- Baldr's Squid Isekai now available in Early Access! - 26 March 2024
The stealth sequel to Memoirs is released! You can find it here: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610440/Baldrs_Squid_Isekai_A_Parody/
- So, I spent months obsessively designing a RPG combat system from scratch - 17 January 2024
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 de…
- 2024 is going to be a big year! - 2 January 2024
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 i…
- Baldr's Squid Isekai crowdfunding in its final hours! - 5 December 2023
Hi everyone! My parody game's kickstarter campaign is ending! We have one more final stretch goal to meet, so if you're interested in another (funnier) game in the MoonFall setting, please check it out :D https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1619485858/baldrs-squid-isekai-a-parody
- A thought about the MoonFall series: Are my games novels? - 3 December 2023
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, im…
- Update and timeline for future projects - 27 October 2023
Steam links: Baldr's Squid Isekai: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610440/Baldrs_Squid_Isekai_A_Parody/ Vampire Syndicate: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1833570/Vampire_Syndicate_Gangs_of_MoonFall/ Memoirs of a Battle Brothel: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1177380/Memoirs_of_a_Battle_Brothel/ Transcript: Hi everyone, it’s been a while and I’ve been really busy, but I thought I would post an update on what I’m working on so far. After the unsuccessful Kickstarter for Vampire Syndicate, I’ve been helping TORii with a project that we’ve been working on for a few years now. It’s called That Which Rises, and it’s sort of a cross between a grand strategy game and a cRPG with some rogue-lite mechanics and lovecraftian horror. If you’re familiar with my previous games, you probably already have glimpses of my specific brand of unsettling eldritch beings, but this game will probabl…
- That Which Rises is going into full development! - 30 August 2023
Hi everyone! We are pleased to announce that the game is going into full development! What does this mean? Basically, we've started to build out the game with a schedule towards completion. Now, there've been a few hiccups on the way, the biggest of which is that our previous crowdfunding efforts have failed and we have returned to an older artstyle. But obstacles are something to be overcome and learned from. We are now working towards a more episodic approach to the game: releasing it in smaller bites but with all the content that we had originally envisioned for it. With a seamless save system that will be shared across episodes, we are considering imitating something quite different from the standard for games: that of a series of novels. Not only will this be easier for us to develop and save money, but it fits better with our grand, overly-ambitious plans for the Memory of Eternit…
- The new (well, old) art style - 18 July 2023
Hi everyone! We are returning to one of the old pixel styles that we were playing around with before we moved to the 3d rendered tokens. After your feedback, we decided to return to it. Here's two very early screens: A knight in an empty open-air market. A warlock inside. Let us know your thoughts!
- That Which Rises will rise again (soon!) - 14 July 2023
Hi everyone! I'm very happy to announce that TORii is resuming development on this game, although it will be going through yet another art charge (as a result of feedback that urged us to change to a different style). The new style will likely be a return to pixel art. There will also be some mechanical changes to the game. Expect more announcements soon!
- Alpha demo now available for Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall - 21 February 2023
Hi everyone! As I've said before, we're taking a break from working on this project due to low interest (and a failed kickstarter), but we are forging ahead with a very similar (also NSFW) game called Vampire Syndicate: Gangs of MoonFall. If you would like to check it out, come over to the steam page at: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1833570/Vampire_Syndicate_Gangs_of_MoonFall/ Or visit our discord server, where download links are available for the alpha demo: https://discord.gg/TcJUSPQ
- That Which Rises will... rise again later - 25 July 2022
Bad news :( The project failed to gather enough momentum or interest, so TORii's gone ahead and canceled the kickstarter as it was unlikely to meet its goals before the campaign ended. The project will also be shelved for the foreseeable future. But it's not over! TORii says she intends to return to the project later down the line, when she has better funding and more time to work on it.
- Alpha demo now available - 13 June 2022
You should be able to see a download demo button on the store page now. Already got a 1000 downloads! It's pretty rough though. I'm still busy finishing up my own game so I haven't had a lot of time to help TORii on TWR outside of marketing stuff. Let us know what you think!
- Game description - 8 June 2022
TORii made some more artwork describing the game.
- Demo coming in June for Steam Next Fest - 30 May 2022
Just a head's up that a demo will likely drop in June for the Steam Next Fest as we are preparing crowdfunding to improve the production value and visuals for the game.
- Devlog 1: Game basics - 15 April 2022
Hi everyone, Tyranicon/ManlyMouseDan here. This project is TORii's but I'm helping with updates and marketing because she is a notorious recluse. I understand the store page isn't super detailed so here's a text dump on what we want out of this project. So we're finalizing stuff for the alpha build, and we'll probably have enough for demo in a month or two. My part in this (writing and mechanics) is already mostly done, and I think there's a lot in here that appeals to old and new school RPG enjoyers. On a very basic level, it's like Battle Brothers, but different content. Settlements A lot of interactivity. Beyond the basic Trade, Recruit, Mission, etc options, you can also attempt to corrupt, raid or conquer settlements. Most major settlements will have a Leader, who can be charmed or assassinated. Settlements can be conquered and player-controlled, with some limited management option…
