I don't know how to start my devlog, as this is my first time writing one, hehe. I'll keep it casual for the most part!

A Long Thank You Note:

First and foremost, I want to give a quick thank you to everyone that has played Perfect Roommate or is just reading this devlog! I really appreciate it and I am super grateful for the support. <3

This is the first ever game I made, so I'm actually really baffled that people are playing it. This also marks the first time I'm coding, and I'm really excited to keep embarking on this journey. I don't think I can state this enough time, but I'm really grateful to everyone who has played it. Not to mention, your lovely comments really warmed my heart and they never fail to make me smile or giggle.

I have to thank the O2A2 VN Jam, as well as my friends for giving me the motivation to actually start developing this game. Without them, I probably would have been procastinating until God knows when.  

I know my game isn't perfect (Ironic for a game with the word 'Perfect' in it), and I wish to update it. Unfortunately, my schedule has been really tight lately. Thank you so much for being patient with me!

Ah!! I also want to thank you all for 100 followers as well! That's crazy, and I can't wait to share my future projects with you all!  @~@ <3

About the Game:

'Perfect Roommate' is a solo jam game made by @devourmich for the O2A2 VN jam. 

1) Your "Perfect" Roommate, Marcus

Marcus, your polite and considerate roommate. He's perfect, really. But... he's a serial killer?!

I'm so glad and surprised that Marcus has received a lot of positive feedbacks! I really appreciate the kind words and lovely thoughts about Marcus. Never would I have expected this polite serial killer would have tickled people's fancy. He's a walking red flag (He's literally a killer), but he does the dishes so... why complain? HAHAHA

Some fun facts about Marcus:

• Originally, Marcus's name was 'Jasper', but I had another serial killer character called Jasper, LOL. So I scrapped that idea, but that gave me the idea to make Marcus a serial killer.
• At first, Marcus was supposed to be a cold-blooded serial killer. But then, my mind was like, what if... he's actually a decent human beyond the bloodied hands. He’s polite, he’s considerate, he’s helpful... so what if he kills..?

2) Writing

Writing Marcus was messy, spontaneous, and honestly so much fun.

I genuinely had so much fun writing Marcus and I love building his dynamics with MC! During the early phase of script writing, I had no idea where I wanted to go with the story— I was just branching the story in my head without writing a single fixed plotline down. Naturally, that meant a lot of script and plot revisions happened along the way. I'm very grateful this was a solo project, because I am 1000% the world’s most indecisive writer. 

I just kept building on Marcus’s personality as I wrote. He’s thoughtful, he does the dishes, he asks about your day… and he kills people. But not you. Yet? I think that’s what made him so fun to write— he lives in that grey area between danger and domesticity. He's unnerving but he's comforting at times. It made his dynamic with the MC all the more interesting to explore. In the future, I really want their relationship to walk that thin line where it’s not quite romantic, not quite platonic, and definitely not safe. There’s a subtle tension I wanted to maintain.

Another fun fact, the "Who will do the dishes now?" line in the 'Snitch Ending' was made before Marcus' design ^^

3) Coding

It's either “wow I’m learning so much!” or “why isn’t this working oh my god.” 

This was the fun part and also the painful part. As someone with little to non-existent coding skills, I had fun learning and watching tutorials on how to make a visual novel. It was super satisfying to see things come together and actually work. That said... there were definitely some painful moments where I struggled for hours straight just to solve a simple problem (Cough cough, the UI bugging, cough cough). Don't get me started on translations... it was truly something.

Still, even with all the frustrations, it was worth it. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’m excited to keep learning and making more games!

What's Next?

This will not be the last time you'll be seeing Marcus!

I have plans about making an extended version of the game. I would really love to explore more about the dynamics between Marcus and MC. The fact that Marcus already kills, it makes an interesting tension between the roommates! Would he love obsessively to the point he kills for MC? Unfortunately, the extended version would not be in my top priority for now, as I am juggling between other projects and my academic life TT. Buuut... You'll be seeing me in Spooktober Jam 2025, hopefully, HAHAHA. 

Anyway, thank you for reading my rambles devlog. If you’ve read this far: you’re perfect <3