We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's June. Here's the status report for this month.
In May, I mainly worked on the battles in Chapter 3 and oversaw the illustrations for the last two chapters. I came up with enemy skills, made new skill effects, adjusted their damage levels... I'm almost done with Chapter 3! (Other than putting the translations in and debugging though.) I want to move on to Chapter 4 in the second half of this month if I can.
I've also added a new feature to battles. Such as enemy counterattacks. For example, if a skilled warrior prepares a counter before Goshe attacks, maybe there's a chance you get hit back...
If you perform a perfect input, your attack would land, but if you don't, the enemy counters instead.
I also plan to add new status effects in Chapter 3. Hopefully, it'll be a completely different experience from the other finished routes.
-------
Also, and this isn't related to this project, I'm going to be presenting at CEDEC next month about game design. It's a conference targeted at game developers, so it probably has nothing to do with most people reading this, but if you're interested, feel free to stop by! https://cedec.cesa.or.jp/2025/timetable/detail/s67b0454b7f56a/ I'll keep working on the game while also preparing for this talk.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It is now May. And since the Golden Week holidays are over, here's a status update.
In April, I mostly worked on writing events (and comissioning related work and overseeing that work). The events of Chapter 3 are almost complete. This part will take place in a scary, snowy mountain, and there are lots of event that take place there. There's even a quiz I worked hard to come up with questions for. The Chauris Special Quiiiiiiz!!!
Background art plays a pretty important role in this route, so we've put a lot of effort in that too.
And there's plenty of smaller illustrations for certain moments during events.
In May, I want to finish the battles in Chapter 3 and tweak everything. Ideally, I'll even finish Chapter 3 entirely. I'll also be getting new art for enemies in Chapter 3 starting from May, so I'm planning on staring at the art while I think of moves for the enemies.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's April. Now that March is over, 25% of the year has passed. And now it's time for this month's status update.
In March, I've been checking illustrations and working on Chapter 3. I've been checking the art submitted by A-san and replying to them, and then checking the art from B-san and replying to them too, and then when I try to do some of my own work I get another message from A-san and have to check their new art and reply again... And that's the loop I've been going through.
But hey, the illustrations are coming along very nicely. By the way, I planned to focus more on humanoid characters for this route, but I feel like that would upset a certain number of people and make them glare at me with hatred in their eyes, so I'm adding more anthro characters as random NPCs.
Like this buff bear guy.
Or this slender, hot cat lady.
Other than these two, we're working on bird and sheep characters too. We've also finished some of the illustrations for events, and it just feels so good to put them into the game. It feels like the ideas I had in my mind are becomining reality.
The events themselves, at least for Chapter 3, are around 40% complete. This month, I'll continue to check the art while working on the events of Chapter 3. Hopefully, I'll be done by the end of April.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's March already, and time for a new status update. I've beaten the newest Monster Hunter game, by the way.
That aside, in February, I commissioned the artwork to be used in Chapter 3 onwards, as well as a bunch of little tasks here and there. First I had to decide on who to commission, and then prepare references for the illustrator according to what they need, and then actually approach them and negotiate with them for the commission... A sudden commssion from a nameless creator like me would look really suspicious, so I do my best to prepare good references so that I can gain the illustrator's trust. Of course, that does take a lot of time, especially since this time I was commissioning like 5 people. It was a lot of work.
Before, I commssioned artists every time I made a new chapter, but this time I commssioned art for all of the upcoming chapters at once. This makes it easier to commission art, since I have a very clear idea of how and when the art will be used in the game. I can even show them how the scene will play out in-game by adding screenshots to my requests.
My hard work has paid off too, and I was able to commission many of the artists I was considering. I'm already looking forward to seeing the art I'll receive soon. At the same time though, this does mean I'll be spending millions of yen from my savings, which is making me a little lightheaded, but... y'know... yeah... I can't wait!!!!!!
------------------
From March onward, I'll be able to focus on developing Chapter 3. I'm also adding new battle features to every chapter, which should let you enjoy something a little different from the battles in the completed routes.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's February. Which means it's time for another status update.
I'm finally, FINALLY done writing the story and implemented the text into the game! (The art isn't done yet, so when that's done I'll have to add them too of course.) I'm really relieved I could wrap up Elmaise's story, as well as the stories of a bunch of other characters.
If we were to compare the finished routes and the routes I've been writing so far, the word count looks like this...
Chapter 3A~Final Chapter A: 151,298 JP characters (including all events)
Chapter 3B~Final Chapter B: 96,424 JP characters (only the story)
So in terms of word count, Chapter 3 all the way up to Endings 3 and 4 are around 60% complete now. I started writing in October or so, so it roughly took around 4 months, give or take?
As for events, I'll have to write them while also making the battles related to the events, so I can't write them at the same pace as I did the main story, but I can tell I'm getting closer to finishing. Translations still need to be done and I need to check the art and music when that's finished too, so I can't really say anything about the release date just yet. But for my own workload, I'm hoping to finish everything within half a year. And now that I've jinxed myself, maybe I won't get to finish within half a year...
Please bear with me a little longer.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's January... Mid-January, even. I know it's a bit late, but here's my status update. (Sorry, but I was held up by a lot of personal stuff.)
In December, I took plenty of rest in between work. I did a lot of work nonstop in October and November, and that was starting to take a toll on me, so I took the opportunity to recover from that. Writing wise, Ending 3 is finished, so all I have left to write is Ending 4.
Making endings is a lot more... tiring, I guess, than making regular events. I can't write well if I myself can't get emotionally invested in the story, so I struggled a bit here and there, but I want to make sure it's something I'm satisfied with, since it's the last part of the story. I've been very particular about details too, including picking just the right music tracks for the scenes.
Though one good thing about the final chapter is that it only has like 1 map, so that's easier. This is the only map for Ending 3.
January has been really busy for me, including attending a funeral and everything, so I don't expect to get too much progress this month, but I'll do what I can. I think it'll all come down to how much I can get done in February.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's December, and we're nearing the end of the year.
In November, I've finished writing the story for Chapter 4, implemented into the game, and improved the debugging features. Since the art isn't done yet, I'm using existing characters to stand in for new characters for now, and it's funny when they say lines that are completely out of character. Like a super heroic, ice queen kind of Misha.
In December, I'd like to keep writing and finalize the endings. I'll also figure out how much art I need for all the chapters and commission the artists. After that, I'll make the battles and the events you run into while exploring, and once that's done, it'll be ready for release... Probably something like that. (Though I'll still need to wait until the art and translations are done, so it might change when the update can be released.)
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
We've received another status update from Daraneko. Please give it a read.
=================================
It's November... And so her's another status update.
Currently, I'm keeping up and acheiving the goals I've set for myself. I've finished the scenario writing for Chapter 3, and it's been implemented into the game with effects too. I've also compiled the details for all the new art I need to commission for this chapter.
Some of this work was originally planned to be done in October, but I finished that a bit early and did a lot of work beyond that too. I've made and implemented the maps for Chapter 4, written up the data and flavor text for new equipment and items, beat Metaphor: ReFantazio, directed a new trailer, played the Monster Hunter Wilds beta test, fixed bugs, adjusted the UI for the English version (implemented in the ver0.5.10 update), implemented a new feature for the Flame system that will change throughout this route...
I overhauled my work process before starting work on this route, and it seems like it's paying off and working perfectly for me right now.
It's easy to work with, and my own personal life has settled down and I'm less tired overall, and so I'm working faster than ever before. Now it all comes down to how long I can keep this speed up (since even if work is going well I tend to get sick or whatever and ruin it).
-------------------------------------------------
What's more, while I've been writing the story, there's one change I've made to this route.
I'll be updating the art for Kohaku, the key character of this route, a little bit. Now, Kohaku's sprites will mostly look slightly upwards.
Since there's a lot of scenes of Kohaku (a small child) talking to tall grownups (like Goshe), if she looks straight ahead like other characters, she ends up staring off somewhere else instead of looking at whoever she's talking to, making it feel less like a conversation. By adding sprites where she's looking up instead, I feel like she's finally able to hold a lively conversation with other characters. (Therefore, her sprites in Chapter 2 have also been updated. This will be reflected when Chapter 3 is released.)
-------------------------------------------------
This month, I'll be working on implementing the story for Chapter 4. I'll do my best to first finish the scenario all the way up to the ending before I work on the gameplay, so that I can then commission all of the artwork at once.
=================================
And that's all for this status update. Development is still going strong, so please continue to support us!
Thank you playing The Use of Life! We have updated the game to Ver.0.5.10, Here are the bug fixes and changes.
◆ Fixes
Fixed several typos.
Fixed a bug in the Promised Land where Goshe's portrait would remain on the screen if you selected "Proceed" after "Ask about the king".
Fixed a bug in Chapter 3 and Chapter 5-B where the wrong background music would play if you restarted the chapters from the beginning.
Fixed a bug where if you restarted Chapter 3 from the beginning, the name of Pala Village would be incorrectly displayed as Morgana Desert.
FIxed a bug in the final fight against Zein where they would fail to transform if the event was triggered while they were both stunned and enraged.
In the final fight against Zein, if their final form is triggered before they enter their second form, the event will now correctly display their first form portrait.
Changed how the game handles Zein's HP dropping to 0 before their final form is triggered in the final fight.
◆ Localization
Tweaked some English translations and UI.
Skills with longer names will now display in a smaller font size.
A (Personal) Message from PLAYISM about the Hints for the Road Update
Dear all,
Hello, and nice to meet you. I'm Sayuri from PLAYISM, the publisher of The Use of Life. I'm pretty sure this is my first time talking directly to you all like this.
The recent update is one that brings back a lot of memories. Usually I just stand back and listen to what Daraneko has to say in that quirky style of his, but this time I wanted to talk a bit about the past, so I got special permission to post this. The Use of Life is an "adventure game book-style RPG" with multiple endings, which means it was a perfect game for me, someone who read every single adventure game book in my elementary school library as a kid, and then poured 20 hours a day into the free game Ruina: Fairy Tale of the Forgotten Ruins as an adult. There's just something special about adventure game books and TRPGs.
But then I realized the battles were really difficult. At first I was like, "Wait, what do you mean the battles are QTE? You mean like the prompts that show up in cutscenes sometimes?" but I tried it out anyway. As someone who needs 10 seconds to run 50 meters, my reflexes are obviously abyssmal, and so I kept dying over and over again.
But PLAYISM was already on board to be the publisher of the game, so I told myself I had to win somehow... And so I tried again and again in order to beat the boss of the demo. As I kept trying, I gradually got the hang of it, and began to understand enemy weaknesses. It was really satisfying to dodge well and then hit back with my own huge damage, and when I finally won, the sheer sense of accomplishment that flooded my brain was incredible. I want everyone to experience it. And so I learned that this game was built on trying many times to learn the enemy's characteristics in order to come up with strategies to beat them with.
"I had a great time then. But once I left the demo and entered the second chapter, I started running into enemies that attacked WAY too many times each turn, and I started struggling to survive no matter what I tried. In case you're wondering, I'm on Easy difficulty. Duh. Why wouldn't I be on Easy?
Anyway, I got beaten up by the boss many, many times, and eventually I couldn't take it anymore and threw down my controller. I wasn't gonna touch this crappy game ever again! (I did.)"
And since I did still want to play the game, I timidly asked Daraenko for some tips on how to fight properly. He gave me some pointers, my first reaction was "well why didn't you tell me that sooner?!" but they did also make me feel much more confident that I could actually beat it. (Boss battles especially are really intense, and the exhilaration after defeating one is insane. PLEASE experience it for yourself.)
"Umm, Mr. Daraneko? Isn't this a bit too hard to get? For people with horrible reflexes (me), this game plays more like torture!" I said indignantly, to which Daraneko replied, "Uh, it's actually all written in the game. Most people don't read it, though." And so I re-read all the in-game text and realized... he was right! Huh! One problem, though, was that the text was really wordy... which is a very Daraneko problem, isn't it? "Mr. Daraneko, players like me would never read this! We should make it easier to read and understand!" I plead, to which Daraneko replied, "That kind of person should just not play my game then!" Fair. What lovely memories.
2 and a half years have passed since this game entered Early Access, but at long last, we've reworked the Hints for the Road feature and turned it into an easy-to-digest conversation! Yay! Everyone sign up for Elmaise's class right now! Even if you get a Game Over, just visit the Hints for the Road and try again! There's no reason to be afraid to die!
I'd like to especially recommend this update to players like this:
- QTE battles are way too hard! Stop adding RNG and action elements to my turn-based RPG! That's the worst kind of game! - It's impossible to dodge every single enemy attack perfectly, but you gotta! - Weight? What's weight? - All of the enemy attacks show up as ??? though! - The "Are You Ready?" when you start each turn is so annoying! Why is it even necessary?! Get out of my face!
And so on.
The hints will surely give you a pointer or two for things you don't even know you're stuck on. I hope you'll listen closely to Elmaise's useful advice! Then you'll be able to defeat strong enemies and feel that incredible rush! Once you've gotten those pointers in your head, ideally you'll start thinking, "maybe The Use of Life isn't just a good adventure game book kinda game, but also has a really good battle system?!"
And after 2 years, one of 2 major routes, where you choose to travel with Misha, has been concluded, so you can play to the very end. And the end? I cry every time. I'd love to see more players beat the game and read the ending! It's on sale too right now, so why not?
As an indie publisher, we know how much of a miracle it is to see an indie game finally reach completion. Daraneko works on this game almost entirely on his own every day, and though I'm always itching to play the next unreleased part of the game, we simply watch from afar without meddling with his work. We know it's not as easy as it sounds to deliver something of a quality that'll satisfy everyone.
On top of that, Daraneko always tries to come up with better ways to do things, such as changing up the order of certain development aspects so that he can work on the second half of the other route more smoothly. The hint overhaul was also implemented because Daraneko wanted more people to be able to enjoy the game after all.
Your comments and feedback are like nutrients that sustain Daraneko and the development of this game. There's still a long while before the game is finally completed, but we'll use that time to make the game as unforgettable as possible, so we hope you'll continue to support us!
