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[Soulliard]

While Monster Commander is primarily going to be a single-player experience, it will also have a local multiplayer mode! I’ve been demoing the multiplayer in my area, and at the insistence of some of the people who’ve played it, I’m putting the multiplayer demo online.

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[lasttea999]

I absolutely *love* this, and I want more! The programming seems solid as far as I can tell from trying the game out, and the monster and spell sprites are just gorgeous. I think the map and interface/GUI graphics could use some work, but I'm guessing you're planning on improving them later!

Two questions:

1) Are you on Twitter? A lot of game developers are active there, and I like to follow game development stuff there.

2) Did you do the sprites, or does someone else do the art? And if it's someone else, who is it?

I'm really looking forward to more Monster Commander!!

[Soulliard]

I'm glad it clicked for you!

To answer your questions...
1) I'm not on Twitter, but I need to be. You can follow me at @digital_dessert if you want to be there once I start using it.
2) I wish I could create sprites like that! I created the map and GUI graphics - you're correct about them being placeholders. The artist is Kalan Fry, whose work continuously impresses me.

[lasttea999]

Awesome, please tell us when you do start using Twitter!

Does Kalan Fry have a website or portfolio of some sort? I couldn't find it through a Google search.

[Soulliard]

If you follow me at @digital_dessert, that's the account I'll be using once I start taking Twitter seriously.

Kalan doesn't have much of an online presence that I'm aware of. I could get try to get you in touch with him if you want.

[lasttea999]

If you follow me at @digital_dessert, that's the account I'll be using once I start taking Twitter seriously.

Got it--I'm following you now! I had thought that the account didn't exist yet, and that you intended to make an account under that name soon.

Kalan doesn't have much of an online presence that I'm aware of. I could get try to get you in touch with him if you want.

Ah, that's too bad. ...Maybe he should start Twitter too, ha ha! And no need to get me in touch with him; thank you for offering.

[Soulliard]

I'm going to start posting gifs to my devlog whenever I finish something cool. Hopefully that will motivate me to update this thread more often.

I've added a few new monsters to the game in the past month. One of the more fun additions has been charging attacks:

[lasttea999]

I'm going to start posting gifs to my devlog whenever I finish something cool. Hopefully that will motivate me to update this thread more often.

I've added a few new monsters to the game in the past month. One of the more fun additions has been charging attacks:

I still LOVE the look of your game, I'm glad you're still working on it! POST TO TWITERRRR

[JobLeonard]

IT LIVES!

[Soulliard]

Ha, yeah. I've been developing the game pretty much constantly, but I'm not so good at telling people about it.

I did end up tweeting this update. We'll see if I can make a habit out of it.

[Jasmine]

Wos! This is stunning! Definitely following.

What are your ideas for the single player mode?

[Soulliard]

Thanks! You probably can't tell from the demo, but the single player mode is going to be the focus of the game. There's going to be a full story mode, including branching paths and side quests. You'll be selecting missions from a map screen (there won't be an overworld, so the focus is on the battles). You build up a team by recruiting enemy monsters in battle, and winning battles will provide other rewards (teaching new attacks to monsters, learning new spells, increasing your team size, etc).

There will be a story, too! Humans have discovered a parallel world full of monsters and magic. Since magical energy can be harvested, they've started to set up colonies there. Recently, some humans have discovered that they can form bonds with the native monsters, and use them as living weapons. These commanders have completely overturned the social order - some have used their power to rule the colonies as tyrants, others who were previously oppressed have started revolutions, and many simply can't handle their newfound power and are terrorizing the countryside. Amidst this chaos, there's a great need for a hero...

[Soulliard]

I'm going to try to post a gif of my progress each week. Here's one of the newer monsters I've been working on:

[JobLeonard]

That immediately looks impossible to damage.

[Soulliard]

Pretty much. When it hides in its shell, the ramport is nearly immune to physical and ice attacks. Fire, lightning and acid attacks still work pretty well, though.

The fun thing about the ramport is that it automatically slows down nearby enemies. So if you move it next to a physical attacker, you force it to either attack the ramport (doing minimal damage), or to move away and skip attacking entirely.

[dcecile]

some have used their power to rule the colonies as tyrants

Excellent. I agree that this is what would really happen if (some) people found out how to control the monsters. So then the hero is more of a leader than a tyrant?

I've played the demo and won my first battle. I really liked all of the artwork and the animations. The very first "turn start" banner animation made my jaw drop: AWESOME ♥️

I also liked Malorg's animation for taking damage.

Are you looking for any feedback at this point in time? The gameplay in the demo is pretty solid from what I've played.

[Soulliard]

Whether or not the protagonist is a tyrant will depend on the player's choices. But at the start of the game, at least, she'll be more idealistic.

I'm glad you liked the art. The turn transition animations have gotten a lot of good feedback, but they were dirt simple to make. So now I'm looking for ways to juice up the rest of the animations.

I'm always looking for feedback. Positive or negative, bring it on!

[dcecile]

OK, I'll come back with more detailed notes after I play it again.

I forgot to ask, is there any particular area where you need feedback most? Somewhere you're not sure if you've got it quite right and specifically want an external opinion? (e.g. difficulty, UI, AI, strategy, enjoyment, art, ...)

The reason I ask is because I find in my experience asking or giving feedback, having some specific goals in mind helps everyone focus.

P.S. You mentioned "juicing up the animations", so I'm going to assume you've already seen grapefrukt's Juice it or lose it video...

[Soulliard]

The game is still early enough in development that I'll take any feedback. Difficulty and balance are a bit less important right now, and whether or not parts of the game were confusing or unintuitive is a higher priority, but I'm not picky.

Yep, I've seen that talk. It's a good one.

[Eldraev]

I really like the pixel art and the designs! Pora is just the most adorable thing

I also love the well thought out gameplay and the core mechanic of the Soul Wells that forces you to not only
keep to a defensive and rather static tactic but rather makes you have to be more flexible. It also gives some great comeback possibilities. Although the map is simple it is extremely well designed and balanced for the monsters you get in the demo. I'm looking forward to the maps you come up with for this game in the future.

It took me a few times to beat it (I'm not super good at tactic games) but I found the learning curve rewarding and failure did not really frustrate so much as it taught you. Was it just my imagination or did the enemy overseer have an enormous range though?

Definitely following this one!