The transfer of "Snared Spirit" from Inky/Ink to Ren'Py has begun. The script is working. It's time to make paper fly again. That's new code, so I don't know how long it will take me to figure out.
Making animated messages out of CSS took me weeks of fiddling. For this adaptation, making the paper 3D might be harder. I only know how that can be done in Krita, a drawing program that seems to have been designed to shake me off it.
Anyhow, afterwards, I'd like to add new lines then voices.
I belatedly remember this story mentions birds.
(Scribes and Makers asked about birds for today.)
I feel silly posting updates like this. Does it matter to anyone here that my game or story might change? That a new version will go up? That another project will be built off what I learned or couldn't work in?
:shrug:
Anyhow, there are three methods I've identified for "Snared Spirit" flying messages in #RenPy:
1. (a) Create an image for each line of writing. (b) Animate it to move across the screen.
This is similar to what I did with CSS using the Ink and JavaScript frameworks for the version currently online.
2. (a) Create a series of images with the line of writing. (b) Animate it.
This can show more movement, making reading each line a bigger challenge.
3. Get creative with the speech bubble system.
I'll move this this thread into an itch.io devlog when I have a solid start on the flying messages. This thread is highlight for the one or two people who might be wondering—
Yes, I am still working on "Snared Spirit".
I feel I need to get this working before figuring out Ren'Py's voice system, because the lines can change in the process.
Two more methods:
4. Make a movie cutscene for each message. (What formats are accepted by Ren'Py? Not gif. Other than that, I don't know.)
5. Make a movie displayable that has a mask with an alpha channel. (I'm repeating words in the Ren'Py Tutorial. This is the most mysterious to me out of the options.
One more:
6. Screen transforms?
The flying message system is proving I don't understand enough about the relationships between "screen", "show", images, textboxes, and text in Ren'Py to make it work at this time.
"Snared Spirit" will sit again while I continue working on "Spirit of the Latch".
Fals Fiction 💜🏳️🌈
Chan Chan