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 (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 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

Updates (20th December 2012)

A Noble Curse - Roland Stark

Ooh a new character introduction from A Noble Curse! This here is Roland Stark, the head officer of the royal guards and one of the five heroes of Crylite. Our lively trio will encounter him a lot in the manga (though he's not the first of the heroes they meet).

I've been working on A Noble Curse for the past few days. Probably because I bought some manga myself which inspires me again to draw.

Some changes: Our heroes are now called Albert Solaris and Gilbert Solaris (instead of Knight as their surname). Notably my friend pointed out that Gilberts design strongly resembles that of Apollo from Spero: The Forest Dwellers. Not to mention the colour scheme is also red and their hair colour is similar. One will change though XD

This is the last post for the year! From myself here at Azure Tales: I wish you a happy new year and will post up in January!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th September 2012)

(No picture today)

This is more of an announcement post than an update one.

Voice Acting
I'm sad to say that Spero will NOT have any voice acting. I've done some thinking and it takes a fair bit of effort (and not to mention quality) that I can't really 'afford' right now. Not only in a monetary sense but a considerable amount of time as well. The plans for voice acting may arise again someday but not for at least another 2 years.

-For VA's who volunteered originally I give a thank you for offering and a sorry that I had to change plans.

Music
There IS plans for music though. My big problem with Spero was a lack of sound. So I'll be trying to compose something in my free time (Even if it's just atmospheric sounds). I don't intend to release Spero: Ocean Divers until there's music composed for that as well.

-Musicians who would like to consider composing pieces please get in touch via our public email. The pieces you compose MUST be original. Again this is VOLUNTARY, so you would be doing this for FREE.

-There will be a contract made and will require signing. (Details to follow in the next update post)

Remake
Spero: The Forest Dwellers WILL receive a remake. Mostly on the art side and as mentioned above with added music. I also intend to change the download process into one where you install the game rather than save a zip file. The remake will be released around the same time as Spero: The Ocean Divers.

-Once the new version of Spero: The Forest Dwellers is released it is advised you delete the current version. We apologise for the inconvenience and loss of save data (If applicable)

Website
Just an early warning that the website will be undergoing some maintenance over the next month. Also I viewed the website on my brothers laptop and it appears incorrectly on the Projects page. If any of you have had the same issue then I apologise and will have it fixed soon!

Poll
It seems to be an even vote for Miyu, The Boy, Heidi and Wizard. Thanks to the 4 people who voted! Those 4 will be redrawn first as a result~ The next poll will be about purchases. This is an important one for me and your views would be greatly appreciated! Poll will go live tomorrow.

Thanks for reading! I can safely say that both Ocean Divers and A Noble Curse are once again making steady progress! Look forward to some website updates next month!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th September 2012)

[Spero: The Ocean Divers - Conrad close-up]

Back in the UK! That means it's time to start the digital drawing of Spero: The Ocean Divers! As you can see I had a bit of practice earlier today of Conrad.

A Noble Curse hasn't made any progress since I last posted but Spero: The Ocean Divers script is now complete! So the next few weeks will be coding and drawing.

Now here's the bad news (Well good in a way) I'll be starting university again soon, meaning I won't have as much free time as I did over the summer holidays (I was expecting to start in October but they pushed the start date earlier this year). And I also have no idea how the translations are going for Spero: The Forest Dwellers.

Voice acting I'm still trying to write up some legal documents and stuff so that's still in progress.

On the bright side look forward to some Ocean Divers screenshots in the coming weeks and character art.

-Yoyoli

P.S. The poll is finally working! Vote for your favourite Spero: The Forest Dwellers character now!

Updates (20th August 2012)

No picture today sorry! Forward with the news!

A Noble Curse
I'm changing the process that applies to creating this. I'll be writing out the story first and yes... it takes more time. The reason being is that this method allows me to see the story flow better, rather than a flow chart of what I want to happen. With the changes that I made to the original... I'll need to write out how I want the story to flow.

For trivia: I never finished writing any books that I started when I was younger... but I DID draw out what I had written and more. That's where the method originates from! (And that's where I also found out I would be a terrible writer)

Spero: The Ocean Divers
This is still going as planned. I've not started the code work other than the template for the game (in Ren'Py). Using random images instead of what should be there is difficult and confusing so this will have to wait until I'm in the UK.

Speaking of which: By the next update post I'll be back in the UK! My holiday is ending soon (Well, my time overseas anyway).

As for the poll... again that will have to wait until I'm back in the UK. I'm assuming it's something to do with the browser or my netbook messing up.

That's all for today!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th August 2012)

Spero: The Ocean Divers - Louis and Phoebe concept art

A few things to mention and announce today!

First of all A Noble Curse is on hold. I say that, but what I mean is I'm rewriting it again. But not changing the entire thing... it's going to take a while to work out in short.

Spero: The Ocean Divers however is now taking my full attention (As well as a few collaborations I'm working on... more on that another day). The script is pretty much done first draft wise! Louis is a merman soldier and Phoebe plays as a mermaid guide. Can I just add that Louis is the manliest character I've ever drawn (Besides Gil XD)

Voice actors! This post is mostly directed at you. I won't start holding auditions until I'm back in the UK because I can't really edit them here (Cut them line by line for example). There will be a few things you should take into account:

• I have little experience in editing anything vocal wise. So I will have to rely on the original quality of the work you send me. If there's too much background noise or static, I can't use it.
• You will have to sign some kind of Non-Disclosure agreement, as I may need your services again for future works of the same series.
• With that in mind. The work is VOLUNTARY if you don't think you can manage much along with your actual schedule then I advise you not to apply.
• I give deadlines. They're usually flexible though, depending on your circumstances. If you repeatedly break them, I will find someone else.
• You can use a pen-name (But I do recommend you leave me your real name for various reasons including dealing with people who claim to be you)

There's a lot more but that's the basics. I'm not overly fussy on quality since this is voluntary but think about if you play a game and all of a sudden you hear static when one character talks. It's not very good XD

Also we'll be running polls on the blog! Some for fun and some are genuinely for feedback. This time it's for fun. Who is your favourite character in Spero: The Forest Dwellers? I'll draw a picture of the winner (and runners up) for the update after next ;3 You can find the poll at the top right of the blog.

That's all for today!

Yoyoli

[Edit] The poll isn't letting me add more than 4 answers for some reason so please wait until another day!

Updates (20th July 2012)

A Noble Curse: Clare Hope



Not much to say this time. A Noble Curse is moving along at a... strange rate XD It's nearly halfway done being storyboarded. There's a picture of Clare's original design above this. Clare is the travelling artist our two main characters meet in chapter 1. She's a kind hearted type, but she doesn't hesitate to shout or complain when things aren't going how she wants (She'll even kick poor Albert a lot).

Spero: The Ocean Divers is progressing well with the script. Even started doing some code work in Ren'Py.

Voice acting still not holding auditions yet. Haven't had time to write up agreements and all that legal stuff T_T but I promise it's coming soon!

-Yoyoli

Updates (5th July 2012)

[Spero: The Ocean Divers] - Conrad and Miles concept sketches

Thought I'd show a bit more info on Ocean Divers. Above is the main character and his best friend, Conrad and Miles respectively. Conrad is an impulsive 17 year old, so you'll be in a few situations where he may act rash without your consent XD. Miles on the other hand is the more 'playful' of the two. He may not SEEM to play a huge part in the game but your behaviour towards him might just turn a situation around.

Some names for A Noble Curse as well! The main character is now Albert Knight (Yes, they're finally given surnames in this project!) and the other brother is Gilbert Knight. Both end up being called Al and Gil instead. Our heroine (No photo of her today) is now Clare Hope... which might have been a bad move because I keep typing her name as Clara XD

One more piece of news today: we now have a public e-mail address for you to... well, e-mail us if there's any problems, feedback etc.

azuretalesqna@gmail.com

We make a point to not keep e-mails longer than needed (usually 30 days at most) so rest assured you can e-mail us and we don't store your e-mail address for very long. It will take a week at most (certain circumstances apply if we aren't available) to respond. We also accept fanart! It's in fact encouraging to see it, who knows... maybe we'll hold a contest! Please be responsible when sending us e-mails (In other words: no malicious behaviour or attitude and certainly no spam... these e-mails will be ignored).

I was going to throw a questionnaire but decided not to. But please do let us know if there's anything about Spero: The Forest Dwellers that you want to say (Screen resolution change, opinions on voice acting etc.). You can comment on any post on the blog (I usually recommend the latest post) as we can see all comments regardless of which post!

That's all for this update!

-Yoyoli

Updates (20th June 2012)

[A Noble Curse] - The main characters

So after a bit of debate I decided to do an update post every 5th and 20th of each month. The only exception being when I'm really busy that day so it'll either be postponed or posted a bit earlier.

The cast of A Noble Curse is completely designed now and the chapters are ready to be storyboarded. The first chapter is ready to be drawn out properly! (Shame I won't until I get back to the UK, but planning it all now saves me from having to plan it then find out it's poorly portrayed)

As for Spero, I'm still writing up the script and doing some concept sketches. It also gives me a chance to go outside and snap some references with a camera (If only it were a nice day for me to head out to the beach D: )

So in short:

A Noble Curse

• Characters drawn and planned
• Chapter 1 storyboarded
• Chapter 2 and 3 planned

Spero: The Ocean Divers

• All the characters have names (Finally)
• Script is still in progress
• Some background concepts done

For those asking about Spero: The Forest Dweller updates, I can't work on that unless I'm in the UK. I've got limited time and resources while I'm overseas, so don't expect any updates on it for at least a few months yet! Also if there are any Linux users who can't play the game let me know and I'll upload a version for it (The only reason I haven't done so is because it's untested).

Speaking of Spero: The Forest Dwellers, who would like voice acting included? I'd make an option for you to switch it off of course but I've had a few volunteers for voice acting. Let me know your thoughts on it!

 

-Yoyoli

Project 2 and 3

It's been 1 week since Spero: The Forest Dwellers launched and I've had some great feedback and support! Thank you all who have enjoyed it so far. I'm sure those who have had a play will have guessed what I'm announcing today, and those who follow us on Twitter (@AzureTales) will have heard a little about Project 3 already.

First I can unveil Project 2 is in fact the next chapter of Spero! Those who got the 'True ending' will have seen a sneaky preview of the location. The next chapter is titled:

Spero: The Ocean Divers

The chapter had already been planned from the start, and I've started the script (Reverse order on what I worked on for SperoFD which started with the art first). I've no release date yet since I'm currently overseas and can't do any final artwork. The visual novel is planned to be longer than SperoFD though (there's a lot of text for this one!). More details on the game will follow once the script hits about 50% done.

Those who follow us on Twitter will know that the Project 3 is a manga series! It spans about 9 chapters (probably about 3 books if it were a physical copy) and a special. The manga will be FREE and available to read online once it's done (I'll release chapters per fortnight probably). I'm considering physical copies late into the future maybe ;P but the title is (subject to change):

A Noble Curse

The manga is set in the kingdom of Crylite, where a cursed beast roams the land and causes tame monsters to go on a rampage across the towns. A pair of merchant siblings, travel to help those who have been hurt and to find a way to rid the cursed beast.

That's it for this announcement! The next blog post will be a quick questionnaire about Spero: The Forest Dwellers. (I'm setting up an e-mail account as well) look forward to some work in progress art and more updates over the next few months.

Also: I won't be available for contact between 9th June 2012 - 14th June 2012 as I'm on a trip with my family.