Monday, May 2, 2011

Conceptual issues

The concept of this game has changed a bit in my mind, I thought I would share some info on the process.

I took a break from making games after Beautiful Escape: Dungeoneer. But for a long time I had my next project on my mind. It's called Daddy, but I won't talk about it here.

Daddy was supposed to be a big project, and I spent a lot of time planning and preparing it. But it got me tired, and I felt like making a game for fun.

I wanted to make a game with sex. I always hated games and movies with strong sex implications and no sex scenes. Like... screen fading out (Fable), or just the faces of the characters showing (most movies), or mosaic censor on genitals (The Sims). Sex is cool, it gives space to many gameplay options. I wanted to make a game about something else (like high school kids with superpowers), and add sex in it.

I'm not sure how, but the idea eventually slipped from "a game with sex" to "a game about sex". I guess it's obvious that any game with strong explicit sex elements would be seen as a sex game anyway. So I decided to do this, and push the limits of the concept.

Hence, Polymorphous Perversity.

This project was supposed to be a lot like Space Funeral in terms of execution and gaming experience. I even asked for permission from its author because I expected the games to be very similar. I wanted a game that looked raw, that didn't require complex coding to make, that used custom simple graphics, with no focus on gameplay, no complex dialogs, just something very brainstormy that looked like a person's dream. I wanted to have fun making this game. I also wanted it to be done fast, so I could go back to Daddy.

It's coming nothing like I planned.

First, even making custom sprites with a limited color palette, my graphics don't look as raw. They just look 8-bit-ish. I guess I'm too stuck to my previous stiff spriting style. But I guess I still managed to make it look unique and dreamy.

Second, I was insecure about making a game with no attractive gameplay. So I changed from using a default battle system with no real spice (other than replacing regular attack names with sexual terms) to a more complex strategy-oriented custom battle style. I'm also adding Achievements and other stuff to make gamey-gamers enjoy this.

I still wasn't satisfied. So now I'm changing the final element: story. Initially, there was no real story. Just a story concept (you're a Joe thrown in a strange sex world) and minor plot excuses to make you go from A to B and explore the world. But I can do better. I'm still not sure what the story is gonna be like, but there will be one, with legitimate plot twists and some degree of depth.

I guess only now I'm satisfied with how this game looks like in my mind. Now it's just a matter of making it.

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