Lock & Key Progress Update - September 2024

Hello again, Magical Girls! It’s Rachel here with another L&K update!

Today I’d like to talk about prioritization. Whenever you make a piece of art to share with others, regardless of medium, you’re always going to end up having to leave something out. That’s just how art works. And that’s okay! Knowing how to focus on what matters most is a valuable skill. I learned a lot about how that focus applies to games from Josh while I worked under him on HOTW, which is yet another thing I’m grateful to him for. That isn’t to say it’s easy; they call it “killing your darlings” for a reason. Luckily, making games is a group effort.

Shino, our new project director, has really led the charge when it comes to efficient asset organization and prioritization. That’s been a major focus this month, with every team member coming together to figure out what assets are most essential for the experience. Quality over quantity is the name of the game; better to blow people away with a few key pieces of art and a couple amazing OST tracks than a bunch of rushed and undetailed ones.

So how do you choose? The answer is deceptively simple: have everyone think about which pieces they most want to see, then compare answers with one another. Luckily for us, our answers matched up exactly the same on almost every count. Lock and Key is full of many thrilling moments, but only the most thrilling of thrills deserve to be given special attention. That isn’t to say every CG or track is focused on action, of course. Tender, heartfelt moments are key (no pun intended) to making yuri…well, yuri. Magical Girls are awesome, but GAY Magical Girls are awesome squared. We appreciate yuri’s importance, and I’m sure you do too.

Writing requires prioritization too, especially when it comes to multi-route stories. It’s a matter of focusing on the choices that carry the most weight, the ones that will really challenge the reader. Much like art and music, I’d rather the reader struggle with those big picture choices rather than mindlessly pick a bunch of obvious “right” answers. In that case, it’s less about killing your darlings and more about playing bouncer–in other words, being responsible for kicking out the losers. And the fact of the matter is…we can’t always figure out which ones are losers on our own.

That’s why it’s been so awesome to have Shino join us as project director! It helps to have someone both talented and possessed of a strong critical eye in charge of logistical elements. I know our team has had a lot of changeover throughout the years, but together with our other longtime team members (and a few other returning faces!) and a path forward, we’ve got the finish line in sight. When we cross it, we’ll be crossing with our very best qualities. Please look forward to the best of the best, and we’ll be certain to provide. See you soon!

With love,

Rachel