This update is also posted on Kickstarter, along with the rest of our updates! You can read them all and back the campaign here.

Dear Backers,

We have now reached the 15 day mark on the Of Sense and Soul campaign, meaning we are just about halfway through our 30 day Kickstarter. How time flies! Thank you once again for coming along on this journey with us; we hope you aren't refreshing the page too much!

First, as this is business, the usual PSA: If you know of anyone who would consider backing the campaign or who would know people who do, now is as good a time as ever to share Of Sense and Soul with them. (Our linktr.ee is a great place to start for newcomers!) 

Alright! Let's get on with the rest of the update!

Progress

This update marks the end of Week 2 of our campaign, and we're sitting at 42% of our funding goal! 

Another 30 backers joined us this week (potentially including whoever is reading this right now!) Thank you so much for being here, along with all the rest of our supporters and backers, to make this possible.

As for our community challenges...

•  Spread the Word 📯 500 of 300 Tumblr Notes ✅ 147 of 200 Retweets, 190 of 200 Backers
•  Love Letters 💌 8 of 20 Posts
•  Inspired Works 🎨 8 of 20 Fanfics/Fanarts

We're only 53 retweets and 10 backers from unlocking that blooper reel! There's still time before "re-x-ing" catches on, so you can make this announcement post one of your last official "retweets" if you'd like to support our cause. 

We also received a few Love Letters and Inspired Works! There'll be a fanart showcase at the bottom of this update. 🎉

Be sure to tag us @ofsenseandsoul on Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram if you post about OSAS or create some fanwork for the remaining two challenges!

The Plot Thickens: Brainstorming for Hugo Ch.6 and Everett's Attic Study

Like a well-simmered stew, we've been steadily writing the game alongside getting Seamus Chapter 1 gameplay-ready! I thought I'd tell you a bit about our writing process and give you a glimpse into the "writer's room" in this update.

Of Sense and Soul is written by two people: Rowan leads on Hugo's route and I lead on Seamus' route. It makes for some fun interplay between the perspectives we're presenting, and keeps the plot events fresh (since Hugo and Seamus share common moments together all throughout the game!) 

(We also occasionally exchange chapters—Rowan rubs their hands together for Seamus' family drama chapters, for example, while I got to write Hugo being all flustered for the Omnibus scene in Chapter 8 and have written Hugo's poems thus far!)

For the most part, we work independently, but in our weekly meetings we come together to discuss progress on the game. We then either run writing sprints to add to the game content, or we go through edits and brainstorming. This past meeting was a brainstorming day in which we discussed Hugo Chapter 6, which continues the Dr. Everett Lewis work assignment plotline after its introduction in Chapter 3. It features a new location, Everett's Attic Study, and a new character—Ananya Lewis, Everett's wife. 

We ask ourselves what the main objective of the chapter should be, and then determine how we'll frame the events depicted: is it a recollection of some earlier event, or is it chronologically linear? Then, Rowan and I flesh out and bounce ideas regarding the conversations characters share during the chapter as well as their movements throughout it, in pursuit of that chapter's objective. 

Beyond the story events themselves in the case of Hugo Chapter 6, Hugo is visiting Everett's study for the first time and will be doing a good deal of observing the space he's in. This means Rowan needs an idea of what Hugo would be seeing.

That brings us to the visuals: We've always operated with art and writing being in production together—with my being the main artist, the visuals of the game have been very much planned and catered to the writing and vice versa. I'm also the resident Victoriana expert and have many references on hand, so we factor this into the brainstorming process!

Everett's Attic Study is an entirely new location, but one that we've had ideas for since 2019; it's one of the more strongly real-world inspired locations in OSAS. It could be considered an amalgam of the study in Thomas Carlyle's House for its unique attic and skylight features, Charles Darwin's study in Down House, for clutter a naturalist would surround himself with, and Linley Sambourne House, for its fashionable late-Victorian Aesthetic interiors. We took a look at these locations from photos I've collected to flesh out our conceptions of the setting, and to think about the character details translating to interior touches. 

Dr. Lewis is notably a naturalist who studies birds but is opposed to capturing live specimens, (as many scientists did at the time) so what would he keep instead? Empty birds' nests, perhaps, or displays of dropped feathers, or trays of eggshells, or carvings of the birds he studies? These are also the kinds of details Hugo might notice in looking around the room, so they're important to get right. 

And so, this brainstorming serves several purposes: to further the story of Chapter 6, to deepen Everett's character, to lend direction to the background design, and to align Rowan's and my ideas so we can navigate co-creation smoothly.

After the meeting, I sat down to search for references for those decor items and create preliminary designs for the space (via sketching by hand and 3D rendering on Homestyler), and sent these to Rowan to use as they write the chapter. After the chapter is drafted, I'll do an editing pass on it (which we then review together) and then it'll be ready to put in the game. 

That's just a quick dive into our brainstorming process, but I hope it was an interesting read!

Fanart!

There is nothing we love more than seeing Hugo and Seamus drawn by other artists. I draw them so often, it's refreshing and heartwarming when others depict them in their own ways!

Recently, there's been a #SixFanarts trend going around the Indie VN sphere on Twitter, and we were spoiled for lovely little portraits of them! 🙌

From left to right, top to bottom:

•  Hugo by ladymeowsith (100% my favourite Hugo expression) and rottentief (So sweet and cheery!)
   
•  Seamus by nefferinthia (So refined and serene...), GuhuhuGames (I'd like to pinch those cheeks, and that cheeky smile!), teamgalens (BISHIE SEAMUS???? 😳✨), and elduator (he brought his hair and cheekbone A-game!!)  

We also received a stunning surprise from n4c9s of Seamus pulling Hugo in for a waltz in the rain!

Such an adorable scene and idea! Sometimes when the dancing bug hits, Hugo, it hits, come rain or shine! (And of course, you just have to pull your significant other into it.) 💖💦

See or share this art on Tumblr or Twitter!

Last but not least (and I'm technically responsible for this, having leapt to commission them) Siyokoy has drawn this tender portrait of Hugo and Seamus! 😊🌈

I have nothing else to say. Please just look at them... 🙏

See or share this art on Twitter! 

That will do nicely for our Week 2 update, I think. It's yet another read and a half, but I couldn't just update you and leave it at that, could I? 

As ever, thank you for being a part of this campaign no matter how big or small! 🫶✨

Yours truly,

Ing

P.S. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments, we'd love to hear from you!

If you'd like to recruit others to join in on the making of this game, that would be a great help! You can link them our linktr.ee or Itch.io and Steam pages. 💌

Be sure to subscribe to our newsletter for weekly campaign updates written by the characters of OSAS! We're sure Hugo would love for another reader to join him for the Illustrated OSAS News.