Aki
Space Eeveenture
I actually got pretty invested in the design of this game, even commissioned a couple artists to make new regional forms and evolutions. I also did a bit of research to find cool space things to include, and created my own NASA equivilant.
The protagonist is recruited to study Pokémon aboard the International Space Station. The game begins inside Mossdeep’s Space Center, and the protag is given 3 Pokémon (any combination of Eevees, Dittos, and Porygons) to carry with them to space.
Rocket Co. is launching a luxury space hotel for long term living, and has offered a number of free rooms to Mossdeep scientists. The goal of CASI Mosdeep is to take the opportunity to conduct less formal experiments on the affects of long term space living on Pokémon. They’ve been doing their own experiments for years of course, but in very isolated/controlled conditions. The player is a trainer, and one of a group of apprentice/intern scientists at the Mossdeep Space Center.
CASI is the name of an organized network of science organizations, who share findings and communicate with each other internationally. Some branches are very small but are still included as network contacts. Branches of CASI:
- CASI Pewter, a small branch in Kanto studying Mt. Moon.
- CASI Cinnabar, a branch partially funded by Silph Co, and where Porygon was made. “Cinnabar” may be an honorary name instead of literal location since the lab has been burned down in the past?
- CASI Mossdeep is the branch that the protagonist associates with, and is partially funded by Devon Corp. This location launches more rockets and shuttles than any other branch of CASI.
- CASI Fallarbor, a small branch in Hoenn studying Meteor Falls. Can be contacted for any issue with PC storage systems.
- CASI Veilstone, in the Sinnoh region. This location was built from the abandoned Team Galactic Base and has the capacity for shuttle launches.
- CASI Antimony, a small branch located in a classified Unova location. This branch might be called CASI Unova since communications come through the Unovan government and the actual research center’s location is unconfirmed.
- CASI Coumarine, a small branch that studies Grace Tower and runs the Kalos power plant.
- CASI Hokulani, centered on Alola’s Ula'ula Island. This branch is the world’s leading observatory with high end viewing equipment.
The player is never directed to leave the Space Center through the front door, but I included the whole island of Mossdeep anyway. Just for those players who get curious, it makes the world feel more real than making an excuse to keep them inside.
There's themes of CASI versus Rocket co. as having opposite approaches to interacting with everything in foreign space. CASI believes in preservation to the point of preventing access to the masses. Although information is freely shared through education, they have strict rules about who can freely interact and travel in their controlled areas. Rocket believes in personal exploration and unrestrained access so long as everyone is safe. It’s true that they don’t seem to care much about preserving the natural state of the places they visit, but they do make sure everyone is safe while exploring and learning.
Rocket Co. is like a touristy cruise ship. They treat the different planetary locations like tourist hotspots, while CASI has standards and protocol to study and preserve the natural environments. Because Outer Space is beyond any earthly jurisdiction, neither side has more authority than calling first dibs. The player is never told flat out the Rocket Co. Is Team Rocket, but it’s not subtle; the Rocket Co. logo is the same as the logo from the Rocket Game Corner.
The protagonist is a CASI member, and so could claim areas and artifacts for CASI. The protagonist is simultaneously an honored guest of Rocket Co. Space Hotel, and so has to abide by their rules and standards.
The coolest part of this game was the new forms, so I've gotta share these. Just so it's clear though: These designs are not available to use. Do not use them. All these designs were made specifically for me, for this project, or else I got special permission to use them specifically for this project. They are not public resources.
Have an in-game infodump. In this room the player got to pick any 3 Pokémon to take with them as starters, because there were so many new evolutions for Eevee and Porygon that I didn't want to restrict the player to only one of each.
Karmeon, a Steel/Flying type designed by Worthless Nobody, known as jumbled-bastard on DeviantArt.
It evolves when the player passes through the atmosphere. The name is based on the "Kármán line" which is the line between earth's atmosphere and space. Karmeon's abilty is either Heatproof (halves damage of fire moves and burns), or Aerilate (turns Normal moves to Flying-Type), and its' hidden ability is Reckless (increases the power of recoil moves).
Possible dex entries
- This Pokémon was discovered during early rocket tests. Eevee’s evolution can be triggered when entering or leaving the planet’s atmosphere to become Karmeon.
- Karmeon evolved after passing through the Karman Line, and is known to have a fearless or even reckless attitude.
- The stress of passing through the atmosphere caused Eevee to mutate into Karmeon. This new form has some reputation as a thrill-seeker.
Astreon, a flying type by Taq.
Possible dex entries
- This Pokémon evolved after getting comfortable in space. If given the opportunity, Astreon will playfully bounce around in low or no gravity.
- Astreon’s small wings might not look strong enough to fly on Earth, but it is very efficient at moving its’ whole body to travel without gravity.
- The loose skin, coarse fur, and colorful tongue are unique to this space-evolved Pokémon, and even experienced breeders can’t reproduce the traits on Earth.
- Although still incredibly rare on Earth, this Pokémon has gained a lot of popularity for its’ friendly temperament and cute “pajama-wearing” look.
- Evolution also made Astreon capable of enduring some extreme temperatures, but only for short periods of time. This cheerful Pokémon easily adjusts to fluctuations in its’ environment with a smile.
Galaxeon, a Psychic/Dark type by Gaming U-Septor.
I don't really have any solid notes on this one, I think I left the prompt really open to the artist and they surprised me with how cool the design came out.
There was also one more Eeveelution, an existing one that I got permission to use. I won't repost the art here because it looks like the artist deleted/moved their DeviantArt account, but it was an evolution called Quazareon, by PavmeAgarestia.
The official dex entry was, "Quazareon is a mysterious Pokémon. It is the result of exposing Eevee to a strange energy radiated by unknown extraterrestrial matter. It is able to distort the nearby space. On its body it is possible to see what seems to be a representation of the deep space. Scientists are still uncertain about his nature but some believe this Pokémon is an actual portal.".
Karmeon, Astreon, Galaxeon, and Quazareon. Do you think I the designs enough justice when making them in sprite form?
There was allways planned to be some additional places like asteroids or smaller planets, but here's the details for the major ones that would have had some story beats included while exploring them.
Unnamed Meteor
- Atmosphere: None
- Environment: A free floating meteor that isn't entirely obvious where it came from or where it's been. Maybe this should be a string of meteors/asteroids instead of a single one? Pokémon here are all travelers happened to gather here, not permenant residents. Eevee evolves into Quazareon by levelling up here.
- Inhabitants: Solosis, Cleffa eggs are left in various locations, Elgyem (home planet is unown), Minior/Lunatone/Solrock (with rock shells developed while passing through atmospheres), Trubbish (a variation made of space trash)
Most of these sprites are actually a public resource! You can find them here!
Moon P-35
- Atmosphere: No. Not on a moon.
- Environment: Plain. Even if this is a planet it looks like a rocky moon. Anything that would evolve with a Moonstone evolves by level up here. It has a light side and a dark side becasue it doesn't rotate, which split the enviroment; this means there would also be perpetual Dawn/Dusk lines...maybe Rockruff needs to be added here.
- Inhabitants: Industrious Clefairy and laidback Jigglypuff. Their ability to survive without an atmosphere allows them the capacity for space travel, but their society isn’t very advanced or complex. They aren’t really different at all from the Earth species, with just a few ceremonial structures that indicate their knowledge of star mapping.
- Light Side of the Moon: Clefairy, Alolan Rattata, Mime Jr, Buneary, Stufful, Minior in cool colors
- Dark Side of the Moon: Jigglypuff, Psychic Variant Rattata, Dark Variant Mime Jr, Bunnelby, Pancham, Minior in warm colors
Most of these sprites are actually a public resource! You can find them here!
Planet R-386
- Atmosphere: Thin.
- Environment: Wet. Most of the planet is covered in a water-like liquid, with not much land at all. The water and plants on this planet are deadly poisonous, so wearing a suit is required. It's allways some level of darkened by clouds, and often rainy. Walking through the water is dangerous because the local Staryu can be sharp.
- Inhabitants: Pokémon that have regenerative cores. Deoxys apparently originates from here, but the player can mostly find a Variant of Staryu/Starmie that’s Water/Poison, Chinchou, Skrelp, Water/Rock Variant Torkoal, Dark/Fight Variant Mudkip (ability is Immunity or Toxic Boost).
The Staryu line were designed and sprited by LunarDusk, but the other sprites are actually a public resource! You can find them here!
Planet D-605
- Atmosphere: Breathable.
- Environment: Remnants of a now-missing civilization full of robotic steel type Pokémon.
- Inhabitants:Electric/Fly Variant Mantyke, Beldum, Klink, Rock/Steel Variant Torchic, Magnemite, Tynamo.
Most of these sprites are actually a public resource! You can find them here!
Planet S-3378
- Atmosphere: Yes, but not breathable by humans.
- Environment: Rocky. This is the origin of Solrock and Lunatone, but the rocks here are not sentient, that only happens when they are exposed to the Earth’s environment. Pokémon that normally evolve with a Sunstone or Moonstone can evolve just by levelling up here
- Inhabitants: Living alien variants of fossilized Pokémon; none of them have the Rock type.
Planet W-385
- Atmosphere: Yes, breathable by humans for short periods or through filters.
- Environment: This planet is covered in Dream Mist, and the ground is littered with the burrows of sleeping Pokémon, and is the home planet of Jirachi. The surface of the planet is relatively safe and quiet, making it a popular tourist location. The Pokémon that live deeper undergound are more active.
- Inhabitants: Ralts, Variant Munna, Fairy/Fly Variant Treeko,
Most of these sprites are actually a public resource! You can find them here!
Aki
MewYou's sequel
Since MewYou was so popular, I thought what people wanted from me was a sequel. It has been directly asked for, but mostly I felt some pressure because the download numbers of MewYou have allways been insanely higher than all my other games...combined.
The design idea for this game was to actually use Mew's abilties more, so I made it about Mew collecting these shards of Arceus's plates, and Mew would use these shards to transform into other Pokémon. Those abilities were things like Electric-Types being able so siphon electricity, Grass-Types healing themselves by Ingraining their roots in loamy soil, and Fairy-Types being able to teleport using fairy rings.
Mew kept its' own Psychic-Type abilities of course, and since I was playing Breath of the Wild I straight up recreated Korok puzzles, but with Unown.
The plot of this game was pretty loose and not nailed down because I wanted to focus on making a more open world playground for the various new Pokémon forms to play as, but I at least had a hook: Arceus needed its' power restored, so Celebi (same one from MewYou) forcibly recuits Mew and Hoopa to do the job and create a better future. The set of Pokémon I chose to represent each type was this:
- Flygon, the Draco Plate
- Umbreon, the Dread Plate
- Dugtrio, the Earth Plate
- Conkledurr, the Fist Plate
- Rapidash, the Flame Plate
- Mamoswine, the Icicle Plate
- Volbeat, the Insect Plate
- Klinklang, the Iron Plate
- Tropius, the Meadow Plate
- Granbull, the Pixie Plate
- Crobat, the Sky Plate
- Milotic, the Splash Plate
- Pumpkaboo, the Sppoky Plate
- Lycanroc, the Stone Plate
- Grimer, the Toxic Plate
- Ampharos, the Zap Plate
The Mind Plate, representing the Psychic-Type, was used for Mew to transform back to normal. Most of the forms were biased by my favorites obviously...but I did try to balance the whole set of them in terms like who could resist certain weather conditions, what field moves could they pull off, and how much faster or slower they move compared to playing as Mew.
After nailing down this list though, I still felt a little insecure about my choices and looked for ways to include more forms, and considered adding items like Mega Stones or Evolutionary Stones that could be found and used for more optional (as in, not required by the story) Pokémon to play as. This sequal never got much further than these basic mechanics because I didn't know how to design the levels for it.
I later decided to dissolve all those sequel ideas into a remake of MewYou instead; I already had a region and story that people liked, so I would just add these fun new mechanics on top. I added a couple more tweaks though: Instead of collecting key items and getting one form for each, the player would instead collect DNA and use it to transform into any Pokémon they could encounter. This design ties into Mew's lore of being an orginal Pokémon containing the DNA of all others, and having to collect the DNA of Pokémon gives an actual reason for the Player to get into wild battles.
The only reason I haven't actually finished making this game is because there's a lot of tedious work getting all those forms in. I actually nailed down the entire dex and functionality, it just needs every Pokémon edited to work with the system. And then I've gotta make the maps, which are fun, but because of the way the encounters work (running around in the overworld) designing maps is...weird, it requires a twist in my thinking compared to how I normally map a Pokémon game. The player doesn't need to walk through grass to trigger encounters, only near the grass. And then the fun comes from having the space and means to juke the wild Pokémon encounters trying to tag you.
To clarify: The plans for a MewYou Remake are not abandoned. It is the plans for a MewYou Sequel that were abandoned, and later reworked into a design for the MewYou Remake.
Aki
Pokémon: The 13th Hour
This one was a really art heavy story game with a focus on atmosphere. The game opens with the protagonist's Eevee evolving into a Sylveon, and at that moment, every clock freezes at 12:59pm for a full hour that only certain types (Fairy, Dark, Psychic, Ghost) can experience. The protag gets to experience this hour with her Pokémon, as long as she keeps one of Sylveon's ribbons in her hand.
The story then follows the protag as she tries to recover a Pokéball that was stolen by a mischievous Whimsicott, following the trail of fluff it leave behind that leads her through darkness, nightmares, and to infiltrating a Fairy-Type's gathering. The main gimmick of the game was that as she slowly added more Pokémon to her team, they would be visible as part of the protag's sprite; a Chimecho riding on her head, carrying a Pumpkaboo in one hand as a lantern, wearing a Kelki as a bracelet. There was also a recurring duo of Braixen and Mismagius shokeepers acting as the protag's witchy-fairy godmothers along the way.
This game didn't get made because it's just such a big time investment in the art, and even after a lot of experimenting I didn't feel like my skills were really at the level I wanted. On top of that this would be a very short and niche game that I don't think a lot of people would play, even though the art did catch people's attention whenever I'd share test screens.
Opening: Camera pans from left to right across the map. In front of the fireplace sleeps an Absol, on the bed is the protagonist reading a book. With her are Eevee and Chimecho. Eevee evolves into Sylveon right as the 13th hour begins. Player is a girl with a Chimecho on her head (Starts in the party along with Sylveon. Chimecho has the Run Away Ability) and a Sylveon holding her hand (with its' ribbons). In the Player's room, there is a clock stopped at 12:59. On the bookshelf are books about the 13th hour, Fair Folk and Fae, and other dimensions. The computer seems to be frozen (in time), as are all other electronics.
There is a sound from outside. (protag turns to it with a ?
emote) It is discovered to be a Whimsicott that slips in through the seam in the wall. Whimsicott is initially unaware that it has been detected, and moves downstairs. This startles Absol; being a dark type it is weak to fairies and it retreats into its' Pokéball on the mantle of the fireplace. Whimsicott appears interested in the Pokéball and approaches it. At this point the protagonist has followed downstairs and Whimsicott, surprised it can be detected, is startled. It grabs the Pokéball containing Absol and flies outside through the front door.
Gameplay now starts, player has control
Player leaves home to explore. Only people and Pokémon who exist in the 13th hour can be interacted with. They are all aware that they exist within the 13th hour, and enjoy it for their own reasons. I like this quiet time to myself
, It's like having a secret I can only share with my Pokémon
, I used to think this was all a dream…but everyone else is having the same dream, so it must be real right?
, The boundaries between dimensions are thin…it makes travel so much faster.
. Others may be seen, but appear frozen (or indistinct/see through as if ghosts, but that might interfere with real ghosts. Lack of colour might be a good approach. The 13th hour itself isn't a completely different dimension though, just a slower time. Maybe just don't show others at all? But showing them helps demonstrate the weirdness of the time difference). It seems they cannot see you.
, They appear frozen.
, Can they not hear you?
, They don't react
, They do not notice you at all.
.
As player explores they are occasionally lead on by fluff left behind by Whimsicott. Oh, a Whimsicott was in your house? That's not too unusual . Whimsicott are well known Pranksters and Infiltrators. But don't worry! Even though they can slip through small cracks, Whimsicott allways leave a trail of fluff behind them wherever they go.
The trail leads from the protagonist's house, through a fence and down an alley way, where it ends . The player approaches Whimsicott, who flies through the wall leaving behind a mark of golden locks and chains on the wall. This is a Fairy Lock, which is indicative that Whimsicott did not simply slip through the wall itself, but through some sort of portal that is now closed.
Progress is now blocked by a blank wall covered in golden locks and chains. A Braixen called Magician appears. Hey, Human! Those markings are a Fairy Lock.
Fairies are really good at creating Crafty Shields like that. If you want to open that Fairy Lock, you'll need a Fairy Key…Luckilly for you I know where to find one. Unluckilly for you, it won't be easy.
Magician stops talking at this point, the player has to now engage him. Why would Whimsicott steal Angel's Pokéball?
Well you can't go to the Lunar Dance without a gift (Plus there's this dress code).
How do I know this? Well I am a level 48 Fire Magician, I know my stuff. Don't believe me? Just look at my wand!
he pulls out his flaming stick and holds it up. …
Okay yes, it is just a stick on fire. But check out my Magic Coat!
Magician twirls. It's the fluffiest!
…
You still don't believe me? Fine. I'll be in my Magic Room if you change your mind.
Magician leaves. At Magician's Magic Room (which functions as a shop), Magician is accompanied by a Mismagius called Witch. Witch is turned away from the player. Welcome to The Magician's Magic Room! How may I be of service?
The only way to outsmart that Prankster is with another Prankster.
Player needs to navigate through an area heavy with aggressive Mawile. Don't let those teeth Intimidate you too much, just ringing a bell or throwing some salt can keep naughty fairies at bay. (Psst. It works on ghosts too.)
Witch Stares at Magician (…
emote).
Level 1: Underground maze. Area contains wild Mawile, Sableye, Gastly, Shuppet. The darkness of the maze can be brightened some by interacting with various Litwick located in small alcoves. Items found here include SALT. SALT functions as a Pokédoll would, allowing the player to escape. However, Chimecho also has the Run Away ability. Player finds Kelfki at the end of the maze, who is surrounded being teased by Gengar and Bannette. Double battle the Ghosts, and Klefki joins the party from here on. The maze contains a couple of walls that Klefki can open, making the return trip to the surface much shorter. Anything Klefki can interact with is indicated by a keyhole shaped marking of some kind. Color can vary, and there can be more or less intricacies surrounding the keyhole (Example= Fairy Locks) but the shape and size is constant. Klefki's animation for unlocking is the protagonist throwing up her right hand (the one where Klefki is), and a glow emitting from it; Magical Girl style.
Leading Klefki to the place where the Whimsicott trail ended, Klefki can safely open the Fairy Lock with its' keys. Using Klefki, the player is then treated to a custscene of Klefki unlocking the dimensional door, which leads to the Dark Void. Magician recognizes it as such and returns to his shop. The player has free time at this point to shop, and explore. They may not have realized Klefki's overworld ability before this point, so there is time to have fun with it around town.
Level 2: The Dark Void. A pink haired witch (Gourgeist) sees the player approach. She is followed by Pumpkaboo of different sizes. Gourgeist giggles, then leads the line of Pumpakboo away from the player, outlining the path to take; she stops after each section to see if the player is still following before moving onto the next section. As this continues, the protag's speed becomes slower as the Dark Void pulls her to sleep. Eventually the protag lays down and the fog darkens, at this point Gourgeist can be seen giggling again before leading the Pumpkaboo away. However 1 Pumpkaboo is distressed and approaches the unmoving player, joining the party. Player gets a Pumpkaboo with the Insomnia ability.
Now the path is visible to the player thanks to Pumpkaboo's light. The Dark Void is a maze that contains some strange trainers, they do not ambush the player, but will fight if provoked. (Any trainers here have only 1 Pokémon. Drowzee/Hypno/HootHoot/Murkrow/Shuppet/Bannette/Pumpkaboo/Swirlix/Slurpluff/Munna/Musharna. Trainers do not speak, but play the cry of their Pokémon when spoken to.)
At the end of the Dark Void's maze, player is ambushed by Darkrai. Did you think you could freely pass through here Human?!
Battle Darkrai; the result of the battle doesn't matter. Enough.
Darkrai approaches player. !
He backs up, and transforms into Zoroark. That scent on you…It's Mystical Fire. You've met the Magician and the Witch haven't you?
YES
(NO
) He laughs. (You cannot fool this fox's nose Human.
) Any friend of the firefox Magician is a friend of mine. Thanks for the fun Human, You may pass. He disappears.Darkrai/Zoroark disappearing changes the landscape, because the illusion is dispersed. It is still the Dark Void, but now the exit is now clearly visible. The place feels calmer now, the darkness lifted a bit and pink dream mist floating in the air. All trainers are revealed to be Pokémon, that had been disguised by the illusion. The player is now free to reach the nearby exit, where Gourgeist happily allows player and Pumpkaboo to pass through out of the Dark Void. Her other Pumpkaboo are in a good mood as well.
The player exits the Dark Void into a garden that is full of Swirlix. A short distance in, an Absol is seen from behind by the protagonist, who believes it to be her lost friend. Absol is talking to Magician and Witch when the player approaches, who greet her. Absol is then confirmed to not be the missing one, but Zoroark in disguise again; he changes back with an apology. Witch and Magician then confirm that they saw a Whimsicott go through the Sweet Veil not long ago, pointing the player in the right direction. Witch's Wonder Room Shop then opens. Witch's Wonder Room is the opposite of Magician's Magic Room. Magician has his back to the player, implying that the Wonder Room and Magic Room have allways been back-to-back in different planes.
Level 3: The Veil. Moving deeper into the garden, the player encounters a lot of fluff and flowers. All the Pokémon in this area have the ability Flower Veil, Aroma Veil, or Sweet Veil. At the end of the garden is a puzzle where Whimsicott hides in a group of Swirlix; the player needs to find Whimsicott, which scares it away into the Lunar Dance.
Before Protag can step into the Fariy Ring, she is stopped by her Fariy god mothers, who come running up from behind. They warn the player that only fairies are allowed inside, and it is dangerous for anyone else-especially a human- to enter. Having Sylveon and Kelfki will probably make it safe to travel in and out of the ring, but it would still be dangerous is a human was detected.
Fairy God Mother #1 Magician the Braxien. Male, Level 48. Ability: Magician. Moves: Magic Room, Magic Coat, Lucky Chant, Wish (Implies that Magician's father is a Pikachu/Skitty).I'll say a Lucky Chant and Wish you back to health!
Fairy God Mother #2 Witch the Mismagius. Female, level . Ability: Levitate. Moves: Mystical Fire, Echoed Voice, Heal Bell, Wonder Room. Witch Speaks
using Echoed Voice, repeating words and phrases that other nearby have said.
Fairy God Mother #3 Dark the Zoroark. Male, level .Ability=Illusion. Moves: Snarl, Imprison, Nasty Plot, Dark Pulse. Dark creates illusions of darkness, he allways appears as a dark type, and is exponentially more powerful in the dark.
Dark casts an illusion to give protag an intimidating appearance resembling Mega Mawile. Protags pony tails are fluffed, with Chimecho tails between the hair like tongues. Sylveon ribbons are long and extend from the bangs.
Magician argues that the disguise will stand out too much at the Dance, and opts for an elegant look resembling Mega Gardevoir.Protag's ponytails are turned down to curve the face, the spiked cheeks resemble Pumpkaboo's wings, the chestpiece is a Sylveon bow with ribbons, and the skirt pieces are patterned like Chimecho's tail.
All three look at protag. Witch gives a cry, these looks are too flashy; you just need to be a Normal Fairy to blend in. The final look is now based on Mega Audino. Protag's ponytails fluff up, tied with Sylveon ribbons that hang loose as the ear feelers. The shoes have Pumpkaboo fluffs, Pumpkaboo sits on the back as the tail
. The skirt is open in the front and very fluffed in the back; it is Chimecho patterned, the chestfluff is replaced by Klefki.
Level 4: The Lunar Dance. The Lunar Dance is surrounded by a thick ring of mushrooms, which would indicate that fairies dance here often. At the center of the clearing is the Xerneas tree.(Because the strength of the Fairy Arura increases with the number of fairies present, the 13th hour lasts even longer the closer one is to the Lunar Dance.) Inside the Fairy Ring are mostly Fairies that resemble well dressed ladies, like Florges, Gardevoir, Aromatisse. Diance is at the center, accepting gifts. Whimsicott offers up the shiny Pokéball containing Angel the Absol.
Huh, I guess I never actually wrote down the ending where the protag goes home. Probably got a block on figuring the final puzzle/challenge of stealing a gift from a Fairy queen.
Aki
Yu-gi-oh! Hearts of the Cards
Back when I was just learning the Pokemon Essentials kit, I had the great idea to make a non-Pokemon game with it. It sounds silly even now, but honestly it kind of worked out because I was forced to look into a lot of the systems in order to adjust them and remove the direct Pokemon refrences. For example, I learned how to add completely new types and made my own type chart. I also learned the reason why fandevs don't just remove unused Pokemon from their games; deleting just the main bulk of that Pokemon's main code only makes the game fail to compile, because that Pokemon's name is refrenced in a dozen other files. That adds up to a lot of work and doesn't even save any space at the end since it's just text.
Anyway, Hearts of the Cards was my idea for a dating RPG back in 2014-2015. Yu-gi-oh is as special to me as Pokemon is honestly, if not more. It's just that in the case of Yu-gi-oh I'm more of a 'genwunner' with Yu-gi-oh instead of keeping up with it like I did with Pokemon. I love the Yu-gi-oh characters and the fandom was there for me while I figured out how to use the internet. I am aware that most of this devlog is Pokemon themed, so I hope it's okay if I explain a bit more about what Yu-gi-oh itself is while I talk about this game.
First thing you've gotta know is that the version of Yu-gi-oh that most people remember, the English dub by 4Kids, isn't the original run of Yu-gi-oh. Before the Yu-gi-oh focused on the cardgame, there was an entire series before that which the fans call Season 0. You know the first episode of the 4Kids Yu-gi-oh, where Yuugi's grandpa is kidnapped and Kaiba tears up the Blue-Eyes card and then Yuugi duels and wins with Exodia? Yeah, that's a quick version of what was the 'Death T' story arc, where Yuugi had to win a games tournament setup by Kaiba. This involved games such as playing lazer tag (with tazors) against trained assassins, the squad being strapped into actual working electrical chairs, Joey literally having to kill a man, and Grandpa being locked in a virtual reality torture box. So um, I hope all that helps set the tone a little bit better when I mention that one of the features I wanted for this dating game was Sudden Death Bad Endings.
This game would have been so insanely niche. First of all I didn't want to lock players into only spending time with one character, so the traditional "routes" were really fluid and the relationships were not only forgiving, but I was expecting the player to experiement a bit and befriend multiple characters, if not try for some polyamoury. If the player didn't make friends, that is how they'd run into Sudden Death Endings. My wierd views on romance and relationships are also why this game was made in Essentials; I couldn't see certain characters (Kaiba mostly) being interested in anyone who wasn't a duelist, so there had to be a battle system. Coding an entire card game and all the cards wasn't something I could do, but a simplified version of Pokemon? That I could pull off.
The battle UI is based on the design of the duel disks, and there were a bunch of secret starter monsters the player could get, like the different colored Kuriboh Brothers.
Hearts of the Cards was designed with a progression system, where the original plot of the series was at least implied to be going on in the background while the player went on their dates. This is all pretty tangled, but it was important to me that the player wasn't forced down a single path and had enough free time to talk to NPCs, explore around Domino City and train their Duel Monster, do sidequests, and talk to other major characters. I really wanted it to feel like the protagonist had some kind of life and relationships outside of their romantic interest! There was a whole system where the player had a little apartment they could decorate like a secret base. A lot of the decorations would be gifts that the player could randomly recieve in the mail from one of the characters they befriended. I don't think that system really added anything per se, but I wanted to subvert that overdone system in dating sims where the player gives gifts to their love interest to raise their affection. I wanted the relationships to feel less one-sided and more mutual. The secret was though, that the gift system would actually decide when to give the player a present, and only after that decide who it was from; if the player didn't have a good enough relationship with anyone, then the note attatched to the present would be from a secret admirer.
Having multiple relationships was the only thing that could save a player from the Bad Endings. I think these endings would've been pretty controversial because they happened almost randomly, but I justified them to myself as there were only good endings when the player reached the actual end of the game, and these bad ones were really easy to avoid just by having any relationship with multiple characters. Let me get into it with an example. One Sudden Death Bad End would be triggered by the player talking to a certain NPC in a restaraunt. This NPC is an escaped criminal who pulls a gun on the protagonist for being so attentive, and there would be a gunshot noise as the Bad Ending screen loads in. This ending is completely avoidable though just by never talking to that NPC, or if the player had made friends with certain characters, there would actually be a cutscene where they're willing to intervene and save the player's life. In this specific case, either Anzu (Tea) Yuugi, or Yami were present and would step in to save the player, if their relationship is at least at the level of "met". So the whole example I just described is a case where it was basically impossible to get the Bad Ending, and would only happen if a player went out of their way to never interact with any of the main characters before talking to this specific NPC. So for most players, they simply trigger a little easter egg that plays out as a refrence to a certain episode of Season 0. In practice I wonder how frustrating this could've been... but I did make a point to include at least 3 characters for each Bad End whos' relationships could save the player. Also, that list of characters would almost allways include Yuugi, so the game kind of had a built in safety net for any player who would bother to talk to the main character a few times. Getting a negative relationship with Yuugi was something I included but only as a kind of difficulty gate for some datable villain characters, like Yami Bakura.
Speaking of characters I tried to cram so many NPCs and refrences into this game.
In this gif the guy directly identifies who he is, but there's also slot machines that look like the Duel Monsters card 'Slot Machine', and the overall design of this arcade is from one of my facorite pieces of official Yu-gi-oh art:
On the outside of the arcade, it's again designed just like the one where Johnny Steps was in the show, but if you watch this next screenshot long enough you'll notice a shape moving in the shadow of the clouds! It's suppossed to look like 'Cloudian - Smoke Ball'.
This next shot has the museum, and one of the Kageyama Sisters, a character who only appeared in the Season 0 anime but not the manga.
I don't think even a superfan would be able to recognize every NPC because I based a lot of them off of Duel Monsters as well as characters from the anime/manga. The line up here (left to right) is White Magician Pikeru, Ebon Magician Curran, Ghostrick Doll, Dance Princess of the Ice Barrier, Johnny Steps, Aileen Rao, and a Kageyama Sister
Domino City is pretty sprawling, just this one section of the map went through 3-4 drafts, and it's only the apartment area.
Not much went on here besides the player's house and some initial character meetings, but I like to think I emulated my all time favorite piece of official art:
Just something about these specific alternative outfits...maybe they all just wore their school uniforms a little too much.
