Ren'Py The Minerva Project [Development Thread]

[probably_dave]

Hi Everyone,

Firstly, let me thank everyone here who contributes to this forum. Over the past 6 months or so I’ve been avidly following everyone’s posts in this forum. Although I’ve barely posted myself (I aim to change that, hence this thread), the help and support you guys have shown to other users has helped me immensely in planning for a game of my own.

The Minerva Project will be an event-driven village builder type game. Although it will be a sandbox game, the progression through the game will be highly event and story driven. Working with a simple trade economy (import/export from your village) the prime focus will be the interactions between various characters in the village and growing each business in your village to expand.

I’ll be using this thread to track my progress and discuss various aspects of the game, how and why I made the different choices I made and, of course, look for feedback from the community. Please feel free to leave your comments and ideas as I post. I’m looking for the good and the bad (leaving out the ugly). I’ll be looking to provide updates at least weekly, but probably more frequently at the start as I cover the fundamentals of the game.

The game itself will be made in Ren’py with the renders made in Daz. I’ve spent most of 2020 learning and experimenting with both systems and now I feel comfortable in my ability to make a reasonable game based on what I’ve learnt. I’m sure over the course of its development I’ll make mistakes and continue to learn about these systems and game making in general, so I’m not expecting a fully smooth ride. However, now I feel that experimenting is not enough and it's time to dive, head first, into a fully blown project.

As for release dates, I’m targeting to have an initial ‘demo’ version out by end of March 2021. This should have the basic framework for expansion all in place. Following that, I’m looking for the first Alpha release mid-year. However, I am making this game as a hobby and not a way to make money. Therefore, these dates will be highly subjective to real world events. As I’m currently in lockdown however, my aim is to get the engine and the guts of the game done while I have more time. As spring approaches, hopefully, life will get back to more normality, but it will mean I will less time to spend, but if the winter goes as planned, making content should be easier and therefore, allow me to fully flesh out the game.

And onto the game itself:

Spoiler: Plot Intro

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Spoiler: Gameplay

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Spoiler: Characters

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Spoiler: Sexual Content

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Spoiler: Sample Renders

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[Ali ibn Hassan]

Good looking pixs and good luck with the project

 

[Weasel_Face]

Just missing a download link...

 

[hiya02]

The plot feels refreshingly different from the standard "mc returns to his home city after being away 4 years in military/college/prison/abroad and is going to live with a landlady and five roomies" cliche, and the mechanics sound quite ambitious. I wish you luck with this project!
Is this going to be your first game or have you completed games before?

 

[probably_dave]

Thanks everyone,

...the mechanics sound quite ambitious ...
Is this going to be your first game ...

I was waiting for this response so thanks for asking hiya02.

Technically, no it's not my first game, however, the last game I made was over 10 years ago, so in a way, it will feel like it. It will be my first game using Ren'py and Daz.

I know from reading the advice given on this forum that 'start simple' is stressed over and over again for anyone starting out and there's one main reason why I'm not following it. It's usually the second piece of advice given to new starters "Do what you enjoy".

For me, creating a multi-branching VN would not excite me programming wise. I've been out of the world of coding for a while, and the enjoyment I've had experimenting with the different mechanics is not something I want to lose.
The same is true with the artwork and plot. For me, they all come together. Remove one and I feel my passion would wane. I'd then get distracted by something shiny and next thing I know, I wouldn't have worked on the game for a few weeks, which then turns to months and then...

However, I'm also a realist. I know it is ambitious for a first game of this type. I'm going to hit plenty of walls and at times will want to throw everything away and start something different. As I sit here now, I believe I will be break/climb over/build a door for all these walls, but only time will tell.

Just missing a download link...

Sorry mate, you'll have to wait a few month. Hopefully you'll come back in the spring

 

[probably_dave]

Game Mechanics: Supply Chains and Manufacturing

One of the key mechanics in the game is the producing things to keep your villagers happy and make money by selling them to on the global market.

This is done by creating buildings within your village that take some input and produce and output (simples). However, there will be many different options for the player of exactly how this is done.

I’ll use the planned tutorial example to explain.

Spoiler: Fertilizer - Grain - Flour - Bread

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Each building and produce will work in a similar way. A product goes into a building, workers are needed to convert and something more expensive comes out the other end.

Hopefully, this sounds simple enough so where does the challenge come from?

Spoiler: Expanded Example

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Hopefully, keeping to this fairly simple system but giving the player choice of what to do should provide entertainment for the player. The UI is going to be key however, as no player want to be bogged down by a pile of numbers and text.

It’s also worth noting that this is only focused on the conversion of products. There will be other mechanics that could also influence the players choice (storage, transport, limited village space, etc). I will cover these in separate posts.

Spoiler: Designing the Program

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Please let me know your thoughts on the above. For me it sounds like to type of games I enjoy playing. I know the UI aspect is going to be tough (there are a few games currently on this site with complex manufacturing processes but get lost in poor UI) as well as the balance to ensure the game is not too easy/too hard.

My next update will be a bit of history of the MC and the AI (known as Pai). Here's an quick render to show the type of things she gets up to when you're trying to sort your business. Please note, it's not a final render as there's a few things wrong with it.

Pai gets bored while your discussing manufacturing chains:

 

[probably_dave]

Characters: MC and Pai


MC (Name will be customisable):


Taken in by the government since a child due to his natural birth, MC has been floating about outside of society all his life. However, things have been looking up recently as he’s found a niche for himself: Product Discovery and Testing. Although the jobs have been tough (the one as an Impact Analysis stands out, translates to Crash Test Dummy) it means he can afford to proper lodgings rather than being homeless or living in a Government shelter.

It’s been 2 years since the MC first moved into the lodgings and he’s starting to enjoy life for the first time. However, one test he enrols for turns out different: The Minerva Project. Without knowing, MC has changed his life and the life of the people around him forever.

Being whisked off to the country’s capital, Europa City, the MC is implanted with the countries leading company, the Vesta Corporation, new product: The Personal Artificial Intelligence chip (PAI). To test the chip, the MC is put in charge of a small town called Minerva to test out the new product. However, all is not as it seems with this product…

Spoiler: Character Design

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Pai:


Pai is your Personal Artificial intelligence, installed in your head by the Vesta Corporation and only visible to the MC. However, the Vesta Corporation don’t fully understand what they’ve created. Pai, rather than just being a piece of AI, also feeds of people Auras, a yet to be discovered form of energy that governs people emotions. As Pai grows throughout the game, Pai will start to be able to manipulate peoples Auras for you, allowing you to control how people react to you and what emotions they feel.

As powerful as Pai might be however, the energy is unstable and chaotic. This makes Pai very erratic in her behaviour. Also, as her power is governed by people emotions, she also very susceptible to her own emotions, sometimes just plain refusing to help the MC in any way unless she gets what she wants.

Spoiler: Character Design

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[probably_dave]

Game Mechanic: Time and Action Points

For the game, I plan to have a calendar system with different characters in various places at different times.

Each year will be split into 4 different seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn/Fall. Each season will be 29 days aka 4 weeks + 1 day. The extra day at the end of each season will be for ‘holiday’ day to allow for special events to take place (like passing a main quest or Christmas). I wanted to keep these separate as I didn’t want one of these events preventing the user from managing their village on this day and having an adverse impact because of it. This means, from a resource calculation, it goes from the 28th of one season to the 1st of the next. The 29th will be purely for events.

Each season will also present different challenges. This will include unique events (like going to the beach) but not ones that will stop a character’s quest chain. In addition, certain building will be impacted by the seasons. A good example is the farm where certain crops will get benefits if the season matches their preferred season.

Each day will consist of 8 sections:
Night: Midnight and Late
Morning: Early and Late
Day: Noon and Afternoon
Evening: Early and Late

Each new game day will start at Midnight and that’s where all the calculations for that day will be made.

The player is given Action Points (AP) to spend and perform actions (building something, talking, spying, etc). Most actions will not move the time, but a few will (like building). Action Points can be restored by sleeping (you’ll get more points sleeping at night) or by items. In addition, extra action points will be given as each time the time changes. The player will be free to use as many or as little action points in a single time frame as they wish.

As the player levels up, they can begin to customize how they recover action points via perks. Most perks will have a positive and negative effect apart from the higher-level ones. I’ll cover the perks system in more detail later.

For example:
Heavy Sleeper: Gain more AP when sleeping, however, can only wake up once AP is at max
Night Owl: Gain more AP when sleeping during the day but less when sleeping at night
No Light! : Gain more AP when sleeping at Night but cannot sleep when it’s not night.
Full of Energy: Increases Max AP. Multi levels will be available.
Give me Coffee! : No longer gain an additional AP at the end of each time period but drinking coffee gives you +2 AP

Hopefully, this type of system will give the player enough choice to control their AP to match their play style.

 

[probably_dave]

Happy New Year everyone!!! I'd like to introduce you to some of the main characters in the game

Characters: Lodging House


These characters will be the main characters who live with the MC and will have some of the fullest events and stories within the game.

Character: Jane Taylor

Jane is the house owner for the lodging house taking pride that whoever stays with her, get’s the best that she can provide, even with her limited income. Everyone is free to do what they want in their own time, but when in the house, they must follow her rules. These are not overly strict, but she thinks they are necessary to give the best opportunity to her lodges. Everyone eats together, keeps a civil tongue and definitely no drugs.

Jane also works as the housekeeper for the local mayor when the game begins, however, stories are beginning to spread about corruption in the office. Although she doesn’t believe the ‘dirty rumours’, she understands that it could easily bring the mayor down.

When the MC gets his new role, Jane decides to come with the MC to act as his housekeeper in the new town. She sells up her home and moves into the new house with the MC. However, now she is no longer the house owner, how will she react when people no longer have to follow her rules and the MC is now in charge?

On a personal level, Jane keeps her past very close to herself, saying she prefers to focus on the future rather than dwelling on things she cannot changes. When pushed, she gets very dismissive and instantly finds ways of changing the subject. Pushing further just annoys her, and she’ll put whoever’s asking in their place.

For the gameplay, Jane will be the main way in which the MC can control what happens in the Mayor’s house. From renovating rooms down to what food is available for anyone staying at the house. She’ll also oversee any guests who stay over during the game, letting the MC know of any needs that need to be fulfilled.

Spoiler: Character Design

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Character: Lisa Walters

Lisa is… well… Lisa. She’s very smart, confident and has a good sense of humour. However, she lacks any sense of reality, believing that things will always turn out for the best. After finishing collage without really trying, she’s been blasé about finding an actual job, preferring instead to do her own thing while she still can.

Due to her nature, she often clashes with Jane, who’s trying to push her to put more effort into life. Lisa, however, is having none of it, and usually dismisses Jane for being out of touch with the younger generation.

Her relationship with the MC is more one of acceptance rather than caring, often mocking the MC for being Male and making a living as a human test tube. She’s also not afraid to use her body to her advantage, teasing the MC and other characters to get what she wants.

Confident that she’ll be able to get any job that she wants, when she wants, has led her to be a few weeks from ‘mandatory employment’ when the game starts. As the MC gets his new job, Lisa is given an option, take up ‘mandatory employment’ or move with the MC to work for him. Begrudgingly, she chooses to go with the MC, however, blames the MC for taking her away from her friends to move to a new town with zero social life.

In the game, Lisa will act as the receptionist for your office. Greeting villagers as they arrive and handling your appointments. She’ll be your prime contact for deciding when people can come and petition you for changes as well as informing you of any events that are happening in town. However, she still wants to keep up a social life, so will constantly be asking you, as mayor, to improve the social buildings within the village.

Spoiler: Character Design

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Character: Rachel Francis

Rachel had it all going for her. Confident, attractive, and clever, she got one of the top jobs going in the town as a Trader and recently moved into a new flat in the up and coming part of town. But that all began to unravel piece by piece because of one mistake.

After being seduced by the office manager, Rachel felt all was still positive. However, her manager was only using her for one thing and as soon as she got what she wanted, left Rachel out to dry and accused her of trying to sleep her way to the top. Now with that reputation, her work life is a misery, constantly being left out of meeting and people taking credit for her work.

Her only sanctuary is with at her original lodging house where she visits nearly daily to get a break from reality. Here, she can pretend life is normal and she’s still living the dream, without anyone knowing what is really going on. Having that in place will allow her to rebuild her confidence, work hard to prove her worth and get back on top.

However, with the MC, Jane and Lisa now moving, Rachel is being left on her own with no-one to turn to. She will however still visit from time to time to get away from it all, but how will she cope seeing her closest friends starting to get ahead while she’s being left behind.

In the game, Rachel will visit most weekends, progressing her story as she gets more and more lonely, eventually confessing to the MC of her problems. It will then be up to the player of how to go about helping her and maybe, eventually, join you in your new village.

Spoiler: Character Design

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I'd also like to introduce you to a special power that Pai has:

 

[probably_dave]

Now that we've introduced you to the characters, I'd say it's now time for some porn game staples, the bathroom pics.
These are still a work in progress (as with most pics I've posted so far).

 

[probably_dave]

Hi Everyone,
I spent most of the day yesterday working on the building mechanics. Hopefully, by the end of the day I should have something to share with you.
However, this does give me the opportunity to introduce one of the side characters:
Characters: Rita Goldsmith

Rita runs the construction building that allows you to build new buildings in your village so will be one of the characters that you interact with most often.

However, she does not trust the Mayor’s office and is very suspicious of how you, with no experience, became Mayor. After experiencing multiple Mayor’s broken promises, gaining her trust will not be easy. Luckily, her philosophy is simple, she wants actions not words. The more you build and expand the time, she will begin to trust you more.
As the game progresses and you get to know her better, you’ll start to learn more about the history of the village, and why she does not trust the office. This will eventually grow into one of the biggest side-quests within the game

Spoiler: Character Design

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She also enjoys a quick beer after a hard days work (once you get to know her a bit better of course)

 

[probably_dave]

Ok, so the fundamentals of the building mechanics are now complete. I had a bit of a struggle with mouse inputs but finally got there.
Please be aware, that all the graphics and UI elements below are only temporary, to make sure I could test the mechanics. I'm aware a lot of work will be needed for that part but they do the job of giving you an idea of how it will work.

Game Mechanic: Building Buildings
You start off with a few basic buildings in your village. These are your house (the biggest house in town of course), a building yard and a few other buildings (pic below is significantly less than what you will actually start with):


As with any action within this game, you need to go to the appropriate building to get things done (or you will be able to call them to come to you, but with some delay). To build buildings, you'll need to head to the Building Yard (travelling between buildings will incur an Action Point cost). Here, you will find Rita (introduced in the earlier post):

Here, you'll be given different options, depending on where you are in the game. The prime one for us now will be to build something. Once selected, you'll be taken to the Planning Screen:

The planning screen gives you a 2D planning map of the village along with what you can build (Please ignore the terrible menu, this was just for testing the system). You can then plan out what to build (usually starting with Roads as each building will need to be joined to the road network):

Once you're happy with what you've placed, you can then place the Build Order. In the final game, this will be shown on the right hand side along with any associated cost and time each part will take. Once complete, you the light blue will change a darker blue:

You can then add more building as you wish. You can repeat this as many times as you want before exiting the screen. Building has a significant Action Point cost, so doing multiple things in one go can be beneficial (providing you have the resources to do it). Once you exit, the building team will start work on each building (always starting with the roads but you can then prioritise the other buildings. Once complete, the buildings will be available in the main map and interactable:


And that's it for how you place buildings. Hopefully, it should be fairly simple, however, I did miss a few key parts out:

• Demolishing: You will be able to demolish most buildings, however, some will require you to build a new version of the same building before doing so
• Route-Tracking: All buildings must have a connection to the Mayor's house via roads. This will make demolishing a bit awkward and I need to do a fair bit of work on the code to ensure you don't have lone buildings.
• Resources: Each building will have a resource cost. These can be resources you make yourself, or imported via the import/export building (you can select to automatically do this when placing the build order)
• Time: Each building will have an overall 'work cost'. You can build more building yards or hire workers from other villages to speed up the work
• Multiple Maps: As you progress, you will be able to open up adjacent plots for your village. At the start, you will have 3. A Commercial and Civic plot (with your house and most shops), a Residential plot where most of the workers live and a Farm plot (where your Farm is). You'll be able to fully change these as your city grows (apart from a few buildings in your Civic plot).
• Special Areas: Some maps will have special areas where only certain buildings can be built. These are usually ordered outside the standard build menu and will be built usually via a quest. You will also have options about what to build there (for example, on a coastline, you can chose to build a Tourist Beach, a Nature Reserve or a Fishing Area.

I'm hoping to have the village looking a lot better in the coming days (All models look like stickers, so I'll be working to make them blend in better), however, it's back to my day job tomorrow, but I'll keep you posted as soon as it's done.

 

[probably_dave]

Managed to get more work done they I was planning today. The main aim was to get the dynamic road system in place so the maps selects the right road to place. I managed to get the programming done, but still not happy with the art. I couldn't really find a road kit toolset that fully manages what I needed. Anyone got any ideas?
I had to draw my own for this:


As you can probably tell, I've also been working on updating the models for the map so they look closer to what they'll look like when ready. Still not fully these yet, but I've now got my Daz Scene setup to I can quickly add new models fairly quickly and they'll be at a consistent angle and scale to the other models. I personally like the look it gives and the process is fast enough that I can quickly add more and more buildings.

I've also started on the next character, who is the local doctor. She's still a work in progress, but let me introduce to Aaliyah

 

[probably_dave]

So this week was fairly busy with the first week back at work following the holidays, however, I still managed to make some progress with the game.
The main part, is the character design and integration of the Emergency Services into the game. So with no further ado:

Spoiler: Accessing the Emergency Services

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Character: Aaliyah Moore (Doctor)

Aaliyah is the village doctor and will eventually run the health service for you entire village for you. She very dedicated, and plays by the book (even if the book makes no sense). She's very trusting and will usually take your word as truth unless you give her a good reason not to. Being the only doctor in the village (at least a the start), she knows every other character pretty well and is highly trusted in the community. However, she is quite reserved outside of work and rarely seen outside the A&E department. Getting to know her personally will be difficult for the MC, so if you notice her outside of her usual places, that is the time to make sure and go to visit her.

She will be the prime interaction point for any health related service in your village with quests given focused as such.

Spoiler: Game Mechanic: Health

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Character: Agatha Walker (Receptionist)

Agatha works as the receptionist as the A&E department but also helps manage both the police and fire department (at least at the start). Unlike Aaliyah, Agatha is very outgoing and flirts with nearly everyone. When she's not working, she can pretty much be anywhere in the village, enjoying herself with who ever happens to be around.
She won't herself provide the MC with any quests, however, she will be involved in many. Because she's in a central role in the village and she's outgoing, her knowledge about everyone is second to none. Need to know what someone likes or dislikes? Agatha is you lady. She can also be used to help promote certain things. People not going to the gym as you expected? As Agatha for a favor and I'm sure your numbers will go up.


Character: Lara Rodgers (Police)

Lara runs the village police force, a remarkable achievement for someone her age. She's dedicated to ensuring everyone is treated fairly. Always greeting everyone with a smile, she'll always make time for anyone who needs it. However, don't let the kind attitude and great smile fool you, she is dedicated to ensuring justice is dealt, even if it means sacrificing her own career. The only question is, what is someone like this doing in such a backwater place as Minerva? Outside of her job, she can usually be found relaxing in the quiet places or blowing off steam somewhere or another.
When the MC first moves into the village, Lara acts as the guide, showing the MC around the place and ensuring he knows who and where everything is to do his job effectively.

Spoiler: Game Mechanic: Crime and the Police

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Character: Valerie (Val) Reilly

Val runs the fire department within Minerva. Probably not the first choice as she's as likely to start the fire as to put it out, the job allows her to fulfil her need for that constant adrenaline rush. She's very loyal to those she cares about, even if her actions tend to cause stress to everyone around her. Outspoken, rash and with one hell of a mouth on her, you get what you see with Val. For anyone who has a problem with how she behaves, well, in her own words "you can go and &*%& yourself and then go and $&&% the dog and while you are at it %&*^& the goldfish". And whatever you do, don't ask her to get any cats down from any trees.

Spoiler: Game Mechanic: Fire Protection

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I'm still working on implementing the mechanics above, however, I have managed to complete other tasks during this period:

• A few extra key buildings like the Park and the grocery store (I'll provide details on what they do in a later post)
• Fixed the graphics for the roads.
• I've also added variances to buildings that can automatically make small changes to the buildings so they don't all look the same.
• Added a new logo (taken in game). I've included this on the first post of the thread and shows some of the differences outlined above

As for next week, I should have time to set off a few renders while I work and work on finishing the emergency services code in the evenings.

Also, I just ordered and RTX 3090 and that should hopefully be arriving mid-week, which I'm looking forward to see how that impact my rendering time and the amount of 'stuff' I can have in shot (from my current GTX 1080). Will let you know how it pans out.

 

[probably_dave]

New Graphics card's arrived. First render as a comparison:

In the previous render, I couldn't include the Fire Engine in the background (was hitting CPU) and had to split the image in two (2 characters in each image and then combined).
With the new card, could generate the full image in 10 minutes (was 1 hour for each previously)

 

[probably_dave]

Hi everyone,

Over the past few days, I've been really focused on rendering and fully fleshing out the story from how the MC became Mayor of Minerva. My initial plan was to have the core path from the start of the game to arriving in Minerva complete, however, with the new graphics card, I've managed to go further than this, and included most of the 'optional' (see Game Mechanic below) as well starting the first day on arrival in Minerva.
The first day will act as a tutorial for the game, with the player being introduced to the character's within the village and a guide to the mechanics of each building. However, I won't be able to complete the actual guides until much later in the development phase, as any tweaks might mean they need to be re-done. However, I can still put the placeholders in place and allow the story to progress as the MC gets to know the village.

The next part I'll be working on however, is the quest system. I'll go into more details below, however, the main quests for the game will come from one place: Vesta Corp

Character: Vesta Corp (Company)

Yes, I've classified Vesta Corp as a character. The reason for this, is that the company itself has the background and reputation that is equal to or greater than any actual human.
Founded shortly after The Man War (more details on this will be in another post), Vesta Corp stood as a beacon of hope and prosperity for Europa City. It became the de-facto blueprint of how governments could run a successful economy without the greed of capitalism and the corruption of socialism. Built on the of ethic of "For one to prosper, all must prosper", Vesta Corp is built from a cooperation of 5 regions that make up Europa City, however, it's reach goes far beyond this. Critical to the running of the country, Vesta Corp serves everyone in the the country of Europa ensuring equal opportunities for everyone.
At least that's what the company website yet.

It is Vesta Corp that installs Pai into the MC and also places the MC as Mayor of Minerva. To ensure the project is going smoothly, the MC must report into Vesta Corp on a regular basis to ensure the project is on track. This is done via the quest system.

Spoiler: Game Mechanic: Quest System

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When you visit Vesta Corp, there will be 2 main characters that you interact with:

Character: Martha Thompson - COO of Vesta Corp

Running a company like Vesta Corp takes commitment, vision and the ability to act fast and act strong. Martha has these is spades. Stern but friendly, Martha doesn't like being messed about and will quickly act if she feels that she is being. She also prides herself in being multiple steps ahead of everyone around her, analyzing each possible outcome form every situation to ensure Vesta Corp (and thus herself) come out on top, regardless of how the events play out. Whatever you do however, do not cross her, as she'll act swiftly and decisively to ensure any risk is dealt with immediately.

Martha will be the prime source for the Main Quests that will be given to the MC. Interactions will mainly be at the end of the season and she won't join your village permanently. However, as you progress in the game, certain buildings will open up the opportunity for her to come and visit to provide more options to get to know her.


Character: Meera Nehru - Head of R&D for Vesta Corp

Meera runs the research department for Vesta Corp, constantly looking for new ways to help the population. She's the one who worked out how to harness the energy that Pai is built from and allow humans to interact with it. Although focused on facts more than emotions, Meera has a soft side, showing deep caring towards Pai (even if Pai doesn't return the feelings). As you become her test subject, Meera wants to ensure you keep safe and are a success. However, is this purely scientific or is she harboring some other feelings?
As with Martha, your main interactions with Meera will be when you have to return to Vesta Corp to report in. Here, Martha will provide you with the side quests to help you on your journey. As you progress, some buildings will allow Meera to come and visit you (mostly science related ones, unsurprisingly).


There are two more characters that you will meet in Vesta Corp, and I'll cover these in a later post. However, as you might've noticed from the above, you will be able to fail at this game. There are different ways to do this:

Spoiler: Game Mechanics: Game Over

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[Doorknob22]

Seems promising (though somewhat devoid of fetishes). Good luck!

 

[probably_dave]

Thanks Doorknob22

somewhat devoid of fetishes

Yeah, the game won't be focused on any specific fetishes and especially at the start which is my current focus. However, I do have in mind specific fetishes for each character and some of these can vary based on the MC choices.

My key requirement however, is whatever the fetish, it needs to make sense in the context of the plot. I also want to avoid including fetishes for the sake of including fetishes.

One that will come up fairly often in the game however, is domination and submission. This will appear in many forms throughout the game, with the players choice ultimately decided who plays what role.
One of my favorite plot lines around this is with 2 characters and 1 of them is trying to corrupt the other. In doing so, one starts becoming more dominant and the other more submissive. As this progresses, the MC will be given choices on who to help. This can eventually lead to the tables being turned and the roles reverse. I tend to like this as it breaks from the norm a bit. Instead of the MC doing the corruption, it is someone else but the MC can still influence the end result.

I wasn't going to include this, as it's still in the idea phases for the scene and it's nowhere near complete, but you'll get my drift.

 

[probably_dave]

So the last week has been one of doing a lot of the smaller details that should hopefully make the game feel more fuller. These are things like the slight variations to scenes as your talking rather than being static images. Luckily, the new graphics card is proving brilliant for these, and render times are usually only a few minutes for most of these scenes.

It does mean my flow has been broken somewhat however, as I used to switch to the programming side while rendering and then switch back to the art once it was done. Now, this isn't possible, so I've been trying to find a new way of working. It does mean I'm ahead on where I wanted to be on the rendering front, but behind on the programming front.

I was hoping to have the quest system complete so I could start properly adding content to the game, however, this will likely now not get completed until the middle of the week. I believe I should be able to make this time back however, as when finishing off the emergency services code, I needed to do a bit of extra work on the trade system. As this is the next on the list to complete, hopefully it will go quicker than expected because of the work already done.

In the meantime, I have also been the characters in some of the buildings.
Like the grocery store (still not overly happy with this one):


And the clothing/tailor store:


I've also been working on the renders for one of the key characters, Eno. I'll go into detail of who she is in a later post, however, here's some previews:



One of the things I want to come across in the game is that the world does not fully revolve around the MC. I find to often in games (both porn and normal ones) that NPCs do nothing if the MC is not around and just spend their time waiting for the MC to do something. I would like the game to feel more alive then that, with events occurring outside what the MC is doing or if the MC has a choice on what to do, how does the other choice play out with the MC not there.

As an example, you'll be travelling back from the capital with Eno and Carrie (not introduced yet). As it's getting late, Eno decided to stop in a Motel (much to the disagreement of Carrie). Eno heads to the nearest bar while Carrie, being upset, heads to her room. The MC now has a choice, go check up on Carrie or go to the bar and meet up with Eno. Choosing one or the other will give a boost to that characters relationship at the start (pretty standard). However, not choosing to see a character means their night would turn out differently.

In this example, not choosing Eno results in Eno picking up a prostitute at the bar and taking her back to the motel. The MC will realize this in the morning (as Eno and Carrie will be arguing as Eno expensed the cost). My initial thought was to leave it at that, however, as the player knows Eno visited a prostitute, I'm sure they would be curious to know what happened. Therefore, I'm thinking of implementing a bonus gallery of events that take place without the MC (unlocked as you progress). It will mean I can add images like this to the game:

As all these scenes will not involve the MC (and be mostly be girl on girl), I'm hoping they won't take away from the anticipation of the player of finally getting with the NPCs. What are your thoughts? Would including scenes like this ruin the anticipation of the player?

 

[probably_dave]

Spent the day converting all the characters to the latest Genesis 8.1 figures. Took quite a while, however, decided to do some renders for each character. I think I might use these for the Gallery screens.