Tickle Magnet #11 Dev: Scope and Inclusivity (Patreon)

There are two things I wanted to cover in this post: scope and inclusivity

Scope

I released my first tickling video game The Cyriaan Chronicles #10 December 2022.  I got some great feedback from players overall.  You can find it here and play it for free if you haven't already: https://oblesklk.itch.io/the-cyriaan-chronicles-10

I am now working on my follow up game called Tickle Magnet #11.  Its scope is more complex than my first game.  In the first game, you're kind of on rails through the story.  You're allowed to explore each zone and there are optional side quests and such, but you explore each zone, in order, then move on to the next.  There's no revisiting old zones, or going into the story out of order.  Part of that is me wanting a simpler scope so I don't overwhelm myself with coding complexities.

This game is going to to be more of an open world feel to it.  While that sounds fun, it introduces a lot of complexity into the basic structure of the game.  The good news is that I've figured most of the complexities and am now adding the content and meat of the game.  The bad news is that it's taken awhile to get to this point.

But I am exciting about the scope.  You play as a sophomore at Ravensworth University, the same school where The Ruthless grabbed students to help her build her neural mapper machine, then more students to help test it.  There are some events that take place near the beginning of the story that shape your second school year considerably.

As you go through your second year as a student in a west coast American University, you will juggle relationships, having a job, needing to work to pay your rent, studying.  All of these are subsystems that are somewhat intricate by themselves, but I'm hoping they result in a lot of cool choices for your character as you navigate your school year.

You will play the entire year.  So you go to classes, take exams, get visits from your parents, explore the town, go shopping, attend sporting events, and forge long lasting relationships.  All the fun aspects of attending a four-year university, without the $150,000 in student loans to pay afterwards.

And of course, there's tickling!  This game is developed by a tickler (hey, that's me!) and written by a trio of ticklers: myself, Sinister Lurker, and Featherscape.  I am excited about bringing in such amazing talent to make this gaming experience come alive!

There will be optional tickle battle mechanics, which will deviate from the random encounters prevalent through much of The Cyriaan Chronicles #10.

It's been a ton of work, but a little bit of fun to develop these sub-systems, and I will share more as I get more to share.

Inclusivity

For of all, Happy Pride month!  Seems quite fitting to share this update during this month!

One of the things that has been important to me with this game is building an environment of inclusivity within the gaming world.  This manifests in several key facets.  One of which is I want to make sure we feature more than just foot tickling in every scene.  We all have different tastes, and I am aiming to include more folks' interests in the community.

Another key piece to inclusivity is allowing the player more control over their gender expression and whom they can romance.  Players will start the game choosing whether their character generally expresses as male, female, or gender non-binary, with accompanying images to match.  While in game, romance options are not gender locked.  In other words, every character will be a romance option for every player, regardless of the gender they choose.

I don't want a player to feel like they have to replay the game because the female character they really like is a lesbian, thus forcing them into playing a female character which they may or may not be comfortable with.  Same goes to a gender non-conforming player being forced to play as a male or female character may be a bit of an off-putting experience I'd like to avoid.  I'd like for people to have fun playing these games.

That's kind of the main difference in the two games I'm developing.  If you've played The Cyriaan Chronicles #10, it's really Lucia's story.  You play as Lucia, and you don't have a say in the matter.  In Tickle Magnet #11, it's really your story, and I think that's an exciting vision to share with the community when it releases.