The Sim Project

[Red.Sheer]

Alright, I took some time going over your "sketches" (that's what you call those, right?) and I have to say, well... we can't use those. We can't use any of it. I'm really sorry, but I cannot for the life of mine give a green light to any of this...



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It'll make everybodies heads explode due to awesomeness landing a critical hit for 6172.54 damage. Then, their relatives who find the smoking remains will track us and sue the bloody hell out of us. I just cannot allow that XD

Seriously, I'm absolutely overwhelmed seeing those characters come to life in such a beautiful manner. Also, Wonderful Hawk, your compliments are well recieved. I can use those atm to be honest ^^ But to me as well it is such a overwhelming sight to see those. You are absolutely right, up to this point no one besides Katsu knew a single thing of those characters, so naturally there was nothing anyone could say about those because if we'd publish their concepts the whole game would be a lot less attractive because you're supposed to get to know these people and not just "fire and forget" them. But it's nice to be mentioned alongside the programmer and the artist of this project *gg*

Goats' artworks are as spot on as they can possibly get (your deer stole my hair, so no surprise there XD), there are only very minor details we can figure out. I'm greatly impressed and also flattered (sp? o.o). Oh, and I found the lol sheep, it and her are truly awesome ^^ What prize do I get? XD And of course, feel free to shoot me a PM whenever you want, you've earned your PM privilege (tm) now XD

[Pram]

Whoa. I don't really like furry but those are some really nice sketches. Plenty of different personalities can be perceived from their appearance and the image backgrounds. Very nice!

[Zeus Kabob]

Yeah, holy jesus. I just now read over this thread, and those "sketches" are freaking amazing. Your style looks great, and you really make the characters come alive.

If you can make all of that in "sketching" time, I can't imagine the volume you will put out when putting in hours of work.

Count me excited.

[goat]

Thanks, WonderfulHawk, Pram and ZeusKabob! I'm really glad you all are liking the art so far, there's plenty more to come and we're all in very capable hands with Red heading up the story and Katsu's animation and game design!

A few thoughts i had today, though as I'm new to the project you may be past these ideas or went in a different direction, either way no harm in putting them out there...

As far as the dating mechanic goes, I thought it would be neat if there where consequences to the dates you go on that extend to all the characters, depending on how public the dates are. It's a small island and gossip is bound to spread. For example possible dates are: The beach during the day (public, all characters know what you did) if you choose to hold hands or kiss another possible mate might bring it up. The beach at night (semi-private, only Bruce and Spike the beach bums know). Romantic Diner, (semi-private, only Ying, Yang and Felix will know as they work in the restaurant). Kody's club (semi-public, everyone but Liz the librarian knows). I'm not sure how complex it would be to design a system that keeps track of your standing with each character, or if it's even possible, but even the illusion of it would sell it well, for instance if you go on a date on the beach at night and you are courting two or more characters, when you return home you find Spike there and she threatens to expose you if you don't let her crash on your couch and eat your food for a few days. Consequently this could lead to a romantic encounter with Spike or maybe be the only way to eventually have a relationship with her. Again, I'm no programer so this may just be pie in the sky nonsense.

An easier to solve problem could also address the PoV concerns during the sex scenes. Katsu had mentioned not wanting to have to wiggle the mouse to move the scene forward (and i agree, that's super annoying and doesn't require skill anyway) and as he also points out, clicking a next scene button is not much of a game. That being said this game is all about getting to know the individuals that make up the game and making choices that you hope will advance your relationship with each of them. What if there were two buttons at the top: tender and rough with the option of also doing nothing, and depending on which you click through each section of the scene will determine whether your partner had a great time, a neutral time or a bad time. Some partners might want a passive mate, one who gives them all the control, some may need a lot of foreplay and be handled delicately only to need some stronger attention at the end, while still others may want a wild night from start to finish. This would would be similar to the Walking Dead adventure game, where you are essentially watching a movie but you are asked to make important decisions based on your play style that will alter the outcome of the game.

blowjob-minigame-concept.jpg (57.98 KiB) Viewed 2493 times

Just brain storming anyway here's another character and an edit to Linn's hands:

Maggie_Sketch.jpg (114.88 KiB) Viewed 2493 times

Linn-NewHands.jpg (79.71 KiB) Viewed 2493 times

[Wonderful Hawk]

Some partners might want a passive mate, one who gives them all the control, some may need a lot of foreplay and be handled delicately only to need some stronger attention at the end, while still others may want a wild night from start to finish.

I know my opinion probably counts for jack, my role here simply being Number One Project Stalker (Self-Proclaimed), so I don't try and force my amateurish thoughts on game design in instead of letting the actual project people do what they do, but... this makes a hell of a lot of sense to me. Different personalities are going to want different things in their sex life, after all, and figuring those tastes out sounds like a fun additional challenge. Like... okay this is super judging on appearances, but it's all I've got personally, so... at a glance, Spike there probably wouldn't be into all the touchy-feely stuff, right? That 'gentle, delicate' method is out, probably. But does she prefer a rough, wild ride, or does she like to hold all the power herself? I don't know, but that's part of the fun, finding that out. So basically I'd really like to see this concept, as it just makes sense. Implemented however, goat's suggestion or any other, but the concept is just too damn sound. Just my two cents.

[Red.Sheer]

I can assure both of you to rest easy. That's exactly what we're doing - granted, I don't know how the exact mechanic works but each character has a different kink, fantasy or iagination of a relationship, it is an integral part of their character after all. And as Wonderfull Hawk (aka. #1 Stalker) said, it is the major part of this game ^^

Goat, I love the three-digit claws on Maggy and Linn. Oh and I love Maggy, too

Regarding your idea of consequences, something similiar is planned. It is important to know that your interactions with one character on the island is not an isolated experience. Most of these characters have another character who cares greatly for one or the other and at least this one will at least talk to the other. So even if you are not seen you might be a chatter topic between friends. This can help you, but if you did screw up it might get a bit cold on paradise island (No, it's not called that but you get what I mean).

In what form exactly is not revealed, yet. But I have also planned a few "questlines" in this game which should in concept present a small, adventuregame-like experience which can greatly influence your relation with certain characters.

[KaTsuO_O]

As Red.Sheer mentioned, many of these ideas that you have mentioned here, it the kind of things that is planned. The consequences is going work like she described it, and it is going to consequences for other things than dates. However, the idea of different characters being aware of it depending on where you're located, is quite brilliant. It is pretty straight forward, it makes sense and it adds another reason for there to be a time mechanic. There could be some who you want to avoid that are at certain places at certain times, so you need to be aware of you surroundings to make sure that thing goes as planned.

When the plan was to have the sex scenes from point of view, the interaction was planned from that perspective. I just realized that things will have to work quite differently than planned. The idea was that you would have two cursors, one for moving, and one for selecting. The move cursor lets you strip of clothes, like in the flash on page 10, but would also allow you to move body parts in to positions. The select cursor would be used for different interactions, you click on the breasts to play with them, click on the thing when the thing is out to put the thing in the other's thing. And you would be able to choose how rough you would like to be with those choices. On top of that, you would be able communicate with your partner so that even if your passive, you can still change things. The partner would also be able to communicate with you as well, which would give a deeper interaction between you and your partner. Just like you described it, the different characters would like different things.

That would be possible since there wouldn't be that many different poses from different angles, you wouldn't even be able to see everything. So work could be used to add more to the scenes that was planned, rather than adding more scenes. In this case, I think the idea you have presented would work better. However, one thing that I wanted was it to feel like you are the one who is interacting, and not one that is inspecting the scene. That's obviously harder to pull off when it isn't in point of view. One thing that could help is that you would click on what you would like to interact with, and then you get to choose how you would like to interact with it. Communication can be used in situations when you want to do something different from what you currently can choose from, you may not get as you want though.

[FMC]

... I seriously love Kody. I don't know why. xD

Kody and the Yin-Yang twins so far are my favourites of the ones I seen. Maybe because I love cats, and Kody... well, I think I just like his 'DJ-ish' appearance. And I like Spike's 'Punk / Rebel' look, so there's that, too.

About the PoV, I'd really hate if you dropped it. There's not enough PoV (especially from the Female PoV) on the net, and ESPECIALLY in a game where you control the action. If it's hard to implement, then I understand, but I just wanted you to know that I was someone that would appreciate the PoV concept. Even if you change how you implement the PoV (which might be for the better -- the current control system was 'meh' to me), I'd like to see it in.

Still, seeing the artwork renewed my interest in this game, and believe me, it was a game I wanted to try out before. xD

[goat]

The more I think about it, the PoV interface would be best with maybe special scenes that pop up in a side window, sort of how Katsu envisioned memory sequences. Where you see the action from multiple angles and even internal views if your into that sort of thing (was never really my fav but I've seen it in a lot of hentia and it serves to clarify things) not that this window would always be up, but maybe near climax or some other sigificant moment a burst pops up, almost like a sound effect balloon in a comic book, that way you could work in some views of your character without going crazy with the art.

Personally I don't have a hard time feeling like I'm the main character or in control in 3rd person view, but as in the playshapes games, you're a little remote from the scene and its less intimate. I should just trust Katsu's judgement, seems like all the things on my wish list for the game he's already thought of!

Btw, I like Kody too, he seems like fun guy to hangout with

[Wonderful Hawk]

Right, small question: sexuality, how is it going to apply? Are some going to be hetero, some homo, and some bi, depending on the character? Or an everyone-is-bi free-for-all? Or what? Gender-locking characters being both a blessing and a curse, I can understand going either way, so I'd just like to know for sure.

[goat]

Not wanting to give anything away, I think it's safe to say that a full spectrum of sexualities are represented, not just bi.

[KaTsuO_O]

@FMC I don't want to make it seem like it was dropped for just some reason, so I thought I would explain a few things.

I have thought about the idea of mixing point of view and scene view, so that all those scenes that wouldn't work so well from point of view would be done in scene view instead. However, out of design stand point, it may not be a good idea, even though it sounds pretty good. The problem being that you would start wondering, why is it suddenly like I am standing by the side spectating the scene, when it previously felt more like I controlled the character when I saw everything through my own character's eyes. If there is only scene view then it wont feel like your suddenly spectating the scene, because you won't compare it to point of view. So it would be better to just go with one kind of view, and since there is scenes that wouldn't work well, or not even at all, we feel that scene view works better.

point of view would work if there was a smaller game, with a couple of scenes that was designed for point of view.

@goat I'm not that big in to internal views either, So maybe it could be for close-ups of things that you can't see clearly, or even not at all. You see the bodies moving on screen, but you can't for example see which hole it is going in to, then it could be good to have a closer look at what is going on. I'm not sure if you meant close-ups when you said different angles, or if you meant that it would just be for different angles. If it would just be different angles, then I feel that that could be a bit too much work than it is really worth. I feel that you should be able to see a close-up as much as possible, or at least an equal amount of it in every scene. Other than close-ups on things you can't see, it could also show highlights. Let me know if you feel that I didn't really understand your concept.

@Wonderful Hawk When I first thought about the game, I thought that it would be good if could choose what kind of relation you would like. It was something that I wanted to make special about this game, and I still want to go in that direction, I think we all do. The idea is that there is supposed to be characters that won't really be gender-locking, but they will just be a lot harder to get interested in you.

[Thaedael]

I had a fun idea for a character but it got rejected *Shrugs* either way glad to see they got a good artist signed on now. Will be fun to see how it goes.

[Wonderful Hawk]

Oh, another thing to say, that really shouldn't be kept silent: I am loving the variety in species we are seeing right from the get-go. What with one usually only getting the 'standard' furries in any project that seems viable - even more ambitious ones don't seem to branch out very far - it seriously makes me giddy to see the sheer amount of animal representation, even ones I never thought I'd see (crocodile!) and how at first glance, they all look like interesting characters (happy crocodile*!), the common-easies and the uncommon-hards both without really showing favoritism. That's just not something that happens. Red, you are my favorite character designer of all time.

Oh, and given what I've seen of Red, I'm sure there's a deer in there somewhere, too, right? If so, looking forward to him/her. Deer are awesome. Anyone on the avian front I can look forward to, if it's all right to ask?

*And now I've got 'Never Smile at a Crocodile' in my head. What is it with this project and sticking Disney songs in my head?

[Thaedael]

That is the song stuck in your head?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlSh_6xqUAE

[goat]

@ Thaedael: lol you suck....now I have that stuck in my head! (i guess it could be a worse song... )

@ Wonderful Hawk: Glad you're liking the characters so far, your encouragement is keeping me going, and comments are also welcome if there's something that looks weird to you

@ Katsu: That all makes a lot of sense to me, though I'm not usually bothered by mixed 3rd and 1st PoVs, maybe it's from playing so many Bethesda games... but yeah it would be weird to mix it too much. Maybe just oral scenes could be in first person, with a close up of your characters face right at the point of climax? I was really only thinking of using the close up, pop-ups very sparingly, like once during a scene. But I think you have the thing pretty well visualized so I'm going to defer to you and focus on making it look pretty.

Here's another two characters, I'm out of town this weekend at convention so I probably won't post any more art till monday, hopefully these will tide you over hopefully Marli's no too over the top!

Miles_Sketch.jpg (154.21 KiB) Viewed 2427 times

Marli-Sketch.jpg (284.69 KiB) Viewed 2427 times

[Red.Sheer]

Hehe, goat you are amazing Marili is just the right amount over the top and I absolutely love the bodyguards XD

@ Stalker #1 : I think I have a nice balance of more common types and les common types. Avians are always a bit difficult but there is one in the game. It'll be a challenge for goat to visualize the design, I'm sure, but it'll feature in there ^^ And yes, a deer will also be there. Regarding the sexuality, Katsu explained it quite well. It'll be so that the characters have their own sexuality but you are not locked out per se - you just have to work really hard for it to become that special for them. But there will also be characters featured in the game you won't date for various reasons, but that's another story *gg*

@ Thadreal: You are mistaken. Granted, it didn't help that you never told me what your idea was but I found out anyway And the character is still on the table, at least the base is. I didn't finish it yet but I'll get around it sometime.

[Thaedael]

Hehe, goat you are amazing Marili is just the right amount over the top and I absolutely love the bodyguards XD
@ Thadreal: You are mistaken. Granted, it didn't help that you never told me what your idea was but I found out anyway And the character is still on the table, at least the base is. I didn't finish it yet but I'll get around it sometime.

I kept getting a flat no without modifying the character to the point where it might as well not have been my character. That's a rejection in my book, regardless if it inspired you to do greater things by all means go for it <3

[Wonderful Hawk]

That is the song stuck in your head?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlSh_6xqUAE

Well not anymore it's not! Thanks, Thaed! (now to decide if it's or .)

[KaTsuO_O]

This is the first thing that I have found that bugs me with the art. First I thought it was Miles in general, but when I just look closer, I see that it is actually just his head and neck. I changed a few things around, not much, but enough to fix it.

It is mainly that the neck is so thin and long. Other than that, I smoothed out the cheek and back parts of the head a bit. Then I made the jaw a bit bigger, because with the size of that nose, a small muzzle like that doesn't look that good. I checked how it looks without the tooth as well, it made him look more attractive, but it is kind of this extra detail that is always good to have.

I like Marli's outfit, it is a mix of the different kind of clothing that I like.