Robot Girl is REAL, FISHING MINIGAME reached! and a NEW STRETCH GOAL?
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 07:24:51 PM

Man, I did not expect us to hit these milestones so quickly. Looks like we're gonna be busy this year lol

I've added a new stretch goal on to the chart where there was a joke stretch goal previously.

Now, if our goal reaches $60,000 we will add a Beach Episode to the game. We're anime now.

For now we're still working on the new girls' designs since we didn't really know if we were gonna get them or not, but now that we've unlocked all the characters, we're going to start on the designing and drawing process. We can't show them yet for that reason but more updates will come in the future.

This is gonna be a shorter update, but in the next one I'll talk more about the game like I mentioned in our previous update. As always, thank you all for supporting us and thank you for reading.  

Alien Girl is now Real, and a look into the game's design
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 28, 2022 at 04:37:16 PM

Thanks to you amazing supporters, the Alien/Gyaru girl is now canon in the game and it wouldn't be a stretch to say Robot Girl is following right after at this rate. Thank you all as always for helping me create my dream game!

I know some of you already check the campaign page every now and then so these update posts probably aren't news to you, so in the next few update posts I'll be talking a little bit about the origin of the game, game design and development, the community, the future, and also a little bit about myself too.

Today, I want to talk specifically about the game from a design standpoint.

There's a lot of very specific and deliberate design choices in the game. Well... actually, pretty much all of it is deliberate.

Now, I woudn't say it's perfect in terms of execution by any means, no, not at all. In fact, there's quite a lot of problems with the current state of the game (the demo version) already. Thanks to the community/testers/streamers I've been observering, and all the people who provide feedback, I've actually got a huge list of changes I'd like to make to the game already.

Some of these include common problems like:

• Bugs
• Performance Issues
• Unclear instructions for mechanics (yes its the charging one that everyone forgets about/doesn't understand)
• Poor systems implementation (like when you get an answer close enough but the game doesn't count it)
• Some writing that could have been better
• The drawing minigame (it's got a lot of problems and missing features... like an ERASER LOL)
• Unclear objectives for the player

Yes, I'm already well aware of all of those things, and they will be fixed as soon as the campaign is over and I actually have the funding to start working on the game again. The great part about making a demo is that I got all this great feedback, learned a lot, I tested what works and what doesn't, and I now know how to improve on the game's design moving forward.  But by far the best thing is that I actually got validation that -yes, there are people who would enjoy what I make. And that is everything.

Having an idea for a game and actually making it is a completely different ballpark.

Sure, I've made games before, but not with the level of ambition I had with IJWTBS. There were so many ideas I wanted to do and it was almost impossible to explain all of them to someone else. The best feedback I've really gotten for just my ideas (when I hadn't made the demo yet) was something along the lines of "Oh that's cool." I didn't really feel like anyone understood or liked the idea of the game, but I wouldn't say that's anyone's fault.

Visual Novel vs Game

When I was working on the demo, I had a couple of things I wanted to accomplish with it. I wanted to make a dating sim that actually feels like a game and not a visual novel. Yes, I know there's a huge semantic debate over whether or not a visual novel is a game- but the important part is, I wanted IJWTBS to feel like a game and not a book to read. And not just any game, I wanted to create gameplay aspects that are unique to IJWTBS.

I am a huge fan of games where the narrative and the gameplay are interconnected to the point where they are inseparable. You cannot take one part and shave off the other and still call it the same game. Games like Papers Please, Undertale, FNAF, Lisa, Inside etc.

Is my game unique?

In visual novels, way too often we see visual novels that have mechanics and gameplay elements that are more or less crammed in (what is it with visual novels and bejeweled clones?) They don't really feel interconnected or immersive, and not to mention- I just think they're really boring (it's just my opinion.) 

So I wanted to make a game that is not only immersive, but also I wanted to make a game with a element that I don't often see in games, where the game mechanic itself is talking. Sure, there's Danganronpa and Ace Attorney both not only amazing visual novels but also great at making talking a game mechanic. Although ironically enough, they don't really feel like you are actually talking to characters. The gameplay parts are more or less isolated, and often it's hard to make a game about conversation without resorting to a murder mystery narrative (idk, something about that combination just works.) 

How do you make talking  a game mechanic (without making a murder mystery narrative)?

And I know, yes, IJWTBS doesn't have a complex AI system where you can literally say whatever you want and the characters react to it, I'm not gonna try to convince you that it does- but I do want to tell you that each part of the game's systems is to reinforce this idea that you are playing the game by talking.  

The first thing that people notice is that, unlike most other games, you interact with IJWTBS primarily by typing and not picking between options on the screen. Not only does this serve as a baseline for all the other mechanics to layer on, this was also meant to serve the main goal- to make talking a gameplay mechanic. It feels incredibly different to actually type out words instead of picking from pre-determined options, especially when you're given complete freedom. When you're just clicking on dialogue options you can't change your mind while you're saying something or hesitate when deciding on what to say. You'll never get that feeling of "oh shit, what do I say" unless you're the one that is physically putting in the words into the game. It's almost like talking to someone on Discord. Have you ever had to quickly make up an excuse to get away from someone? Have you ever forgotten someone's name and felt embarassed? Those are the kinds of emotions I wanted to invoke with the typing system.

But is talking fun?

Surprisingly enough, I don't actually think so (lmao.) I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a massive introvert who reacts to social interaction the same as being asked if I want to cover myself in honey and go make friends with like, 200 bears.

Designing a game about making conversations is incredibly challenging to say the least. Talking isn't actually that fun (by itself), and it doesn't really activate your neurons quite like other game-y stuff. So I needed to gamify talking. I needed to add elements that make it interesting and enjoyable. Something that scales as the game progresses, but also fits the game's themes narratively. So I added mechanics.

Despite seeming simple on the surface, there's A LOT under the hood of the game. There's a lot of different types of mechanics that occur at different points, and they all are design specifically to teach you something, or make you feel something.

Designing a conversation

On a micro level, each mechanic is intended to simulate a certain type of conversation. Let's take the charging mechanic for example. In these sections, you don't really have a choice in deciding what to say but rather you can choose how to say it. In other words, you're deciding what tone you are using when you are saying that specific sentence. Sometimes, tone can completely change the context of what is being said depending on how it's said. Are you saying it in an assertive tone?  A soft tone? Are you being mean? Sarcastic? Genuine or kind? Tone plays a lot into what you say, even if the words are the exact same.

The other mechanics are more straight forward, the timer is obviously for stressful situations where you need to come up with something quick, and the parts where you need to remember a specific detail is just a mechanic to make sure you're actually paying attention to the game and not absent mindedly skimming through it. 

Of course in the demo version of the game, these don't have any real consequences, so you may not feel like they do anything. However, in the full game, these do serve a long lasting impact throughout the game through the Love Meter, which is present throughout the entire game. The Love Meter is what decides what path you're taking and what ending you get, so any choice you make has impact on the future. 

Character vs Player

On a macro scale, there's even more going on in terms of design choices. One thing I wanted to also do that I wanted to make it stand out from other visual novels (and maybe even games in general) is having a protagonist that is their own character and not a self-insert.

I know a lot of people really love games that where they can put themselves in the game, customize their character and whatnot but... honestly I really just think there should be more games that have MCs with an actual character and personality.

Aya is specifically designed to intertwine the game's narrative, gameplay, story and themes all together. Aya is the core of the game and nothing else would work without her. She's timid, nervous, anxious, bad with social interaction but is good natured and just wants friends. I really wanted to emphasize and almost hammer it into the head of the player in a sense, to say that they are playing as Aya, and NOT themselves.

That is why the game tricks you into putting in your own name in the beginning but doesn't accept anything except Aya as the name. This is not only to teach you how the typing mechanic works, but it's also the game's way of trying to say, you're in Aya's shoes now and you're seeing the world through her eyes. Being like "oh I can't actually say whatever I want" and being slightly disappointed is perfectly understandable and a completely normal reaction to the game, I want to make it clear that this is 100% intentional. In real life you can't actually say whatever you wan't without any regard to consequences like you're in a video game. And for a game where the main gameplay mechanic is talking, it's important to establish that you actually need to consider your answers and what context and circumstances you're in. And yes, I know what you're thinking, it's also because there's logistical reasons why we can't do that (Anime isn't real yet.)

But this is only in the beginning sections of the game, and later on you do get a lot more freedom. Now that I actually have the budget to work on the game and improve on the systems, I want to create more fun and interesting ways for the player to input creative and clever solutions to situations, and best of all, let those actions have real impacting consequences.

Well, that wraps up this update post, that sure was a long one (are they getting longer?)

I hope you gained some more understanding about the game's inner workings and design choices I've made when working on this game, and maybe it'll make more sense to you. Or maybe I've just been nerdily rambling about nonsense for an hour, who knows. Let me know what you thought of all of this in the comments! Thanks for reading :) 

WE'RE FUNDED!!! Stretch Goals Revealed!
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 24, 2022 at 11:37:05 PM

holy moly

We did it! We're fully funded! 

I know I've been saying this in literally every update post but

I really do want to give out my most sincere thanks to everyone who supports us and helped us reach this point. None of this would have been possible without you. Thank you so much.

You've helped me reach my dream, and a whole lot of other people keep getting paid to do awesome work. You're the best community I could ask for.

Well, that's all I had to say for my "we're funded" speech but I was never good at speeches so instead I'll move right on to our Stretch Goals reveals!!

So our first-

-wait what the frick?

You already unlocked two stretch goals before I could get home from work and post this update?

Bruh.

Anyway, yeah. Stretch goals:

• Cat Girls for Aya: This is just a toggle-able hat that Aya can wear throughout the whole game. Yes.
• Hardcore Mode: Only for the most hardcore gamers. Cause I know some of you are sick masochists. I've watched some of you stream this game. I'm always watching. (It's just a really difficult mode for the luls)
• CGs in the game: We'll add CGs in the game. What are CGs? They're illustrations for special scenes, which are more common in other visual novels. Will these replace the comics? Not at all, it just means we'll add more illustrations. Cool.
• Random Girl gets her own route and design: It's exactly what it sounds like and I KNOW everyone has been asking for this. Here you go, you better unlock this one.
• New Girl (alien gyaru): New Anti-Love Interest Character will be introduced in the game! (Tsungelique really wants this one)
• New Girl (robot): New Anti-Love Interest Character will be introduced in the game! (m. really wants this one)
• FISHING MINIGAME: 
• Special Friendship Date Scenes: Like regular date scenes except Aya's in them. Go out on a (a)romantic dinner date? How about watching a movie? Or how about a FISHING CAMPING TRIP 
• I will no longer be broke: No, this isn't actually a real stretch goal. I'm serious. Yes I added a fake stretch goal just to make that joke.
• Switch Port (and localizations): We'll do a Switch port and translation of the full game to CN/JP/KR (I promise I actually looked into this and researched the cost and time on how to do it and I promise it won't take us 8 years to do it.)

That wraps up our Stretch goals!

I also want to let you know that we're VERY close to finishing our Community challenge as well!

Only the fan art portion left! Get those fan arts out guys!

Alright. That's... everything I think...

Phew. That was a long update. I'm tired.

I'm gonna take a nap

Day idk and we're ALMOST THERE
about 4 years ago – Thu, Mar 24, 2022 at 03:01:12 PM

Hi there! Hope you had a nice weekend.  

I don't know what day it is, I've lost count but I was never good at counting anyway.

We're so close now! Also, I never would have imagined we would have this many backers supporting us! Thank you everyone!

Some other updates:

We've officially sold out the $250 tier for naming NPCs.

But the next best thing you can get to support us is the "A Funny Hat lol" tier! You can make a super silly design and we'll put it in the game! And don't worry about drawing skills, our artists will do that for you, you just need to design one! Imagine the possibilities! A hotdog hat. An air fryer hat. A burrito hat.

Why are all my ideas food related? Stop asking me questions

Anyway.

We've progressed quite a bit on our Community Challenge! We've met our Twitter and TikTok goals, but I'm still not seeing enough reddit posts or fan arts, if you've been making any, please tag us or let us know in our discord! That way, it'll be easier to keep track. We're very close to getting Aya her very own dog!

And remember: We STILL have more stuff to reveal, namely, the stretch goals! There's plenty of cool stuff to show but we'll only be able to show them off once we hit our base goal! Ganbatte, everyone!

Day 3 AND NEW POSTERS!
about 4 years ago – Mon, Mar 21, 2022 at 11:51:33 AM

Good evening, we're currently more than 75% towards our base goal!

Today, we're revealing our second poster which has been placeholder for a while, plus a BONUS poster!

My amazing, talented and incredible artist friend (who is also the character designer and artist for the game) has made not one, but TWO posters!

• A poster imagining the cast in a DnD-esque/Isekai setting! What would our game be called in that kind of world? Obviously it would be called "I Don't Want to defeat the Demon Queen with incredibly Cute Girls!"
• A poster with a closeup of everyone's favorite yandere, Katsumi!

Best part? If you order our two posters, you get the physical Katsumi poster for FREE! Looks like you're gonna need to make a lot of room on your wall, hehe.

And remember, we've still got our community challenge and stretch goals to be revealed so stay tuned!

Have a great weekend everybody!