Hello everyone, and thanks for checking out my page!
I’m Haptales, a beginner French developer, and I’ve finally found the courage and motivation to start my very first project!
Writing in English, rendering with Koikatsu, and bringing everything to life in Ren'py are all new experiences for me, so please bear with me if you spot a few hiccups along the way^^
About RomCom: Divergence
Follow the life of our protagonist as he embarks on his new life, meets a variety of beautiful ladies, and discovers that things aren't quite what they seem—
Wait, scratch that. You know the drill already, right?
Start a new game, choose a name, and complete the story while unlocking all the endings.
Collect every heroine to 100% that gallery, and ruin the life of every other male character in the process.
Stuck at an obstacle that feels impossible to overcome? No worries— just follow a walkthrough or even use cheat codes!
Does this remind you of someone?
Well, this story is all about the characters whose lives get turned upside down by that same someone.
This visual novel will be divided into episodes, each featuring its own timeline and protagonist (male or female).
Release Schedule
Since this is my first project of this nature, it’s hard to provide an accurate estimate at the moment.
Devlogs should come every 3-4 weeks.
I aim to release a new chapter every 2 months, but this will also depend on my full-time job.
Why Support Me?
By supporting my work, you’ll enable me to dedicate more time to it.
This means faster releases and higher-quality content for you to enjoy.
You'll gain access to subscriber-only posts, lewd previews, and get to play new releases before anyone else.
Additionally, at the end of an episode, you will have the chance to participate in a Class Council where you can interact with the characters (Questions, theories, etc.)!
Don’t Want or Can’t Support Me Yet?
That’s perfectly okay!
New releases will always be available for free one week after the early release, so you can still support me just by playing and sharing your thoughts about the game!
While I plan to complete this project no matter what, every bit of support helps me continue creating better content for you!
If you've read this far, let me thank you again for your time. I hope to see you again soon!
It's already been three weeks since the last devlog... and honestly, I didn't even notice them go by.
Right after the last devlog, there was that one big event I focused on, and before I knew it, an entire week had slipped past...
Anyway, time for a new update on Chapter 3!
What's Been Done?
Right now, I'm at 648 renders and 32 animations.
I also have about 15 more renders mostly ready, but as I'm writing this devlog, I'm still deciding which background to use. By this point, I expected to have more renders and fewer animations... looks like Chapter 3 might end up with a lot more animations than Chapter 2.
Note: This render count includes both vanilla and patch content, since I'm working on both at the same time.
Rendered all Scene Scribbles.
Your messages have been properly added to their respective events. Thank you for participating!
Set up the script so Sensei's event now uses layer-based scene renders.
This event comes back every chapter using the same visuals, with only the chalkboard changing. Using this system will save time and space in the long run. I'll also update the older chapters to use it starting with the Chapter 4 release.
Preview Pic
I was torn between this pic and one of Misaki, but I've got to save the better ones for the full preview!
So, what about Katsumi... and MC holding a sword? Maybe he's trying out a bold new speed-dating strategy? Or maybe he finally had enough of all the rom-com nonsense and decided to commit violence on school grounds just to get this game deplatformed! ... Ah, but don't worry, both of these fictional characters are fully consenting adults. Aaaand, as luck would have it, we even have a respected member of a totally legitimate fictional feminist group in the background, ready to vouch for the whole thing!
On a more serious note, I also found a way to improve mob appearances (not in this preview pic). Still need to figure out if it's worth going back and applying those changes to all the Chapter 3 renders I've already done, though.
What's Next?
More rendering and animating...
I'm getting close to the finish line, but I definitely underestimated the work needed for some events. Like seriously, that one event that ate up a whole week? It was supposed to be quick and easy. Damn whoever wrote the script! ...Well, I might have also been a little too inspired while working on it... Tee-hee~
Takeshi's cultured preview
Another one is coming next week for Classmate-tier subscribers. I hope this new format, shorter but more frequent than before, works well for you.
Fixing the writing in previous chapters
Along with some other miscellaneous tasks.
About the current situation (Itch, payment processors, the E.U., censorship, etc.)
lol
Where to follow me if something happens
Check the support links displayed in the game (Patreon, Subscribestar, Boosty, Itch).
I also have a (mostly abandoned) Ko-fi page, but I at least post new releases there.
And if worst comes to worst... you can probably find the latest release on your favorite pirate site.
For each release, I'll make sure the support links displayed in the game menu are updated to wherever I'm currently active.
ETA?!!!
I won't lie, I underestimated the amount of work needed for this chapter.
Overall, I still think I've made good progress, but time is flying at a scary pace.
The 'good' news is that I've been working on this game almost full-time since last week, so I should be able to make up for some of the delay.
I'd prefer not to, but I still have options to save time, like skipping the rewritten Prologue and Chapter 1 in the early release.
Right now, I think a release in the second half of September is a realistic estimate, maybe even mid-September for the early release.
Final Word
Again, I'm fully focused on making the renders right now, so I'm sorry if I missed things.
The popularity poll will be closed somewhere around the first half of September, so if you are still yet to vote, don't wait too long!
And finally... I hate skirts. Next time? Every single heroine is wearing baggy pants. No exceptions. No skirts. No fighting Koikatsu to make them behave. I mean it. I hate skirts.
And that's a wrap for this 3rd devlog.
A huge thank you to everyone supporting and following this project! I'll ask for a bit more patience as I keep pushing forward.
I hope you'll enjoy what's coming next in RomCom: Divergence!
For Classmate-tier subscribers, I'll see you next week with another little sneak peek of Chapter 3's "plot."
As for everyone else, I'll catch you again by September 10 at the latest.
It's already been three weeks since the last devlog, so here's a new update on the next chapter's development!
What's Been Done?
215 renders and 4 animations
It should have been 5 animations, but the last one is still giving me some trouble to finish.
Started rewriting the prologue
I had some issues with my computer last week and couldn't work on the renders, so I ended up tackling the prologue a bit earlier than planned. No worries, my computer's fixed now. I usually prep scenes bit by bit on weekday evenings, then render them over the weekend... so it only threw off my schedule a little.
Rough scene setup for half the events
This will help me speed up rendering over the next couple of weeks.
Added a 'Hide' option to the quick menu.
Nothing like a quick two-second job to sneak one more line into the changelog!
Preview Pic
Finding a proper house for MC and Sayuri was a huge headache. I wanted one of those classic Japanese-style homes you always see in slice-of-life anime and manga. That's how I ended up with the one you can spot in Chapter 2, behind MC's lemonade stand.
Of course, that created a new problem for Chapter 3... What the hell am I supposed to do with the interior? I've already shown MC's bedroom and kitchen, so I couldn't just go with a traditional Japanese house layout, it wouldn't match what's already in the game.
In the end, I decided to handle it the same way I did with the school. So uh… please don't look too closely at the missing tatami mats or the questionable house dimensions. ... What? Sora being carried over MC's shoulder? Totally not important. But if you're worried about this fictional character's well-being, don't be. Both of these fully grown, entirely fictional adults signed a certified Fictional Consent Agreement™, in triplicate, witnessed by a neutral NPC, and archived in the Hall of Narrative Compliance. We take our imaginary paperwork very seriously here.
What's Next?
More rendering and animating...
You know the drill.
The return of Takeshi's Sneak Peeks
I've changed my workflow a bit for this chapter, now I'm working on patch content alongside the main (vanilla) content. It should help me standardize the characters' poses between versions, thus reducing the workload... well, at least it should. I'll also be trying out a new format for this Tier 3 perk, so you can expect something next week!
About the Itch Situation
I'm a bit late to the party because of work, so I'm not going to repeat what every other dev you're following has probably already said. I'm not sure what will happen to my project. Actually, I haven't noticed any drop in views or downloads, so I guess I'm safe for now? Well, if it happens, it happens. Although it'd be pretty funny to wait three months to get my project indexed, only for it to get removed a month later!
ETA?!!!
It's a bit of a long shot right now, between work and everything else, but I'd really like to have the chapter fully rendered before the end of August. There'll still be plenty of minor stuff to wrap up before release, but that's just how it goes.
Final Word
I've been really busy the past couple of weeks, so sorry if I missed anything or didn't get back to you. I'll do my best to catch up next weekend!
Just a quick reminder to vote in the popularity poll if you haven't already! And for my subscribers: entries for the Scene Scribbles perk are still open until August 13!Don't miss out!
And that's a wrap for this 2nd devlog. As always, a huge thank you to everyone supporting and following this project! I hope you'll enjoy what's coming next in RomCom: Divergence!
For Classmate-tier subscribers, I'll see you next week with a little sneak peek of Chapter 3's "plot". As for everyone else, I'll catch you in the next devlog (scheduled for August 20, hopefully).
Thank you for your time! -Haptales
P.S. Only TWO weeks left for the Scene Scribbles!!!
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Creator Stats
5 subscribers
28 posts
Goals
$34 of $100
per month
I can consider that my VN isn't a flop!
Yeah!
$34 of $400
per month
This will be a huge help to my finances, for sure.
It won't be enough for me to go full time, but it will be a great motivation to go further!
$34 of $900
per month
Beyond this goal, I'll consider changing my full-time job to a part-time one, thus increasing the time I'll have to work on my game.
$34 of $1,500
per month
Making this VN become my main job!
I'll still have to work on the side to make ends meet, but I'll be able to dedicate most of my time to developing this game.
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