GIFTED - The Process + Behind the Scenes

Hi, this is the artist, writer, and programmer for GIFTED, here to drop all the stuff I was too lazy to show/tell you in-game, via a few extra menu buttons. Not spoiler free but the game is like 15 minutes long, depending on how fast you read I guess.

THE IDEA

The original idea for GIFTED came to me after finding the song Usseewa, composed by syudou and sung by Ado. I vibe not only with the track, but also with its (translated) lyrics that Ado nails the vocals for. I believe I found it in early December, 2021.

The original concept was going to be centered more on rebelling against the system than it was the repercussions down to an individual level, which is notably closer to Usseewa’s lyrics. Hadria was still the main character, but she was also going to be accompanied by another kid, David, on the quest to beat the education system.

While interesting in concept, I dropped the idea pretty quickly, because I honestly have no idea how to approach writing about a proper, nation-wide rebellion in a modern-day setting that closely resembles our own world. And it might get me put on a list. The idea then turned into what it is now, and I began officially working on GIFTED in mid/late December. (RIP David.)

THE PROCESS

I first began writing out the story, and looking back on it, probably should have FINISHED the story before doing anything else. I think I started programming the dialogue when I was around halfway done, because I just couldn’t resist opening Ren’Py.

Most of the beginning and end sections remained the same, but the middle section had several scrapped scenes and ideas. Currently, I would consider all of the writing in-game the absolute bare minimum plot points. These scrapped scenes would have delved further into Hadria’s struggles, and perhaps even called for the player to make a decision. But just thinking about doing all the art for most of them made me exhausted, on top of being unhappy with how I was writing it. I don’t like how often I tell instead of show through Hadria’s narration, either, but it’s fine.

The art was the last thing I had to finish for the game, and for the most part it was just drawing over the face for a new expression. The backgrounds however; for most of them, I sketched them normally and then used airbrushes to try and mitigate how weird they looked. Does it look even weirder than it would have otherwise because of that? Yeah, probably.

I should also address that the game has no sound. No music, no sfx. I was originally going to make a few short tracks that would loop, and I was holding it off until the end of development - but that’s when the burnout started hitting. And maybe I could’ve found some free-to-use music, or paid for tracks, but at this point I just didn’t care. And that probably sounds really lazy and like a lame excuse, but normally when I play games I mute them and put my own music on anyway. Now you don’t even have to find the mute button!

SO, with all of what you’ve just read, you’re probably wondering why I released the game when I did. Admittedly, I didn’t have to release it. I could have easily put it off for another few months and worked on it further. But that’s more opportunity to drop the project entirely, and I have a history of stupidly high standards and giving up on projects before they can see the light of day. I also miss my own deadlines a lot, and for GIFTED I wanted to get it out before the end of March. My goal was to break all of those habits with this.

I know GIFTED could be better - WAY better. But I don’t care, I made something, and I put it on itch.io. This is the furthest I’ve ever gotten. And maybe - but no guarantees - I can come back to it when I’m ready, and fill in the holes I left.

BEHIND THE SCENES

Reference sheets for Hadria, Mrs. Harrison, and a height reference between Hadria and her mom that I literally didn't use 'cause I forgot I drew it until just now while looking through my art files. The homeroom teacher's would-be reference was just used as a sprite.

Full main menu art (I really just did not need to draw all those papers huh)

This is a sketch of what would have been the main menu for when the game was centered more on rebellion. I am aware the faceless children are terrifying. Also I hate drawing school desks

I think that's all the extra art I have.