Well, here we are! Our very first Canterlot Exchange devlog! For those of y’all that have been following along with us on N.O.V.E.L’s development, you’ll know about how these devlogs go. However, for those of y’all that are brand new to our method, we put these things out pretty frequently  (we TRY for once a month or so... but that doesn't always work out) to keep everyone abreast of what’s going on with the game, and to sort of show what we’ve been up to with all the:

• Character Designs.
• Background Art.
• Music/Audio.
• Writing & Story.
• Programming.

But before we get into all that, we’ve gotten some questions about the plot of the game, so I thought it would be good to take a second and give a very brief summary.

To give context, the game is a fair blend of slice-of-life, comedy, and romance. You’ll be playing as Anon as he begins the school year at Canterlot High as part of the exchange program (hence the name).  While attending the school, he'll interact with several familiar characters and be caught up in different adventures, events, and romantic situations ( I know, I know, you’re excited for that bit~) as things progress.

Now, with that out of the way, let’s talk shop, shall we?

Character Designs: Miscon

"Initially when starting on the first model with Rarity, I decided to approach her design by looking at her toys as a basis for future Equestrian designs. (ESPECIALLY because Rarity had the most difficult design approach to nail down due to her hair and general outfit.) Once that was down, it helped me figure out how to tackle any other Equestrian designs from there on. Also, that "O_O" face is just my own little flavor to make a funny shocked face. I gave it to every character except for Derpy. She kinda just… stares at you for that one.”

“The only ones to break the face consistencies are Derpy and to an extent Trixie since I think those two should have the most liberties with expressions.”

Background Artwork: TobiTobi90

"The focus of the overall design for the backgrounds is to be a bit muted, a bit duller, and more mundane, with just enough sprinkles of architectural reminiscence to the world of the show to remind you where you are. Having a bit of a morning glow to most of them, as if you are walking alone in there until to find yourself talking with the characters, I like to convey that sense of intimacy and magic that only comes from those little moments alone with somebody you find special, with the correct light and the correct circumstance, makes it magical, y'know?"

"Nonetheless, you can still see the swirly detail on the infrastructure, and the sky, and sometimes you can even spot the place from where I took the references from, this is at the end of the day the world of the show, just a bit more detailed and geared towards the focus of the characters, lemme explain:

The more desaturated palette is meant to push the character sprites more to the eye of the viewer, you know, as they are more streamlined and colorful. That way, you can have a proper separation between the two. Nobody likes mushy or poorly defined imagery as you go through a visual novel, so sometimes a quieter color does wonders to enhance the experience. Especially when you have a bright and colorful sprite to engage in a conversation, and all that off-color around it makes you focus on them."

"Expect some changes as you go in different hours or days, in the end, this is not a stagnated world, things always change here so why wouldn’t change there also right? Hopefully, we make you feel like this is a lived world, with people moving things around and changing lil bits here and there. So that part is going to be up to you to find out!"

Music/Audio: RodrickScorpion

"Usually if a song idea pops in my head, I take the chance to record and hum it to my phone, that way if I forget the song, I have the gist of it on my phone. Eventually, I mess with the DAW (digital audio workstation) I have and try to use the utilities available to make a song. Sometimes I will buy or add a new VST (virtual studio tech) if I need a specific sound or I wanna experiment with a new genre, but I try to make the song I have in mind, share it with the team, and use the team's feedback on the song to better match with the vision everyone has!"

Preview one of the tracks, School Rush

Writing & Story: Anondive

I hate to say it, but stuff has been a little slow on my end. Between work, the holidays, and life in general, I've had my hands pretty full lately. Buuuut I'm more or less back at it!

Life nonsense aside, on to business. I'll be handling my job a little differently with Canterlot Exchange than I do with NOVEL, and I'm having a LOT of fun messing around with the characters and really getting a feel for how I want everyone to be. I've also been getting a better feel for how I want the narration for the game; going with a second-person deal instead of the first-person style I use for NOVEL, because... why not?

So, ya know "You read over the devlog." as opposed to "I read over the devlog."

Just thought it would be fun to mix it up.

"Holy crap, am I gonna die?"

Other Notes:

Also, while I'm thinking about it, I saw a question asked about us taking money for the game, so I thought I'd take a minute to address that.

 We will not be actively taking money for the game. There will be a tip jar available at download y'all can donate to if you want.

And while it's cool if you do, it's by no means a requirement.

I think that about does it for this one. We don't have an official release date for the demo set yet, but we'll definitely do our best to keep y'all informed.

See ya next time!