**Postmortem: Summoned! Into a dungeon without my meat bun.**

Hey everyone!

We just wrapped up our short kinetic visual novel, and wow, what a ride it’s been! Here’s a little peek behind the scenes at how everything came together (and a few things we learned along the way).

### Story Ideas

For starters, I have to admit I always write a lot and often struggle to trim it down. So, when the A2O2 jam opened, my friend Altila suggested I challenge myself to write a short story. After thinking about it, I thought, why not?

The story idea had been on my mind for a while, but I never really wrote it down. The A2O2 jam allowed me to finally put it into words. However, with the limited word count, I don't think I managed to deliver the story the way I wanted. My friend Mushroomallow offered to edit the story for me, and honestly, her version was much better than mine. I lost all confidence and felt my writing wasn't up to par.

But the goal for me joining this jam was to learn how to write a short story, so in the end, I decided to stick with my own writing instead of Mushroomallow's. (Even now, I wonder if I did the right thing or if I was being selfish...)

### Character Creation

Creating our characters was a blast! We wanted each character to feel unique and relatable, which meant lots of brainstorming and sketching. We had fun defining their personalities, backstories, and quirks. A big challenge was making sure they all had distinct voices that contributed to the story, even in such a short format. Lesson learned: spend as much time as you need here—these are the hearts of your story!

I like unique names, and finding the right names for each character is always a fun thing to do. In this game, I chose Citlalin after a long search; the word means "star."

I imagined her personality to be straightforward, brave, and strong-willed but also quite gullible at times. Her naivety actually gets her into trouble, like when she was tricked by her team and left behind in the dungeon. Another instance was when she bought a cheap artifact (at a high price) thinking it was an amazing one. Though the artifact managed to summon our character in the end.

For the MC character, I imagined them as a young teen at the age of 16, a game nerd with zero athletic skills. Their personality is someone who always tries to avoid confrontation (though sometimes it can be seen as cowardly). I made their character slightly blank so anyone can play and embody them.

### The Limited Time

Speaking of time, it was our biggest challenge. We had a tight deadline, which meant prioritizing tasks and sometimes making tough decisions about what to keep or cut. We discovered the beauty of a good project management tool and learned to cherish every minute. Lesson learned: plan meticulously but be ready to adapt.

### GUI Design

Designing the GUI was a lot of fun! We wanted it to be intuitive and enhance the player’s experience. We went through a few iterations to get it right. Balancing aesthetics with functionality was tricky, but we’re proud of the final look. Lesson learned: playtest early and often to get feedback on usability.

### Background Design

Creating the backgrounds was like stepping into our own world. We wanted each scene to be visually appealing and set the right mood. We used a mix of hand-drawn and digital techniques to bring them to life. Time constraints meant we couldn’t be as detailed as we’d like, but we focused on the essentials. Lesson learned: sometimes less is more—focus on what matters most to the story.

### Sprite Design

Our character sprites were another major focus. I loved how Mushroomallow managed to create such a beautiful Citlalin. I felt so honored to have her on our team.

### Programming

Programming was the backbone of our project. We used Ren'Py for its simplicity and effectiveness for visual novels. There were a few hiccups and bugs along the way, but nothing a bit of troubleshooting couldn’t fix. I'm grateful for my programmer, Mastrodavu, who was incredibly patient in listening and trying his best to work on the requests I asked him, including the last-minute clicker mini-game.

### Game Features

Given our scope, we kept the features simple yet impactful. We focused on a smooth narrative flow, seamless transitions, and engaging dialogue. Our main feature was the rich storytelling and character development, and we think it shone through. Lesson learned: focus on what you do best and polish it to perfection.

### Final Thoughts

This project was a whirlwind of creativity, teamwork, and learning. We had our ups and downs, but seeing the final product come together was incredibly rewarding. We’re grateful for the experience and can’t wait to apply what we’ve learned to future projects.

Thanks for being part of this journey with us! Stay tuned for more adventures!

Cheers,

Yui