NEXT GAME POLL (for real this time)

Hey everyone, this is going to be a very dense (but important) post, so I want to get a few things out of the way immediately:

1. As many of you probably saw, in my last post I asked about what people want from my next project. However, I thought that it would be better if I gave a lengthier explanation for the two primary options before re-polling you all on them. If you missed that post, I'd recommend reading it before this one.

2. Wasteline updates are still coming! I just want to figure out the next game that I'm going to be developing alongside it.

3. Both of these games will be made eventually, the purpose of this poll is to figure out which one you all want me to start developing first.

With that out of the way, I can get to the actual meat of this post. Following the last poll, I've decided to narrow things down to two options. The first option is a new version of Fataclysm, reminiscent of the original's strategic gameplay in many ways, but with a new structure that I think will make the game feel fresh and unique. The second option is Prism (temporary title), an entirely new game that's less focused on raw mechanical gameplay and more on interacting with characters and making both them and yourself fat.

The purpose of each section of this post is to "sell" you all on the most important aspects of the games, and to make it clear what you would be getting with the finished product. Thanks to some very hard work from the one and only bun, we've come up with a set of 4 concept sketches for each game to portray these aspects. Additionally, some previously existing artwork of the Prism characters has been refashioned into a proper introduction for them.

PLEASE BE AWARE THAT ALL OF THE ART BELOW IS VERY UNFINISHED AND WOULD NOT BE USED IN EITHER FINAL PRODUCT. THEY EXIST SIMPLY TO PAINT A PICTURE OF THE RESPECTIVE GAMES.

And without further ado, we can get to the art! I'm going to be providing a brief description of each image in the text of this post, but explanatory notes have also been added to the sketches for those of you who are tired of reading the dense paragraphs that I've laid out here.

FATACLYSM

*As a small note, the narrative of this game would not be a "reset" or "reboot". The story would pick up from Leona's recruitment in layer 2, along with explanations for how and why the rules of the Expanse have changed.

First up, the biggest change from the original Fataclysm! Instead of being a roguelike/lite, the Godot version would have a level selection menu for each layer. These levels would each be a specifically crafted experience, and their difficulty would increase the deeper you get into a layer. I know that fans of the original game might be the most hesitant about this particular change, but I think that it would offer tons of new design space for me, while also making the game feel far more unique.

Next up is combat! To those who played the original, this is the aspect of the game most comparable to the original. Outside of a few changes to how turn order works, combat should feel pretty familiar.

For everyone else, welcome to the bulk of Fataclysm! Most of your time in the game will be spent locked in combat with the various enemies of the Excessive Expanse. Combat itself is turn-based and is somewhat comparable to that of Darkest Dungeon 1/2, but with some notable differences. Most importantly, all physical damage in the Expanse is converted to fat, so there are no normal health bars present anywhere in the game.

Another notable difference from the original Fataclysm is navigation! In the new version, maps are statically laid out from the start and can be explored room-by-room at your own pace. Each level has a unique layout (with some randomness), and it's up to the player to figure out the best strategy for finishing the objective, whether that be gearing up as much as possible before fighting a boss, or rushing them as quickly as possible to avoid gaining any more excess weight in the rest of the level's encounters.

Finally, Fataclysm wouldn't be complete without its yapping! As with the original, there would be many unique events to be experienced in the new Fataclysm, alongside a much more robust dialogue system that would be comparable to Wasteline's. Of course, characters' dialogue sprites would evolve as they gain throughout a level!

Additionally, with the advent of the level-based system, it would be much easier to move the perspective of the narrative between characters! Instead of things being mostly told from Aria's point of view, each level would have a specifically chosen protagonist.

And that's it for 'clysm! The game's core loop would be to pick a level, whether that be for progression or to replay one that you particularly like, and strategically navigate through its various challenges. Said challenges would mostly consist of combat and other weight gain shenanigans, with some nice dialogue and events along the way.

PRISM

Since the existing foundation for Prism is essentially nonexistent, this one needs a bit more explanation than Fataclysm. The game itself is a feeding/dating sim set a in a relatively typical high fantasy world, and most of its gameplay revolves around the aforementioned feeding and dating. The characters that you choose to romance and feed/be fed by are entirely up to you!

So, who are these characters?

Note that a couple of these characters are not love interests! One of them is the protagonist (the dragon girl in the middle), and one is the antagonist (the evil queen lady). However, all the rest are fair game! And yes, one of them is male, for those of you who are into that.

And here are some short descriptions of the characters, along with their names! There may even be a familiar face or two among the bunch.

And what can you do with these characters?

Firstly, as expected, you can take them on dates! Taking a love interest on a date raises their affection for you, as well as potentially having other side effects, like weight gain, as well as potentially changing your or the character's stats. If you're interested in the stat system, the various effects are outlined in the notes on the right of this image.

Next, the most important part of Prism! As dictated by Queen Eleonora, the characters frequently participate in mandatory mealtimes where they do their best to stuff one another silly. Though weight gain is an inevitable side effect of such decadent meals, there are plenty of tools at your disposal (like spells, potions, and Lyra's resource bars) to influence who will be consuming the bulk of the calories!

Of course, various scenes and CGs with the other characters would be a core part of the experience! Seeing yourself and others in various situations as your weight increases would be an important part of Lyra's journey.

And finally, it wouldn't be much of a dating sim without a bit of lust! Courtesy of the queen, you would always be provided with an enchanted mirror to check your own progress (though sometimes the magic weight readout gets a bit overwhelmed). However, said mirror scenes may sometimes be accompanied by others, depending on how deep your relationship has become! Of course, the characters can't help but want to get a bit more intimate if they're sufficiently affectionate towards you.

And that's it for Prism now, too! The game is a good bit simpler mechanically, but it aims to place much more focus on the personal relationships between characters and how they're affected by a steady increase in one or both of their weights. The main loop of the game consists of feeding, dating, and the mischief that happens in between, and it's simply a question of who ends up getting bigger. A few different characters? Just the player? Everyone EXCEPT the player? The choice is up to you!

So... I know that this has certainly been my most lengthy post to date, but if you skipped through it to get to the poll at the end... your loss, I guess? A ton of work was put into the concepts and art for the stuff above, so I don't really get why you would even be subscribed if you didn't care for any of it. For those who did read everything above, the time has almost come to choose! Before that, though, I just want to give some important parting words.

-I DON'T SAY THIS TO SWAY THE VOTE, I JUST WANT TO BE 100% TRANSPARENT. Prism will be an easier game to make than Fataclysm and would likely come out sooner. If you're okay with waiting a good bit longer for 'clysm than for Prism, then that's fine too. I just want to throw this in for those who have less patience.

-I will do my best to listen to the results of this poll, and I value the feedback from you all alot, but if the votes are close (within ~5-10%), then I will just be selecting one of the options myself and going from there. I hope you all understand why I might choose to do that.

And now... that's really it. I'll do my best to answer any questions about either game in the comments, so feel free to ask whatever you might be curious about. May the best game win!