Dating Sim game: Smooth Finish devlog#2

This blog is numbered 2 as a followup to this post

Its been a long while since I made much news about it, besides a confirmed name and some development notes from this post before New Year.

Anyways, I wish to bring light on the progress for this game.

Yes its also in active development, I switch up between games whenever I feel stuck or whichever my artistic mood feels like working on, so it doesnt mean I'm abandoning Pearly's Salon.

As I have already established before here and here, it will primarily be a dating sim where you gotta choose the right dialogue, give the right gifts, have the right build, to win the hearts of the girl of your choosing while trying to get gains as a gymbro of sorts with workout and jobs.

Gameplay

The dating sim aspect will still be the main course, girls will be at certain place at certain times, what I've been reworking is the mechanics, thanks to Sang Hendrix's picture UI plugin.

It will do the heavyweight of the presentation you see in this game, even the menu interface is redone as previously hinted in the last blog

So the game might play and feel uniquely than my other games.

As for the world, I'm doing major work using Parallax mapping, with great help using Sang Hendrix's plugins, which may sounds like a lot of work, but I am having fun with it and I much prefer it than using the default tiles I got, altho they are used as reference.

I have also develop a technique that help me do these assets without too much trouble and actually fun for me, as long as I got the idea

The Worldo

The starting area which is still very much WIP, but this helps me with the layout, bigger than what I have done for Pearly's Salon (which will get a turn soon since I planned to connect them, in a way)

I am quite proud with how I have made one of the main buildings, the gym

how it started

how it's shaping up so far (I have yet to finish the furnishing, lol

and this is how it will look from the outside.

It was a fun progress.

Another fun thing I made, even if its not exactly integral to the game are the sprites

All hand drawn with some modular layers so I can easily create more (but I have to go easy on myself.

The same bases are very useful for the player character and the main girls

Be the Nate that truly represents you

its somewhat important that the girl's sprite are unique from the NPCs

Speaking of the girls...

The Girls

(Powerpuff Girls ahh lineup)

Introducing the all girls that will be in Smooth Finish

- Andii the runner athlete

- Bea the strong lifter

- Charlotte the cold swimmer

Each with their own routes, preferences and story arcs and I hope each of them have their appeal for everyone, which is for you to find out.

But yeaah, this game will be more story and dialogue heavy (even more than Pearly's Salon), so that part will be a different challenge, but I have a team to help me out.

I hope I can make some kind of demo this month, at least to give a taste of what Im cooking here.

and of course, I did not forget what KIND of game I'm making.

Bonus clip:

2026-01-17_23-06-03

I was testing the npc crowd generation event.... then I had a sinister idea. (its just for fun, wont be in the actual game)