A few people had asked about what went into developing this game; high points and low points, what motivated certain decisions.
== Pre-2016: Brainstorming ==
I'd previously made Heracross's Brick Break and Choose Your Own Charventure which had been very popular. People enjoyed my writing a lot more than I expected. I wondered whether I could combine the writing and sexual intimacy from my Charventure game with the gameplay depth of my Brick Break game. I wondered if I could make something really big -- something which people could play for 5-10 hours and still improve at, but which also had some fulfilling sex scenes.
My first idea was a Pokemon sex olympics game, where you'd assemble a team of 3 Pokemon of your choice, and participate in minigames against other teams. The minigames would involve moving the mouse to hit targets or avoid obstacles, but those mouse movements would be cleverly mirrored by a sex scene on the side -- so while you were moving your mouse left-and-right thinking, "I need to pick up those 10-point targets before they go away," your Pokemon would be moving his mouth in and out in a sex scene. I thought this was a clever idea.
It's very important to tackle the highest difficulty, highest risk part of your game first. For this Pokemon sex olympics idea, the highest risk part of the game was that I needed to be able to quickly rig a sex scene with 2 degrees of motion; moving the mouse vertically would do one thing, moving the mouse horizontally would do another thing, and a character would react in a fluid way. And I needed to be able to rig a new Pokemon fast -- perhaps by drawing a pokemon in 5 different poses and having some AI interpolate the images. I wrote some tools to do this, but in the end the result didn't look good so I abandoned this idea. That is OK, it's good to abandon ideas before they get too far.
My second idea was for a puzzle game, where you'd alternate between talking to a Pokemon, solving puzzles, and then a sex sequence at the end. This, of course, eventually became MonsterMind. The highest risk part of my game was the gameplay and the sex scenes. Would the puzzles be fun? Would the sex scenes feel natural? So, I started making a gameplay prototype.
== January 2016: Early Prototype ==
After six weeks, I released MonsterMind v0.1 to two of my friends, which just included the puzzle portion. After six more weeks, I released Monster Mind v0.2 which included an Abra sex scene at the end. With those two pivotal releases out, the two most difficult highest risk parts of my game were complete -- my testers had some idea of what my game would feel like when it was complete. It wasn't 100% polished, but all of the pieces were there.
I think it bears repeating that the first step of my game involved what's called a "vertical slice" of my game. The player could solve a few puzzles, and see a Pokemon take off their clothes. They could then interact with the Pokemon. This answered a lot of very, very important questions which you want to know the answer to very, very early:
* Does the game look good? * Does the game feel good? * Is the game fun to play? * How long will it take me to finish making the game?
Based on my tester's feedback, they agreed that the puzzles were fun and challenging, and that the Pokemon were cute. But how long would I need to finish making the game? Well, drawing and animating Abra took me about 6 weeks. My initial vision was for five or six Pokemon, so I could reasonably finish making the game in under a year. I had a winner! Now I could start thinking about finishing the game.
== August 2016: Adding More And More Pokemon ==
The remaining tasks for my game naturally fell into three categories. First, I needed to draw and animate the remaining Pokemon, which was would probably take about 30 weeks by itself. Secondly, there were certain things I needed to do before then -- things like adding orgasm logic, since it would suck to have to go back and add that logic retroactively once several Pokemon had been completed. Thirdly, there were things I might want to add later, but which weren't urgent -- things like a main menu, a shop where you could buy items, being able to save/load, ambient animations for the bugs, or any other ideas which came to mind over time. And of course, I came up with a lot of ideas.
Ideas are cheap. As you work on your game you will inevitably have a lot of them. If you have testers, your testers will also give you ideas. You don't want to get sidetracked, but you don't want to lose these ideas either, so it's good to write them down. I kept a huge Google Doc of SFW ideas I came up with at work, and a huge TXT file of NSFW ideas I came up with at home.
So, the first thing I had to do was make Abra look and feel really, really complete. My prototype didn't have any dialog, so your time with Abra felt impersonal. And the sex scenes had limited animations, but you couldn't do very much; you couldn't rub Abra's feet for example, and there were no hearts, sweat, breath, or anything like that. I realized I wanted to polish the full Pokemon interaction experience early on, so I wouldn't feel pressured to improve it once more Pokemon were in the game. So, I spent the next few months adding more details to the interactive sequence; Abra's different body parts (such as his feet and balls) got their own special rubbing animations. There were sound effects and precum, and Abra emitted little hearts if you did things he liked.
It still didn't feel 100% complete, so I looked at my old oekaki art. What kinds of things did my old pixel art have, which my game didn't have? Well, some things like sweat and motion lines, and little dialog phrases. So, I dressed my game up a little more, adding dynamic beads of sweat, hand-drawn dialog bubbles, and breath poofs. It was starting to look and feel really good now.
With Abra's sex scene and dialog feeling polished, on August 6th I started working on Buizel, the second character, and by late September I'd finished him. It took almost exactly six weeks, which is great -- that's how long I predicted it would take. My game would finish on schedule. However, this is when I made the difficult decision to include both male and female Pokemon.
The biggest reasons I had for NOT including female Pokemon was that I wouldn't do a good job, I wouldn't enjoy it, and most of my fans were interested in boys. However having sunk ten months into this game, I realized this was going to be the biggest thing I'd ever made, and I wanted it to be seen by the largest audience possible. That meant including females, regardless of how much I sucked at that stuff. I looked at the female Pokemon art people had commissioned from me, I looked at what was popular on e621. Did I need breasts? What do the vaginas look like? What do the faces look like? Do they wear mascara? In the end, you can see I went with minimalistic changes to the Pokemon. But this is not entirely out of laziness, but also because this is what looked good, and it's what people said they wanted to see.
It took me about two weeks to redraw Abra and Buizel so that they could be either male or female. That's not bad; I was now looking at about 7 weeks per character. It would be a little slower, but it was worth it.
== October 2016: Writing Dialog ==
By this point, I'd already decided the final six Pokemon which would go in my game. I decided this based on a combination of a character poll, and the archetypes I needed the characters to fill. I didn't have anything too specific in mind, but most importantly I didn't want to include multiple characters which were too similar. Grovyle was sort of a harmless, promiscuous, easy-to-get-along-with character. If you've read the Charmeleon/Croconaw series of comics, you'll remember he was a bottom who Charmeleon met at a sex spa, and who later asked to join in a threesome. So unfortunately, Quilava received a lot of votes but felt kind of redundant in that regard. On the other side of things, Smeargle didn't receive that many votes but I thought it was important to have a counterpart for Sandslash.
After deciding on the six characters, I took notes on character traits, history, and conversational topics. This accumulated gradually over time. I flew to Vietnam to visit my best friend and he said something which really resonated with me; I jotted that down in Buizel's notes. I spoke with a friend who was typically a "top", and he said something else which I'd never thought about; I jotted that down in Rhydon's notes. Later when it came time to write for characters, I was never starved for ideas -- I had tons and tons of starting points which I'd accumulated earlier, and I chose the most provocative ones.
Before writing for each character, I also decided on an actor or cartoon character for their voice in my head. This sounds superficial but I think it's a crucially important step. If you think about a Pokemon who's sexy and promiscuous and likeable, and try to write dialog for them -- it will probably come out bland. "I haven't seen you here before! Hey, don't put that there~." It sounds bland you are speaking as yourself, with your own inner voice. But if you've seen Star Wars, you might imagine giving your Pokemon Han Solo's voice "Say, I don't think I've seen you here before... Hey! Keep that thing outta there.", or C3PO's voice "Oh my. What is someone like you doing here!? This is all quite unexpec-- OH! Oh dear goodness! That doesn't belong there!!", and suddenly it's easy to talk to them, they have personality. Their dialog comes more naturally.
== April 2017: Teaching People To Play ==
I knew my game needed a very comprehensive tutorial. I added some dialog sequences where Grovyle talked you through a puzzle, but I had no way to test it... My only two testers were already intimately familiar with the game. I had two of my friends test the game, and they sort of got it but found it confusing. The novice puzzles used in the tutorial included 3 boxes to drop your answer in, but didn't care about which order they were in. But then for the harder puzzles, it DID care about which order they were in! And dropping your bugs in the boxes didn't immediately make a guess. There was a big question-mark button you pressed to lock in your guess... But without any explanation, it wasn't obvious what this button was for. ...Maybe it was a hint button, or a button which reset the puzzle?
In some cases, I changed the tutorials to explain things better. But in most cases I changed the interface to be more intuitive. I removed the button to "lock in" your answer, since the button was redundant. I made a new giant container for the novice puzzles, so that it was obvious their position didn't matter.
This was also the point where I decided to add some rare Pokemon and minigames. I liked the idea of having something which would occasionally interrupt the player's default flow of the game, a fun surprise like a surprising pokemon or an unusual minigame to interrupt their puzzles. Many people have requested the idea of a gallery mode, but I think these fun surprises keep people playing. Something as predictable as a gallery would suck all of the fun from the game.
== January 2018: The Home Stretch ==
At this point, added six additional testers (including one who tested for colorblindness). For the most part they all said the same thing, "I don't get it, the game looks done. Why don't you release it?" The game was fun to play, it looked good, it had nine different Pokemon, it had a lot of things to do. It hooked people in. There was one big thing left.
When I first started the game, my goal was to make a game that would take about 10 hours to "get everything". But I realized if a game was going to last 10 hours, it needed to have a rewarding ending. I had a vision of how I wanted to tie everything together; I wanted to have a few final dialog sequences, a challenge where your rank matters a little. It needed to feel rewarding for experts, but attainable for novices. And it needed a really memorable credits sequence.
The credits sequence is one of the few things where I can truthfully say it came out exactly as I imagined it. Ha ha. I first heard that song back in April 2017 and earmarked it as, "Well, this would go great in the credits." The song had a great structure where it sort of starts off ambiguous in tone, where you can't tell if it's something good or something bad. But then it turns out it's very good, and then everything gets suddenly quiet before swelling with emotion. I tried to match the song both in tone and volume as far as what goes on during the credits. When I was first imagining how it would all fit together, the song would get to that part and the hair would stand up on my neck and I would choke up a little. I have listened to that song 50+ times as I develop and test the game, but it still has that kind of effect. It's a really pretty song.
== April 2018: All Finished ==
When posting the game, I had some idea of what to expect. I knew some people would hate the puzzles, some people would probably hate the art style, and some people would hate the limitations that any game imposes. I worked hard to include good tutorials and to playtest those tutorials with my friends. And I listened to their feedback and the things they liked about the game. It sounded like they all enjoyed the game, but of course they would say that because they are my friends. And I have nice friends.
The initial feedback was mixed. Most of it was positive, but a lot of people were very frustrated. The puzzles didn't make any sense, and were explained poorly. Or the puzzles were simply too difficult. The minigames were confusing. And the Pokemon cheat at them. The game crashed, or it ran too slowly. I drew the female anatomy poorly. The players lost all their progress; the save system didn't work, or their save game was deleted. The passwords didn't work. The dialog was too serious, or too insulting. The game was too punishing when you guessed wrong.
I felt like total crap that night. I slept for about two hours that first night and again the following night. It was weird. I would read comments and notes until 2:30-3:00 a.m and finally go to sleep because I had work tomorrow. But then I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't fall back asleep, so I'd relucantly slog downstairs at 6:00 a.m and read more comments and notes. I worked really hard on this game for a long time, I sort of had this built up in my head where the last two years of my life were building to this epic crescendo, and I'd post this game, and I'd feel vindicated. But now there were all these problems with it. I still had work to do.
My anxiety settled down gradually over the course of the week. I remembered playing one of my favorite Roguelikes "Risk Of Rain". When I first played Risk Of Rain I would complain all the time: "This game is really unbalanced. Nobody could ever win with the Mercenary! Why doesn't the Enforcer shield always work? Even the normal difficulty is impossible, why is there a harder difficulty!?! Why is there lava at the bottom of the level, if there's no way to jump out? Why are my attacks so weak? Is it supposed to take you 2 minutes to kill every boss? ...And the game crashed again!?! It's ALWAYS crashing all the time, every time I get a good run!" ...But I was enjoying myself, even as I complained so much. If the game developer had been listening, I'm certain I would have hurt their feelings. Sometimes when people complain, they forget to say, "Oh but I love this game so much." I guess as gamers, we think it is implied. Why would we play a game we hate? Of course we enjoy this game.
I have finally convinced myself, "If this many people want to complain about something, it is probably because they enjoy it in the first place." I have also convinced myself, "Well, for every person who comes forward with a problem about the game, there are probably 100 people who enjoyed the game and didn't have problems." I don't know if either of these things are true. But if they're not, this is a case where I would rather you lie about it. I am weak. My psyche can not handle it, ha ha.
I've played the game for more than 5-10 hours XD It's an amazing game and it's even better to see how much work you put into it. You're writing is amazingly funny and engaging. My fav line is with Buizel commenting about his buoyancy, and when you compliment him he says "I bet you say that to all the buoys." I have been unable to download the game and have it work, but I keep my password all the time and have never had any problems with it. Your work has always been amazing to me, and this is 10 years of recognising your name in art. I can't wait to see what masterpiece youll come at us with next!
I've played the game for more than 5-10 hours XD It's an amazing game and it's even better to see ho
Ha ha ha haaaaaa. That "all the buoys" line sort of fell flat with my testers but I'm glad you got a kick out of it. Without the immediate feedback from an audience like I have on IB, I wasn't sure about a lot of my writing. But I just tried to write stuff that made me laugh.
Thanks so much for your kind words! I have some ideas for my next big game, but as I said in the journal, ideas are cheap. It will take a lot of patience to devote the same amount of time and effort I devoted to MonsterMind. It might never happen again! But, maybe... ...
Ha ha ha haaaaaa. That "all the buoys" line sort of fell flat with my testers but I'm glad you got a
The time you put into the writing definitely shows, it's witty and flowing, but most importantly your writing (to me) really reflects the Pokemon and their established ArgonVile characters! Im still working on being better at some of the harder puzzles, but slowly but surely I can see myself getting better. Additionally I love the items and kinks that each Pokemon has, and finding out what they all were. I don't think I'm done yet though..
You've always been a top artist to me, thank you for everything you've contributed, I don't think there has been anything I haven't liked.
The time you put into the writing definitely shows, it's witty and flowing, but most importantly you
Well said, MM is a really great game and I appreciate all the time you put into it. Hell you even made a small community around it, quite a accomplishment.
Well said, MM is a really great game and I appreciate all the time you put into it. Hell you even ma
Thanks, there are some subtle connections to my older comics and pictures so it's nice to see die-hard fans like yourself who can recognize some of them :)
Good luck with the game!
Thanks, there are some subtle connections to my older comics and pictures so it's nice to see die-ha
I thought the project turned out spectacularly, and I rarely had any complaints about it that I can remember. I can't imagine what kind of other cool stuff is hiding in that brain of yours, and I hope I get the chance to see more of it in the future :P
I thought the project turned out spectacularly, and I rarely had any complaints about it that I can
If you do make something again, it could be better for your psyche to release in a more episodic way. It would mean that you can get feedback per release, rather than mostly at the end of the whole process. Normally the engine and interface are fixed after the first release, but if you have feedback about it then there's nothing stopping you from making changes.
Feedback is probably better gathered by polls, too. Adding a comment is free-form and leaves you unprompted and without guidance which can be intimidating to the point that people avoid commenting and comments are rare, whereas forms are prompted, guided and can be seen as an easy, nice thing to do which most people are happy to oblige.
Also, there's definitely a huge number of people who liked it for every negative; the issues are always going be drastically more obvious, especially when most people who enjoyed it wouldn't want to spam you with "it's perfect" or "I love it" all the time
If you do make something again, it could be better for your psyche to release in a more episodic way
Thanks, I'll think about this. An episodic approach would definitely be easier and allow for more immediate feedback, although of course it would also subtract from the "wow" factor of seeing so many new things at once. That's a tough decision.
Thanks, I'll think about this. An episodic approach would definitely be easier and allow for more im
I have finally convinced myself, "If this many people want to complain about something, it is probably because they enjoy it in the first place."
This is absolutely vital to remember in life. If people do not give a shit about the thing you did, they are not going to comment: That's wasted energy. They will close it and forget it. 99% of people don't complain just to hear/see their own self talk because they have better things to do. If they are commenting, even if those comments are negative, they want to see the thing improve.
I have finally convinced myself, "If this many people want to complain about something, it is proba
Pre-2016?! That's longer than some major companies work on video games! That's some dedication, dude, and it shows. Like I've stated, this is the best adult game I've ever played and I'll continue to stand by that statement. Also, I do feel that the majority of people did appreciate and enjoy this game and all the work you put into it, even if there were complaints. You gotta remember that other than those people who will critique the hell out of your game because one thing they don't like causes them to throw negativity at everything and those people who are so madly in love with it that they'll shout from the rooftops how great it is, there's also that unspoken middle who enjoy and love the game but don't feel, for whatever reason, to come up and let you know about it. So keep in mind that, even if it feels that there may be some disheartening negativity, there's also a lot of love for this, even if you may not feel so at times. You should be proud of this game, man, we can see all the love you put into it, and that love in turn makes it phenomenal.
Pre-2016?! That's longer than some major companies work on video games! That's some dedication, dude
I also must say that, as an amateur writer, I appreciate your process for crafting the dialog. There's actions you took that I never would have thought, and I appreciate that you put as much thought into it as the art itself. Character personalities are so important, a character can look super unique, but they still won't be interesting if they all act the same. Your process for getting these personalities is interesting and solid, and I think you hit a home run on all of them. They feel so... Natural.
I also must say that, as an amateur writer, I appreciate your process for crafting the dialog. There
> You should be proud of this game, man, we can see all the love you put into it, and that love in turn makes it phenomenal
Thanks, I really tried to make something special. I'm glad you can appreciate that
> I also must say that, as an amateur writer, I appreciate your process for crafting the dialog
Wow! Thank you so much. I sort of expected the writing to be the weak point of the game since it's the part that I have the least experience with. I'm glad you could connect with the characters, I worked hard at that aspect of the game but of course having never written a single story or anything beyond little comics, I wasn't sure how good it would come out. Thanks!
> You should be proud of this game, man, we can see all the love you put into it, and that love in t
That was a really insightful read, thanks for sharing!
(I absolutely forgot to comment on how impressed I was with the game. The puzzles are genuinely good little brain teasers. The dialogue was fun, and I ended up anticipating talking to the pokemon more than the sex at the end. Also the sheer number of features packed in is incredible!)
That was a really insightful read, thanks for sharing! (I absolutely forgot to comment on how impre
Wow, ha ha! Thank you so much. I tried to add in a lot of surprises to keep things fresh. I'll have to try and remember some of these things that went right next time I make a game....
Wow, ha ha! Thank you so much. I tried to add in a lot of surprises to keep things fresh. I'll have
what are u talking about. yes there will be problems but show me a game these days that doesn't. you made a very fun game and my friends like it to yes the game was hard to work out at the start but thanks to your tutorials i understand it and im having so much fun i think its funny when u lose your in game hand :D but what im trying to say is don't let people get u down over an amazing game u made :)
what are u talking about. yes there will be problems but show me a game these days that doesn't. yo
Thanks, I think I take criticism too close to heart. I'll try to remember the kind words like yours next time I feel frustrated with myself. Thank you very much
Thanks, I think I take criticism too close to heart. I'll try to remember the kind words like yours
Wow that's great to hear, thank you! I'm glad I was able to draw you in despite a lack of interest in puzzles. I worked hard to try and make the tutorial easy to understand, and to offer puzzles which cater to all sorts of players. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much~
Wow that's great to hear, thank you! I'm glad I was able to draw you in despite a lack of interest i
