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The Process (Okay, For Real This Time)

Okay, so it looks like nothing in the Backer’s Pack requires my immediate attention, so I’ll try to lay down a real blog post. If you’ve ever wondered just what goes on to get a release done, this week I’m gonna tell you.

    Step 0: Play Games

You might think I’m kidding, but this is probably the most important step. You need to know the medium you want to work in, so crack open Steam or GOG or your FLGS or even Abandonia and get playing. Here’s the important bit, though- one, you must pay careful attention while you play, and two, you must have to get outside your comfort zone. That might mean examining old favourites with a newly-critical eye, or trying truly new experiences. The important thing is to leave the familiar behind, and examine the games you play with a critical eye. You never know what game mechanic or experience will inspire the next great part of your game, so expand your horizons.

    Step 1: The Plan

Sometime during the closing weeks of the previous release, I grab my notes and head to a local coffee shop. I keep two simple spiral notebooks for each project I’m working on, one for planning and another to record notes in as I work. While rocking some coffee and free from distractions, I’ll lay out the plan for the next release.

Generally, “the plan” is divided into several parts. Most important are the Quests, which are the set pieces and foundation stones that Harem Collector is built around. I also brainstorm the events (generally whatever I think is important but doesn’t involve a quest or dungeon), character notes (for chats, banter, new characters, etc), new investments and items, and whatever else I think I’ll need.

Notes on the next release

After laying out the general plan, I’ll start to go into specifics about the big stuff- quests, dungeons, big animated sequences, that kind of thing. I generally end up with a page of notes each individual quest or sequence- you can check out a page of my notes about a dungeon above. It’s important to remain flexible from here- things don’t often work exactly how you plan, and you never know when something different will inspire you and you’ll end up working on something completely different.

    Step 2: Art and Visuals

Before actually opening up the editor, I take the first big chunk of content and figure out what art I’ll need for it. This can be something as simple as a style or specific look I want the maps to capture, or it might mean looking for free to use sprites online, asking Chibi for custom stuff, asking Gurotaku to get started on CGs, and assembling face sets.

Art is a serious weakness for me, so even when I give art priority, it’s very easily for things to fall apart at this step. As always, remain flexible- you have to be about deal with that kind of setback and still move forward.

    Step 3: The First Quest

Next, I take one of the big, meaty chunks of content and, well, get it done. Usually I start with the middle- crafting the dungeon, placing encounters, and designing the boss fight- first, and then fill in the pre-dungeon dialogue and investigation and post-dungeon dialogue and rewards. Often, I play through the dungeon a couple times on my own, just to make sure the sequence of events feel right and any weird new ideas I have actually work. After a revision or two, getting one quest finished takes about two weeks when I’m working at my peak ability.

The reason why I tackle things one quest at a time is twofold- one, if a crisis occurs I’ll have at least one small piece of content to show for it, and two, I focus intensely on one piece at a time, so as not to get distracted.

    Step 4: Moar Content

Provided I don’t fall ill or stab my wife in the eye or whatever, I’ll finish with that first quest and move on to the next. And then the next, etc, until I’m about two weeks away from Testing Week.

    Step 5: Dangling Threads

Time for cleaning up! This is where I make sure the new quests are properly hooked into the game and accessible, update the quest log, and generally round off the corners and make sure everything fits. Once everything is ready for Test Week, I’ll move on to step 6, even if it’s not actually Test Week yet- what I’m doing doesn’t change.

Adding sex scenes occur as part of this step, btw. I like giving Gurotaku and Kakurine as much time as possible to work.

    Step 6: Soft Content

While Testers are busy testing and going into the week between the Backer release and the Public release, I do all the stuff that isn’t really programming intensive that I’m reasonably sure I’ve mastered- investments, chats, shops, banters, etc. Not only does this mean that testers are focused on the content that’s most likely to break/have bugs/have weird exploits in it, it means I get to have a break, relax and do some easy stuff for a change. It’s at this time I also start on Step 1 for the next release cycle, as well.

Well, hope that was interest for you all. I’ll see you next week for the public release!

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Backer Pack is Out!

If you’re a backer, you should have received your Backer Pack.

I’m kind of really tired and dead right now, was up all night working on Fairy Side and sending out the Backer’s Packs. If you’re a Backer and didn’t receive your pack please contact me immediately- I only had one email bounce this time, but it could be that your paypal address is different from your regular address or something.

I might not get around to a better blag post than this- I’m up really late, no doubt tomorrow I’ll have a bunch of fresh bug reports and such to parse through, and at some point tomorrow I have to make a 3 hour road trip. =/ I’ll try my best, though!

Until then- thanks for your patience, please enjoy the game, and please come back for the public release on the 24th.

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The Monster Girl Situation, Revisited

Game Update: Testing week begins tonight. I still have a bit of work to do (realized late last night that I forgot to upload a bunch of new face images, including Gargan’s, and have to code the new harem girls into the gift giving script) but most of it won’t require testing- worst case scenario I can send the game to get tested and finish polishing up before the backer release.

Health Update: My cough has gotten worse, but the medication is helping. I’ll be going back to the doctors’ later this week, once the release is ready. On a positive note, I’ve adjusted to this medication, so I can put in full workdays again. Yay!

So I’ve been thinking lately of examining old promises and statements about what content will be in Harem Collector, and sort of updating them. This week, I review an old post regarding monster girls that will/may/will not appear in HC at some point, and update you on them. BTW, you can find the original post here.

Angels
Well, yeah. You can already fuck one of the capital-A Angels. I might throw in a character based on one of the angelic servitors, because the Hero might figure out a way to control one.

Alraune, Dryads, Mandragora
I’m still passing on the predatory aspects of the Alraune and Mandragora. They might appear as enemies, though.
Dryads are a different story. I don’t know what I’m going to do with a dryad-girl yet- if she will appear in a one time scene, if the Hero will transplant her tree to make her part of the harem, if I’ll ignore the whole “home tree” thing and just make dryads more generic wood- or tree-elementals.

Spider girls, spider girls, friendly neighborhood spider girls
Sorry, but anything spider-related still gets all my nope.

Centaurs
This has actually changed to a no, mostly because Chibi has threatened me with bodily harm if the sex organs of said centaur are in the wrong place.

Classic Elementals
I’ve warmed up to the idea of elementals lately, though simply throwing in the classic elementals and just saying “gotta catch ’em all” still seems a bit lazy. What might be fun is to make elementals of the magic elements that exist in the game. Elementals of fire, cold and lightning are easy to imagine, but what about acid, psychic, sonic, and poison? If you have any ideas, I’m all ears.

Demons
I’ve recently been called out on inconsistencies regarding my demon-policy, so the new official word- all demons have sexual characteristics, only succubi can interbreed with other races. So, not only will you fuck a demon, I’m leaving open the possibility of having half-demon characters who will be easier to reason with and control.

Dragons
There are now two kind of dragon in HC’s canon. The lesser dragons are basic big, flying, energy-breathing dinosaurs that are about as smart as a primate- so they’re not going to be fuckable. However, the greater Dragons have the ability take a humanoid shape. Some of them might become fuckable in the future, though, like the capital-D Demons and capital-A Angels, are of too high a power level to be properly enslaved.

Fairies
Fairies will probably make it into the series in some form. This is something Chibi is particualrly excited about, so I’m leaving room for her to develop her owns ideas, which I will cherry pick from.

Gazebo, weird D&D monsters, weird LoZ monsters
I don’t have any specific plans yet to include something like this yet, but you can expect sooner or later there will be a flumph-girl or something just for the lulz factor.

Ghost
I promised a ghost girl “soon” in the original post, and I still intend to have one in HC, it’s just that other stuff keeps on taking priority. I think there will be a ghost girl in the game sometime early-middle 2015, but I can’t say exactly when.

Golem
Next update will feature the promised “artificially created creatures you can fuck”. These are nymphs- basically semi-living sex dolls crafted out of various elements or concepts. There’s even a scene involving one.

Kitsune
There is something kind of like a kitsune going into HC2 for sure. Nekochan even did some concept art for her.

Orcs
Orcs are already in the game as a mono-gendered, asexual race that “spores” other species with orc fetuses. I was thinking of including hobgoblins or something (maybe firmir?) as an orange-skinned anti-orc- a mono-gendered race that always appears female and requires sperm from other species to procreate, but is still fundamentally asexual.

Slimes
There will be a slime girl in HC. That hasn’t changed. By big hold-up right now is that nobody who makes decent slime girls sprites will get back to me when I ask about using them.

Trolls
Trolls will be included to I get to make more Homestuck jokes. Might throw one in the harem if I can think of a decent character idea.

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Minor Delay, But Improving

My health is steadily improving, and I’m getting more adjusted to my medication. Still averaging only a couple hours of work per day, but I’m pretty confident I’m only going to be delayed a week.

As of this moment, the mega huge dungeon is finished. I need to rejigger some enemy abilities to be copacetic with Harem Collector canon (didn’t realize the conflict I put in until I finished everything), but that’s it. After that, I have some gift script to add, need to fully implement the new housing, and fold in Kakurine and Gurotaku’s contributions. All in all, should be pretty easy.

So, a quick rundown on what to expect in the next update:

-Southport University redesign
-At least two new roaming encounters on the world map
-Two new quests
-Two new harem girls
-Five new sex scenes
-Westcastle manor is in
-Westcastle Noble District is accessible
-You can now chat, gift and receive bonuses from the blacksmith
-Seeker’s Stone will work for all hidden items
-Five or so more Dark Seeds, plus a new reward to for having 30+

So please bear with the delays a little bit longer, because even with all the problems it’s going to be a pretty fucking awesome update!

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Potential Delay, Maybe Not

So, it turns out that I have some kind of upper respiratory infection, which is why this alleged cold isn’t going anywhere for at least another week. I have a couple different medications to keep it under control, but the stuff I take to help me sleep turns my mornings into this dazed, muddled mess, and the stuff I take so I can breathe properly makes me lightheaded and gives me the worst case of ADD. Seriously- last night I overcooked dinner because halfway through I remembered that we were almost out of soap in the shower and while I was doing that I suddenly realized I had to take out the garbage. I feel a lot better with the medication than without, but it makes that whole “being a productive human being” thing pretty difficult.

I just about started doing the dishes instead of finishing this blog post- the worst ADD, you have no idea.

The good news is that I probably only have to take the medication for about another week. By then, either I’ll have gotten better or the doctor will be able to make a more accurate diagnosis and give me better-targeted medication.

The upshot of this is that progress on HC has slowed to a crawl. I’m still picking away at it, but at this point I’ll be lucky if I get the current dungeon finished with all four new sex scenes in time for testing next week. I’m prioritizing gameplay, though, so that if I can at least get the dungeon done I can ship to the testing team and finish the sex scenes while addressing bugs.

Worst case scenario, I might have to delay release by a week. Well, okay, that’s not the worst case scenario, I could always get hit by a car or something, but that’s the worst thing I’m planning for.

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Ugh…

Things were proceeding so well. I was working well, getting things done, everything was great. Then last Wednesday I suddenly came down with the worst cold I’ve had in memory. Then, as happens when you share a bed with someone, Nekochan caught it, so just as I was feeling better I had to take care of her. And I’m still fighting it, as we speak. Even though Nekochan and I have both improved enough to work, we’re also still coughing and sucking down Buckley’s like there’s no tomorrow. If things don’t get 100% better by the end of the week, I’m heading to a doctor.

However, even though I did get really sick, work on the game hasn’t stopped entirely. I managed to get the big huge quest I’ve been working on about 75% complete. Just have to finish up the last few encounters, do the boss fight, then write the closing stuff. Considering that it’s two weeks before testing week, I should have plenty of time for that (knock on wood).

The third quest is going to have to be cut for time. I was already doing that before I got sick, though, so I wouldn’t have to rush. Instead, what I’m going to do with my spare time is add a bunch of little stuff to the game. Investments, encounters, that sort of thing.

The way things are looking, February’s release will see Doll’s Love Quest, elf village (finally, I hope), and time permitting the quest that recruits Kyrie into the harem. For now, just please look forward to next month’s release.

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Dueling Top Ten

So, this week Nekochan and I present our individual lists for “top ten games of all time”. Our primary criteria for creating these lists was how often we found ourselves wanting to replay these games- our thinking was that the quality of the games were best measured by how much we wanted to play them over and over again. So, without further ado, here are Nekochan and No Moshing’s dueling top ten lists for best games of all time.
(Nekochan’s picks are before the slash, NoMoshing’s pics are after)

10: Shadow Madness / Mario Kart 64
Nekochan: This is a deeply, deeply flawed game, I get that. But the dialogue and story earned it multiple playthroughs from me which is a bit of feat considering there are no branching paths or classes. I just like the story and the world that much.
NoMoshing: My choice was pretty simple- the first Mario Kart was great, but Mario Kart 64 was taking that same central concept and honing it to perfection. After Mario Kart 64, Nintendo would start adding weird features and new kinds of racing craft, but I really do think that 64 was the purest and best game in the series.

9: Star Fox / Sengoku Rance
Nekochan: This pick is a bit of a sentimental one since it’s the game my late father and I would take turns playing. Also the launch of the Ar wings and the Corneria theme gets me every. single. time.
NoMoshing: Sengoku Rance is easily the greatest H-game of all time. The art is strong, the mechanics are deep and involving, the basic game is hard but rewarding, but maxing out your stars and getting all the routes and bonuses requires mastery. And on top of all that, Alicesoft added on a Samurai Warriors Empires-esque conquest mode when they didn’t even have to. Now, if only they didn’t depict a ten year old getting raped….

8: Final Fantasy VI (III, fucking whatever) / Brutal Legend
Nekochan: There are very few lists that don’t have FF3, and I’m probably preaching to the choir here.
NoMoshing: This might seem like an odd pick in my list, given how poorly it did with critics and the public, but I feel that was mostly a marketing issue. But Brutal Legend has a lot going for it- a customizable ride, a huge, gorgeously-realized world done with a unique style, a killer soundtrack, and Jack Black. I could just drive around listening to the radio and looking at the world for hours if I wanted to. Also, it’s probably the best RTS on consoles at the time… not a prestigious list, considering that Halo Wars is #2, but unlike Halo Wars combat in Brutal Legend is fun.

7: Final Fantasy IX / Katamari Damacy
Nekochan: Now this I think I have to justify more, especially since I placed it higher than FFVI. When I was debating the order of FFIX and VI, it just occurred to me that I enjoy the characters more. (Especially Beatrix and Steiner) Also if given the option to replay both, I’m more likely to pick this one.
NoMoshing: Katamari Damacy is probably the best party game out there. I don’t mean for it’s lackluster multiplayer- I mean for the fact that it’s a fun game to watch, cheer on whoever is at the controls, and just see the fucked up little scenes that are scattered through every level. Plus, the music is rad.

6: Breath of Fire IV / Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire
Nekochan: While Breath of Fire II has more nostalgia feels for me, I preferred the overall story in IV and watching the arc of both protagonists. When Fou-lu decides to wreck everything, I was pretty much like, yeah if I that happened to me I’d be ready to break everything too. And then Nina’s sister. Also Ershin. Thank you Ershin. So many feels. Cray is also a cutey. His tail looks so fuzzy!
NoMoshing: The entire Quest for Glory series is worth a playthrough (except QfG V, which is really too bad because it sounds like it have some awesome ideas behind it- damn you executive meddling!) but QfG II is probably the best one. The last and greatest of the parser interface games, it has surprisingly gorgeous art, an awesome Arabian Nights-style setting, cool puzzles and fun characters. Also, X-ray glasses. Can’t forget those.

5: Katamari Damacy / Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4
Nekochan: Naaa-na-na-na-na-na-na Katamari Damacy!
NoMoshing: The latter Persona games have achieved something really special. It’s rare to see a game that asks you to get emotionally involved with it’s characters, then pulls it off masterfully. I pick Persona 4 over 3 because as good as 3 was, there are too many glaring flaws I won’t get into here. Persona 4 has less emphasis on grinding, all of your party members have social links and interesting conflicts to get involved in, the overarching plot is deeply involving. Now if only there was some way to mod the game so that Teddie was dropped out entirely.

4: Super Mario RPG / Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
Nekochan: I remember I had a hell of a time convincing my parents this game exists. “Mario is a platforming game Nekochan, it’s not one of those weird RPGs you play.” Square did a damn good job making an RPG feel like a Mario game by using timed-hits, platforming elements in dungeons and making sure Mario never, ever spoke. (Mario is the best mime.) I also like it when Bowser throws Mario. =)
Also, put Geno in Smash Bros already. (I know there are legal issues, I don’t care.)
NoMoshing: I was tempted to put a Silent Hill game in my top ten, because many of the Silent Hill games are of extremely high quality. However, Eternal Darkness hits a note that the SH series misses- it is a fun game. Not that Silent Hill can’t be fun, it’s just that fun takes a back seat to the scares. Eternal Darkness is scary but also fun, each character brings a different experience in terms of mechanics, the plot is engrossing, and the game knows when to crack a joke.

3: Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver / Final Fantasy III
Nekochan: Good god damn that voice acting. If I could I would hire Michael Bell and Simon Templeton to hang around me and narrate shit. The plot is pretty damn good – nice revenge plot. Story gets a lot more confusing later and lacks a proper resolution. *sigh* Also stabbing vampires with a pike is freakishly satisfying for me. Just that sound of it striking home and the vampire’s last gurgled cry. Saved me a lot in therapy bills.
NoMoshing: First of all, fuck that “FF6” nonsense. Many games receive name changes when they come from Japan, and also the Japanese FF3 is kind of a piece of shit. Why does the good game have to change? The game I played over and over again was called Final Fantasy III. Anyway, the game starts with Cliche RPG Plot #2- evil empire taking over the world with magic power that was obtained through inhuman means. The first half of the game gets by based on interesting characters, engaging combat and nifty individual sequences. But then the game does the unthinkable- you lose. The world is destroyed, the bad guy wins, and the characters are scattered to the four winds. The rest of the game is a free roaming exploration of a post-apocalyptic world, where you try to pick up where you left off and see if there’s some hope you can salvage in a world after the end. Fantastic.

2: Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past / Dragon Age: Origins
Nekochan: “Zelda is your -” What!!! She’s what?! Sister? Damn that’s hot.
This game was never far from my SNES as a kid. I perfected it. Completed the whole thing, and found all the things through sheer brute force. (No Gamefaqs at that time) Then I beat the shit outta Ganon. Still my favourite Zelda game (second place is probably Wind Waker. [Ed. Note: Nekochan is crazy and Wind Waker is actually one of the worst Zelda games])
NoMoshing: What I said about Persona 4 goes double for Dragon Age. Dragon Age asks you to get really invested in it’s cast, and then rocks it with a spectacular party of characters. On top of that, it’s a refreshing shake-up of Tolkien fantasy tropes, has some pretty cool game sequences, and the emphasis on politics as well as adventuring makes for some interesting decisions. The lack of a morality mechanic of any kind really lets you role play your character- making your decisions and dealing with the consequences without being rated on a scale or having your options arbitrarily limited by a statistic. Plus, the end-game sequence where you take back Denerim from the Darkspawn is one of the single greatest stand-up-and-cheer awesome moments in video games history.

1: Chrono Trigger
Nekochan: Oh no, shock and surprise, this game at the top of yet another list. It shows up so damn often for a reason. If you haven’t played it, forgo all else and play it.
NoMoshing: Again, I think most of you know why this game is up here. If not, you badly need to play it- even if you have to steal it. I don’t normally advocate piracy, but unless you have fat stacks you probably won’t be able to afford the original cartridge. I guess there have been a couple re-releases, but I think the original is best. I remember how my jaw dropped when I first saw Chrono Trigger’s eyecatch, which is still a masterpiece.

So, do you agree? Which list do you think is superior? Or do you think we’re full of shit and missed something huge? Hit the comments section and let us know!

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Update on December Progress

It’s been awhile since I went into game progress in detail, so let’s do that here.

I finished the first quest I wanted to have done. There may be some bugs I haven’t found, but it’s top-to-bottom finished, which I am very pleased about. It’s something of a side quest though, so not all that important in the grand scheme of things.

The quest I’m working on right now is part of one of the main storylines, though. And it’s big- the dungeon will be the biggest dungeon to date, consisting of no less than three visually distinct areas and containing four boss fights, plus another half-dozen varieties of normal enemy. And there will a total of four sex scenes that are unlockable as a result of those events. Depending on how things go with the art, they might not all be immediately available.

Finally, from what I’ve heard from the art guys, things are looking pretty solid for the elf village/party character/first elf quest being included in the next update. As always, things can go wrong at the last minute, though- and if they do, I’ll be working on Doll’s love quest instead.

If after that herculean amount of content I still, somehow have time leftover, and I have an idea for a fun event with Therese and a small extension to liven up Elaiya’s love quest. Also, I still have this year’s Christmas Gift for backers to do, and I already have something in mind that should make for a fun hour or so of play. So if you want in on that, make sure you donate by December 25th.

Anyway, that’s it for now. I’m off to keep working away!