Seven Years of Tango Fiction

Hi everyone.

I had some technical difficulties this month with my primary work station constantly crashing. I wasted a bunch of energy trying to fix it and then it magically started working again so I am glad I didn’t throw it out a window 😛

I always think the Tango Fiction anniversary is on the 28th but it is the 24th. Time flies! Seven years plus is a lot of time to devote to something even as a hobby. I have some patrons as well that have been around for most of the journey. It has had its twists and a few steep paths. But thanks to the encouragement and financial support from my patrons I’ve managed to get to a point that makes me proud! Transfigure looks good. It sounds good. It has a powerful story with a lot of variety and several shocking endings that I hope will make you all glad you supported me through the quiet periods.

Thank you for making Tango Fiction possible and allowing me the rare opportunity to make the game I want! I have some regrets but all of these years have paid off.

Tango Fiction has everything it needs to succeed. The rest is up to me to put all of these pieces together and make you all proud.

This month dev wise was not as productive as January but I still made several improvements to the game demo in the audio area, adding more detailed sfx and better voice work. I got caught up in changing out some of the lower quality voices. I also found a method to improve the quality up another notch but it alters the voices slightly and makes the process take longer. It has been really difficult trying to get everything to match and be consistent but I am very pleased with the result.

The old scratchy kind of Marge Simpson voice for Taylor has been replaced with the patron selected model.

Here is a before and after example:

Old:

https://voca.ro/1gUd9SWtlRrP

New:

https://voca.ro/12HoHPNfX5xm

The quality difference is stark. The old audio was… okay. The consensus was it was a net positive but it still wasn’t even close to the level of a professional voice actor. With the new upgrades we are getting closer to that threshold. 

Some of the voice lines are kind of funny too so they are making me laugh as I make the game so that's a good sign.

This is just one example of how much things improved from a black wall of text html game to the visual novel it has become.

On the EA and release front I have a long post about this coming but I’ve thought a lot about what direction I want to take going forward and I think I know what I am going to do for the last ~ year of development on Transfigure. I appreciate all the feedback everyone offered. Every contribution and review has made Transfigure a better game.

I will release the demo this month for patrons even if it still has some things to fix and polish up next month. 

Have yourselves a fantastic day! Year 8 is the year I push the boulder down the mountain.

Here is a preview of the demo patch notes:

Demo 0.0.2

-added visual choice tracking for all game decisions

-added an expanded menu for more detailed voice controls (WIP).

-added new music and sound effects to the game (WIP)

-adjusted the starting volume levels to be balanced closer to optimal settings at the start for a player that has not customized any of the game’s sliders. (Loud intro music and default sfx reduced etc)

-made the new image gallery larger

-added the meeting after the bar to Julie’s route

-added and gated most of the html base game story within Ren’Py. The game has close to text parity with the html game. This content is not accessible until new graphics have been added during early access.

-changed Mr. Deter’s voice

-changed and updated Samantha’s graphics and gallery.

-changed Rhea’s model

-added a voice for Tango the hummingbird. 

-changed the blonde porn intro (...again)

-changed the title page image to a non nude cast pic

-changed the base choice menu, hover effect, and text box to look more distinct

-changed the base game font to OpenSans and adjusted text display size

-changed Julie’s model

-added code so that music volume is reduced when a character speaks or a sound effect plays. 

-updated gallery thumbnails

-updated Julie’s graphics

-updated male Taylor’s model to look more masculine, updated early CG

-replaced early graphics, altered introduction

-minor story proofreading edits, including story edits outside demo scope

-late game story changes and cuts to match the updated 2025 script (not present in demo)

-pruned game files, deleting obsolete graphics to reduce game size and bloat.

-blur effect and depth of field added to several backgrounds and images to create a more unified visual experience

-changed the font for the menu and character names

-changed female Taylor’s voice, redid voice lines for quality

-changed YP Taylor’s voice (again)

In Progress (incomplete / not fully implemented):

-updated male Taylor’s voice

-changed Evan’s voice

-changed Tim’s model, CGs

-updated Ryan’s model

-added missing backgrounds for several poor graphics

-disabled the old, inferior image gallery.

-added more content to Rhea’s route (Party games)

-added more content to Sam’s route (Party games)