I've made good progress this month! 

I successfully finished Noah's route by the end of June XDDDD

June Progress:

• Completed the first draft of Chapter 7 (Week 23)
• Completed the first draft of Chapter 8 (Week 24)
• Revised & finished both Chapter 7 & 8 (Week 25)
• Completed the outline for Act 3 (Week 26)
• Reviewed and revised Chapters 4 to 6 (Week 26)

July Plan:

• Finish revisions & edit for Chapters 4 to 6
• Complete the final script of Act 2
• Write the first draft of Act 3
• Revise Act 1

Overall, Noah's route turned out to be even more exciting than I initially imagined after two rounds of revisions! I almost cried while writing the final scene ahahaha... 

After completing Chapters 7 and 8, I re-read Chapters 4 to 6, which cover the common route and Hendrix and Edmund's routes. I realized there were still many areas that needed improvement. So with Act 2 is theoretically completed, many scenes require additional plots and more refinement, especially in Chapter 5 and H&E's routes, which need significant rewriting.

Additionally, I added two more chapters to Act 3 of TROT because the plot became quite complex. So now, the full version of TROT will include a prologue, Chapters 1 to 12, and an epilogue, totalling 14 chapters.

Currently, my goal is still to complete the main script work before August arrives. Thus the plan for July is to finish all the revisions for Act 2 and write the first draft of Act 3. Starting in August, I should begin programming and artwork (god, please let me escape from the script work…!).

New Sprite Visualization Tool

Moreover, this month, I reorganized some of the art assets for TROT, mainly character sprites. I optimized some code to better manage the main characters' expressions, which should help avoid future issues when updating character art assets. Thanks to a friend's recommendation of the Layered Image Visualizer for Ren'Py (https://feniksdev.itch.io/layered-image-visualizer-for-renpy), I don't need to screenshot expressions and upload them to google sheets anymore. 

Some Side Thoughts:

I've been writing so much these past few months that I sometimes feel trapped. Spending 5 hours at my desk every night feels like a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of hours left. Sometimes I wish I could pause time and work non-stop until I pass out! (But I avoid this for health reasons).

This month, I wrote some code, which improved my mood. Coding made me happy! However, the unfinished script is always on my mind, reminding me it needs to be finished, and I might miss some inspiration if I don't focus on it... Ugh! The elephant in the room!

Writing and game development can’t be rushed. Unlike learning a language or instrument, where with the right method, 20% of the time can yield 80% of the results, creative work like this often gives 20% of the results for 20% of the time (or less in results).

I hoped to release Act 2 by August back in 2023, but delays are inevitable. Even if I could redo the past few months, I wouldn’t have done better. I’ve put all my time and energy into it, so there’s no regret about my progress. 

Hope in the next update I can finish the major scripting works!