Demons Within Special devlog 1: The super extra special side project

Hey hey!

I've got a very special devlog for you guys today! This isn't related to Update 12 content, but rather my new project that has been on my mind for a while. This is what I will be working on between updates when I have some time. I already did some initial work and tests for it before Update 12 and I'm confident enough in it to talk about it! (More Update 12 devlogs coming soon as I'm currently working on that!)

At least to you guys, my faithful Patreon supporters, because I feel like you deserve to know! This post will be for all of Patreons, but as we get deeper into the game, we'll start separating some extra asset previews to the preview tier and the devlogs to everyone else.

I'm sure most of you opened this post looking at the screenshots above and you're thinking "what the hell am I looking at?". Well, for starters, take those with a grain of salt because they're nothing more than preliminary sketches for the long discussions Blain and I had when starting to design everything that is in my head. These are the first sketches of ideas of like, ten different elements that will be on the screen for this, so it goes without saying that all of this is HEAVILY subject to change. But... it might be enough to give you an idea!

I won't go into specifics about how EXACTLY everything will work just yet. I think that'd be too much for a single post and, honestly, I'm still designing and figuring out the kinks (heh) of the feature myself as I work on them, but I'm here today to give you a few small previews and a little pitch of what it is about.

So, what IS this after all? Well, though the VN is going great (I think), I had this idea a while ago on a way to make things even more fun. This is supposed to be a small... game. A game within a game. A kind of mini-game that you will get to "play" on the side while reading the story. Worry not. If you were wondering, all of this is happening within Demons Within itself (no separate games or anything). It'll be accessible in the Memorium (probably) and represent, well... I can talk a bit about that.

Though in the story I strive to make it clear, I find that it's hard to really portray how much Lust, being inside Resnick, gets to affect him and his thoughts while swirling inside his pretty little head. Not only that, but I feel like even though it was stated that Lust started as weak when it first got thrown into Resnick, it gains power as lusty things happen. That gain of power wasn't very illustrated in the game as it's supposed to be small and gradual. I do my best to incorporate all of that in the story, but it's a slow-moving story and all and it takes time to get the updates out, so...

I hope that through this mini-game we'll have alongside the VN, we'll be able to not only see the influence Lust has on Resnick but, well, also reap the benefits of all. After all, the player IS controlling Lust and, as such, you'll have full control of what you foster inside Resnick's head over time. And, as you do, you'll unlock some neat things. Memories, scenes, sprites of the people you want to foster Resnick's thoughts about and more.

I think I explained the gist of it, but maybe I was still vague. To set some uncertain minds at ease, I'll also say that this is kind of like an idle game of sorts. It is made and designed to be 'played', or more like, running, as you read the VN. Not some game you need to focus your full attention on and spend hours playing. Although those are fun too, this isn't it! The main focus of Demons Within is still supposed to be the visual novel aspect and the story.

As I mentioned, I'll go more in-depth about specific parts and details of the mini-game one by one in future special devlogs like this, especially as they get made both code and art-wise. What I can give is, again, the basic gist of it. Basically, you'll choose between all the beloved characters and set who Lust will be fostering Resnick's lusty thoughts about. As you progress in the 'lust level' of each character, you'll unlock both more content and stuff about that character and get better at fostering lust about that character. Or in general as your power keeps growing, little by little!

The hows and whats, I'll keep for next time! For now, here's a special very cute preview of some of the beloved characters you'll be able to choose from and how you'll be seeing them in the mini-game:

I guess that already gives some hints about which characters you'll be able to work with in the initial state of the game. More will come as the story evolves, of course, and not all of the initial ones are here. Almost all of them are, though, because that's already a bunch!

I've been mulling over and designing this for a while now and I'm very excited to be able to share stuff about it, even if it's very little! Stay tuned for more!