Developer Diary #3 Downtime - Dating & Relationships

In between missions, the player will be managing their squad of Venus Angels during their downtime. This is where Venus Angels will grow their relationships and develop the abilities they use in combat.

Downtime typically takes place onboard the Venus Angel's starship in between missions. During this time, Angels can be assigned to tasks and chores, can train in various skills, can engage in 'shoreleave' activities like shopping (when at a settlement or colony), and can go on dates. Otherwise, if any Angels are just looking for some mindless fun, the ships crew is always ready to serve the cause!

DATING

If combat could be compared to a menu-based RPG, downtime is similar to a resource/time management dating sim. As the player travels between points of interest, they'll have the opportunity to spend time with each of the Angels, chatting them up, giving them gifts, or taking them on dates. Angels can also go on dates or spend time with each other, improving their relationships with each other.

I'm still divided on whether the player should be playing themselves as the Angels' CO, or whether the player should just control the Angels, but that'll have a large impact on what dates are like and what sorts of scenes and bonuses dates can unlock.

SEXUAL PREFERENCES

Each Angel has their own sexual preference, and has their own special relationships to consider. Sometimes this means they have a special bond with another crew mate or fellow Angel. Some Angels prefer anonymous sex, either with multiple individuals or simply one-on-one. Alien sex, monster sex, and even sex with animals may pique the interest of certain Angels as well.

Most Angels are fairly open-minded and experimental, encouraged to engage in various sexual activities not only by their potent libidos, but also by their commanding officers. Even still, paying attention to their unique preferences and helping them foster their special relationships will keep the Angels happy and ready for more strange sexual encounters out in the field!

Building the combat system and the dating sim elements of Venus Angels are likely going to occupy the larger part of my game dev focus right now, but as I'm doing so, I'm constantly considering what the assets will look like and how the game will feel in the end. A lot of playable parts that I'll be sharing with you all will probably be text only for a while - but that's cause I want to make sure the game is fun and sexy before I commit to developing assets. That's also why I'll keep developing the world visually via these little sketches as I do so!

I think that wraps up my 'world-building' introduction to Venus Angels. In subsequent Developer Diaries, I'll be keeping you all up-to-date with game development progress as I learn Game Maker Studio, a very impressive development environment that I've been excited to play with and I'll be learning for the first time!