"Rise and shine, Sushi. We've got work to do."

"...Good morning, Crystal. You seem more tense than usual."

"You could say that. I'll bring you up to speed."

---

The last few weeks of development have been a real roller coaster. Funding the development of a game out of pocket is no joke. If it weren't for Lite, I'm sure I'd never have even gotten this far - but thankfully we've made some progress I'm really proud of.

The biggest thing has been commissioning our first Strider model, the SCRS-95 Mandate. Litkit is a mecha-centric game, and having some kind of iconic mecha "face" to demonstrate the gameplay and mechanics is paramount to getting any kind of attention or support for the project. In pretty much every crowdfunded project I've been able to research, the devs already had something flashy to show off by the time they launched the funding efforts. Plenty of people will rightfully say that it isn't fair to judge an unfinished project, but that tends to be a fairly lofty ideal. People want to see effort and expertise before they feel comfortable putting money into something. Especially these days. Well, fair enough.



There he is. FeDeath has been a pleasure to work with, and I'd very much like to commission him for the rest of our Strider models for the duration of Litkit's development. We got this badass Coalition machine rigged up and ready for animation, which is why I've spent a good chunk of this week fucking around in Blender to get some basic animations figured out. Since this is what one would consider an "elite grunt" Strider, I wanted to make sure we evoked some predatory vibes in the design, even as we tried to keep in mind the design sensibilities of a machine meant to operate in space. Something like the bastard child of a spider and a shark, wearing Sangheili armor. The quartet-lenses, in particular, add a lot of character in my opinion.

As of writing, Fede's also working out some weapon designs for us. I've been hard at work on the story, setting, and characters that Litkit aims to bring to life. And meanwhile, Lite's reworking our systems to be a bit cleaner.

Click to read about Lite's Work

Project Litkit is a first for me in many ways. First time working with GrayKitsune, first project after releasing the Gun-Dog, first public project in Godot, first time working in 3D. I'll stop the list here, lest I sound like a crazy person for taking so much on.

In spite of being surrounded by so many things, shiny and new, there are some apparent constants in the tech world that can't be ignored. In this Devlog, I'd like to introduce Tools with Obscure Technical Gotchas, fiddly little time vampires that prey on the unprepared.

As the binary archmage lead technical person in all the teams I work with, developing an understanding of every tool we use is a critically important part of my role. If someone needs help, they'll come to me. If I can't fix it, progress can grind to a halt. Mercifully, I quite enjoy learning new tools, and the process of solving a problem for someone under time pressure scratches an itch in my brain.

An example of this is when Kit modeled a cluster of low-poly buildings in Blender, for us to use in the skybox. The model looked good, I'd imported stuff into Godot before, I'd even given Kit a guide on how to export and import it herself. Should be a breeze.

It wasn't, of course. The model was refusing to load in Godot. Kit did some debugging on her end and couldn't get it to work, so I offered to step in and help. After some digging, I realised we were exporting as .gltf, but hadn't copied the exported .bin file that goes with it. Whoops. My bad for not making that clear in the instructions I gave Kit.

After copying across the .bin file, equal parts triumphant and apologetic, the model successfully imported! ...With no textures. Now, I'm sure that anyone with knowledge of Blender could solve this issue pretty swiftly, but it took me a good couple hours of hacking around, reading documentation on export formats and sacrificing goats before I zeroed in on the problematic node in the material shader (or whatever the proper terminology is for it).

We were using a Glossy BSDF when we really needed to use a Principled BSDF. Obviously I should have known from the complete lack of error messages that Blender wouldn't export textures to .gltf format without the right kind of BSDF, buried under 7 layers of impenetrable UI.

Problem solved. Blender trust -= 1. lite will remember this
---

There's also the matter of character art. I admit I'd hoped to have a couple pieces of character concept art to show off in time for this devlog, but turnaround time is kind of a bitch right now. So instead I'll see if I can illustrate more or less what I'm thinking for the shape of the game's setting, and some a couple of the major characters, at least in the first campaign. It might not be quite as eyecatching as some colored concept art or anything, but we make do.

---

In a not too distant future, ruling from the depths of space, the Empyrean Coalition elevates avarice and exploitation of planet Earth. Their insulated, wealthy population has sat safely aboard a ring of orbital colonies, the Iron Halo, for several decades, pacifying the near-dead planet's stranded population with immigration lotteries and political influence over the nigh-defunct nations of old.

Until...

Utilizing Star Striders, agile and hardy bipedal machines built to construct and maintain the complex juggernauts of the space colonies, a terror cell has struck the Coalition a glancing blow, and bloodied their nose. In the wake of the attack, damning information floods the information nets, overwhelming the tight webs of Empyrean censorship: the Coalition is not building new shelter. They are building interstellar vessels, that the rich and the powerful may finally abandon Earth entirely, laughing all the way.

Among the stranded population of Earth, despair reigns. Then, in the infinitesimal sliver of sky between a dying Earth and her orbital colonies, desperation among those left behind spirals into a last ditch effort at revolution. The prize of victory is to dictate the future of humankind. Reaching for the heavens, those still trapped on Earth must make desperate moves to stand any hope of enacting their vicious justice.

---

Gundam fans among you might notice that the setting kinda reverses the central conceit of the UC timeline. There's some of that in there, I'll admit. Nothing wrong with putting a personal spin on the classics. There's quite a bit of cyberpunk influence there too - I'm enamored with this concept of edgerunners and cyborgs co-existing with giant agile robots. Lots and lots of fertile narrative ground at the cross sections. Bring it together with my attraction to revolutionary-friendly narratives and we get Litkit!

Now, to be clear, I do intend for there to be a campaign/protagonist that explores the conflict from the perspective of one such revolutionary. But the first campaign - the one that establishes the setting and eases you into the game mechanics - is going to be from the perspective of someone fighting for the Coalition. To wit:

The way Project Litkit is structured, there are "slice of life" segments in which you, playing as the aloof and calculated AN-GEL Unit 0 ("Yurushi"), are set to command and bond with a squad of humans, each of which pilot their own custom Strider. You make true companions out of each of these characters, painstakingly learning their tics and becoming their personal hero - and as you progress in your relationships, you gain access to their specialized weapons and gear, and even their Strider chassis, to bolt onto your own personal machine.

Of course, there is a catch. Unit 0, with her immense insight into human psychology and predictive algorithms, is uniquely positioned as the latest and greatest project of the Empyrean spaceborne hegemony. She is also pretty sick of watching humanity annihilate itself and every good thing it comes into contact with. Thus she aspires to "save" it by positioning herself as a robotic messiah, building a cult of personality and ascending to complete control of the Empyrean Coalition's military assets, that she may rule mankind as an immortal and supposedly benevolent machine intelligence.

...Anyway. What I'm getting at is you're playing as an evil robot girl, and gaslighting the squishy humans into worshipping you is a game mechanic. S'gonna be good.



Of particular note is the engineer assigned to do Yurushi's maintenance - Chief Engineer Crystal Saint-Claire. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to say Crystal's going to be the character that introduces the concept of social bonds and their mechanics in Yurushi's campaign, and start off pretty agreeable to facilitate that. Still, as brilliant as she may be, I aim to contrast her nicely with Yurushi's more zen, softspoken personality by making Crystal more of a dorky, vibrant kind of archetype. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she genuinely thinks the world of Unit 0. Naturally, this makes it that much easier to take advantage of her, should the need arise. I mentioned this is a yuri game last devlog - and that's true. But just to be clear, at least some of it is gonna be toxic yuri.



But before all that, Yurushi and Crystal are just gonna be besties with the occasional ship tease. Which is also fine - the dynamic between an otaku engineer and her robot girl ward is ripe with possibilities on its own. Now if only I could get decent enough at pixel art to realize the pair in the game space proper, because I certainly haven't found any pixel artists that quite capture what I have in mind.

The closest I've found is Thomas Moon Kang, who (to my understanding) did the spritework for One Step From Eden. And, well, I'm pretty sure he's too busy with his own game to help me with mine. Hard to fault him for that.



So here I go trying to do it myself, because I am both a perfectionist and a masochist. It's even worse because I'm trying to achieve this look in an isometric perspective - something Butz has already told me is extra difficult. I wouldn't say I'm bad at pixel art, I was pretty proud of the sprites I showed in the last devlog. They're just not quite what I want. I dunno, I'm sure with practice I'll get there, but finances are always kind of a time crunch. It's occurred to me that I can just redo the sprites in later builds during Early Access, though, which is some small comfort.

Another important creative asset we've been able to secure is a tentative musician! A guy called Citrigasm - to my knowledge, he doesn't have much online presence, else I'd love to link to some more of his stuff for everyone to enjoy. And I say "tentative" mostly because I haven't figured music into the budget just yet, so he's working pro-bono at the moment. I'm hardly gonna complain, especially with results like [[this.]] Definitely gives a strong "introductory hub world" kind of vibe - reminds me a bit of the UNATCO theme from Deus Ex classic. I can easily see myself using it while Yurushi and Crystal wander Pegasus Station, getting their bearings and goofing off together while they wait for orders.

Anywho. I'm hoping that'll do for now, this devlog is getting kinda long. Feel free to take a look at the posts we've made on the [[Team Lilypunk Bluesky.]] My hope is this'll be enough to give you a good idea of what we've been up to, where we're at, and what still needs to be done. Money's kind of the big factor right now, so - if you have the interest, and the scratch to spare, please take a look at my [[Ko-Fi]] as well. It'd really help us out a lot, and I'm sure I could work out some kind of early backer rewards, even if technically we haven't set up a kickstarter or anything yet.

Appreciate your patience!~

I mentioned the other day that I'm working on a game with LiteMechanist. I've worked on a game or two before, in the capacity of a writer at least, but this'll be the first time I was called upon to pretty much direct the whole experience. But with Lite's programming expertise, and something of a knack for resource allocation, I think I can pull it off. Still - this log will try to document that experience.

We're working on a game we're calling "Project LitKit." The actual release title is pretty much decided, but I'm gonna build up a bit of momentum before I drop that in public. This is what I've written into my design document for what LitKit is conceptually:

---

LitKit is envisioned as a narrative-heavy game about a revolution against an exploitative coalition of space colonies with two separate, but tightly interwoven gameplay loops:

The “Life Sim” component of LitKit will allow the player to control their chosen protagonist directly, engaging in daily life, pursuing relationships with their squadmates, and interacting with the narrative on a personal level. The goal is to facilitate more personal engagement with the characters and the narrative, and promote the understanding that these characters are still functioning as people (or at least trying their best) outside of the violence and chaos of urban and space warfare.

This portion of the game will be illustrated through an isometric viewpoint, coupled with Visual Novel-esque dialogue and choice systems. The player can move freely throughout various environments they may be stationed at in between combat - be it a field encampment, an occupied city, a vessel they serve aboard, or a space station. Management of personal free time and mental health should be key points to touch on, but more important is a Persona-esque “Social Links” mechanic. These “links” are a gamified representation of the player character’s interpersonal relationships with their fellow pilots and various other characters throughout their campaign. They can progress in different ways, and in turn, can affect the overarching narrative of the character’s personal campaign. In addition, pursuing certain Social Links will grant the character access to appropriate equipment, skills, and abilities related to the Link in question. As such, they serve to drive the player’s progression in...

Tactical Mecha RPG segments.

This component of LitKit will be the driving action of the game. Each of the campaigns centers on a mecha pilot fighting in the rebellion of Earth against the Empyrean Coalition, and this portion of the game will depict that warfare in detail.

Players will command a small squad of mecha during skirmishes in this conflict. An isometric, “drone camera” viewpoint will be the default perspective, during which the game controls in a turn based fashion, a la XCOM or Fire Emblem. However, rather than commanding units to move and fire from afar, players will select an individual character to control for a brief segment of semi-realtime combat. They will be able to move their unit freely, using up a limited meter of Action Points to do so, and aim their shots from an over-the-shoulder camera viewpoint. During this time, the enemy units may also fire freely on the controlled character, forcing the player to consider their approaches carefully, and make their moves quickly and decisively, lest they be cut down. Likewise, the enemy force can be badly hampered or even destroyed by proper positioning and concentration of firepower.

The player will have a limited number of commands they can give to units per turn, allowing for some level of tactical flexibility. They may spread their Commands over the squad to have them move and fight as a unit, or command a single unit multiple times to make a focused push, at the risk of overextending or straining their pilot.

Environments will vary. Urban warfare will be typical on the ruined Earth, but as the conflict progresses, battles may occur in space, or within the depths of the ocean. Enemies will likewise have some variety - enemy mechs will not be uncommon, but nor will enemy infantry, tanks, airborne drones, and titanic spacecraft that must be taken apart piecemeal.

---

I do want to mention we're technically ~3 months into development already. On my end of things, that's time I've largely spent on determining what this vision of mine actually is, in terms that I can clearly communicate to, say, a programmer, or an artist. I've done a little bit of writing for a demo, but that much is still WIP, and how much of it I plan to use in the final product isn't exactly set in stone yet. I should probably piece together an outline soon, but for now I'm just gonna see if we can get this ball rolling in the first place.

I've also been drumming up some pixel art and character designs. They're meant to be placeholders, in all honesty, but I'm actually pretty happy with how they've turned out, considering my general lack of experience.


Lite, meanwhile, has been doing a ton of work in Godot to make this thing happen. He managed to build up the systems we needed for the "Slice of Life" portion of the game practically overnight, so that's excellent. Definitely need to commission some tile sets or something though. We've pretty much been testing the cutscenes and other basics in a flat field of bricks. But I guess that's placeholders for you.


The thing that's taking a lot more doing is the TRPG section. Which is about what we expected. Lite has been excellent enough to get some of the major bones kinda working - teaching the game the concept of "taking turns," unit and camera movement, aiming/shooting, and the concept of limited actions/movement. It's a lot of fun to play around in, even if we're still stuck using Godot's default assets to represent our giant robots fighting over the city.






Enemy AI is...well beyond my abilities, though. We took a few stabs at it, but it turns out programming even the most basic of tactical behaviors is a pretty complex endeavor. Ah, well - I'm kinda letting Lite puzzle that one out as best he can on his own time.

So where does that leave us? Well, increasingly we're running into problems that we need money to solve. Either to hire people to take care of the issue, or pay rent until we figure out how to solve it ourselves. So, for example, we do have a modeler who's onboard to do our mecha models and design, [[FeDeath Arts]]. But in order to commission him (and therefore have that early PS2 era vibe I'm pining so desperately for) I need to have the cash on hand to pay him fairly for his work.



My intention had been to develop a full vertical slice demo before I start any crowdfunding campaigns, but increasingly it looks like I might have to scale that back to something like a trailer instead. Assets ain't cheap. I think once I manage to put together that money, though, we should be in a somewhat better position to get that campaign rolling.

Speaking of financials - I've also settled on a studio name. Now, I didn't really mention it before, but Litkit is an intensely yuri oriented experience. I sorta developed most of my writing skills and sensibilities in old fanfiction message boards and tumblr throughout the 2010s. So I'm sure you can guess, I take the notion of shipping with deadly seriousness. The player characters are all girls, and so are most of their potential romance characters. Call it author appeal.

So with that in mind, I wanted something that evoked the same vibes as a couple of scruffy girls in street clothes, flipping some cops the bird, lighting a molotov, and kissing one another with breathtaking passion.

Team Lilypunk.