MetaMorph 04/18 Public Report & Announcements

I've updated the weekly Dropbox files for this week's update. Both the CG files and game versions have been updated. (Update logs will be added to the Dropbox regardless of patron rank.)

We've been busy organizing the many questions and suggestions from our patrons. There were a lot of interesting questions among some great suggestions.

During this process, we noticed that a large portion of the content being suggested relates to feminization, transformation, and customization. While most of the content mentioned can be added to the game, there’s a major issue: Many of these added choices will gradually be ignored by players, since the game’s genre is survival with limited in-game resources. Players will optimize their gameplay to win, which means avoiding less optimal content—unless the game is carefully balanced, which becomes increasingly difficult as more content is added.

Of course, I could give players more in-game currency or increase the length of a round so they can experience more choices. Players could also save and load repeatedly to see all the new content. But we don’t want to rely on these solutions—while technically possible, they aren't enjoyable.

Using the game merely as a supplementary medium to view specific content is not the direction we want to take.

So, we’ve decided to take a two-track approach. A side story focusing on corruption, exploration, and narrative is now in development. This side project will center around content that consumes "time," such as body modification and gradual corruption. Since it's a simpler genre and reuses many assets from the main game, it won’t take as long to develop.

If the development log is updated in place of the main game, it will include at least one CG/scene and a brief explanation of the content being worked on.

With that said, here are some of the questions from the past week and our responses:

Q. How far will you go with feminization?
A. Since the new side content is more flexible than the main game, players will be able to choose between a male or futanari protagonist (which are functionally the same—the latter being a male with breasts in terms of game systems). So, if feminization means "big breasts," we can go as far as you'd like. If it means "genitals of the opposite sex," we can't confirm that yet—we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew.

Q. What will the testicular mutations/transformations entail?
A. Genital transformations are easy to implement—we can simply swap the base image with whatever we want. The problem lies in the clothing, which needs to accommodate the changed genitals. That’s why I’m hesitant to add more outfits for now; the current system might need a full overhaul to support more extreme transformations.

However, in the new side content, anything will be possible.

Q. Will piercings be brought back in some way?
A. Nipple and navel piercings—most likely. Facial piercings will likely be reserved for the side content. Facial piercings were tied to facial CGs, which have since been removed, so I can't guarantee their return. But for nipple/navel piercings—why not?

Q. Will there be gameplay loops or mechanics outside the "survivor" extraction phase—like ship management?
A. We plan to include some management elements in the main game. However, we think it makes more sense for the side content to absorb most of the non-survival gameplay. Currently, we're planning a "farm" feature to help players earn in-game currency.

Q. How complete do you want the game to be before it's considered finished? And what are your plans afterward?
A. The main game will have three chapters, each with a distinct concept. Once the main game is finished, the current "side content" may become the new focus, since it's more flexible in terms of genre.

Q. Will there be gallery scenes?
A. Yes. It’s time-consuming, but I really should start adding them before I get to a point where I physically can't. In fact, the reason this update is smaller is because I’ve started working on the gallery system.