Extended hiatus and news

Hello everyone!

First of all a huge apology for the lack of updates these past few months and the fact Spero: The Ocean Divers wasn't released on time.

A number of things has contributed to our lack of progress. Placement work is one of them, it's not long hours but I do end up taking a nap as soon as I get home and then most of the day has gone ^_^; Secondly is my room redecoration which is the original reason for the hiatus... Although my room is painted it's still not finished. I plan to finish that by the end of the year at least.

Secondly is a change in plans. To start Spero will undergo a major change in format next year. A beta of this format will hopefully be released in May 2014. As for a Noble Curse I'm lacking in some materials, but Chapter 1-3 is completed! I won't release it yet since I'm on limited free time to draw more chapters and it's not pleasant waiting months for another chapter!

Once again I apologise for the waiting. Early warning that my final year of university is fast approaching and we will be making less progress during that period as well.

Thank you all for your support up until now and I hope you continue to support us! It really means a lot!

-Yoyoli

Happy 2nd anniversary!

That's right! It's now been 2 years since I started Azure Tales!

Although we've made no progress on the surface we have learnt and developed within Azure Tales (As you've seen with the update posts).

Thanks again to everyone who continues to support Azure Tales as it grows and for your encouragement to keep progressing!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th August 2013)

Hey everyone! I'm just going to announce that Azure Tales will be taking a temporary hiatus due to personal reasons.

The reasons themselves aren't major so don't worry. In short: my room walls and ceiling had reached a state which couldn't be ignored anymore so I'll have to repair and redecorate it entirely. I'm also using the opportunity to sort through the contents of my room (If you imagine many stacks of paper, that's basically what I have to sort through :') )

I'll still be working when I find the time, but there won't be a blogpost for a while. (Save for one more this month in 1 week)

I still intend to release Spero: The Forest Dwellers and Spero: The Ocean Divers before the end of the year. The manga (A Noble Curse) I'm not sure about yet.

Thank you all for your understanding. I'll blog again when Spero is near release, the Twitter account will still be updating when I get the time so keep an eye out!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th July 2013)

*Phew* Thought I wouldn't make today's blogpost because we had internet issues ^_^; but here we are! And today I give you a preview of how Spero will now look:

Spero: The Forest Dwellers - Interface

It's actually just something I whipped up in Photoshop but that's how it should look. Oh and I've also included the boys new design. He looks much healthier now XD (Still a bit on the girlish side but he's still young). That's also an old background, I need some tree references.

Also rewriting the script, the old one felt really repetitive. Look forward to it!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th June 2013)

It's time for another update!

A Noble Curse - Gil and Al

Decided to talk more about A Noble Curse today. As you can see I've changed Gil's hat (Since he looked too much like Apollo in Spero) and his colour scheme is green rather than red. Al had the most changes though including his uniform and hairstyle.

I made a colour sketch to get a better idea of how they'd appear if they were in an anime (I wish!) It's only a basic, unfinished sketch but I hope this reassures you I'm still working on the manga series :D

There's not much to say today, Spero is still undergoing art and script changes.

Thanks!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th June 2013)

It's June! That means it's been over a year since I first released Spero and I still feel the nerves each time I think about the moment I uploaded it.

Without further ado, today's character is Conrad! The new hero in Spero: The Ocean Divers. The game will be played from his perspective:

Conrad - Spero: The Ocean Divers

That's his normal expression. Unlike Miyu who is generally cheery and surprised by every development, Conrad is very calm and serious. He's older than Miyu by two years as well (Age: 16) and the game takes place probably a few months after the original.

The game setting is further away from the Forest and, as hinted if you unlocked the 'True Ending', it's set on a remote island.

One more piece of news: I've changed the appearance of both Albert and Gilbert in A Noble Curse. Again the hair was annoying me to no end ^_^;

That's all today!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th May 2013)

Edit: I had this blogpost written early... then forgot to upload it :')

Hey all! It's time for Heidi's new look! Again I've posted the original for comparison :3

Spero: Original Heidi > New Heidi

Not much to say, been rather busy with requests. Some bad news: Again, Spero will have NO MUSIC or SOUND. It's going to be silent again because the people that have offered unfortunately have personal circumstances resulting in being unable to spare time to compose something. Sorry! Also I've tried the voice acting option again but I don't have the software or hardware to record properly T_T

I hope this doesn't put people off too much! On the bright side: I plan to release Spero: The Ocean Divers one week after Spero: The Forest Dwellers re-release.

Thank you all for your patience. It's taking me a while to get everything done but I will eventually get there!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th May 2013)

After 15 odd edits we finally have an updated Miles! I decided to post the old one up for your comparison as well. (Miles shocked expression probably saying: "Woah! It took 15 tries for this?!")

Old Miles on the left with his... detached hair (It didn't feel like it was actually on his head) and the new Miles with a fresh face expression and nicer hair. His face is less dark as well and I deleted some colouring that went over the line art ^^;

I'm much happier with the new Miles. It looks more like the original that I designed on paper! How do you feel about the new Miles? Let me know!

Progress on the manga as well but nothing to show yet. I'm working on it though! Thanks as always!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th April 2013)

We're back guys! ...Sort of, I still have an exam next week but once that's over I can assure you that Azure Tales will be steaming 100% with our projects! Because I haven't made much progress I've not much to show today but below is a modified Miyu portrait (Her happy face). It's less square and more pointy now.

Miyu - Happy (New!)

I also modified Miles' face expressions but not his hair yet. That picture will probably be in the next update. Until next month! Keep up with our Twitter account @AzureTales for any short post updates as usual!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th February 2013)

Spero: The Forest Dwellers - Miyu

Miyu is finally done! And the new textbox which you can see is now a transparent dark green in contrast to the rather bright blue in the original version ^_^; The textbox will go back to blue in Ocean Divers though (Dark blue).

One more thing to note is her new sword! Took me a while to design it (it's not my strong point). The white decor on the top is actually a feather like material, the entire sword has changed (including the blade) but you'll have to wait till the game is remade to see it ;) I never mentioned the details but it's actually a one-handed weapon; Miyu uses it with both her hands though since she's still rather young and inexperienced.

Not much other progress to note at this point. For any of you who have yet to play Spero: The Forest Dwellers I'd recommend waiting for the remake as it's essentially the same game. Next character to be redesigned is Heidi!

Quick answers to some questions I've had over the weeks:
Q: Is there a release date yet for 'Spero: The Forest Dwellers' remake and 'Spero: The Ocean Divers'?
A: No, most likely this year though. I'm hoping April (again) for The Forest Dwellers but no promises. As for Ocean Divers... probably late Autumn this year

Q: Is there a release date for your manga: 'A Noble Curse'?
A: Nope. It's still in storyboard stages since I've increased the number of chapters from 9 to 15. I don't want to release it until it's completely finished... otherwise you'll end up reading 5 chapters and then waiting maybe two months for another!!

Q: I've seen visual novels available for my Android and i-Phone. Any plans?
A: There was yes, for Android. However I'd need more time to read up on that. No plans for iOS, I was surprised I could make Spero available for Mac users in the first place!

Q: I use Linux but Spero isn't available for it...
A: I can make a Linux version. It's untested though and I didn't want the users to face any risk. If you have a Linux and would be happy to test it then by all means let me know! Note that I won't be seeking a tester until the new games though.

Q: Will 'Spero: The Forest Dwellers' be any different to its current version?
A: Yes and no. The game will play out virtually the same but I've added some hidden plot devices that I had (for some reason) forgot to originally. It'll be worth playing again, and if you have played it then you'll already know it's a fairly short game.

That's all for today! Thanks as always!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th February 2013)

Spero: The Ocean Divers - Miles

Final art for Miles done! Yes Spero: The Ocean Divers is back on artistic progress. The game WILL be 1024x768 in terms of dimensions. I don't know how well that will translate on smaller screens (such as netbooks)  but I will test it out. Most likely it'll have to run full screen for those devices.

You can see the art style since my first game has changed a fair bit. The remake of Spero: The Forest Dwellers will be more like this.

A Noble Curse is making steady progress in terms of storyboards.

Hopefully some of you have seen the updated website! I'll try to get the Ocean Divers section made soon (probably end of this month).

Thanks for reading!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th January 2013)

??? - A Noble Curse

First off a Happy New Year! I know it's 20 days late but I didn't get a chance to make a blogpost on the 5th January.

More work on A Noble Curse over the past few weeks and a few changes to the website (Not uploaded yet though). Above is a mystery man; why a mystery you ask? Because I haven't made a name for him yet! I can tell you, however, his official description is along the lines:

"The youngest hero of Crylite, his magic is powerful enough to engulf a village in flames. Many dark rumours seem to surround this young man and his cold personality doesn't add to his popularity."

Better wording when I've given him a name but that should do for now. He's also still with the Royal Guards but doesn't care much for his position, in fact he's pretty eager to leave for some reason. Will he be a friend or foe?

Now for some other news which may or may not affect Azure Tales. As you know I'm currently a student and I now have the chance to search for a Year in Industry/Year placement. There are 2 possibilities:
A) I find a local placement, in which case Azure Tales will not be affected
B) I find a placement which requires me to relocate. This will affect Azure Tales projects

If the placement is local, I'll be able to work on Azure Tales projects as normal and if not even more than I am now. The most probable situation sadly is B, and this would mean leaving my equipment and software behind. I can still do some basic things but I won't be able to work on any final art/sound development.

B Doesn't mean I'd stop development entirely. There's planning, art concepts and even coding that I can still do; you just wouldn't see a final product until late 2014 at earliest. Thinking about it now that's no different how my pace is currently, but just as an early warning: progress will become incredibly slow over this year and the next.

Thanks for reading as always!

-Yoyoli