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A First Look at Monad

Hello. C J here. It’s time to talk about my new video game project Monad. I’ve used and learned a lot about the Android app development software GDevelop in the process of making Dragon Engine. I am very fond of the team behind the software, the interface and the tools it’s willing to give the player. By player I mean the one making a game out of it. It feels like playing Minecraft only you get to sell the whole thing after you beat it. Here’s what I know I can do for Monad.

Pixel Style
I loved old pixel games like the original Pokemon Gold, Mystery Dungeon Red Rescue Team and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror. This era of games is over. Everything is 3D now and although some games benefited from it these classics really worked the way they were. I can hand draw pixel art. I learned for fun when I was growing up and there are easy tools for it in GDevelop. I have already acquired a Silver plan for the software and the game template for top down pixel style games. It’s onto level design now.

The Spirit World
I’ve selected to put Monad in the Legend Setting. Specifically it’s set in the spirit world, the spiritual mirror to the material galaxy Creation. The spirit world is home to sentient spirits embodying concepts and actions who call their homeland Sigil. I chose Sigil because it has a fluid geography and fewer rules about how maps are structured than the main setting. It gives me the room to do things I can’t in material Creation due to things like gravity and size. Like all my games it will be open world.

Social Life
I am planning combat for Monad. Mostly though I want it to be a slice of life game about a visitor to the spirit world, a Walker as they call them there. They live a normal life and gather resources while interacting with locals. A Walker is always there to learn magic but the magic of Sigil is in storytelling. In order to get anything out of Sigil its narrative nature has to be followed. This takes the form of quests.

Museum Mode
I can’t find a way of fitting base building into Dragon Engine so I’m allocating it here. The game engine can support server multiplayer modes so I’m going to allow people to invite others to their base or open it to customers. Paintings, real ones in image file formats, can be hung on walls for viewing and books, in TXT format, can be stocked on bookshelves. I’ve checked and I can code all this. The game will be a digital museum for art viewing or sales of art services. This brings me to my final point.

Mature Rating
Don’t run away at the title here. I want the player to be able to have meaningful relationships with the characters they encounter. I also am not doing this without LGBTQ+ content in it. This means the best option is to include playable sex scenes as a minigame. The management, code and graphic design on these are figured out already. Everyone in the game is a strongly consenting adult with a gender identity. The game will be on Android and I’ve checked their content rating rules.

From everything I’ve read intimacy is allowed under a Mature rating. Normally that rating means violent content and horrific imagery. I do not like this. I would like some depictions of consenting adults. I’ve looked and no one’s done it. Really, internet? No one’s made an actual game since Mass Effect with dating and intimacy? Come on. It’s a lot easier than screwing with your characters. People click on smiling faces not sad ones. Anyway, I hope I’m reading the rules right.

C J Mcpherson
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