Dev Diary - Issue #32 "Spooky Scary Q&A"
(Posted on October 28, 2020)
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It's that spooky scary time of year where we all put on slutty costumes and beg strangers to give us something sweet and sticky to put in our mouths.
This month's entry is going to be different from our usual setup - you see, the beta testers have been asking me to do another Q&A for months now, so I cleared some time out of my schedule over the past week and hosted one on our Discord server.
They asked some excellent questions, so check out the answers below!
[h2]Lore/character questions...[/h2]
"Are Demi's boobs squishy, or hard? I'd assumed they were squishy due to the comics, but I know those aren't canon so I was wondering." - Petrichorus
DEMI's boobs are similar to those you'd find on a real doll - there's a soft layer on top with a uniquely synthetic yet comfortable texture that's very squeezable and suckable. Her solid chassis/skeleton beneath gives them structural integrity. In terms of physics, they're pretty much the same as an organic pair of funbags.
"Which waifu has the loudest moan?" - Peridot
I feel like talking strictly about moans doesn't quite paint the correct picture of the waifu's sexual tendencies. If I had to make a ranking of how vocal the girls are while doing the devil's dance, it would look something like this...
Ela > Killi > Taron > Sova > Lily > Fortune > Blythe > Huntress
Note that DEMI would probably be ranked between Fortune and Blythe under normal circumstances, but she can immediately adapt to provide whatever kind of auditory stimulation her partner desires.
"Why do the senu rule the galaxy? Seems like quite a few of the other races could take 'em if they wanted to. Is it a religious thing?" - Petrichorus
The clout of the senu is a lot more complex than a few major factors like military might or religious domination. The intricacies of the political situation in Prodigium will be fully explored in Subverse, especially for dedicated players that take an interest in hunting down every bit of lore.
This is something you'll come to realize early on - this isn't just a porn game. It has a real universe with rich history to uncover that goes back millions of years and every single event derives meaning from what transpired before it.
"Which character was the first to get in depth lore?" - TimothyDG
The first character to be "completed" was definitely Fortune but this is because the game went through two or three major overhauls before we landed on the concept that became Subverse. Fortune's character has always been a central component of the story, and she hasn't changed much outside of her origin story, which was altered significantly to be more comedic and endearing.
"Any new character reveals coming soon for the website?" - Fusion-X
Yes, there are several more character bio pages that we intend to put up on the website before the game launches. Honestly...we've just been so busy with making Subverse that we haven't had a single day to sit down and get them ready. I can confirm that one of them is the first antagonist you encounter in Subverse - Dread Lord Tibold.
"Do vanneran only have yellow eyes?" - willuwontu
All vanneran (Killision & Dallick's species) have glowing yellow eyes and large black horns. However, only the females have tails.
"What's the reason vanneran like human culture so much?" - Andy, The
We mentioned as an aside in the artbook that vanneran and solars (humans) are kindred spirits. There are several key reasons for this, one being that they have a very similar philosophy about how to live the best life possible (which of course involves copious amounts of intercourse). However, their political situation in Prodigium is also quite similar. You'll learn more about the history of the vanneran in Subverse, and fully exploring the meaning behind their tragedy is one of my favorite parts of the script.
"I’m curious if the codex will have voice over, or will we need to knuckle down and read it all?" - Havok
Prepare to read, nerd.
"How did y’all decide on the waifu’s clothing/weapon of choice?" - VincentValen
The final waifu outfits are all the work of our incredible art director Dzung. We gave him some initial references and he just went wild and came up with numerous sexy designs that also fit the waifu's personality. You can see most of these sketches in the artbook. After we selected our favorites, he spiced them up from there until they became the final outfits you see today.
The weapons were actually easy - we just made a list of various archetypes and started applying them to the waifu that made the most sense, like sniper (Lily), archer (Ela), buster sword (Blythe), etc.
Some characters, like Killi (rapier) and Sova (great hammer) have intricate backstories in the game that not only explain why they use their particular weapon and fighting style but also how those choices form a significant part of their personality.
"The Requital are a terror group yet they seem to have the best ships out of the enemy factions? Where did they get the technology from?" - CZombie
I'm pretty happy someone picked up on this because it's definitely an intentionally set up as part of the story. As always though, no spoilers.
"In a 3-way drunken bar fight between Kili, Sova, and Blythe, who's left as the dom and whose the two subs? Or will there be two doms and one sub?" - D-Scythe911 (N.T.)
Oh boy, let's break out the rankings again! In terms of dominant to submissive, it would go like this...
Blythe > Killi > Taron > Sova > Lily > Fortune > Huntress > Ela
DEMI's once again removed because she can assume whatever kind of role you wish.
In terms of those three specifically, Sova's perfectly happy to get pounded despite her rough demeanor. Killi likes to be in control but will sub if she's in the mood and respects her partner enough while Blythe does not really sub.
"Among the Waifus who has the best 'smartass' mouth?" - D-Scythe911 (N.T.)
Sova is 100% the biggest smartass on the ship. I'd say that Lily and Killi are probably the wittiest in their comebacks though. Fortune should also be in the conversation but she's more lethally intelligent in the way she systematically dismantles the opposition her approach. You know, that kind of Hannibal Lecter dissection that keeps you up at night. On that note, here's a shot of her keeping Fuckenstein up late...
Concerning game content...
"Why include both SHUMP combat and turn based tactical combat? What inspired this?" - Nobudi
We always intended the combat in Subverse to be RPG-style, but it wasn't until we decided on a science fiction setting that we wanted to have a SHMUP module as well. It just made sense that when your team was traveling through the galaxy that they would encounter hostile forces in space. Narratively, including this opened the door to include some fantastic sequences that otherwise would not be possible if we only had one combat system.
There were initial concerns about including SHMUP content though as the genre itself was once incredibly popular and influential during the old-school arcade days with titles like Asteroids, Space Invaders, etc. However, the fundamental problem with these games is that they tend to be too hard.
Even when you look at a title that's a masterpiece of design like Ikaruga, the majority of gamers will never even give it a try because not only does it take a larger investment of time to learn the color-swapping mechanics and improve your base control and execution, you also need a certain amount of inherent reaction time and skill just to get through the first few levels.
It was apparent to us though that Roguelikes, the sister genre of SHMUPS, had actually been going through a renaissance of sorts over the past decade with wonderful and innovative new titles like Enter the Gungeon, the Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, etc. Rather than having a simple scrolling shooter, we discussed the possibility of one that used an open map like these games and replaced the characters with a ship. It would have a low difficulty curve but solid production values and arcade-style gameplay that anyone could enjoy.
As if it were destiny, it was at that time that I managed to find the OG Subverse programmer HungryJJ. When he turned in the first build of Subverse's SHMUP, it was already far beyond anything we intended in terms of quality. Having that kind of talent on the team combined with our creativity was what laid the foundations for what Subverse would become.
In terms of the tactical combat, it was always on the table from the start. We also considered having old-school Final Fantasy-style RPG encounters, but once we hired another dev and began to do alpha testing for the grid combat we realized it was not only possible but could look fantastic. It went through several reworks, but we're at a point now where I think we've really nailed the fast-paced, casual but satisfying approach.
"Will there be more shots taken at the industry's silly things like lootboxes, crunch culture, etc?" - VincentValen
Hell yes! We definitely had a lot of fun putting together some full video game meme force quests for you guys. Though I'd be surprised if anyone figured out who this guy is supposed to be, speculate away!
"Will we see in endless mode in the full release that can be customized with settings (which factions to fight, damage, health drip rate)? What about progression like buying weapons in COD zombies?" - Halfpint
I can confirm that the SHMUP's endless mode will be in the game in some capacity. Custom settings that make for a full-on sandbox environment are not likely due to the development time this would require. I think the idea of a COD zombies style progression system could be fun, but once again that would take a lot of work so it would need to be something we really see the demand and need for prior to making that investment.
About the team...
"Is there any particular favorite waifu among the dev team, or is it more of an even spread?" - Justenrules
Each of our team members has their favorite waifu and some are even very vocal about their devotion - but yes, there is actually quite an even spread. In order to make sure no one's feelings get hurt, I will simply state that I love all of our daughters equally.
Pantied Bandit inquiry...
"Is there a specific reason the Captain wears panties as a mask, or is that just another layer of his perversion?" - VocalFox
If you've read the artbook you might have noticed that this design choice was the result of random collaboration in our virtual workroom. Originally the Captain had this sort of evil-looking helmet, and we were having trouble achieving the comedic hero look we wanted with him. One of our programmers (One-Eyed Jeremy) posted a Hentai Kamen chibi and we all thought it was perfect.
The next day the Captain had panties on his face and since I was in the middle of writing the script, it fell on me to come up with a good origin for those underpants. While it is indeed another layer of his perversion, the story of how the Captain got his panties became something much more grand than was ever expected. It even led to a side project I was honored to take part in that leads to one of the funniest sequences in Subverse, and I can't wait for everyone to experience it.
Production Questions...
"How has mocap been beneficial for the team?" - Mon-sieur Bome
It's a huge benefit for SFW scenes. Hand-animating things like walk cycles, action sequences and even seemingly simple things like holding objects is far easier when you can use mocap as a solid base and clean things up from there. It also gives you a fluidity of motion that is hard to achieve otherwise.
"How is the experience of build a game this big, like Subverse" - Red Padoru
It is pure hell, and I openly welcome the flames to kiss my sack on a daily basis.
"Do the ladies have specific hand holding animations based on their sexual preferences?" - Mon-sieur Bome
Absolutely - you will see their personalities come through in many of their Pandora scenes.
"What gameplay aspect are you excited for people to play but haven't yet?" - Mon-sieur Bome
Honestly, it's not one aspect - it's how the whole experience ties together. It's the glorious feeling of "I'm actually playing a real video game with fully hardcore alien tentacle on waifu butthole action."
I imagine most of us never thought we'd see the day, but here we are! Thanks again to all of you for making this possible.
"Taron’s look changed quite the number of times from milestone tease to reveal. What was going on there?" - VincentValen
Taron was a really tough character because of the fur involved combined with her thief archetype and a tall/slender body type. She went through numerous small tweaks through the process, especially when we kept finding different color schemes that we liked much more than the others. It was important that she be able to stand out in the waifu lineup not only by virtue of her catgirl status.
"Is there some friendly competition(s) in the devs team? Can you talk about them a little?" - Red Padoru
Every single dev that works on this game is somehow an incredibly friendly and mentally stable individual that has almost zero ego about their jobs. I have no idea how this happened.
HungryJJ is a former capitalist office alpha and massive nerd whose idea of heaven is programming SHMUP combat all day.
One-Eyed Jeremy is a legit academic powerhouse that writes C++ and rap lyrics in his head simultaneously.
Professor BANG is an ultra-passionate gamer, lover of sci-fi and also a walking UE4 encyclopedia.
Mrs. Mankrik is a super talented rhythm game addict and also a saint for putting up with our filthy porn studio Slack shitposting.
"What are the top 3 things you really wanted to make it into the game but they weren't possible?" - Red Padoru
Although it's not a fetish of mine, pregnancy options were something I hoped would make it due to the sheer fan demand. Unfortunately...the more we investigated it, the more obvious it became that we couldn't do it this time around.
Going off that, I would have loved to make a full manticore breeding system where you could design your own monsters. Their physical/genetic aspects would not only determine their abilities on the battlefield but also how they held hands with the waifus in Pandora. Once again, it was just too difficult for a small team with our budget.
And on a personal note, I'm actually more passionate about writing music than anything else. I wanted to do the entire game's soundtrack so it would be 100% original, but that's the kind of job that could take upwards of a year and I was too busy managing the project and finishing the game's massive script. Maybe next time...
...and speaking of next time, we'll be back on November 14th with more! But tell me - did you like this style of dev diary with in-depth writing about the game? What else would you like to see?
Let us know!
Sincerely,
Mr. Kristoff
- Senior Producer
HAPPY HALLOWEEN! It's that spooky scary time of year where we all put on slutty costumes and beg strangers to give us something sweet and sticky to put in our mouths.
This month's entry is going to be different from our usual setup - you see, the beta testers have been asking me to do another Q&A for months now, so I cleared some time out of my schedule over the past week and hosted one on our Discord server.
They asked some excellent questions, so check out the answers below!
[h2]Lore/character questions...[/h2]
"Are Demi's boobs squishy, or hard? I'd assumed they were squishy due to the comics, but I know those aren't canon so I was wondering." - Petrichorus
DEMI's boobs are similar to those you'd find on a real doll - there's a soft layer on top with a uniquely synthetic yet comfortable texture that's very squeezable and suckable. Her solid chassis/skeleton beneath gives them structural integrity. In terms of physics, they're pretty much the same as an organic pair of funbags.
"Which waifu has the loudest moan?" - Peridot
I feel like talking strictly about moans doesn't quite paint the correct picture of the waifu's sexual tendencies. If I had to make a ranking of how vocal the girls are while doing the devil's dance, it would look something like this...
Ela > Killi > Taron > Sova > Lily > Fortune > Blythe > Huntress
Note that DEMI would probably be ranked between Fortune and Blythe under normal circumstances, but she can immediately adapt to provide whatever kind of auditory stimulation her partner desires.
"Why do the senu rule the galaxy? Seems like quite a few of the other races could take 'em if they wanted to. Is it a religious thing?" - Petrichorus
The clout of the senu is a lot more complex than a few major factors like military might or religious domination. The intricacies of the political situation in Prodigium will be fully explored in Subverse, especially for dedicated players that take an interest in hunting down every bit of lore.
This is something you'll come to realize early on - this isn't just a porn game. It has a real universe with rich history to uncover that goes back millions of years and every single event derives meaning from what transpired before it.
"Which character was the first to get in depth lore?" - TimothyDG
The first character to be "completed" was definitely Fortune but this is because the game went through two or three major overhauls before we landed on the concept that became Subverse. Fortune's character has always been a central component of the story, and she hasn't changed much outside of her origin story, which was altered significantly to be more comedic and endearing.
"Any new character reveals coming soon for the website?" - Fusion-X
Yes, there are several more character bio pages that we intend to put up on the website before the game launches. Honestly...we've just been so busy with making Subverse that we haven't had a single day to sit down and get them ready. I can confirm that one of them is the first antagonist you encounter in Subverse - Dread Lord Tibold.
"Do vanneran only have yellow eyes?" - willuwontu
All vanneran (Killision & Dallick's species) have glowing yellow eyes and large black horns. However, only the females have tails.
"What's the reason vanneran like human culture so much?" - Andy, The
We mentioned as an aside in the artbook that vanneran and solars (humans) are kindred spirits. There are several key reasons for this, one being that they have a very similar philosophy about how to live the best life possible (which of course involves copious amounts of intercourse). However, their political situation in Prodigium is also quite similar. You'll learn more about the history of the vanneran in Subverse, and fully exploring the meaning behind their tragedy is one of my favorite parts of the script.
"I’m curious if the codex will have voice over, or will we need to knuckle down and read it all?" - Havok
Prepare to read, nerd.
"How did y’all decide on the waifu’s clothing/weapon of choice?" - VincentValen
The final waifu outfits are all the work of our incredible art director Dzung. We gave him some initial references and he just went wild and came up with numerous sexy designs that also fit the waifu's personality. You can see most of these sketches in the artbook. After we selected our favorites, he spiced them up from there until they became the final outfits you see today.
The weapons were actually easy - we just made a list of various archetypes and started applying them to the waifu that made the most sense, like sniper (Lily), archer (Ela), buster sword (Blythe), etc.
Some characters, like Killi (rapier) and Sova (great hammer) have intricate backstories in the game that not only explain why they use their particular weapon and fighting style but also how those choices form a significant part of their personality.
"The Requital are a terror group yet they seem to have the best ships out of the enemy factions? Where did they get the technology from?" - CZombie
I'm pretty happy someone picked up on this because it's definitely an intentionally set up as part of the story. As always though, no spoilers.
"In a 3-way drunken bar fight between Kili, Sova, and Blythe, who's left as the dom and whose the two subs? Or will there be two doms and one sub?" - D-Scythe911 (N.T.)
Oh boy, let's break out the rankings again! In terms of dominant to submissive, it would go like this...
Blythe > Killi > Taron > Sova > Lily > Fortune > Huntress > Ela
DEMI's once again removed because she can assume whatever kind of role you wish.
In terms of those three specifically, Sova's perfectly happy to get pounded despite her rough demeanor. Killi likes to be in control but will sub if she's in the mood and respects her partner enough while Blythe does not really sub.
"Among the Waifus who has the best 'smartass' mouth?" - D-Scythe911 (N.T.)
Sova is 100% the biggest smartass on the ship. I'd say that Lily and Killi are probably the wittiest in their comebacks though. Fortune should also be in the conversation but she's more lethally intelligent in the way she systematically dismantles the opposition her approach. You know, that kind of Hannibal Lecter dissection that keeps you up at night. On that note, here's a shot of her keeping Fuckenstein up late...
Concerning game content...
"Why include both SHUMP combat and turn based tactical combat? What inspired this?" - Nobudi
We always intended the combat in Subverse to be RPG-style, but it wasn't until we decided on a science fiction setting that we wanted to have a SHMUP module as well. It just made sense that when your team was traveling through the galaxy that they would encounter hostile forces in space. Narratively, including this opened the door to include some fantastic sequences that otherwise would not be possible if we only had one combat system.
There were initial concerns about including SHMUP content though as the genre itself was once incredibly popular and influential during the old-school arcade days with titles like Asteroids, Space Invaders, etc. However, the fundamental problem with these games is that they tend to be too hard.
Even when you look at a title that's a masterpiece of design like Ikaruga, the majority of gamers will never even give it a try because not only does it take a larger investment of time to learn the color-swapping mechanics and improve your base control and execution, you also need a certain amount of inherent reaction time and skill just to get through the first few levels.
It was apparent to us though that Roguelikes, the sister genre of SHMUPS, had actually been going through a renaissance of sorts over the past decade with wonderful and innovative new titles like Enter the Gungeon, the Binding of Isaac, Crypt of the Necrodancer, etc. Rather than having a simple scrolling shooter, we discussed the possibility of one that used an open map like these games and replaced the characters with a ship. It would have a low difficulty curve but solid production values and arcade-style gameplay that anyone could enjoy.
As if it were destiny, it was at that time that I managed to find the OG Subverse programmer HungryJJ. When he turned in the first build of Subverse's SHMUP, it was already far beyond anything we intended in terms of quality. Having that kind of talent on the team combined with our creativity was what laid the foundations for what Subverse would become.
In terms of the tactical combat, it was always on the table from the start. We also considered having old-school Final Fantasy-style RPG encounters, but once we hired another dev and began to do alpha testing for the grid combat we realized it was not only possible but could look fantastic. It went through several reworks, but we're at a point now where I think we've really nailed the fast-paced, casual but satisfying approach.
"Will there be more shots taken at the industry's silly things like lootboxes, crunch culture, etc?" - VincentValen
Hell yes! We definitely had a lot of fun putting together some full video game meme force quests for you guys. Though I'd be surprised if anyone figured out who this guy is supposed to be, speculate away!
"Will we see in endless mode in the full release that can be customized with settings (which factions to fight, damage, health drip rate)? What about progression like buying weapons in COD zombies?" - Halfpint
I can confirm that the SHMUP's endless mode will be in the game in some capacity. Custom settings that make for a full-on sandbox environment are not likely due to the development time this would require. I think the idea of a COD zombies style progression system could be fun, but once again that would take a lot of work so it would need to be something we really see the demand and need for prior to making that investment.
About the team...
"Is there any particular favorite waifu among the dev team, or is it more of an even spread?" - Justenrules
Each of our team members has their favorite waifu and some are even very vocal about their devotion - but yes, there is actually quite an even spread. In order to make sure no one's feelings get hurt, I will simply state that I love all of our daughters equally.
Pantied Bandit inquiry...
"Is there a specific reason the Captain wears panties as a mask, or is that just another layer of his perversion?" - VocalFox
If you've read the artbook you might have noticed that this design choice was the result of random collaboration in our virtual workroom. Originally the Captain had this sort of evil-looking helmet, and we were having trouble achieving the comedic hero look we wanted with him. One of our programmers (One-Eyed Jeremy) posted a Hentai Kamen chibi and we all thought it was perfect.
The next day the Captain had panties on his face and since I was in the middle of writing the script, it fell on me to come up with a good origin for those underpants. While it is indeed another layer of his perversion, the story of how the Captain got his panties became something much more grand than was ever expected. It even led to a side project I was honored to take part in that leads to one of the funniest sequences in Subverse, and I can't wait for everyone to experience it.
Production Questions...
"How has mocap been beneficial for the team?" - Mon-sieur Bome
It's a huge benefit for SFW scenes. Hand-animating things like walk cycles, action sequences and even seemingly simple things like holding objects is far easier when you can use mocap as a solid base and clean things up from there. It also gives you a fluidity of motion that is hard to achieve otherwise.
"How is the experience of build a game this big, like Subverse" - Red Padoru
It is pure hell, and I openly welcome the flames to kiss my sack on a daily basis.
"Do the ladies have specific hand holding animations based on their sexual preferences?" - Mon-sieur Bome
Absolutely - you will see their personalities come through in many of their Pandora scenes.
"What gameplay aspect are you excited for people to play but haven't yet?" - Mon-sieur Bome
Honestly, it's not one aspect - it's how the whole experience ties together. It's the glorious feeling of "I'm actually playing a real video game with fully hardcore alien tentacle on waifu butthole action."
I imagine most of us never thought we'd see the day, but here we are! Thanks again to all of you for making this possible.
"Taron’s look changed quite the number of times from milestone tease to reveal. What was going on there?" - VincentValen
Taron was a really tough character because of the fur involved combined with her thief archetype and a tall/slender body type. She went through numerous small tweaks through the process, especially when we kept finding different color schemes that we liked much more than the others. It was important that she be able to stand out in the waifu lineup not only by virtue of her catgirl status.
"Is there some friendly competition(s) in the devs team? Can you talk about them a little?" - Red Padoru
Every single dev that works on this game is somehow an incredibly friendly and mentally stable individual that has almost zero ego about their jobs. I have no idea how this happened.
HungryJJ is a former capitalist office alpha and massive nerd whose idea of heaven is programming SHMUP combat all day.
One-Eyed Jeremy is a legit academic powerhouse that writes C++ and rap lyrics in his head simultaneously.
Professor BANG is an ultra-passionate gamer, lover of sci-fi and also a walking UE4 encyclopedia.
Mrs. Mankrik is a super talented rhythm game addict and also a saint for putting up with our filthy porn studio Slack shitposting.
"What are the top 3 things you really wanted to make it into the game but they weren't possible?" - Red Padoru
Although it's not a fetish of mine, pregnancy options were something I hoped would make it due to the sheer fan demand. Unfortunately...the more we investigated it, the more obvious it became that we couldn't do it this time around.
Going off that, I would have loved to make a full manticore breeding system where you could design your own monsters. Their physical/genetic aspects would not only determine their abilities on the battlefield but also how they held hands with the waifus in Pandora. Once again, it was just too difficult for a small team with our budget.
And on a personal note, I'm actually more passionate about writing music than anything else. I wanted to do the entire game's soundtrack so it would be 100% original, but that's the kind of job that could take upwards of a year and I was too busy managing the project and finishing the game's massive script. Maybe next time...
...and speaking of next time, we'll be back on November 14th with more! But tell me - did you like this style of dev diary with in-depth writing about the game? What else would you like to see?
Let us know!
Sincerely,
Mr. Kristoff
- Senior Producer