I guess this blog has run its course.

Yes, I'm consolidating and focusing my energies.  I won't delete this, but goodbye and thanks for reading.

Monster Monpiece Review

First off, I'm not a professional reviewer, I'm just a player who happens to like Japan's perviest games.  I was motivated to write this review because Monster Monpiece is pretty damn good.  I haven't finished it yet -- just playing through the middle / latter chapters, but it's a game that actually inspires me to want to make a clone of it.

Here's where it's good and not-so-good:

1.) Battle System.

Note this may be my first card battle game (since I generally avoid mobile F2P microtransaction games) though I did try out the PSN version of Magic: The Gathering.  But the battle system reminds me more of a combination of Tower Defense and Capybara's puzzle battle take on Heroes of Might and Magic.

I have never, ever, looked forward to battling in a Compile Heart game before (known for the tedious monotonous battles such as found in the Agarest series).  But this game is different.  Clearly, it seems as if there was actual game design put into this, and it shows.

There are several classes of units:
- tank/sword
- range/bow and arrow
- buffer/spellcaster
- healer/mana replenisher

(In a more professional review I would have included screenshots, but right now I'm kinda writing in the midst of inspiration and I haven't yet set up to transfer screenshots from my PS Vita system.  So please bear with me.)

The battles occur on a 3x7 grid.  The 9 squares to the left are for placing your units.  The 9 squares to the right are for the enemy units.  Once summoned the units will advance each turn towards the opposing team's fortress -- if they reach the end, they can take out your castle causing a game over.  For each turn, you have a choice of 5 or 6 random cards from your deck to summon (your deck can hold 40 cards total). If you run out of cards it's game over.  It takes more mana to summon the more powerful units so you can either pass your turn or use a healing unit to replenish mana.  You can also use items.

Now where it gets interesting is the built-in stat-changing abilities of the cards.  Not only are there innate abilities that can change the tide of battle, but these cards are also color-coded, so if you summon 3 of the same color in sequential turns, your ATK and other stats shoot up tremendously.  Not only that, but cards also have races and you can summon a same-race card to fuse on top of a unit that's already deployed, to make it even stronger!

Once you have a fused tank unit advancing on the enemy side, backed up with both a healer and spellcaster that continually replenish it each turn, it's practically impossible for the opposing team to put a stop to it.  If you have three rows of these you already know you've won.  That is why battles are either utter losses or ultimate victory-- I get an immediate S or SS Rank!  It takes actual effort to maintain a balanced battle of attrition.

2.) Rubbing System

This is where it gets really interesting.  You collect cards of monster girls by journeying on the world map, winning battles, or buying them at a store.  You get Rubbing Points after winning each battle, which you can spend to level up your cards.  Naturally more powerful cards use more rubbing points.  You use the right analog stick to pan around the picture and use your fingers to tap at the cards "weak spots".  If the card really likes it, it squeals and you then have to vigorously rub the front touchscreen and the PS Vita back panel at the same time.  You have a time limit and if successful, the card graphic sheds some clothes and levels up.  A card's stats don't always all go up... sometimes some stats go down though to compensate for the stat that does increase.

You're really encouraged to level up your cards as often as you can.  Sometimes a +1 version of the same card appears, which is basically the same card but with higher base stats.  Since you are limited to 40 cards to a deck anyway, it doesn't make sense to hold onto a card if there's too many copies of it, so I end up selling them back to the store.  Once you've rubbed a card to its max, its graphic is saved to the Gallery.

It turns out that your card inventory and Rubbing Points use a different persistent auto-save.  So even if I reload a game, I cannot undo what I've done to my cards!

Now as for censorship, so far I've encountered 5 of the cards whose Stage 3 graphic is the same as the Stage 2 graphic.  Some I had no idea why they censored... it's relative to the card on a case by case basis.  It bothered me a little that there's no reward in the gallery for the additional unlock, but then it is not a game-changer for me.  I still recommend people -- especially those who like pervy anime games -- to buy this game.

3.) Overall story

This game contains no males whatsoever (well except for a mention of someone's father).  The story involves a bunch of human girls with their monster girl sidekicks running around the world map -- with place names that are pronounced the same as modern day Japan e.g. Tokio -- running after a particular Lost, a possessed individual who steals some magic crystals (that powers the world) or whatever.

Frankly, the story is non-descript.  And the girls blabber for way too long, this is generally how they talk in Compile Heart games.  But they sure pass the Bechdel Test with flying colors!  It's funny that in Agarest I loathed going through battles just to get to the pretty pictures in the story mode, while here it's just the opposite.

So anyways, it's pretty telling that while everyone else is playing Drakengard 3, it's still on my backlog while I am utterly addicted to this game.  You can get it for your PS Vita for $29.99 only on the Playstation Network.  Even with the censoring, it's still worth it.  If the censoring issue still bothers you, tell you want, I really am contemplating making a full-blown hentai game -- a strip card battle -- then we can put the issue to rest.  This is a console game so obviously there's going to be a limit to how far the dev can go.

The ideal game I am thinking of wanting to make the most.

Since this is the blog for my embarrassing stuff (not the hey look it's like a nice normal portfolio to qualify as as a normal, sane, responsible person) I'm just going to blurt it out here.

It's kinda hard to wind down your creative phase coming from a game-jam.  Especially a highly compressed, tight deadline gamejam.  Right now it's very hard, for example, for me to pick up a console game to play (It's usually the opposite... hard to be productive while in a consumer mood.).

So my brain is still on overdrive and I have to write down the things it's currently processing.  Right now it's something this:


Originally a shouta+MILF game (first arc was written last year) but could very well work as a GxG loli+MILF game.

An 18+ 18th century Spanish steampunk (i.e. not British Empire/London-centric steampunk, but Spanish Empire focused on Spanish East Indies) Side-scroller Beat-em-up hybrid NVL VN with Big-ass Cathedrals and Wicked Friars and Military Priests with Loli Automaton Warriors fighting giant Big-O-style (but more biological) Holy Men.

All done in glorious shoujo artstyle.  The protagonist is a Gothloli.  Lots of fetish like bondage, piercing, and lactation.  But lots of love as well as the couple goes out on lots of dates on Magnificent Galleons and inside tropical Cathedrals (the same Tomb Raider style feel just like in Angkor Wat) while avoiding those pesky Wicked Friars and Military Priests with Loli Automaton Warriors.

The problem is:

1.) Shoujo artstyle is a expensive effort.  Those hair, locks, clothes, frilles, etc.
2.) You actually need to see remnants of old spanish colonial architecture to get the backgrounds properly done.
3.) I am not of the level to be able to draw  1 and 2.
4.) Shoujo artists usually do not draw hentai, nor biological-style mecha.

... oh, and they will be speaking in Shakespearean dialect.  "Oh, what an auspicious day!" while the Religious Order will be speaking something more like Klingon. And then there will be a soundtrack composed of Vocaloid hymns.   In Klingon.

Fuck if I can afford something like this.

Monster Monpiece actually licensed!

Some old news explaining why this site isn't updated so much.

Yeah, so MonMon will be released as a censored digital download.  I guess... celebrate?

I have to see it in depth to form a more valid opinion about the game and what was taken away from the experience.

I think there's potential for something like a platformer...

So I've been perusing the entries for #magicalgirljam and been thinking, man wouldn't it be neat if there were a platformer similar to Aquaria and with the art style of Madoka Magica The Battle Pentagram and with rub-able CGs?

And HTML5 is perfect for that.  I actually have all the tools I need to be able to make something good like that.

I should make a bathhouse minigame next

Hmmm, the Mugen Souls Z bruhaha...

Though I do not doubt my capability in rendering loli, I should probably go with a more conventional sexy body.

The more complex forms of pervy minigames make use of special tools that you need to pick up or select first, before applying them on the subject.  I also need to learn to put in more peformance feedback ala rhythm games ("Good!" , "Great!").

Much programming will need to be had.

But first, I must vacation.

I Rub You, Mahou Shoujo!

Alright, kids.  Remember, do not try this at home (or in the office, or on the bus / train / plane).   The stunts you are about to see are performed by professional 2D characters in a closed digital environment.

The character you see is over 18 years old (well, technically, 512 years old).  Only fondle consenting adults.  That is all.

So without further adieau...
(click on the pink title below to launch a new browser window.)

... yes, it's a mobile browser game, the future of gaming. If there's no sound, upgrade the browser, it must have web audio api for it to work.

I RUB YOU, MAHOU SHOUJO! 

So it's basically a crappy little HTML5 hybrid visual novel and rubbing game I made in the span of 3 afternoons programming and a whole weekend drawing, for #magicalgirljam.  The story I just pulled out of my ass, but this was a good exercise for me, since I haven't released a game in almost 2 years.  So this one, no matter how small and shitty, is hoped to be good and complete enough for a good laugh.  It takes a whole 2 minutes or less to complete. It'll probably take way longer for someone to register this on VNDB, that is if they even bother.

I really needed to get this out since I've been out of the scene and I haven't even been reading my emails and I'm just so out of it and busy with real life.  I just needed this creativity juice flowing out no matter how silly or stupid.

Maybe next time, I'll have more time to make a full-blown touch eroge or something.