Hello, everyone!

It’s been a little over a year since Netghost was fully funded. During this time, we have been able to make a great amount of progress on our visual novel, thanks to the contributions of our backers and the continued support of folks who have play tested the game and have given us feedback. The updates on the project aren’t as frequent as I hoped, but I think they are at the very least regular and of substance.

I think an update on our overall progress would be most fitting now! As with the previous update on our overall progress, details will be included here that pertain to assets that have been created and what assets still need to be created for the completion of each aspect of the novel. Completion percentages for each area will also be included, to give you a better look at the bigger picture.

Backgrounds – 95%

As said before, we have created an abundance of Backgrounds that are sufficient for the completion of the novel. Most of them we have released, some of them we have kept for a surprise, though we might end up releasing all of them at sometime before the full game itself is released. It is unlikely at this point in time, but the story may require a couple more backgrounds as the last chapters of it are written, so that is what that last 5% is.

Character Design – 100%

All characters (and their poses and expression frames) necessary for the completion of the story have been created. The number of characters aren’t as many as we had hoped, but nevertheless, they are just the right amount for Netghost’s story to be told!

Scenes / CG – 95%

Scenes are a combination of both Backgrounds and Character frames. We have created a decent number of CGs very impactful to the story, thanks to ekidoki’s skills for also making smaller-scale backgrounds that fit with the wonderful character frames he creates. Some additional, small CG frames may be required for the completion of the story, so we are leaving it at 95% for now.

Story – 80%

A great deal of progress has been made on the story since the last update, leaving just the last couple of chapters of the story unwritten yet, and some of the endings. We are currently at around 75000 words, which is a great amount in regards to our overall goal, which was 80k-150k words, as there is still quite a bit to write. As said before, how large the story is (and the % of how much of it is currently completed) also depends on the story itself. We are striving for both quality and quantity, regardless.

GUI – 90%

We have fleshed out some of the controls of the GUI, and now what is left to do is the last couple of screens (Save/Load Screens). Almost done!

Music – 75%

As said before, Music, along with Scenes / CG, will be one of the last things that will be made. A talented friend of mine, Karl Harmer, has offered use of some of his soundtracks for key points in the game.

That will be all for now. An art update should be coming up sometime soon.

Thank you!

– Phoivos A. Syros
Executive Producer & Creative Director