Monster XXXperiment
Monster XXXperiment Direction
Hello Researchers!
I wanted to open up a discussion about Monster XXXperiment and it’s something I feel as though everyone who loves and supports the game should have an opinion on. Our biggest criticisms about MonXXX during the alpha period of the game was the fact that the writing was great, the artwork was good, but the gameplay was lacking. Which for my vision for the game I do agree with. It's supposed to be a management game with visual novel story progression among the different characters. During the alpha the game felt like a visual novel, with a tacked on bare bones “resource management” on top of it. We spent a long time developing the beta and while there were some good ideas. When the tech demo did release earlier this year the same criticism was received, the features we added were features but they didn’t really meld together with the game it was incorporated into the progression and the idea that I had with the project.
So for the last few months, I’ve been trying to address these issues and I’ve come to realize a lot of the issues that we’re experiencing with development comes from the fact that Renpy is just too restrictive. Renpy obviously is a visual novel engine, and we’ve been trying to turn it into something that it’s not. So I’ve been somewhat playing around with the idea in my head of transferring the game over to Godot, another game engine. A lot of what has been worked on and framework can be carried over straight from Renpy and we’ll be able to expand the game and gameplay into the vision I originally had for the game. Taking inspiration from something like Lobotomy Corporation but with visual novel progression with character stories instead of the rouge-lite gameplay it has.
However this is where all of you come in and why I wanted to have an open discussion about it. Obviously for the last 3 years (MonXXX 3rd year birthday is this December) you all have had this version of the game. You guys support, love, and purchased this version of Monster XXXperiment. So at this point the vision I have for the game, while very similar, will be a change and adjustment if this is the version of MonXXX you want as a completed game. So I’m asking all of you, which path should development take?
TL:DR: My vision for MonXXX is while the same does alter from what everyone has been playing the last 3 years. Wants to move development to Godot to realize the vision for the management aspects of MonXXX, since Renpy has been restrictive and a pain to work in. What does the community want to see MonXXX as?
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Monster XXXperiment
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| Status | In development |
| Author | AstroKaen |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Tags | 2D, Adult, Erotic, Gay, Hentai, Management, NSFW, Pixel Art, Romance |
| Languages | English |
| Accessibility | Subtitles |
More posts
- Let's Catch Up87 days ago
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.1.0 Public Progress ReportJun 27, 2024
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.0.0 ChangelogJun 17, 2024
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.00 Road MapJun 05, 2024
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.0.0 Public Progress Update 5!May 06, 2024
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.0.0 Public Progress Update 4!Apr 09, 2024
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.0.0 Public Progress Update 3!Dec 06, 2023
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.0.0 Public Progress Update 2!Sep 27, 2023
- Monster XXXperiment Beta v1.00 Progress UpdateJul 05, 2023
Comments
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Just recently arrived and played your games.
As a fan of creative works like VNs, you should do what helps you achieve your goal.
As a player, I'm scared by these sort of things. I want the best results obviously but it doesn't always work out.
Please be careful going forward, and good luck. I really want to play this game and others when they are finished. MELTING POINT for example, even if it is a long shot.
P.s. I also hope you keep the older one, this version of the game up, it is fun and like comparing old and new versions.
Honestly, If Renpy is restricting you, and you can basically port the entire existing project with little issue to Godot, then why not? I would like the management aspect to be more robust, as that was what I was expecting going into this. I do like that your team has been working hard to polish up the story and the art, not taking that away from you at all, but if Godot is going to give you the tools to realize your vision and make you happier to work on it, then I certainly am all for it. Been following for 2 years and will happily lounge around for a few more.
Some things you could do to to add to resource management, is to add a sort of Mini game to earn funding instead of it being readily available, something based around the research going on, like filing reports, or doing experiments. Additionally you could have an character energy limit instead of a time based limit, different things taking different amounts of energy. It would help pace the game a bit and make players have to balance their funding, energy, and time in order to progress the story.
I love this game to death and these are just a couple of ways you could add more to the resource management aspects of the game. I look forward to seeing the game grow either way <3
Make the game however you want, ill play it reguardless :)
I have been looking for games with heroines from the perspective of the woman seeking men, without much luck. I don't need to see boobs or clit, and partially censored lower body would be great. Visual novels work well on these, and a crafting aspect appeals to me. Lovense integration would be a major plus.
I personally am here because it's more of a visual novel than a resource management game, but it's all about what your vision for the game is. I'd appreciate an easy mode for management since I find those games stressful and mostly want the visual novel aspects (story and characters), but idk how hard that would be to implement.
I would keep the same "easy mode" the current game has. Starting you off with a lot more funding than you would normally need. When picking the easy difficulty. The visual novel aspects won't be going anywhere though.
I think you should go for the port, it will be better for the game in the end.
a NSFW Lobotomy Corporation type game sounds really fun tbh
i did not need THAT COMBO in my head but now i cant help but not see it and if it is the devs combo, they can easly leave this edition as a free taste with that style a thing as well.
lol, i don't think it will be THAT much like Lobo Corp. much slower pace and containment breachs likely won't be thing outside of maybe Flare sneaking out?
but a big manager map like Lobo corp where the pixel chibi's can wander, places for dates/enrichment, co workers milling about. that would be nice.
Yeah Lobotomy Corporate, SCP Foundation, Etc were all really big influnces for MonXXX. The mangagement portion of our game has always been its weakest part so I'd like to take some inspiration from Lobo Corp during the transition.
It wont be nowhere near as stressful obviously since MonXXX has visual novel aspects instead of rouge-lite aspects. But I feel like it'll really finally reach that feelings I want the players to feel while playing the game and building up your M.I.S. facility.
Well, i cannot say that i hate this version of the game, quite the opposite. So, if you ever change the game engine, i suggest leaving this old one avaliable as a "classic" version, even if you stop the development of it.
o7
Yep i will leave the curtent version up as a Monster XXXperiment Classic for people to still be able to look back on and play.
I think I will agree if it is transferred without affecting the current story. But if the story of itself is weakened after the transfer, isn't that putting the cart before the horse?In that case, I will refuse.
The story will not be altered at all no worries. The gameplay will feel different but the strong character writing and the individual stories each Kin tell will not be changing at all!
My two cents would be to finish this game with Ren'py. You could write and develop a final update for this version of the game, while leaving it available for those who would like to still experience the original version, like a Monster XXXperiment Classic vs Monster XXXperiment 2. This way you can take the lessons you've learned from finishing the Ren'py version and carry that over to the next game, so that you're not spreading yourself too thin working on both, but you're still getting that valuable experience from finishing the original project.
I think having plans to wrap up MXXX and being very transparent with your customers about the plans for 2.0 would build customer loyalty - especially if you offered a discount on the sequel to those who supported the initial version of the game through Early Access.
This has been my only gripe about another of my favourite games, Venture Seas, doing an entire remake in a different engine. Inevitably the art style and gameplay will change, and those who really enjoyed the original art style and gameplay will miss out. Wrapping up the original version, and then taking those lessons into the sequel, I believe, is the best of both worlds.
I think you should save those things you really want to do with MXXX that can't be done with Ren'py, and put them in the sequel. This will add draw to people curious about Monster XXXperiment 2, and how its different from its predecessor.
You learn more by finishing a project than by changing direction halfway through development. But thats just my take. Hope this helps!
i second this. completing a project and finishing off a good lession and leaving what is already loved is often good way to move on.
Yep I completely agree and understand. The biggest reason I've come to the conclusion that I have had mainly been because of the development issues we currently have in the Renpy engine.
When we first started making Monster XXXperiment it was honestly a game jam type of development we never knew it would ever get this popular.
So our vision, ideas, and what the game was going to be wasn't really concrete at the time. Now that we've finally nailed down what we want the game to be whats the strong points and the weak points it started to become clear to me that Renpy is currently one of the biggest things holding us back from the vision we have for the game now.
I will still be leaving the Renpy version up as a Monster XXXperiment Classic. But I do want to take the lessons we have learnt so far to fully realize the vision. While not compromising what was loved about the original.
I appreciate you leaving the classic version up for posterity, respect your vision, and wish you the best. Keen to see what comes next!
You should do what your vision is.
Do what you want to do. I don't think much about game resource management, which is fun, but I'm more interested in character story, so keep it up
Yea i think this would be a nice change the og definetly does feel like a visual novel with added mechanics rather than a management game with love.
I'd still like to try the beta version though just to tide me over until the godot version is done
Go for it, i think change is good. And will definitely play the New version
I think that changing engines and adding more gameplay can be a good idea as long as the characterization and xplayer content won't suffer. Part of the reason why I kept up with this game despite the simplistic gameplay is because I genuinely loved interacting with the characters you've made.
There's also the issue of how long development will take in the pursuit of expanding the management aspect of the game, so perhaps updating the management bit by bit while also adding more events and interactions depending on the management goals met (or not) can be good?
I'm interested to see what direction you'll be taking this.
I really liked playing this game... If you plan on switching over to Godot, I'd be happy to help out! I ported my game over to Godot and learned quite a bit.
I'll be sure to reach out!
A game is a form of art. If you create only what others ask of you then the result will lack the passion it deserves and be a lesser form of what it could be. I couldn't care less about the mechanics but I'd rather those be pursued then end up with something lacking heart.
It's your creation and your time and energy being expended, not the players. See to it that you get as much pleasure in creating the game as players do exploring it. In other words, do what you want, and haters can go fuck themselves.
Making a game 18+ game with gameplay balance seems to be a struggle.
I think simplifying but adding variety to what you have is good.
But if the goal is to make people practically forget they are playing an H game the gameplay ends up having to be as good as non porn games with nice qol features imo
What arguably kills most adult in-dev games is a big change like this. Since your game operates on a patch to patch model, it is functionally an Early Access title. When Early Access games don't see significant game-play development for a prolonged time people will inevitable abandon them. Reviewing a lot of the comments you can tell this is the direction your followers are going; Most of the comments are asking you to maintain only the Renpy version or even both versions of the game (Which is unrealistic), with this exact hesitation in mind. It's not impossible, the Carnal Instinct team has managed to make it work while they update to Unreal 5, but you'll absolutely see a significant drop in support and possibly even receive threatening messages.
The first part is what essentially has me playing around with the idea in the first place. The game hasn't received a substantial update in a prolonged period of time, and a lot of dev time has been spent turning Renpy into something it's not.
So far on my discord and patreon as well a lot of people have been for the change.
One advantage that MonXXX has for the change i beleive is the fact that GDScript runs extremely similar to Python, which Renpy and a majority of MonXXX's code is written in. Which should make transferring the project a bit easier than others.
Taking significant time to release fundamentally the exact same content you have now with minimal new in-game content, really seems to antagonize people, especially entitled Patreon supporters. Case in point, Summertime Sagas 'Tech' update and Breeders of the Nephelyms 'UI' update. If you feel you can continue to work on your game despite those kinds of people you'll do fine though.
I enjoy the game for the writing and art. Gameplay aspect is low on my list of things I like about this game. I would not mind either option if it wouldn't affect the aforementioned aspects I enjou. I just worry that switching engines might be more difficult than anticipated (and therefore delay the game's development even further). Having to learn how to implement the game's features in a different engine seems like it would have its own (unforeseen) challenges.