The long-awaited sequel of the popular multiplayer dating sim "Monster Prom".
Latest Updates from Our Project:
19th Update: 2 Year Anniversary; Lots of progress; A brand new Kickstarter project!
almost 4 years ago
– Wed, May 13, 2020 at 02:02:56 AM
Hi, everyone!
Let's go for it!
1. THE "THANK YOU" UPDATE
OK, that was it! The last narrative-related update for "Monster Prom", celebrating 2 years since release. What a ride so far! The update contains an item with a sincere message from some of the original team of Monster Prom. Some thank you words from Arthur, Jesse, Cory, Maggie, Elías and I (Julián).
We said it there, but I say it here again: THANK YOU.
Your support means the world to us. And it makes a lot of sense here, as you're backers who kept on supporting us, helping us make Monster Prom sequel possible. We were unsure if it was worth it, to keep creating within the same IP. And you showed us that Monster Prom is still up for a couple more fights!
After this, there won't be more updates with text-based content. It's possible future contents instead enable outfits temporarily. And there's one more special content, the one that will celebrate the release of Monster Camp. This one will include some special outfits.
Thanks!
2. MONSTER PROM IS COMING TO SWITCH!
You may have heard it by now, but this month (on the 21st) we're releasing "Monster Prom: XXL" on Switch. This version will include both the base game and Second Term. It will also include a whole new plotline, replacing one of Scott's. There's a chance that it also includes Monster Camp outfits (the one coming to PC when Monster Camp releases)... because it was strategically very hard to implement them later after release... so they will be there this month. A yikes turned into a yay, maybe?
It goes without saying that performance on Switch will greatly affect our position towards porting Monster Camp to Switch (which is planned just for PC right now, but we're open to consoles).
3. CUSTOM REWARDS & POWER UPS
OK, we got some late custom rewards forms! Apparently there's now 1 avatar left! All prom models are done. And modtool kits are ALMOST DONE. Just ONE left (if my calculations are correct).
So, again, if you're missing your custom reward (unless it's a polaroid), please ping us!
Polaroids will take some more time as they're more complex; require production (which is harder now with COVID-19); and we're super deep into Monster Camp production now (more on this later). But we've started to work on some, to get the gist of it. We have the first one and it looks soooo good. Someone playing videogames with Oz on this one.
And it looks like we're done with power-ups for Monster Camp. We promised a few... and in reality we've ended uo with 10 POWER-UPS. Yeah, it's right: 10 different monstersonas have ascended into cameos.
Hint: one of the monstersonas depicted in the image above has ASCENDED to NPC with their own model. The hype!
4. PHYSICAL REWARDS
Figurines are finally on production, after some very understandable delay due to COVID-19. They're expected to be ready by June. We're checking with The Yetee to see if the dakimakuras arrived safely there. And once COVID-19 isolation laws relax a bit here in Barcelona, we will go to our office where we have all the polaroids and start the process to send them to the US, so The Yetee can distribute them.
This is not final, but this could mean shipping to you could start on June or July. A major issue that could delay this is how shipping is working during quarantine. We've heard of it being kinda tricky and if we deem it to be too big of a risk, we might choose to wait. Risk in the sense of many of the shipments getting turned back or stuff like that. We're kinda optimistic that by next month or July, things should be calmer. But we will see.
Once all of that is solved, we will start (very slowly) the process on the cardgame.
5. MONSTER CAMP: ART
Art is progressing super nicely. It's hard to make a proper measurement of this and I will tell you why. When it comes to what we want for sure to be ready on release, I can say we're on a pretty great spot. Almost all major content is done.
All NPCs except the ones tied to plotlines are done (this is huge); all drinks but just a few are done; a lot of special art is done. In front of us the biggest challenges are:
Finishing those last NPCs
Secret endings
We need smol assets for the new minigame to determine your stats
We need smol assets for the new minigame to determine the RO you're pursuing
The epilogue image
All this should be fairly doable during the next 2 months. But there's this special thing we want to do that I don't know how much it could take and if we can speed it up by bringing guest artists. More on this in the future (maybe).
So, as we're looking at a potential early access at first, I can say that at least for that goal we're 100% doing great. Look, I think we're doing great in general, but I'm not 100% sure and I don't want to jinx it.
Soon we will start teasing content so you will be capable of seeing all the art we're doing for this one. I'm so excited to share it. Viper, Doktor, Franco and Tsing are doing MARVELOUS work here and I think fans will LOVE it.
6. MONSTER CAMP: WRITING
Writing is going good too, on schedule. Last week we finished the 2nd batch, which means 2/3 of the events are done. We expect that by the end of this month, only the plotlines will be left.
Ofc, remember that other than that, we will still need time to review and edit + all the OTHER TEXTS (which are a lot).
We've started to very roughly sketch plotline ideas (some we had from months ago) and it's looking very interesting. Again, I don't want to jinx it till we have at least the prompts written... but I'm starting to get super excited about this. If we can also progress art adequately and put some art time on special things for plotlines, I think we can pull off some really nice things here.
7. MONSTER CAMP: GAME DESIGN
Game design is pretty much sorted out. Now ofc it all comes to finish some stuff on both art, writing and programming so we can get something playable and check if the new additions to the game actually work.
We're also asking ourselves now how to push some boundaries on what to expect from Monster Camp through plotlines and special drinks, as we've done some times in Monster Prom and specially on Second Term. Very neat ideas, but again: too early to say anything.
8. MONSTER CAMP: PROGRAMMING
Our partners, Titutitech have delivered a version of the new engine so we can start programming for Monster Camp. Still soon to say, but these days we will be planning and deciding what can be done when, shaping the option of an early access and what could be delivered by then. The biggest beast to defeat is probably online, and we're pondering if it could be worth to do an early access without an online feature (since lots of people screenshare or even use the official Steam tool to remote play).
Looking into that! This month will be revealing on that regard.
9. MONSTER CAMP: OTHER STUFF
So...
Music: we will probably use all the new songs we did for the recent Monster Prom udpate. We're probably creating some new tracks. We're also experimenting with some new things here. Nothing sure and too early to share.
SFX: honestly, nothing here yet.
VA: now that all NPCs (but the plotline ones) are done, we've started the VA lines document. As soon as we have it done, we will send it to Adam to start casting for VAs.
Communications: we've started plans for comms on Monster Camp. Sketched ideas for some videos; started a database for artists we might contact for commissions; developed a rough social media plan. So nervous about this. So much work being poured on Monster Camp... we hope it works.
Updates/DLCs: we've started a very rough plan for how these should work on Monster Camp. We probably won't do narrative-heavy updates anymore, as they take A LOT of time from working on sequels. Still doing updates, but looking for ways of making them meaningful without affecting too much the actual development of new titles.
10. NEW KICKSTARTER PROJECT!
We just launched a new Kickstarter campaign for our side-project: the INDIE G ZINE - VOLUME 3.
It's a collaborative project where talented artists portray awesome indie games, paired with reviews & even some interviews.
All support is welcomed!
Ofc we're all in with Monster Camp (as we've shown you through this update). But this project has been always be our passion, even before Monster Prom. So part of the team is dedicating hours on progressing this on the side. We love indie games and we want to properly celebrate them.
Fun Fact: we met Arthur (the original Monster Prom artist) through the INDIE G ZINE - VOLUME 1! He submitted to be part of it and the rest is history! (:
18th Update: St. Valentine's; Main fronts for Monster Camp; Status on Rewards.
about 4 years ago
– Thu, Mar 12, 2020 at 09:28:21 PM
Hi, everyone!
Let’s go with some news, yeah?
1. "YOU DO YOU" UPDATE
So we did our last seasonal update with narrative content!
What a special one, huh?
We started this game with a loud message of acceptance: “Monsters love monsters”. We wanted to finish with another similar one: “You do you, and that’s great”.
We explored other ways of understanding relationships: being ace/aro (with the Kale plotline) and open/poly relationships (with the Prince plotline).
There may be one or two more updates; but significantly smaller, and surely without new plotlines.
2.WHAT’S GOING ON WITH MONSTER PROM
Before going into “Monster Camp”, we wanted to tell you we’re still working on a couple things on Monster Prom. We localized the last update into Chinese and we’re doing our best to bring the game to console/s. NO PROMISES! But know we’re trying to make it possible.
3.CUSTOM REWARDS Now all avatars and prom models are done! If you don’t have yours, please tell us. We’re close to getting ALL modtool kits done. Wowie!
Polaroids will take some more time. Be patient, please!
POWER-UPs!
So… it’s official: 7 monstersonas created by fans are evolving into official Monster Camp cameos. We need to prepare some agreements to make it 100% official, but it looks like it’s going to happen! We also have our eyes on 3 more to do a short appearance in an event.
CO-CREATION
We have 6 backers who paid to collaborate with us into creating NPCs. This can be for all 5 titles (within 3 games) we’re working on: Camp, Retreat, Roadtrip, Isekai, and REVERSE. We can say that 1 has already been created. It’ll be a recurring NPC with a special twist: Counselor Flodge.
PHYSICAL REWARDS
Polaroids are kind of ready. Dakimakuras are close to be 100% (totally done, now being sent to us). Figurines are taking longer than expected.
The physical rewards will take more than expected. I hope you can understand. Distribution of physical goods is harder than ever and some of our manufacturers are located in China, so with the COVID-19 happening, it is safe to assume all processes will go way slower and entail more financial risks. We will wait a bit to see if the thing gets better soon. The figurines are meant to be ready around May, so we can check again then.
MONSTER CAMP: ART
Art is progressing good so far. We have a nice amount of NPCs coming to Camp. As said, our goal (not 100% sure) is to surpass the 40 characters (including PCs and ROs), even if it’s through short funny cameos. We want to create a colorful world full of vivid chars for you to fall in love. Monster Prom + Second Term had around 35 characters together.
We’ve also done some really INTERESTING outfits.
On the next months we want to work on the prologue/epilogue IMGs (these are a few, but complex as they were on Monster Prom).
We’re starting to work now on the rejection endings and success endings. Wondering what to do with the success endings… we wanted to do either PC + RO looking at the stars (basically something very similar to Amira x Scott polaroid) OR PC + RO facing to “the camera” while looking at the sky, laying in the grass. Something relatively similar to the poster of “Under the same star”, but with the chars looking at the “camera/sky”.
Any thoughts?
MONSTER CAMP: WRITING
Writing is progressing swiftly! We’re VERY close to having half of the game events written. We’re finishing the last NORMAL events while working on the CAMPFIRE events (basically CAFETERIA ones, but for Camp). When that’s done in a month or so, the only ones left will probably be the Big Plotline events. We don’t want to jinx it, but we’re on a very good track. The idea is to finish the 2nd big batch of event (out of 3) by the end of April.
Could that meant to have 100% of events by around the end of June or July? MAYBE.
Let’s not forget after that we still need to review and edit events. This is being done while we write, but we will need through some more stages of that, just to be sure. Another task on this front will be to write all the OTHER TEXTS. These are many: item flavor texts, prologue, epilogue, the MANY endings of the game (not only secret, but also each RO’s different failiure and success endings), standard events, etc.
This is not FOR SURE; but we might create early versions (either the promised beta or an even earlier alpha) to provide to some of you (ofc if it’s a beta, that’d be for everyone who paid for it; while if an alpha, it’d be for a select group of backers from high tiers) alongside polls, so you can not only play but also provide us with feedback. Here’s the thing: we’re being quite playful and weird with Monster Camp. We’re valuing A LOT events/prompts that come as unique or different to what we usually do. Really want to check what people think of some of our most weird ideas yet.
MONSTER CAMP: GAME DESIGN
OK, after some meetings we’ve sorted out the flow at the start of the game and at the end of the game. The end will be pretty much the same, but we had to sort out the narrative to it. The idea here is basic but iconic: to have a summer love. We discussed balls and stuff like that, but in the end that is not as globally recognized as the notion of having a summer love, right?
We will go with a pretty similar epilogue to Monster Prom. It will either be a camp pic (basically the same as the class pic at the end of MonProm) OR a selfie with some of the main chars.
For the prologue we need to fit a series of things, including the very first presentation of the setup (probably a poster of the camp); a second presentation of setup (an image of the bus going to the camp); the selection of playable characters, including name and pronouns (either them looking at the poster or them sitting on the front rows of the bus); the distribution of stats (this time probably through a faster more visual “minigame” revolving items); the presentation of the ROs (an IMG of them sitting in the last row of seats of the bus OR a selfie of them); and the selection of the RO each player will be pursuing (this time will be probably through a minigame involving the chars’ social media).
We have decided to remove the LOVECHOICE events. These events were a bit different than the rest and their purpose was to communicate to the game which RO you wanted to pursue. Ofc, a part of the old pop quiz served that purpose. But then there was 2-3 events for you to make it clearer. These came with many issues. The first is an issue of replayability: these events required all RO combinations and they ALWAYS happened on the first turns. This meant they got “exhausted” waaay sooner. A casual player might have not noted it; but these events were among the first to repeat if you played enough. Another issue came with clarity: these events were apparently the same as the rest, and yet they were different, since the options weren’t just tied to stats for you to succeed, but also to the 2 ROs in the event, for you to choose who you liked. It was strange for some events to suddenly work slightly differently: enough differently to confuse players, but not enough differently for this difference to be apparent. The other issue was purely of game design: options were both tied to ROs and stats. So if the option with your stronger stat was tied to the RO you didn’t like to pursue, you were forced to either fail on purpose or choose a RO you weren’t interested in. It was poor design. So we’re getting rid of it. What we’re doing is powering up the version of the pop quiz, so you definitely choose the RO you will pursue there. We had 2 concerns about this: people ending with a RO they were not interested in + the whole thing being not enough narrative and too “game-ish”. The solution we’ve found is a different mini-game that we hope to be enough clear on its intention while also being embedded in a narrative fantasy that makes sense: concocting the perfect social media post to draw the attention of the right love interest.
This also serves another purpose: it is intended to be its own thing, and quite different from the rest of the game… but at the same time the amount of text will be smaller, so we hope players will be capable of going through it faster, so they can start with the actual game.
We’re a bit nervous: on paper the new flow at the beginning is packed with more stuff (specially because stat distribution and RO selection is now 2 things instead of just the pop quiz)... but we have the feeling this way it will be swifter and lighter for players. We will see!
MONSTER PROM: ON PROGRAMMING
OK, this is the thing I know the least about. We are outsourcing a team of skilled programmers (Titutitech) to prepare a new shiny engine to work for all our upcoming narrative games. Monster Prom was a beautiful work done by one person, and it worked. But it had its fair share of issues. Not complaining here: Monster Prom started as a “garage project” with almost no money. We never aimed to create something so complex or clean. But now we want to do better! So now our programmer is collaborating with these people to get this working soon. The new engine should let us not only make new games faster (on the programming side), but also do better stuff that has been rather wonky on Monster Prom, such as the online or porting to consoles. No promises… but we will see.
These people are the same who did the modtool for MonProm. They’ve always been professional, hard-working, and efficient. So, fingers crossed!
Around May the engine will be supposedly ready for us to start working on Monster Camp directly. If everything goes as planned, the process afterwards should be fast. But ofc, not always things go as planned, so keep tuned.
MONSTER PROM: THE OTHER STUFF
Quite soon we will need to start working on “the other stuff”. Music; SFX; publishing; communication; marketing; some extra outsourced stuff; Voice acting; etc. Due to many things most of these tasks cannot happen before we have enough of the main production done (example: we need the art of most new NPCs to start doing the voice acting).
No news on that, but we might have some in the future!
SPOOKY NEWS
By now you probably know me: I’m all for transparency. We’re on a good track here; BUT we have a backup plan in case something goes wrong or takes more than expected. Because the reality here is that we’re quite tight on time for October. Narrative and art is going good, but you never know when you may hit a creative block or some of the writers/artists may have suddenly very limited availability; or other stuff. Programming is the big wild card, tho. I’m nervous to see how everything goes during mid-May. Of course it is not something that will be clear the very first day we try the engine, so we might not know nothing for sure till June. We’re already taking stabs at the engine. As an example, Paco -our creative assistant- is in constant contact with the outsourced programmers so the new engine matches the needs of the writers, and so the writers know how to use it as soon as it is 100% ready.
Also: what about consoles? This is not for sure, but we’re aiming for a console release for MonProm soon (not necessarily multiplatform, but just in one). Depending on numbers we might want to wait to do a multi-platform release. This is unlikely, tho. My train of thought here is: if numbers are low, so why waiting? And if numbers are high on a release 2 years after the PC release… then what’s the point of thwarting the PC release here for consoles. BUT I want to be honest and say we’re looking into those numbers.
And I know, I know: “but you promised…”. Welp, yes. You can be sure we care A LOT for our fandom and community of backers. Be sure of this. But we also care for planning in a way that affects the company positively, because that’s the way we can afford to make more and better games in the future.
I say all this to give you the full picture: keeping our promises is a very high priority criteria when making choices; but not the whole thing. We also hope our fandom/community sees this and can be patient/understanding if it means a long-term huger victory.
You always need to do backup plans. Monster Prom itself was released 11 months after the date we said on Kickstarter. Here I’m feeling positive we will manage to have it by the month we promised. And I really don’t want to fail because if you cannot manage an October release, next good spot is already January.
So what’s our backup plan here?
If we get to summer and things are looking difficult on one or some of the different fronts, we will see how viable it is to pivot to early access. So we will still do our best to have something deliverable for Fall anyway, maybe a bit earlier even (September). This could leave some stuff out on release, but it would be implemented in the following months, probably around 3-6.
My main concerns go to some bits of narrative (some plotlines missing at first and being implemented later) and programming. I don’t know exactly how it works, but some stuff seem to be harder to guarantee. Online is always my biggest worry, since it was never fully fixed on MonProm.
This is not that strange. If you remember MonProm on its release, it didn’t have some stuff that now is an important part of it. Online was fixed to some extent; the gallery was added; some content was fixed and added; some key art like the maps was changed.
If we do this, we would look for a formula (not sure if possible, but it should be) to give some advantages to the people who backed for the beta. This would be the versions being released 1-2 weeks first for the beta-testers. This ofc would also help us to test the new implementations before going big with them.
Other Stuff
Aaaand that’s all.
I want to touch base to tell you that during Spring we’re most likely releasing a new Kickstarter campaign for the side-project with which we started even before Monster Prom: the INDIE G ZINE. This is a dear project to me. Do not worry, the people working on it do not overlap with people working on Monster Prom. Our amazing Sonia (who does many tasks, such as graphic design and covering stuff on the physical side of goodies) is doing the heavy lifting here.
I know some people will feel itchy at supporting us on a new KS when the current one is not 100% fulfilled; but I must go and say it’d be awesome to have your faith and support again. It will be a KS campaign for the VOLUME III.
Also, a friend of us, Jason, is running a Kickstarter for a Kaiju Dating Sim: Kaichu. Go check it! (:
Thanks for your time again!
Best regards,
J. Quijano
17th Update: Winter, Status & Merch
over 4 years ago
– Mon, Dec 30, 2019 at 12:37:53 AM
Hi, our dear backers!
Let's check what has been happening lately on the Monster Prom sphere!
1. ICE QUEEN UPDATE
We, of course, released a Winter Update!
This included winter outfits for Zoe, Cal, Dahlia and Dmitri. It also turned the modtool officially public! So now everyone can go into making their own wacky mods. Have fun!
And I did a thing that was very special to me, by writing a plotline for Vera, released on her (and my) birthday. It was quite a treat for me. This plotline it's a pure exercise of indulgence as I mixed absurdity, wholesomeness, some sadness, and lots of lore. A deeper exploration on why Vera is Vera, serving both as a deep trip into lore not only of her, but also of other characters; and also on some of the things the characters draws from myself. It also delved into the way we build our relationship with these fictional monsters... and the risks of it. On a more superficial level, it is about not putting these chars on a pedestal or going too intense about them. On many fandoms, some of the toxicity comes from fans who build a very intense relationship with what they know about the chars, forgetting they do not know everyhting about them. And then, when a piece of canon defies their personal vision of the character, they can become quite upset about it. Monster Prom is special, as it keeps lots of lore concealed. I've seen people going angry at lore bits being revealed, feeling their faves were somehow "betrayed". This sometimes makes me low-key nervous about REVERSE, since it will come with the biggest leap of this type, bringing Vicky, Brian, Amira and Oz into the spotlight. Of course you're entitled to disagree on the direction we take for them... but please remember that at the end of the day all of them are just fictional characters. No reason for it to be a big deal.
The deeper level is on how we should remember the differences between our inclinations for a fictional character and a real person. The plotline pretends to make people see that the way we fantasize with fictional characters (albeit it can be totally valid and OK) should not translate into the way we feel about a real life crush. We sometimes put our fictional crushes in a pedestal. We like the tropes and aesthetics they represent. This is OK; but we should always remember never to do this with real people. The moment we put someone on a pedestal, we're basically objectifying them. On the era of the internet, one of my biggest issues with society is our tendency to dehumanize people. People becomes villains, heroes, fools, allies... whatever fits a simple narrative we build to understand the world. We make a whole judgement on someone based on a few tweets or on a YT video. We very easily forget we all are people. And sometimes I worry if making a dating sim can indirectly fuel all this, since fictional characters need by definition to be simplified to fit a narrative, specially for us due to our semi-procedural structure (that requires events to lack depth since they can appear on the 1st run a player plays, or on the 100th). So I wanted to be responsible a build a plotline that reflects on all this and offers a wholesome interesting lore-heavy story while conveying a message about this topic.
Woah! What a wordy thing about something that's not even the sequel. Yikes!
2. CUSTOM REWARDS & POWER UPS!
We've gone A LONG WAY with these. All Avatars are done now, including the Backerkit ones. Finishing on the Prom Monstersona Models!
We've even done some Modtool Kits!
Now this will start going slower, since Modtool Kits (and eventually Custom Polaroids) take way more time to be done than Avatars and Prom Models. Please, be patient!
We've also started polls to know the popularity of some of our fav monstersonas. The votes are an indication for us to make the final choices, tho. These months we have come up with some cool ideas on how to implement monstersonas in different ways. From events in which a monstersona might do a silly cameo. Example: we have this event in which the Prank Masterz convince Aaravi she has become invisible. She might or might not end up turning really invisible (not a hint, we really aren't sure how to go from there). Thing is the conflict is perks of being invisible. And one is FINALLY KNOWING WHAT /insert randon name/ THINKS ABOUT YOU! So the joke is mainly the fact you have never heard about this random person, who seems to be so cool and important that everyone would die to know what they think about them. There's a great opportunity to -instead of creating a truly random monster- implement a monstersona there.
And the good news is we're thinking on how to get to a decent number of cameos already for Monster Camp, just in case. That means there still will be more opportunities in all the other games! Exciting!
3. CO-CREATION
On a similar vein, we've started talking with the few super high-level backers that are helping us to create new NPCs. This is an exciting yet slow process. Also, we need to reflect on what game is best for the ideas we've heard. At least one of the 6-8 NPC ideas has been an instant good fit for Monster Camp and we're already working on a series of 6 events for this new NPC. Let's see where it goes!
4. NPCs & Outfits
For once, we finished the 3 basic outfits of all 6 ROs. They look great!
We've now moved into creating the new NPCs. Our plan for Monster Camp is for it to have A TON of NPCs, even if someo of them appear just once as a one-time joke. This of course, include a good bunch of monstersona cameos. Then we have the NPCs that appear on a small set of events. Think of the Prince or the Coven on Monster Prom. Of course we have repeating NPCs (Dmitri and Coach). Then, we have come with... 6-7 other NPCs, each one with a set of 6 events each, 1 per RO. Think on how the Prince had 6 events in which he tried to marry each one of the ROs. On the PAX demo you saw Magic Tree Mike, the horrible sentient tree who tries to scam everyone who happens to walk near him.
We recently finished the art of another NPC. It took WEEKS. You will understand why, once you meet him. Let's say we went an extra mile with his expressions. We feel some people will love him quite a bit. Then, we have sketches for the next 2. We hope to finish them by mid-January. Then we will do our best to do at least 2 more by the end of the month.
In general, we want to make a bunch of special absurd stuff for Monster Camp. The main goal is to create memorable WTF moments that give you the feeling any run can turn into an unexpected surprise, regardless you get a secret ending or not. Of course, first thing is actually making the game, so we've created a list of whacky ideas that we might tackle getting closer to the end of development. Let's see...
5. EXCLUSIVE DISCORD CHANNELS AT THEIR BEST!
We've also run already a good amount of "challenges" in which backers share their own ideas for different kinds of content. Some of you helped us to come up with a great design for Joy's swimsuit, for instance.
We also read great event ideas and we already have used them as the baseline for 2-5 events. Of course, we always end up making changes for it to suit the game and our style. But it ends up actually shaping some good content!
We did a challenge for NPC ideas. We can say that at least one is already becoming an official NPC. We have saved other 3-5 ideas we liked a lot. Not sure if they are making into the game (or into another game). But some are so deliciously ridiculous that we want to entertain them further!
And most recently, we did a challenge for special plotlines. Very interesting. There were 2 plotline ideas that were already super close to some ideas proposed, so we're super happy to see we're taking a direction you seem to like. Also, there's 2-4 extra plotline ideas that we're seriously entertaining to include in the game. And this was just for the RO-related plotlines. There will be more! Of course, this is not final, but we're aiming at around 25 plotlines for Monster Camp.
6. PHYSICAL REWARDS
OK, let's go into specifics with this.
Polaroids are all designed and being printed as we speak. They are scheduled to be ready around January 15th or so. Then we will need to hire 2-3 people to help us organizing them into packs, most likely. It will take some days. Then we send them to the distributor and they should take care. From now on, keep in mind this doesn't mean they will be distributed THEN. We will probably wait till we have 2-3 different physical rewards BEFORE sending any of them. So keep in mind delivery date will be around the time the slowest item is ready.
Dakimakuras are ready to start being produced. We finally got into an agreement with a very promising manufacturer and then we should start. This should take around 30 days or so.
With figurines is when it gets slower. We are going with a specific manufacturer that sent us quite the nice prototypes. There are some small issues here and there, but they have promised to fix them for the final production. We need to pay now (the invoices for the dakimakuras and these arrived close before holidays), and then we should expect for the figurines to be ready on around April.
So based on that... April seems to be the real moment in which we would start distribution. Of course, it's too soon to say, so take this with a grain of salt. If distribution starts by then, you probably should expect your physical rewards to be with you around May.
DON'T WORRY, we haven't started locking addresses, so you can move freely without worries. You will be asked your address for delivery further in the line.
The cardgame is the thing that will take the most time. We will start looking into it ONCE the other stuff is wrapped better. We expect to start looking into it on Q1 2020; designing content on Q2 2020; doing the art and graphic design of it on Q3 2020; and going into production by the end of 2020. So keep tuned! Again, this is so soon yet, that these dates are heavily speculative.
7. GAME DESIGN
Of course, Monster Camp is mainly the same than Monster Prom. There are some key differences, tho.
We have started writing the "gossip" events that will add a nice multiplayer flavor to the game.
Next would be the "story" events. These are very similar to the "gossip" ones, but for single player mode.
At some point soon we will start taking final steps into implementing the "Speakeasy" mechanic. We had a team of programmers doing the main thing some months ago. We will go back to it in the near future to check it is implemented correctly. This is slightly ambitious and we need to be sure it properly works. Because of this, its inclusion into thegame it's not 100% final.
On the "Speakeasy" mechanic, we made some choices that change how it works, and how the secret plotlines it activates go onto the game
We started early discussion on the first stages of the game. This would be the Monster Camp version of the "Pop Quiz" stage on Monster Prom. We've discussed some very interesting ideas for this. It's all about finding a suggestive fantasy that fits the Camp theme, while also ensuing a somewhat entertaining mechanic that doesn't go on for long (since these stages are not meant to be super fun, but to swiftly help the game determine your stats and your RO inclination). There is a stupid design change that makes this very important tho. On Monster Prom, Cafeteria Stage was the 2nd, 5th, and 8th turns on a run. Here the Campfire Stage (its parallel stage) is the 3rd and 6th turns. The first Cafeteria Stage played an important role into determining the RO you were pursuing. Here, because of the change from 2nd to 3rd turn, this won't be possible anymore. It actually might make us reduce the LOVECHOICE turns (the turns in which the game is determining which RO you are pursuing through LOVECHOICE events, in which the option you choose telegraphs your preference) into just the 1st turn in the game. This means whatever this first stage of the game becomes (the one replacing the Pop Quiz), needs to determine more heavily and clearly which RO are you into. Also, the LOVECHOICE event needs to work in a way that also telegraphs more clearly you're (in that event) choosing which RO are you pursuing. We don't like mechanics that are too transparent, as they break the immersion into the narrative. So we're discussing how to tackle this issue while keeping it very narrative-heavy.
On the other hand, we have some very cool playful ideas on the early stage that will determine your stats. Let's see what we end up doing!
8. WRITING
As expected, we're already at around one third of the events written. We hope we can get into two thirds by March or April! Keep in mind the further we get, the slower it gets, since coming up with new ideas becomes harder and harder!
But so far it's going good!
9. WHAT'S NEXT?
So right now these are our goals for Q1 2020 or the start of Q2 2020 (most of them commented before, but no harm on a summary):
Writing the 2nd third of events (120 to 240).
Writers are also being tested on writing their own event prompts (right now I take care of that, sometimes with the help of Paco and/or Cory). The set of skills for doing this is slightly different than the one needed to write the events.
Determining the most basic outline for ALMOST all the events in the game.
Refining a new engine that will serve as the skeleton for this game and the ones to come. It will also let us explore the option of doing consoles way faster than for Monster Prom.
Defining completely the game's flow and the different stages. Defining their needs in terms of art, writing and programming.
Making the art for almost all NPCs.
Making the art for almost all Drinks.
Starting the art for Secret Endings.
Taking care of most custom Modtool Kits.
10. A SMOL GIFT!
Almost forgot: we also prepared a winter surprise for all of you. We made a sticker set for messaging apps. We collaborated with the rad artist Tom Eccles in order to create very charming and cute stickers depicting some of your favorite monsters. We hope you like them!
We thought it was a little wonderful thing to gift to you, our fans. It's for free.
For now, you can find them on Telegram. You can find them on Giphy. You can find them on our Discord server, if you are a Nitro user. You can use them on Instagram, by searching the proper terms (such as "Monster Prom", "mpstickers" or "MonProm").
We're working on more, such as Facebook or Line. But these processes can take long or even being completely inviable for us. But we're doing our best!
We love working on Monster Prom. Let's be real: one day we will move into a new IP. At first, working on both. But I guess some day Monster Prom (as an IP) won't work anymore. We hope this day takes long to come. And to accomplish that, we're trying to expand the universe as much as we can. And a way of doing so is with little projects like this.
We have a list of wacky ideas to keep doing so: a dress-up game, a tabletop game, a comic, a roleplaying game. We might end up doing one of these, if we find the right partners. If so, we would probably end up doing them either through a collaboration with external resources, or through a Kickstarter campaign, as we need to keep our main funds going into the videogames. Let's see where this goes!
...
And... that's all!
We hope you found this interesting and informative. And as always: picture us forever grateful for your constant support.
We wish 2020 to be a year full of happiness and success! Cheers!
Sincerely.
Beautiful Glitch.
16th Update: locking Backerkit, modtool access... and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Oct 30, 2019 at 03:09:43 AM
Hey, everyone!
Let's check what's new.
First, we released a new Halloween update for Monster Prom. Go check it!
This update has something very important: the open beta of the modtool for everyone who owns the DLC. Because of this, we're closing the opportunity for you to claim access to the closed beta of the modtool if you didn't do this before. In theory this should not be much of an issue. Chances are you already claimed access. And even if not, now everyone with the DLC (Second Term) will be able of accessing it. But in case you don't own "Second Term" and you neither claimed access to the closed beta... LAST WEEK. Do it before this Sunday, please. And thanks!
Also, another important piece of news: orders are being locked by the end of October on Backerkit. Please, be sure you have everything you want. Probably, we will keep the Backerkit store open some more time after this; but this is your opportunity to make any change you want before we get your money and start taking care of the orders.
This is specially important for the physical rewards, since once we lock the orders we will go all in into ordering the polaroids, figurines and dakimakuras. Of course, once we lock orders, there is still a way to go. First cards will be charged. Some will fail probably, so I guess there will be a period of grace to fix that. After that, we know the numbers and we can finish negotiations with manufacturers and distributors. With figurines, we're now waiting for the prototypes!
We then go into manufacturing. This can take from weeks to months depending on the product and quantity. Then, we send them to our distributors and they take care of making all of that to get to you. Probably, we will try to group shipments if possible.
We will keep you informed! (:
Also, once we lock orders and charge cards, we will start the production of new custom rewards ordered through Backerkit!
And what about the custom rewards? Not counting the Backerkit ones here. All the avatars are done. We're just one prom monstersona from having all of 'em done. There are still 5-6 yet to be sent.
We've started the modtool kits! 5-7 have been delivered already.
Once we get the Backerkit ones, we will go back to them in order to have ALL avatars and prom monstersonas done. This way we can start a poll for the monstersona upgrades. There are tons of awesome designs we could totally put into the game.
And what about Monster Camp? We're experimenting with some weird ideas for events. Let's see where that goes. As for now, there are 50 events written.
Our current goal is to get 90 to 120 total written by early December. This would mean between a fourth and a third of the final game written (as it'll be something around 360 events, same as Monster Prom when released).
The artists are focused on the custom rewards and other secret projects; but once done with this stage (which should happen around this week or next), they will finish some more outfits (we're still missing specific ones, like Joy's swimsuit or Calculester regular summer outfit) and even some new NPCs.
We also want to re-visit Dahlia's model to make some minor changes.
On the programming side, we're studying to build a "skeleton" for this type of games. This means working again from zero with all the knowledge gathered on "Monster Prom", so "Monster Camp"'s barebones are more usable and versatile. We're outsourcing the same company that worked on the modtool. If this works properly, it should make easier to address some issues we never completely solved on "Monster Prom" (a better more functional online!), and to build more games like this in less time. It also should help easing stuff like porting to different platforms. Again: still studying it with this company. Let's see how it goes!
Once we finish with this bulk of events, outfits and minor NPCs... we will go back to listen to the backers. This time we will focus on their ideas for minor NPCs and Secret Plotlines.
Ah, this month we went through backers' proposals for events. We worked through them and great ideas have been written based on some of the proposals! Yaaaay!
A lot going on at the same time, huh?
Next update should be around the winter holidays. We hope by then we have something more cohesive. This is... "the chaotic stage". When we finish it, we will be at a point in which we will have a playable build with a good chunk of the game. Starting from there, we should be able of just updating the build with more and more content. So... if we can get there by early December. Then maybe we can have around 75% of the game by Q1 2020. Not for sure, ofc!
And then we go into working on a myriad of details. Anyone will tell you: the last 10% of a videogame project is the longest 10% ever. Once we get there, we will start looking more intensely on the business-ish stuff. Are we going with a publisher or trying to auto-publish? Are we going for a multi-platform release or is that too ambitious when the 1st game isn't in consoles yet (working on that!)? Just English or maybe other languages' NOT WORRYING ON THAT NOW, HEHE.
The remaining of 2019 is to go through "the chaotic stage" while focusing on the physical rewards (minus cardgame) and on the 1st half of the custom rewards.
Aaaaaaand that's all!
Thanks for your patience and support.
Sincerely,
the Beautiful Glitch team!
15th Update: let's wishlist Monster Camp! [very important]
over 4 years ago
– Wed, Sep 25, 2019 at 03:40:13 AM
Hello, our dear backers!
Just another month... and yet we have tons of news again.
Let's go through all of 'em, yeah?
But before that: it's super important if you could wishlist "Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp". Even if you're gettting the game through a key for being a backer, it still would help us a lot. Having lots of wishlists is like a very good thing. So please go wishlist the game, please!
First and foremost: we went to PAX West. It was again a great experience. We met tons of fans, showcased the game, and even participated in some panels!
It was all successful and fun!
The BIG SURPRISE was that we not only brought a demo of "Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp"; but we also brought a demo of "Monster Prom: REVERSE". People seemed to love both! We believe the narrative of REVERSE was a bit rougher (nothing terrible, it was good and all, but it could use some more polishing... but that's normal, since we rushed that one!)
But people reacted greatly to both. Anyone here was on PAX West and would want to share their thoughts? :d
The Camp demo revealed the final Love Interest roster (names are not 100% final yet):
Damien LaVey
Dahlia Aquino
Calculester Hewlett-Packard
Joy Johnson-Junpei
Aaravi Mishra & Hex
Milo Belladonna
We're studying the option of changing one or two of these names; but so far, we're going with them. What do you think?
A bit before PAX we revealed teasers for both "Monster Camp" and "Monster Prom: REVERSE". This included the reveal of both Milo and Hex, the two completely new additions to the franchise. What do you think of them?
So, it will take some time till we fully work on REVERSE; but we really wanted to treat you with some content. We loved doing the trailer, as it has a very different feel to it, compared to what we're used to do, right? Now you can play as Zoe, Damien, Calculester and Dahlia. What do you think about it?
The teaser does not reveal that much; but if you played the demo, you could see some sweet new art. Of course, first that comes to mind is the models of Vicky, Brian, Amira and Oz. That for sure... but it also means 20 brand new illustrations for the new 4 playable chars in the 6 locations (minus library). Anyone who came to PAX willing to share their favorite ones?
I love Zoe in the gym and Damien in the outdoors; but I also think Dahlia in the auditorium and outdoors are both bound to be fan favorites!
Also, of course, both demos included together around 30 new events. We heard some strong laughs, so that's a good start!
Now these months are being awesome and productive. Both Doktor (artist) and Cory (lead writer) are visiting Barcelona and staying for 3 months each, working here while they visit one of the most wonderful cities in the world. And Quinn (writer) will be visiting us rather often since they move to Italy to teach English!
On the narrative side of this, we're focusing now on Camp by creating prompts and writing them. And oh boy, these events are wild!
On the art side, we're making many different things; but also focusing a lot on the Kickstarter rewards, which is our next point!
First: custom avatars are all done! Of course this does not include the ones for which we haven't received the forms (I think there are 5-8 of those), nor the Backerkit ones. Yay!
We have done around 15 prom monstersonas and the first 4 modtool kits. Prom monstersonas will keep being done in small batches when Viper has some free time from the game-focused tasks.
Doktor is focusing more on modtool kits; but these ones take some time.
Polaroids will come last, as they're the hardest of the custom rewards.
Ah, also soon we will start some polls on the Exclusive Discord Channels for backers to choose their favorite designs from a shortlist we're making on the monstersonas. This is for the promised upgrade, since some of your monstersonas will be included in the game somehow ;)
We're also working relentlessly on the physical rewards. Cardgame will take some time (so don't expect it soon); but we're getting closer to the other 3 physical rewards.
Bodypillows are almost done. We need to make a small change on Damien's design and adapt Polly's design to the new measurements. On that: if I'm correct (not promising on this, but it's written somewhere), we were doing 50x160cm. This is a standard; but a bit longer from the even more standard 50x150cm. We did this because we thought it could be cooler that the chars are as close to their real height as possible. But we realize (after selling some of the test copies) that this could be slightly worse becase it's easier to find 50x150cm pillows. What do you think?
Polaroids are almost done too. A contract needs to be signed with an artist that provided art for a single (cool) polaroid. Also Viper is finishing the last 7 polaroid (6 camp ones + 1 exclusive KS one). They're looking gorgeous, as usual.
Figurines are not done; but we're now getting prices for everything and soon we will make a choice on a manufacturer. We will run some tests if needed, and then start production. IMPORTANT on this: a team member made a mistake by listing "PVC" as the material on Backerkit. We didn't see this until recently. PVC is NOT the material. We do NOT know what will be the material yet.
Once the polaroid designs are finished (probably next week), daki changes are done (probably next week or the next one), and we're set with a figurine manufacturer (less clear, but I guess late-September or early-October) we will close the Backerkit forms and start working on the fullfilling. It will still take some months. But it's happening!
There are so many more news... really. These months are being mind-blowing. Also, thanks to PAX West and the huge success of this KS, we're having several interesting conversations. You know how this goes: most go nowhere; but maybe one takes off and it turns into something big!
Ah, and recently we unveiled an image of what will most likely be our next franchise... it mixes k-pop and space!
As always: thanks for all your support. It means the world.
