First Week Check-In: Introductions And Progress

It's Sunday, and that means we're officially kicking off the progress tracking for "House of Carnal Mysteries".  To start people off, I (Captain Weirdbeard) would like to give you an idea of what this game is about, how it started, and where we are on the project.

The Basics and History of the Game

Originally conceived as a "horror/porn" game, the idea behind "House of Carnal Mysteries" was to craft a story that focused on uncovering the strange and erotic mysteries behind an old abandoned house.  Overall, we're sticking pretty close to that theme - the story does center around the house - although we've expanded the concept to include a small town with a number of romanceable NPCs and a forest which will contain more "extreme" content than is available elsewhere.

Inspiration for the game comes from multiple sources.  First, and possibly most important, is Corruption of Champions, an unfortunately outdated Flash porn game that introduced me to the world of erotic gaming and bizarre fetish content.  Although very little of the final product is expected to resemble CoC, there will undoubtedly be some elements of a similar theme and nature.  In terms of gameplay, "House of Carnal Mysteries" is expected to land somewhere between Rune Factory and Maniac Mansion, with a central plot that is advanced by exploring the house and researching its secrets, and a number of sidequests and hobbies available to dabble in.

"House of Carnal Mysteries" is being made in RPG Maker VX Ace.

Less Porn, More Erotica

Although intended to be a "porn" game, the focus of HoCM has shifted toward storytelling and developing its various characters.  However, the game is at its roots a lust-fueled project, and will feature a number of erotic scenes and transformations for your fapping pleasure.

Features that will definitely be included in the game:

• Open-ended customization options for the main character.  Rather than selecting a gender, you will choose your character's genitals, chest shape, and pronouns during the prologue.
• A diverse cast of romanceable NPCs, featuring various races, genders, and occupations.  You can pick one and stay monogamous, or build a harem out of your favorites.
• Transformative items that affect the size, shape, and occasionally number of your character's body parts.  This includes "furry" transformations, miniaturization/gigantism, hypersize body parts, and several others.  Not all transformations will be permanent.
• Opt-out features for "extreme" content.  This includes blood play, soft & hard vore, and scenes featuring rape or "dubious consent", each of which can be avoided separately.

Features that we are anticipating will be included in the game:

• Multiple endings, both good and bad, that arise at the resolution of certain quests or storylines.
• Visible wardrobe changes for both the main character and anyone in their harem.
• Choice of varying fatness levels, allowing the character to start with any figure they like and gain/lose weight through gameplay if desired.

Features that will definitely not be included in the game:

• Large amounts of rape.  Although we have planned at least one game-over rape scene and one scene of dubious consent, the majority of sexual encounters in the game will be fully consensual.
• Sexual encounters with persons who are, or appear to be, underage.  Every eligible character in the game will have reached the age of majority, which will be reflected by their physical appearance.
• Permanently hypersized body parts.  This is simply not possible due to graphical limitations.

Current Progress

HoCM is still in early development, or pre-alpha.  We have developed the general concept of the game, the backstory and preliminary cast of characters, and an outline of the layout for the explorable world.  Our current focus is on continued cast development, which is expected to last the course of the project, and preliminary map design, which will be followed by graphics development.  There is no predicted date for the availability of a playable alpha.