarrepocalypse - so fight your best fight, and you might live to see another day! This competition is to see who can make the greatest custom shiny sprite for Jarred's trainer sprite (aptly named trainer420 in the graphics folder, just don't ask ok). You can do anything within reason, but keep it appropriate - y'all know what I mean. The reward for victory is a continued existence, eternal fame, and your shiny being featured in the game in some way or form that I will not currently disclose for reasons(?!?!). Please, post your submission as a reply to this thread! I will leave this thread unlocked for seven days. They called me a madman.

Hi guys! I just wanted to say thanks again to all those that have been answering questions and helping one another out. I'm really busy most of the time, so it's awesome that things have mostly chugged along just fine in my absence (and Posty's moderation).

Hi. Please send me a message (with your save attached) including what happened when your game "bugged out". I'll fix it for you