As I’m sure most Divine Omen players are aware, a whole chapter update is right around the corner. Chapter 2’s release will officially convert Divine Omen into a paid game. While we’re not quite there yet, we are ready to add some extra polish to Chapter 1. A lot of work goes into preparing a game for an official, monetized release. It’s important to create something that will really sparkle - something that will catch the eyes of viewers. I like to think that’s what I’ve done with this update, which should be live now! Click here to check it out! You can even find it on Steam by going here! Would be crazy if you wishlist it while you’re there…

Anyway, let’s get into the update! I’ve added quite a lot of content to the game with this one. Chapter 1 will receive all this content - this isn’t exclusive to the later/paid chapters. **Chapter 1 will always be free and this update is mainly to improve the overall quality of it! **

I repeat: Chapter 1 will always be free to play, even when the other chapters release. I will never take Chapter 1 from you!

I think of all the changes and additions, the most notable is the addition of collectables. Yes, something I can turn into a Steam achievement later! During the course of the game, Avan will find oranges scattered throughout the world. He’ll keep track of these oranges in his journal where they’ll be calculated at the end of each chapter for a reward!

Speaking of rewards…I’ve also added a photo gallery. Photo galleries are pretty standard for Visual Novels, so what the gallery entails is fairly self-explanatory. Mine does have a slight twist - in addition to unlocking scenes during normal gameplay, those oranges I mentioned earlier will automatically unlock bonus entries in the gallery! These extras can be anything…behind the scenes content, vague hints, extra character lore, never before seen old character designs, sneak peeks at later chapters…you name it, and I’ve probably thought of dropping it in. You’ll just have to see for yourself what made the cut for Chapter 1!

The next thing I changed will be immediately apparent upon opening the game - the UI has received yet another massive overhaul. I think the changes have added a degree of care and professionalism I feel the earlier versions of the game were really lacking. This overhaul includes a bunch of very tiny backend fixes only I will probably notice, as well as lots of transitional animations and sounds that just make the menus more aesthetically satisfying. These animations also made it into Avan’s journal, overall making it a bit more immersive to navigate. In addition to those new transitions, I’ve also updated a lot of the fonts to make the game look a little prettier and also just to improve readability. While readability wasn’t a cited issue prior, it’s always good to do what you can to make your game more accessible. I think this update has done just that!

In the same vein of improving accessibility, I’ve also added a handful of tiny quality of life updates; just little things like being able to click off to the side of the journal to exit instead of having to tap “Return” each time. I also rearranged my important game menus in a way I hope will make the in-game interfaces a little quicker to navigate.

Other minor changes include a few new artworks and tiny visual fixes to existing ones, minor dialogue changes, additions, and omissions, and a handful of audio enhancements. Overall, I’ve just focused on making the game more enjoyable to look at - something that’s obviously important in a game like this one. I also made it scarier…that needed to happen. I’m firm in my belief that Divine Omen should be worse and I am more than willing to put in the work to make it so!

One final change I made was to the overall branding of Divine Omen. This has been in effect for a while, as I’m sure most players have noticed. Someone certainly noticed, because views skyrocketed after the change!

Check that out here! Itch won’t let me embed it! They hate me!

Those changes will also now be reflected in the game as well as in tiny elements like the web presplash image here on itch and the favicon. I’ve also totally overhauled the game pages both on itch and steam just to make them more appealing and ideally gain a few extra players. I want this game to take off! It’s cool! I’m proud of it!

Now that we’ve discussed all the changes you can expect in v.1.2, let’s discuss something I mentioned in a previous devlog that I did not end up including: an inventory system. I started to do it before quickly coming to the realization that I’m trying to make Divine Omen into too many things. I’ve always marketed the game as one containing point-and-click elements, but that doesn’t make it a point-and-click game. There aren’t enough items in the game to justify putting in the work to code an inventory just to have it taking up space on the screen. I thought leaning heavier into the point-and-click aspects of Divine Omen would help it to take off a little bit…and that’s probably still true, but I don’t think it’s right for the game. I understand that non-romance horror visual novels aren’t particularly popular - that’s my reason for even considering the inventory in the first place. Most players who enjoy the format (VNs) would rather play a dating game. Most players who enjoy the genre (horror) aren’t interested in this format. Adding in the inventory system was a bid to appeal to the latter audience, when in reality I should just allow the game to be what it is - a horror visual novel made next to a point-and-click game and a little bit of the point-and-click accidentally fell in.

(Now watch me come back 2 months from now talking about the sick new inventory system I added…)

(Just kidding. I’m not gonna do that probably.)

Thanks for taking the time to read yet another long-winded devlog and stay tuned for more info on Chapter 2’s release! It’s coming up fast! With this update out of the way, I can focus 100% of my effort to finishing up the artwork (a task that’s already halfway complete, mind you…). Right now I’m shooting for a March release, but I’ll get back to you on that!

Now go play Chapter 1 for free and wishlist it on Steam!!!