KickStarter Baldr's Squid Isekai: A Parody - now available on Early Access

[MerchantKing]

BTW will there be Gnomes?

 

[Tyranicon]

BTW will there be Gnomes?

Closest we get will probably be dwarves.

 

[Tyranicon]

Also a big thank you to the codexers who pitched in, and Chad Abalone made it in the game! I'm gonna have fun with that one.

Hi everyone!

And just like that, the campaign is over. We also managed to meet all the stretch goals!

Once Kickstarter has finished processing the funds, I'll reach out to backers regarding how rewards can be reclaimed. A lot of creators like to send backers to fulfillment sites, but I prefer communicating with backers directly through kickstarter's private messages, especially for a project of this size.

Once again, I'd like to thank all of you for supporting me. Crowdfunding is one of the few ways that tiny gamedevs like me can stay afloat, and remain independent/do work we love, instead of work that pays well.

An extra special thank you to returning backers. A little less than 40% of all backers have also backed one of my previous projects. I'm astounded by this number and hope it means you are continuing to enjoy my work!

Here is the link to my discord: https://discord.gg/h9QBRDENHH

It's where I'm most active, and the best place to ask me questions or just hang out.

Whoooo! [party face]

 

[MerchantKing]

BTW will there be Gnomes?

Closest we get will probably be dwarves.

But if there are no Gnomes how will I be able to play as one?;

 

[ERYFKRAD]

BTW will there be Gnomes?

Closest we get will probably be dwarves.

But if there are no Gnomes how will I be able to play as one?;

By parting with your hard-swindled shekels.

 

[Tyranicon]

Chargen. Basically the same thing copied over from Vampire Syndicate and That Which Rises, except this time you choose your faction later in the game.

Two backgrounds that made me laugh because of their effects.

Yeah, you read cops right.

 

[MerchantKing]

Chargen. Basically the same thing copied over from Vampire Syndicate and That Which Rises, except this time you choose your faction later in the game.

View attachment 44468

Two backgrounds that made me laugh because of their effects.

View attachment 44475

View attachment 44478

Yeah, you read cops right.

Can I create a Gnome and join the Merchant's or Banker's Guild?

 

[Maxie]

Chargen. Basically the same thing copied over from Vampire Syndicate and That Which Rises, except this time you choose your faction later in the game.

View attachment 44468

Two backgrounds that made me laugh because of their effects.

View attachment 44475

View attachment 44478

Yeah, you read cops right.

Can I create a Gnome and join the Merchant's or Banker's Guild?

already says you can be a cheater

 

[MerchantKing]

Chargen. Basically the same thing copied over from Vampire Syndicate and That Which Rises, except this time you choose your faction later in the game.

View attachment 44468

Two backgrounds that made me laugh because of their effects.

View attachment 44475

View attachment 44478

Yeah, you read cops right.

Can I create a Gnome and join the Merchant's or Banker's Guild?

already says you can be a cheater

Cool it with the antinanatic remarks.

 

[Tyranicon]

Hi everyone!

In this update I’d like to talk about the game areas that you can explore. Baldr’s Squid Isekai is not a big game geographically since you are, ostensibly, trapped in a life-or-death competition.

There will be four major areas, as well as some secret areas I won’t be discussing here.

The Commissary

The Commissary is a small town filled with shops and other useful features. Here you can purchase equipment and items, stock up on food, level up, etc. All in relative safety: combat is forbidden in the Commissary and enforced by town guards called Cops (who for some reason look like modern law enforcement and have the special skill: Shooting You with Bullets).

The Wild

The Wild is a dangerous, yet neatly maintained, forest that lays between the Commissary and Dorm Space. There are no rules here. Players must be on guard against monsters, forest goblins, territorial dwarves and of course, competitors from other dorms. Expect a lot of combat encounters separated by some strategic decision-making.

Dorm Space

Dorm Space houses the three dorms that players will be able to join. It is a large, open area that can be explored and is safe… for now. There are plenty of optional encounters here, as well as secrets and “side quests.”
The dorms themselves are large, cozy buildings capable of housing a small army. The interiors will be split between the Common Area, Mess Hall, Armory, Treasury, and your own private room.

The Arena

The Arena is the smallest area of the game and is purely combat focused. Here, you can fight unlocked boss battles as well as the final enemy of the game, the color-cordinated Cosmic Elder Dragon. However, getting to the dragon is no easy feat, as you’ll have to save up enough coin to even challenge her in the first place.

That’s it! Excited to share more about the game as it heads towards its Early Access release.

 

[Spectral Pontifex]

Everybody gangsta until Reddit finds this parody funny and Tyranicon becomes a millionaire.

 

[Tyranicon]

Everybody gangsta until Reddit finds this parody funny and Tyranicon becomes a millionaire.

Hohohohoho.

Me with a multi-million dollar budget.

-rubs hands eagerly-

Your siggy continues to make me laugh.

 

[Dr1f7]

as someone who plays a lot of porn games, some constructive criticism/things I'd like to see related to sex scenes:

• sex scenes need to be animated in the 'anime' art style of the characters (not pixel sex, that doesn't work), check out 'paradise lust' for really good examples, also 'peeping dorm manager' and 'aura hentai cards' for something more in the art style of this game.
• it's greatly preferred if sex scenes are interactive (like you can click what you want to do anal/bj etc or faster/harder/slower etc..)
• the guy needs to be fully realized too. there's a screenshot with like.. a quarter of a penis during a bj scene (???) it's really bizarre, looks like you cut a hot dog in half and stuck it in her mouth?
• you absolutely need a gallery in the main menu to revisit unlocked scenes

look the 'anime' art style for the girls is great why not animate those for scenes instead of the pixel crap? same for the men. and again really important please no half ghost chopped hot dog men in scenes it's so weird
----------------------

like i'm just saying as it looks right now i'd pass on this but if you did a better job with the scenes it'd be a buy

 

[Tyranicon]

as someone who plays a lot of porn games, some constructive criticism/things I'd like to see related to sex scenes:

• sex scenes need to be animated in the 'anime' art style of the characters (not pixel sex, that doesn't work), check out 'paradise lust' for really good examples, also 'peeping dorm manager' and 'aura hentai cards' for something more in the art style of this game.
• it's greatly preferred if sex scenes are interactive (like you can click what you want to do anal/bj etc or faster/harder/slower etc..)
• the guy needs to be fully realized too. there's a screenshot with like.. a quarter of a penis during a bj scene (???) it's really bizarre, looks like you cut a hot dog in half and stuck it in her mouth?
• you absolutely need a gallery in the main menu to revisit unlocked scenes

look the 'anime' art style for the girls is great why not animate those for scenes instead of the pixel crap? same for the men. and again really important please no half ghost chopped hot dog men in scenes it's so weird
----------------------

like i'm just saying as it looks right now i'd pass on this but if you did a better job with the scenes it'd be a buy

Thanks for the suggestions! I do listen to feedback (it's just practical) so galleries are probably going to be in.

As for why the player character is never realized in the sex scenes, probably just a combination of:

• The sex games I played when I was younger did it this way
• Easier way to account for character creation options
• Personal preference

Regarding anime-style animations, the quality that I'd like are just too expensive.

• I'm poor. If I had enough money this would be a non-issue.
• My games are RPGs first, porn second, so it doesn't make sense to blow the budget on flashy sex scenes.
• I have too many characters. And there is too much interactivity in the scenes themselves (there is a relatively wide range of sex acts compared to most other porn games I've played, with some speed options).
• Like the rest of the game, the porn scenes are mostly reading. This probably suggests that I hate making money.

I did commission a few anime scenes, both traditionally animated and animated via live2d/other "easier" animation methods. Ultimately I didn't choose to go with any of them because of the prohibitive cost.

It's like how full VA limits text in RPGs, same principle here, I'd rather not be bound. Of course, if I do end up getting a bunch of money, I can always revisit this.

Here's a sample of a past commission. It's been minimized so it can load here, so some of the quality is lost.

porn

 

[Arthandas]

I think Aurelia has some of the best porn scenes. The pixel art is gorgeous. Paradise Lust looks like a cheap flash game.

 

[Tyranicon]

I'm probably putting too much work into a porn parody but I'm completely redesigning how traumas work so they are more dangerous, persist until healed, and will really fuck you up.

 

[lukaszek]

I'm probably putting too much work into a porn parody but I'm completely redesigning how traumas work so they are more dangerous, persist until healed, and will really fuck you up.

in hard west those would turn into scars, being both positive and negative. Permanent too, like missing finger, eye etc

 

[Tyranicon]

Chest storage screen. Disregard the 500 storage capacity, that's just devtools :D. If you're playing the intended difficulty, chests will super useful.

 

[Tyranicon]

I'm not super happy with the environmental sprite set I'm using so I might swap it out for something more detailed, like what I'm using for That Which Rises, or Desiree's gorgeous (but more time-consuming) environment work.

Character sprites will stay the same.

 

[KeighnMcDeath]

Hmmm…. I do love parodies. I like parrots and pirates too.

 

[Tyranicon]

Men, I think I've done it. I think I've finally designed an elegant system. One that's simple but nuanced, and more importantly, fun.

Also, everybody likes low-level goblin encounters, right?

 

[Zombra]

Also, everybody likes low-level goblin encounters, right?

Brings up an interesting question. How "grindy" do you expect the game to be? I do like low-level goblin encounters but the mention of them makes me think I might end up fighting goblins over and over 5000 times. RPGs are a tricky balance for me - I want to feel progress and test myself against tough enemies until I can beat them easily, but after that I don't want to fight them any more. It's common for RPG repetitiveness to wear out its welcome.

 

[Tyranicon]

Also, everybody likes low-level goblin encounters, right?

Brings up an interesting question. How "grindy" do you expect the game to be? I do like low-level goblin encounters but the mention of them makes me think I might end up fighting goblins over and over 5000 times. RPGs are a tricky balance for me - I want to feel progress and test myself against tough enemies until I can beat them easily, but after that I don't want to fight them any more. It's common for RPG repetitiveness to wear out its welcome.

I don't think it'll be grindy in the JRPG sense of farming the same enemies over and over again to hit some ludicrously high exp gauge. Don't get me wrong, I kinda like that, but that won't be in this game. This is a short, "low level" adventure.

However, the game is also designed to be brutally difficult on the intended difficulty settings, which is what the game is "balanced" for. Check out these optional settings.

• Limited curables: Curables will no longer be sold in shops.
• Autosave only: No manual saves allowed.
• Lose gear on party wipe: You lose your entire carried inventory and equipped gear when you party wipe.

Having the above settings on makes the game incredibly difficult. Plus, the enemies are also not the usual RPG trash mobs. The key here is resource management.

I am unsure if I would add an Iron Man (delete save on death), that would depend on the game's stability.

 

[Maxie]

View attachment 45007

Chest storage screen. Disregard the 500 storage capacity, that's just devtools :D. If you're playing the intended difficulty, chests will super useful.

why is the font so unpleasant

 

[mediocrepoet]

Men, I think I've done it. I think I've finally designed an elegant system. One that's simple but nuanced, and more importantly, fun.

Also, everybody likes low-level goblin encounters, right?

View attachment 45446

Can we enslave them and run a troupe of goblin whores? Can I have a kobold waifu? So many questions.

Where's my giant rats fight?