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[bynine]

hey bud! glad to see you still engaging in the monster tamer genre. this is looking pretty interesting with the more fully realized sprites/more unique environment and setting, and as with any game of this type, the combat and fusion systems are what have me the most excited. good luck!

[Thylacine Studios]

Wow, great to hear from you again! Thanks for the kind words. I'm glad to see you've delved into game development on your own, too.

[Al_B]

This is pretty cool and I definitely like the imaginative twist on this with the negativity aspect. Will be tracking this.

[Thylacine Studios]

Here are some screenshots of the new fonts I'm planning to use. Definitely open to feedback on these - let me know what you all think!

The main interfaces now use a pixelated font:

Item descriptions use a medieval/gothic font that is still nice and smooth/anti-aliased for easy reading:

When a monster is targeted in battle, its name is now displayed using this new font:

[joey4track]

Hmm.. Definitely looks better but what do you think about making everything the font that is in the last shot? or maybe vice versa? Did you try that as well? I kinda like them both but it seems a little weird to have two, no?

[Josh Bossie]

Hah, I had the same feedback for my game, actually. I like the pixel font you chose, but I definitely think you should use it everywhere

[andyfromiowa]

This looks great!  The sprite work is fantastic - especially the monster animations and items.  I will add my compliments to the new font choice as well - it definitely fits the aesthetic very well.

I'm eager to see more monster battles and learn about those mechanics. 

[MidnightRadio]

Hmm.. Definitely looks better but what do you think about making everything the font that is in the last shot? or maybe vice versa? Did you try that as well? I kinda like them both but it seems a little weird to have two, no?

I agree.

[Thylacine Studios]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone!

I've switched the pixel font with the same one that was shown in the battle screenshots above. Maybe this fits better now?

[sidbarnhoorn]

This looks awesome! Good luck with the development! 

[joey4track]

Now that looks sick   

[Thylacine Studios]

Devlog Post #6: Monster Spotlight - Grimoire

Today, we’ll discuss a monster in The Negative called the “Grimoire”.

This monster belongs to the Mind (formerly called “Sorcery”) class, and serves as a supportive unit for other spellcasters. It accomplishes this by providing several buffs and MP-regenerating skills, while also being able to cast its own spells very efficiently.

Active Skills
Magic Missile: Deals a small amount of damage. Costs no MP.

Funnel Mana: Transfers a large amount of MP to the target.

Brilliance: Your monsters gain Arcane. (Arcane is a buff that allows monsters to regenerate MP over time)

Power Overwhelming: Your monsters gain a large amount of Power and lose a moderate amount of Defense.


Passive Skills
Specialization: Your monsters deal 15% more damage with skills and 30% less damage with attacks.

Stupify: When an enemy takes damage from this monster’s attacks or skills, this monster steals a small amount of MP from it.

Arcane Gift: When one of your monsters uses a Mana Draught, it gains Arcane.

Ley Lines: Surrounding monsters regenerate a small amount of MP at the start of their turn.

Suggested Playstyle
As you can see, the Grimoire ensures that your monsters won’t be running out of MP any time soon – and that’s a good thing, since MP doesn’t regenerate between battles. The Grimoire also enhances damage dealt by skill-users, but punishes monsters for attacking. For that reason, you’ll need your Grimoire to manage your monsters’ MP correctly in order to ensure they never run out of MP since attacking isn’t exactly effective when this monster is around. Lastly, the Grimoire can use Power Overwhelming to significantly increase its allies’ Power at the cost of Defense. Power Overwhelming should only be used after your other monsters have ensured their defenses are stabilized – otherwise, they’ll take a lot of damage.

[Thylacine Studios]

Devlog Post #7: Monster Spotlight - Gallowbrute

Today, we'll take a look at a monster called the "Gallowbrute".

Can we agree that this guy looks awesome?

The Gallowbrute is a Death monster that is capable of dishing out a huge amount of damage on the front line of battle. This monster makes heavy use of the "Berserk" buff, which temporarily increases the amount of damage it takes and deals out to enemy monsters. While most of the Gallowbrute's skills are generally selfish in nature (they don't affect allies), this monster has one buffing skill that can be used to greatly increase your monsters' Power and Speed in battle.

Active Skills
Slam: Deals a moderate amount of damage to the target.

Headcrack: Deals a small amount of damage to the target. If the target has less than 50% HP, it is afflicted with Stun. (Stun causes the afflicted monster's next turn to be skipped)

Berserk: Monster becomes Berserk. (Berserk monsters take and deal increased damage)

Enrage: Your monsters gain a moderate amount of Power and Speed.


Passive Skills

Temper: When this monster attacks, it attacks an additional time for every 35% of its missing HP.

Embolden: When this monster takes damage, it gains a small amount of Defense.

Apoplectic: This monster does not take extra damage while it is Berserk.

Frenzy: This monster's Charge regenerates 50% faster while it is Berserk. (Reminder: "Charge" refers to a meter that fills over time. When a monster's Charge meter is full, it can take a turn)

Suggested Playstyle
The Gallowbrute's primary concern is to maintain the "Berserk" buff at all times. Thanks to its passive skills, the Berserk buff is much more powerful when applied to this monster than others. The "Apoplectic" skill removes the negative side-effect of this buff, while "Frenzy" ensures that the Gallowbrute can dish out a large amount of attacks when coupled with "Temper".

But the Gallowbrute isn't just a one trick pony. It also possesses a way to Stun targets with the help of "Headcrack", and if this monster can't attack for some reason (such as if it's afflicted with the "Scorn" debuff), it can use "Enrage" to buff and support its allies instead.

[Sokuaisushi]

I love the pixel art style your team is going for! It definitely fits with the dark and gloomy emotion you're trying to capture.

The gameplay seems fun, as I've always enjoyed monster breeder/trainer style games. I've also actually seen your games Siralim and Siralim 2 on the google play store but never got around to playing them yet. I'll definitely have to give them a try now though, and I hope this project is going well for you all!

[Thylacine Studios]

Thanks for the kind words! Good luck with your project as well!

[Thylacine Studios]

Devlog Post #8: Monster Spotlight - Slitherwig

Today, we will reveal the Slitherwig, a monster from the Void class!

The Slitherwig is a monster that specializes in preventing enemies from using their skills by afflicting them with the Silence debuff, or by simply burning their MP. This monster also has a few support-oriented skills, similar to those of the Grimoire, to restore your monsters’ MP. Perhaps more importantly, however, the Slitherwig is capable of removing enemies’ buffs.

Active Skills
Vertigo: Target takes a small amount of damage and is afflicted with Silence. (Silence prevents the afflicted monster from using skills)

Mana Burn: Target loses a moderate amount of MP.

Fray: Target takes a small amount of damage. The damage increases based on the amount of MP the enemy is missing.

Nullify: Removes a target’s buffs.

Passive Skills
Brain Fog: Enemy skills cost 10% more MP to use.

Leech Mana: When this monster decreases an enemy’s MP, your monster with the lowest MP gains that MP.

Interruption: When an enemy tries to use a skill, this monster has a 10% chance to interrupt it.

Feedback: When an enemy’s buffs are removed, the enemy takes a small amount of damage for each buff removed.

[Thylacine Studios]

I've started implementing the skill system. There are currently three different skill types: single target, area of effect, and projectiles. Several more will be added over time, but I wanted to get these working first since they encompass most of the skills in the game.

Here's one projectile skill in action, called Blood Bolt. It deals a small amount of damage to the target and heals the caster for 50% of the damage dealt.

[Thylacine Studios]

Devlog Post #9: Monster Spotlight - Breeder

In The Negative, the Life class monsters aren’t quite how you might expect them. There are no frolicking unicorns, devout priests, or holy idols to be found here. In this world, there’s a fine line between Life and Death.

Today, we’ll take a look at the Breeder, a Life class monster that demonstrates my point rather well.

Pretty ugly, right?

As you might expect, this monster is a summoner… with a twist. The Breeder’s main goal is to give birth to a small army of explosive fetuses. Unfortunately, the Breeder must die during child birth if it’s carrying triplets.

Yeah, I don’t know. This is getting awkward. Let’s take a look at the Breeder’s skills.

 

Active Skills
Gore: Deals a small amount of damage and afflicts the target with a random debuff.

Birth: Summons a fetus bomb on the other side of the battlefield. If the fetus bomb is not destroyed in 2 turns, it explodes, dealing a moderate amount of damage to all enemies.

Foster: Summoned monsters recover a large amount of HP. (Keeps your fetus bombs alive if your enemies try to dispose of them!)

Last Word: Deals a massive amount of damage to enemies, then kills this monster.

 

Passive Skills
Final Sin: When this monster is killed, it explodes, releasing 3 fetuses bombs on the other side of the battlefield. If the fetus bombs are not destroyed in 2 turns, they explode, dealing a moderate amount of damage to all enemies.

Undeath: When this monster dies, it has a 35% chance to be resurrected with a moderate amount of HP.

Urgency: Summoned monsters gain Charge 30% more quickly. (Meaning the fetus bombs will explode more quickly!)

Living Nightmare: This monster takes damage over time. In addition, at the start of battle, if this monster’s HP is less than 50%, its HP is set to 50%. (Since HP doesn’t regenerate between battles, this monster’s other abilities would cause it to always be dead. This skill helps to alleviate this issue.)

 

When the Breeder dies, it gives birth to three beautiful baby triplets.

These little guys don’t do much. You probably didn’t do much when you were born, either.

But give them a few moments, and if your opponents aren’t quick enough to dispose of them…

BOOM! Massive damage!

[joey4track]

Good god, if that is the life class I can't wait to see the death class 

[Thylacine Studios]

Devlog Post #10: Skill Design

The Negative offers a lot of skills for players to experiment with: there are over 120 monsters to collect, and each one has 4 active skills and 4 passive skills. While some monsters might have a few skills that are borrowed from other monsters, the game still has over 400 active and 400 passive skills. And that’s not even counting exclusive skills that are granted to monsters via unique equipment!

It’s important that each active skill is versatile, satisfying, and fun to use:

Versatile: for most skills, it’ll be pretty easy to find at least a few other skills that synergize with it well. But the most powerful skill combinations will need to be obtained by fusing your monsters together. This provides players with a sort of “end-game meta-game” in which careful planning and strategy are rewarded.

Satisfying: each skill has unique art and sound effects. Most skills also utilize particle effects to make them feel more impactful and lively.

Fun: if a skill is cumbersome for players to use, or is particularly frustrating when an enemy uses that skill on the player, the skill should be redesigned.

And from a broader point of view, I also want battles to feel interactive and even-paced. One of the things I dislike about Siralim and Siralim 2 is that a lot of players ended up seeking out combinations that allowed them to mash the confirmation button over and over again without thinking about what they’re doing. In The Negative, each battle will hopefully be more difficult, interactive, and rewarding thanks to more balanced skills and back-end math.


I’ll leave you with a few examples of active skills. Note that the monsters you see in these GIFs aren’t the same monsters that will use the skills I’m showing off – they’re merely there as placeholders for now.

Blood Sword: deals a large amount of damage to the target, and deals a moderate amount of damage to the user.

Hellcry: deals a small amount of damage to the target, then deals a small amount of damage to 2 random enemies.

Blood Bolt: deals a small amount of damage to the target and heals the user for 50% of the damage dealt.