Indie Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall - Isometric Cyberpunk Vampire RPG

[Abu Antar]

Are you allowed to have games with AI stuff in them on Steam? I'm asking because it seems to be a lot of crying over stuff like that.

 

[Tyranicon]

Are you allowed to have games with AI stuff in them on Steam? I'm asking because it seems to be a lot of crying over stuff like that.

IIRC, Steam's statement seems to imply they are only filtering out artgen that uses copyrighted materials. The voices I'm using are totally above-board (according to the people behind the software).

So, we'll see. I'm probably not going to abuse the tech, most of the game will still be reading text.

 

[Zombra]

Haha, no more procedurally generated games!

 

[Tyranicon]

Blog post:

A thought about the MoonFall series: Are my games novels?


Hi everyone! This is going to be a long rambling essay-type thing, so feel free to skip it if you’re not into those. The only practical item I have to discuss is that the next installment in the MoonFall series, Baldr’s Squid Isekai, is nearing the end of its crowdfunding period. So if a weird parody game with meta elements is interesting to you, go check that out here.

Okay, moving on. Some of you may know that I trained and endeavored to be a novelist. This fact will explain a lot about why my games are like the way they are. The MoonFall setting and the characters in it have been rattling around my head for almost 20 years now.

At times I play off my work as “just porn games,” and this is not entirely false modesty. I do think that my games are the products of a lone hobbyist with limited resources and experience, because that is nothing but the truth. But I also have tremendous, impractical ambitions for the series, and I think some of you who have delved deeper in, and peered behind the curtain, may have been entranced by it. At least, I hope so.

Like many creatives, I want to create something beautiful. Something profound, that stirs the human spirit and questions the basic principles that govern how we live our lives. The fact that I’m attempting this through a bunch of porn games could perhaps be explained as part of my own brand of irreverent humor.

Because of the above, I don’t approach game development the same way that most others, even indies do. My games, individually or taken as a whole, are not profit vehicles in which to slowly milk consumers so I could live extravagantly. Each of them are created with intent, puzzle pieces of a larger design.

While they can be enjoyed individually, they are designed to be part of a whole, slowly filling in a grand tapestry of secrets, lore, mysteries and characters. My games are in many ways more similar to novels in a long series than games.

I won’t lie, these attempts can sometimes be clumsy. There are numerous obstacles in tackling alone a project that would normally take entire teams of people. But I think there is great value in preserving a singular vision for a work, that every element of a game is made by a small team, or even a single person.

The opening installments of the series (The Singularity Wish, Singularity: Tactics Arena, Memoirs of a Battle Brothel) were my initial forays into the medium. They were learning experiences for me. The tentative first steps into unknown lands.

Now that I have some measure of my abilities, I will begin attempting more serious work. Expect a significant increase in production value and overall quality, especially when it comes to narrative as we move into a more steady production schedule.

And there is no time like the present. As the names of my games may indicate, the issues of artificial intelligence and our shared uncertain future are of great interest to me. We are living in, dare I say with some humor, interesting times.

The MoonFall series is my (perhaps fumbling) exploration of truth and meaning. Is that wildly grandiose for a bunch of porn games? Yes. Is it good art? I can’t tell, creators are cursed to forever be distanced from understanding the quality of their work.

But I could do far worse than chasing an unreachable dream. Something something, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.

And whatever comes, I’m glad I get to share the journey with you. I think this is the start of something really special.

-ManlyMouseDan

 

[Harthwain]

A thought about the MoonFall series: Are my games novels?

You could've just summed it up by saying "They RPGs. They have combat". The rest doesn't matter.

 

[Haba]

You probably want to be real shush shush about your AI-generated content, I reckon some drastic moves by Steam in the future, when the complaints roll in. Not that it will stick, but look at the silly back and forth with porn games before as a reference.

 

[Tyranicon]

You probably want to be real shush shush about your AI-generated content, I reckon some drastic moves by Steam in the future, when the complaints roll in. Not that it will stick, but look at the silly back and forth with porn games before as a reference.

AI is a miniscule part of my games and can be easily removed. I do prefer to use human artists and actors, I think they simply offer better quality and more "soul," so it's entirely possible that I'll replace the AI placeholders if I get enough budget.

I expect steam is more worried about the AI-gen porn games with actual celebrities and stuff. Everything else is very hard to check at the moment, even adobe cloud has started integrating generative tools in apps like photoshop.

It's crazy. Like the wild west days of the internet all over again.

 

[Peachcurl]

I expect steam is more worried about the AI-gen porn games with actual celebrities and stuff. Everything else is very hard to check at the moment, even adobe cloud has started integrating generative tools in apps like photoshop.

Which they claim to be trained only with material Adobe owns (allegedly an advantage over most competing generative models). The difficulty is indeed to detect and distinguish this in a finished product.

 

[NecroLord]

about the AI-gen porn games with actual celebrities and stuff.

What's the problem with that?
Are they portraying the celebs in a less than flattering way?
But I'm guessing you shouldn't have any problems with AI stuff, so long as you use it sparingly and efficiently.
We can't have AI make fun of brain dead celebrities and politicians now, can we?

 

[Zombra]

It's crazy. Like the wild west days of the internet all over again.

Yeehaw x 1

 

[ERYFKRAD]

What's the problem with that?
Are they portraying the celebs in a less than flattering way?

Leaves steam open to defamation lawsuits and shit, I reckon. Don't expect celebs to take it kindly if they have been AI'd into porn, more so if the AI version looks better.

 

[Tyranicon]

Starting to implement item use in combat for all my ongoing projects, actually much easier than expected.

I will be doing some things a little different than most modern RPGs, the first being that a lot of items need training to be able to use.

Easy stuff like healing potions (or the cyberpunk version of injectable stims) etc will come pre-learned. But complicated medical gear or weaponry will require finding the proper trainer. Might even get to placing turrets and stuff, will have to see.

This also opens up a lot of progression options too. Pretty excited.

 

[Lord_Potato]

Tim Cain recently mentioned a mechanics (present in early D&D) of learning about items to unlock their hidden functionalities. Later it was streamlined into 'identifying' items to establish their magical properties, but learning seemed to be more individual and brought increasing returns from certain items.

Just an idea, since you are changing things already. Probably too complicated to implement though.

 

[Tyranicon]

Hi everyone!

Hope your new year is going off to a great start! I personally haven’t made any resolutions for 2024 since I have a ton on my plate :D.

Like, look at this insanity of a to-do list:

• Release 2 new games (Baldr’s Squid Isekai, That Which Rises) by year’s end
• Continue development of Vampire Syndicate
• Secret project related to Vampire Syndicate
• Content update for Memoirs of a Battle Brothel

I’m used to working on multiple things at the same time (Tactics Arena and Memoirs shared overlapping dev time and I also wrote a 175-page lore book). But even for me, this is ambitious. But don’t worry, I’m not overworking myself, even though my future games are going to be on a hyper-accelerated schedule.

Some of the most time-consuming parts of gamedev is caused by lack of experience, whether it’s technical issues, mechanical balancing or content/writing. Being an inexperienced developer is a lot like being blindfolded. You’re groping in the dark, hoping you’re going in the right direction.

Now that I’m reasonably experienced, it’s like the blindfold has been removed. And there’s also one large benefit of being mostly solodev: you have a complete picture of what you need. Combine these two things, and you get an incredible amount of clarity. It feels like I’m playing Tetris, but I intuitively know the blocks that are coming and how to place them.

I understand that I am in a unique position compared to most other gamedevs, and that I’m lucky to be here. That being said, the training wheels are coming off, and I’m looking very much forward to what I’ll be calling the “Main phase” (or maybe “Make it or Break it phase”) of my gamedev career.

I’m especially excited for Baldr’s Squid Isekai, which will introduce my completely overhauled RPG system. For my future games, I want mechanics to be more thoughtful and elegant, and also stray a little closer to the cRPGs that motivated me to enter gamedev. This also means expanded dialogue and character mechanics!

I might be really busy, but I kinda feel like this doggo:

Baldr’s Squid Isekai is approaching Early Access launch, likely sometime in February (yes, that soon). Wishlist it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610440/Baldrs_Squid_Isekai_A_Parody/

 

[Tyranicon]

Time for another blogpost.

So, I spent months obsessively designing a RPG combat system from scratch​

It’s no secret that I’ve been less than happy with the combat systems in my released games. While they are serviceable, a combination of technical and design inexperience, as well as time pressures, meant that I was unable to make them what I wanted them to be. But that’s to be expected, after all, game development is a learning experience.

I’ve said a few times during the development of Memoirs that I was refining the combat in that game to be more fun and open, but that came at the cost of challenge, and in many ways, it was a crude system that lacked mathematical elegance.

Of course, what I want is a combat system that could stand alongside any of its peers, both video games and tabletop RPGs, and still hold its own. A system that provides a crunchy simulation of turn-based combat, one that is simple but still contains depth, and above all is fun to play.

A lofty goal for any game designer. Veteran RPG devs, people who have been working in this field for years, are still striving towards this goal. It’s something that I’ve personally desired for a long time too.

I certainly wasn’t going to achieve it in my first two or three games. But on my fourth, I’ll give it a shot :D.

This isn’t a system designed in a vacuum. I spent months contemplating what RPG enthusiasts really like about turn-based combat, as well as my personal preferences from both tabletop campaigns and the cRPGs I’ve enjoyed. Low numbers vs high numbers, types of damage mitigation, RNG vs determinism, build balance and tactical considerations.

In the end, what I have can neither be described as unique nor startlingly complex, but hopefully as something that is robust and fun.

I am very excited to unveil the Memory Battle System 3.0 with the Early Access launch of Baldr’s Squid Isekai next month, my low-effort parody game that is getting decidedly more high-effort every passing day. The same system will also be present in Vampire Syndicate and That Which Rises, although possibly with changes.

I hope you enjoy it, and as always, I appreciate your feedback.

 

[Tyranicon]

Um, uh, for no reason whatsoever, I think I'll be doing something for this game this Fall.

TBD.

 

[RaggleFraggle]

Good luck. We don’t have a lot of offerings as it is. Every little bit helps.

 

[Gargaune]

Um, uh, for no reason whatsoever, I think I'll be doing something for this game this Fall.

TBD.

Forget Fall, what are you doing here right now? Shouldn't you be on a certain Steam forum, striking the iron while it's hot desperate?

 

[Tyranicon]

Um, uh, for no reason whatsoever, I think I'll be doing something for this game this Fall.

TBD.

Forget Fall, what are you doing here right now? Shouldn't you be on a certain Steam forum, striking the iron while it's hot desperate?

I mean, I could sneak in there with a sockpuppet and post a hey, check this out fellow vamps type thread, but I don't really like doing something that underhanded. And it's rude to try and steal customers on a dev's own steam forums. Also it will get deleted almost immediately.

If my game is good, it'll sell. I'm still a true believer in that. Mostly because it's not like there's that many competent competitors around.

 

[Gargaune]

I mean, I could sneak in there with a sockpuppet and post a hey, check this out fellow vamps type thread, but I don't really like doing something that underhanded. And it's rude to try and steal customers on a dev's own steam forums. Also it will get deleted almost immediately.

If my game is good, it'll sell. I'm still a true believer in that. Mostly because it's not like there's that many competent competitors around.

It's cool, man, I was just kidding, wouldn't actually advise you do something like that. Not only would it be a very dickish move, but it'd also risk backfiring spectacularly.

 

[Tyranicon]

I think I'm going to be moving the starting point of the game a little. My initial thought was to have the player start already as a familiar, but that starts off the game at a higher level than I would like -> as a familiar you're already a known player in the underworld and similar to a mid-high level gang captain due to how the vampire hierarchy works. Basically, if you're on speaking terms with a vampire, you're already very important.

So I think I'll move the game to start before you're a familiar, which will give you a chance to actually learn more about your lineage before being forced to join one, and also do more low-level crime stuff.

 

[BruceVC]

I think I'm going to be moving the starting point of the game a little. My initial thought was to have the player start already as a familiar, but that starts off the game at a higher level than I would like -> as a familiar you're already a known player in the underworld and similar to a mid-high level gang captain due to how the vampire hierarchy works. Basically, if you're on speaking terms with a vampire, you're already very important.

So I think I'll move the game to start before you're a familiar, which will give you a chance to actually learn more about your lineage before being forced to join one, and also do more low-level crime stuff.

I realize you get asked this a lot but how long till this game is ready for initial release?

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Did that friends game get completed?

 

[True Ukrainian]

I think I'm going to be moving the starting point of the game a little. My initial thought was to have the player start already as a familiar, but that starts off the game at a higher level than I would like -> as a familiar you're already a known player in the underworld and similar to a mid-high level gang captain due to how the vampire hierarchy works. Basically, if you're on speaking terms with a vampire, you're already very important.

So I think I'll move the game to start before you're a familiar, which will give you a chance to actually learn more about your lineage before being forced to join one, and also do more low-level crime stuff.

Just have the pre familiar stuff be the prologue / tutorial.

 

[Tyranicon]

I realize you get asked this a lot but how long till this game is ready for initial release?

Honestly, no idea. Maaaaaaaybe we'll see something this year but it won't be anywhere close to a full release. Something like an Early Access. And that's 100% just because I'm a troll and I want to release something around VtMB2's launch date.

Depends on how much funding we can secure.

Did that friends game get completed?

No, we're making the BG3 parody right now, which is going to release into Early Access soon. That's a short game that will hopefully take about three months to finish. After that we'll be tackling That Which Rises and Vampire Syndicate.

Just have the pre familiar stuff be the prologue / tutorial.

It'll probably be more meaty than that. I think Vampire Syndicate is going to have a lot of content once I get around to fully fleshing it out.