yoshimon1

[yoshimon1]

Celebrating 10 years of d20 Pony!

Read the patch notes here.

[yoshimon1]

Slay the Princess Concept Art

We shared a bunch of concept art on Twitter today. Sharing it here, too, where you can find it all in one post. Post contains spoilers, so proceed with caution (or just play the game already if you haven't 😉)

Going to start with the first piece of concept art Abby drew for the game.

In the earliest stages of development, we toyed around with the concept of there being multiple "end game" forms of the Princess.

The initial outline, rather than being tied together by an overarching metanarrative, structured a full playthrough as a 5-6 chapter long, self-contained journey down a single route, determined by your decisions in chapter 1. Here's an alternative late-game form:

The idea of deviating end-game forms didn't lost for very long, though. As we explored the game's themes more deeply, it made the most sense for there to be a singular "true" form.

If your reality is shaped by subjectivity and perception, then the "truth" has to be what's left when that subjectivity is swept away. the Shifting Mound's final design feels like that initial truth for the Princess, though there's also another truth if you push back against her and press on into the final cabin.

We really liked this "void" design, and I played around with the idea of it being an intermediary to the final form. The "void" Princess would be what you saw upon encountering the final Princess without understanding your own truth, but once you had that understanding, you would see her as the Shifting Mound, as depicted in the game.

That gave way to the intermediary design of the SM being a sea of disembodied limbs, and we also took parts of both designs and incorporated them into the protagonist (particularly the wings.) You can see the eyes and feathers for this void form in the ending card of the original trailer below:

You can see extremely early concept art for the spectre (top), nightmare (top-right), stranger (left), beast (bottom) and ??? (right) as well!

The eyes became a motif in the Nightmare route (Paranoid's manifestation of the fear of being watched), but I also like to think of them as a part of The Long Quiet's truth. You are space and emptiness, but you're also that which observes those things, and it's your perceptions that give the Shifting Mound shape.

Anyways, on the note of the original original concepts for the game, the Princess was initially going to remain human for several loops before taking on more monstrous forms. Some concepts of that are below. Had to get Abby to tone down some of the more horrifically cartoonish designs because they creeped me out and I didn't want to romance them in a video game.

We had to hold our cards close to our chest in the non-metanarrative early drafts, which is part of why, even in the first demo, the cabin doesn't really change much in chapter 2. More room to subtly play with the concept of transformation over time.

There were a lot of reasons we moved in a different direction for the full release. The branching was unmanageably large to write, and the game felt like a slog to write.

Using an overarching narrative as a framing mechanism in the final version gave us a lot more freedom to explore wildly divergent ideas within routes while still driving the player towards the originally planned finale.

Anyways, now we've got some concept art for individual princesses. There's a lot more than this lying around somewhere, but it's all in sketchbooks, and we'll probably wait until we make an art book to show it off.

First is the tower, who really didn't change much at all. (She got a little thicker, I guess. All of the Princesses did)

Not a lot to say about her, other than the fact that we knew we wanted a set piece where she gets so big that the trees and cabin orbit around her.

The stranger went through many many redesigns over the course of development. Here, she was a "princess skin" filled with a hive of sentient bugs. The script wasn't working for me, though, so instead she became a peak behind the curtains without the necessary context to know her.

A lot of people ask how these earlier drafts of the Stranger route would have played out, and the answer is I can't tell you, because I couldn't figure out something worth writing.

The writing process for individual routes didn't really start with outlines or plot beats. Rather, the routes started from a theme and a relationship dynamic, and I organically found their outcomes by exploring actions within those themes, and then seeing if those passed Abby's editor brain.

Neither of us found actions we wanted to explore with those versions of the Stranger, at least actions that weren't a beat-by-beat retelling of chapter 1, which contained way too much variation to put on a single chapter 2 route.

If each princess examines a relationship formed by perception and first impressions, the Stranger examines one that's fundamentally unknowable. One where you've seen too much, too quickly.

An insect hive-mind pretending to be a person seemed like a good starting point, but it was too difficult to write any interactions that didn't immediately feel knowable, if still strange. So the final version of the Stranger was designed in such a way where her unknowability makes interacting with her on a human level fundamentally impossible, and you don't get to have a real conversation with her unless you satisfy extremely specific criteria.

Anyways next up is the razor's final form. We decided she needed more swords.

Hearts became an accidental motif very quickly in the development process, too. (The fact that it is only strikes to the heart that fell her in the demo was accidental, but it felt poetic so we extended it to the rest of the game.)

So on top of adding more swords, we made her heart visible. This is something we did with the fury as well, as a way of showing their emotional (and physical) vulnerability.

Here's an early version of the Adversary and what would eventually become the Eye of the Needle, back when she was still called the Fury. Originally her hair was going to be fire (as seen on the right), but it didn't feel right in its execution.

She's hit the gym since this concept art. Good for her :)

And we're going to end with the Beast, who at this point was called the Adversary. I think this was before the Witch was added? The Beast was originally designed to be a Questing Beast who lurked in the shadows, where you'd only see glimpses of her, and where each glimpse would make her appear to be a different animal. This was too difficult to execute, though we gave her a more chimera-like appearance in the final game.

This design was from when we still has the Voice of the Obsessed, and the route was going to be a more feral mirror of what eventually became the Adversary, but it felt too thematically similar while being less interesting, so we moved in the direction of making the Beast about consumption as a form of love.

Anyways, that's all we've got for you right now. Hope this was fun!

[yoshimon1]

Gift for Steady Gaze. Thanks for supporting me on Patreon!

[yoshimon1]

Thanks again!

Gift for Yoshimon1. Thanks for supporting me on Patreon!

[yoshimon1]

Part 2 of the request, Ceadeus from Monster Hunter 3. 

(my new twitter: @lucioislove)

[yoshimon1]

Version 2.0 is now available!

Ahoy! Out of the blue appears a new version of DOG & PONY GAME™!

I took a short break from working on my next project to update this one’s engine, and while I was at it, I included most of the requested features as well. Better late than never!

That said, the main objective of this update is to make the game more fun by adding variety, improving the interface, and reducing the determinism of various random elements.

Below is an exhaustive list of the noteworthy changes made, and a link to download the new version at the bottom.

Display

Increased the native resolution to 432 × 240 px, up from 400 × 225 px.

Added automatic compatibility detection for fullscreen resolution options.

Added ‘Borderless’ option under ‘Windowed’ resolutions.

Added 'Linear filter’ option.

Added 'V-sync’ option.

Graphics

Changed various sprites and palettes.

Added 7 new themed map palettes.

Added some visual effects upon using certain items.

Sound

Added 'Master volume’ option.

Added 'Mute when unfocused’ option.

Added 'Detect device change’ option.

Added 7 new themed map soundtracks.

Added a sound effect when under attack.

Added a sound effect when an item breaks.

Added a sound effect when a monster is defeated.

Changed various sound effects.

Controls

Added 'Detect device change’ option.

Changed the default controls to:

Left: [A] / [Axis 1 -]

Right: [D] / [Axis 1 +]

Up: [W] / [Axis 0 -]

Down: [S] / [Axis 0 +]

Action: [Enter] / [Button 0]

Back: [R Shift] / [Button 1]

Look: [Q] / [Button 2]

Menu: [Tab] / [Button 7]

Chat: [T] / [Button 6]

Gameplay

Changed the win condition:

Score is now 'coins’ instead of 'points’.

Once all gemstones are found, each player is awarded a bonus of coins equal to (100 × [number of gemstones found by their team] × [number of opponents]). If everyone is on the same team, then each player is awarded 200 coins instead.

The player(s) with the highest amount of coins win(s), and is awarded a gold medal.

Players on a winner’s team are awarded a silver medal.

Medals only serve to keep track of victories, and are lost upon leaving a game.

Developer comment: The original game’s objective was unclear to a lot of players, since it involved winning as a team, rather than as a player. Furthermore, the possibility of there being no clear winner didn’t sit well with everyone. This new system aims to rectify these issues, and better focus on personal performance (and luck).

Decreased cave sizes:

Small is now 48 cells, down from 96 cells.

Medium is now 64 cells, down from 192 cells.

Large is now 96 cells, down from 384 cells.

Randomized the shape of caves.

Added a short opening animation at the start of each match to preview the shape of the cave.

Digging now costs MP, and can be done multiple times per turn.

Changed the battle system:

While on the offensive, equipped shield is ignored.

While on the defensive, equipped weapon is ignored.

On the battle screen, the attack and defence scores are now displayed instead of equipment.

Developer comment: The original battle system made counter-attacks too punishing to the attacker, discouraging players from initiating fights at all. This change aims to increase the viability of aggressive playstyles.

Added a shop system:

In the lobby menu, added a 'Shop’ option.

Coins earned can now be used to purchase items between matches. All purchased items are added to the player’s inventory at the start of the next match.

Note that to encourage their usage, all items — purchased or otherwise — are still lost at the end of a match.

Also note that while coins persist after a match, they are not added to the score of future matches, and are lost upon leaving the game.

Developer comment: While a gold medal is awarded to the highest score, it does not make any distinction between a narrow victory and a landslide. This new system aims to reward a player’s performance more adequately.

While stealing, added the option to steal up to 25 coins instead of an item.

Added a 'Look’ functionality, allowing players to look around the map during their turn. While looking, a spyglass icon will appear over the player’s head.

The number of items and monsters per map is no longer predetermined, and may now vary between matches.

Changed computer players to each have a distinct name, appearance, and personality.

Items

Gemstones:

Gemstones can now be stolen. Uh oh!

Treasure:

Renamed to 'Coins’.

Increased worth to 25 coins, up from 10.

Amulet:

Renamed to 'Compass’.

Using multiple compasses no longer replaces the current signal, and instead creates additional signals.

Lantern:

No longer reveals target to all players.

Now targets everyone on the cell (except self).

Developer comment: Revealing the lantern’s target to everyone was a change introduced in version 1.2, but ultimately, it only made the user’s future behaviour towards the target suspicious to everyone else. As such, that change has been reverted.

Buckler:

Reduced damage taken reduction to 1, down from 3.

Potion:

Added a cost of 1 HP.

Pickaxe:

Changed to equipment. While equipped, the 'Dig’ action becomes 'Mine’, which digs at no cost.

Added 'Gully’, which when equipped, increases damage dealt by 1.

Added 'Targe’, which when equipped, reduces damage taken by 2.

Added 'Medicine’, which restores 2 HP. Upon being defeated, this item is automatically used to restore 1 HP.

Added 'Bandage’, which restores 1 HP to self or another non-resting player on the same cell.

Added 'Bomb’, which digs a random number of cells in random directions.

Added 'Spirit’, which teleports self to any walkable location.

Added treasures:

Treasures are items that have the potential to turn the tide of a match. For this reason, they cannot be found by conventional means.

Added 'Map’, which reveals the location of the nearest gemstone.

Added 'Hook’, which allows to pickpocket an item from another player on the same cell.

Lowered the chance of equipment breaking upon use to 50%, down from 100%. This includes attacking with a 'Gully’ or 'Cutlass’, blocking with a 'Buckler’ or 'Targe’, and mining with a 'Pickaxe’.

Monsters

Lesser monster:

Renamed to 'Ghost’.

Greater monster:

Renamed to 'Skeleton’.

Added 'Revenant’, a very rare and powerful monster.

Added 'Avarice’, a very rare and elusive monster.

Added loot, which is received upon defeating a monster:

'Ghost’ and 'Skeleton’ monsters have a chance to carry a 'Duffel’, which awards a random item.

'Revenant’ monsters always carry a 'Coffer’, which awards 3 random items or treasures.

'Avarice’ monsters always carry a 'Trove’, which awards a random treasure.

Added a different marker for each monster type.

Added name suffixes to help distinguish monsters of the same type.

Monsters now despawn after 3 turns of being inactive.

Interface

Added 'Show item descriptions’ option.

In the 'Create game’, changed 'Online’ to 'Public’ for clarity.

Added a turn indicator on the left side of the scoreboard during matches.

Added a new icon next to defeated players on the scoreboard during matches.

Added a crown icon next to the host’s name on the scoreboard between matches.

Added medal counters to the scoreboard between matches.

Added a brief flash effect to scores upon earning coins.

Changed markers to reflect their respective team colours.

Player names are now consistently team-coloured across the game.

Redesigned all character and item menus to display multiple icons at once and improve navigation.

In the 'Fight’ menu:

Reordered targets to always show monsters first.

Changed the character card to show gemstones instead of MP.

In the host’s lobby menu, combined 'Add COM’ and 'Remove COM’ into a new 'Computers’ option, which allows to add and remove computer players from a list.

In the guest’s lobby menu, added 'Ready’ and 'Spectate’ options. A match cannot be started until all players have selected either one.

Added some visual effets to the battle screen to get a better sense of the outcome.

Added a visual effect where the interface becomes yellow when at 1 HP, and red when at 0 HP.

Added the quantity of items on their icons when multiple.

Changed the visual indicator of an equipped item to a small 'E’ instead of a yellow outline.

Added a bag icon over the player’s head while browsing the inventory.

Added messages upon certain events for clarity.

Redesigned the 'Options’ menu to reduce visual clutter.

Slightly increased the time that chat messages remain visible.

Added an icon to the cursor matching the current action.

Added gamepad themes for 'Xbox 360 Controller’ and 'iBuffalo Classic USB Gamepad’.

Changed various texts.

Bug fixes

Fixed an issue where settings would sometimes reset improperly if the game crashed before it could finish loading.

Fixed an issue where joining a server would sometimes fail if the server browser’s list was in the process of refreshing.

Fixed an issue where gemstone glimmers would sometimes not properly render for players who joined after the match had started.

Fixed an issue where if the host started chatting before the start of their turn, then the speech bubble would not appear when their turn started.

Fixed several issues related to clients joining a server during a votekick.

Fixed a bug where if a player with an active amulet signal timed out, the amulet animation would replay upon rejoining the match.

Changed inventory and score to visually update at the end of a move, instead of at the start of a move.

Fixed various conditions under which the game could potentially crash.

Greatly improved overall performance.

Other

Improved the AI of computer players and monsters.

Updated the game manual to reflect these changes.

Get your updated copy of the game here!

[yoshimon1]

frog girl makes an important announcement x

[yoshimon1]

[yoshimon1]

Sana from Armello purifying the corrupted forest! finished in color for my lovely pαтяσи BYGZG 🐻🌿

[yoshimon1]

Afterword:

On November 23rd, 2011*, I made this post:

“You are now Princess Woona. You are overcome with your own cuteness. For some reason, you find yourself on the moon.

What will you do?”

Moonstuck started one night on a whim, based on my love for Princess Luna’s portrayal in the then-newly-aired Luna Eclipsed. And, as things tend to, it…got a little out of control. It turned from a few late-night lolrandom panels into a story from Luna’s childhood, about how she and her friends – Celestia included – found the Elements of Harmony and defeated Discord. (In this timeline, at least. This was well before any of that came up in the show, and Moonstuck has always been cheerfully AU anyway.) I didn’t expect it to last very long, but reader suggestions kept pouring in, and ideas kept coming. The audience interaction kept the adventure going, expanded the world, and encouraged Team Woona all the way to the end, almost a year later.

I moved on from the pony fandom a long time ago, but Moonstuck still has a special place in my heart. Sure, it’s a silly pony blog that shouldn’t be taken too seriously, but it represents a lot of fun and creative memories for me, and I still have close friendships with people I met through it. And…it’s still special to a lot of other people as well, apparently! Even now, I’ll get the occasional message from someone who remembers Woona and her friends, and looks back fondly on their adventures across an extremely scientifically-inaccurate moon. All said and done, I’m glad to have created something that was able to make people smile and brighten their day a little!

I’m really happy that so many of you enjoyed Moonstuck, whether it was today or ten years ago or anywhere inbetween. Thanks for being Woona’s friend. ♡

* (It was the 23rd in my timezone, though tumblr inconsistently shows the first post date as either the 23rd or the 24th depending on what you check. Good to know this site is just as functional ten years later.)

[yoshimon1]

Happy 10th birthday to Moonstuck! I had to scale back the scope of this due to time constraints, but hopefully it brings back some happy nostalgia anyway. :D

- Contains major spoilers for Moonstuck’s story. Also, it won’t make any sense if you haven’t already read Moonstuck. You probably shouldn’t read this first!! - If reposting (to image indexes or otherwise), please consider spacing out posts instead of posting all the images at once. There’s a bunch of them and nobody likes getting spammed.

Download cutscene? ▶ Y…

(naivgation will not work in tumblr app, use a browser if possible)

[yoshimon1]

[yoshimon1]

happy Thursday the 20th

[yoshimon1]

happy Thursday the 20th

[yoshimon1]

happy Thursday the 20th

[yoshimon1]

Some degenerate asked me to draw armpits, good grief

…

Oh no, where did this come from?  I’ll just leave it here

[yoshimon1]

!!!