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New Project? Old Project? What's next?
It's been a long time since I posted on this blog! It's because it's been a long time since I did any work on coding, design, or even writing stories. That's unfortunate, but it has to do with a lot of stressful things irl. I've moved back to my home town, and even to my parents house. The stress has been so intense that I developed a speech compulsion disorder... It's been really difficult.
Before the start of February I found out about a Game Jam, Strawberry Jam 6. It's a Horny Game Jam, or in other words, a game jam for making erogames. Also, the community around the jam is very positive for non-traditional ideas of horny content. So, I decided to join. I planned to prepare my tools in the days before the Jam and then spend the four weeks making a game. However, none of that happened. I never did get my tools ready, or make any games. I did at least have a game in mind to create, which I brainstormed with my roomie. I think it was a neat idea, and I liked the concept too. However, at some point I realized that even if I did make it, it would only be the foundation, and I'd be driven to complete it... It would be so much work, for so long, and that's not bad! But it's like, is that what I really wanted to do, long term? I had intended to enter the Jam and make a fun and kinky game, just to shake the rust off, not to start an endless game project.
Now though, it's March. Strawberry Jam 6 is over. You can check out the submissions at their page: https://itch.io/jam/strawberry-jam-6
It's time to decide what to do next.
I'm finally settling in back at my parents' house, and I want to make games again, but I'm not sure what to make. My previous projects, or at least the ones I was most recently working on, were almost entirely in the planning stages. The ones before that, I'm not sure there's anything I want to work on there?
Some time in January, before I found out about the Strawberry Jam 6, I had discovered an erogame being developed that interested me. I went to investigate and found their Patreon. They're developing two erogames simultaneously as a full-time job. At the time, I was able to see just how much they made per month, and I was going to say what they're making now, but like, I can't see it anymore! I asked them, and apparently they turned off the display to stop getting attention from phishing scams. At any rate, it's better money than I make on disability by far, even taking into consideration they've said they pay the two artists they work with a large portion.
So, after finding out about that, I contacted them to ask how they did it, what was their secret and all that. It took a while to get anything out of them that could help, though, since they weren't terribly sure what if any trick they had; for them, it was just how it worked out. They mentioned their programming skills weren't great, and I happen to know my programming skills are actually pretty great, so I thought I'd try and help them out to trade for their help in figuring out marketing or whatever it is they do so 'right'. It turned out our learning styles are very very different so my help so far hasn't been terribly helpful, only a little bit. They were at least able to give some advice here or there. One thing they think contributed a lot was https://tfgames.site/ so I checked that out. I'd used the site before, not in a long time, but it seems it's way more popular than I knew. I also started exploring, and a series of coincidences led me to other erogame projects and also the Strawberry Jam 6.
Several of those erogame projects have been really captivating, and contributed somewhat to my difficulties working last month... But these were also making good money on Patreon. It was actually a while before I found any erogames that weren't making much...
Now I'm thinking about doing an erogame for my next project, for real. Not the one I had intended to make for Strawberry Jam 6, but another one I've been thinking out.
I actually had a couple of different ideas at first, but they both fell into the trap that the ero concepts were fighting with the game concepts. A classic problem in ero games is that you're given mechanics that make avoiding the ero stuff the best gameplay and/or the story-goal, and in some ways punishing you for what you really want to do.
While struggling with that I was suddenly hit with an idea that would turn it around. So, the idea of my new erogame project is to place the player in a situation where they are being fought over by a collection of dominant 'monsters', each of which wants to own them very very much. It's a sub-focused game, based around transformation and mind control, along with a host of my other interests. One of the monsters will catch you early on and take you to their domain, and they'll try to change you to suit them and their theme and interests, and ultimately perform a ritual to claim you. At the same time, the other monsters will break into that one's domain and try to catch you and kidnap you to their domain instead, to do the same thing.
At first it's something of an exploration game, where you explore the different domains but also explore your options and get to know the different 'monsters'. Eventually you might decide you like one more, though, and try to spend more time with them and avoid the others, and then while the gameplay is the same, the goals change things. Instead of just exploring, you've chosen one of them and so you'll actively try to resist the others and stay with your favorite, until they finish their ritual. Meanwhile, the others will keep trying to get you to join them instead, offering temptations. I've definately played games with multiple 'paths' and been indecisive with them, flipflopping for a while. I hope I can make it difficult for players to choose!
So that's the basic theme idea, but it's pretty divorced from any specific gameplay so far, and that's a bit of a problem. I'm actually still trying to figure out what sort of gameplay would be best for this idea.
There are two main game styles I'm thinking about for this project currently. I'm not opposed to additional ones but these are the ones I've thought up so far and focused the most on. I want to describe them here partly to share the ideas with others, but also to explore them myself. I find writing about my ideas in a conversational way tends to help spark new ones, and other benefits also manifest.
The first game style I've been thinking about is a sort of text based dungeon idea. In this one, each 'Monster' would have a domain represented by interconnected rooms with descriptions and various objects for contents, and other things. The player would be taken to a monster's domain when caught by them, and usually held in one room for a bit at least while they do things. They might be let go for a bit to explore the domain, or escape somehow. They might also be taken on some sort of tour.
The main special features of this one would be exploring the domains and seeing what's there, and also playing with the 'toys'. So, each domain would have themed things you could interact with, they'd probably do something to you but might just display a kinky 'scene' and pass time. There might be NPCs in there besides the monster, and they might have their own ideas and activities, but they would respect their monster master overall. The general idea is to give you ways to customize your experience in that theme, rather than just having one thing that the monster will do and only that. I'd also like it to be possible for things from different domains to affect you and have those changes remain and/or be modified by others. So, depending on your 'route' through the game, things might be different each time, rather than the same experience with just the monster every time, with a single end-state every time.
I'm not sure if the monsters domains will be connected in a way you can traverse them on your own, or if you have to be taken by a monster to its domain to get there. It would be tricky, given that I want to be able to let the player remove monsters and themes they don't want to see from the experience. That means that the domains would also have to go, and I'd have to rig something up to connect them dynamically. I'm capable of that, it's possible, but it's more work, you know? There's also the minor things that might be turned off or removed, so individual elements of a monster's domain might not be usable or even appear, depending on the situation. All that said, the idea of personally taking the dangerous trek through different monsters' domains to get back to your favorite after you got kidnapped/captured is kinda neat. It also gives you an alternative way to experience other monsters' domains than being caught and taken by them. I do also like the idea of there being a neutral zone as well, where you start out before the first monster you encounter is able to get you.
The other parts of the game are the monsters bursting into the edges of eachother's domain like the heccing Kool-Aid Man and you either encouraging or resisting them. Also, they fight eachother! XD
That's another thing that's really fuzzy in my head regarding all of this. Like, it's easy to say that a monster can grab you and you have no option to resist or escape, but then what about if one takes you and then another comes and now the three of you are in the same room? For one thing, I think that provides an opportunity for you to escape them both, while they're busy fighting, but it also gives you the opportunity to side with one or the other. This might be the only way to escape from the monster whose domain you're in, even, I haven't decided yet. Like, some might take you to their domain, assume you're safe and let you wander around, others might want to let you kinda change yourself through interacting with their domain instead of just doing it to you, and that sort of thing. But, some will definately keep you close. There's going to be at LEAST one with a pouch to put you in. So, having another monster come along and challenge them would be a great opportunity for you.
Once you're free of the monster who had you, those two might be busy for a while or not, I'm not sure how I'll handle the monster fight dynamics or gameplay. They might split up after they realize you're gone, but you'll probably at least have a few turns to make some distance. But, there's gonna be other monsters in that domain hunting for you too! Potentially all of them! So, I want the domain to be big enough... but I worry about the appropriate sizes of that sort of thing. I think that would have to be figured out through playtesting. Obviously you don't want to be wandering around seeing nothing for a long time, not knowing where you are or what you're doing. But, I don't want one or more monsters in every room, and the player being unable to interact with the domain's other features. Likewise, if all the monsters have to do to catch you is be alone in a room with you, then they teleport to their domain, you lose a lot of agency and also the excitement of trying but failing to escape, or the shock of running into a different monster when running!
Resistance has got to be in there, but I'm not sure what form it should take. The simplest would be to just say "The monster is trying to catch you! Resist?" and put a yes/no switch there. I'm not sure what to have it use to determine your success though. Random chance? Some kind of stats? Should there be an actual combat system?
I think encouragement would just mean staying with the monster you like, doing as you're told, and supporting them against other monsters instead of using the opportunity to escape.
The player themself and what happens to them is going to be an immensely complicated system. I want the player to be able to craft a form to start in, if they want. If you're in a hurry, I might set up a few easy generic starts. But, if you want to start as your fursona and get modified by these various monsters and zone experiences, whatever there is, then I want that to be an option. That way, the one getting changed is YOU and it should modify you in ways that would make sense, rather than something generic. It'll be tricky to represent a wide variety of fursona/persona options but I think if I immitate the system in Lilith's Throne it should work out. Their system of defining and describing bodies is really amazing.
I think that's the jist of what I'm thinking about for that game style. The main things I need to figure out are the resisting system and how the monsters will fight eachother, since I have to figure out who wins and what to display during the fight.
The second game style I'm considering is more of a life simulator in the vein of To Love a Googirl or The Repurposing Centre. Those games have been some of the most fun and most pivotal games in my ero gameplay lately, and Xey, the creator of To Love a Googirl, has been very inspiring to me.
This style of game usually consists of making choices from lists as your main form of interaction. Your day is broken up into clear sections, or each choice or action has a linked time cost, and you only have so much time in a day.
Taking the idea of Dommy Monsters Want to Own You and Will Fight Over You into this style would be an interesting challenge. The setting might differ from the first idea, since there isn't exactly a need to be exploring an interconnected maze of rooms, and it doesn't have to feel dungeony unless that's part of the monster's theme.
Basically, there'd be a short introduction and then a randomly determined monster would be the first to grab you. There might be a couple chances to avoid one and try another but you'd get got. Then the game begins.
Once you're safe in their domain, the monster, in their own way, will tell you what they want from you, and for you. Then you'll be presented with options for how to proceed. I'm thinking that each activity will take up time blocks, and that the time blocks taken up may vary depending on what you're doing, and what else happens that you didn't expect. You might be spending time with the monster, and reacting to what they're doing with you, or you might have 'free time' where the monster is doing something else, but they'll usually have some kind of directions or instructions for you. Alternatively, they might just let you do what you want in their domain.
Either way, you're in their domain and get to choose how to spend your time. You could work on any specific tasks you have, explore the domain, interact with any domain element you know about, like a location, object, or NPC, or you could try to escape the domain. So, each time you do something, there's a chance something else will happen. I'm not sure the percentages yet, that'll come from playtesting, but apart from 'nothing' there's two kinds of things that can happen. A domain event or a rival event. A domain event would be an unexpected event involving the domain itself or its inhabitants. A rival event would be something the rival monsters use to try and influence you, usually trying to kidnap, rescue, or otherwise claim you for themselves. There'd be a chance of you falling for it automatically, depending on some sort of stats and random chance, and if you don't fall for it automatically, you can intentionally give into it, and either be kidnapped/rescued or otherwise affected. Of course, you can also just ignore or report it in some way.
As time passes, your needs will change. These'll be used to sorta tie you to the world. Sleep or other forms of rest are a big one; you can only stay active so long. You'll probably have to eat or otherwise energize and rebuild yourself, too. Bathroom stuff will probably be something players can toggle off if it grosses them out, but if it's on, it'll be a thing too. It might only toggle off the vivid descriptions and kink stuff though? Not sure. At least, you'll have some sort of hygine need. The specific nature of all those needs might change with your form and status, though, also. Like, a robot or a plushie would have way different needs than an organic critter. If a domain can't support you, that'll probably be one of the first things they change.
One of the concerns I had with this style was figuring out which monster would show up to try and grab you, and when I decided to use traps/minions/whatevs instead of having the monsters show up themselves, that remained. I think that it should be somewhat random, but weighted as well. Like, at first it'd be totally random, just whatever monster gets picked from those available. But then, it would keep track of what you do, and use that to influence things. So, it would try to focus on first introducing monsters that you hadn't met or interacted with yet. If it seems you're not into a particular monster, they'll be weighted lower. If you've spent time as the guest of a monster, it'll weigh it more, and more depending on the length you stayed. Also potentially how you behaved while you were there. If you escape from a domain, the associated monster won't show up for a bit, since it wouldn't make sense to want to escape and just go back. But, I don't want them eliminated either, since maybe you only left to play the field and explore other options, but end up wanting to go back!
With scope creep creepin' on I've got more and more ideas for more monsters. I'm even thinking of having at least two for each general theme, so they can vary things up within that theme and have different personalities and styles. So, a real concern is that, especially if you have nothing turned off, it'll take a LONG time to meet all the monsters that you might potentially have an interest in. I want to make sure players have a sort of 'easy out' to play the field, if they meet a monster and they don't like them, even though they were okay with those kinks or themes. Or if they just want to find another they didn't play with last playthrough! I don't want it to be perfect, though. So, a player might get stuck getting caught, if they'd given a couple monsters 'the pass' already, or if their stats or whatever are low and they're unable to resist. But, once they're in that monster's domain, they can try to escape. I think I might give a bonus to escape at the start, even. Make it easier to nope out, but if you stick around it becomes a bit harder, but only a bit.
Basically, as I said, it's a life sim. You're sometimes pushed into things or changes by the monster who owns the domain, but usually you're just managing what to do with your free time. You might even be able to choose to spend more time with the monster? Not sure. You do what you can to keep your needs topped up and enjoy yourself. The goal of the game remains the same though; find a monster you like and stay with them long enough for them to complete their 'ritual' that claims you permenantly as theirs, while resisting the traps and temptations of the rivals. Otherwise just have fun exploring the possibility space of the game world.
Ultimately, I think the two styles can actually come together harmoniously. That is to say, the more I think about them, the closer they come to eachother. The main differences are the interface and the network of 'rooms' in the text adventure/dungeon compared to the general 'areas' of the life-sim. In the time I've been writing this, I've definately tipped a lot toward the life-sim style.
So, there won't be spatial tracking, keeping in mind where different objects and characters are. That means no real 'ai' and while it's a sort of simulation game, it's not the kind of 'simulation' I was aiming for either. That means I'm not so sure it stands up to one of the things I wanted, which was a game design that was more challenging, using AI techniques and complex simulations. I'm confident in my ability to make this game using just the skills I already have.
That said, I've spent a month thinking about and designing this game at this point (It just turned April, I started writing this in early March) and it's something I want to exist, something I want to create and something I want to be a part of. I'd also like to play it, but I'm not sure that'll work out; it's hard to enjoy a game you made yourself, they say. It's hard to explore the posibility space you established, also, and I'll be writing or reading every bit of text that goes in there too. So, there won't be any surprises.
Up till now, I thought I had a lot more to write in this entry, but I think it's actually about done! There's a lot more to be figured out, but a few times while writing this I changed my goal of writing it. At first, just updating folks on what I'm working on. Then, figuring out what to do between the two styles, and how they would work in practice. But, near the end I was focusing more on defining the game in a way that I could share with people, so they could better know what the game would be and how it would be played. That last one was a bit of a mistake. To expect someone to go through all of that 'figuring stuff out' and still be able to seperate out the specific idea that came at the end, it wouldn't be reasonable. So, I'll finish this entry, and hopefully before long, I'll write another that goes into defining the game and how it is played.
I'd also like to do more general brainstorming about the monsters I'll be implementing, their domains and worlds, the setting, and the other things the player will interact with.
For now, thanks for reading all that, if anybody did!
Before the start of February I found out about a Game Jam, Strawberry Jam 6. It's a Horny Game Jam, or in other words, a game jam for making erogames. Also, the community around the jam is very positive for non-traditional ideas of horny content. So, I decided to join. I planned to prepare my tools in the days before the Jam and then spend the four weeks making a game. However, none of that happened. I never did get my tools ready, or make any games. I did at least have a game in mind to create, which I brainstormed with my roomie. I think it was a neat idea, and I liked the concept too. However, at some point I realized that even if I did make it, it would only be the foundation, and I'd be driven to complete it... It would be so much work, for so long, and that's not bad! But it's like, is that what I really wanted to do, long term? I had intended to enter the Jam and make a fun and kinky game, just to shake the rust off, not to start an endless game project.
Now though, it's March. Strawberry Jam 6 is over. You can check out the submissions at their page: https://itch.io/jam/strawberry-jam-6
It's time to decide what to do next.
I'm finally settling in back at my parents' house, and I want to make games again, but I'm not sure what to make. My previous projects, or at least the ones I was most recently working on, were almost entirely in the planning stages. The ones before that, I'm not sure there's anything I want to work on there?
Some time in January, before I found out about the Strawberry Jam 6, I had discovered an erogame being developed that interested me. I went to investigate and found their Patreon. They're developing two erogames simultaneously as a full-time job. At the time, I was able to see just how much they made per month, and I was going to say what they're making now, but like, I can't see it anymore! I asked them, and apparently they turned off the display to stop getting attention from phishing scams. At any rate, it's better money than I make on disability by far, even taking into consideration they've said they pay the two artists they work with a large portion.
So, after finding out about that, I contacted them to ask how they did it, what was their secret and all that. It took a while to get anything out of them that could help, though, since they weren't terribly sure what if any trick they had; for them, it was just how it worked out. They mentioned their programming skills weren't great, and I happen to know my programming skills are actually pretty great, so I thought I'd try and help them out to trade for their help in figuring out marketing or whatever it is they do so 'right'. It turned out our learning styles are very very different so my help so far hasn't been terribly helpful, only a little bit. They were at least able to give some advice here or there. One thing they think contributed a lot was https://tfgames.site/ so I checked that out. I'd used the site before, not in a long time, but it seems it's way more popular than I knew. I also started exploring, and a series of coincidences led me to other erogame projects and also the Strawberry Jam 6.
Several of those erogame projects have been really captivating, and contributed somewhat to my difficulties working last month... But these were also making good money on Patreon. It was actually a while before I found any erogames that weren't making much...
Now I'm thinking about doing an erogame for my next project, for real. Not the one I had intended to make for Strawberry Jam 6, but another one I've been thinking out.
I actually had a couple of different ideas at first, but they both fell into the trap that the ero concepts were fighting with the game concepts. A classic problem in ero games is that you're given mechanics that make avoiding the ero stuff the best gameplay and/or the story-goal, and in some ways punishing you for what you really want to do.
While struggling with that I was suddenly hit with an idea that would turn it around. So, the idea of my new erogame project is to place the player in a situation where they are being fought over by a collection of dominant 'monsters', each of which wants to own them very very much. It's a sub-focused game, based around transformation and mind control, along with a host of my other interests. One of the monsters will catch you early on and take you to their domain, and they'll try to change you to suit them and their theme and interests, and ultimately perform a ritual to claim you. At the same time, the other monsters will break into that one's domain and try to catch you and kidnap you to their domain instead, to do the same thing.
At first it's something of an exploration game, where you explore the different domains but also explore your options and get to know the different 'monsters'. Eventually you might decide you like one more, though, and try to spend more time with them and avoid the others, and then while the gameplay is the same, the goals change things. Instead of just exploring, you've chosen one of them and so you'll actively try to resist the others and stay with your favorite, until they finish their ritual. Meanwhile, the others will keep trying to get you to join them instead, offering temptations. I've definately played games with multiple 'paths' and been indecisive with them, flipflopping for a while. I hope I can make it difficult for players to choose!
So that's the basic theme idea, but it's pretty divorced from any specific gameplay so far, and that's a bit of a problem. I'm actually still trying to figure out what sort of gameplay would be best for this idea.
There are two main game styles I'm thinking about for this project currently. I'm not opposed to additional ones but these are the ones I've thought up so far and focused the most on. I want to describe them here partly to share the ideas with others, but also to explore them myself. I find writing about my ideas in a conversational way tends to help spark new ones, and other benefits also manifest.
The first game style I've been thinking about is a sort of text based dungeon idea. In this one, each 'Monster' would have a domain represented by interconnected rooms with descriptions and various objects for contents, and other things. The player would be taken to a monster's domain when caught by them, and usually held in one room for a bit at least while they do things. They might be let go for a bit to explore the domain, or escape somehow. They might also be taken on some sort of tour.
The main special features of this one would be exploring the domains and seeing what's there, and also playing with the 'toys'. So, each domain would have themed things you could interact with, they'd probably do something to you but might just display a kinky 'scene' and pass time. There might be NPCs in there besides the monster, and they might have their own ideas and activities, but they would respect their monster master overall. The general idea is to give you ways to customize your experience in that theme, rather than just having one thing that the monster will do and only that. I'd also like it to be possible for things from different domains to affect you and have those changes remain and/or be modified by others. So, depending on your 'route' through the game, things might be different each time, rather than the same experience with just the monster every time, with a single end-state every time.
I'm not sure if the monsters domains will be connected in a way you can traverse them on your own, or if you have to be taken by a monster to its domain to get there. It would be tricky, given that I want to be able to let the player remove monsters and themes they don't want to see from the experience. That means that the domains would also have to go, and I'd have to rig something up to connect them dynamically. I'm capable of that, it's possible, but it's more work, you know? There's also the minor things that might be turned off or removed, so individual elements of a monster's domain might not be usable or even appear, depending on the situation. All that said, the idea of personally taking the dangerous trek through different monsters' domains to get back to your favorite after you got kidnapped/captured is kinda neat. It also gives you an alternative way to experience other monsters' domains than being caught and taken by them. I do also like the idea of there being a neutral zone as well, where you start out before the first monster you encounter is able to get you.
The other parts of the game are the monsters bursting into the edges of eachother's domain like the heccing Kool-Aid Man and you either encouraging or resisting them. Also, they fight eachother! XD
That's another thing that's really fuzzy in my head regarding all of this. Like, it's easy to say that a monster can grab you and you have no option to resist or escape, but then what about if one takes you and then another comes and now the three of you are in the same room? For one thing, I think that provides an opportunity for you to escape them both, while they're busy fighting, but it also gives you the opportunity to side with one or the other. This might be the only way to escape from the monster whose domain you're in, even, I haven't decided yet. Like, some might take you to their domain, assume you're safe and let you wander around, others might want to let you kinda change yourself through interacting with their domain instead of just doing it to you, and that sort of thing. But, some will definately keep you close. There's going to be at LEAST one with a pouch to put you in. So, having another monster come along and challenge them would be a great opportunity for you.
Once you're free of the monster who had you, those two might be busy for a while or not, I'm not sure how I'll handle the monster fight dynamics or gameplay. They might split up after they realize you're gone, but you'll probably at least have a few turns to make some distance. But, there's gonna be other monsters in that domain hunting for you too! Potentially all of them! So, I want the domain to be big enough... but I worry about the appropriate sizes of that sort of thing. I think that would have to be figured out through playtesting. Obviously you don't want to be wandering around seeing nothing for a long time, not knowing where you are or what you're doing. But, I don't want one or more monsters in every room, and the player being unable to interact with the domain's other features. Likewise, if all the monsters have to do to catch you is be alone in a room with you, then they teleport to their domain, you lose a lot of agency and also the excitement of trying but failing to escape, or the shock of running into a different monster when running!
Resistance has got to be in there, but I'm not sure what form it should take. The simplest would be to just say "The monster is trying to catch you! Resist?" and put a yes/no switch there. I'm not sure what to have it use to determine your success though. Random chance? Some kind of stats? Should there be an actual combat system?
I think encouragement would just mean staying with the monster you like, doing as you're told, and supporting them against other monsters instead of using the opportunity to escape.
The player themself and what happens to them is going to be an immensely complicated system. I want the player to be able to craft a form to start in, if they want. If you're in a hurry, I might set up a few easy generic starts. But, if you want to start as your fursona and get modified by these various monsters and zone experiences, whatever there is, then I want that to be an option. That way, the one getting changed is YOU and it should modify you in ways that would make sense, rather than something generic. It'll be tricky to represent a wide variety of fursona/persona options but I think if I immitate the system in Lilith's Throne it should work out. Their system of defining and describing bodies is really amazing.
I think that's the jist of what I'm thinking about for that game style. The main things I need to figure out are the resisting system and how the monsters will fight eachother, since I have to figure out who wins and what to display during the fight.
The second game style I'm considering is more of a life simulator in the vein of To Love a Googirl or The Repurposing Centre. Those games have been some of the most fun and most pivotal games in my ero gameplay lately, and Xey, the creator of To Love a Googirl, has been very inspiring to me.
This style of game usually consists of making choices from lists as your main form of interaction. Your day is broken up into clear sections, or each choice or action has a linked time cost, and you only have so much time in a day.
Taking the idea of Dommy Monsters Want to Own You and Will Fight Over You into this style would be an interesting challenge. The setting might differ from the first idea, since there isn't exactly a need to be exploring an interconnected maze of rooms, and it doesn't have to feel dungeony unless that's part of the monster's theme.
Basically, there'd be a short introduction and then a randomly determined monster would be the first to grab you. There might be a couple chances to avoid one and try another but you'd get got. Then the game begins.
Once you're safe in their domain, the monster, in their own way, will tell you what they want from you, and for you. Then you'll be presented with options for how to proceed. I'm thinking that each activity will take up time blocks, and that the time blocks taken up may vary depending on what you're doing, and what else happens that you didn't expect. You might be spending time with the monster, and reacting to what they're doing with you, or you might have 'free time' where the monster is doing something else, but they'll usually have some kind of directions or instructions for you. Alternatively, they might just let you do what you want in their domain.
Either way, you're in their domain and get to choose how to spend your time. You could work on any specific tasks you have, explore the domain, interact with any domain element you know about, like a location, object, or NPC, or you could try to escape the domain. So, each time you do something, there's a chance something else will happen. I'm not sure the percentages yet, that'll come from playtesting, but apart from 'nothing' there's two kinds of things that can happen. A domain event or a rival event. A domain event would be an unexpected event involving the domain itself or its inhabitants. A rival event would be something the rival monsters use to try and influence you, usually trying to kidnap, rescue, or otherwise claim you for themselves. There'd be a chance of you falling for it automatically, depending on some sort of stats and random chance, and if you don't fall for it automatically, you can intentionally give into it, and either be kidnapped/rescued or otherwise affected. Of course, you can also just ignore or report it in some way.
As time passes, your needs will change. These'll be used to sorta tie you to the world. Sleep or other forms of rest are a big one; you can only stay active so long. You'll probably have to eat or otherwise energize and rebuild yourself, too. Bathroom stuff will probably be something players can toggle off if it grosses them out, but if it's on, it'll be a thing too. It might only toggle off the vivid descriptions and kink stuff though? Not sure. At least, you'll have some sort of hygine need. The specific nature of all those needs might change with your form and status, though, also. Like, a robot or a plushie would have way different needs than an organic critter. If a domain can't support you, that'll probably be one of the first things they change.
One of the concerns I had with this style was figuring out which monster would show up to try and grab you, and when I decided to use traps/minions/whatevs instead of having the monsters show up themselves, that remained. I think that it should be somewhat random, but weighted as well. Like, at first it'd be totally random, just whatever monster gets picked from those available. But then, it would keep track of what you do, and use that to influence things. So, it would try to focus on first introducing monsters that you hadn't met or interacted with yet. If it seems you're not into a particular monster, they'll be weighted lower. If you've spent time as the guest of a monster, it'll weigh it more, and more depending on the length you stayed. Also potentially how you behaved while you were there. If you escape from a domain, the associated monster won't show up for a bit, since it wouldn't make sense to want to escape and just go back. But, I don't want them eliminated either, since maybe you only left to play the field and explore other options, but end up wanting to go back!
With scope creep creepin' on I've got more and more ideas for more monsters. I'm even thinking of having at least two for each general theme, so they can vary things up within that theme and have different personalities and styles. So, a real concern is that, especially if you have nothing turned off, it'll take a LONG time to meet all the monsters that you might potentially have an interest in. I want to make sure players have a sort of 'easy out' to play the field, if they meet a monster and they don't like them, even though they were okay with those kinks or themes. Or if they just want to find another they didn't play with last playthrough! I don't want it to be perfect, though. So, a player might get stuck getting caught, if they'd given a couple monsters 'the pass' already, or if their stats or whatever are low and they're unable to resist. But, once they're in that monster's domain, they can try to escape. I think I might give a bonus to escape at the start, even. Make it easier to nope out, but if you stick around it becomes a bit harder, but only a bit.
Basically, as I said, it's a life sim. You're sometimes pushed into things or changes by the monster who owns the domain, but usually you're just managing what to do with your free time. You might even be able to choose to spend more time with the monster? Not sure. You do what you can to keep your needs topped up and enjoy yourself. The goal of the game remains the same though; find a monster you like and stay with them long enough for them to complete their 'ritual' that claims you permenantly as theirs, while resisting the traps and temptations of the rivals. Otherwise just have fun exploring the possibility space of the game world.
Ultimately, I think the two styles can actually come together harmoniously. That is to say, the more I think about them, the closer they come to eachother. The main differences are the interface and the network of 'rooms' in the text adventure/dungeon compared to the general 'areas' of the life-sim. In the time I've been writing this, I've definately tipped a lot toward the life-sim style.
So, there won't be spatial tracking, keeping in mind where different objects and characters are. That means no real 'ai' and while it's a sort of simulation game, it's not the kind of 'simulation' I was aiming for either. That means I'm not so sure it stands up to one of the things I wanted, which was a game design that was more challenging, using AI techniques and complex simulations. I'm confident in my ability to make this game using just the skills I already have.
That said, I've spent a month thinking about and designing this game at this point (It just turned April, I started writing this in early March) and it's something I want to exist, something I want to create and something I want to be a part of. I'd also like to play it, but I'm not sure that'll work out; it's hard to enjoy a game you made yourself, they say. It's hard to explore the posibility space you established, also, and I'll be writing or reading every bit of text that goes in there too. So, there won't be any surprises.
Up till now, I thought I had a lot more to write in this entry, but I think it's actually about done! There's a lot more to be figured out, but a few times while writing this I changed my goal of writing it. At first, just updating folks on what I'm working on. Then, figuring out what to do between the two styles, and how they would work in practice. But, near the end I was focusing more on defining the game in a way that I could share with people, so they could better know what the game would be and how it would be played. That last one was a bit of a mistake. To expect someone to go through all of that 'figuring stuff out' and still be able to seperate out the specific idea that came at the end, it wouldn't be reasonable. So, I'll finish this entry, and hopefully before long, I'll write another that goes into defining the game and how it is played.
I'd also like to do more general brainstorming about the monsters I'll be implementing, their domains and worlds, the setting, and the other things the player will interact with.
For now, thanks for reading all that, if anybody did!
no subject
Perhaps the user could be running towards an exit, or another monster, in this 2D maze, and that might decide whether you get captured by one of them or not? Maybe how well you've kept up with your other needs might help determine your speed in this section of the game. But it's probably a lot more involved than you were thinking of.
no subject
It could be a sort of mini-game that would determine if you were caught by one monster or another, but I think I want to keep it relatively simple. If I need to make it more complicated later on, that's a good idea.